Keeva Murray took most of the plaudits after finishing 3rd in the Girls u/15s race over 3 kilometres in the fourth and final Dublin Juvenile Cross Country league fixture, which took place at the Phoenix Park on Sunday. Keeva’s rising star can be marked by the fact that she only took up running in September of last year and in her previous league outing she had placed 6th. On Sunday she made a conservative start, placing 12th halfway round the first lap and then climbed to 4th by the end of the lap before gaining to 3rd in the second 1.5km circuit.

The race had a run-away winner in her team colleague Lucy McCann.  After coming under some pressure by a DSD athlete in the early stages Lucy proved her strength over the undulating terrain and opened an 80 metres lead by the finish line. Eliza Ni Thighearnaigh placed 10th in the same race.

In a very competitive Girls u/16s category Claire O’Connor placed an excellent 7th after 3.5 kilometres. This is arguably the toughest age group, but an improving Claire hopes to make the Dublin team when the Dublin Juvenile Cross-Country Championships for Even Age Groups are held at Raheny on the 3rd November.

Other strong performances from the Donore juvenile team came from Niamh O’Neill, second in the Girls u/17s race held over 3.5km; Niamh Dowling, first in the Girls u/19s over the same distance; Sean Kinsella 4th in the Boys u/10s race over 900 metres; and Jack Raftery 6th in the u/13s over 2.2km

Special mention must go to Ronan McCooey 29th in the Boys u/13s race. Ronan took a very heavy fall at the start of the race, but bravely picked himself up and despite feeling unwell made it to the finish line. Newcomer Angelika Gonia paid the price for a fast start and dropped out on the second lap of the Girls u/13s race. She will, however, benefit from the experience. Niamh Clarke came 24th in the same race after 2.2km.

Sophie O’Farrell (33rd) and Sadhbh Parker (37th) competed in the Girls u/10s race over a distance of 900 metres, with Ellie Raftery (40th) in the Girls u/12s 1.8km race. In the Boys event Michael Barry placed 23rd in the u/10s, whilst Gabhan O’Tighearnaigh and Daniel Brady placed 11th and 13th respectively in the u/15s after 3.5km.