Over the weekend the Dublin Juvenile Championships took place, spread over three days. Morton Stadium on Friday and Saturday was the venue, with the finale in Tallaght on the Sunday. Our young athletes put in some terrific performances which gave the club a haul of 3 Gold, 4 Silver and 5 Bronze medals. As well as the medals, there was a host of PBs, semi finalists, Finalists and some exciting championship debuts also. Friday saw Matthew Smyth placed 9th and Ryan O'Neill 4th in the U/10 Boys 500m. The exciting Zoe Ritchie took gold in the U10 500m Girls with sister Jodie finishing 6th. Charlotte Burge battled to 12th position in the Girls U/11 600m. In the Girls U/12 600m, Sophie Fasenfeld came 10th, and Lucie Ritchie finished 4th to qualify for Sunday's final. In the Girls U/13 600m Sophie Ritchie was 2nd and Alannah Fasenfeld came 5th, qualifying for the final. The last Rathfarnham athlete in action for the night was Richard Keogh in the Under 18 800m. Richard stormed home in second place to secure silver. Saturday started as Friday ended with Richard winning another medal - this time bronze in the Boys Under 18 400m. Next up was our hurdlers! In the Girls U13 60m Clodagh Cullen was 3rd in her heat, just missing out by the narrowest of margins at semi final stage. Alannah Fasenfeld fared better, reaching the final and securing bronze. In the Girls U/14 75mH Caoibhe Kelders finished 5th in her heat. Our best success of the day in the field events was with Isabel Mullarney who captured gold in the Girls U/18 Javelin, throwing 26.7m. Sophie Ritchie was also successful in Javelin - in the Girls U/13 she threw 16.28m, finishing 2nd. Sophie picked up a second silver in the shot put, throwing 8.67m, and Alannah Fasenfeld finished 4th. On the track, Ian Kirwan was 2nd in his heat, and came 6th in the final of the Boys U/14 200m. Hugh Prendergast made his Championship debut in the U/16 200m, finishing 3rd in the straight final. A delighted Hugh  headed straight to the airport with medal in suitcase to start his holidays! The Girls U/17 saw Megan Doyle also make her Championship debut. Megan put in a brave performance against top quality opposition. Tallaght was the scene for the final day's action. As well as being treated to some top quality athletics action, we where also treated to some warm summer-like conditions which added to the enjoyable experience. First off was Lucie Ritchie who placed 8th in the final of the Girls U/12 600m. Next up was the final of the Girls U/13 800m. Sophie Ritchie grabbed a bronze and Alannah Fasenfeld was 14th in a tough race. In the Girls U/18 Shot Put, Isabel Mullarney won gold with a throw of 10.65m. The sprinters were next in action! The Under 12 Girls 60m saw Anna Doyle make her debut, with Elena Cullen, Abbey Kelly and Sophie Fasenfeld all putting in good performances. In the Under 12 Boys 60m, Billy Conroy Roche just missed out on the final as the fastest loser. In the Under 13 Girls 80m, Clodagh Cullen, Alannah Fasenfeld and Sophie Ritchie all came through their heats to lose out at semi final stages. In the Under 14 Girls 80m Caoibhe Kelders was 6th in her heat. Isabelle Doyle was 1st in her heat and advanced to the final in which she added a brilliant silver medal to the bronze she won on Saturday. Isabelle brought the weekend to a glorious conclusion, in which all Rathfarnhams athletes, Boys and Girls, can be very proud of their performances. Well done also to all the parents for their assistance and help over the course of the three days. Full results will appear on the Dublin Athletics website. Next up is the Uneven Age Relays on Friday 12th June in Tallaght @ 7pm.

Some of the Juveniles from the weekend action

Hugh Prendergast u/16 200m Bronze

Sophie Ritchie, Isabelle Doyle and Clodagh Cullen

Our youngest athletes from the club were in action on Saturday in Morton Stadium. There was terrific performances by all involved, which brought a nice medal haul. Making her competition debut for the club was Poppy Mc Glynn who made quite an impression! Poppy teamed up with Jodie Ritchie and ran in the sprints. However, their big success came in long distance in the 300m where the two girls won team gold, Poppy winning her heat and Jodie third. Poppy teamed up with Zoe Ritchie in the team Long Jump, this time winning bronze. Not to be outdone the Boys also had success, with Ryan O'Neill and Dara Mulvihill winning  team silver in 500m, with Ryan 1st and Dara 2nd in his heats. Matthew Smyth and Cillian Mc Cabe also competed and were very close to the podium with good performances in the Long Jump competition. Well done to all! Full results will appear on the Dublin Athletics website.

