Fresh off of winning the Greystone Invitational last Saturday, the OP cross country team prepared to run three days later to kick off “Championship Season.” First up was Conferences, and, in a close race against New Providence, the Rams came out victorious. Although New Providence placed first, third, and fourth respectively, the whole OP pack finished in front of New Providence’s final two scorers, which, alongside some help from Jonathan Dayton’s placement, left Oratory victorious by a tight three-point margin. In terms of times, the varsity squad broke the school record for the Warinanco 5,150 meter course with an average time of 17:35. They were led by Mike Cantaluppi (17:22), Addison Drone (17:32), Casey McKee (17:41), Eric Rhines (17:41), and Fernando Aviles (17:41).

In addition, the JV team put up a strong performance, and its third place finish represented the depth held by the team relative to a very strong county. They were led by Alex Rickard (17:53),  Jake Noss (18:03), Chris Uustal (18:25), Chris Kraemer (18:26), and Kevin dePoortere (18:30). Looking forward, next week marks Counties at the same course. The varsity team is looking to build off their best Warinanco times while the JV team aims to maintain their strides as the season nears its end.