Costello again pips Darcy

COLIN COSTELLO of Gormanston repeated his Leinster heroics when pipping De La Salle, Bagenalstown’s Danny Darcy in a spectacular 1,500m final at the Kit Kat Irish schools championships in Tullamore on Saturday.

Just like their provincial final battle, Darcy took control from the start and the Carlow teenager led through an opening lap of 59 seconds, 800m in 2:03 and 2:48 at the bell. But then Costello, a double medallist at the European Youth Olympics, produced a later charge down the home strait. Costello won in 3:47.62 with Darcy second in 3:48.72.

The excitement paled into insignificance when compared to the senior girls' 1,500m where Ciara Durkan, (Loreto, Balbriggan) fought back twice to inflict a rare defeat on Azmera Gebrezdi in a spectacular contest.

The Eritrea-born athlete who now holds her Irish passport was the hot favourite and looked set to take the title she sprinted into the lead 300m out.

But the Dublin girl fought back to lead at 200m only to be passed again entering the finishing straight.

Once more she dug in and won the race to the line in 4:46.5 to 4:47.2.

Andrew Ledwith, (North Monastery, Cork) led all the way to win the senior boys' 5,000 in 14:59.9, going under 15 minutes for the second time in two weeks.

Sean Smith, (Bailieboro CS) finished second in 15:20.1 with Colm Turner, (Villiers, Limerick) third in 15:25.7 and defending champion, Jamie McCarthy, (Kinsale CS) fourth in 15:39.3.

Carl McNamara (Bruce College, Cork) brought off an exciting senior boys' sprint double. He powered his way to a 22.05 victory in the 200m but then it took the photo finish camera to separate him from Michael Hopkins, (RBAI) in the 100m. Both were timed at 11.17 secs ahead of Greg O'Leary, (Glanmire CC) coming back off injury to finish third in 11.25 secs.

Rachel Ackers, (Scarriff CC) won her sixth hammer title and brought off her third successive double in the discus and hammer.

She holds all the records in the hammer from junior up to senior and, on Saturday, extended the senior girls' hammer record from 51.32 to 52.91.

She has scholarship offers from the US, including one from Harvard, but will almost certainly remain at home to study teaching.

Coached by her father, Brian, who is the national hammer coach, she also holds the Irish junior record and was runner-up to Eileen O'Keeffe in the national senior championships last year.

Catriona Cuddihy, (Loreto, Kilkenny) completed a double with powerful performances in the senior girls' 400m in 56.26 her sister Joanne holds the record at 55.26 and the 400m hurdles which she won in 61.85 secs.

In the senior girls 800m, Elizabeth McWilliams, (Loreto, Coleraine) smashed the old record with a 2:10.07 run but the race was not competitive enough to carry her to a world junior qualifying standard.

The intermediate boys 800m resulted in a victory for the favourite, David McCarthy, (St. Augustine's, Dungarvan) in 1:58.93 while there was an even more impressive performance from his rival, Ciaran O Lionaird, (De La Salle, Macroom) who led all the way to win the intermediate boys' 1,500m in 4:03.07.

The intermediate girls' track events highlighted the emergence of a rare new talent in Laura Crowe, (Presentation Tralee) who coasted to victory in the 800m. She chose the 300m to complete a very impressive double.

Philip Conway's programme at Belvedere again reaped a healthy reward when the college took all the major boys trophies; junior, inter, and the College of Science trophy for the senior boys in the throwing events.