Dara Mulvihill and Ryan O'Neill with their team silver for 500m

Balmy weather greeted our young athletes on Saturday at Morton Stadium for the final league meeting of the series. The perfect conditions where a stark contrast to the "monsoon Saturday" which we all endured a few weeks previous at the same venue. There was a early start for our girls in the hurdles, all of who where making their debuts in this event for the club. Against tough opposition our debutants gave a good account of themselves. In the Under 13 Girls 60m H, Alannah Fasenfeld was 1st in her heat, and Clodagh Cullen 4th. In the U/14 Girls 75m H Caoibhe Kelders was 4th in her heat. Later in the  Under 10 Girls 60m, Zoe and Jodie Ritchie both ran, with Zoe reaching the final. In the Boys U/10 60m, Dara Mulvihill, Ryan O'Neill and Liam Kelders ran, with Dara reaching the final. Cian Mulvihill put in a strong performance in the Boys U/12. The trio of Sophie Fasenfeld, Elena Cullen and Lucie Ritchie ran in the Girls U/12 80m. In the Girls U/13 we saw Sophie Ritchie, Alannah Fasenfeld and Clodagh Cullen. Ian Kirwan finished 4th in the Boys U/14 80m. Hugh Prendergast also was 4th, this time in the Boys U/16 100m. In the longer distances, Zoe Ritchie romped home 1st in the 300m Girls U/10. Jodie Ritchie also ran. In the Boys U/10 300m Ryan O'Neill and Dara came home strongly, and Lucie Ritchie and Elena Cullen in the U/12 Girls 500m.Cian Mulvihill ran in the U/12 Boys 500m. In the Girls U/13 500m, Sophie Ritchie was our top finisher coming 2nd in her heat. Clodagh Cullen and Alannah Fasenfeld also ran. Our last representive of the meeting Ellie Stapleton put in a brave performance in the Girls U/14 1000m. During the course of the day we had athletes in the Long Jump, Shot put and Turbo Javelin. Full results will appear on the Dublin Athletics Board website. All in all a very encouraging day's performances by our young athletes, who can now look forward to the Dublin Championships with a lot of confidence. All that training is now begining to pay off Boys and Girls, well done to all! Next fixtures are the Dublin Juvenile Championships on the 5th, 6th & 7th June 2015, at Morton Stadium and Tallaght AC.

Left: Alannah Fasenfeld on her way to victory in the Girls U/13 60m hurdles and right: Elena Cullen U12 Girls in long jump action.

Yesterday, the third series of Juvenile leagues took place at Tallaght AC. A total of 18 young athletes took part wearing Rathfarnham colours. Under 14 Girls  400m featured Isabelle Doyle who finished 2nd in her heat. Ian Kirwan Under 14 Boys  400m came in a strong 3rd position. Under 16 Boys 400m, Hugh Prendergest 4th in heat. Jodie and Zoe Ritchie ran in Under 10 Girls 500m, Zoe winning her heat in great style. Boys under 10, Ryan O'Neill 4th, Dara Mulvihill 6th, Simon and Oscar Comerford made their track debuts. Under 12 600m Girls, Lucie Ritchie, Abbey Kelly, Elena Cullen and Sophie Fasenfeld all featured. Under 13 Girls 600m, Sophie Ritchie 1st and Fortune Chukwu 3rd in same heat. Clodagh Cullen and Alannah Fasenfeld also ran. Our last representive was Ellie Stapleton who put in a fine performance in Girls Under 14 1500m. The days action wasn't confined to the track, as the boys and girls also entered Long Jump, High Jump and Javelin in their respective age groups. Well done to all! Full results will follow on dublinathletics website. Next fixture, League 4, Saturday 23rd May 2015, Morton Stadium @ 10am.