National titles are reserved for the talented and hard working few but the added bonus of a National Championship record is something only a tiny handful of athletes achieve, but this was what St Michael’s student Jack O’Connor accomplished on Sunday afternoon in Athlone.

A scintillating performance in the U16 200m final saw him clock 22.85 seconds to not only take gold but also dip under the eight year old championship record of 22.88 seconds for a time which sees the 14-year-old Belcoo lad end the indoor season as the second fastest U15 boy in the UK.

There was also a UK top five performance and a National bronze medal for another St Michael’s athlete, Frank Buchanan who clocked a huge PB of 1 minute 56.82 seconds in the U18 800m. After a very successful winter on the country and road for the talented Buchanan, he will be looking for further improvement on his middle distance times in the summer.

Other local athletes who competed at the National Juvenile Indoor Championships included Oisin Travers, James Kelly and Charlie Reihill of St Michaels, Kate Kelly of Enniskillen RC and Conor Casey representing Clones AC, and, while none made the podium, qualification for the Irish finals represents significant progress with the first outdoor meeting of the season tonight (Thursday) at Mary Peters Track.