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Reports - September 2011


27 September » 20 September » 13 September » 6 September »

27 September 2011

Last Saturday Mark Rogers of Dromiskin-based St Peter's AC brought the curtain down on his long track and field season with a fine 7th place finish in the Irish Schools' Combined Events' Championships at Santry in Dublin. He was representing St Joseph's CBS, Drogheda, in the Intermediate (U17) Hextathlon. Considering that he will still be eligible to compete in this same age group in 2012 and 2013, it was a particularly commendable performance.

Mark set new personal bests in two of his six events in amassing a total of 3199 points. He took over a second off his previous PB in the 100m Hurdles to stop the clock at 15.7 seconds and added 4cm to his old Long Jump PB as he broke the sand at 5.43m. These performances earned him 595 and 467 points respectively.

In terms of points scored Mark's best event in Santry was the 800m, in which he clocked 2:09.81 for 604 points. This was the 2nd fastest time recorded on the day for the two-lap event. He was also the 2nd best performer in the High Jump, in which he cleared 1.70m to register 544 points.

The other two events were the Shot Putt, in which Mark recorded 10.35m for 507 points, and the 200m, where his 26.3 clocking scored 482 points.

Mark himself was somewhat unhappy with the overall level of his performance in the aftermath of the competition but acknowledged that it had been an excellent learning experience. He will certainly be aiming for a top four finish this time next year, which would ensure his selection for the Irish team to compete in the Anglo-Celtic Schools' Combined Events' Indoor International.

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20 September 2011

On Wednesday last two athletes from Dromiskin-based St Peter's AC represented their schools in the Leinster Schools' Combined Events' Championships at Santry in Dublin. Mark Rogers was particularly impressive in finishing 4th in the Intermediate (U17) Boys' Hexathlon, while Niamh Fussey also performed well to finish 8th in the Intermediate Girls' Pentathlon.

Mark was competing in the colours of St Joseph's CBS, Drogheda, and he set new personal bests in three of his six events to amass a total of 3230 points, a mere two points behind the bronze medallist. He improved his previous PBs in the 200m, 800m and Long Jump with performances of 25.6, 2:07.89 and 5.39m respectively.

Mark also established inaugural PBs in the 100m Hurdles (16.8) and with the 5kg Shot (10.62m). His 1.75m clearance in the High Jump, although 6cm below his best, was the highest achieved by any of the thirteen athletes in the competition.

Niamh was representing Scoil Uí Mhuirí, Dunleer, and she produced a fine series of performances to break the 2000-point barrier with a final total of 2011 points. Her best event on the day was the 80m Hurdles in which she clocked 13.5 seconds to register 620 points.

Niamh also did well in her other events , recording 3:00.07 in the 800m, 1.32m in the High Jump, 4.32m in the Long Jump and 5.07m with the 4kg Shot. Considering that she has already started into her winter training programme, which included a tough training session the previous evening, these performances were highly commendable.

Mark now advances to compete in the Irish Schools' Combined Events' Championships, which will be staged at Santry this Saturday. If he can hit top form once more, he may well surprise the opposition and finish well up the field. No doubt he will be an even stronger contender in these championships next year, as he will still be in the same age group in 2012.

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13 September 2011

The summer track and field season is now drawing to a close and several athletes are already looking forward to the imminent start of the cross country season. However Mark Rogers of St Peter’s AC is still focussed on the track and he will go into action once more this week when he competes in the Leinster Schools’ Combined Events’ Championships at Santry Stadium in Dublin on Wednesday.

Representing St Joseph’s CBS, Drogheda, the talented Togher youngster will tackle the Under 17 Hexathlon, which consists of the 200m, 800m, 100m Hurdles, High Jump, Long Jump and Shot Putt events.

Mark recently won the AAI Leinster Under 16 Pentathlon title in the colours of the Dromiskin-based club, but the Schools’ competition will be a bigger challenge for him for a couple of reasons. Firstly he will be competing against athletes up to two years older than himself, as there is no Under 16 age group in these championships. He will also be competing over hurdles set at a height of 3 feet (as opposed to 2 feet 9 inches) and throwing the heavier 5kg Shot for the first time in competition.

Nevertheless Mark will be aiming to finish among the top four in order to qualify for the Irish Schools’ Combined Events’ Championships, which will be contested at Santry on Saturday week. Performances in these championships will in turn determine the selection of the Irish team to contest the Anglo-Celtic Schools' Combined Events' Indoor International, which will be staged at the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow in early December.

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6 September 2011

The majority of the athletes at St Peter's AC are currently enjoying a well-earned end-of-season break from training. However it will not be long before they are hard at work again, as the club's regular twice-weekly training sessions resume on Tuesday 13th September. These sessions start at 6:30 p.m. each Tuesday and Thursday evening and continue until 7:30 or 8:00 p.m., with younger athletes normally finishing at the earlier time.

St Peter's AC uses the facilities of St Joseph's GFC at Commons Cross on the outskirts of Dromiskin village. These facilities include the Gaelic football field and the indoor community centre. There is also a community field at the back of the Gaelic football field which can be used for training in daylight hours. Facilities for athletics in the community field include a Tartan Long / Triple Jump runway and pit, and a concrete Shot Putt circle. There is a fee of 2 euro per family per week payable by athletes attending the club training.

St Peter's AC members come not only from its home base in Dromiskin and the neighbouring Darver area, but from a much wider area across County Louth. Any potential new members will be made very welcome at this friendly but progressive athletics club.

All athletes in the club are encouraged to take part in competitions. The sport of athletics includes a wide range of events, so there is an event to suit almost everyone. The competitive calendar for the next few months will be dominated by cross country races. After Christmas the indoor track and field season gets underway, while outdoor track and field competitions take centre stage from April to September. For more details on the club, visit www.stpetersac.com.

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