While all other winter sports season’s have come to an end, Oratory Prep’s Indoor Track team just finished competing at the National level. The Rams’ top runners competed against the nation’s best at New Balance Indoor Nationals last weekend in Boston, Massachusetts. The meet was held at “the TRACK at New Balance”. This facility is known to be among the best in the country and is home to many record-breaking times. The combination of a pristine facility and great competition guaranteed an epic weekend of fast times.
The weekend started on Friday, March 13, with the 4×800-meter relay. This race was filled with the Nation’s best from Florida, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. The Rams came out firing in the first of three events they would run over the course of the weekend. Junior, Connor Bassolino, took the line to lead off the Rams. In the first 200 meters, the race was very crowded, causing Connor to get boxed in, unable to make a move. However, as the race went on, he picked up ground, handing off the baton to Declan Kelly. Kelly, not primarily an 800 runner, flew through in 1:59. Sophomore Aidan Murphy took the baton next, and tied his PR of 2:04. Murphy then handed off to James Nolan. The 800 is Nolan’s specialty, and it showed in this race. He finished with the fastest time of the group, 1:56, only one second behind his personal best. This propelled the Rams to finish with a time of 8:03. This success set the tone for what turned out to be a very successful weekend.
The next day, Charlie Spiegle, Brody Sheehan, Declan Kelly, and James Nolan competed in the Sprint Medley Relay. After winning the Non-Public A state championship, the team had high expectations for this race. Charlie Spiegle started the race off for the Rams, blazing through a fast 200-meter lap. He then handed the baton off to Brody Sheehan, who also sped through the 200. This hot start helped propel James Nolan through a 50.8-second 400-meter lap, tying his personal best. Finally, Declan Kelly finished it off with a huge personal best (1:58) 800m lap. This remarkable performance from the Rams landed them with a time of 3:35, a new school record, finishing ahead of running powerhouses Union Catholic and Westfield. The Rams finished 30th out of 110 teams, which puts them in the top 27% of the best SMRs in the country. This outstanding performance is a testament to the guy’s work ethic and the coaching staff of Coach Seebode and Coach Sartori.
Saturday, March 15, was the team’s final day in Boston. The final event of the weekend was the 800, where Declan Kelly and James Nolan would compete individually against the nation’s best 800 runners. After racing in the SMR the day before and the 4×800 the day before that, there is no question that both runners were tired and fatigued. However, if there’s one thing to know about this team, it’s that they don’t back away from a challenge or make excuses. Despite this challenge, Kelly and Nolan still delivered great times. Declan’s heat ran first, and although he started out in the back of the pack, he confidently pushed up as the race went on. With one lap to go, an opposing runner tumbled to the ground right in front of him, causing him to jump into lane three to avoid a collision. This also caused him to momentarily slow down his momentum. Despite this setback, he kicked to the finish line with a final time of 2:00. This success is a testament to how hard Kelly works daily and the legendary career he has put together. The final race of the weekend was James Nolan’s 800, where he finished with a time of 1:56.1, 0.7 seconds faster than his time on Thursday. The most notable part of Nolan’s performance is his kick. Even when he’s given 100% effort all race, he somehow finds a way to muster up more energy and finish strong. He ended up running all the way into lane 4 in the final lap, attempting to pass as many people as possible. Watch out for him to run one of the fastest 800s in the state this coming spring.
This unprecedented success is just a preview of the great things this team will accomplish this coming spring, when the same group will improve their skills to place even better at spring nationals. Until then, the Rams will get back to training in hopes of once again rewriting the record book, but more importantly, bringing home more hardware.
