News

Unfortunately there was no local interest at Saturdays Moira cross country meeting as Provincial Novice champion Connor Magill of North Belfast and Julie Turley of the host club Dromore AC, took the male and female honours respectively. Indeed the county Down event ,only a week ahead of this Saturdays Provincial senior championships in Antrim failed to atract significant numbers as clearly for many, the powder was being kept dry for this weekend at the Greenmount College grounds.

City of Derry are likely to carry local hopes this Saturday with both meal and female teams set to travel. The Spartan women will be defending the team tile won last year in Stranorlar while the men will once again attempt to improve on their team runners up spots of the last two years. However boh squads will not be at full strength and a big challange lies ahead for the red vests. Aileen Morrison is in Spain at a training camp, preparing for her Olympic Triathlon in London later this year and her absence will seriously dilute the local womens challange. Arnie Doherty, Diarmuid Grant and John Lenehan are all definitely out of the mens squad and will certainly be missed in the six to score mens team contest.

However both Spartans squads will travel in expectation of producing a massive effort and the athletes on duty will strain every sinew to deliver big results in what should be a real feast of quality cross country action. The NI/Ulster championships are for the first time ever incorporated into the annual Antrim International Challange so the locals will line up alongside a sizeable group of African, European, Cross Channel and non Ulster Irish athletes.

Indeed the inform Declan Reed has been selected on the eight man NI squad for the International team race and will be joined by Omagh Harrier Sephen Duncan. Reed won his first ever NI vest at this race last year and has been selected once again after a series of excellent runs in recent weeks, during which he won the Malcolm Cup race in Ballyclare and the Provincial Masters title in Scotstown, as well as finishing runner up to Conor Bradley at the North West cross country in Gransha just before Christmas.

Bradley was initially selected on the NI squad but the speedy Spartan instead will be racing Indoors in Glasgow as he continiues his build up to the National Indoor championships in Belfast in mid February. Reed should have the likes of Greg and Colin Roberts, Emmett McGinty, Allan Bogle, Paddy Mhor Doherty, Noel Logan, Brendan Murphy, Kieron Hurley,Eoghan Furey and James Brown to bolster the red vests challange for honours.

Anne Paul hopes to return from a lengthy injury layoff to line up alongside Marina Campbell, Jackie McGinley, Catherine Lilburn, Sarah Mahon, Camilla McGrenaghan and Ciara Fraser to spearhead the Spartan womens bid for honours but the local squads will have much to do in the battle for team medals on Saturday.Hopefully current niggles and uncertainties will all be resolved in the next few days.

A more detailled preview will follow later in the week when the full opposition line ups are digested more thoroughly and the local starters are confirmed.

Primary Schools League Race On Friday
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The Sports Complex grounds will host the third and final race in the local Primary Schools cross country league thius Friday 20th January with around 15 schools and 300 runners expected. The Flavahans sponsored event has proved to be a tewrrific successs since its inception by Athletics NI a few years ago and with six separate locations across NI, the top performers from each area at the finish of their trio of local races will qualify for the NI finals in Mallusk in mid February.

This Fridays action should be as exciting as ever. The 1300 mere course will provide the ideal platform for all the eager young runners to strut their stuff and the first of the three races starts at 12 15pm. Registration begins at 11 15am in the main Sports Complex building.