SUA’s Newly Renovated Fitness Center
SUA completely renovated its mezzanine into the new Fitness Center this past summer.
The newly renovated Fitness Center stands open for any sports teams in need of training and will officially open to all at the end of October. Photo by Brianna Mikesell.
Brianna Mikesell and Clara Aquillo.
September 29, 2025
TOLEDO, OH – When students at Saint Ursula Academy arrived on Tuesday, Aug. 12 for Picture Day, they saw that the weight room, also known as the Fitness Center, had been completely renovated. Throughout the summer, the Fitness Center was updated to create more space for athletes in both their season and off-season training.
“I’ve been wanting to make improvements to the weight room for over 11 years,” said SUA’s Athletic Director, Michael Donnelly. “It was our hope that we’d have someone that would be willing to step up and help us to turn the mezzanine from just an open space to a closed, dedicated space for sports performance training.”
He shared that the renovations of the Fitness Center were fully paid for by an anonymous donor.
“I was really impressed with how it looks. It looks really modern, state-of-the-art,” said senior track athlete, Nayeli Alvarez. “And it has me … really excited to train there for track.”
Alvarez found out about the newly updated space when doing ambassador tours.
“I like how it’s spacious now, and I enjoy just how fancy it looks,” Alvarez said. She believes that when her team starts training, they will be using the room 3 to 4 times a week.
The weight room was initially located on the first floor in the athletic hallway, but due to enrollment increases, the school required additional classroom space. They ended up moving it to the mezzanine where there are now two rooms with all sorts of exercise equipment.
Left, the second, smaller room replaced what was once a storage closet. Right, it includes an area where the golfers can practice putting and TXR suspension bands for strength training (Brianna Mikesell)
On September 8, they held a “soft” opening, according to Mr. Donnelly.
“We’ll have it totally open at the end of October after we have our donor reception.”
The school is extremely happy and excited with the results. SUA is eager to watch as it hopefully better prepares athletes for their upcoming seasons.
