A very successful day was had for Knockbeg College at the Laois Secondary Schools Cross Country Championships at Emo Court, Laois on Wednesday. In fresh and sunny conditions, over 20 medals were won overall with the Minor team placing 2nd, the Junior team 3rd and the Inter team 1st.
The minor boys set the bar over 1k with Jack Milton, in what was a nail biting finish, being pipped for first place and finishing 2nd. He left everything on the course and deserved his medal. Daniel Walsh also ran a very strong race and finished 3rd almost on Jack’s heals. Cillian Whearty and Harry Gordon ensured that the Knockbeg minor team received their well earned second place team medals.
With a slightly longer run of 2k the junior boys didn’t disappoint. Mackenzie McIvor broke away from the leading group in the second lap and came in a clear first place. Sean O’Sullivan stayed close to the leading group for the whole race and finished a strong 6th. With solid performances by Tom Hughes and Ben O’Gorman a bronze medal was guaranteed for the team. Well done also to Daniel Picovici, Darragh Loughman, Ray Glynn and Pierce O’Dwyer who performed well for the junior team.
As the distance increased to 3k the Inter boys stepped up to the mark. Darragh Kealy, Rory Gruffarty, Eoin Cawley, Lee Murray and Matthew Buggy all ran very well with notable performances by Darragh finishing 4th and Rory 8th . The whole team fought hard for places which resulted in gold medals for all.
T.J Burke, Patrick Kelly and Finn Cummins ran in the senior race over 3k. T.J was neck in neck with the leading group for the entire race and barely missed out on the gold medal. He finished a fantastic second place overall. Patrick, who was well in contention for most of the race finished in 5th and Finn also put in a solid performance. Well done to all our athletes on a very successful day out at the Laois Schools Cross Country Championships.
