FAQs for 2013 track and field!!

FAQs for 2013 track and field!!

If you are in a winter sport, then focus on that completely and hopefully we'll see you in the spring.....Remember anyone for any sport needs to have an updated OHSAA physical (not a school physical) in order to condition, do indoor, or do outdoor track and field. Its a state law. Below are some Frequently asked questions about track and field at SJA. I hope you find it helpful. Please ask a coach for more specific information. 

1. WHEN is track? There is one OFFICIAL season and its for Outdoor track and field. The first official practice is March 11, 2013 and the season runs until mid to late May. It is a pretty short season. Some athletes will condition starting in the summer and throughout the fall. 

We DO compete in indoor track and field meets. This is encouraged yet optional for athletes NOT doing an official SJA sponsored winter sport (basketball/swimming). You may only do Outdoor, but it is weird to only do indoors - that is discouraged. 

2. What event should I do? If you did track and field in grade school, then you know what event you should do. If you are new to track and field, see one of the coaches (Mr. Kieser, Mr. Shannon, Mrs. Garlock) to help you decide. 

3. Do you make cuts? No, we do not make cuts, but every athlete must show up for every practice and follow the same rules and expectations as the rest of the team regardless of talent/ability. 

4. Will I get to compete? yes, everyone will get at least 6 or 7 meets to compete in. The better our depth, the more we get to rest our top athletes so they can focus on the end of the season meets. 

5. Is SJA good at track and field? Heck yeah! We won the District title last year over teams like Magnificat, Lakewood, all the Cleveland Public schools, etc...But lets keep the tradition rolling! 

6. Can I try new events? For the most part yes, but the team is large, so if its not going to work out then please don't take up the coaches time experimenting. 

7. Do we have a website? yes, www.sjatrackandfield.blogspot.com 

8. Have you updated the website for this year yet? No. Soon. 

9. Can I follow SJA track and field on Twitter??  yes, @SJAtrackcc

10. When can I start practicing/conditioning? 

Distance and middle distance runners. They are beginning after school Monday, November 5th. There will be someone there to run with every day, but you do not have to show up every day unless you want to. Contact me if you are new, nervous, or not sure what you're doing so I can help you get started. 

Throwers - Your group will begin meeting with Coach Fidler after Thanksgiving break. Contact me if you want to be a thrower so I can forward the coach your name and contact info. 

Pole vaulters - you are sprinters or MD people who also jump. You meet on Wednesday after school with Coach Wolosz and Coach Marquard. Even on early dismissal days. High Jumpers. We will begin after Christmas break (normally we'd meet during xmas break but I'll be out of town). 

Sprinters - contact me so I know who you are. We will be meeting after school until 4:45 ish on Monday's Tuesdays, and Thursdays. The focus will be on core, strength (weight room), range-of-motion, and circuits. We will probably do warm-up twice a week and do one running workout each week as a group unless the weather is either too nice or too yucky. We will keep this schedule through to Christmas break unless you hear otherwise. 

Thanks! Coach Kieser and the entire track and field staff!

FAQs for 2013 track and field!!

