De La Salle hurdler Stritzinger bounces back

Novi – The frustration on Warren De La Salle hurdler Allen Stritzinger’s face was obvious after falling just short of the finish line in the 110 meter hurdles Tuesday afternoon at the Catholic League A-B track and field finals at Detroit Catholic Central.

Stritzinger bounced back, however, to win the 300 meter hurdles in 39.78 seconds.

“I tried not to let the 110s bother me,” he said. “I had to realize that I had more races after that. I just wanted to erase it completely from my mind. Luckily it happened here instead of anywhere else.”

Throughout the season, Stritzinger – who also plays football at De La Salle – said his 110 hurdle times have been consistent, while he’s seen some improvement in his 300s.

“I was busy with football and I was mixing a lot of stuff at once,” he said. “But now that I’m focusing strictly on track, my legs have been feeling better and my body’s been feeling better.”

De La Salle coach Dominic Reid praised Stritzinger’s work.

“He’s been resilient,” Reid said. “Today, the 110s didn’t go his way. I told him those are the highs and lows of a track season. He knows how to bounce back from adversity.”

With next week’s Macomb County meet, and the state playoffs later in June, the junior said he’s focused on one thing.

“Winning,” Stritzinger said. “That’s the expectation.”

Gabriel Richard thrower repeats 

Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard senior Jake Donnellon successfully defended his A-B titles in shot put and discus on Tuesday.

He had throws of 53 feet, 3.5 inches in shot put – a personal record – and 154 feet in discus.

“It feels great to be able to come back a second year and do it again,” said Donnellon, who is committed to play football at Eastern Michigan in the fall.

Deacon Dave Lawrence, who coaches throwers at Gabriel Richard, said Donnellon’s work ethic has stood out in the last four years.

“He works really hard in the weight room,” Lawrence said. “He encourages the other athletes on the team.”

Donnellon said he has some work left to do, with the season winding down.

“I’m still chasing after a school record,” he said, of the 54 feet, 4 inch target. “I’m ready for that big (throw) to come up.”

Orchard Lake St. Mary’s wins overall A-B title

With 110 points, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s took the A-B championship on Tuesday. St. Mary’s coach Sean Clouse was happy with his team’s effort.

“That was a lot of fun,” he said. “This was very strenuous today. We had a lot of great competition, that’s for sure.”

Clouse said four of his athletes were injured and were unable to participate, which forced him to make some adjustments.

“We were a little shorthanded with some things and we had some injuries from regionals, so our younger kids just stepped up,” he said. “They did awesome. I’m so proud of the way they stepped up.”

Full results

Winner: Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, 110 points

Runner-up: Warren De La Salle, 94 points

Third place: Detroit Catholic Central, 76 points

Fourth place: Birmingham Brother Rice, 66.5 points

Fifth place: Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 48 points

Sixth place: Dearborn Divine Child, 47 points

Seventh place: Detroit U-D Jesuit, 37.5 points

Eighth place: Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard, 25 points

Al Willman is a freelance writer

Twitter: @AlWillmanSports