Wildcats in the News

Wildcats 2nd at D1 Regional meet
BY BRAD EMONS
STAFF WRITER

It was a miserable day for cross country, but you couldn't tell by the smiles on the faces from Division I state qualifiers Plymouth High and Livonia Churchill.

As expected, Novi ran away with the top spot in Saturday's Division I regional at Schoolcraft College with a team-low 26 points.

Western Lakes Activities Association champion Plymouth was runner-up with 76, while Livonia Churchill earned the coveted third spot with 90 to beat out Novi-Detroit Catholic Central.

"I don't think our race was a bad as the girls,'' Plymouth coach Lee Shaw said. "There was no standing walter, just mud. It's cross country.''

Novi, led by individual winner Michael Wheat, garnered five of the first 10 places.

Wheat's time on the soggy 5,000-meter course was 16:15.9, less than two seconds ahead of CC sophomore Alex Toloff.

Plymouth, a school in only its fifth year of existence, will be making it inaugural appearance in the state finals, which start at 2 p.m. this Saturday at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.

The Wildcats were led by senior Anthony Scaparo, who placed third in 16:28.35.

Other Plymouth finishers included sophomore Derek Lax, 10th (16:50.56); senior Patrick Slavens, 17th, (17:09.45); senior Cristian Chagas, 21st (17:16.83); and junior Justin Huey, 24th (17:24.93).

 

 

Originally published October 22, 2006

Fast 'Cats
Scaparo-led Plymouth wins boys title
BY ED WRIGHT
STAFF WRITER

It's hard to ignore the parallels between the 2006 Plymouth boys cross country team and the 2006 Detroit Tigers.

In 2003, the Tigers set a record for Major League futility, losing 119 games. Now, they're knocking on the door of a World Series title.

In 2003, the Wildcats were in dead-last place at the Western Lakes Activities Association conference meet. On Friday, coach Lee Shaw's harriers knocked down the championship door, winning the WLAA meet by nine points over runner-up Livonia Churchill in a race held at Willow Metropark in New Boston.

"Our senior class this year finished last their freshman season, so we've made a big turn-around," said Shaw, whose team compiled 55 points. "We had a couple of guys who were a little sick, so their legs were a little heavy because they cut back on the miles this week. But I thought everybody ran well. I'm pleased.

"That said, I think we can run even better next week at the Regional meet. We'll be going up against Novi, which is one of the top teams in the state, so we'll see how we line up against them."

The 'Cats clinched the top spot by placing five runners in the top 17. Senior Anthony Scaparo led the charge with a third-place showing in 16:27.25. Also contributing to the winning cause were Derek Lax (7th), Patrick Slavens (13th), Justin Huey (15th) and Cristian Chagas (17th).

"My coach told me to run second if I could and let somebody else block the wind," said Scaparo, discussing his pre-race strategy. "I stuck to that for quite a while until there was about a half-mile to go, then I started to hurt."

Charger coach John McGreevy had slightly mixed emotions -- mostly positive -- about his team's runner-up performance.

"I thought we ran very well, but I was a little disappointed because you always want to come in first," he said. "But Plymouth was the better team today.

 

 

Talented Wildcat harriers carry 'team-to-beat' label

BY ED WRIGHT
STAFF WRITER

When it takes to the trails this season, Plymouth's boys cross country team will be carrying the additional weight of the lofty expectations that it earned following last season's school-first WLAA Western Division title.

Coach Lee Shaw returns several key runners from the 2005 squad, which missed qualifying for the Division 1 state meet by one frustrating point.

Leading the charge will be seniors Anthony Scaparo and Patrick Slavens, who form one of the top one-two combinations in the area. Slavens finished last season as the Wildcats' No. 1 runner, however, Scaparo will enter the season as the team's fastest competitor following a mileage-filled summer.

"We have four very good runners, but we need a fifth runner to step up in order to have the kind of season we're capable of having," said Shaw.

Pushing Scaparo and Slavens will be sophomore Derek Lax, who shined as a freshman in 2005. Other key returners include junior Alex Noble, Justin Huey, Christian Chagas, David Maycock and Matt Lewandowski.

Top newcomers who could earn points before the season is over include Warren Buzzard, Matt Neumann and Henry Xu.

 

Originally published September 7, 2006

 

  Plymouth takes inaugural Wildcat Invite                                        October 19,2006
BY ED WRIGHT
STAFF WRITER

The first-place trophy for the inaugural Wildcat Invitational boys cross country meet didn't travel nearly as far as the competitors did on Saturday.

The hardware was moved straight to the Plymouth trophy case following the host Wildcats' convincing win in the 5,000-meter race held on the P-CEP grounds. Led by senior Anthony Scaparo's second-place finish (17:08), the Wildcats compiled 26 points, less than half that of runner-up Birmingham Brother Rice's 64. Filling out the field were Canton (65), Berkley (95), Livonia Franklin (135), Brother Rice "B" (135), Salem (223) and Westland John Glenn (234).

 

 

Shaw named top cross country coach

BY ED WRIGHT
STAFF WRITER

From humble beginnings to one of the top units in the state -- that's the path the Plymouth boys cross country program has traveled since its inception in the fall of 2002.

Coach Lee Shaw still remembers his team's inaugural practice when the coaches nearly outnumbered the runners.

 
"We had three male athletes come out that first year, so we've come a long way," said Shaw.

Indeed they have.

Earlier this year, the Wildcats placed 12th at the Division 1 state meet -- one week after placing second at their D1 Regional. Among their other considerable accomplishments this season were a Western Lakes Activities Association title and a runner-up showing at the Wayne County meet.

The impressive list of achievements earned Shaw the Observer Coach of the Year honor.

"This group of athletes wanted to work," said Shaw, when asked what made the 2006 Wildcats special. "I asked them what their goals were before the season started and they all set high goals. So I pushed them to reach their goals. I'm not one of those coaches who's going to keep saying, 'nice job' if they're not working hard."

Shaw is as accomplished as a runner as he is a coach. A native of Manchester, England, he moved to Michigan in his late-teens to run cross country at Eastern Michigan University, where he earned three varsity letters.

Before taking the reins at Plymouth, he coached cross country and track at Livonia Ladywood and the University of Detroit Jesuit.

Shaw didn't hesitate when asked to name his brightest highlight from a sparkling season.

"The state meet was it," he said. "If one more of our runners would have ran well, we would have finished in the top five.

"The kids were kind of disappointed in their times this year, but it was a very wet fall, so everybody's times were up. I told them it's not the times that mattered as much as where they placed."

And for the up-and-coming Wildcats, that was a very high place indeed.

 


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