St. Perpetua's Hand-off Training Pays Off at Diocese
By Robin Schoettler Fox
4x100 relay, Madeline Singh hands off to Jamie Sexton Photo Raja Singh
Gone are the days when CYO track was the main spring team sport available to young athletes.
"Years ago, the only conflict was baseball for boys," says Jeanne Balczewski, a former collegiate track athlete who has coached St. Perpetua's CYO track team for 12 years. "Now there is lacrosse, AAU and MVP basketball, water polo, club soccer and volleyball, just to name a few."
Still, even with numbers of athletes down, St. P held its own at the Diocese championships (see results box). The key, says Balczelski, is training.
"Our small (St. Perpetua) team typically does well at Diocese, especially in relays," says Balczewski. "That's because we teach them the same baton handoffs that are used in high school and college, starting in the 2nd grade."
This year, those early lessons paid off for St. Perpetua. Both boys and girls 3rd grade relay teams medaled in their Diocese relays events, with the boys taking first and the girls taking second in separate 4x100 relay events. In addition, the St. P 5th grade boys' team took second in their 4x100 relay event.
In the photo, Madeline Singh hands off to Jamie Sexton during the 4x100 relay event Diocese Tournament held at Diablo Valley College on May 9th. The girls, both in second grade, run "up" and compete at the 3rd grade level because there is no 2nd grade CYO track division. The other half of St. P's successful 3rd grade girls relay team are third graders, Kierra Krawec and Amanda Alessandria.
2009 Oakland Diocese CYO Championship Meet
Saturday, May 9, 2009 @ Diablo Valley College
St. Perpetua & St. Monica** Track Team Highlights **Orinda athletes compete for St. Monica because Santa Maria has no track team
3rd Grade Boys
4x100 Meter Relay
1st - St. Perpetua
(Travis Armistead, Thomas Hawkins, Christopher Rogers, Ryan Nall)
Sprint Medley Relay
1st - St. Perpetua
(Travis Armistead, Thomas Hawkins, Christopher Rogers, Ryan Nall)
200 Meter
2nd - Ryan Nall (St. P)
4th - Christopher Rogers (St. P)
400 Meter
1st - Christopher Rogers (St. P)
1600 Meter
6th - Jack Mader (St. Mo)
Long Jump
1st - Travis Armistead (St. P)
3rd - Ryan Nall (St. P)
3rd Grade Girls
4x100 Meter Relay
2nd - St. Perpetua
(Madeline Singh, Jamie Sexton, Kierra Krawec, Amanda Alessandria)
Sprint Medley Relay
1st - St. Perpetua
(Madeline Singh, Jamie Sexton, Kierra Krawec, Amanda Alessandria)
50 Meter
4th - Amanda Alessander (St. P)
100 Meter
2nd - Kierra Krawec (St. P)
200 Meter
1st - Kierra Krawec (St. P)
Softball Throw
5th - Madeline Kalil (St. P)
Tetherball Toss
5th - Molly Mudgett (St. P)
1600 Meter
5th -Jenna Miles (St. Mo)
4th Grade Girls
Tetherball Toss
1st - Morgan Rogers (St. P)
5th Grade Boys
4x100 Relay
2nd - St. Perpetua
(Cannon Armistead, Jordan Tehrani,
Connor Henderson, Sutter Lindberg)
Long Jump
2nd Sutter Lindberg (St. P)
4th - Canon Armistead (St. P)
Softball Throw
3rd - Sutter Lindberg (St. P)
6th Grade Boys
Long Jump
5th - Park Lathamer (St. Mo)
6th Grade Girls
Softball Throw
5th - Claudia East (St. P)
Tetherball Toss
5th -Claudia East (St. P)
8th Grade Boys
Long Jump
3rd - Brian Deluna (St. P)
8th Grade Girls
100 Meter
5th - Addison Mullins (St. P)
Shotput
4th - Addison Mullins (St. P)
Tetherball Toss
2nd - Addison Mullins (St. P)
"Years ago, the only conflict was baseball for boys," says Jeanne Balczewski, a former collegiate track athlete who has coached St. Perpetua's CYO track team for 12 years. "Now there is lacrosse, AAU and MVP basketball, water polo, club soccer and volleyball, just to name a few."
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA