Last weekend (Saturday, 5th March 2022) was an eventful one at Santry Sports Grounds as DUHAC (Dublin University Harriers Athletics Club) hosted the annual IUAA (Irish University Athletic Association) Cross Country National Championships for the first time since 2018. DUHAC’s hosting of the event also marked 150 years of athletics in Trinity. DUHAC excelled on the day as the women’s team claimed gold for the third year in a row while the men’s team finished in fourth position. Trinity College Dublin came second overall in the team competition, just behind Dublin City University.
Celine Gavin ran in a time of 18:31 to claim the silver medal in the women’s 5,000m event, Jennifer Elvin was next over the line for Trinity in sixth position with a time of 19:01 while Claire Rafter finished in eight place overall. In the men’s race, Pierre Murchan finished the 8,000m race in eight place overall.
For the third year running Trinity had the largest team entered by a college with a total of 41 athletes. To celebrate 150th year of athletics in Trinity, DUHAC added an event to this year's program that being the 4 x 1000m relay. There were eight teams entered in this event with Trinity’s teams finishing an agonizingly close second and fourth, but still a proud day for all those that took part and for college.
Iain Morrison, DUHAC Coach commented after the event; "As coach, I couldn't be prouder of the team, we had by far the biggest entry on the day of any college. The ladies making it three in a row speaks for itself, more encouraging as this is a new team largely from previous years. Our men, although agonizingly close to a medal again, were close enough to ensure we were second and a few points off the overall competition. Participation and performance is our DUHAC ethos and we got it in spades from the team this year on and off the course.”
Fiona Doyle, DUHAC captain said, “We were absolutely honoured to host this year’s event and to come away with such fantastic results on home turf makes it extra special. The girls outdid themselves yet again claiming the team title for the 3rd year in a row and while the men just missed out on the medals, the sheer number of athletes we had out representing us just proves the strength and depth of our squad. Nearly every member of DUHAC played some part in our success over the weekend and we can come away very proud of our achievements. This past weekend is one that won’t be forgotten anytime soon!”
The full results of the IUAA Cross Country National Championships can be found here.