Facing some of the best competition in Ohio, if not the Midwest, the Saint Ignatius varsity track & field squad competed like champions.
Guided by a strong senior class, the Wildcats stole the show at the 2018 Strongsville Elite Meet, capturing first place with 148.5 points.
The Blue & Gold entered the season with a stacked roster – a cupboard full of reliable seniors and young talent. Turning potential into results has Head Coach Chuck Kyle '69 feeling great about these Wildcats.
"That's a good meet. Solon, Strongsville, Berea-Midpark – these are all very good teams," said Kyle. "It really shows that we're one of the elite teams, not just in the area, but in Ohio. And Ohio track is very good."
As per usual, one of the most thrilling events in sports (the 100m) saw one of the most fun student-athletes you'll meet – Phil Zuccaro.
The Wildcats' speedy senior won the 100m dash with a time of 11.26, leading the pack easily. Zuccaro then claimed the top spot in the 200m dash, clocking in at 22.33. To top it all off, Zuccaro anchored the 4x100 relay team in a first-place time of 44.21 with Dominic Devengencie, Connor Kennedy, and Luke Griffiths.
"Phil has had a tremendous career here at Saint Ignatius in track & field," Kyle said. "He has been a contributor all four years – he was on state title team as a freshman. He's a major force.
"Everybody knows him. Everyone talks about the little Italian sprinter Ignatius has. It was neat today – some folks asked him, 'Where are you going to school?' When he said 'Yale,' everyone said, 'Woah!' Phil is doing it the way an Ignatius kid should."
Just like Zuccaro, Connor Kennedy is another senior providing a great example for the younger members of the team. Kennedy tabbed eighth in the 100m dash and seventh in the 200m dash, along with helping the 4x100 relay team nab 10 points.
Max Pike is another example. The veteran claimed fifth in the 110m hurdles at 15.92 – just off John Wetula's great time of 15.59 for fourth – and fourth in the 300 hurdles (42.38).
"Connor Kennedy is doing great relays, too – it's nice that the seniors stay and believe in the program. Max Pike, too. We have a great group of senior guys who are demonstrating," said Kyle.
The Wildcats' youngsters also deserve credit. Sophomore Nolan Cormac clocked in at 54.49 for fourth in the 400m dash, while his fellow second-year Liam Reilley barely missed out on scoring with a time of 55.24 for seventh.
Ten points came to the Wildcats in the 800m dash, as Nick Saul rolled to a time of 2:01.50, claiming first place in a close race. Fellow junior Matt Blouch took fourth with a tally of 2:09.83, good for four more points.
Saul kept the flow of points streaming into the Wildcats' column in the 1600m. Saul finished with a top time of 4:28.70 for 10 clutch points. Liam McGuire had his back, clocking in at 4:29.37 for second, a full 15 seconds better than third place.
The longest event of the meet – the 3200m, which is about two miles – saw another Wildcat finish in the top five. Brett Saunders took third in 9:53.18 and Andrew Biehl grabbed fourth, just behind at 9:54.29.
The relays also went well for the Wildcats. As mentioned above, the 4x100 team did well. The 4x200 squad didn't do too shabby, either, snatching a third-place time of 1:33.71. Luke Griffiths, Dominic Devengencie, Kyle Hall, and Andrew Phillips all chipped in impressive efforts to make the time possible.
Hall and Griffiths made an impact in the 4x400, too, working with Pike and Joe Ripepi to score second (3:38.01). The final relay, the 4x800, also saw the Wildcats attain a top-three finish. Blouch, Ripepi, John Mayer, and Nathan Soria ran the race in 8:38.33 for third.
The field events proved to be a points bonanza, as well. Darian Kinnard continued his breaknace pace in the discus and shot put, claiming first in both categories. Kinnard's toss of 56-05.00 in the shot put garnered the top spot, as did his awesome throw of 165-05 in the discus.
"Darian, even with all of the football success he's had, has gotten into shot put and discus – he finished second in the state last year. He really works at it," Kyle said. "The focus on where he's going to go is football, but he's doing a good job of completing his high school career."
Kinnard was not a one-man-band, though. Alex Misencik earned fourth place in the shot put (42-05.50) and third in the discus (133-01). You can't do much better than 30 team points in the discus and shot put.
Another two-sport athlete, Nate Sommerfeld, made an impact in the high jump. The sophomore scored 6-00.00 for a big six points. His classmate, Dan Drellishack, tabbed more points in the pole vault with a tally of 11-06.00. Zack Morgan also tacked on a couple more with a score of 10-00.00.
All in all, that's a lot of top finishes for the Wildcats. Considering the weather, this is a very encouraging start to the year.
"The weather so far has not been conducive to preparing for outdoor track. It's been very cold and been a battle, but we're used to it," Kyle said. "Indoor track is a misnomer – we practice outside, so our kids are tough and used to it. Also, considering practices have been difficult to develop, especially with the high jumpers – they did a great job. We're young in that area – we have two sophomores and a junior. Dusting the snow off the pit everyday is not conducive to jumping, but they did well."
Following a home meet next week featuring many of the Wildcats' younger runners, the varsity squad returns to competition onf April 7 for the Medina Relays.
"It was a very nice start, we saw promising things to start the season," Kyle said. "We have Easter coming up – hopefully we'll come out of Easter looking good with the warmer weather."