CTK places third in Diocesan track and field meet

Griebner, Kate Edwards, Megan Zenger, Kara Murray; third row - Mikaela Brady, Sarah Eyeington, Charlotte McLellan, Annie Pyrak, Chelsea Zanghi, Jenna Schratz, Chloe Wingerter, Ben Georger; fourth row - Henry Edwards, Chris Walter, Andrew MacPherson, Kevin Schmitt, Jack Murray, Francis Gomez Chavez, Zack Zenger, Gordon Lyons, and Pat Murray.

Under the auspices of the Department of Catholic Education of the Diocese of Buffalo and the direction of the WNY Track and Field Officials Association, the 85th annual Parochial School Outdoor Track and Field meets were held May 21-23.

This year, the three annual meets were held at a new venue, St. Francis High School in Athol Springs.

The Bishop Burke Division, with teams primarily from the larger schools in the Diocese of Buffalo, ran 40 track and six field events on the first day. Elementary and Middle school age athletes from three of Amherst's parochial schools, St. Gregory the Great, St. Benedict's, and Christ the King, competed with young athletes from four Buffalo schools, Catholic Academy of WNY, St. Ambrose, St. Mark's, and Notre Dame Academy. Also competing were three schools from Orchard Park - St. Bernadette, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, and Nativity of Our Lord; two Tonawanda schools, St. Christopher's, and St. Amelia's; two from Kenmore: St. Andrew and St. Paul's; Lockport's DeSales Catholic; and Our Lady of Victory of Lackawanna.

Despite not having entrants in three events, the 10 and under boys relay, 10U boys' dash and the 14U girls' dash, CTK managed to garner enough points to finish only eight points out of first place. As a consolidated school of the former schools St. Bonaventure, St Martin, and St. Thomas Aquinas, Notre Dame Academy won the meet with 37 points. Nativity of Orchard Park placed second and CTK, with 29 points, finished third.

CTK placed fourth in five events including four 75-meter races - 9U girls, Hannah Stroud; 11U boys, Gabe Gomez-Chavez; 12U boys, Gordon Lyons; and 14U girls, Anne Pyrak. Chloe Wingerter of 14U girls placed fourth in the long jump. Zach Zenger was third in the 14U boys softball throw.

All three of the second place finishes for CTK were team efforts in the 4x75 relays. The 12U boys team of Pat Murray, Gomez-Chavez, Jake Foster and Lyons, the 12U girls team of Kara Murray, Jennifer Griebner, Kate Edwards and Elena Schratz, and the 14U girls team of Anne Pyrak, Sarah Eyeington, Chloe Wingerter and Jenna Schratz each finished in second place among the 16 schools.

Andrew MacPherson won the boys long jump competition with a jump of 16-4. Kara Murray won the 10U girls 75-meter race. Murray is undefeated at this Diocesan meet. She had won the 75-meter dash in the 9U girls division at age 8 and 9.

Other CTK track team members who competed at the meet were Tia Piotrowski, Natalie Ryan, and Kelly Griebner, and Stroud (10U girls relay); Chris Walter, Henry Edwards, Francis Gomez-Chavez and MacPherson (14U boys relay); Christopher Zenger (9U boys dash); Gomez-Chavez (13U dash), Walter (14U dash) and Kevin Schmitt (15U dash); Charlotte McLellan (13U) and Chelsea Zanghi (14U) in girls softball throw.

CTK competed at this Diocesan meet with members from their track and field team the morning after wrapping up the Southtowns Invitational Track Association's Championship in the Walters Division at East Aurora High School in a steady, cold rain.