Union Catholic Sweep State Track And Field Titles
By Jim Lambert
For the third straight year, the Union Catholic boys and girls swept team titles at the NJSIAA Non-Public Track and Field Championships on Friday at the Bennett Center.
The Vikings once again showed their amazing depth as both teams used 16 different athletes to runaway with the championships.
In the girls competition, the Vikings, led by double individual winners and record breakers Taylor Cox and Paige Sheppard, extended their state record to nine titles in a row with a 122-39 win over runner-up Oak Knoll.
UC’s total of nine titles is the second most in state history among girls’ teams behind Columbia and Winslow, who have each won 10.
The Vikings blew up the track, winning all seven events of the events on the oval, including four wins by freshmen.
Cox, the state leader in the hurdles and the defending Meet of Champions winner in the event, took down one of the biggest records possible when she ran 7.84 to break the All Groups record of 7.86 set by the legendary Sydney McLaughlin of UC in 2015. Cox also won the 55 dash in 7.02 to break the Non-Public A meet record of 7.10 set by teammate Taylor Aska last year. Aska also ran under her former record with a runner-up finish in 7.08.
Sheppard, a freshman phenom, won the 1,600 in 4:56.23 to break the Non-Public A record of 4:58.17 set in 2022 by Cate DeSousa of Red Bank Catholic, and captured the 800 in 2:15.63.
UC also picked up wins from freshman Rhia Randolph in the 400 in 56.31, freshman Cayleigh Kaiser in the 3200 with a big PR of 10:50.49, and the 4×400 team finished first in 3:59.02. Randolph, and Aska teamed with Abriyah Thompson and Bellah Murray on the winning 4×400.
Kiara Fleming also had a big meet for the Vikings by placing second in both the hurdles (8.66 in the final/8.57 in the trials)) and the high jump (5-0), and Carmela Lo Stuto cleared a PR of 8-0 to tie for third in the pole vault.
Other standouts for the Vikings included Peyton Hollis, second in the 800 in 2:16.42, and Jimmiea King, third in the 800 in 2:16.57), and freshman Sophia Thompson, third in the 1,600 with a PR of 5:05.72. UC now has seven girls who have cracked 5:08 this season!
For the UC boys, Marcus McCoy and Avery Atexide were double winners and Michael Devine and Alex Saldana led a dominate distance performance with victories to ignite the Vikings to a 127-52 victory over runner-up Newark Academy in the B Division.
It’s the second straight Non-Public B championship and third title in a row for the UC boys, who won the Non-Public A title in 2022). UC has now won a total of five boys state indoor titles (2012, ’13, ’23 and ’24 in the B Division and 2022 in the A Division.
McCoy and Atexide were among several Vikings who had big days!
McCoy won the 55 hurdles in 7.73 and ran a leg on the winning 4×400 that ran 3:32.82, and Atexide won the 400 in 51.41 and ran on the victorious relay.
In the distance races, UC piled up 56 points!
Devine (9:40.54), Evan Weber (9:44.51) and Aidan Cichocki (9:53.04) went 1-2-3 for UC in the 3,200. Saldana (4:28.58) and Alessandro Alvarez-Tullo (9:38.27) finished 1-2 in the 1,600, and Keandre Kelly and Sean Wilson finished 2-3 in the 800. Kelly also ran on the 4×400.
Noah Cooper, Kevin Philistin, Al-Qamar Rojas and Justice Hicks also came up with big points for the Vikings.
Cooper was third in the 55 dash in 6.83 and ran on the 4×400, Philistin was second in the dash in 6.78, Hicks was third in the high jump and sixth in the 400, and Rojas was second in the hurdles.
