The cross country team has kicked off the season impressively, showcasing strong performances from both varsity and junior varsity squads. The first race, “The Trial of the Miles Race”, was a bit of a slow start for everyone as the team was just settling in. However, after two batch meets, which are essentially practice meets, the team began to shine with a lot of potential in JV. Most recently, in the “Shore Coaches Meet” at the infamous Holmdel course, many JV runners showed up big. This was the first real race since the opener, and the first time JV was together again, not racing together for 3 weeks.
Impressively, freshman Aidan Murphy led the JV squad with a time of 18:27, setting a personal best on one of New Jersey’s toughest courses. He was closely followed by junior Tristan Knight at 19:39 and senior Dean Webber, breaking the 20-minute as well with a mark with a time of 19:52.
Sophomore Luca Vessecchia, in his first year of running cross country, was quick to follow with a breakout race of 20:07. Murphy, Webber, Knight, and Vessecchia all medaled in the race as they were in the top 30 for the event. These four runners helped place Oratory 3rd in the JV race out of 40+ schools in what turned out to be a massive race for the school. Many of the runners saw negative splits, which is a good thing as they started slow due to the hills and the enormity of the race. They used their instincts to speed up as the race progressed, in which the start slow finish fast helped them achieve impressive times. Luca was followed by four runners whom all had Holmdel PRs – Chase Lynch, Austin Knight, Aidan Wizeman, and James Milton. Junior Charlie Kling also set a personal best with a time of 21:14. Finally, there have been other promising freshmen aside from Murphy who have shown some potential, including Patrick Roberts and Matt Salaki. Roberts had a respectable time of 21:03, which is good for the course, and his splits were solid, and Matt Salaki followed behind with a 22:04. Both freshmen have looked promising so far and are looking to make a big impact in the coming years. Overall, JV did very well, especially at such a difficult course and at a difficult 9 am race slot. There is a lot of promise on the team this year, and the potential is the highest it’s been in years. With the leadership of Mr. McCrystal, this team is looking forward to a great season.
