Phoenix athlete Paul Peppard had an outstanding run in the National U23 indoor final in Athlone on Sunday. Paul showed solid form in his heat where he made sure of qualification for the final with a time of 50.41 seconds. Having moved from 800m to 400m this year the final was going to be a difficult challenge against top class experienced 400m runners. Paul showed great tactical awareness in the race with the very talented prospect Brandon Array setting off at a blistering pace over the first 200m. The young Phoenix athlete looked to have lost too much ground but timed his effort perfectly to finish strongly passing slowing athletes to finish strongly in third place. Brandon Array from Blarney/Inniscara AC was the winner with Shane Irwin from Finn Valley second. Paul finished third with a new best time of 50.16 and was awarded with a well deserved National Bronze medal. Niamh Malone also took part in Athlone competing in the 60m Hurdles and 400m at junior level. This was also a switch from Niamh’s usual event of 400m hurdles. Well done to both these athletes as they continue to perform at the highest level. Good luck to our juveniles who compete in the Ulster indoors this weekend. We have a large number travelling on Saturday and Sunday and we wish them the very best of luck. There were some fine performances last week in Abbotstown at the NIA Live meet. This was a Great chance to get the 2018 Indoor season started. Indoor PBs for Sorcha O’Neill (400m), Niamh Malone (200m), and lifetime PBs for Andrew McKenna (800m) and Oran O’Caolain (3000m). Well done guys.
County Awards
The county annual awards took place last Friday night and a number of athletes were awarded prizes in recognition of their success at national level in 2017. Well done to Niamh Malone, Una McMahon, Ross Mioti, Conor Maguire, Michaela O’Hanlon and Macartan Kierans who all achieved great success in their events over the year. Well done to all and we wish them continued success in 2018. Congratulations to distance league prize winners Helen McCrystal and Audrey Harraghy who received their individual awards on Friday. Thanks and well done to all those who represented and scored points for phoenix during the league.
Monaghan Phoenix Athletic Club 