Fine performances by Meath athletes

The second day of the 2009 Leinster cross-country championships for uneven age and intermediate level was staged on the parklands which surround Charleville Castle in Tullamore on Sunday as Meath athletes were prominent with several runners claiming medals. There were double team victories for Meath in the adult races. Robbie Matthews finished second in the men's intermediate championship after a 10km tussle with Tom Hogan (Slaney Olympic). The county team packed very well behind Matthews to score a memorable win with Derek Croal, Morgan McDonagh, Sean Kinnane, Robert Caffrey Liam Newman, Don Mahon, Dermot Farrelly all finishing in the top 30. The Meath team was led home in the womens race by Sharon Monaghan who put in a great effort to ensure her team finished ahead of Offaly and Westmeath. The other Meath runners who put in great efforts to bring the team to victory were Orla Timmons, Ursula Byrne, Linda Fahy, Mary Watters, Linda Gunning, Margaret Neary, Eileen Rahill and Karen Monaghan. The day got underway in winning style with a great victory for 10-year-old Eva O'Donovan (Navan) in the girls u-11 race and she led the county team to fourth in the inter-county competition. In the boys equivalent Alan Monaghan (Bohermeen) led his club to fourth place in the inter-club competition and the county to third when he took the individual bronze. In the u-13 girls race Bohermeen's Rose Finnegan was the winner and she combined with Aisling O'Hare, Deirdre Healy, Elizabeth Moreland, Aoife Holton and Eimear O'Brien to land the top spot for Meath in the inter-county event ahead of Westmeath and Kildare. Robert Tully and Gavin Maher were the top Meath finishers in the boys u-15 race and were prominent in the effort which secured a third place for the county. The u-19 girls race saw Meath take the runner-up spot with leading finisher Shauna Moore running an excellent race against several junior internationals to finish in third. The next Meath finisher was her club colleague Shauna Moran in seventh, Elaine Plunkett and Grainne Sheridan (both St Brigid's) completed the line up for the Meath team that took second in the counties race. Bohermeen AC will be represented at the annual Noel McGuill cross-country meeting in Louth next Sunday at the new venue at the GAA Centre of Excellence, Darver. Action starts at 12.0. The club request that all athletes attend this last event before Christmas. The annual Meath AAI awards evening will take place this Sunday at the Old Darnley Lodge, Athboy, 6.0.