UC Boys Finish 4th at XC Nationals!!!

On a day that will go down as one of most memorable in U.S. high school cross-country history, the Union Catholic boys capped a magical season by becoming the fastest team in New Jersey history and placing fourth in a race loaded with national powers, and Jimmy Wischusen and Kaleigh Gunsiorowski smashed records at Saturday’s Garmin RunningLane Championships at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Alabama.

This meet, which featured many of the top teams and runners in the country, served as the unofficial National Championships after the Nike Team Nationals were canceled.

Union Catholic, which came into the race ranked No. 1 in N.J. and No. 7 in the U.S. solidified its place as one the greatest packs in state history by putting three guys under 15 minutes, including the fastest sophomore time in U.S. history by Wischusen, and becoming the fastest team in N.J. history with a jaw-dropping 15:02.72 average on its way to its fourth–place finish with 299 points in the Gold Division race.

UC’s five-man average of 15:02.72 broke the state record for the fastest 5K average on any course by a N.J. team of 15:03.78 that was set by Christian Brothers Academy at the 2013 Shore Conference Championships at Ocean County Park.

The lightning fast course combined with the deep talent pool of runners produced many of the fastest times ever run in U.S. history, and hundreds of PR’s were set. In the gold races alone, 71 boys dipped under the 15 minute mark, and 128 girls broke 18!

The boys gold race was won by US#1 Newbury Park of California, which threw down the fastest race in high school history by sweeping the top three places with the three fastest high school XC times ever run on the way to a mind-blowing average of 14:14, the fastest in U.S. history.

Newbury’s 1-2-3 of Colin Sahlman (14:03.29), Leo Young (14:05.07), and Lex Young (14:05.49), and fourth-place finisher Zane Bergen of Niwot (Colo.), who ran 14:09.91, all ran under the former all-time fastest time of 14:10.4 set in 2000 by Dathan Ritzenhein of Rockford, Michigan at the Michigan State Championships at the Michigan International Speedway.

UC was led once again by the dynamic duo of Shane Brosnan and Wischusen.

The Harvard-bound Brosnan led the charge for UC by placing 13th in 14:25.64, the fourth fastest 5K XC time ever run by a N.J. runner. Brosnan will conclude his season this Saturday when he competes at the EastBay National Championships in San Diego. And Wischusen, according to the MileSplit data base, became the fastest sophomore in U.S. history by placing 16th in 14:33.94, the fifth fastest time ever run by a N.J. guy!!

The 14:33.94 by Wischusen broke the national sophomore record of 14:34.17 set in 2020 by Isaac Teeples of Kamiakin High School in Washington when he won the Mid-Columbia Conference League Championship meet at Lawrence Scott Park in Kennewick, WA. Teeples was 10th in Saturday’s gold race in 14:23.78.

The only N.J. runners to ever go faster in a 5K XC race than Brosnan and Wischusen are the legendary Edward Cheserek of St. Benedict’s Prep, and Jackson Barna of Ridge.Cheserek, widely considered the best high school distance runner in U.S. history, owns the state’s two fastest XC 5K times ever run of 14:18.7 in 2012 and 14:20. in 2011, both coming when he won the Essex County Championship race at Brookdale Park in Bloomfield. Barna become the third fastest N.J. runner ever on Saturday when he placed eighth in 14:22.14.

All seven of Union Catholic’s runners ran huge personal best times.

After Brosnan and Wischusen, Union Catholic’s scorers were senior Myles Plummer, 68th in 14:59.65, junior Caudell Cajuste,196th in 15:37.26, and junior Ryan Cichocki, 198th in 15:37.26. Freshman Evan Weber (16:24.82) and sophomore Josh Hunsinger (17:23.84) were the No. 6 and No. 7 runners for UC.

In the girls competition for UC, Gunsiorowski, a junior who played soccer until this season, concluded her remarkable rookie season on the trails by placing 19th in the Silver Division race in 18:13.42 to break the school record of 18:17 set in 2018 by Jerika Lufrano at Lehigh University. In the Bronze Division race, Holy Cross-bound Abby Granrath concluded her amazing XC career as a Viking by running a season best 19:40.74 to finish 47th.

The performance by the UC boys on Saturday is the final jewel for the Vikings in a season filled with crowning achievements.

In addition to its state record 15:02 average, the Vikings won its first Meet of Champions title with an average of 16:01, No. 2 in Holmdel Park history, captured the Non-Public A title for the first time, repeated as Union County Champions with a Warinanco Park course record average 16:03, and ran a course record average of 15:49 at Oak Ridge Park.

So where does this season by the Vikings rank in state history?

Well, considering that only one N.J. XC team has ever won a national title (CBA in 2011 at Portland Meadows in Oregon), and only one team has ever run faster than UC at Holmdel Park (CBA ran 15:52 in 2013), UC’s season is right near the very top on the list of N.J.’s all-time greatest teams. It’s probably in the top three!!