Tilly O'Connor nearly broke the course record, and Villa Walsh and St. Peter's Prep repeated as champions at the New Jersey Catholic Track Conference Championships on Saturday at Oak Ridge Park in Clark.
The Villanova-bound O'Connor burned up the 3.1-mile layout by running 17:53, the second fastest time in course history, to win the girls race. O'Connor missed the course record by just one second. Union Catholic junior Peyton Hollis ran 17:52 at the Union County Conference Championships earlier this month.
Villa Walsh, the Morris County champs and the No. 10 team in the state, put four runners in the top 15 on the way to capturing its second straight championship, 49-84 over runner-up Union Catholic. Union Catholic, the No. 1 team in the state, held out their top runners, and No. 11 Kent Place and No. 17 Red Bank Catholic didn't compete.
The top five runners for Villa Walsh, who averaged 20:19, were freshman Blythe Dudley, fourth in 19:49, sophomore Ines Lemee, seventh in 19:54, senior Victoria Wong, ninth in 20:12, sophomore Martha Smart, 15th in 20:40, and junior Catherine Collum, 24th in 21:16.
In the boys race, No. 15 ranked St. Peter's, which won the Hudson County title last week, edged Union Catholic, 36-38, to capture its second straight championship. Third-place Christian Brothers Academy, the No. 1 team in the state, No. 2 Union Catholic, and No. 9 Delbarton all held out their top runners as they prepare to collide along with St. Peter's at the Non-Public A State Championship this Saturday at Holmdel Park.
Senior Alex Schimmel, the Hudson County champ who was second in this race last year, led the way for St. Peter's by winning the race n 15:47. The other scorers for St. Peter's were junior Theodore McCarthy, second in 15:56, senior Tarran Mohan, seventh in 16:20, senior Richard Harrington, 10th in 16:25, and sophomore Tommy O'Brien, 16th in 16:45.