St Pat’s Maghera athletes earn trip to Birmingham

The events are adapted and made suitable for the indoor arena but still guarantee the same high levels of effort, determination and competition among the many school pupils present.

From indoor sprints to distance runs and the high jump to standing broad and triple jumps the events demand a high level of fitness and expertise from the competitors. Pupils from the different schools are also selected to represent their respective counties in team events at different age groups.

St Patrick’s College Maghera brought a team of athletes to the finals day and their efforts on the day were well rewarded. Pride of place went to Year 11 pupil Dominic Bradley who was a very influential part of the Co Derry U15 team group which actually won the competition in their age group. As a result the team will have qualified for the UK Championships which will be held in Birmingham in April.

Dominic also secured two gold medal runs on the day and was joined on the medals list for St Patrick’s by Bernard Mellon (Gold and Silver), Sinead Mellon (Silver), Orla Higgins (2 silvers) and Aodhan Warnock (Gold, Silver and Bronze) while Year 8 pupil Cathair McGilligan also won Gold in the competition despite being a year young in the event.

It had been a busy few days for the St Patrick’s Athletics group as they had also travelled on the previous day to the NEBSSA X-Country event held in Ballyclare – top performing runners on the day were Sinead Mellon Yr10 – 4th place, Eilish McGrath Yr 9 – 6th place, Orla Corrigan Yr 8 – 15th place.

RIGHT: The medal winners at the Ulster Indoor Athletics from St Patrick’s Maghera