CBA team interview after their Shore Conference victory.
The Shore Conference Championships, the annual meeting of the best from Ocean and Monmouth County, once again brought the fireworks on Thursday at Ocean County Park in Lakewood, N.J.
After U.S. No. 2 Christian Brothers Academy's top varsity sat out the Monmouth County Championships they were more than ready to get back out there and drop a historic performance at Ocean County Park.
Joe Barrett led the way with a blazing time of 14:36 individually, smashing the course record by five seconds and pulling the entire top portion of the field through the line at a wicked pace.
Under idyllic weather, in front of a loud crowd, and on a quick course, four boys crossed the line running under 15 minutes.
This is the second Shore Conference cross-country title for Barrett, who won in 2021 as a sophomore and rested during the 2022 meet. His time took down the previous course record of 14:41 held by Jackson Barna of Ridge HS since 2021.
This marks CBA's first two-time individual champion at Shore Conference since Mike Mazzaccaro did so across the 2009 and 2010 seasons.
The record-breaking didn't stop there, however.
Barrett's teammates, one through seven, all finished within the top 10 individually and their top five average of 15:01 also broke the course record team average of 15:03 held by CBA since the 2013 Shore Conference Championships.
WATCH: Boys Championship Race
With Barrett's record-breaking pace out front, Ryan Schmitt ran to third at 14:58, Luke Hnatt fourth at 14:59, Gavin Schmitt fifth at 15:11, and Alex Mastroly closed out their scoring five in eighth at 15:23. Displacers Ryan Collins and Wyatt Falkowski were ninth and tenth with times of 15:29 and 15:31.
Not to be lost in the quick times discussion, CBA won the meet in dominating fashion with 21 points, bringing the course record average, and splitting just 47 seconds amongst their top five. This is their 17th straight Shore Conference title going back to 2007 and their 40th overall. Second was Colts Neck with 80 points and third was Manalapan with 98.
Manalapan HS junior Clay Stevens, see interview, ran to second overall individually and also clocked an impressive time of 14:54. He was coming off a Monmouth County Championship and is now the top returner for the Shore area heading into next fall.
Also finishing in the top ten, Jay Adimala of Colts Neck running 15:13, and Michael Card of Howell 15:19.
Boys Top 10 Finishers - Full Results
| Place | Athlete | Team | Mark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Joe Barrett | 12 | CBA | 14:36.00 | ||
| 2 |  Clay Stevens | 11 | Manalapan HS | 14:54.00 | ||
| 3 | Ryan Schmitt | 12 | CBA | 14:58.00 | ||
| 4 | Luke Hnatt | 11 | CBA | 14:59.00 | ||
| 5 | Gavin Schmitt | 10 | CBA | 15:11.00 | ||
| 6 |  Jay Adimala | 11 | Colts Neck HS | 15:13.00 | ||
| 7 |  Michael Card | 12 | Howell HS | 15:19.00 | ||
| 8 | Alex Mastroly | 12 | CBA | 15:23.00 | ||
| 9 | Ryan Collins | 11 | CBA | 15:29.00 | ||
| 10 | Wyatt Falkowski | 11 | CBA | 15:31.00 |
In the girls' championship, Sadie Honig of Manalapan led the charge, and the senior crossed the line with a time of 17:29. This now marks four straight victories for the Manalapan star in 2024 and continues her undefeated season, having won Monmouth County Championships, the Varsity 1 race at Bowdoin XC Classic, and the Shore A North Divisional.
Honig became Manalapan's first winner since Tara Riccuto in 1989 and is the fourth athlete to do so from her school with Chris Blades winning in 1986 and 1987 as well as Kemper Knight in 1981. Honig's teammates Alivia Schweibinz and Jessica Abbott crossed the line in third and seventh with times of 17:38 and 17:56.
WATCH: Girls Championship Race
Two freshmen stars finished top five in this race as well. Second place was freshman Leah Starkey of Ocean Township running 17:35 and fifth saw freshman Amelia Pattwell of Middletown South recording 17:44.
The team championship was a three-point battle between Freehold Township and Middletown South, with Freehold Township securing their third straight title 91 to 94. Rumson-Fair Haven was third with 114 points and Colts Neck was fourth at 118.
Freehold Township was led individually by star senior Leah Rutledge running fourth timed at 17:43. Junior Caroline Cox was next up in 15th at 18:47, sophomore Natalie Briggs was 16th with 18:50, senior Sophia Briggs 24th at 19:15, and closing their top-five was sophomore June Sprunger in 34th running 19:39. Displacers Milana Sirna and Gabriella Salmeri were 44th and 56th.
Girls Top 10 Finishers - Full Results
| Place | Video | Athlete | Team | Mark | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Sadie Honig | 12 | Manalapan HS | 17:29.00 | 1 | |
| 2 |  Leah Starkey | 9 | Ocean Township HS | 17:35.00 | 2 | |
| 3 | Alivia Schweibinz | 12 | Manalapan HS | 17:38.00 | 3 | |
| 4 |  Leah Rutledge | 12 | Freehold Township HS | 17:43.00 | 4 | |
| 5 |  Amelia Pattwell | 9 | Middletown South HS | 17:44.00 | 5 | |
| 6 |  Kaitlyn Hathaway | 10 | Rumson-Fair Haven HS | 17:47.00 | 6 | |
| 7 | Jessica Abbott | 11 | Manalapan HS | 17:56.00 | 7 | |
| 8 |  Elizabeth Scarpa | 12 | Colts Neck HS | 18:08.00 | 8 | |
| 9 |  Ivy Slavinski | 11 | Pt. Pleasant Boro HS | 18:10.00 | 9 | |
| 10 | Logan Rettino | 12 | Rumson-Fair Haven HS | 18:20.00 | 10 |
Team Scores
Boys Top Five Teams
| Place | Team | Points | Scorers | Times |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christian Brothers Academy | 21 | 1+3+4+5+8 (9+10) | 0:47 1-5 Split | 15:01 Avg |
| 2 | Colts Neck HS | 80 | 6+11+12+25+26 (31+41) | 1:09 1-5 Split | 15:48 Avg |
| 3 | Manalapan HS | 98 | 2+22+23+24+27 (34+53) | 1:31 1-5 Split | 15:59 Avg |
| 4 |  Toms River North HS | 220 | 15+17+35+66+87 (97) | 2:21 1-5 Split | 16:51 Avg |
| 5 |  Monmouth Reg. HS | 240 | 19+46+54+57+64 (74+76) | 1:34 1-5 Split | 17:02 Avg |
Girls Top Five Teams
| Place | Team | Points | Scorers | Times |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Freehold Township HS | 91 | 4+15+16+23+33 (43+54) | 1:56 1-5 Split | 18:50 Avg |
| 2 | Middletown South HS | 94 | 5+17+18+25+29 (45+62) | 1:51 1-5 Split | 18:52 Avg |
| 3 | Rumson-Fair Haven HS | 114 | 6+10+11+40+47 (73+81) | 2:17 1-5 Split | 18:53 Avg |
| 4 | Colts Neck HS | 118 | 8+19+22+34+35 (42+44) | 1:35 1-5 Split | 19:07 Avg |
| 5 | Manalapan HS | 137 | 1+3+7+48+78 (86+107) | 3:43 1-5 Split | 18:52 Avg |