Track meet turns into tribute for Kacie Hausfeld

RIVERSIDE — Poignant irony was the order of the day — and the magic number was “14.”

Dr. Mike Pignatiello and his popular kids track and field classic — the Elementary Fitness Challenge — was staged April 17 at Stebbins Edmunson Stadium with an opening dedication to the real star of the day, the late Kacie Hausfeld.

It was the 14th annual presentation of the fourth-grade “Little Olympics” and 14 was the uniform number of the popular Kacie, an Alter and University of Dayton volleyball player who died along with her father, Tom Hausfeld, in a plane crash a few weeks earlier.

Kacie, a junior education major at UD who wanted to teach at the elementary school level, was one of the three Flyers players, plus coach Kelly Sheffield, that Pignatiello had lined up for this year’s guest appearance slot.

The always high-spirited Pignatiello, a former Flyer footballer, admitted having mixed emotions when more than 500 fourth-graders spent a sun-splashed afternoon with the other two invited Flyer volleyballers, Amanda Cowdrey and Rachel Krabacher, playing key roles in dedication ceremonies.

Fourteen student ambassadors formed the number “14” on the track, and teachers and students from the 15 districts had a volleyball on their name badges that said “Kacie - UD - 14.”

“She set a fine example for youth and would have made a wonderful elementary school teacher,” said Pignatiello.

Posters and banners also honored Kacie, including a large Dayton Flyers flag at the finish line with “14” on it.

Also highlighting the meet were three records posted by Centerville Normandy’s Cahleil Osama in the boys 100 meters (13.60), Marina Stevens of Catholic East Ascension, also in the century dash (13.62), and Michael Cargel of Mad River Stevenson in the 200 (28.97).

Top four districts were Tipp City, Centerville, Catholic North and Fairborn in the Large District category, and Brookville, Dayton Christian, Valley View and Catholic East in the Small District division.

Cheryl Treadway, Catholic North district leader and the Miami Valley’s “volleyball mom,” said, “The tribute to Kacie was moving and wonderful and so impressively organized.”

Treadway coaches junior volleyball, and two of her daughters and a son starred at Chaminade Julienne High School and UD. Erin Treadway, an All-American at UD, is now a physical therapist in Kentucky, Alex played club volleyball at UD and Sara is an Evansville grad studying medicine at Midwestern University in Chicago.

The youngest Treadway, Lisa, is a freshman volleyballer at Miami. She was once a pentathlon champ at an FC meet.

Jeanne Koch, district leader at Tipp City, who has been with the Fitness Challenge since its inception, said, “Dr. Mike had everything so well organized. ... He certainly has a passion for kids and athletes ... and the main thing is the kids never forget this event.”

Two other figures playing key roles in FC’s success are Mary Beth Walters, a St. Helen’s teacher and district leader for 13 years, and Pignatiello’s assistant, Mary Crank.

For more on the meet, call Pignatiello at (937) 760-0727.