This was a strong group, and an experienced group. That often means strong seasons in boys track and field, and the Cathedral High School 2024 boys indeed turned in a solid season. The Irish boys in ’24 fielded a team with more than 80 athletes – and one that turned in strong performances throughout the season and postseason. “We’re blessed to have all these kids,” Irish track and field coach John O’Hara said. The ’24 Irish boys track and field team qualified the 4x100 relay team for the Indiana High School Athletic Association state meet. The 4x100 team finished second at the Region 5 meet at Pike in 42.0 seconds. The Irish boys finished 16th as a team at the regional meet with 10 points. State-qualifying athletes were: Senior Alex Richards, junior Albren Johnson, junior Devaughn Slaughter, freshman Xavier Dangerfield, senior Jonathon Phillips, sophomore Ashton Johnson, freshman Brady Windle and sophomore Jackson Harvey. The Irish finished sixth at the Section 19 Meet at Lawrence Central on May 16 with 47.5 points. “Most boys' track teams, if you look at the state finals results, you’re going to see it pretty much littered with juniors and seniors,” O’Hara said. “That's just kind of how boys track works. Coming off of last year, where our sprint teams were highly talented, we returned almost all of them from last year. “We created some depth on the boys teams, which allowed us to do some special things.” The Irish much of the season were keyed by the 4x100 team of Dangerfield, Johnson, Slaughter and Phillips, which set a school record with a second-place run of 42.02 in the sectionals. “We found a rhythm with that, which was cool to see,” O’Hara said. “Obviously injuries come into play in the sprints, but we battled through that.” Phillips also served as a team leader while dealing with injuries as a senior after setting multiple personal records during the indoor season. “He was our leader sprint-wise last year and this year as well,” O’Hara said. “He just kind of battled some leg injuries this year and just wasn't able to get his outdoor season rolling much. But he's been a consummate pro, very mature going through adversity in his last year and supporting the other guys that are on the track as well.” Phillips was part of a strong senior class that included Richards, Alex Lozano, Josh Castor and Jack O’Brien, Corey Brewer and Kyle Braun. “This is the first group that we've had post-COVID to kind of go through a normal-ish four years,” O’Hara said. “You get into a little bit better rhythm of how things work and how things operate. This group just knew what to do. They knew what they were capable of and were just a phenomenal group to work with.” Dangerfield set school freshman records in the 100 (10.91) and 200 (22.4). “We’re excited to see where this sprint group will keep going,” O’Hara said. The Irish in ’24 were led by strong postseason performances, including: *Slaughter (first place in 100 meters in the sectional, 11.00). *Richards (fourth 400 meters in sectional, 50.80; seventh in regional, 49.99). “He’s the kind of guy you want on your squad,” O’Hara said. *Harvey (sixth 110-meter hurdles in sectional, 16.13; ninth 300-meter hurdles in sectional, 44.87). *Lozano (sixth 800 meters in sectional, 2:02.39). *Johnson (seventh 200 meters in sectional, 23.21). *Windle (eighth 200 meters in sectional, 23.51). *Junior Joe Mervilde (ninth 1,600 meters in sectional, 4:58.79). *Freshman Ben Sage (ninth 3,200 meters in sectional, 11:05.95). *The 4x800-meter relay team of junior Aidan Cunningham, Castor, O’Brien and sophomore James Saul (sixth in sectional, 8:43.18). *The 4 x 400m relay team of Richards, junior Aden Chase, Cunningham and Saul (eighth in sectional, 3:34.89). *Freshman Kyren Jones (eighth shot put in sectional, 38-3). *Brewer (fifth discuss in sectional, 132-7). *Braun (sixth long jump in sectional, 21-2¾. *Sophomore Levi Link (seventh long jump in sectional, 21-1¾) *Freshman Addis Wilson (seventh high jump in sectional, 5-8). “We're up to about 80 boys on the team, and I don't think we have the success we have this year with a couple nagging injuries for two of our top kids if we don't create that depth,” O’Hara said. “A lot of our boys in the past were used to being led by older kids and they just kind of kept passing it on. “Don’t block a blessing, as they say. You just never know who's going to shine. It's one of those things where the proof's in the pudding. We’re getting a lot of production from freshman and juniors as well. We’re still very excited as always about where we can go from here.”