Athletics
Athletics Report 2022 - 2023
Friends’ pupils competed in the District Championships in the usual 2nd week in May. This year we had an amazing 80 athletes taking part, representing Friends’ School Lisburn in a wide range of events across all age groups.
The following athletes qualified for Ulster Championships finals as a result of finishing in the top 3 at District level.
Year 8
Madison Welby- 1st 800m, 3rd Long Jump
Relay Team- Lucie O’Hara Bouvet, Rebekah Garrett, Madison Welby, Amy Lyons (2nd Place)
Year 9-
Niamh Latuske- 1st 100m
Rebecca Lowe- 1st Hurdles and 1st Javelin
Freddie Wallace- 3rd Long Jump
Minor Girls Relay- Amelia Stone, Niamh Latuske, Anna Monaghan, Rebecca Lowe (3rd Place)
Year 10-
Erin Mallon- 1st Shot Putt
Year 11-
Fay Hatwell- 3rd High Jump
Kristen Cushnie- 1st Shot Putt
Ruby Kennedy- 3rd Hurdles, 1st Long Jump
Joseph Proctor English- 1st High Jump
Inter Boys Relay- Luke Stewart, Luke Walker, Matthew Muguti, Joseph Proctor English (3rd Place)
Seniors-
Sophie Reid- 2nd Long Jump, 2nd Triple Jump
Ella Latuske- 1st 1500m
Stephen Lyster- 3rd 800m
Madison Sandeman- 3rd Long Jump
David Dunlop- 2nd Javelin
Ulster School Championships
The following week Friends’ athletes competed in the Ulster Schools Championships at Antrim Forum.
A stand out performance from Madison Welby set the morning off to a great start. Madison came 1st in the 800m with a time of 2minutes and 24 seconds, less then a second off the Ulster Schools 800m record. This is an amazing achievement, and I am sure Madison will be chasing down this title again next season.
Niamh Latuske ran a superb 100m heat which qualified her for the final. In a very tight photo finish Niamh finished in 3rd place.
Rebecca Lowe finished 6th in the 75metre hurdles and 4th in Javelin throwing 23m 52cm.
The relay team ran a superb heat and finished 5th overall in the final.
Freddie Wallace finished 6th in the junior long jump, jumping 4m70cm.
Erin Mallon performed well in the shot putt and came 6th overall.
The Inter team achieved some solid performances, Faye Hatwell finishing 6th in the High Jump and Ruby Kennedy finishing 4th in the Long Jump. Other members of the inter team were unable to complete on the day due to injury.
Stephen Lyster finished in 4th in a very fast 800m race with a time of 2min 3sec just missing out on qualifying for the All-Ireland event.
Sophie Reid competed in both the Long Jump and Triple Jump and secured 3rd in both events. This great achievement qualified Sophie for the All-Ireland Championships which would take place in June.
Irish School Championships
Sophie Reid made the trip down to Tullamore to the Irish Schools Championship in June. It is a fantastic achievement to even qualify for this National event. Sophie competed in the Long Jump and Triple Jump and secured a solid 9th and 11th place.
Well done to all our athletes who took part in District, Ulster and Irish events this year. We look forward to seeing more progress being made next year on the track.
Cross Country Report 2022 - 2023
Friends’ every year has an enthusiastic group of pupils who take part in the Ulster Schools Cross Country Championships. Some pupils may be more involved in others sports but are naturally fit and enjoy the endurance challenge Cross Country running offers. However, over the last decade Friends’ have produced some stunning performances by individual athletes who train and also compete outside school for their clubs. Their dedication and commitment are commendable especially in the Northern Ireland, often harsh, winter weather conditions.
The season always begins with the District Championships held at Ormeau Park in late January. Congratulations goes to all our pupils who competed in very windy conditions at in the District Cross Country Championships. The results were as follows:
District Championships
The mini girls team of Madison Welby, Lydia Maxwell, Lucy O'Hara Bouvet, Belema Sotonye- Frank, Macy McFarland, Rebecca Buchanan finished 6th in the team event. Madison Welby put in an outstanding performance and finishing comfortably in 1st place to qualify for the Ulsters.
The mini boys team Fraser Dunlop, Oliver Cromie, Alexander Martin, Aaron Adams, Ryan Robinson, Scott Miller, Craig Markwell and Rory Stewart finished 5th place in the team event. Fraser Dunlop had an excellent run finishing in 2nd place and qualifying for the Ulsters.
The Minor girls team of Rebecca Lowe, Niamh Latuske, Sarah Reynolds, Anna Monaghan, Erin McCourt finished 3rd in the team event which qualified them for the Ulsters. Individually Niamh finished in 5th place and Rebecca in 9th place.
The Minor boys team of Caleb Lewis, Noah McCaugh, Hugo Twene, Charlie White, Jack Heanan, Aidan Lough, Jonathan Gawn, Cian Suitor finished 2nd in the team event which qualified them for the Ulsters. Caleb finishing 7th, Charlie 10th and Jack 12th in what was a very strong performance from the boys.
The Junior girls team of Emma McEntee, Aoife Mackle, Cara Burns, Lila Uprichard, Lily Simmons, Molly Major as a team finished in 6th place with Emma finishing in 14th place to qualify as an individual for the Ulsters.
The junior boys team of Austin Curran, Bradyn Shannon-King, Charlie Bland, Oran Lynch, Matthew Morrow, Luke McClelland, Ben Garrett, David Smith finished 6th in the team event.
The Inter girls team Lydia Rapanou, Isobel Lyons, Charis Faulkner, Fay Hatwell, Siofra Lavery finished in 5th place. Individually Lydia finished 11th, Fay 18th and Charis 19th.
The senior girls had one runner which was Ella Latuske who finished in 5th place and qualified for the Ulsters.
The inter boys team had one individual runner which was Rory McCamphill who finished an impressive 5th place. The senior boys had Thomas McCavigan running and finishing 10th place. Both boys qualify for Ulsters
Ulster Championships
In the Ulster Cross Country Championships at Mallusk Playing Fields where the Friends’ pupils performed magnificently.
Unfortunately Madison was ill and could not run. The Mini girls finished 8th as a team, with
Rebecca Lowe 21st, Niamh Latuske 19th, Sarah Reynolds 90th, Anna Monaghan 87th and Erin McCourt 92nd.
The individuals Emma McEntee finished 58th in the Junior girls, Lydia Rapanou 49th in the Inter girls and Ella Latuske 25th in the Seniors.
Fraser Dunlop was injured and unable to run. The minor boys team had a successful day and finished 3rd which qualified them for All Irelands. Caleb Lewis 26th, Noah McCaugh 51st , Hugo Twene 129th, Charlie White 29th, Jack Heanan 39th , Mark Hortiguela Conn 139th, Jonathan Gawn 106th, Cian Suitor 138th.
Rory McCamphill finished 23rd in the Inter boys race.
L Hughes
