Coming off an All-American caliber performance at the University of Oregon last Spring and the most decorated season in Oratory cross country history, it is fair to say expectations were fairly high for the 2023-24 Rams Winter Track & Field season. However, nothing would prepare audiences for the dominance that OP Track has exhibited in the early season. The extent of this dominance is a 1st place finish occurring at every meet before the now conclusion of “relay season” (relay season refers to this first portion of the track season in which there are only 4-person relay races; Relay Season finished with the NJSIAA State Relay Championships last Wednesday, January 10th). The common thread in all of OP’s victories this season is the presence of the tri-grade trio composed of Senior Tommy Hunt, Junior Declan Kelly, and Break-out Sophomore James Nolan. This group’s first victory came at The New Jersey Catholic Track Conference Championship Distance Medley Relay (DMR) where, alongside Aidan O’Dowd, the boys would propel the Rams to a narrow 1.14-second victory over the St. Peter’s Mauraders — a top 5 overall team in NJ. OP’s winning time of 10:50.6 was not only the first ever Oratory DMR to break the 11-minute barrier, but also placed OP as the 3rd fastest time in NJ and the 11th fastest in the country this season. The massive amounts of momentum gained from Declan Kelly’s kick for victory at Catholic’s would carry the Rams into the Union County Relay Championships. Here, the same DMR lineup would defeat teams that finished cross country inside the NJ Top 15 rankings (such as Summit and Union Catholic) en route to the capture of Oratory’s first ever County title. This would prove to be just the beginning of first for OPTF, as they would then win their first-ever Non-Public A title less than a week later. After a storied history in the Non-Public B division ended in 2013, the Rams finally returned to the top of the podium on the state level, this time in a higher division. The 4×800 crew that brought home gold was composed of Declan Kelly, James Nolan, Connor Bassolino, and Tommy Hunt.
In the NJSIAA Non-Public A Championship race, strong opening legs by Declan Kelly and James Nolan placed the Rams in the lead before it was up to sophomore Connor Bassolino to fight and give Captain Tommy Hunt a chance on the anchor leg. Handing off in a tight race with fourth-placed St. Benedicts, Bassolino did just enough to give Hunt the stick in range. Being left to overcome a 25-meter gap, Hunt would track down perennial powerhouses St. Peters and Christian Brothers Academy (the #1 program in state history) to achieve victory by two full seconds, a remarkable turnaround on the anchor leg. The 4×800 time of 8:12.9 would have won every other state group and was the fastest time in the entirety of NJ this week. The time was also in the top 20 fastest times in the country this year, qualifying the Rams for Nike Nationals. Hunt, Kelly, Nolan, & Bassolino will continue to be the primary point scorers for the Rams, starting this Wednesday at the Union County Individual Championships. The Rams will also await the recovery of Seamus Vail, a Nike Outdoor Track All-American who is on the road back from injury and will only make OP more dangerous down the stretch.
