Livonia – Tony Mifsud is an “aw, shucks” kind of guy. He’s easy to talk to, quick to pass out compliments, gives credit to just about anyone who happens to be passing by.
“Hey, meet Pat Poirier, one of my assistants. And don’t forget Jack Benitez and Vera Simms. They do all the work.
“And, hey, how about a hand for (Athletic Director) Sal Malek and the Ladywood staff for hosting the championships here.
“How about the parents, the administration, the faculty. They’re all behind us.”
And it goes on and on.
“It’s quite an honor to be here,” he said Tuesday afternoon, and you sensed he was sincere in saying so, even as his Dearborn Divine Child girls track team was running away with its second straight (and third in the last four years) CHSL A-B championship.
Divine Child racked up 162 points, Farmington Hills Mercy 101, Warren Regina 73, Bloomfield Hills Marian 71, Pontiac Notre Dame 53 and Livonia Ladywood 35.
The Falcons won half of the 16 events. Sophomore Paige Patterson, the defending state 200 meter champion, won the 100 and 200 meter dashes and ran a leg on the winning 4x200 and 4x400 relays.
Senior Carolinne Strasser won the long jump and anchored the winning 4x100, 4x200 ands 4x400 relay teams.
Mifsud teamed up Strasser and Patterson with junior Rosanne Reynolds and freshman Nicole Urbanick to win the 200 and 400 relays.
Divine Child dominated what Mifsud calls the “skill events,” hurdles and field events. The Falcons, paced by sophomore Mallory Myler, finished 2-3-4 in the 100 meter high hurdles and 2-3-5-6 in the 300 meter low hurdles.
Divine Child was 1-3-4 in the long jump and 1-4-5-6 in the shot put.
Marian’s senior Dana Carey won both hurdles races, edging Myler by one-hundredth of a second in the 100 meter highs.
Marian’s 4x800 relay team of Liz Lelli, Sarah Michalski, Rachel Michalski and Ashley Wile set a new record time of 9:49.84, eclipsing the 9:50.4 time by Warren Regina in 2007.
Junior Sara Barron of Notre Dame and Regina freshman, Kelsie Schwartz, both broke the 1600 meter record of 5:06.10 set way back in 1984 by Tere Stouffer of Royal Oak Shrine. Barron led all the way to win in 4:59.73, fighting off a challenge down the stretch by Schwartz, who came in at 4:59.94.
The 15-year-old Schwartz, who won the 3200 meter race, qualified for the 800, 1600 and 3200 meter races in the Division 2 state finals June 4 in Grand Rapids by winning all three races in last week’s regionals.
Divine Child will be at the same state finals, hoping to successfully defend their 2010 team championship.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” said Mifsud. “We’ll do the best we can. I was just hoping to be among the top five last year, but the girls were really focused, and they did it.”
And, sure, it’ll be an “honor” to be there, too.
FIRST PLACE WINNERS:
High Jump – Ceara O’Leary (Divine Child) 5' 1"
Long Jump – Carolinne Strasser (DC) 16' 4"
Discus Throw – Teresa Wojnarowski (Ladywood) 108' ½"
Shot Put – Ashley O’Neill (DC) 35' 9½ "
100 Meter Dash – Paige Patterson (DC) :12.89
100 Meter Hurdles – Dana Carey (Marian) :5.56
200 Meter Dash – Paige Patterson (DC) :26.31
300 Meter Hurdles – Dana Carey (Marian) :45.99
400 Meter Dash – Taylor Timko (Notre Dame) :59.33
800 Meter Run – Sara Barron (ND) 2:17.41
1600 Meter Run – Sara Barron (ND) 4:59.73 (CHSL record; old record 5:06.10 set in 1984 by Tere Stouffer, Royal Oak Shrine).
3200 Meter Run – Kelsie Schwartz (Regina) 11:35.47
4x100 Meter Relay – Divine Child :51.49 (Katie Begin-Liz Mullen-Amanda Polly-Carolinne Strasser)
4x200 Meter Relay – Divine Child 1:46.86 (Paige Patterson-Nicole Urbanick-Rosanne Reynolds-Caroline Strasser)
4x400 Meter Relay – Divine Child 4:09.38 (Rosanne Reynolds-Paige Patterson-Nicole Urbanick-Caroline Strasser)
4x800 Meter Relay – Marian 9:49.84 (Liz Lelli-Sarah Michalski-Rachel Michalski-Ashley Wile) (CHSL record; old record 9:50.40 set in 2007 by Warren Regina).
