By RICH FISHER
Contributing Editor
The Christian Brothers Academy, Lincroft, cross country team’s effort was so amazing at this year’s NJSIAA Meet of Champions, it did the impossible.
It silenced the media … for a few moments at least.
“I was talking to reporters after and it was like they didn’t even know what to ask,” coach Sean McCafferty said with a laugh.
Joe Barrett gets high fives from well wishers after cruising to his second straight Meet of Champions individual title. Photo by Larry Levanti
They weren’t alone, as most in attendance at Holmdel Park on Nov. 16 were just as stunned by the Colts’ unprecedented display of excellence.
CBA won its third straight MOC with the lowest score in the history of the meet (16), and its average time of 15 minutes, 42 seconds, broke the course record that it set just one week earlier (15:50).
Senior Joe Barrett became only the eighth runner to win two individual championships as he finished in 15:24. CBA took four of the top five spots, five of the top seven and seven of the top 14. Only the top five scores counted, but if all seven Colts’ scores counted, CBA still would have outdistanced second-place Haddonfield by 50 points.
“It’s been tough to wrap my head around it,” McCafferty said two days after the race. “My assistants (Conor Lunny, Karl Torchia) and I are still talking about it. It’s not so much our time, I felt that was in the realm of what we could do. It was beating New Jersey and scoring 16 points against New Jersey was kind of shocking to all of us.”
McCafferty did not see the finish line as he, his wife and an assistant were stationed around the two-mile park.
“When they came around the corner I could see them for the first time, I was like ‘Holy cow!’ I could see we were gonna have five in the top 10 and seeing where some of the other (schools’) guys were, it was just shocking. We were just like ‘What is happening?’”
CBA senior Joe Barrett displays his plaque after winning the Meet of Champions for the second straight year. Barrett is one of just eight runners to ever win the race twice. Photo by Larry Levanti
What happened is that Barrett came across in a personal record time of 15:24 to beat Manalapan’s Clay Stevens by 13 seconds. Following Stevens were CBA’s Luke Hnatt (15:41), Ryan Schmitt (15:45) and Alex Mastroly (15:47). Gavin Schmitt took seventh (15:53), while Ryan Collins was 10th (16:02) and Wyatt Falkwoski finished 14th (16:10).
“Those guys just went after it and they attacked,” McCafferty said. “It was awesome.”
It all starts with Barrett, who will run at the University of North Carolina next year.
“He is confident, but backs it up with a lot of good, hard work,” McCafferty said. “He works so hard; he cares a lot about his team and what it’s doing and he’s super competitive. That’s what makes him tick. And he’s happy and positive.
“Joe cares about every kid on the team that we have, even some of the freshmen who won’t run cross country after this,” the coach continued. “He knows what they are and what they do, and that’s what helps us improve so much.”
That attitude permeates throughout the team. McCafferty noted that “kids like Thomas Field and Ryan Shibles were not very good as freshmen and they have become tremendous athletes (as seniors). Both finished top 10 in the Monmouth County meet and have become leaders.”
Field and Shibles are typical of CBA, which has now won 27 Meet of Champions and is currently ranked second nationally behind Herriman, Utah. On the Colts, it’s not just the stars that buy into the program.
“We absolutely get talent,” McCafferty said. “But we also work very hard and care about what we do. We care about our routine as a team.”
With New Jersey vanquished, CBA turns its attention to the Nov. 23 Nike XC Regionals at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls, NY. Should the Colts run to their potential they will qualify for the Nike XC Nationals in Portland, Ore. Dec. 7. CBA has reached every National meet since 2010 and won it all in 2011 with a team that had “one or two of guys that would have made this team,” McCafferty said.
But having the best team in program history does not assure a national title, as the coach pointed out that “in that meet it depends on the team you’re racing against. A few years ago, Newbury Park (Cal.) was insane. They had five guys better than Joe Barrett. Sometimes you run up against those teams.”
McCafferty likes his team’s chances in both New York and Oregon. But no matter what happens, he is certain of one thing.
“We are the best team New Jersey has ever seen,” the coach said. “We can easily say that right now without a doubt in my mind.”
The CBA runners and coaching staff stand proudly at the podium after the Colts won their third straight Meet of Champions title and 27th overall. Photo by Larry Levanti / https://larrylevanti.com/
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