Welcome to the Bish Athletics Page

BISH TRIUMPHS AT CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

Three Bish teams were in action at the Galway Regional Cross-Country championships on Wed 27 Jan. The weather was on our side and ground conditions were solid. All of our athletes performed exceptionally well on the day. For many Minor athletes it was their first outing at a Cross Country race.

In the Minor category Colm Kilduff had a top 10 finish and has qualified for the Connaught championships.

The Junior race was a thriller, with the Bish team pushing for top honours all throughout the race. In the end only a sprint finish separated last years champion Colm Hughes from his team mate Ben Murphy. A fine run from Philip McEntee helped the Junior team to first place and qualification for the Connaught championships.

The ‘Bish’ Intermediate team was largely made up from last year’s championship team and were expected to do well. The team did not disappoint. Shane broke away from the pack for an early lead but was a little too optimistic considering he was nursing a cracked rib, but managed a very credible 9th place. Cian Corcoran challenged for the pack of the front pack and secured 5th place even with a knee injury that has hampered his training regime. Brian Hyland has regained his form from last year and pushed hard to challenge for a podium finish, securing 2nd place for the ‘Bish’. Kyle Tobin put in a fantastic effort to record an 8th place finish. The team combined to clinch another first place in the team event.

The Connaught Championships are to be held in St. Mary’s on Thursday the 11th of Feb. We wish the lads the best.


BISH STUDENT WINS SILVER FOR IRELAND IN ATHLETICS IN SCOTLAND

Bish student Evan McGuire put in an excellent performance at the International Combined Schools Championship in Scotland over the weekend. Evan finished an incredible 7th place overall helping the Irish team to a silver medal.

The combined events is a tough and extremely difficult event with athletes taking part in the 800m, 200m, 80m hurdles, shot putt and long jump. Evan has done The 'Bish'; Claregalway his home town; the County of Galway and Athletics Ireland proud with a superb performance. Evan is pictured above in the centre with his teammates. Congratulations again Evan.

Evan McGuire (7th individual place)
800m - 2m20secs                200m - 24.5secs         Hurdles - 9.12secs
Long Jump - 5m59cm          Shot Putt - 10m25cm

Team results
1st - England
2nd - Ireland
3rd - Scotland
4th - Wales

Cross Country
The 'Bish' Cross-Country teams were in excellent form last week, competing in the second annual St Marys College Invitational Cross-Country Event. The event was held on Thursday 26th. Despite the appaling weather representatives from eight schools around the Galway and Mayo were represented.

The minor boys managed a very credible 3rd team place overall with many athletes competing for the first time. The junior boys were without the impressive Colm Hughes due to sickness but a superb race by Ben Murphy (2nd Yr) clinched first individual position and a joint first place for the Junior team. 

The Intermediate team followed on last years success with an impressive victory in St. Mary's. Cian Corcoran was in flying form and continued his winning ways with a first individual place. Adrian Hardiman, Kyle Tobin and Shane Fahey joined Cian in the top tean and ran away with team honours with 20pts compared to 48pts for second place.

Well done to all athletes involved. Full results are available on the following link over at the St. Mary's webpage.

www.stmaryscollege.ie/invitational-results-2009/

Combined Events
The Bish Athletics year is in full swing. The school had two champions crowned at the recent Connacht Schools Combined Events Championships. James Mitchell was crowned the Minor champion along with Evan McGuire at junior level. Aaron Broderick, Adrian Hardiman, Ronan Kelly,  and Shane Fahy also preformed well on the day. 

Evan went to a superb 2nd place in the All-Ireland championships in Tullamore. His outstanding performance has been awarded with a place on the Irish squad for the up and coming schools international event to be held in December in Glasgow.
 

Cross Country
The cross country season is about to get under way. The club championships were held on October 4th and School team members Colm Hughes, Cian Corcoran, Shane Fahy and Adrian Hardiman put in some fine performances and look to be on track to capturing the schools Connacht title this year.

The Bish are looking to improve even further on last years results (Minor - 3rd, Intermediate 2nd Connacht/9th Ireland)

Training takes place every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday lunchtime. Please assemble outside the changing room. Training is open to all students and all fitness levels. Every student will be accommodated.


 

BISH RUN 300

The 'Bish' took part in a NationWide 'Mile Challenge' on Friday the 24th of October. The 'Mile Challenge' is in association with Athletics Ireland and the Irish Schools Athletic Association.

We had glorious weather for the challenge and all students who partook in the challenge managed to complete the mile. All of the 1st and 2nd year classes took part along with a number of students from 3rd, 5th and 6th year. Almost 300 students took part in the event. The challenge was completed on the Dangan running track (a thank you to the university for the permission).

The 1610m was just over 4 laps of the track and all the students were timed. Some of the results were fantastic with a large contingent running under 6 minutes, a handful of students almost broke 5 minutes, we definitely have some stars for the future. The times for the top 52 entrants are posted on the sports notice board outside the hall. All students who took part in the event will be receiving a coloured wristband from Athletics Ireland as a token of their participation. A big thank you to Mr. Madden, Mr Cusack, Mr Murray and Ms. Waldron for all the help in planning and running the event.

The 'Bish' Athletics team are currently in training for the up and coming schools cross-country championships. Training takes place on Monday lunchtime in the swamp and on Wednesday lunchtime in Dangan. Students meet before each session outside the changing rooms. All students (beginners and advanced) are welcome. Contact Mr. Murray.

Finally a big congratulations to Shane Maloney, Brian Hyland, Sean Diskin and Alan Campbell who competed in the All-Ireland track and field championships last May. The event took place on the Saturday after school finished for the year. The lads did the school proud. Shane Maloney came a fantastic 5th in Ireland in the 200m sprints.