MACOMB TOWNSHIP — Last year, the Madison Heights Bishop Foley boys track team won its first Catholic League championship.
So what did the Ventures do for an encore?
This year, Bishop Foley’s girls won the title, too.
“The girls' (championship) was somewhat in question, but yeah, we were expecting it,” head coach Rick Bray said. “We scored well in the first jamboree, we were contending in the second for both boys and girls, and we won today, which is outstanding.”
Bishop Foley’s boys shared the regular-season sectional crown with Clarkston Everest Collegiate, and the girls were second behind Orchard Lake St. Mary’s. But the Ventures had the momentum, having won team titles at their MHSAA regional meet the week before.
“We were pretty confident coming in, although you just don’t know how kids are going to perform on any given day and what the weather’s going to be like, but all the things went about as well as we had hoped for,” Bray said.
In the boys’ team standings, the Ventures topped the 12-school field with 135 points. Everest (117) was runner-up, followed by Ann Arbor Greenhills (67) and Marine City Cardinal Mooney (63).
Senior Brendan McGlinchey said sharing the regular-season title with Everest made everyone focus more on the championship meet.
“We kind of used it as motivation just to work even harder. It was really satisfying today to see it all work out,” he said. “We’ve just been working really hard the past couple of years for this moment. It’s just amazing that we’ve put in all this work and we’ve seen it come to fruition today.”
Bishop Foley won six of the 16 events, with junior Jackson Zeiter taking first place in the 100- and 200-meter dashes (11.52 and 23.67). Classmate Gus Toppi was the long jump winner (17’10.25”), and the Ventures won three out of four relays, with Toppi and Zeiter running the first two legs of the 4x100 (45.29) and 4x200 (1:34.64).
“I’m proud of my teammates, I always am, and I usually don’t look at how anyone else has run in the past before, mainly because I trust my team,” said senior Jay Maynard, who ran on the winning 4x800 squad. “At every track meet we’re competing so we can be better — that’s basically what it is.”
Meanwhile, Bishop Foley’s girls led the pack with 119, ahead of St. Mary’s (91.5), Grosse Pte. Woods University-Liggett (84.5) and Royal Oak Shrine (77).
The Ventures claimed first place in only two events — senior Isabelle Salazar won the long jump (15’ 7.75”) and ran on the victorious 4x100 relay (53.16) — yet the team placed high enough in other events across the board to accumulate its high point total.
“I feel very happy. It’s a great thing that I was a part of it in my last year,” said Salazar, noting that several first-time team members strengthened the program.
“I think it was a very big factor,” she said. “It helped us a lot this year because a lot of people were able to win their events and help the team along. Most of the time they came in knowing what they wanted to do.”
“A lot of girls came out that had never competed before,” Bray said. “We had a lot of scoring in the events where we hadn’t scored points before.”
For example, junior Alyssa Samartino was second in the 100, 200 and high jump. Senior Melanie Moore placed second in shot put and fifth in discus.
“It feels amazing, unreal,” Moore said about helping Bishop Foley win its first Catholic League title in girls track. “All my friends were on the team, so I thought it would be a fun experience for my senior year. They convinced me. My favorite thing is how laid-back it is, and the team’s bond. Everyone’s there supporting everyone, no matter like what race we’re running or throwing or anything.”
Several athletes were multiple-event winners. In addition to Zeiter, Cardinal Mooney’s Tyler Lenn won the 800- (2:05.42) and 1600-meter runs (4:42.74). Everest’s Gavin Ryeson finished first in both hurdle races (16.10 and 42.91) among boys’ competition.
For the girls, Grosse Pointe Woods University-Liggett’s Olivia Thomas won the 100 (12.73), 200 (26.56) and 400-meter dashes (1:05.24). Allen Park Cabrini’s Ava Teed won the 1,600 (a school-record 5:28.19) and 3,200 (11:54.28). Royal Oak Shrine’s Charlotte Terbrack took both hurdle races (17.62 and 52.11).
Copy Permalink
