A Jesuit runner rounds the last lap, two other high school runners sprinting to catch up with him, vying to take the first place spot in the last 100 meters. The Jesuit runner crosses the finish line to lead Jesuit to a first place finish at the WT White Invitational meet, the last meet of the season, held on April 2nd.
“A 1st place finish is amazing no mattter where in the season it occurs, but the fact that we got it in the last meet of the regular season, that just gives us all the more momentum we need to propel ourselves into the next meets,” said junior Lucas Kincade.
Jesuit’s rising track team, led by junior Connor O’Neill, secured yet another 1st place finish to finish out the regular season and looked towards their road to state. Not only did Jesuit take home amazing finishes as a team, but many of the individuals also won their events as well. Senior John Garvey sprinted to a first place finish in the 1600 meter race with his classmate Ethan Brownlee ’16 coming in fourth. Juniors Connor Jackson and Lucas Kincade both took home top 10 finishese in this meet as well.
This momentum obviously bolstered the team’s confidence as they cruised into another first place finish at the District meet on April 13th. This continued the Rangers streak of district championships, making it the fourth District Championship in a row won by the Rangers. Rookie Tommy Paredes ’17 stated, “This was the inagural event of my Jesuit track career. Being a part of a four year streak as I was during the district meet gave me such an amazing feeling. It made me feel like I was truly a part of the team now. I just hope we can continue it at regionals.”
This meet served as a qualifier for the area meet on April 22nd. The runners who qualified were:
Track Area Qualifiers
Connor O’Neill – 1600m – 1st (4:21.29)
Connor O’Neill – 3200m – 1st (9:24.48)
Shawn Regan – High Jump – 1st (6-04)
Vance Holub – Shot Put – 1st (48-03)
Collin Lark – Pole Vault – 1st (13-0)
Ethan Brownlee – 800m – 2nd (1:59.98)
Ethan Brownlee – 300m hurdles – 2nd (41.68)
4×400 relay (Dillon Kirgis, Esteban Garcia, Jack Lynch, Ethan Brownlee ) – 2nd (3:28.94)
Chris Cantrell – Long Jump – 2nd (21-01)
Jake Elrod – Pole Vault – 2nd (12-6)
Lucas Kincade – Triple Jump – 2nd (41-02.50)
Vance Holub – Discus Throw – 2nd (134-03)
Will Naquin – 300m hurdles – 3rd (42.00)
John Garvey – 1600m – 3rd (4:35.13)
John Garvey – 800m – 3rd (2:00.00)
Connor Jackson – 100m – 3rd (11:39)
4×200 relay (Ryan Macalanda, Sam Musso, Connor Jackson, Jack Lynch) – 3rd (1:32.05)
Shawn Regan – Long Jump – 3rd (20-03.50)
Bass Stewart – Pole Vault – 3rd (9-06)
Joey Parks – 300m hurdles – 4th (42.90)
These rankings obviously prove a victory for the Rangers as the large number of runners who qualified will give them an advantage over other teams in the area meet.
The Rangers will compete in the area meet on April 22nd at the Jesse Owens Complex.
