Throughout the years there have been many great athletic teams produced by St. Gregory the Great in Hamilton Square. But something has been missing until now.
“This is the first state title for any sport in school history,” said St. Greg’s girls JV cross country coach Chris McGowan, whose team won the New Jersey Catholic Elementary School state title in November. “They will be hanging the first state championship banner ever in the gym to commemorate it.”
That banner will stand for religious values as much as fast runners.
“Our program reflects the true spirit of our Catholic identity,” McGowan said. “We pray the Hail Mary before every meet and we emphasize teamwork and encouragement. We never cut anyone, and we value every runner—whether they’re leading the pack or walking to the finish.
“Our athletes always cheer for the final finishers at every practice and meet. We focus on improvement and finishing at your best, rather than winning.”
But they won anyway.
St. Greg’s defeated perennial power St. James of Basking Ridge, whose varsity team finished in the top five in this year’s national meet. It amassed 54 points to outdistance St. James by 28 points in the NJ Catholic Elementary Girls Race at Basking Ridge’s Pleasant Valley Park in November.
Six Lions – grades 3 through 6 — finished in the top 25 (out of 85 runners), including Stella Moore (3rd place, time of 10:03), Grace McGowan (6th, 10:22), Camila Kiehl (11th, 11:05), Salma Kiehl (11:21), Kyleigh Jones (21st, 11:49) and Stella Abel (25th, 12:14). Maggie Patrick (45th, 14:03) rounded out the lineup.
“Before the medals ceremony one of the other coaches came to me and said that he was really impressed with our performance,” McGowan said. “I had a feeling our girls had run very well at that point but you never know until it’s all counted.
“Coach Melanie (Patrick) and I were watching as they started counting down the names of the top 10 schools. They called out the second place finishers and I think we were still in disbelief when they announced that we had won the state championship.”
McGowan noted that Patrick was an essential part of the program, as were numerous parents who helped the cause. Not to be forgotten, the boys had four runners in Rocco Sniffin, Lincoln Young, Robert Convisssar and Liam Brotschul.
When McGowan took over there were six runners in the program and they ran just one meet in 2021. This year there were 20 in the program as the Pelikan family helped McGowan get the word out in 2022.
In 2023/24 the Lions won the honorable mention small school trophy in states. With McGowan and both Kiehls finishing in the top 15 as 4th-graders, and Moore joining the squad, hopes were high entering this year.
“We knew they could be competitive against runners from the big teams across the state,” McGowan said. “However, it is big leap going from that accomplishment to winning the state championship trophy competing against the top seven from other teams.”
St. Greg’s prepped for this year by running three meets during the regular season, although the top programs run in eight or more and begin training in July. The Lions began in September.
“We were definite underdogs,” McGowan said. “Our victory came as a major surprise to other coaches.”
The coach saw potential after a preseason practice meet against St. Paul’s Princeton, in which the times were impressive.
“I didn’t want to put any pressure on anyone so I kept that to myself,” McGowan said. “But I thought we had a decent chance to win the whole thing at that point.”
His optimism remained throughout the year and was rewarded at the state finals.
“We are so proud of all seven girls for their efforts,” McGowan said. “They all worked tremendously hard this season. Cross country is not an easy sport and there is a lot of training involved to get ready for the 2400 meter race over a very hilly course.
“Stella Moore ran a very fast race and I am sure she turned some heads in Basking Ridge. Grace McGowan shaved 40 seconds off her time from last year. The Kiehl twins are fun to be around but they are also very tough and they never quit. I won’t forget Salma coming around the final turn with a lot of anguish in her face but she kept running right up the last hill.”
But it wasn’t just the top four that made a difference.
“Kyleigh Jones is very athletic and a super hard worker,” McGowan continued. “She came down the final 100 yard sprint in an absolute battle to get ahead of five other girls. Stella Abel joined us this year. She plays soccer and also worked very hard with us and we are so happy that she joined the team. Maggie Patrick is the youngest in the group. She ran very hard and finished almost even with her competitor from St. James. She will help ensure that the future of the team remains bright.”
A happy group of St. Gregory the Great JV cross country runners show off their trophy after winning the New Jersey Catholic Elementary School state title in Basking Ridge in November. Courtesy photo