CBA streak turns 50; Shore Conference preview

Ron Gale was a freshman cross country runner at Christian Brothers Academy in the fall of 1973, when the Colts closed the season with a loss to Raritan.

“I remember the kids were very discouraged,” he said.

The program has not lost a dual meet since.

Since sweeping Marist in September 1974, the CBA has won 398 consecutive games. That’s not just a national record; the Colts took over the record 20 years ago with their 266th consecutive win. The streak has taken on mythic proportions, as it turns 50 this month. It has outlived the terms of 12 New Jersey governors, nine U.S. presidents and five popes. It’s been around longer than personal computers.

“We never thought about streaks back then,” said Gale, who would go on to become a state champion and one of the CBA’s first distance running superstars. “We didn’t know it, but we kind of paved the way for the rest of the CBA guys that came after. It just kept snowballing.”

The 400-win milestone is in sight on Sept. 18, when the Colts host Southern and Point Pleasant Borough at 4 p.m. That day, the field on the school’s campus in the Lincroft section of Middletown will be dedicated to program architect Tom Heath, who served as head coach from 1971 through 2016. A 25-foot arch will be unveiled at the goal line, dedicated to Heath. Alumni from all eras will be on hand.

“It shows the tradition and culture that CBA has,” said Joe Barrett, a CBA senior and reigning state champion. “It’s a big part of the season this year. I’m glad I was able to be a part of that history.”

Your best team of all time?

Among the big highlights of the streak is the real possibility that this is the best Colts team ever. That distinction currently belongs to last year’s team, which set the Holmdel Park field record with a five-man average (15:51) while sweeping the top five at the NJSIAA Non-Public A Championship.

Three of the top seven return, starting with Barrett, whose Holmdel Park time of 15:21 ranks third in Shore Conference history. Then there’s fellow senior Alex Mastroly (Holmdel Park time: 16:10) and junior Wyatt Falkowski (16:23). Then there’s junior Luke Hnatt, who clocked 9:10 in the 3200 and 4:15 in the 1600 last spring.

“I think this year’s team is going to be a lot better than last year’s,” Barrett said. “People didn’t realize how strong our team was last year. We lost four seniors, but I don’t think that’s going to matter.”

Last week, at their annual two-mile time trial in Holmdel (using the first-year course), the Colts’ top five averaged a whopping 22 seconds faster than they did in the 2023 time trial.

“We’re better, although we may not even be that close,” McCafferty said.

All eyes will be on Barrett, who is looking for more than just a repeat of his Meet of Champions title. He wants to go undefeated, from September’s Bowdoin Classic through October’s Manhattan Invitational and the national team championship in Oregon.

“It is a difficult goal, but certainly achievable,” he said. “I don’t want to put limits on myself.”

In Holmdel Barrett, who will run collegiately at the University of North Carolina, he has a litany of markers in front of him: the CBA record (15:20, by Mike Mazzaccaro in 2010), the Shore Conference record (15:16, by Colts Neck’s Craig Forys in 2006) and the under-15 barrier, broken only twice in state history (14:53 by St. Benedict’s Edward Cheserek in 2011 and 14:56 by West Windsor-Plainsboro North’s Joe Rosa in 2009).

“His potential is only limited by what he believes he can do,” McCafferty said.

‘Gods returning from the past’

On Oct. 20, 1981, when the streak came closest to being broken, there wasn’t much faith. St. John Vianney was clearly the better team that season, having won both the Monmouth County and NJSIAA Parochial titles (and beating the Colts in both). On the day of their dual meet, a group of CBA alumni, including runners from the No. 1 win, showed up and gave a pre-race pep talk.

“It was like God came back from the past,” recalled Ken Kolb, who was part of the team in 1981. “They gave us a very strong talk saying, ‘You can’t lose, you have to win! ’ and that was a big catalyst for us to run faster than we had all season.”

Kolb made his best run despite twisting his ankle when he stepped into a hole at the finish line. When the count was made, the score was tied 28-28, so the winner was determined by a sixth-man tiebreaker. CBA sixth man John Vickers had beaten Vianney to the finish line by a few seconds. The streak survived.

“Coach Heath knew how high school kids thought,” Kolb said. “He knew how to motivate us and get the best out of us.”

