Ben Madigan
3rd BEST HOCKEY TEAM IN NORTHERN IRELAND With 197 schools, from different regions in Northern Ireland, entering the Northern Ireland Cup for Primary Schools’ Hockey, you wouldn’t have given a small school like Ben Madigan a chance to make it to the Northern Ireland Finals! On 6th March Ben Madigan breezed through the N.I. Qualifiers at Mossley Hockey Club and were unlucky not to win overall. They were narrowly beaten by local friends and rivals Fairview, but nevertheless the top three teams qualified. On 24th March there was an air of optimism around the Castle Grounds and Ben Madigan as Mrs Lennon and Mr Patterson led the girls off to Lisnagarvey Hockey Club. The competition consisted of six groups of six teams. In the Ben Madigan group, were overall favourites and eventual winners, Waringstown along with Cookstown, Ballyholme, Victoria Prep. and Carryduff. The Ben Madigan girls breezed through the group stages and met Holywood (winners of group 2) and Hazlett (3rd place in group 3) at the quarter-final stages. With comprehensive wins over both of these teams Ben Madigan pupils were rewarded with a semifinal showdown with Waringstown Primary School. The girls had 80% possession during the match and set up camp inside the Waringstown half from the start. The pressure paid off and with 90 seconds to go, Ben Madigan found themselves 2-1 up. However, this was short lived, as a last gasp shot from Waringstown saw the game go to penalties. Four brave Ben Madigan girls stood up and volunteered to take a penalty, but it wasn’t to be the girls’ day and they went out of the semi finals losing 2-0 on penalties. On reflection, however, this may well be the most talented hockey team which Ben Madigan has ever produced. Mr Patterson and Mrs Lennon can’t speak highly enough of the girls and are proud to have been involved with such a talented team that has so much potential for the future. Squad: Julia Uprichard, Laura Meeke, Annabel McGrath, Alex Fawcett, Sophia Del Castillo, Rebekah Lennon, Emma Uprichard, Emmanuella Mathioudaki, Anastasia Mathioudaki, Kerry Uprichard, Zara Watson.
golfing circles. Tom came 18th in the European Championships in Scotland against opposition from players representing 30 different countries. He went on the World Championships which was held in Pinehurst, North Carolina. Tom came 26th overall and also gained some valuable experience playing the American Nationals where he came 2nd overall. Watch this space… Sports Day Unlike last year, we were blessed with some fantastic weather for Sports Day this year. Pre-Prep, Prep 1 and Prep 2 got proceedings underway with some terrific support from very enthusiastic mums and dads. There was a carnival atmosphere with Mr Wilson on the sound system and the Prep 7 Business Club taking the opportunity to make some money at their individual stalls. The main event saw Preps 4-7 battle it out in many disciplines from sprint races to obstacle races. This year introduced a new event, the Whole School Cross Country. Children from Preps 4 to 7 could enter voluntarily to run a lap of the beautiful Castle Grounds. They disappeared out of sight behind the building only to reappear again for the final 100 metres to rapturous applause from the excited parents. This was a great success with the majority of pupils entering the race. It was a successful day all round with plenty of silverware on show for the efforts of all those who took part.
BEN MADIGAN CUP WINNERS
Name of Cup
Winner
Athletics Cup (Ryan Moore)
David Service
Athletics Cup (McCoubrey)
Dervla Craig Alex Fawcett
Cross Country
Emmanuella Mathioudaki
Swimming (Girls)
Sophia Del Castillo
Most Improved Hockey
Alex Fawcett Kate Handley
Hockey
Julia Uprichard Annabel McGrath
Physical Education
Julia Uprichard Lewis Gould
Mr Patterson/Mrs Lennon Golf After Tom McKibbin (Prep 7’s) success last year he has established himself as an up-and-coming star in
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