In pictures: Finn Valley AC retain McGonagle Cup at Champions Cup Cross Country

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Finn Valley AC retained the McGonagle Cup at the Champions Cup Cross Country on Sunday in Stranorlar.

Former Irish athletics team manager Patsy McGonagle presented the McGonagle Cup to Finn Valley AC captain Holly McNulty following a dominant day for the home club.

Finn Valley AC had a clean sweep of team titles in the girls races, winning the U9, U10, U12, U14 and U16/18 crowns.

Finn Valley AC also won the U10, U14 and U16/18 team titles from the boys race with Milford AC winning the U9 boys team and Omagh Harriers AC taking the U12 boys honours.

The U16/18 boys race was enthralling and went all the way until the last few strides when Finn Valley AC’s Odhrán McBrearty finally out-kicked Michael Moore of Cranford AC.

McBrearty staved off Moore after an absorbing race that had the Fathoun brothers, Mouchine and Ismael, also in a leading group.

Odhran McBrearty, Mouchine Fathoun (3), Ismael Fathoun (4) and Mark Alexander  (6) landed the team title for Finn Valley AC.

Tara Rose Smith won the U16/18 girls race and it was another tight battle to the wire, Smith nipping ahead of Ballymena and Antrim AC’s Clodagh McSorley.

Finn Valley AC athletes Holly McNulty (3) , Andrea Reid (4), Saorla Gilligan (5), Abi McGeehan (6), Nia Byrne (7) and Jessica Lafferty (8) were all inside the top 10.

Caoimhe McNeill of Finn Valley AC edged out Lila McManus from Omagh Harriers and North Leitrim’s Caoimhe Murphy in the U14 girls race.

McNeill, Ciara McCusker (4), Aoibhinn Greene (8) and Caoimhe McElhinney (9) scored for the winning Finn Valley AC U14s.

Aodhan Corrigan won the U14 boys race from Finn Valley AC’s Cian Neeson and Cranford AC’s Ben McGee.

Neeson, Evan Patton (5), Dylan Temple (8) and Odhran Gallagher (9) were on the scoring team as Finn Valley took team gold.

Jackson Nellins of Ballymena and Antrim AC topped the charts in the U12 boys race ahead of an Omagh Harriers trio of James McCarron, Noah Kelly and James McCanny, who were joined by Toby Donnelly (12) to win the team prize.

In the U12 girls race, the top five finishers were all in Finn Valley AC singlets: Murieann Burke, Caitlin Gillespie, Sorcha Cunningham, Ellen Rose Carlin and Emily McBride.

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Omagh Harriers athlete Damian McAleer took the individual U10 boys title, followed by Finn Valley AC pair Jude Martin and Blake Keenan. Martin and Keenan were joined by Eoin Cunningham (6) and Caeden McMenamin (9) to win team gold.

Race winner Cora Clarke led the way for the Finn Valley AC U10 girls, backed up by Ailbhe Coyle (4), Enya Gallagher (5) and Freya Dorrian (10). Rosses AC duo Aine Doherty and Molly McCready were second and third. 

Caolan Agnew of Omagh Harriers won the U9 boys race ahead of Letterkenny AC’s Eoghan Sharkey and Milford AC’s Zach Bradley. It was Milford AC who took team honours with Bradley joined by Ruairi Bannan (4), Donnacha (7) and Christian Diver (18).

Rhea Moy and Aine Moy of Finn Valley AC were first and third in the U9 girls race, with Rosses AC’s Mary Kate McDonald in between them. The Moys, Elise Lafferty (6) and Malea Griffin (7) scored for the winning team.