On October 4th, 2014, the cross country team ventured into the swamps of Holmdel for a race of a life time. The race’s policy “rain or shine” held true, and Shore Coaches certainly lived up to its name. JV and Varsity went off during torrential downpour and acquired impressive times under absurd conditions on New Jersey’s state course. It tested the teams’ strength and proved great progress in becoming state champions.
The race began with JV. Oratory placed 2nd overall out of 14 teams, and there were over 150 people in the race. Junior Douglas Degolyer ran an impressive 19:03 placing 2nd overall. Not far behind, Junior Brendan Lawlor placed tenth overall running a 19:29. Junior Tim Hartnett and Sophomore Brendan Mooney ran through the elements together placing 20th and 21st both with a time of 20:21. Sophomore Chris McMahon and Junior Mike “The Hoff” Weinhoffer placed 31st and 32nd at 20:52 and 20:55. Our deep team proves how much success is in store for OP’s future. JV is now ranked 31st in the state.
The varsity team was led by Junior Andrew Vita with a time of 17:46 placing 17th overall. Freshman Mike Cantaluppi ran an impressive 18:02 coming in 23rd overall. Seniors Brendan Mairs and Max Hubbauer ran a great race of 18:38 and 18:45, and Sophomore Adam Lewis ran a 19:07. Junior John Kolassa and Senior Brian McReynolds ran a 19:31 and 19:40. Varsity placed 6th overall out of 29 teams, and there were over 190 people in the race. The team will continue to improve to compete for the ultimate goal of a state championship.
All things considered, Shore Coaches will live on as a legendary race and OP killed it. On a side note, Henry Monaco, Mairs, and I are proud of each person on the team for giving their all and running on an extremely difficult course. The state course was not easy and we proved that OP can battle the elements and compete against top notch competition. Let’s bring home a Conference Championship next Tuesday. Congratulations boys!