For as long as the members of the Saint Ignatius track & field team have been alive, the Wildcats have been District Champs.
In fact, the Wildcats have won the District Meet so many times in a row that Head Coach Chuck Kyle '69 cannot remember how many in a row the Cats have won.
So, for the twenty-somethingth time in a row, the Saint Ignatius track and field squad won the District Championship on Friday evening.
The Wildcats enjoyed a great effort at the District Meet at Amherst's Marion Steele High School on Wednesday and Friday. A pack of Cats will compete in Regionals next week in Amherst in the hopes of securing spots at the State Meet.
Six Wildcat Runners Qualify for Eight Regional Events
Phil Zuccaro did his typical Flash impersonation in the 100m dash. The speedy senior stole first with a time of 10.97, beating his prelim time. Fellow senior Connor Kennedy also qualified for Regionals, clocking in at 11.34, a phenomenal time for the two-sport athlete.
Zuccaro secured his spot in Amherst in the 200m dash, too. The Wildcats' speedster earned first with a mark of 22.09 in the final. Fellow speed demon Dominic Devengencie also punched his ticket with a time of 22.96, taking third in the finals.
John Wetula captured a personal record and a spot at Regionals in the 110m hurdles. The junior galloped to a time of 14.89, beating his prelim time by .32 seconds. Max Pike narrowly missed the cut in a stacked field, running the race in 15.40. Both Wetula and Pike barely missed the cut in the 300m hurdles.
The Wildcats' distance runners did wonderfully, too. Nick Saul and Liam McGuire finished 1-2 in the 1600m run. Saul and McGuire recorded times of 4:21.56 and 4:22.54, respectively, to earn spots in next week's meet.
Saul and McGuire also ran a nice 800m, but only Saul advanced to Regionals. Saul finished in fourth with a time of 1:58.05 while McGuire took ninth at 2:01.25.
Strong Day for Wildcats Relays
The quartet of Jack & Connor Kennedy, Devengencie, and Zuccaro snatched first in a closely contested 4x100 relay. The four Cats combined for a time of 42.47 to move onto Regionals and claim 10 points for the men in blue and gold.
The 4x800 relay squad enjoyed a banner day at Districts. Nick Saul, Andre Biehl, Matt Blouch, and Liam McGuire dashed to first place with a time of 7:57.99 to advance to Regionals and claim first place at Districts.
In a photo finish, the Wildcats' 4x400 relay squad just missed out on Regionals. Luke Griffiths, Wetula, Cormac Nolan, and Kyle Hall ran a strong race of 3:27.82 for fifth, but finished just .08 seconds off of the fourth and final spot at Regionals.
Personal Records Set and Tickets Punched for Ring Cats
A spectacular season continued for Darian Kinnard at Districts. The senior scored first in the discus on Wednesday. Kinnard earned a personal record of 178-11 to win the meet. Alex "Scalabrine" Misencik also punched his ticket to Regionals with a hurl of 158-03. His mark finished third and earned five points for the Ring Cats.
The success continued into Friday for the men of Ryan Franzinger '02 and Tom "Flando" Flandera '63. Kinnard snatched second in the shot put with a toss of 59-02.25. Fellow two-sport athlete Tommy Eichenberg saw a personal record fall with a hefty toss of 54-03.50, taking third at Districts and earned a spot at the Regional Meet next week.
All in all, not a bad week for the Ring Cats.
The Wildcats also earned another Regional qualifier – Craig Cirino. The senior stole the show with a second-place hop of 13-00.00, earning 8 points for the Cats in impressive fashion.
As a team, the Cats ran away with the District title. The squad scored 148 points, far ahead of Steele's 63.50 points in second place.
The Wildcats will take part in the Regional Meet next Wednesday and Friday and Amherst, hoping to take away the gold for the second straight year.