St. Mary’s offers three competitive sports programs for
its students: cross-country in the fall, basketball in the winter,
and track and field in the spring. The fall and spring running
programs are open to all St. Mary’s students in grades three
through six.
Typically, cross country is a six-week program that includes
two practices a week at the Kirkland Town Park and three races
against the two other Catholic schools in the Utica area: Our
Lady of Lourdes and St. Peter’s. In each of the past three
years, St. Mary’s has hosted the races with prizes provided
by the parish. Approximately two dozen St. Mary’s students
participate and about 60 runners overall compete on the 0.8 mile
course around the Kirkland Town Park. The focus of the program
is on individual improvement and enjoyment, although St. Mary’s
runners typically fare well in the final championship race. Mike
Debraggio and Dave Born have served as coaches for approximately
10 years, and they were joined in 2005 by Heather Allen.
The track and field program typically begins in early April.
It, too, runs about six weeks and includes competitions against
Our Lady of Lourdes in Utica and St. Peter’s in North Utica.
Practices and meets have been held at the Clinton Central School
track on Elm Street. As many as three dozen St. Mary’s third
through six-graders have competed in past years. Running events
include the 60-meter, 100-meter, 200-meter, 400-meter, 800-meter,
1500-meter and 4x100 relay. There are also two field events: the
long jump and softball throw.
Many alumni of the St. Mary’s cross country and track programs
have gone on to become top runners at Notre Dame or at the public
schools in the area.
