Boys Varsity Indoor Track and Field | 2/23/2025 9:27:00 AM

Union Catholic pulled off another sizzling sweep when the Vikings produced several electrifying and personal best performances on their way to runaway victories at the NJSIAA Non-Public Championships on Friday night at the Bennett Center in Toms River.

It's the fourth straight year that UC boys and girls busted out the brooms for a team sweep, once again flexing their amazing depth and firepower.

For the girls, this is their 10th straight A Division championship, which extends their own state record. The boys won their fourth straight title with this title being their third straight in the B Division.

With two more state titles added to his incredible resume, Mike McCabe, the head boys and girls coach at UC, has now captured a combined 59 state titles between both teams in all three seasons combined!! That's right-59! And that doesn't include 4 XC Meet of Champions titles (3 girls/1 boys).     

In the girls competition, the Vikings, led by double winners Paige Sheppard and Taylor Aska extended their state record to 10 straight titles in a row with a 143-39 victory over runner-up Oak Knoll. The 10 state titles ties the Vikings with Columbia and Winslow for the most ever by a girls program in state history.

The Vikings torched the track, winning six of the seven events on the oval, including a pair of record-smashing races from the sophomore star Sheppard.

Sheppard destroyed the meet records in both the 800 (2:08.29) and the 1,600 (4:54.43) and also took down the facility record in the 4-lapper of 2:10.45 that Olympian and current American Indoor 800 record holder Ajee' Wilson of Neptune set at the 2009 Meet of Champions.

In the 800, Sheppard outdueled fellow sophomore and Union County rival Reagan Moore of Oak Knoll, who was second in 2:11.50. Sheppard's victory ignited a very fast 1-2-3 finish for UC as sophomores Sophia Thompson (indoor PR of 4:56.10) and Kayla Devine (a PR of 4:59.40) went 2-3.

The Duke-bound Aska owned the sprints, winning the 55 in 6.96 (a PR and NJ No. 3 6.94 in the trials) and she finished first in the 400 in 55.78.

UC also picked up victories from Georgia-bound Taylor Cox in the 55 hurdles in 7.84 (Cox is the US leader at 7.53), and from sophomore Cayleigh Kaiser in the 3,200 (a PR of 10:36.64).

The UC boys, fueled a pair of 1-2-3 sweeps in the distance races, were equally dominant, ringing up 125 points to outscore runner-up Pope John by 73 points.   

It's the third straight Non-Public B championship and fourth title in a row overall for the UC boys, who won the Non-Public A title in 2022. UC has now won a total of six boys state indoor titles (2012, '13, '23, '24 and '25 in the B Division and 2022 in the A Division.

The Vikings did most of their damage in the 1,600 and 3,200, racking up a the maximum 48 points in those two races. In the 1,600, Danny Kuran (4:32.18), Aidan Cichocki (4:33.08) and Nick Frank (4:40.14) went 1-2-3. Michael Devine (9:38.62), Evan Weber (9:41.36) and Finn Riely (9:47.38) crushed the.3,200 for the other UC 1-2-3.  
 

UC also received victories from Chris Wilson in the 55 hurdles (7.80), Ciaran Brosnan in the 400 (51.58) and its 4x400 relay squad (3:36.29).