Thirty-three juvenile athletes from Westport AC competed in the Connaught  Uneven Age Cross Country held recently in St. Marys College, Galway city, taking home 2 individual Connacht titles, 2 individual silver and a bronze as well as 3 team golds, together with several county medals.

First race of the day was the U11 girls (1500m) who put in a powerful performance with Saoirse O'Brien storming home in first place, followed by Tara Needham(4th), Ciara Needham (13th), Briana Bruton (16th), Annie Noonan, Jennifer Cawley, Ella Staunton, Clodagh Gibbons, Eimear Corduff and Molly Ryder.  This resulted in the team winning gold and also Mayo county winning gold – fantastic achievements in a very competitive field..

In the boys U11 boys 1500m, Cillian Heaney put in an incredible performance to take the individual silver medal, followed closely by Oisin Ryall(4th), Rossa McAllister(6th), Ronan O'Donnell(15th), Tommy Scahill, Padraig Murphy, Evan Moran, Sean Costello and Lorcan Gannon.  This resulted in another team gold for Westport and a team silver for the Mayo team.

Next up were the U13 girls in the 2500m race where Ellen Noonan came home in 8th position, aiding Mayo to win the team gold and securing her place in the National Championships.  Other fine runs came from Leah Moran, Kate Chambers, Michaela O'Malley and Ellie Ryder.

This was followed by the U13 boys 2500m, which saw an incredibly strong team take the gold medal at both team and county level.  All individual medals in this race went to Westport with Patrick Chambers winning gold, Aaron Doherty silver and Cian McAllister bronze, followed by Luke Dawson coming home 5th. Following up were Marley Hoban, Oisin Moran and Fiacra Byrne wrapping up a wonderful team performance.

The girls U15 3500m race saw 2 more terrific runs when Sorcha McAllister came home in 6th place followed by Aoife O'Brien in 8th resulting in these fine athletes winning county gold medals and securing their place at the national finals.

Westport AC have an amazing total of twenty runners qualifying for the All-Ireland Uneven Age Cross Country Championships, which take place in Adamstown, Co. Wexford December 9th.


U11 girls back l-r Mollie Ryder, Briana Bruton, Ciara Needham and Jennifer Cawley. Front l-r Eimear Corduff, Clodagh Gibbons, Ella Staunton, Annie Noonan, Saoirse O'Brien and Tara Needham.
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