McCafferty inherited the torch in 2016. He contributed to the streak as a CBA running back and understands the importance of matchups to the program’s culture. While only the team’s top seven running backs can compete in championships, all of them participate in the matchups.

“It’s a place where a lot of the younger athletes learn,” McCafferty said.

Kolb and Gale said they learned lifelong values like discipline, teamwork and toughness while wearing a CBA uniform. But never in their wildest imaginations could they have imagined laying the groundwork for an unbroken 50-year winning streak.

“In the end,” Gale said, “I think we did pretty well.”

25 Shore Conference runners to watch

Will Ashton, Manchester

The senior was ranked 20th^He at the Shore Conference meeting.

Joe Barrett’s Christian Brothers

The reigning state cross country champion set a spring state track record with a time of 8:43 for 3200m.

Michael Card, Howell

The senior won the Monmouth County meet and placed third at the Shore Conference meet.

Hunter Celkupa, Colts’ collar

The senior was ranked 22nd^{North Dakota} at the Meet of Champions (16:19) and then clocked 4:08 in the 1600 and 9:08 in the 3200 on the spring track.

Ryan Collins, Christian Brothers

The junior was ranked 24th^He at the Shore Conference meeting.

Connor DeFilippis, Red Bank Catholic

The senior was ranked 19th^He at the Shore Conference meeting.

Wyatt Falkowski, Christian Brothers

The junior was ranked 29th^He at the Meeting of Champions in 16:23.

Joseph Friedman, Marlboro

The junior finished in 16th place^He at the Shore Conference meeting.

Thomas Field, Christian Brothers

The senior was ranked 13th^He at the Shore Conference meeting.

Sean Galvin, Christian Brothers

The junior placed fifth at the Shore Conference meet.

Caden Gueci, Point Pleasant Township

The junior finished in 18th place^He at the Shore Conference meeting.

Luke Hnatt, Christian Brothers

The junior finished in 12th place^He at the Shore Conference meet and then ran 9:10 in the 3200 on spring track.

Olivier Langeveld, Wall

The junior placed seventh at the Shore Conference meet.

Ryan Macom, Toms River East

The senior placed fifth at the Ocean County competition.

Alex Mastroly, Christian Brothers

The senior was ranked 12th^He at the Meeting of Champions at 16:10.

Matt McInerney, Christian Brothers

The junior finished in 17th place^He at the Monmouth County meeting.

Cleatus Oakes, Point Pleasant Township

The senior was ranked 15th^He at the Shore Conference meeting.

Gavin Oliver, Donovan Catholic

The sophomore placed 14th.^He at the Ocean County meeting.

Ryan Schmidt, Christian Brothers

The senior was ranked 30th^He at the Shore Conference meeting.

John Shapiro, Colts’ neck

The senior was ranked 23rd^Third at the Shore Conference meeting.

Kyle Skiendzielewski, South

The senior placed fourth at the Ocean County competition.

Clay Stevens, Manalapan

The junior placed sixth in the Group 4 meet in 15:50 and eighth in the Meet of Champions in 16:01.

Tahj Wilson, North Toms River

The sophomore ran 1:59 in the 800 and 4:33 in the 1600 as a freshman.

Taysaun Wilson, North Toms River

The senior was ranked 25th^He at the Shore Conference meet and then clocked 1:52 in the 800 on spring track.

5 Shore Conference teams to watch

Christian brothers

With nine collaborators returning from last fall’s smash hit, the dynasty continues.

Colt’s neck

Three scorers return after a second-place finish at the Monmouth County meet.

Manalapan

Three of the top six are back after a second-place finish at the Shore Conference meet.

Point Pleasant Township

Three scorers are back after a third-place finish in the Shore Conference meet.

North Toms River

The top three runners are back after a sixth-place finish at the Shore Conference meet.

Calendar of important meetings

Saturday, October 5: Coastal Coaches Tournament at Holmdel Park

Tuesday, October 15: Ocean County Championships at Ocean County Park

Thursday, October 17th:Monmouth County Championships at Holmdel Park

Thursday, October 24: Shore Conference Championship at Ocean County Park

Saturday, November 2: NJSIAA Sectionals

Saturday, November 9th:NJSIAA Group Championship at Holmdel Park

Saturday, November 16: NJSIAA Meet of Champions at Holmdel Park

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996. Contact him at [email protected]