The Track and Field Cats placed second as a team at the District Meet this past week totaling 120 points. The Wildcats have qualified multiple athletes to the Regional Meet next week, which will take place at Amherst Steele High School on Wednesday, May 26 and Friday, May 28. The Track and Field Cats seek to win a state championship and have the squad do so in the coming weeks.
Day two of the District Meet began around 2:30 p.m. at Amherst Steele High School. In the Boys 200 Meter Dash, Jack McCarthy placed second with a time of 22.65. This race punched McCarthy’s ticket to Regionals.
The Wildcats have a District Champion runner in Sophomore Ben Showman. Showman placed first in the Boys 400 Meter Dash on Saturday with a time of 50.84. Showman demonstrated that he could potentially win the 400 Meter Dash after his third-place finish in the preliminary round. Showman will now compete in the Regional Meet after his District win.
In the Boys 800 Meter Run, senior Peter Fitzpatrick finished in second place with a time of 1:56.93, just behind first-place finisher Jett Wieber of Avon, who finished at 1:55.22. Fitzpatrick has qualified for the Regional Meet and will be an integral part of the Track and Field Cats.
The senior talent continued in the Boys 1600 Meter Run. Joe Maloney would place second in the long-distance race. Maloney’s time was 4:21.73 as he is a Regional qualifier in the 1600m. In the Boys 3200 Meter Run, Matt Kelly placed fourth with a time of 9:47.95 as Kelly qualifies for the Regional Meet.
In the Boys 300 Meter Hurdles, junior Damon Frabotta finished fourth with a time of 41.45 to qualify for the Regional Meet.
Perhaps the relay teams for Saint Ignatius High School have been arguably the best in the state of Ohio. This was evident with a first-place finish in the 4x100 Meter Relay with a time of 42.88. This relay team consisted of Anthony Santagata, Eric Shyne, Edwin Abiakl and Jack McCarthy as they have qualified for the Regional Meet in the 4x100 Meter Relay.
The Wildcats continued to have success in the relay events in the Boys 4x400 Meter Relay. Ben Showman, Max Muresan, Edwin Abiakl and Jack McCarthy finished in first place with a time of 3:24.95 as they have qualified for the Regional Meet.
Next up was the Boys 4x800 Meter Relay that saw another Saint Ignatius first-place finish. The relay team consisted of Aidan Monroe, Joe Maloney, Alex Paliga and Peter Fitzpatrick, who finished with a time of 7:56.10.
In the field events, Eric Shyne qualified for the Regional Meet in the Boys Long Jump. Shyne placed second in the Long Jump event with a score of 21-02.00. In the Boys Pole Vault, senior Jack Bush placed fourth with a 12-09.00 as he qualifies for the Regional Meet. In Boys Shot Put, Nick Velotta placed fourth with 47-10.75 to qualify for the Regional Meet.
Head Track and Field Coach Chuck Kyle ‘69 has put together quite the team this season. After a phenomenal showing at the District Meet, the Wildcats are primed for Regionals and qualify a significant amount of athletes for the State Meet. Regionals will kick-off on Wednesday, May 26, for day one at Amherst Steele High School.
