NOVI — With the addition of six new member schools, the Catholic League track and field landscape shifted significantly this spring. Not only did the CHSL expand from two divisions to three, but the first batch of team winners included schools that had not hoisted the champions’ trophy for quite a while.
For example, Novi Detroit Catholic Central had always been contending for titles, but hadn’t claimed first place since 2011, before winning the Bishop Division boys title on their home track Saturday.
“It was great; it was a lot of fun. The kids knew it had been 13 years — I can’t believe it’s been that long, but I guess it has been,” veteran coach Tony Magni said. “We talked about it, and we said if we run our best, we could win. We didn’t know what Ohio had, we knew (Toledo St. John’s Jesuit) were the state champions (in 2023), but we knew if we just ran our best, we’d be there.”
The Shamrocks did just that, accumulating 133 points, ahead of 119 for St. John’s and 118 for Toledo St. Francis in the eight-team field.
Catholic Central had enough strength across the board, starting with sophomore Paxton Heitsch, who won both the shot put (53’ 3.5”) and the discus (142’ 7”). Classmate Zacchaeus Brocks broke a 40-year-old Catholic League record by winning the 110-meter high hurdles in 14.10 seconds. Dylan Young won the 100 dash (11.09) and anchored Catholic Central’s first-place 4x100 relay (43.60). Drew Abbott won the 800 (1:58.66) despite being seeded sixth going into the race.
“Everybody just ran their best. Our half-miler (Abbott) ran well. Our relays ran well. Our hurdlers did great. Our thrower won shot and discus. Distance kids ran well, and we put it all together. It was just a solid team effort,” Magni said. “What I think really helped is that everybody came through with their best day today. They had a lot of (personal records), and that helps. I hope this is the start of many (titles) to come in a row.”
Bishop girls: Newcomer St. Ursula takes title
How did Toledo St. Ursula prepare to compete in the Catholic High School League finals without any prior history in the league?
“Through our faith, really — just having them have faith in themselves is the main thing, and believing in themselves, trusting their teammates, coming in with really no expectations other than to do their best and perform when the time calls,” head coach Richard Meklus said.
That approach earned the Arrows the Bishop Division girls’ team title in their first year in the Catholic League — something that not happened during their entire tenure in the Three Rivers Athletic Conference, from 2011-23.
St. Ursula won just two of the 16 events Saturday at Catholic Central, yet the Arrows placed in every event, sometimes with multiple athletes, to accumulate their winning score of 154. Last year’s champion, Farmington Hills Mercy, was second with 142, and Dearborn Divine Child was third at 124.
“We really looked at the parameters of the meet with an eye on having as many kids qualify as possible, in certain events which we thought we could take advantage of with our depth as a team. The strategy seemed to pay off,” Meklus said.
St. Ursula’s Makayla Slater (17’ 3”) and Audrey Vendemo (16’ 4.5”) took the first two places in long jump, while school record-holder Kennedy Boze won discus (122’ 7”) as Kennedy Donnelly, Payton Pennywhitt and Jolie’t McClendon also placed in the event.
Divine Child freshman Aubrey Wilson was the meet’s only double event-winner, claiming the 100-meter (12.23) and 200-meter (25.66) dashes. She also ran a leg on the Falcons’ first-place 4x200 relay (1:47.35).
Cardinal boys: Lutheran North claims title on home track
The Catholic League created a new Cardinal Division for medium-sized schools, and that was just fine for Macomb Lutheran North, who finished seventh competing against larger teams in the Bishop Division last year.
On their home track Friday, the Mustangs led the field with 158 points, ahead of Toledo Central Catholic (138) and Riverview Gabriel Richard (107). Gabriel Richard had been the 2023 Cardinal Division champion when the division was comprised of the smallest schools.
“When we first started the season, the competition got really tough for our boys and our girls. When I saw the seedings for where Toledo (Central Catholic) was coming in, I thought ‘Holy cow,’ this is going to be a great meet,” Lutheran North coach Tim Davis said. “Our boys were up for it. I’m pretty happy how they put out. Everything was fantastic.”
The Mustangs’ Brewer Snay won both the 1600 (4:38.45) and 3200 (9:58.60) meter runs, and freshman Greg Glaser took the high jump (5’10”). Joshua Macri, Grant Garner, Vasilios Kirchhoff and Jack McMahon won the 4x800 relay (8:31.26).
“It was just across the board — my throwers, my jumpers, my hurdlers. There were a lot of (personal records) by a lot of people, and this is the time of the season to do it,” Davis said. “A lot of the places were a little bit higher than I anticipated. It was fun. It’s been a long time having a meet like this where the competition across the board was tough.”
Central Catholic won nine of the 16 events. Jaylen Watson took the 100 (11.05), the 200 (22.19) and ran on the Fighting Irish’ first-place 4x100 and 4x200 relays (43.87 and 1:30.91).
Lutheran North had much track success in the former Metro Conference, yet hadn’t won a team title since joining the Catholic League in 2010.
Cardinal girls: Fr. Gabriel Richard returns to glory
Ann Arbor Fr. Gabriel Richard won a long string of Catholic League girls’ track titles in its final days in the former C/D Division, but had not distinguished itself since moving up to the large-school division in 2015.
That changed Friday at Lutheran North, as Fr. Gabriel Richard finished atop the seven-team field with 132.5 points, narrowly ahead of Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (127.5). Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood (73) was third.
“All season I think we’ve been able to accumulate points in every event, and that’s what got us here to this point,” coach Jim Spencer said. “In past years we’ve not had (strong) field events, and we accumulated a lot of points in field events today. That was a case where things went right today. The team put it all together today.”
Juliet Gibb won the long jump (15’ 8”) and high jump (4’10”), while Cora Williams took first in the shot put (38’10.75”) and led a third-fourth-fifth contingent in the discus. Fr. Gabriel Richard’s only first-place finish on the track came from its 4x200 relay of Madeleine Fleury, Abby LaFave, Zoe Frederick and Bell Hollenshead (1:49.96), yet the Fighting Irish had at least one top-five finish in every other race.
Central Catholic’s Nyla King won three individual sprint races: the 100 (12.45), 200 (25.50) and 400 (58.26).
The newly created St. Anne’s Division, encompassing the remainder of the old Cardinal Division plus newcomer Jackson Lumen Christi, holds its championship on May 22 at Ann Arbor Greenhills. The Greenhills girls won the 2023 crown while the Gryphons’ boys team shared the title with Riverview Gabriel Richard.
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