Austin Catholic posts record relay, four wins at Blue Devil Invitational

Austin Catholic turned in one of its strongest all-around outings of the spring Friday at the Blue Devil Invitational in Richmond, highlighted by a school-record performance in the boys 4x400 relay and four event victories across the meet.

The Crusaders’ top headline came in the boys 4x400, where Gavin Bowers, Jackson Hermann, Michael Beres and Matthew Beres finished first in 4:08.21, setting a school record. Austin Catholic also collected first-place finishes from Cassie Bowers in the girls 1600-meter run (5:57.82), Abigail Glynn in discus (71 feet, 9 inches) and the boys 4x800 relay team of Gavin Bowers, Andrew Rosso, Max Van de Vyver and Finn Dombrowski in 10:24.05.

Cassie Bowers added a runner-up finish in the 400 in 1:11.36 and later placed fourth in the 200 in 31.96, giving the Crusaders points in three events. Matthew Beres took second in both the 110 hurdles (19.73) and 300 hurdles (48.30), while Michael Beres placed third in those same races at 19.8 and 50.20. Andrew Rosso finished second in the 3200 in 13:06.06 and added a fourth-place showing in the 1600 at 5:51.78.

Austin Catholic also found depth in the relays and field events. The girls 4x800 team of Cassidy Bowers, Gina Di Ponio, Abigail Glynn and Takrise Wargo placed second in 13:34.38. Takrise Wargo was third in shot put at 23-11.5, while Glynn added a fourth-place finish in shot put at 23-10 to go with her win in discus. Jackson Hermann placed third in the 100 in 12.53, fourth in long jump at 17-2 and fifth in the 200 in 26.03. Gavin Bowers was third in the 400 in 56.66 and fourth in the 200 in 25.99.

Additional scoring efforts came from the boys 4x100 relay team of Finn Dombrowski, Sean Witte, Max Van de Vyver and Jacob Awrahem, which took fourth in 1:14.06. Gina Di Ponio finished fifth in the 1600 in 7:54.03, and Max Van de Vyver added a fifth-place result in the 3200 at 16:52.84. The meet also produced a long list of personal records for Austin Catholic, including marks from Andrew Rosso, Anne Vengalil, Gavin Bowers, Cassie Bowers, Gina Di Ponio, Matthew Beres, Michael Beres, Finn Dombrowski, Jacob Awrahem, Max Van de Vyver, Sean Witte and Abigail Glynn.

Competing at Richmond, the Crusaders stacked wins, relay success and personal-best performances throughout the evening. The school record in the boys 4x400 provided the clearest exclamation point, but the broader result was just as significant for Austin Catholic, which showed balance across distance races, hurdles, relays and throws at one of its most productive meets of the season.