.png)
The No. 1 teams in the state flexed their superior depth when the Christian Brothers Academy boys and Union Catholic girls both held out their top guns and still captured the team titles at Saturday's New Jersey Catholic Track Conference Championships on a hot day at Greystone in Morris Plains.
With the State Non-Public A Championships looming next week at Holmdel Park, CBA, ranked No. 3 nationally, and Union Catholic, ranked No. 9 in the country, gave their regular lineups the day off from racing.
CBA, using six underclassmen in its pack, dominated the boys race as sophomore Luke Hnatt finished first in 16:12 to lead a 1-2-3-5-13 finish for the Colts, who rolled to a 22-76 victory over runner-up Oratory.
CBA's 16:33 average was the second fastest of the day at Greystone when you include the results from the NJ Section 2 Championships that was held earlier in the day. There is no doubt that CBA's B team would be a top 10 team in the state.
In the girls competition, freshman Sophia Thompson finished fourth in 19:54 to spark a 4-6-13-14-23 scoring combination for Union Catholic, which used five underclassmen en route to a 51-72 victory over runner-up Pope John. UC's average of 20:44 was the fourth fastest time of the day at Greystone (including the sectionals). The Vikings B team would also be ranked in the state.
Senior Emma Bradley of The Academy of St. Elizabeth, second last year, won the girls race in 19:20 .