Immaculate Conception High School cross country coach Jeff Fredrickson saved two lives in September.

Kittens’ lives, but still.

In late September, Fredrickson’s cross country team was coming back from its seven-mile afternoon run when the coach saw one of his runners playing with a kitten on the bridge over Route 83.

“He was just a really friendly kitten, and he wasn’t shy about humans picking him up and petting him,” Fredrickson said.

Then another runner found the cat’s sister, a calico, rustling in the tall grass. After asking residents in the area if they lost their cats, Fredrickson decided to bring the cats back to ICHS before giving them to an animal shelter.

“Being a pet owner, I couldn’t just leave them out there by themselves ... I couldn’t see these two fending themselves against the cold,” he said. “I couldn’t have looked at myself in the mirror leaving those two poor cats in the cold.”

Turns out, Fredrickson didn’t even need to go to the animal shelter. After setting the kittens up in a box in a school hallway, the ICHS junior varsity volleyball team stumbled upon them. DeeDee Shin, the junior varsity volleyball coach, was already looking to adopt a kitten, and winded up adopting both, now named Tilly and Crosby.

Notable
ICHS cross country coach Jeff Fredrickson helped two stray kittens found on the bridge above Route 83 find a home in September.

Quotable
“People need to realize that animals are part of the family, they need loving just as much as kids ... you need to treat your pets like they’re just part of the family and show them love and affection and they’ll return the favor.”

Philosophy
As long as you believe in yourself, you can do anything you put your mind to.

Favorites
Cat: Tabby
Long distance runner: Steve Prefontaine
Cubs/Sox: Cubs
Book: “Christine” by Stephen King