The Offaly Novice and Masters cross country championships were held last Sunday in Charleville Estate, Tullamore. Paul Mitchell was a very impressive winner of the novice race run over a distance of 6000 metres where he had forty one seconds to spare over David Fox in second place. Conor Mooney ran a steady race to comfortably take third place.

In the masters race John Donegan and Cormac Troy led the field from an early stage with Donegan getting away from Troy on the third of five laps and he pressed on to win by a margin of two hundred and fifty metres from Troy with the fast finishing Brendan Abbott closing right up on Troy in the closing stages to finish just one second back in third place.

The Women’s Novice race was run over 4000 metres and here Michelle Mullaney claimed her first Offaly cross country title with an impressive gun to tape victory over Bernie Daly in second place. Daly was followed closely by Nita McLoughlin who finished in third place.

Pauline Curley showed no effects of her exertions the previous day in the Galway Bay half marathon when she strolled to an easy victory in the master womens 4000 metre race in 14.45. Mary Daly finished in second place with Mary’s sister Rita claiming the bronze medal spot.

Sinead Rigney ran strongly to win the girls under 18 race.

Results - Novice Men: 6000 metres - Paul Mitchell 21.51 (Ferbane AC); 2 Dave Fox 22.3; 3 Conor Mooney 23.43 ; 4 John Monaghan 26.12; 5 Maurice Fitzgerald 26.53 ; 6 Ivan Dunne 29.35; 7 Dean Claffey 30.44. Jason Donegan (Guest) 23.33.

Novice Women : 4000 metres - 1 Michelle Mullaney 16.42; 2 Bernie Daly 18.17; 3 Nita McLoughlin 18.39.

Master Men: 6000 metres - 1 John Donegan 21.5; 2 Cormac Troy 22.49; 3 Brendan Abbott 22.50 ; 4 Johnny Feery 23.32; 5 Martin Carroll 23.38; 6 Liam Dunne 23.40; 7 Pat Conlon 26.42; 8 Liam Byrne 27.29; 9 Andy O’Grady 29.29; 10 Jim Langan 44.29.

Master Women: 4000 metres - 1 Pauline Curley 14.45 ; 2 Mary Daly 17.45 ; 3 Rita Daly 18.01 ; 4 Martina Conlon 19.11 ; 5 Una Mullen 20.25.

Girls U 18: 1 Sinead Rigney 17.20