Finn Valley AC women place sixth at National Indoor League final

Finn Valley AC’s senior women were sixth in the 123.ie National Indoor League final on Saturday.

At the National Indoor Arena in Abbotstown, the Finn Valley AC team took 56 points. When the sums were totted, Finn Valley were 22 points off Dooneen AC in third while Dundrum South Dublin (100) took gold and Ratoath AC (91) were the silver medal winners.

Lauren Callaghan, who broke the Donegal record twice in recent weeks - her best a 6.40m leap in Glasgow - won the long jump.

Callaghan grabbed maximum points when jumping to 6.15m to take nine points.

The Crossroads woman won both Irish indoor and outdoor senior championship golds in 2025 and has started this year with real purpose.

Leah O’Gara maintained her excellent showing so far this year when taking second in the 1500m race walk.

O’Gara finished in 6:46.36 - a new Donegal record - with the time around 30 seconds quicker than an outing just a week earlier.

O’Gara has also competed this year at the XXXVII Gran Premio de Marcha Atlética Ciudad de Guadix, where she was third, and just before Christmas she was second at a World Athletics Race Walking Tour bronze level meet in Dublin.

The European U18s in Italy, which take place in June, will be on the crosshairs of the Loreto, Letterkenny student, who was second to Ciara Wilson Bowen from Dundrum South Dublin, who won in 6:41.14.

Arlene Crossan was second in the 200m, going around a lap of the arena in 24.82 seconds. The race was won by Katie Doherty from Ratoath AC in 24.76 seconds.

Three evenings earlier, when competing at a Track and Field Live meet, Crossan broke the Donegal indoor 400m record when winning in 54.18 seconds - taking out the 54.42 set by Letterkenny AC’s Erin Friel last March in the process.

A couple of weeks ago, Crossan had lowered the Finn Valley club record in the indoor 200m to 24.28 seconds.

Tara Rose Smith, another who has been in fine fettle since the calendar turned, was second in the 800m, clocking 2:15.71 to win her heat and only Clonlifee’s Niamh Kelly (2:14.57) in another heat went faster.

On Wednesday night, the 15-year-old Smith won an 800m at Track and Field Live, also at the National Indoor Arena, when clocking a scintillating 2:10.09.

The ever-reliable Bridget McDyer finished second in the weight for distance. McDyer reached out to a best of 6.16m on her fourth go, bettered only by Dooneen AC’s Olga Nedvede.

McDyer also threw out to 9.42m for fourth in the shot put.

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Catriona Devine was fifth in the 3000m (11:16.60); Sally McMenamin took eight seconds off her previous best for sixth in the 1500m (4:58.07); Amy Timoney was sixth in the 60m (7.92 seconds); the 4x400m relay team of Kayla Bruce, Sally McMenamin, Tara Rose Smith and Leah O’Gara were seventh in 4:26.63; while Beth Malone was eighth in the triple jump (8.29m); and Kayla Bruce was eighth in the 400m (70.71 seconds).