A very big week happened for the Oratory Prep Rams team. Two important meets were held. On Monday was the delayed New Jersey Catholic Track Conference Meet. The Rams had a chance to win this after it was pushed back because of snow. The team was in the small school division against opponents such as Union Catholic.
How points are scored is simple: first place ten points, second place eight points, third place six points, fourth place four points, fifth place two points, and sixth place one point. Oratory Prep Rams had 42 points, so let’s dive into how they got those points.
The Rams had two scorers in the 1k, and they are not who you would expect. This year, the Rams have had a huge underclassmen presence. Every distance record for freshmen has been taken down (as we will get to later), and sophomores have consistently found themselves in the top five. Freshman Robert Dudley ran 2:45 to grab fourth place, and he was followed by sophomore Jordan Hotra with a 2:48 who beat out competition to grab sixth place. This was the Rams first five points of the night.
In the 300m, Brody Sheenan scored fourth place with a time of 37.07. This was an OP indoor track record and four more points for the team. However, Sheenan also scored in the long jump. He jumped 19 feet and 6 inches to get sixth place.
In the 3200m, Greyson Astle ran a PR to grab 6th place for the team! Followed up by Jack Ebert in the 600m, where he ran 1 minute 29 seconds to sneak out another point. Joey Demarco was also barely off his PR with a huge throw to grab first.
In the 1600m, Connor Bassolino ran 4:24 to grab second place. This was followed up by a 4x800m squad who got second place. Shout out to Jordan Hotra who ran a big PR in that race!
Finally, the 4x400m squad of Brody Sheenan, Connor Bassolino, Jack Ebert, and Brandon Jones got fifth place and qualified for Penn Relays!
In total the team got 42 points which was enough to win the small school championship!
Followed up that Friday was the NJSIAA Non Public A Championships. It was hosted at Toms River Bubble and held elite competitions such as CBA.
On the throwing side, Logan Concepcion pr’d by three inches. Miles Williamson also ended his indoor career with a big PR in the 55 hurdles. Jordan Hotra continued his string of good races with a 2:12 in the 800m.
In the mile, Connor Bassolino outkicked a CBA runner at the line barely to run a 4:21. This is an indoor PR, and a new indoor school record. Connor was able to qualify for the Meet of Champions with this placement.
In the 2 mile, Chad Vassolo PR’d by almost thirty seconds to grab second place in his heat. He was followed by Stephen Polefko who ran 10:35 to be the new two mile freshman record holder. Polefko took this record down from Connor Bassolino from his freshman year.
