Keelan leads local runners to historic wins
An emotional Keelan Kilrehill is congratulated by his dad, Brendan, after winning the senior men's race at last Sunday's 123.ie National Championships in Irvinestown. Picture: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Athletics: There were scenes of great emotion in Co. Fermanagh last Sunday afternoon, as Moy Valley AC runner Keelan Kilrehill claimed his first national senior cross country title at the 123.ie National Cross Country Championships held at the picturesque Castle Irvine Estate.
Kilrehill was a convincing winner of the men’s race pulling ahead of Nick Griggs (Candour Track Club) with around 3,000m to go. When he made his decisive move there was no way back for the chasers, which included many household names, and he ultimately took victory by just short of 30 seconds.
“It’s class. This is the one title I couldn’t finish athletics without, it’s the one I’ve dreamt of. To win it like that is unreal,” said Keelan Kilrehill after his win.
“Racing gives you a lot of confidence but in training I’ve been getting so much confidence as well. I’ve been doing stuff this year which has been surprising me, which is always nice, but until you put it together on the day you don’t really know. I’m so proud of the way I ran today,” he admitted.
Nick Griggs’ challenge ultimately faded, and it was Niall Murphy (Ennis Track Club) who broke clear of last year’s champion Cormac Dalton (Mullingar Harriers) with 500m to go, sprinting to the line to take silver. Dalton would have to settle for bronze, with Efrem Gidey (Clonliffe Harriers) and Sean Tobin (Clonmel AC) rounding out the top five.
But Keelan Kilrehill wasn’t the only Moy Valley runner to stand atop the winner’s podium on Sunday as Ballina youngster Grace Tighe had a day to remember, storming to victory in the U12 girls race which opened the day’s proceedings. And there was even more Mayo success during those earlier juvenile races, where there was certainly no shortage of drama and quality action, as twin sisters Freya and Holly Renton of Westport AC won gold and silver in the U16 Girls race.
There was a silver medal winning performance from Philip Griffith of Claremorris AC in the U12 Boys 2,000m where he ran a time of 6:50 to finish just 10 seconds behind race winner Ronan Geaney of St Catherine’s AC while in the U14 Boys 3,000m, Rory Gruddy of Swinford AC finished a brilliant third in a time of 10:50, with Darragh Whelan (Limerick AC) and Eoghan Looney (Blarney/Inniscara AC) taking the top two places.
Meanwhile, Ann-Marie McGlynn (Letterkenny AC) had over ten seconds to spare as she crossed the line to win the senior women’s race saw just three weeks after winning the national marathon title.
