St. Mary’s track teams ready to make title leap

Without much fanfare, the St. Mary?s girls? track team has turned into a powerful program.
Last season under coach Heather Straz, the Spartans claimed a share of the Catholic Central League/Large title and are in position to contend for a league title again this year.
?We really are hoping for another great year,” Straz said. “We have a lot of new upperclassman additions and a lot of good freshmen so we have high hopes for this season.”
Leading the way for St. Mary?s will be its captains, Seniors Madison Welch, Tia Foglietta, and Carmel Lozzi, along with junior Larisa Bogomolov.
Foglietta has excelled indoors and in cross-country during her time on Tremont Street and she added a stellar outdoor season last year, qualifying for the states in both the mile and 2-mile.
Lozzi also brings versatility to the lineup with a best of 4-8 in the high jump and 1:26.14 in the 400-meter hurdles last season. Bogomolov had the longest discus throw of the season for the Spartans at 93-6.
Another runner who should have an impact is junior Toni Vinciarelli, who is the defending CCL champion in the 200 meters. She also was a state qualifier in the 100 with a time of 12.93 seconds.
Versatility also is a hallmark for junior Diana Hallisey. She had a best of 19.14 in the 100-meter hurdles last season and also is a 30-foot triple jumper.BOYS
After going through some growing pains with a young team last season, Straz believes that the boys? squad is ready to contend with the upper echelon of the CCL.
?This team continues to improve each year,” Straz said. “We have a lot of new upperclassmen and freshman that we hope to see excel this season.”
The Spartans will have five captains: senior Cullen Coyle; juniors Shane O?Neill and Tony Mwangi; and sophomores Mike Cerulli and Fred Blaise.
Cerulli was a jack of all trades as a freshman as he ran the 400, 800, and mile while also competing in the triple jump. Mwangi is the distance specialist of the group in the mile and 2-mile races.
O?Neill will handle most of the hurdle duties for St. Mary?s as he is back to run the 100 and 400-meter races. Brendan McCarthy looks to improve in the discus after turning in an 82-1 throw as an eighth grader last season.
One of the big additions for the Spartans is sophomore Marcus Atkins, who will be part of the sprint group and compete in the jumping events.Matthew Roy may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @MRoy_1006.