Following last week's season opener, the Saint Ignatius Cross Country program ventured down I-71 on Saturday morning to participate in Hilliard Davidson's Hot Summer Bash.
Amidst some of the top competition in the state, the Wildcats held their own.
The Cross Country Cats scored fourth in the varsity race with 105 points and an average time of 16:32, behind first-place St. Xavier, runner-up Hilliard Davidson, and third-place Dublin Coffman (by just one point).
Matt Kelly paced the Wildcats in the second race of the 2020 campaign. The junior tallied a time of 16:04, good for seventh place overall. Sean Uhran stayed close with his teammate, finishing one second and one place behind him, with an eighth-place mark of 16:05. Aidan Monroe also enjoyed a solid day, crossing the line in 13th with a time of 16:21.
Connor McAndrew led the next portion of the Cat Pack. The senior penciled in a 40th place effort of 17:04. Joseph Maloney followed closely with a time of 17:07 for 43th. Mike Mayer and Connor Geary ran together and finished 45th and 46th with times of 17:09 and 17:10. Peter Fitzpatrick snagged 49th with a time of 17:13.
Sean Ward and Luke Chesney rounded out the varsity squad with times of 17:18 and 17:38 for 54th and 66th places, respectively.
In the freshmen/sophomore race, the Wildcats raced quite well. The Clevelanders could not topple Hilliard Davidson (the #1 ranked program in the state this past week by the opening OATCC poll), but took an impressive second place.
Guillaume Carroll had a large part in helping the Wildcats claim runner-up honors. The talented sophomore raced to a time of 17:03, winning the race by a whopping 27 seconds. This kid is so, so good, and could be a shining star for the program soon.
Ben Showman lived up to his name, tearing off a fifth-place effort with a flashy time of 18:01.24 for the youngster. Caleb Delacruz finished milliseconds behind at 18:01.93 for sixth. CJ Lyon pushed his way into the top 10 with a time of 18:22. He's another name to watch as the season continues.
Tim Schmelter and Tyler Cupar carded times of 28th and 30th at 19:00 and 19:01. Luke Lavelle and Danny Flanagan also raced together, marking down 45th and 46th with times of 19:23 and 19:24. John Scally was not too far behind, earning 52nd with a time of 19:29.
Andy Ericson led the next portion of the pack, clocking in at 69th at 20:09. Matt McGraw, Dominic Ambrogio, and Jack Gilbride finished back-to-back-to-back with 79th, 80th, and 81st places with times of 20:19.32, 20:19.97, and 20:23. John Eicher landed in 85th with a time of 20:33, Owen Hobbs powered a time of 20:51 for 94th, and Dominic Fiorilli completed the Cats' efforts at 20:59 for 98th.
Saturday's festivities concluded with the Open race. Plenty of Wildcats added nice performances on a nice day.
Alexander Paliga led things off for the men of Ohio City with a time of 17:31 for eighth. Sean Becker marked down a time of 17:59 for 20th, Will Leahy concluded in 26th at 18:18, Joe Sepesi clocked in at 18:26 for 31st, Tom Kilbane poured a time of 18:32 for 33rd, and Christian Wolke cemented a mark of 18:39 for 38th.
Finishing just outside of the top 50 was Conor McGuire with a 56th place time of 19:35. Owen Rodstrom nipped at his heels in 58th for 19:41. Dominic Wilson powered through for a 20:05 and 67th. Blake Kneisly locked in a time of 20:13 for 75th. Ben Ravas tapped a time of 20:24, followed closely by Aidan Smith's 83rd-place time of 20:28. Walkie Ripepi chimed in for a time of 20:39 for 86th. Luke Ali and Sam Eldridge also made the top 100 with times of 21:09 and 21:33.
Brian Keim (21:47), Sam Infante (21:49), and Nathan Kuczmarski (22:11) rounded out the Wildcats' efforts.
Updates from the Mentor Cardinal Classic with the freshmen will be added once they are updated.
Next week, the Wildcats head to the Oscar Grant Invitational at Trumbull County Fairgrounds.