If you are in a winter sport, then focus on that completely and hopefully we'll see you in the spring.....Remember anyone for any sport needs to have an updated OHSAA physical (not a school physical) in order to condition, do indoor, or do outdoor track and field. Its a state law. Below are some Frequently asked questions about track and field at SJA. I hope you find it helpful. Please ask a coach for more specific information. 1. WHEN is track? There is one OFFICIAL season and its for Outdoor track and field. The first official practice is March 11, 2013 and the season runs until mid to late May. It is a pretty short season. Some athletes will condition starting in the summer and throughout the fall. We DO compete in indoor track and field meets. This is encouraged yet optional for athletes NOT doing an official SJA sponsored winter sport (basketball/swimming). You may only do Outdoor, but it is weird to only do indoors - that is discouraged. 2. What event should I do? If you did track and field in grade school, then you know what event you should do. If you are new to track and field, see one of the coaches (Mr. Kieser, Mr. Shannon, Mrs. Garlock) to help you decide. 3. Do you make cuts? No, we do not make cuts, but every athlete must show up for every practice and follow the same rules and expectations as the rest of the team regardless of talent/ability. 4. Will I get to compete? yes, everyone will get at least 6 or 7 meets to compete in. The better our depth, the more we get to rest our top athletes so they can focus on the end of the season meets. 5. Is SJA good at track and field? Heck yeah! We won the District title last year over teams like Magnificat, Lakewood, all the Cleveland Public schools, etc...But lets keep the tradition rolling! 6. Can I try new events? For the most part yes, but the team is large, so if its not going to work out then please don't take up the coaches time experimenting. 7. Do we have a website? yes, www.sjatrackandfield.blogspot.com 8. Have you updated the website for this year yet? No. Soon. 9. When can I start practicing/conditioning? Distance and middle distance runners. They are beginning after school Monday, November 5th. There will be someone there to run with every day, but you do not have to show up every day unless you want to. Contact me if you are new, nervous, or not sure what you're doing so I can help you get started. Throwers - Your group will begin meeting with Coach Fidler after Thanksgiving break. Contact me if you want to be a thrower so I can forward the coach your name and contact info. Pole vaulters - you are sprinters or MD people who also jump. You meet on Wednesday after school with Coach Wolosz and Coach Marquard. Even on early dismissal days. High Jumpers. We will begin after Christmas break (normally we'd meet during xmas break but I'll be out of town). Sprinters - contact me so I know who you are. We will be meeting after school until 4:45 ish on Monday's Tuesdays, and Thursdays. The focus will be on core, strength (weight room), range-of-motion, and circuits. We will probably do warm-up twice a week and do one running workout each week as a group unless the weather is either too nice or too yucky. We will keep this schedule through to Christmas break unless you hear otherwise. Thanks! Coach Kieser and the entire track and field staff!

Season conclusion

The SJA track and field season officially came to a close on Friday June 1st at the Jesse Owens facility on Ohio State's campus. The 4 x 200m relay team finished 6th in their heat which was not fast enough to qualify to Saturday's final. For MaryKate Caja, Becca Sedlak, Gab Leon, and Brenna McGrath the experience was valuable and fun, but notes were taken as all four plan to be back next spring and make it to finals.

The coaching staff wishes to thank the administration and school community for their support throughout the season. We also wish to thank the parents who helped their daughter's get to practices, meets, and stay healthy and well fed all season long. However the biggest thanks goes to the entire team who responded very well to a new coaching staff. Without their cooperation, effort, and communication, this team would not have enjoyed the successes they had.

Stay fit, dream big for next year, and crush your finals!

Day 2 of regionals - state qualifiers!

Day 2 of regionals brought some rain, some lightning, some delays, and some cheers. Among the 9 events SJA competed in, only 1 made it to the state tournament, but it was a big one! For the first time in school history a the Jaguars will have a sprint relay represented in Columbus. The quartet of MaryKate Caja, Becca Sedlak, Gab Leon, and Brenna McGrath shocked the stopwatch by finishing in 2nd place in the 4 x 200m finals with a time of 1:43.89 - a school record by over a full second.

In other events, SJA scored points in the 300H with an 8th place finish from Caja and a 6th place finish in the 4 x 400m relay (Sedlak, Maddie Zimmerman, Rachel McGuire, McGrath).

Day 1 at Regionals

The first day of regionals played out as expected...just a few seconds either way could mean the difference between reaching finals/podium or not.

The 4 x 800, missing senior Caitlin Nagy, ran valiantly but finished off the podium in 11th place. The 100H and 100m dash were equally difficult and SJA had no qualifiers reaching the finals on Friday.

Spirits were lifted when the District Champ 4 x 200 team qualified to the finals using their 3rd different relay in as many races.

Brenna McGrath and Becca Sedlak both ran their second best times ever in the 200 and 400 respectively, but it wasn't quite enough to make the final. The 4 x 100m relay team also saw its season end in the prelims by finishing outside the top 8 times.

