On Wednesday evening, the senior Striders were competing at Day 2 of the Wexford Track & Field Championship. There was plenty of excitement in both the track and the field events and having four Striders ladies teams face the starter in the 4 X 100m relay, was a real club highlight. Also noticeable was the large number of athletes progressing from our juvenile section to our senior section, with great success. Aedan Rogers, John McGrath and Pat O’Callaghan were all dual medal winners, in their respective middle distance races. Nic Walkden continues his fantastic first year in competitive athletics, winning both his middle distance and sprint events. After years of underage success, the Striders ladies Grace Costello, Rebecca Bawden and Alannah Byrne had a fantastic first, second and third in their 3,000m event. At the same distance, Emmett Malone had a solid run, finishing well up the field. At 800m, it was no surprise to see Leinster and National medal winner Sonya Byrne claim a county gold medal.
Aine Cullen won our only hurdles medal, with a second place over 400m. Linda Barry, Lettie Roche, Sandra Young, Colin Carney and Gavin Kelly all performed really well to win medals in their various sprint events. Our leading high jumper, Ciara Kelly, won our only medal in the field events, with another fine effort. The evening ended on a high with a relay silver medal for Aoife Muldoon, Alannah Byrne, Rebecca Baldwin and Grace Costello. The Striders had an additional three teams with Linda Barry, Sonia Tierney, Paula Freeman, Sonya Byrne, Grainne Flannelly, Ciara Kelly, Joanne Kelly, Sandra Young, Aine Cullen, Lettie Roche, Sarah Boland and Catriona McLoughlin all performing, in an amazing event for the club. The final medal of the evening went to the senior men relay team of Aedan Rogers, Nic Walkden, Gavin Kelly and Colin Carney, who won bronze.
