I am the Head Cross Country and Track/Field coach for St. Vincent - St. Mary High School.
I am the Executive Director and founder of STARS/ATC Youth Sports. A non-profit organization dedicated to promoting running and running agility for youth in the area of cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field.
I want to congratulate the Ladies 4×800 relay team for defending their state indoor title with an impressive victory this past Saturday.The team consisted of Theresa Hagey, Emily Bame, Kate Saum and Laney King.
Other place holders at the OATCC state Finals were:
Olivia Mathis finished in 8th place in the 400. Kate Saum finished in 8th place in the 1600. Theresa Hagey finished in 9th place. Emily Bame finished in 5th place in the 800. Andrew McSteen finished in 10th place in the 1600. Pole Vaulter and school Record Holder Blake Sifferlin finished in 9th place in Pole Vault State finals that were held in Wooster.
The Fighting Irish Ladies team represented the SVSM community in great style at the State Championship @ the new location of Fortress Obetz in Columbus.
Staying along with the entirely unusual year this has been, the state finals was very odd in regards to the weather. The conditions were more like the first invite of the year, rather than the last with the temperatures soaring to mid 70s by the time the race was contested.
When the race ended, the team consisting of Theresa Hagey, Kate Saum, Aislynn McVicker, Olivia Kindbom, Sadie Porchowsky, Anne Rea and Amelia Moll finished in 3rd place as a team. They missed the title by a mere 22 points and the runner spot by only 8 pts.
On the men’s side, Senior Chase Powers represented the Fighting Irish with a strong performance. However, the heat played havoc on Chase and he fought to a 77 finish.
Congratulations to all of the 2020 Fighting Irish Cross Country team. This season will go down in the history books like no other year. All of the athletes showed their resilience and their perseverance each and everyday. We never knew from one day to the next if the season was even going to be completed.
I want to personally thank all team members, coaches and families for keeping the faith and allowing God to keep us all grounded and focused.
Thanks to Mr. Lisle, here are some photos he took:
For the 13th straight year in a row, the Lady Irish will be representing the St.Vincent – St. Mary community at the State Cross Country Championship this upcoming Saturday.
The Irish finished as the Runner Up team at the Regionals to advance. They will be represented by the following ladies: Theresa Hagey, Kate Saum, Aislynn McVicker, Olivia Kindbom, Anne Rea, Sadie Porchowsky and Amelia Moll.
Congratulations also goes out the Senior Chase Powers who finished in a very impressive 5th place to advance to the State finals.
Chase will compete at Noon. The Lady Irish will challenge for the title at 1:00 pm
2020 FIFGHTING IRISH DISTRICT CHAMPS FOR THE 13TH YEAR IN A ROW!
Congratulations to both the men and the women Fighting Irish team. The guys started the day off with a 3rd place finish. They were led by Senior Chase Powers who finished in 5th place overall. Chase was followed by Andrew McSteen, Andy Thomas, Matt Dennee and Dhiren Brickman.
For the Lady Irish, they overwhelmed the field by winning the title with 33 pts. The runner up scored 77. All 5 ladies finished in the top 15. The Irish were led by Theresa Hagey who finished in 2nd overall. She was followed by Kate Saum, Aislynn McVicker, Olivia Kindbom and Anne Rea.
Now comes the biggest test of the season – the Regional finals. Good luck Fighting Irish.
Yoga Instructor Erica Hutson (SVSM 10) leads the team
As the Fighting Irish begin their Post Season cycle quest for the State Finals in just three weeks, former 400 meter record holder and SVSM 10 graduate Erica Hutson leads the team in Yoga exercises. The destination is only 14 days away!
Sr.Andrew McSteen finishes the course in 11th place
Sr. Chase Powers leads the way for the Irish with an 8th place finish
Kate Saum and Theresa Hagey finished in the top 10 to lead .
The Lady Irish showed their team strength this past weekend in Youngstown at the Boardman Invite by having the top 5 finish only 32 seconds apart to win the title ahead of Woodridge by over 20 points. Rounding out the scoring for the ladies were Aislynn McVicker, Sadie Porchowsky, Amelia Moll, Olivia Kindbom and Anne Rea
The guys team finished in 6th place against the top 15 teams in Northeast Ohio. After Chase and Andrew came Jackson Dietrick, Austin Zeiman and Dhiren Brickman.
Thanks to Mr. Christian Lisle, here is a link to several more action shots.
This past Saturday, the Lady Irish totally outran their cross town rivals from Hoban, CVCA and Walsh. The Irish had 10 runners finish in the top 15 places. The Lady Irish increased their dual meet streak to 65 straight wins dating back 2009 since the last time they lost a dual meet.
A special thank you to Mr. Anthony Boarman who took time away from his family to take photos. Here is the link for all of you to enjoy:
It has been a long 5 months since the Fighting Irish last strapped on their track spikes. The Marlington Invite on 9/5 was a very welcome event. The men’s team started the day off and it was Seniors Chase Powers and Andrew McSteen making a great debut as both runners finished in the top 15. Chase finished in 4th overall. The guys team finished 4th in division II. The other top guys were Jackson Deitrich, Austin Zieman, Matthew Dennee, Dhiren Brickman and Ron Lubes.
On the ladies side Senior Theresa Hagey led the way for a dominating performance by the Irish as they won the overall title with the top 7 Irish runners finishing in the 20.Theresa took 2nd place overall. The other Irish finishers were Kate Saum, Aislynn McVicker, Amelia Moll, Sadie Porchowsky, Emily Bame and Anne Rea.
Also, Congratulations to Senior Sarah Sollenberger for winning the open race.
Thanks to Coach Matt, here is a link to all of the photos:
What a beautiful day and great turn out for our 1ST ANNUAL FAMILY/ALUMNI 5K RACE. We had 92 registered runners on the line for the race. For the record, that stands as the 4th largest since I started the Matt Kauffman 5k 17 years ago! Thank you all that ran in the race.
I also want to once again thank all of the parents who stepped up with all of the refreshments. We really appreciate your generosity.
Another shout out goes to coach Alex Phillip for bringing back several of our past XC runners (Conner McIntyre, Sean O’Brien, Shane Kelliher, Patrick White, Matt Sollenberger and Jon Jackson). It was great to see all of them again.
For those that ran in the race, here is the link for the results:
The 2020 Journey for the cross country team began its quest with an all day camp at Firestone Metro Park on Saturday August 1st. The camp was a culmination of team bonding, the ending of the summer conditioning and the beginning of the quest for a state trip for both guys and girls teams on November 7th at the new location – Fort Orbetz in Columbus.
The highlight of the day was the domination by team #2 at frisbee football and volleyball. Congratulations to all of the team 2 members.