MaryKate Caja did run well enough in the 300 hurdles to make her first Regional final ever. Also, the 4 x 400m relay team of Maddie Zimmerman, Becca Sedlak, Rachel McGuire, and Brenna McGrath qualified to the finals as well with a season-best time of 4:02.

Along with those events on Friday, SJA will also have athletes in the discus, pole vault, long jump, 800m, 1600m, and 3200m runs. Field events begin at 4:00 and running events at 5:00pm.

Week of Monday, May 21

Hello Jaguars!!!

Its been a GREAT weekend and I must say it feels even better than I imagined. This is the best team effort I've ever seen - thank you to ALL of you.

However our work is not done - there is some unfinished business to be taken care of.

Monday, May 21
Uniform turn in during both activity blocks in room 331.
Sprinters - with Coach Kieser and Coach Shannon until 4:30. Schwind with sprinters until 4:30 then to St. Eds at 4:45 for PV practice.
Thrower - with Coach Garlock
MD/Distance - meet with Coach Meeson at Mastick
PVers - meet Coach Wolosz at St. Eds at 4:45.

Tuesday, May 22
Short practice at SJA for all
Spring sports banquet at Brennan's

Wednesday, May 23
CC informational meeting Room 331 first activity block
SJA @ regionals...see itinerary

Thursday, May 24
short practice at SJA for all

Friday, May 25
SJA @ regionals...see itinerary

First district championship!

In what is believed to be SJA's first ever track and field district championship, the Jaguars prevailed over the rest of the Lakewood district with a total team effort. The winning Jaguars earned the win with a score of 163 points - 8.5 points ahead of rival Magnificat. The district title is not only the first for the track and field team, but it is just the second sport to win a district title at the school period.
The statistics of the win are staggering. Out of a possible 17 events, the Jags will be sending athletes to the regional competition in 16. To qualify to the regional (held next week at Amherst High School) the individual/relay had to finish in the top 4 place. More staggering was that out of all the individuals (each team could enter 2 individuals per event and 1 relay per relay event) only 3 did not score points.
The Jags success came from depth winning only 3 events (Veronica Colborn in the pole vault, MaryKate Caja in the 300 meter hurdles and the 4 x 200 meter relay team of Caja, Caitlin Nagy, Rebecca Sedlak, and Brenna McGrath), but they scored 2nd in 9 different events.
Nearly every athlete earned a personal best in her event, but 3 more school records were broken and junior Brenna McGrath had a hand in all 3. Her day began with a 16' 10" long jump, breaking Angel Lett's longstanding record by 6 inches. Next came the 4 x 200m relay in which the quartet broke their own school record by over a full second running 1:44.90. To end her record setting day Brenna finished 2nd in the 200 meter dash with a time of 25.75, breaking her own school record set in Wednesday's prelims.
Junior teammate MaryKate Caja also had a big day finishing 2nd in the 100m dash in a personal best 12.67 seconds to go with her relay and hurdle titles. Sophomore Rebecca Sedlak exploded in the 400 to finish 4th and nearly beat the school record with a time of 59.55. She came back later in the 4 x 400 meter relay to split under 60 seconds again and moved the team from 3rd to 1st during her leg. Also scoring multiple times were junior Sarah Schwind (2nd in pole vault, 3rd in 100 hurdles, and 4th in 300 hurdles), Caitlin Nagy (2nd in 4 x 800, 2nd in 800, 2nd in 4 x 400, and 1st in 4 x 200), sophomore Gab Leon (2nd in 4 x 100, 5th in 100m dash), senior Mary Kate Chambers (5th in 1600, 3rd in 3200), senior Maggey Urban (7th shot put, 6th discus), sophomore Rachel McGuire (2nd 4 x 800, 3rd 1600, 2nd 4 x 400), and Maddie Zimmerman (2nd 4 x 800, 6th 400m dash).
There is not enough room to highlight every individual, but here is a link to the Plain Dealer article from Saturday's paper.

http://highschoolsports.cleveland.com/news/article/5403328776145676960/st-joseph-girls-ignatius-boys-triumph-in-division-i-district-track/