Chesser takes Munster senior title

Rory Chesser, Ennis Track, produced a marvellous piece of running to win the senior men’s title at the Munster Senior and Junior Cross Country Championships and the juvenile inter-county relays for U-10, U-12 and U-14 at Carraig Na Bhfear in Cork.
In the junior men’s race, Cathal O’Connor, running with Dooneen AC and Clare, captured the silver medal, with Clare taking the inter-county award. Ennis Track won the inter-club title, with St John’s taking the bronze medals.
There was gold for Clare in the girls U-12 inter-county relays, while Clare captured silver medals in the girls U-10 and bronze in the boys U-10 and U-12.
In the inter-county relays, four out six Clare teams won medals. In the first race of the day, the girls U-10 4x250m, comprising Alex O’Neill, St Cronan’s; Tara Kelly, St Mary’s; Mary Conneally, St Cronan’s; Emer Hanrahan, Ennis Track  and Caoimhie Hogan, Kilmurry Ibrickane/North Clare, were just pipped on the line by Kerry and had to settle for silver.
In the boys U-10 race, three teams battled for gold coming down the home straight with Kerry taking the title from Tipperary and Clare taking the bronze medals, with Cian Shannon, Kilmurry Ibrickane/North Clare; Luke Callinan, St Mary’s; Kevin Hassett, St Mary’s and Thomas Clancy, St John’s, making up the team.
The girls’ U-12 4x500m team captured the gold medals with a team comprising Cliodhna Blake, Áine Rouine, Sharon Egan and Sinéad Hogan, with substitute Chantel Burke.
The boys’ U-12 4x500m team came up against a very good Cork team, which captured the gold medals with Limerick taking the silver medals. The Clare team of Mark Fennell, Jamie Roche, Paul Martin, Keith White and substitute Cathal O’Brien won the bronze medals.
In the final two relays, the girls’ U-14 500m and the boys’ U-14, both Clare teams gave a very good account of themselves but were just out of the medals when finishing in fourth place overall.
In the junior men’s 6,000m, Clare were well represented with three clubs, Ennis Track, St John’s and St Cronan’s, competing. All 15 Clare athletes settled in well over the three laps.
Darragh Lynch, Darragh Chesser and Aidan Kearney, all Ennis Track, were in the chasing group in the first lap. Early in the second lap, the leader, Shane Quinn, broke away and opened up a very big lead on the rest of the field.
With a lap remaining, Clare was battling with Cork for the team title, with Cathal O’Connor, Darragh Lynch, Noel Garry and Eoin Brew in the top 12. Cathal O’Connor had a good last lap to come through and take the silver medal, with Darragh Lynch a very good fourth, followed by Darragh Chesser, who came through to take sixth place, followed by Aidan Kearney in ninth, Noel Garry in 10th and Eoin Brew 13th for Clare to take the gold medals on 44 points.
The senior ladies race, run over a distance of 5,000m, was a mighty contest between Siobhan O’Doherty, Borrisokane, and Carmel Crowley, Bandon. Michelle O’Mahoney, Kilmurry Ibrickane/North Clare, led the Clare challenge, running in the top 10.
A few places further back was the Clare senior cross country champion, 19-year-old Claire Madigan, St John’s, with Marie Carey, Aishling Power, Deirdre Troy, Ita Hanrahan and Siobhán Lennon, all Ennis Track, and Noreen Mackey, Kilmurry Ibrickane/North Clare, all running very well in the top 20.
Over the final lap, Madigan produced a great turn of speed to finish in ninth position and she was the first Clare athlete home followed in 11th spot by Michelle O’Mahoney, with Marie Carey in 14th and Aishling Power 21st for Clare to take the silver medals on 55 points, with the gold going to Cork on 14 points.
In the inter-club title race, Ennis Track was going for three in-a-row but had to settle for fourth place in a race dominated by Cork clubs, Eagle AC, St Finbarr’s and Leevale.
The senior men’s 10,000m was run over five laps and all counties were well represented.
Seán McGrath and James McCarthy, both East Cork, set the pace for the first lap with Rory Chesser, Ennis Track, always looking comfortable.
Brian McGinley, Ennis Track, who is just back after a long lay-off due to injury, had settled in well in the top 12 after the first lap.
With two laps complete Rory Chesser, who is now based in London, went 30m clear and over his final two laps he went further away and he claimed a first Munster Senior Cross Country title from Brian McMahon, Cork and Liam Reale, Limerick.
Brian McGinley, running his first race in almost three months, finished ninth, with Brian Murphy 24th, Martin Glynn 28th, Martin Grealish 29th and Micheal Keane 33rd for Clare to win the bronze medals on 124 points, with gold going to Cork on 43 points and silver to Limerick on 90 points.
In the race for the inter-club title, East Cork dominated and won their eighth title in-a-row, with Limerick on 48 points and the bronze medals went to Ennis Track on 62 points.

