Seminarians
Emiljan Ukaj, left,
James Bird, and
Corey Baumgart-
ner compete in a
running event at
the second annual
track meet.
A WINNING SEASON
The Sacred Heart Lions, coached by Fr. Ryan
Ford, finished with a record of 9-5, tying for
fifth place at the Mundelein Seminary Tour-
nament and coming in second place at the
Josephinum Seminary Tournament. The Lions
are grateful for all of the support that has come
from the benefactors, brother seminarians, staff,
faculty, and alumni of Sacred Heart. They look
forward with great optimism to the beginning
of a new season in the fall of 2017.
S TARTI N G N EW TR ADI TI ON S
B
ASKETBALL IS NOT THE ONLY TEAM
SPORT the seminarians engage in. In the autumn,
the men field a soccer team and organize a track meet.
Who are their competitors? They are members of the
archdiocesan presbyterate—and some of priests are even
the seminarians’ formators!
First-year coach and resident priest Fr. Ryan Ford gives
pointers during a break against Immaculate Heart of Mary
Seminary in Minnesota.
Waiting for an in-bound pass are Colin Fricke, left, Corey
Baumgartner, and Jared Holzhuter.
In our humanity, we can get competitive, angry, excited
. . . yet when we return to prayer after each game, we as a
team bring ourselves back to the necessary reminder that
the game that we play isn’t about us.
As all things are, the game of basketball is yet another gift
from God. We bless him whether we win or lose. To live out
that ideal as a team takes humility, and it takes practice.
Right before a recent game, a brother spoke up to the
team. “I was praying about the game this morning, and the
Lord reminded me that the only thing we should be focus-
ing on is him. We have an audience of One, guys.”
And so, with our audience of One in mind, we play.
Matthew Wagner is a second-year theologian from the Diocese
of Winona.
Running for Fun
Seminarians and resident priests competed against each other in
a spirit of fellowship and fun at the seminary’s second annual track
meet. The new Bishop Walter J. Schoenherr running track was the site
of the September 24 event, with twenty seminarian runners from eight
different dioceses participating in the various running competitions.
“Running is just a great way to stay in shape and to get out with
your brothers,” says David Kruse, a Diocese of Winona seminarian.
“It’s great that we have all kinds of different avenues to help us grow
in our physical fitness, such as the track, the gym, and the athletic
field.” David also ran in two triathlons this past summer.
Detroit seminarian John Carlin organized the track meet, and he
hopes the tradition continues. “We even have some of the priests
who like to run come out and participate. We had Monsignor Laji-
ness out there, and Fr. Ryan Ford [Diocese of Marquette] was one of
the first ones to contact me about getting involved.
“It really is a lot of fun for the whole seminary community.”
“Old and Tired”?
On a beautiful fall afternoon, seminarians and priests came togeth-
er on October 14 for the first annual Priests vs. Seminarians soccer
match. Alumni, professors, and spiritual directors, as well as priests
from around the Archdiocese of Detroit, surrounding dioceses, and
the Chaldean Eparchy joined forces to take on the seminarians.
Seminarians Deacon Jared Holzhuter (Diocese of Madison) and
Fadie Gorgies (Chaldean Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle) led the
seminarian team to victory on and off the field. Deacon Holzhuter,
who has played soccer for most of his life, played goalie for the semi-
narians during the first half of the game, and he co-coached the team
from the sidelines during the second half.
When asked what the key to the seminarians’ success was, Deacon
Holzhuter said jokingly, “The priests were old and tired.”
Sacred Heart alumnus Fr. Dominic Macioce organized the match,
bringing with him fifteen priests to compete against the seminarians.
Despite the priests coming up short in the first annual game, 4-2, Fa-
ther Macioce states, “I’m glad we could come together and compete
with each other. Hopefully we can make it a yearly event.”
shms.edu
19