Strong, all-around team efforts have defined the 2018 season that is culminating in a postseason to remember.
The Saint Ignatius varsity track and field team secured its third consecutive Regional Championship on Friday evening, thanks to points scored by the Wildcats' individual runners, relays, and Ring Cats.
In the process, a pack of Wildcats earned bids to the State Meet next weekend with top 4 finishes at Marion Steele High School.
The ever-cheerful and speedy Phil Zuccaro anchored the Wildcats in typical fashion. The senior dashed to a time of 10.95 in the 100m dash, finishing second only to Dorian Hooker II of Sylvania Northview. Zuccaro also grabbed third place in the 200m dash, clocking in at 21.68. Between the two events, Zuccaro earned 14 points singlehandedly while qualifying for States in both events.
A huge highlight of Friday's action occurred in the 110m hurdles. John Wetula ran a personal record in the event, dashing to a highly impressive time of 14.21. His wonderful effort, improving on his prelim time by .75, placed him in fourth overall. Wetula earned 5 points and justly qualified for States.
Two stellar two-sport Cats repped the squad in the 1600m run. Nick Saul nabbed fourth and a ticket to Columbus with a wonderful time of 4:19.58. His five points helped the Wildcats significantly. Liam McGuire tallied a time of 4:26.82, placing him in 12th.
The Wildcats' 4x100 turned in a key 8 points on Friday. Jack & Connor Kennedy, Dominic Devengencie, and Zuccaro combined for a stellar time of 42.08, improving on the prelim time by almost .5 seconds. The quartet tabbed second in the event for 8 points and a ticket to Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
The 4x800 team of Saul, Matt Blouch, Andrew Biehl, and McGuire also earned a spot in Columbus as a wildcard relay squad on Wednesday.
Following a big effort on Wednesday, the Ring Cats posted another clutch performance on Friday. Darian Kinnard qualified for the shot put for the second straight season. The senior rebounded from a near-miss with a toss of 58' 9.75". His best throw of the day netted him second place and a cool 8 points.
Tommy Eichenberg followed Kinnard's lead with a Herculean feat of strength in the shot put. The heavily recruited linebacker fired a throw of 56' that bested his seed by nearly two feet. His awesome throw landed him third place, behind Kinnard, along with 6 points.
Thanks to the contributions of every corner of the Wildcats track and field team, the men of Chuck Kyle '69 earned first place with 58 points. The Wildcats just edged Whitmer (54) and Medina (50) in a clutch showing.
"Winning the Regional is quite an accomplishment," Coach Kyle said. "The meet represents a 60-team competition. Our balance of field events, sprints, and distance led to the win."
A total of 11 Wildcats will represent the Jesuit school on the corner of West 30th and Lorain in Columbus next weekend. A preview will be posted this week.
In the meantime, congratulations to the seniors of the track & field squad and all graduating Wildcats. We'll see you at Public Hall tomorrow!