Odhran McBrearty leads the cast on medal-laden day for Finn Valley AC at Ulsters

Odhran McBrearty landed an impressive gold at the Ulster Even Age Group Cross Country Championships on Sunday.

The Finn Valley AC athlete won the U18 boys race after seeing off his old rival Harry McKenzie from Enniskillen at the Billy Neill Country Park in Belfast.

McBrearty topped the charts with about 14 seconds to spare on McKenzie while Lagan Valley’s Noah Harper was third.

Earlier this year, McBrearty - a student at St Columba’s College in Stranorlar - retained the Intermediate boys gold at the All-Ireland Schools Cross Country Championships.

McBrearty’s golden run helped to lead Finn Valley to team bronze and it was a dominant day for the Finn Valley club in terms of medals and stories. Mark Kearns (5), Mouchine Fathoun (25) and Ismael Fathoun (31) teamed up with McBrearty for bronze with Lagan Valley and Enniskillen first and second.

Holly McNulty, Anna Russell, Sophie Ellis and Nia Byrne teamed up for a Finn Valley AC U18 girls team bronze with McNulty taking an individual medal in 12th.

Sally McMenamin of Finn Valley was sixth in the U20 women’s race, which was won by Willowfield Harriers’ Lucy Foster.

Finn Valley AC’s Tara Rose Smith landed a fine silver in the U16 girls race, beaten only by Madison Welby from City of Lisburn. Smith guided the Finn Valley team to bronze with Saorla Gilligan (11), Andrea Reid (13) and Darcie Clarke (22) scoring.

The U16 Finn Valley AC boys of Mark Alexander, Caolan Gillespie, Lorcan Kelly and David Campbell bagged team silver medals while Cranford AC’s Ewan Summers grabbed an individual medal in 12th.

Caoimhe McNeill from Finn Valley AC won gold in the U14 girls race, while Katie McDowell of Letterkenny AC took an individual medal in 12th.

Finn Valley AC’s U14 boys were silver medallists with Cian Neeson in 10th the lead protagonist and he was joined by Evan Patton, Noah Davis and Kyle Doherty.

Zach McKinley won the bronze medal in the U12 boys to take Finn Valley AC to team gold. Shay McHugh in seventh also had a strong run with Darragh Coyle and Byron Boyle also scoring.

Tir Chonaill AC’s Oisin Gallagher pipped McKinley to silver in a tight finish, the race won by City of Derry Spartans’ Lukas Janosik. 

Finn Valley AC’s U12 girls surged to gold with Muireann Burke in sixth their first to finish. She was joined on the scoring team by Caitlin Gillespie (9), Emily McBride (10) and Erin Moy (11) all in the top 12.

Letterkenny AC earned silver, their side led by Eve Nic Giolla Bhain in third, while Sadie McDermott (7), Faye Laughlin (14) and Eimear Gallagher (22).

The Finn Valley AC U10 girls, led by race winner Cora Clarke and followed by Rhea Moy in fourth, won team gold. Cora and Rhea were joined by Enya Gallagher and Ailbhe Coyle.

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Rosses AC took team silver in the U10 girls with Aine Doherty, Mary Kate McDonald, Molly McCready and Alanna Lynch scoring. McDonald and McCready were seventh and 10th with Tir Chonaill AC’s Megan McBrearty taking an individual medal in 12th.

Bronze medallist Jude Martin led the charge for the U10 boys who also took team golds. He was joined by Blake Keenan (6), Eoin Cunningham (7) and Daithin Bonner (10) while Letterkenny AC’s Finn McMenamin was 12th.