Bree Athletic Club members were in action last weekend at the Leinster indoor championships in Nenagh. In total 13 gold, four silver and ten bronze medals were won.

Siobhán Fanning finished just outside the medals in the Under-12 600m and also gave a great performance in the 60m hurdles and long jump. Aoife Cloke-Rochford, also an Under-12 athlete, performed very well, taking bronze medals in the high jump and 60m hurdles and finishing fifth in the final of the 60m sprint.

Enda Minogue qualified for the final of the 60m hurdles Under-12 and was unlucky to finish outside of the medals. He also finished in the top five in the high jump and had a good run in the 60m sprint.

Dean Doyle recorded a personal best in the high jump Under-12 where he won the silver medal. He reached the final of the 60m and also made the top eight in the long jump.

Ryan Murray was a double gold medal winner in the Under-13 60m sprint and hurdles. He won both events convincingly, beating a former Leinster and All-Ireland champion in the process. He also finished in the top eight in the long jump which is a new event for him.

Ronan Devereux was the bronze medal winner in the Under-13 60m hurdles and finished fifth in the 60m sprint. Kasey Doyle showed great potential in the Under-13 60m hurdles when she ran a great heat, but was unfortunate to hit a hurdle in the final which was enough to cause her to finish outside of the medals. She also qualified for the semifinal of the 60m sprint and gave a solid performance in the long jump which is a new event for her.

Sophie McCabe, also an Under-13 athlete, finished in the top eight in the long jump, fourth in the final of the 60m hurdles, and fifth in the final of the sprint. Sophie continues to show great potential and will be one to look out for in the future.

Aoife Fanning, an Under-14 athlete, performed consistently well over the weekend. She recorded a personal best jump of 1.41m in the high jump, securing the silver medal on countback. She was fifth in the final of the sprint. Her best performance was in the 60m hurdles where she won the gold medal despite carrying a slight knee injury.

Annie Stafford, also an Under-14 athlete, was the convincing winner of the long jump where she also recorded a personal best jump of 4.58m. Annie also secured a bronze medal in the 60m sprint after a blistering start. She also took part in the shot putt and finished in fourth place, throwing over 9m.

Cormac Byrne was the worthy winner of the Under-15 walk. He continues to go from strength to strength in this specialised event. Dervla McCabe won bronze in the Under-15 walk. Dervla trains hard for this event and always finishes among the medals.

Paddy Devereux, holder of Leinster records in the hurdles events, was once again crowned champion in the Under-15 60m hurdles. He also took bronze in the long jump and was sixth in the final of the sprint.

Niamh Cloke-Rochford has proven to be one of Bree's most improved athletes. Having taken a year out from athletics, Niamh has returned this year stronger than ever. She has worked hard at training over the winter months and this showed over the weekend.

Niamh started with what can only be called the outstanding performance of the weekend, winning the Under-15 60m hurdles by beating last year's All-Ireland champion. This was followed by a personal best performance in the shot putt where she threw 9.63m, also winning gold.

She also finished fifth overall in the sprint. Catríona Carroll finished in the top eight in the long jump Under-15. She was fourth in the high jump and was seventh overall in the final of the sprint.

Eleanor Nolan won the bronze medal in the Under-16 shot putt and continues to be one of the top shot-putters in Leinster. Amy Flanagan ran a personal best in the Under-16 60m hurdles on Saturday, winning gold. The sprint hurdles is Amy's specialised event and she showed her class with this convincing win. She also won bronze medals in the 60m and 200m sprints on Sunday despite being off-form as a result of 'flu.

Dylan Walsh equalled his personal best in the high jump Under-16, winning the bronze medal. Dylan was unlucky to be disqualified from the hurdles event when he fell victim of the new no-break start rule.

Tony Stafford once again showed great form over the weekend, recording a personal best in the long jump with a jump of 6.18m winning gold. Tony continued to show his class when he won gold in the hurdles after a blistering start and won silver in the 60m sprint.

Catríona Corcoran also added to her huge collection of medals by winning two gold medals and one silver medal. Her gold medals were won in the Under-17 long jump and the triple jump, while the silver was won in the high jump.

All in all it proved to be a hugely-successful weekend for Bree athletes and their coaches. Many thanks to the club coaches - Jim Corcoran (high jump), Una Doyle (hurdles), Mary Murphy (sprint), Margaret Cloke and Peter Nolan (throws).

Bree club Chairman, Pat O'Leary, was once again the official starter at the championships.

All athletes are now back training in preparation for the All-Ireland indoor finals. As part of the club's 40-year celebrations, Bree will be hosting the Leinster Senior 10km road race in Galbally on Sunday, March 21, at 2 p.m.