The Benet Academy track team is well known for its conference championship wins and strong talent among its distance and sprint runners, as well as its field participants. The team continued to make its mark by competing in a new event in Chicago called the “Meet of Champions” on March 7, 2026.
The meet’s location, the Dr. Conrad Worrill Track at Gately Center, is the first of its kind in the state of Illinois. The facility features a banked track, in which the lanes are angled and engineered to give runners the best chance at a personal record. This facility was finished in 2021 and cost over $55 million to complete. It is incredibly difficult to qualify for a meet at this unique track, and Benet runners were eager to showcase their talent on the biggest stage they have seen yet this season.
Both the boys’ and girls’ teams finished with incredible results in their debut at the Meet of Champions, as Benet swept the board across many events. In the 60m hurdles, Will Niziolek finished with a 3rd place finish, and Gabrielle Brown finished with a 1st place finish. In the 200m, Lucas Catapia and Kevin Howard finished with impressive times, as they crossed the finish line at 23.50 and 24.12. For the 400m, Joe Salvino finished with a time of 56.30, and Gabrielle Brown finished in 2nd overall and now holds the #21 spot in the state. In the 800m, Robert Strugala had a finishing time of 2:08, and Keira Jenke had a 2nd place finish overall in the event. In the 1600m, Damian Schulz secured an 8th place finish, and Sara Luo earned a 3rd place finish. In the 3200m, Robert Johnson finished 1st overall, and now holds the #39 spot in the state with his finish of 9:43. For the boys long jump, Xavier Opalacz led his squad to a 14th place finish, and the boys triple jump was led by Mason Kelanic, who led his group to an 18th place finish. Finally, for the relays, the boys 4×200 earned 12th, the boys 4×400 earned 8th, the boys 4×800 earned 4th, and the girls 4×800 earned 2nd, which also gives them the #30 spot in the state.
Bobby Strugala, a senior Benet runner spoke highly of the event, saying that “I thought it was super cool getting the chance to run at the Meet of Champions because it was my first time getting to run on a banked track, and it was a great experience running against high level competition. This was a great meet for the team, we got a lot of PR’s and I am excited to get to outdoor season where I am optimistic we will contend for the ESCC title and hopefully win back to back conference championships.”
After displaying an impressive level of strength and ability on March 7, the team is eager and excited to build on this success in the outdoor season. Benet runners know that with their determination and talent, a memorable spring season is sure to follow.
