By James Lambert | October 23, 2026, 8:34 AM
Their lineups were adjusted and the meet was held on a different course for the first time ever, but the results remained the same for Union Catholic, which once again pulled out the brooms and swept the team titles at Thursday’s 89th Union County Championships at Oak Ridge Park in Clark.
Sparked by individual champs Cayleigh Kaiser and Danny Kuran, both second a year ago, UC repeated its sweep from last year with another daily double to keep the Vikings on top in the county.
After an 88-year run at historic Warinanco Park, this was the first time the county meet was held on another layout.
Kuran Ignites 1-2-3 Finish as the Vikings Go Back-to-Back
The UC boys, ranked No. 3 in the state, responded to the loss of two of their regular runners by putting together a masterful race, highlighted by a lethal 1-2-3 frontal attack and big finishes by their No. 4 and 5 runners to defeat runner-up and No. 13 Westfield, 25-41.
UC went 1-2-3-9-10, averaged 16:06 and had a 1-5 compression of just 23 seconds. Westfield had a strong race, but couldn’t overcome UC’s powerful front-running. The Blue Devils countered by going 4-5-7-11-14, and averaged 16:24 with a spread of 40 seconds.
Kuran, a senior, led the charge up front by winning the race in 15:56, junior Nathan Simonich was second in 15:59, and senior Jayden Aine placed third in 16:00 to give the Vikings a big early lead. Junior Jeremiah Shepherd, making his varsity debut, came up with a big PR of 16:17 to finish ninth, and senior Nick Frank sealed the deal when he came across 10th in 16:19.
This is the second straight title for UC and their sixth overall, which have all come in the last seven years. And Kuran’s win gives UC seven individual county crowns, including five of the last seven!
Westfield, which received several PRs, was led by sophomore Luke Barba, who dropped a big PR of 16:11 to finish fourth!
Did you know? This is the 12th straight year that either UC or Westfield has won the boys’ title. The last team to finish first besides Westfield or UC, who have each won six titles in the last dozen years, is Summit, who won in 2014. Taking it one step further, the last time a team other than Westfield, UC, or Summit won the boys’ title was in 2004 when Cranford won its eighth straight championship.
Union Catholic Boys — Top 7
| Place | Athlete | Year | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Danny Kuran | Sr. | 15:56.10 |
| 2 | Nathan Simonich | Jr. | 15:59.40 |
| 3 | Jayden Aine | Sr. | 16:00.20 |
| 9 | Jeremiah Shepherd | Jr. | 16:17.61 |
| 10 | Nick Frank | Sr. | 16:19.11 |
| 12 | Manny Sanchez | Jr. | 16:37.90 |
| 27 | Brandon Burns | So. | 17:13.70 |
Team Score: 25 points
Top 5 Average: 16:06.48
Top 5 Spread: 23.01 seconds
Westfield Boys — Top 7
| Place | Athlete | Year | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Luke Barba | So. | 16:11.80 |
| 5 | Brent Kengeri | Sr. | 16:12.20 |
| 7 | Nikos Davlouros | Sr. | 16:13.40 |
| 11 | Lincoln Staiger | Jr. | 16:34.40 |
| 14 | Alexander Davlouros | Sr. | 16:51.90 |
| 28 | Zachary Turetsky | Sr. | 17:15.80 |
| 45 | Matthew Logozzo | Sr. | Time not provided |
Team Score: 41 points
Top 5 Average: 16:24.74
Top 5 Spread: 40.10 seconds
Kaiser Runs Away With Title, UC Extends Streak to 6 in a Row
The UC girls, the No. 1 team in the nation, held out most of their top guns, but it didn’t matter. The Vikings flexed their superior depth by receiving seven course PRs on their way to a sixth straight title and ninth overall, outscoring runner-up Westfield, 22-66.
UC, which averaged 18:50 and jammed six runners in the top nine, showcased its remarkable depth by using just one runner (Kaiser) from its regular loaded lineup, but still scored a runaway victory. Among the UC runners who were training through this was senior Paige Sheppard, who won the last two county titles.
Kaiser, a senior, charged out fast, hitting the first half mile in 2:35 and the mile in 5:30 to create an insurmountable gap. It was a race for second place as Kaiser hammered the field, stopping the clock at 17:42, which placed her No. 2 all-time in course history. Only Sheppard has run faster at Oak Ridge (17:12 in 2024 and 17:41 in 2022).
Kaiser is the fifth straight individual champion from UC and she gave the Vikings eight individual girls’ champs, all since 2014.
Summer Rae Sharma of Kent Place continued her breakout sophomore season by placing second with a huge PR of 18:20.
Union Catholic Girls — Top 7 Finishers
Union County Championships — 5,000 Meters
| Place | Athlete | Year | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cayleigh Kaiser | Sr. | 17:41.90 |
| 3 | Jia Jain | So. | 18:30.90 |
| 4 | Saffa Ellis | Jr. | 18:46.40 |
| 6 | Jasmine Parran | Jr. | 19:32.50 |
| 8 | Myra Sakhuja | So. | 19:42.70 |
| 9 | Kailyn Brown | Sr. | 19:51.60 |
| 23 | Anna Block | So. | 20:49.80 |
Team Score: 22 points
Top 5 Average: 18:50.88
Top 5 Spread: 2:00.80