For the fourth consecutive year the Saint Joseph Academy Track and Field team won their OHSAA district title. At a new location for the first time in over 30 years, the Lakewood district moved to Brunswick High School where the host Blue Devils were expected to run away with the title. Despite the fact SJA had lost convincingly to Brunswick three separate times this spring, the Jaguars saved their best for the most important meet of the season. Most athletes set personal bests and a handful of school records were set. In all, SJA qualified athletes to the Amherst regional in 15 of 17 possible events.
The barrage of school records began on Wednesday when senior Brittany Morrison went big on her last shot put throw with a mark of 41' .5" - good enough for 9th in the state at the moment. Morrison would repeat her big last throw style in the discus where she set a personal best of 127' 1" for the win. Morgan Schauer, a sophomore, also set a personal best at 114' in the discus and finished in 4th place which qualified for the regional meet.
School record number 2 came at the hands of junior Bridget McGuire, who made a big break through in the pole vault where she tied the school record of 10' 0". That jump placed her fifth, while senior Alexis Bloor finished 8th in the event.
Perhaps the biggest record came with a Beamonesque long jump by Kye Williams ('16). On her first attempt she leapt 18' 1", good enough for the win and for a 14 inch school record. Equally mind-blowing was senior Bridget Roche's last jump in finals, which bumped her from 8th place to 3rd and allowed her to qualify to regionals. She improved her PR from 15' 0" to 16' 11" at districts!
The finals of the running events on Friday were off to a quick start as the Jaguars began the meet with 2nd and 5th place finishes in the 100 meter hurdles. Williams just missed her own school record set in the prelims Wednesday, and fellow junior Monica Hahn ran her all-time best to set the tone for the day. Next came senior sprinter Jenea Adams in the 100m dash, where she held of an incredible field to break her own school record in 12.24 seconds and win her 2nd district title in the event
The final school record of the meet came from the 4 x 100 meter relay team of Hahn, Lauren Zawie ('17), Williams, and Adams where they ran a quick time of 49.13 seconds for second place, just .01 second off the winning time.
Other great performances include; Williams and Roche in the high jump who finished 1st and 3rd, Hahn and Roche in the 300H who finished 2nd and 7th, sophomore Maggie Wagner and freshman Sydney Seymour who finished 3rd and 4th in the 1600, Seymour and sophomore Olivia Battistoni who finished 3rd and 5th in the 3200, Wagner and sophomore Katy McAfee who finished 3rd and 7th in the 800, Adams who came back for her 4th event of the day to finish 3rd in the 200m dash, 2nd place by the 4 x 200m relay team of Hahn, Zawie, senior Sarah Stottner, and Adams, and a 4th place finish in the 4 x 400m relay by the team of Katie Pellegrino ('17), Zawie, Wagner, and Roche.
