In 55 previous editions of the All Ireland Schools Cross Country, stretching back to the late 1960s, no fewer than 326 young athletes have been crowned national schools champion, traditionally across three age groups, and since 2011 four, but until this year none had been wearing the colours of a Fermanagh school.

But, that changed on Saturday as multi talented St Michael’s College student Sean Corry added his name to a list which includes Eamon Coughlan, John Treacy, Sonia O’Sullivan and Catherina McKiernan, when he took the junior boys title in a great battle with Jamie Wallace of Colaiste Mhuire Mullingar at Mallusk on Saturday afternoon.

Over 3500m Corry, and team mate Tiarnan McManus, were always prominent in a lead pack of ten which established itself in the opening kilometre. St. Michael’s also had Daithi Mohan in the second pack and Fionn Stroud sitting just inside the top 50 as the large field headed out on their second of two circuits around a course which was in places very firm, and in others sodden and muddy.

The ten became seven as the athletes moved into the closing kilometre with McManus and a couple of other athletes dropping off the lead group and going up the small rise with about 800 metres remaining Wallace made his move with Corry the only one able to respond as the two of them came down the slope again and into the long home straight shoulder to shoulder.

In a great battle, Corry edged in front but the talented Mullingar lad responded and with a 100 metres remaining they were neck and neck, before the Trillick lad edged away to win by two seconds and claim a first national schools individual gold for St Michael’s and Fermanagh.

In what has been a breakthrough season for him, McManus held on well to finish in tenth and will join Corry on the Irish team for the schools international cross country in Wales in a few weeks time.

The massively improved Mohan held strong to take 22nd position and Stroud completing the scoring quartet in 43rd, to give St Michael’s their fourth Irish schools’ cross country title and second national title in three months after their U15 age group title in Kilkenny in December.

The winning margin was 36 point from an excellent Mullingar side with St Flannan’s Ennis taking bronze. Tom McMahon, Oisin Donohue, Max Murphy, Jack Mullally, Ronan Jones and Ryan Hegarty complete a very hardworking and talented group who have stuck together very well through a difficult two years of Covid disruption to turn Ulster silver in 2020 to Irish gold two years on.

In a nice gesture of solidarity with the children of Ukraine who have had their hopes and dreams shattered by war in recent weeks the boys took the Ukrainian flag onto the podium for the presentation, something appreciated and warmly received by the large crowd present.

In the intermediate race a very talented, if youthful, St Michael’s group had a rare off day, finishing sixth in a race won by Mullingar and perhaps they gained a valuable insight into the level they will have to reach if they are to secure that most elusive of titles 12 months from now.

Ben Warnock of St Kevin’s Lisnaskea had a fine run in 23rd with Charlie Reihill the first St Michael’s finisher followed by Frank Buchanan, Conor Mulligan and Cillian Sprice, but the strength in depth at intermediate level is always massive, with the top 20 being almost exclusively boys who are pure distance runners, covering big weekly mileage, and focusing solely on their running.

Whether this group and the junior winning squad can make the step up required to win the most difficult of schools cross country titles, and with it a place in the World schools, will only become apparent as the months unfold.

There were also excellent runs on Saturday from the Enniskillen Running Club pair of Harry McKenzie and Annabelle Morrison running in the colours of Enniskillen Royal Grammar School.

McKenzie finished a fabulous fourth in the minor boys, just a stride off the medals, in what, but for Corry’s run, would have been a highlight of the day from a local perspective, while Morrison, a year young, finished a fine 16th in the intermediate girls race.

Their coach Eamon Monaghan has some very talented athletes in his group and no doubt we will see more of both these athletes and some of their training partners impress on the track in in the months ahead

This concludes a long and very successful cross country season for our local young athletes, apart from Corry and McManus who will don the green of Ireland in Cardiff on March 26, but with the track season only five weeks away many of these talented youngsters will get a short break before they are back in action, no doubt representing their schools and clubs with pride as they have done all winter.