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DETROIT
NEWS ARTICLE
Big in D (Cross Country Notebook)
Senior
Juan Serrata is a big runner at a small school--Class D (No. 5)
Detroit Holy Redeemer. His best time is 16:30, in a dual meet
against Redford Bishop Borgess at Redeemer's home base--Detroit's
Patton Park--on Sept. 8.
Serrata
won the Southgate Aquinas Invitational Oct. 10 in 16:53.
Last
year, he was ninth at the league meet because of an injury.
"I
pulled a muscle in my hip and the doctor said to stay off it for
two weeks, but I only took a week off because of the league meet,"
he said. "I'm going for my third all-Catholic (top 15) and
I'm hoping to win it." He was sixth in C-D as a sophomore.
DETROIT
NEWS ARTICLE
A Family Affair (Cross Country Notebook)
The
Detroit Holy Redeemer Lions are a unique program.
Pat
Irwin, in his second season, coached the Lions' boys' team to
an eighth-place finish last season in the Class D state finals.
It was the best cross country finish a Detroit school has had
in 25 years.
The
Lions also won the Catholic League's C-D Division championship.
"It
was neat," Irwin said. "We're a little different. Our
cross country team has a gritty, urban feel to it."
Irwin
has somehow coaxed 19 kids onto the roster in the 180-student
school. He also has 10 girls.
The
team is close knit, a major reason for its success according to
Irwin.
"There's
a lot of love on this team," Irwin said. "A lot of support.
We do a lot of things together as a team. Every Sunday is movie.
We'll go down to the $1 show, just like a family. It's a real
family atmosphere."
Irwin
ran at Sienna Heights and has adopted many college practices for
the Lions, who haven't flinched.
"They
work so hard," Irwin said. "Once a week, we drop them
off at either Belle Isle or Fairlane and make them run back home.
They always get back."
Holy
Redeemer's top runner is Dave Gonzalez, who two weeks ago ran
16 minutes, 40 seconds at the Camden Frontier Invitational.
Vie
Saavedra ran 18:04 Thursday to lead the Lions past Redford Bishop
Borgess, 15-50.
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