MACOMB TOWNSHIP/NOVI — The Catholic High School League’s Cardinal and Bishop Division track championship meets produced a program first, a program last, and everything in between.
At the Cardinal Division meet, held May 8 at Macomb Lutheran High North, the Orchard Lake St. Mary’s girls program captured its first Catholic League track title. Lutheran North, the winning boys team, secured its final Catholic League crown before departing for the Blue Water Area Conference next school year.
The following day, Novi Detroit Catholic Central dominated to earn the Bishop Division championship on its home track, while Toledo St. Ursula’s girls program finished first for the third year in a row.
Girls’ title a first for the Eaglets
Five years ago, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s girls track team drew just six girls in its first year of existence. As the Eaglet program has grown, so has its achievements. St. Mary’s led the six-team field with 168 points, ahead of Lutheran North (117), Jackson Lumen Christi (73), Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood (66), Ann Arbor Fr. Gabriel Richard (61) and Toledo Central Catholic (5).
Head coach Mark Lengel said winning the Catholic League is the team’s biggest achievement to date. But it didn’t come without advance planning.
“We definitely scored out and simulated the meet,” he said. “Lutheran North has good athletes, and we wanted to know where they would put them in the lineup. We were able to disperse our talent — we did well in the jumps, throws and mid-distance, all the way down to our sprints.”
The area where St. Mary’s shined the most was the relays, as the Eaglets took first in three out of four team races.
Reese Knights, Josie Andrzejczak, Grace Robinson and Vonessa Gonzales won the 4x100 relay (51.59); Carina Ogle, Victoria Andrzejczak, Josie Andrezejczak and Gonzales did likewise in the 4x200 (1:46.69). To close out the meet, Victoria Andsrzejczak, Robinson, Ogle and Gonzales won the 4x400 (4:06.44).
St. Mary’s also got individual firsts from Gonzales in the 200 (26.19), Ogle in the 800 (2:25.25), Ella Selakowski in discus (119’ 2”) and Peyton Raynish in both the high and low hurdle races (17.39 and 52.70).
Lengel said it helps that the team’s roster is now 48 members strong.
“Number one, the numbers grew in the school. When we first admitted girls, we capped our class at 40 students, but it’s gotten bigger, so the growth of the school in the girls’ division is a factor,” he said. “Another one is we started an off-season strength and conditioning program specifically for female track athletes, so we are seeing that pay off.”
St. Mary’s also won the Dearborn Divine Child All-Comers meet and the Ortonville-Brandon Tri-County Invitationals this spring, and hasn’t lost a dual or tri meet in three seasons.
Boys’ title a last for the Mustangs
Knowing it would be the last chance his team would have to claim a Catholic League track championship, Lutheran North head coach Tim Davis had special motivation for his athletes.
“I explained to them that this is our last go-round at it, so go out with a bang and give it everything you’ve got,” he said. “This is the fun part; doing this league meet right here. It’s been a highlight of our seasons recently, but now we have to start all over again in the Blue Water Area Conference.”
The Mustangs won six out of 16 events. Joshua Macri was a part of four of those, winning the 1600 (4:33.47), 800 (1:58,82) and 3200 (10:04.36), plus playing a role on Lutheran North’s first-place 4x800 relay with Grant Garner, Antonino Biondo and Xavier Roman (8:37.36).
“We asked a lot of our distance runners,” Davis said. “I saw how strong some of the entries from the other teams were, and we loaded up our distance runners. We had them do what I call ‘The Gauntlet’ — the 4x800, 1600, 800 and 3200. They got us the points we needed.”
That wasn’t the extent of the Mustangs’ success, as Greg Glaser won the long jump (20’ 4.75”) and high hurdles (16.34).
With 140.5 points, Lutheran North withstood a challenge from Fr. Gabriel Richard, which finished as runner-up with 128. Lumen Christi had 80, Central Catholic totaled 78 and Cranbrook got 61.5.
“Ann Arbor had a great team, I think they got 48 points just from their throwers alone. They were our biggest threat,” Davis said. “I asked the kids to give me everything you can. Everybody stepped up. I am amazed at what they continue to do. Every time I think they hit their peak, they take another step.”
Catholic Central reclaims Bishop Division boys’ title
Novi Detroit Catholic Central showed both strength and depth while cruising to the top spot in the Bishop Division meet on Saturday. Scoring 176 points, the Shamrocks overwhelmed the rest of the eight-team field. Toledo St. Francis de Sales was runner-up with 111, University of Detroit Jesuit had 102, Toledo St. John’s Jesuit had 57, and Divine Child had 56 to fill out the top five.
“We believed that we had the manpower to do it; we just had to put it all together,” Catholic Central coach Tiberia Patterson said. “For instance, in the 110 hurdles we got 1 and 2, and then in the 300 hurdles we got 1-2-3. We always had the manpower, it was just a matter of being able to keep everyone healthy.”
Shamrock senior Zacchaeus Brocks set new Catholic League records in winning both hurdle races (13.26 and 36.75). William Patterson was runner-up in each event, while Caleb Washington added a third-place finish in the 300.
Catholic Central also claimed the first two spots in the 100 with Samson Gash (10.63) and Gideon Gash, and long jump with Gideon Gash (22’ 8”) and Malachi Clayton. Other Shamrock event winners included Rondell Ruff Jr. in the 400 (49.68), Paxton Heitsch in shot put (55’ 4”) and Jaden Fahie in high jump (6’ 2”).
University of Detroit Jesuit’s 4x800 relay team, made up of Nick Formosa, Justin Mkrtumian, Aaron Wilson and Eli Kujawski, set a new Catholic League record at 7:54.14 for the eight-lap race.
St. Ursula girls are three-peat team winners
Holding off a late charge from Farmington Hills Mercy, Toledo St. Ursula Academy took home its third straight CHSL track crown, having won the Bishop Division title for the third straight season. The Arrows finished with 190 points, ahead of Mercy (165), Toledo Notre Dame Academy (136) Divine Child (66), Bloomfield Hills Marian (29) and Warren Regina (16).
While St. Ursula won only four of the 16 events, the Arrows overwhelmed everyone else with their depth, frequently placing multiple athletes among the top eight of the races and field events.
“A lot of the girls here really work hard the entire season for this event, because we want to keep going and get the three-peat and the four-peat,” Audrey Geletka said. “This meet motivates us to just run well and train, because we know we’re the best and we want to keep proving that to everyone else.”
Geletka, Claire Harrison, Aubrey Massey and Emerie Schmidlin won the day’s final event, the 4x400 relay (4:05.46), after a thunderstorm delayed the conclusion of a meet for an hour.
Earlier, Schmidlin won the 800 (2:19.38), Shanice Achaleke took first in the 300 hurdles (46.32) and Kennedy Donnelly was tops in discus (136’ 0”).
Several Catholic League records were set at the meet. Divine Child’s Aubrey Wilson sped to a 23.77 in the 200; and Mercy’s quartet of Nora Gerzema, Ainslie Carter, Kathleen Clare Hafner and Elizabeth Gerzema claimed the 4x800 relay mark of 9:25.38.
Notre Dame Academy erased two longtime league records by winning the 4x200 and 4x100 relays. Cydney Owens, Michaela Henderson, Ja’Myah Bennett and Kennedy Kynard ran 1:43.30 in the 4x200, while Maegen Carmack Locklear, Violet Snydeer, Kynard and Bennett crossed first in the 4x100 at 48.88.
