At the Irish Universities Indoor Track & Field Championships in Athlone I.T. on Friday 1st February, 13 medals were won by UCD students, two national records were broken and three further UCD club records were also broken.
After an 8.30am bus from Belfield the 36 strong team of men and women travelled to the newly build National Indoor athletics track on the Athlone campus.
Performance of the day went to PHD student Dave Tierney who won both the 16kg weight for distance throw in 11.08meters a new national record and the Shot Putt in 15.23meters, a new UCD club record, and PB. Fellow UCD student Diarmuid Hickey was 2nd in the Shot while 1st year Thomas Bouchier had a great first outing with a 3rd in the Weight.
Race of the Day went to UCD stalwart Ciara Everard who after disappointment last week jumped back in European Indoors selection race with a great win and new Irish university record running 2.04.81 a one second PB. In a Dramatic race Ciara looked extremely dominate throughout. The performance was impart down to Young Harriet Flynn a former All Ireland Schools 800meters winner who sacrificed her own chances to pace Ciara through 400meters.
Shauna Cannon in her first race back after a year in France, cruised her 400meter heat 57seconds flat and went on into the final to come 2nd in 56.15 seconds a New UCD club record by over a second.
Men’s Captain Dan King was another record brea
ker when the 16year old 800 meter mark of Olympian David Matthews was broken in coming 4th in the 800meters in 1.54.50, in a show of strength in depth UCD also finished 5th and 6th with Cathal Daly and Timothee Francony.
UCD’s Fastest man Jamie Davis did not disappoint winning his 60meters heat in 7.02seconds before finishing 3rd in the final in 7.01. Leading into the summer, Jamie a fantastic team player who never lets the side down will focus on guiding the fledgling sprint squad of Jack Saunders, Art O’Connor and David O’Halloran towards outdoors in Cork.
Other medal winners included Former Captain Richard Owens who after many years and much hyped talk finally didn’t bottle to finished 3rd in the men’s 1500meters in a PB of 3.57.86 behind two other both on the way to the European Indoors Championships in three weeks’ time. Christopher Johnston won his heat of the 3000meters in 8.36.98 to finished 2nd overall and will now turn his attention to winning varsity cross country on the 9th of March. Stephen Gaffney in his first outing for the college produced a 12.74meter jump to finished 3rd in the triple jump.
Fiona Dennehy was fantastic 2nd in the Women’s 1500m walk in 7.30.58 in one of the first races of the day, while masters’ student Sarah Doyle piped fellow UCD student Aisling Watters to 3rd in the 60meters hurdles in 9.63.
-Conall Devlin
