Write a commentSt Colman’s College 2010 All Ireland Schools Cross Country Champions
What a momentous day for St Colman’s College Newry on Saturday at Cork’s Institute of Technology sports grounds at Bishopstown in Cork. It was a double celebration for the college as Andrew Monaghan also took the individual gold ahead of the much fancied Sean Tobin of High School Clonmel with his twin brother Patrick finishing fourth.
All the top schools athletes from all over Ireland had converged at Cork IT for the 54th running of these prestigious championships. With no rain in the area for the past 5 weeks and not a hill in sight it was anything but a typical cross country course. It was absolutely pancake flat and the going was extremely fast, well suited to the Monaghan twins but not really favourable to the rest of the St Colman’s team of Conor Gribben Thomas Mulholland James O’Keefe Conal Gough and Ryan Johnston all of whom coped well in the muck when winning the Ulster Title at Mallusk 10 day previously.
The start was a very quick affair with Finn Corrigan of St Michael’s Enniskillen prominent at the front , the pace never really settled but soon enough the Monaghan twins made their way to the front of the group along with the Leinster champion Steven Attride and race favourite Sean Tobin the Munster Champion.
The rest of the St Colman’s team were spread between 30th and 50th in the 200 plus field keeping an eye on the team from Douglas Community College Cork who were seen as the main rivals for the team prize. Midway through the second of two laps Patrick Monaghan increased the tempo and Andrew went with him and soon a 15 second gap opened up on the rest of the field. Andrew then took up the challenge and pushed on ahead gaining a 30 yard advantage on his twin brother. Sean Tobin and Steven Attride now realising that this was the key break in the race started to give chase behind the two St. Colman’s boys.
Meanwhile in the pack Conor Gribben and Thomas Mulholland were establishing good positions, now vital as Douglas Communuty College were packing very well with 3 of their scoring four within 4 places of each other. Meanwhile up front Sean Tobin had caught and passed Patrick and was making a bold move to get onto the heels of Andrew, however Andrew stayed relaxed and pushed on harder and try as he might he could not make up deficit and Andrew went on to a clear win with a margin of 15 seconds to spare. Unfortunately for Patrick a stumble near the finish cost him the individual bronze as Steven Attride took full advantage to claim 3 rd spot. The team race was now at a crucial stage and Conor Gribben , Thomas Mulholland who were now making up the scoring four, dug deep , found new reserves over the final 1k and finished 36th and 50th respectively and ensured a fantastic win for St Colman’s College.
The performance of the Monaghan twins up front was crucial, as the College only had 5 points from its first two finishers ( lowest score wins) Conor Gribben and Thomas Mulholland, James O’Keefe, Conal Gough , and Ryan Johnstone also split up the scoring team from Douglas which had a hugely significant bearing on the destination of the team prize. The College also picked up the Brother Clarke Memorial Shield, awarded to the school with the best team score. A superb day for St Colman’s College.
