Oratory Prep Cross Country started their season strong last weekend at the Roxbury Invitational at Horseshoe Lake Park. This meet was split into four races, the Novice race (freshman race), the Future four, the Fast four, and JV. This extremely flat course paired with a beautiful day made for lots of PR’s and breakout performances. With an inspirational team meeting the day before, the Rams set their sights on attacking this historically fast course.
The day started with the Novice race, with a large freshman class taking the line at 9:20. This race was only 1.6 miles, and was sure to be a fast one. Robert Dudley won the race with a time of 8:07, and was followed closely behind by teammate Greyson Astle at 8:13. Both are already experienced runners with lots of varsity potential going forward. They were closely followed by Stephen Polefko, with a time of 8:47. This proved to be OP’s best Novice finish ever, as the future of the team is in good hands.
The next race of the day was the Future four. This race consisted of three sophomores, Henry Salaki, Chad Vassallo, and Will Timbie, and junior Patrick Roberts. With not much varsity experience, this group took the line with high hopes of setting personal records, and cementing themselves on the top seven. Sure enough, this is exactly what the sophomores did. Chad Vassallo finished with a huge PR of 17:56.4, shattering his previous PR by a minute and 21 seconds. Henry Salaki, in his first ever cross country race, finished only half of a second behind Chad, at 17:56.9. Plus, Will Timbie also ran an 18:25, a big PR for him as well. This breakout race is a great sign of things to come with these young runners. Watch out for this crew of sophomores as they take their talents to the varsity level.
The next race was the fastest of the day, the Fast four. This team was made up of James Nolan, Connor Bassolino, Cathal Hislop, and Alex Kieschke. This squad of seniors have made a big jump into the leadership role, especially captains Connor Bassolino and James Nolan. Bassolino, who’s previous PR was 16:22, looked to go sub 16, an extremely difficult feat that only one OP runner had accomplished before this race. Connor set out to break the 16 minute mark, and did so comfortably. He finished with a time of 15:55, beating out Max Russo’s time of 15:58. Russo went on to run at Bowdoin, and ultimately Virginia. Bassolino has not only big things ahead this season, but farther down the line at the collegiate level. While none of the other runners in this race PR’d, James Nolan ran a 17:41, and Alex Kieschke ran a 19:00, both respectable first race times.
The final race of the day was the JV squad. This team graduated 12 runners last spring, so the younger group now look to take control and continue the JV team’s success. This race was the hottest of the day, making for very difficult conditions. However, the boys fought through, which allowed for a few notable finishes. Matthew Surmay came in first on the team, with a time of 20:21. Camilo Porras, in his first ever Cross Country race, ran a 20:28, a great first race time. While no other PR’s were accomplished that afternoon, watch out for this group to increase their fitness and significantly drop their times as the season progresses.
Image via OP Athletics
