MACOMB TOWNSHIP — It’s time to re-write the record books for Catholic League track and field.
League director Vic Michaels is considering establishing a third set of event records to coincide with the CHSL switching to three divisional meets in 2024, but for the time being, several longtime records were erased in the Cardinal and Bishop Division meets May 9 at Macomb Lutheran North and May 10 at Novi Detroit Catholic Central.
First up is the Cardinal Division’s girls shot put mark. Ann Arbor Fr. Gabriel Richard’s Cora Williams won the event by more than seven feet Friday, throwing 44’ 4.” That not only obliterates the previous mark of 39’ 7.75” set in 2002, but also exceeds the current Bishop Division mark by a good four feet.
“My (personal best) is 44’ 9.5”, so it was close,” she said, “but consistency is what I’m definitely looking for this season, so I’m pleased with that.”
Not only did Williams establish a new league mark for shot put, she set a school record for discus by throwing 129’ 4.”
“It’s more than I was hoping for; discus is definitely something I’ve been working on for a while,” the Indiana State University signee said. “And it’s also nice to be consistent in that. I hit a few 127s and a 128 as well.”
Williams’ performances spurred Fr. Gabriel Richard toward defending its team title. The Fighting Irish totaled 143.5 points, ahead of Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (122), Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood (105), Lutheran North (84), Toledo Central Catholic (72), Jackson Lumen Christi (65) and Wixom St. Catherine (19).
Fr. Gabriel Richard also had victories in three middle-distance races. Alexis Adelman took first in the 800 (2:24.27) and anchored the Fighting Irish’ winning 4x800 and 4x400 relays (9:56.32 and 4:13.92).
“We all are very hard workers,” Williams said. “We work extremely hard in practice, just like any other team, but we just trusted each other. We try not put stress on each other and we like to say, just go out there and have fun. We take it goal by goal, day by day. We got league, and next, it’s regionals.”
Williams wasn’t the only athlete to erase longstanding league marks. Central Catholic’s Nyla King, who won the 100, 200 and 400 dashes, set records in the 200 (24.67) and 400 (55.41), breaking benchmarks that had stood since the 2000 season.
King is a seven-time state champion in Ohio.
Lutheran North boys defend Cardinal Division crown
When the Catholic League conducted its track championships in two divisions, Macomb Lutheran North didn’t make much of an impact going up against the largest schools competing in the Class A/B meet. But now, the Mustangs have found the recently created Cardinal Division more to their liking, winning the meet for the second season in a row.
Lutheran North won five of 16 events and piled up points across the board to total 169 points, 35 better than runner-up Riverview Gabriel Richard. They were followed by Toledo Central Catholic (117), Jackson Lumen Christi and Ann Arbor Fr. Gabriel Richard (73 each), and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook (43).
“Adding Jackson Lumen Christi, and looking at what Toledo Central Catholic had, I was a little worried. They brought back a lot of athletes and this meet became way tougher,” Lutheran North coach Tim Davis said. “There were some incredible runners from Central Catholic and Lumen Christi, and Riverview Gabriel Richard put on a show. It was not expected, but earned, and I’m proud of my guys for doing that.”
Sophomore Josh Macri won the 1600 and 800 for Lutheran North (4:34.23 and 9:52.50, respectively), and teamed up with Jack McMahon, Xavier Roman and Vasilios Kirchoff to take the 4x800 relay (8:22.02). Evan O’Brien (high hurdles/15.76), Andrew Starrs in (discus/142’ 6”) were the Mustangs’ other event winners.
“We’re senior-heavy, but there’s a lot of sophomores and juniors that are going to take their place,” Davis said. “All four of our relays turned in some tremendous times, and all four of those relays are close to breaking school records.”
As the championship season progresses, Davis said the team’s goals include winning a Division 2 regional for the first time, and repeating as Macomb County’s Division 2-3-4 title holders.
“There’s more to accomplish, but this is one of the toughest league meets that I’ve had in 30-plus years,” he said.
Field events spur St. Ursula to Bishop Division girls title
Toledo St. Ursula Academy grabbed the early lead in the Bishop Division’s girls meet with strong performances in the throwing events and never looked back. The Arrows won their second straight Catholic League championship, scoring 161 points. Toledo Notre Dame Academy was runner-up with 136, followed by Farmington Hills Mercy (122), Dearborn Divine Child (112), Warren Regina (46.5) and Bloomfield Hills Marian (32).
