James Lambert
June 23, 2026 12:50 PM
Union Catholic once again showed why it is one of the premier track and field programs in the nation, producing a series of historic performances at the New Balance National Outdoor Championsips, which concluded on Sunday at historic Franklin Field in Philadelphia.
The Vikings earned a flurry of All-American honors, broke a state record, and finished among the nation’s best in several championship events.
The Union Catholic girls put an exclamation point on a record-setting weekend by breaking the New Jersey record in the 4×400-meter relay, stopping the clock at 3:35.81 to take down the record of 3:35.90, set by the 2015 Union Catholic team that finished first at at the NB Nationals at North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, N.C. The 2015 squad was anchored by then-sophomore Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, a four-time Olympic gold medalist and world record holder in the 400-meter hurdles.
UC’s record-breaking lineup on Sunday featured freshman Abbey Robisky, who led off with a 54.9 split, followed by junior Sydney Chadwick (53.3), junior Abriyah Thompson (54.33), and junior Paige Sheppard, who anchored with a sensational 52.45. Sheppard competed across the country just two nights earlier, winning the 800 at the USATF Under-20 Championships at Hayward Field in Oregon before returning to anchor the Vikings’ record-setting relay.
The UC girls also finished third in the 4xmile in 20:08.56, the second-fastest time in New Jersey history. The quartet of Eden Solorzano, Kayla Devine, Ella Solorzano, and Harper Telesca delivered a memorable race. The only NJ team that’s run faster is Rocbury, who went 19:58.07 in 2006.
The girls’ sprint medley relay and distance medley relay also earned All-American honors.
In the SMR, Aubrey Devers produced a spectacular anchor leg and nearly pulled off the victory for the Vikings. Devers made up more than two seconds on the final leg, splitting 2:11.69 to bring UC across the finish line in second place in 3:58.29, just behind the Motor City Track Club, which won in 3:58.14.
The UC lineup featured Maya Wyche, Jola Strayhorn, Abriyah Thompson, and Devers, who battled one of the nation’s top relay fields and secured another All-American performance for the Vikings.
In the DMR, UC finished sixth with a time of 11:39.78. The Vikings’ DMR lineup featured Kayla Devine, Kairah Jones, Eden Solorzano, and Cayleigh Kaiser.
Individually, Chadwick added another All-American performance, finishing second in the girls 400 hurdle 58.06 to finish just behind Bullis standout Kennedy Brown, who won the race in 57.89. Chadwick also added an 8th place in the 400 in 54.36.
The Vikings also had a very strong showing in the girls triple jump. Morgan Holley finished fifth with a Union County record of 41-1, while teammate Kiara Fleming placed seventh with a jump of 40-2.25.
Freshman Abbey Robisky ran 2:07.54 to finish seventh in the girls 800, and junior Cayleigh Kaiser added another strong finish for the Vikings in the 5,000, placing eighth in 17:03.36.
UC BOYS 4X800 PLACES SECOND
The long awaited showdown in the 4×80 between national indoor champion Union Catholic and defending champion Herriman of Utah wasn’t the classic duel that was expected after some misfortune struck UC.
With both teams appearing to be evenly matched on paper, there was some thought that with all the firewpower that UC and Herriman possesed the national record of 7:26.12 that Herriman ran to win last year could go down, and that the two teams could produce a battle for the ages in a race that could come right down the wire.
But on the opening leg, UC senior Keandre Kelly got cut off, causing him to lose his balance and footing. Kelly, UC’s fastest 800 runner who had charged out to an early lead, did a great job staying on his feet, but the mishap cost him vaulable time, (probably about 4-5 seconds) as the Vikings fell back to 12th place.
UC’s second and third runners, junior Quintin Clemons (1:52.12) and senior Elijah McCoy (1:52.74) responded with very strong carries to move UC back up to second place at the final exchange, but Herriman was comfortably in front by about 20 meters when star anchor Jackson Spencer, the top distance runner in the nation, grabbed the stick.
Spencer, who won the NBN 5K title on Thursday, split 1:49.52 to bring Herriman across the line first in a U.S. No. 5 all-time 7:29.44. Ciaran Brosnan secured the runner-up spot and All-American honors for UC with a 1:52.05 carry as the Vikings clocked a 7:34.50.
UC fought valianty after the unfortunate chain of events, but it was just too much too overcome.
But one race doesn’t define a season!
What Kelly, Clemons, McCoy and Brosnan did this year was historic!
Check out these eye-popping numbers!!!
During the indoor season, Kelly, Clemons, McCoy and Brosnan won the 4×800 at the New Balance National Championships in Boston and broke the national record by running 7:35.05. Kelly and Brosnan also finished 1-2 in the 800 at the NJ Indoor Meet of Champions in March at Ocean Breeze with Kelly finshing a couple strides ahead.
Then this spring, the same foursome shared the baton when the Vikings ran 7:32.78, No. 14 in U.S history, to finish first in the 4×800 at the Arcadia Invitational in April in California. A couple weeks later, they won 4×800 at the Penn Relays in a driving rainstorm at Franklin Field.
There was plenty more!!
Indivudally this season, Kelly ran a NJ No. 1 time of 1:49.70, which is No. 11 in NJ history. The University of Virginia-bound Brosnan won the 800 at the Meet of Champions in 1:50.82, No. 2 in NJ this season,.Clemons ran a NJ No. 6 time of 1:51.60 when he was 5th at the Meet of Champions, and McCoy ran 1:52.10, No. 7 in the state. McCoy, who is headed to NJIT, won the 1,600 at the Meet of Champions in a Union County record 4:08.26!!! That’s No. 12 all-time in NJ history.
It’s safe to say that Kelly, Clemons, McCoy and Brosnan secured their legacy as one of the greatest groups of middle-distance runners ever produced in New Jersey.
MORE BOYS HIGHLIGHTS
The boys distance medley relay team also earned national recognition, finishing eighth in 10:02.77. The Vikings’ lineup featured Elijah McCoy, Keandre Kelly, Ciaran Brosnan, and Nathan Simonich. Simonich, a sophomore, split 4:14.22 on the anchor, and also ran a 4:12.20 in the mile!
The Vikings also had strong performances in the shorter relays. The boys 4×200-meter relay team of Elijah Jones, Shahid Stevens, Jalele Williams, and Tolu Ogunnaike finished seventh with a time of 1:26.84.
The boys 4×400-meter relay squad of Shahid Stevens, Jalele Williams, Quintin Clemons, and Tolu Ogunnaike placed ninth in the championship field with a time of 3:16.06.