This past Saturday, Oratory’s Winter Track team opened the 2015 season with the annual Union County Relays at the Jersey City Armory. Although the level of competition was extremely high, the team’s performance was both admirable and promising.

The meet opened up with a strong performance from Oratory’s throwing team of John Batista, Brendan Murphy, and Michael Guarnuccio as they placed 6th out of 16 teams. The team threw for a total of 112.0 feet; only one foot away from third place. Unsurprisingly, this kind of success is common among the throwing team and will most certainly be seen again this year. Coach Vaughn and the rest of the throwers will look to improve upon their impressive performance in Saturday’s meet and hope to continue this success throughout the season.

Oratory’s shorthanded distance team, lead by captain Max Hubbauer and Brendan Mooney, showed fine form during this meet and certainly started off the season on the right foot. Freshman Thomas Snyder had a strong showing in the first meet of his track career, posting quality times in the Distance Medley and 4×800. Also, Freshman Jake Noss showed promise on Saturday after a two month absence due to injury. As for the sprint team, Sophomore Nick Browne and captain Warren Lee had solid performances in the Sprint Medley and Distance Medley respectively. Seniors Sadik Charles, James Calder, and Junior Kyle Fudenna all ran well in the 4×400 and are expected to only improve their times as the season goes on.

When asked about his exceptional performance during Saturday’s meet, Warren credited his fast times to his use of the Ostrich Pillow (pictured). Claiming it helps him get restful sleep in almost any location, Warren now expects to have the best season of his track career. However, it remains to be seen if the pillow makes him more aerodynamic as he has yet to run a race while wearing it.

Oratory’s next meet is on Wednesday, January 14th in Elizabeth. Come out to support the team!