“I think our field events were amazing,” St. Ursula sophomore Audrey Geletka said. “We had our discus go 1-2, and we had four girls in the top six of shot put. Our throwers were just amazing. They really just carried us, and we wanted to just carry that throughout the meet. Our sprints did really well, and so did our distance runners. Our 4x8 set the tone, and we really just wanted to keep that going throughout the entire meet.”
Kennedy Boze (121’ 0”) and Kennedy Donnelly (117’ 5”) were the top two discus throwers, while Jolie’t McClendon and Peyton Pennywitt placed fourth and fifth. Boze (34’ 7”) and Kennedy (34’ 5.5”) repeated their top-two finish in shot put, with Pennywitt ranking fifth and Kaylen Pappas sixth. The Arrows racked up 52 points from those two events alone, which provided lots of confidence for teammates racing on the track.
“We’re really blessed to have two outstanding throwers, two of the top throwers in the state of Ohio, so they kind of set the tone for our team,” head coach Richard Meklus said. “Everyone else supported each other and competed their best.”
Shaniece Achaleke was St. Ursula’s only other first-place finisher, as she won the 300 hurdles in 48.08 seconds.
St. Ursula had also won the Catholic League title last year, so the meet has quickly become a favorite of the Arrows.
“The thing I like best about this, as opposed to the state of Ohio and our old league meet, it affords everybody the opportunity to compete and it keeps the kids really motivated through the grind of the season,” Meklus said. “They get the opportunity to show all the hard work they’ve put in.”
Divine Child sophomore Aubrey Wilson won four events: the 100 dash (11.93), the 200 dash (24.61), as part of the Falcons’ 4x200 and 4x400 relays with Aleesia Parker, Cecilia Murray and Katie Kurtinaitis (1:44.64 and 3:56.56). The 200 and 4x400 set new CHSL Bishop Division records, as did Notre Dame Academy’s 4x100 relay composed of Ja’Myah Bennett, Violet Snyder, Meagen Carmack Locklear and Kennedy Kynard (49.17).
St. Francis gets it done in the long races
For much of Saturday’s meet, Toledo St. Francis de Sales wasn’t atop the team standings, despite always being within striking distance. Then came the 800 run, when seniors Sam Arquette (1:57.13), Kale Seymour (1:57.25) and Owen Little (1:57.28) flipped the standings by finishing side-by-side at the front of the race.
“They went 1-2-3, all guys that can run 1:57-ish in the 800. They just train hard together, they love racing together,” St. Francis co-head coach Jim Neary said. “We knew with those guys, we might be able to make a move. We got a lot out of those guys in the 800, which gave us some momentum going in toward the end of the meet.”
The 24-point surge put the Knights in position to win their first CHSL track championship. St. Francis finished with 128 points, two ahead of defending champion Novi Detroit Catholic Central. Toledo St. John’s Jesuit (116) was third, followed by Warren De La Salle (80), Orchard Lake St. Mary’s and Dearborn Divine Child (59 apiece), University of Detroit Jesuit (38) and Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (13).
“That was really our plan — the 800. We had a lot of good guys in there,” Seymour said. “It started a long time ago with our practice-season workouts. We’re always pushing each other. There’s constant competition on this team, and it really makes us better.”
Seymour, Little and Arquette also posted a 2-3-4 finish in the 1600 run behind Divine Child’s Colin Murray (4:20.52), before the Knights got a 2-3 finish from Brennan Higgins and Jack Julius in the 3200. St. Francis also won the 4x800 relay (8:16.20).
In the team’s first trip to the CHSL finals last season, the Knights placed third overall.
“We’re still relatively new to the league, but we’re learning quickly how competitive it is,” Neary said. “To us, (winning this meet is) a tremendous honor and a really neat accomplishment for our student-athletes. I think our athletes took the off-seasons very seriously.”
St. John’s Jesuit’s foursome of Lonzo Rivers, Caleb Root, Josh Taylor and Brandon Pratt set a CHSL Bishop Division record in the 4x100 relay (42.11).
The Catholic League’s third track division meet — the St. Anne’s Division — will be contested Tuesday, May 20, at Ann Arbor Greenhills. Greenhills’ girls and Grosse Pointe Woods University-Liggett’s boys are defending champions.
