The Union Catholic girls once again proved why they are the gold standard in New Jersey cross-country history by capturing their fifth consecutive Non-Public A state title and taking down the all-time average course record at Saturday's NJSIAA Group Championships at historic Holmdel Park.
The NJ No. 1/US No. 3 ranked Vikings were once again led by junior Paige Sheppard, who added her name to a short list of three-time state champs by running a very controlled 17:50 to ignite the UC pack to yet another electrifying performance for the ages on the rugged 3.1-mile layout with a 1-2-3-5-6 finish and an eye-popping 18:36 average, one second faster than the course record of 18:37 that the Vikings ran when they won the 2023 Meet of Champions. UC blitzed the field, outscoring runner-up and No. 7 ranked Paul VI, 17-76.
With 5 straight Non-Public A titles, which gives UC seven titles overall, the Vikings are now tied with Voorhees (2006-10) for the third longest winning streak in meet history. Only Bernards (10) and North Hunterdon (7) have won more XC state titles in a row than Union Catholic.
The historic run by the Vikings was fueled by several PR's.
Junior Cayleigh Kaiser was second in 18:13, an 11 second course PR, freshman Harper Telesca was third with a Holmdel best of 18:41, senior Ella Solorzano was fifth in a 10-second course PR of 19:04, and sophomore Saffa Ellis put the finishing touches on UC's record race by placing 6th with a massive PR of 19:10, 53 seconds faster than her previous best at Holmdel. Freshman Eden Solorzano (19:44) and senior Emmy O'Hearn (20:03) rounded out the Vikings' top seven.
This Union Catholic pack wants to go down as the best girls' team in NJ history. After what they did on Saturday and how much more they still have in the tank, it would be surprising if they don't top this performance at the Meet of Champions next Saturday and lock up their place as the best we've ever seen in this state!
At the Meet of Champions, UC will be an overwhelming favorite to win its 4th straight title, which would tie the second longest winning streak by a girls team in state history. Red Bank Catholic won five in row from 1972-76.
As for Sheppard, by completing the 3-peat she became the 14th girl to win 3 state XC titles in a row. If she wins again next year, she would be just the fourth girl to pull off the 4-peat!! The other three are the late great Janet Smith of J.P. Stevens (1980-83), Olympian Erin Donohue of Haddonfield (1997-2000), and Vanessa Wright of Haddonfield (2002-2005).
Sheppard, who will defend her individual title at the Meet of Champions, said that her team is so strong right now that records fall even when they aren't the primary focus.
"The course record was kind of more of a side piece that came with the win," Sheppard said. "It shows how we've grown. Our depth is stronger than ever, and we're just going to keep evolving. We're even stronger than we were my freshman year. And I think we're just going to keep improving."
Head coach Mike McCabe said that as great as his girls performed, the best is yet to come.
"We know we can run faster," McCabe said. "Some girls had big breakthroughs today. They executed really well, and we did what we had to do. I'm happy with where it went, and everyone's feeling pretty good."
The Union Catholic boys, ranked No. 5 in the state, also came up with a strong performance by averaging 16:39 and placing second to No. 1 ranked Christian Brothers Academy. Junior Danny Kuran led the Vikings with a fifth-place finish and course PR of 16:11. He was followed by Jayden Aine (12th with a course PR of 16:37), Elijah McCoy (13th/16:40), Finn Riely (16th/16:50) and Nick Frank (19th in a Holmdel PR of 16:56).
In the merge team scoring, UC wound up third behind just CBA and Group 2 champion Haddonfield.
With their impressive performance, the UC boys secured a spot on the starting line for the prestigious Meet of Champions
