Hectic weekend for young athletes

It’s a busy weekend for young Irish athletes with the annual AVIVA Tailteann Irish Schools Interprovincial Track & Field meeting taking place at the Morton Stadium, Santry today, followed tomorrow by the Irish Junior & U23 Championships in Tullamore.

The AVIVA Irish Schools Interprovincial Championships will serve as a trial for Schools Track and Field International in Ashford, Kent, on July 21 and like the recent AVIVA Irish Schools Track & Field Championships - this be a day of hectic action.

Grace Lawler (Presentation Carlow) and Róisín Harrison, (Villiers Limerick) will be some of the top (u17) talents in the girl’s sprints and Dean Power (Killina Secondary School), Zak Irwin, (Sligo Grammar School) and Joseph Ojewuni (Deansrath SC) are athletes who can burn up the track in the boy’s sprints.

The talented Alanna Lally (Presentation, Athenry) will be in action in both the 300m and 800m and Alice Akers, (Scarriff S.C) should also lead the field in the girl’s hammer.

The action continues in Tullamore tomorrow where the Woodie’s DIY Irish Junior & U23 Track & Field Championships should also serve up some exciting action. Dean Adams (Ballymena & Antrim A.C) and Paul Whelan, (Dublin Striders) should deliver top action in the junior men’s sprints, while Catherine McManus, (Celtic AC), Joan Healy, (Bandon AC), Niamh Whelan, (Ferrybank AC) and Leah Moore, (Clonliffe Harriers) will also provide some excitement in the junior women’s sprint events.

Marcus Lawler (SLOT) will be the man to beat in the junior men’s sprints and Greg O’Shea, (Dooneen AC) can also be expected to fare well. Siofra Cleirigh Buttner, (DSD) will drop down in distance when she competes in the junior girl’s 400 meters and athletes to watch in the field events will be hammer throwers Dempsey McGuigan, (Finn Valley AC) and James McCabe, (Dunboyne AC)