The tone was set early in the day, with Luke Power making history as the first athlete from the area to reach the All Ireland finals, with a convincing win in the Boys U8 80 meters. Emer Dunphy had the finish of the day, sprinting the last hundred in the U14 800 meters to make third place. Killian Doyle had a very impressive third place in the U12 600M. Phillip Dunne having won his heat had a great run in his sprint final, achieving a bronze medal. Kalle Young lead from the start with a brave and impressive run in the U16 1500M, against a very experienced field. Zak Kennedy took an historic Javelin Gold in our first ever field event win, while Conor Foley gave serious concern to some slick opposition in the U16 discus.
In the relays, the local teams stepped up with some gripping displays. The girls U14 team of Leah Murray, Emer Dunphy, Cíara Smith, Sontae Jackson bringing home bronze. The boys U16 team will represent kilkenny after today's unmatched performance by taking gold. The very capable team included Kalle and Oscar Young, Jack Hayes, with Conor Foley bringing home a second medal. The boys U12 `team of Killian Doyle, Karl McCoy, Evan Doyle and Cian Horgan came in third in a very exciting final. Killian Doyle also got time to squeeze in another Bronze in the long puck.
Outside of the medal winners, there were great performances in heats and finals, with a few near misses, with Windgap GAA jerseys very much to to the fore all day.
While the local team were short on experience in their first year, they were never short of the trademark passion and pride, that the area has always been well known for.
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