St. Rita Excels at Track Championships
By Sierra Madre Weekly
Published: Thursday, May 20th, 2010
Track season for St. Rita School in Sierra Madre closed with a bang at the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) Archdiocesan Championships for the Los Angeles region. Thirty-one Raiders in grades 4-8 survived the Regionals and Prelims to make the Finals. Only the top eight athletes from approximately 75 schools earned the trip to Serra High School in Gardena for each event in the four divisions.
The Raiders walked away with first, second, third and fourth place finishes as the majority of the athletes put up their best marks of the season. The B Girls were led by sixth grader Sarah Troescher’s 30 points including all-time CYO records in the 200m, 400m and the long jump. Fifth grader Natalie O’Brien’s victories in the 800m and 1200m accounted for another 20 points in the team’s record total of 92 points. In all, 11 different Raiders scored to earn the 60th CYO Track title in the schools history. It also kept the streak of 23 straight years of at least one championship alive.
The B Boys finished fourth, just 2 points out of third. Fifth grader Sean Espinosa’s 1200m victory and sixth grader Tyler Rix’s second in the shot put led the team.
The Varsity Girls grabbed a second place trophy on the back of incredible performances by eighth grader Michelle Basham. After taking first in school record time in the 1600, Michelle came from third to first in the final 50m of the 800 to complete the difficult double victory. She then anchored the 4X400 team to a fourth place finish to complete the night.
The Varsity Boys amassed four school records in the most difficult competition of the evening as they fought to a third place finish. The 4X100 team of Landry Assinesi, Conor Williams, Grant Gonzalez and Stephen Krause shaved over a second from the school record to begin the night before Alex Cargal obliterated the school’s 400m record. William Hurtado followed that with a record in the 800m. This set the stage for what was without a doubt, the most exciting race in St. Rita history.
Grant Gonzalez took the first circuit with baton in the final event of the evening as St. Rita battled a powerful St. Benedict 4X400m team. He passed to William Hurtado as the eight team race developed into a three-team battle. Holy Family slowly dropped off as Hurtado chased the St. Benedict team. Stephen Krause grabbed the baton about 20 meters behind the Bruins but quickly chewed up the distance with a blistering leg. He gave the baton to Alex Cargal right on the Bruin’s heels. Cargal refused to give any ground as the runners hit the home stretch. Each of Cargal’s strides cut inches off the lead as the entire crowd stood up with only a few meters to go, Alex pushed past the leader and cut to the inside lane, blocking the competition and insuring the dramatic victory. The time sheets showed that each Raider runner had turned in the best leg of their career and the effort took eight seconds off the school record and six seconds off the CYO record.
That race epitomized the entire season for the tracksters as they showed the grit and determination that led them to overall point victories in every meet this year, extending their unbeaten streak to 22 years. The meet also showed the competition that the Raiders will be tough to deal with for years to come, as so many fourth through sixth graders scored points in these finals.
This 2010 Championship meet celebrates 38 years of service for Head Coach Randy Davies, who believes that developing student athletes is one of the most important aspects in developing successful students. St. Rita athletic programs complement the rigorous academic curriculum, and prepare young people for so many of life’s hurdles and victories in the years ahead.
1 Response for “St. Rita Excels at Track Championships”
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Congratulations St. Rita Raiders and Coach Randy Davies!
What an amazing season this year!