Results
Girls’ U-10s 4x250m
1. Kerry
2. Clare (Alex O’Neill, Tara Kelly, Mary Conneally, Emer Hanrahan and Caoimhie Hogan)
3. Tipperary.

Boys’ U-10 4x250m
1. Kerry
2. Tipperary
3. Clare (Cian Shannon, Luke Callinan, Kevin Hassett, Thomas Clancy and Gavin Carr).

Girls’ U-12s 4x500m
1. Clare (Cliodhna Blake, Áine Rouine, Sharon Egan, Sinéad Hogan and Chantel Burke)
2. Kerry
3. Tipperary.

Boys’ U-12s 4x500m
1. Cork
2. Limerick
3. Clare (Mark Fennell, Jamie Roche, Paul Martin, Keith White and Cathal O’Brien).

Girls’ U-14s 4x500m
1. Cork   
2. Tipperary
3. Limerick
4. Clare (Siobhán Nestor, Rachel Clancy, Laura Power, Nollaig Blake and Anna Moloney).

Boys’ U-14s 4x500m
1. Kerry   
2. Tipperary
3. Cork
4. Clare (Michéal Moloney, Evan Courtney, Conor O’Brien, Eoin Hanrahan and Jack Devitt).
Senior ladies (5,000m)
1. Siobhán O’Doherty, Borrisokane
2. Carmel Crowley, Bandon
3. Rhona Lynch, Bandon
9. Claire Madigan, St John’s
11. Michelle O’Mahoney, Kilmurry Ibrickane/North Clare
14. Marie Carey, Ennis Track
21. Aishling Power, Ennis Track
22. Deirdre Troy, Ennis Track
26. Ita Hanrahan, Ennis Track
27. Noreen Mackey, Kilmurry Ibrickane/North Clare.

Inter-county
1. Cork = 22 points
2. Clare (9. Claire Madigan, 11. Michelle O’Mahoney, 14. Marie Carey and 21. Aishling Power) = 55 points
3. Waterford = 83 points.
Inter-club
4. Ennis Track = 81 points.

Junior men (6,000m)
1. Shane Quinn, Ferrybank
2. Cathal O’Connor, Dooneen  (Clare)
3. Peter Hanrahan, Togher
4. Darragh Lynch, Ennis Track
6. Darragh Chesser, Ennis Track
9. Aidan Kearney, Ennis Track
10. Noel Garry, St John’s
13. Eoin Brew, St John’s
18. Gavin Melican, St John’s
19. Kevin Chesser, Ennis Track
20. Domhnaill Rodgers, St Cronan’s
21. Shane Lynch, Dooneen (Clare)
22. Niall Leamy, St Cronan’s
24. Liam Clancy, St Cronan’s
25. Conor Cleary, St Cronan’s
28. Michael Ford, St Cronan’s
29. Shane Keane, St John’s.

Inter-county
1. Clare = 44 points
2. Cork = 53 points.

Inter-club
1. Ennis Track = 38 points
2. Togher = 61 points
3. St John’s = 70 points
4. St Cronan’s = 91 points.
Senior men (10,000m)
1. Rory Chesser, Ennis Track
2. Brian McMahon, East Cork
3. Liam Reale, Limerick
9. Brian McGinley, Ennis Track
24. Brian Murphy, Ennis Track
28. Martin Glynn, Ennis Track
29. Martin Grealish, Ennis Track
33. Michéal Keane, Ennis track
42. Danny Folan, Ennis Track
47. Fergal Smithwick.

Inter-county
1. Cork = 43 points
2. Limerick = 90 points
3. Clare = 124 points.

Inter-club
1. East Cork = 47 points
2. Limerick = 48 points
3. Ennis Track = 62 points.