ULSTER & NI AGE GROUP XC CHAMPIONSHIPS
U14 Boys
On Sunday the junior cross-country season got off with a bang at Billy Neill playing fields in Comber. It was the NI & Ulster Even Age Group Championships and there was a massive entry at all ages. Memories of the horrendous weather the last time it was hosted 2 years ago were still fresh in everyone’s minds but it couldn’t have been more different. The sun shone, the wind was light and the ground was dry even though it had poured the night before.
The East Down AC junior entry list was depleted over the days beforehand for a number of reasons but in the end the club had 8 runners in 5 races. The runners were in age categories U10, U12, U14, U16 & U18 based on their age before the end of December 2021. Luke Napier was first up running in the U12 boys race (1500m) with his sister Cara running in the U14 girls race (2500m) just after. Cara was also the club’s only female junior running. This was their first race at this level and although they found the pace tough going they really enjoyed it and were excited to be part of an Ulster race with runners from all parts. Luke came 82nd out of 102 runners, the biggest junior field on the day, and Cara came 45th out of 94 runners.
Alex Robinson, Finn Gibney & Freddie Ferguson were next with 2500m in the U14 Boys’ Race. As always the start was a mad stampede. As with the Napiers, Alex and Freddie were young in their category and it was Freddie’s first race of this scale. At the finish Alex said he went off too hard but despite this he managed to come 27th out of 85 runners. Finn came 67th and Freddie 81st. 
As the runners get older the distance increases and so it was a tough 3500m which faced the U16 boys. Jacob Crawford & Oliver Robinson have been training hard over the last few months under the watchful eye of their coaches and race tactics were much discussed before the race. Ollie likes to lead from the front but was given strong advice to sit with the pack. He wasn’t sure if that helped when he got hemmed in on the first shorter lap of the course in the big leading bunch. Jacob was wisely sat close to Ollie but managed to stay out of trouble. The U16 race was the first to include a bigger lap which started with a long uphill section. Thankfully the wind was behind them for part of the lap as it had picked up a bit. This was Jacob’s first XC race for EDAC and he did the club proud coming 14th out of 67 runners. Ollie was just behind in 16th place with a sprint finish after struggling with a stitch for over half of the race. Last up for the juniors was MacKenzie Murray in the 4000m U18 boys race. He stayed resolute with the tough competition and came 23rd out of 41 runners. The standard at the Age Groups is high so all the EDAC Juniors should be proud of how they performed.
ALL IRELAND HONOURS
As well as medals and podiums on the day, runners are seeking qualification for the All Irelands either as an individual or via slots based on the placing of their club or County. It is fantastic that as a result of their efforts that Alex Robinson and Finn Gibney (U14), Jacob Crawford and Ollie Robinson (U16) and Mackenzie Murray (U18) have all qualified to run for the County Down team in Santry Dublin on the 21st November. This All Ireland event will literally take them to another level and is an exciting achievement. Well done boys!