The goal of any Saint Ignatius spring sports team is to peak in May and June. That's exactly what the Saint Ignatius varsity track and field team is doing.
The Wildcats captured first at the Euclid Relays on Saturday, rocking to the top spot with an impressive 122.5 points.
A well-rounded effort from each Wildcat led to a magnificent victory for the men of Chuck Kyle '69.
As per usual, Phil Zuccaro galloped to victory in the 100m dash. The senior clocked in at 10.98 to roll to a top finish and the 10 accompanying points.
Experience often pays off in the hurdles, and it on Saturday for the Cats. Seasoned vets John Wetula and Max Pike snatched second and seventh, respectively. Wetula's time of 15.34 earned 8 points and Pike's 16.80 time added two.
The Wildcats' individual distance runners provided gutsy performances as always. Liam McGuire and Nick Saul tag-teamed the 1600m run with great success. McGuire won the event with a time of 4:30.87, while Saul snagged fifth with a mark of 4:45.69. The duo gave the Cats 14 points in the one event.
Andrew Biehl (9:55.83) and Brett Saunders (9:56.29) took third and fourth, respectively, in the 3200m run. The two earned 11 combined points for the Wildcats in the lengthy event.
The relay squads provided points aplenty for the blue and gold, too.
Zuccaro, Dominic Devengencie, Connor Kennedy, and Jack Kennedy combined for an important 8 points in the 4x100 relay. Finishing the quick race in 42.78, the Wildcats finished just .07 off GlenOak's squad, but still took a seemly second place.
In the 4x400 relay, Kyle Hall, Luke Griffiths, Pike, and Wetula dashed to fourth place after clocking in at 3:36.30. The Kennedy's, Griffiths, and Hall also grabbed sixth in the 800 sprint medley in 1:39.38 for three points.
Matt Blouch, John Meyer, McGuire, and Saul beat their seed time in the 4x800 relay by 4 seconds to finish third. The squad's time of 8:11.77 earned the Wildcats 6 points.
The distance relay squad of Joe Ripepi, Liam Reilly, Steve Zucca, and Nathan Soria enjoyed a wonderful race. The quartet stole first place with a remarkable time of 11:08.17 to nab 10 points, a highlight of the meet for the Wildcats.
The Ring Cats gathered a wealth of points for the squad on Saturday, as per usual this time of year.
Darian Kinnard hurled a throw of 177-10 in the discus for a nice second-place finish. Alex Misencik also scored points with a throw of 150-01. That equaled a good output of points for the Cats.
In the shot put, Kinnard snatched first place with a wonderful toss of 54-03.00. Tommy Eichenberg tallied a great result in the shot put, too, scoring a 49-09.50 for third place. Misencik finished seventh with a throw of 45-00.50.
The great results kept coming in the other field events, too. Nate Sommerfeld tied for seventh with a leap of 5-10.00 in the high jump, while Luke Tai tied for 11th with a hop of 5-06.00.
In the long jump, Andrew Phillips (17-11.75) and Devengencie (17-08.00) repped the Cats, taking ninth and tenth place, respectively.
Craig Cirino beat the field for the Wildcats in the pole vault. The senior's mark of 13-00.00 earned some clutch points for the Cats. Dan Drellishak nipped at his heels with a tally of 12-06.00 and a tie for second place.
As a team, the Wildcats recorded 122.50 points, enough to overcome Solon (115) and Mentor (81.50) in impressive fashion.
Following a long day of hosting the Wasmer Games on Sunday, the Wildcats will rest up and prepare for a pair of home meets before the Jim Green Invitational next Monday. Following these meets, the Wildcats will participate in the District Championships on May 16 and 18.