by Der O'Donovan
The first leg of the county BLOE cross country championships were held in Carrignavar on Sunday, 3 October. While the sun might have been shining for most of the day it certainly wasn't hot. Probably the coldest course in Cork, the rain during the last race had more than a touch of ice in it.
Louise Murphy
Photo Courtesy of Leevale A.C.
It was an exciting day's sport, with some brilliant performances. The closest finish of the day came in the girls under 16 race. At the end of the small lap it was Katie Lyons of West Muskerry who had taken up leading duties, with Louise Murphy of Leevale on her shoulder. Then came the big lap of 1,500m. the order remained the same until about 300m from the finish. At this point Lyons upped the pace and opened up a gap on her rival, looking to have the race at her mercy. Up the hill to the finish the result looked a foregone conclusion. However, as they got to the top Lyons died a little, and Murphy really got into her stride. A hectic last 100m resulted in Murphy getting up on the line to win by the narrowest of margins. A super race by these two international class runners. West Muskerry did however win the team title.
Most of the other races resulted in clear cut winners. The boys under 16 saw Fergus Meade of Glenbower take the lead from early on, with Robert Baer of North Cork the only one to go with him. Meade was in a class of his own however, going on to win by a big margin, with Baer second and Mark Lehane of Bandon closing fast to take third. Glenbower were team winners.
In the girls under 18 race Mairead O'Callaghan of North Cork took the lead from the start and was never troubled as she raced to victory from club mates Siobhan Linehan and Ciara O'Shea. Needless to say North Cork won the team contest.
In the boys under 18 race the same procedure was followed with Niall Duncan of Togher taking the lead from the gun, a lead he never looked like losing, winning as he pleased. The interest in this race came in the race for the minor placings. By half way there was a group of three chasing - James Grufferty and Ian Donovan of Leevale, and Shane O'Shaughnessy of Togher. In the closing stages it was Grufferty and O'Shaughnessy who battled it out, with the latter winning the battle for second. Thomas Kennefick of Leevale came through strongly to take fourth in a sprint to the line with Donovan, while Kevin Barry was sixth to give Leevale the team victory that didn't look possible in the early stages of the race.
In the boys under 14 race Shane Brennan of Dohenys looked strong as he led for most of the race to win from Donagh Lucey of Bandon, with Kieran Ryan of Belgooly third. Blarney Inniscarra were team winners here.
Results Girls under 18 1. M. O'Callaghan, North Cork 2. S. Linehan, Dohenys 3. C. O'Shea, Dohenys Team: 1. North Cork 6 points Boys under 18. 1. N. Duncan, Togher; 2. S. O'Shaughessy, Togher; 3. J. Grufferty Leevale Teams: 1. Leevale 18; 2. Togher 21; 3. Carrignavar 60 Girls under 16 1. L. Murphy, Leevale 2. K. Lyons, West Muskerry 3. N. Walsh, Glenbower Teams: 1. West Muskerry 20; 2. Glenbower 35; 3. Ballincollig 46 Boys under 16 1. F. Meade, Glenbower 2. Robert Baer, North Cork 3. Mark Lehane, Bandon Teams: 1. Glenbower 27; 2. Leevale 47 Girls under 14. 1. A. McCarthy, North Cork 2. E. McMahon, Carrignavar 3. C. O'Keeffe, Glenbower 4. Teams: 1. North Cork 34; 2.Glenbower 38; 3. Carrignavar 50 Boys under 14 3. S. Brennan, Dohenys 4. D. Lucey, Bandon 3. K.Ryan, Belgooly Teams: 1. Blarney Inniscarra 48; 2. Ballincollig 53; 3.Carrignavar 81 Girls under 12 1. C. McSweeney, Glounthaune 2. R. Buckley,Blarney Inniscarra 3. T. O'Neill, Ballincollig Teams: 1. Ballincollig 32; 2. Glenbower 52; 3. Carrignavar 59 Boys under 12 1. B. Perrott, West Muskerry 2. K. Hanley, North Cork 3. A. Byrne, Glenbower Teams: 1. Glenbower 45; 2.Carrignavar 84 Girls under 10 1. C. Shanley, Grange Fermoy 2. M. O'Brien,Youghal 3. I. Morrison, Youghal Teams: 1. Glenbower 37; 2.Youghal 38; 3. Ballincollig 64 Boys under 10 1. C. Hanly, North Cork 2. K. O'Sullivan, Ballincollig 3. M. Hickey, Carrignavar Teams: 1. Carrignavar 36; 2. Youghal 49; 3. Ballincollig 52 Girls under 8 1. L. Collins, Skibbereen 2. C. Twomey, Youghal 3. C.Keohane, Dohenys Boys under 8 1. M. Cronin, Youghal 2. J. Noonan, Carrignavar 3. M. Healy, West Muskerry