12/3/11 – Portland Meadows, OR – Adapted from an article by Jim Lambert, Writer for NJ.com
With time running out and the threat of coming up short in the pursuit of the perfect season, Christian Brothers Academy did what it does best, putting together a frenetic late-race surge to score the biggest victory in state history in a performance for the ages at Saturday’s eighth Nike Cross Nationals.
CBA, which said all season that anything less than first place at nationals would be unacceptable, refused to accept defeat as it mounted a breathtaking comeback to edge Carroll of Southlake, Texas, 91-95. The victory completed an unbeaten campaign for CBA, which finished the season ranked No. 1 in the nation.
CBA, the first N.J. team to win this prestigous title, trailed Carroll almost the entire race and was down 85-101 with just 1,000 meters to go.
But senior George Kelly, junior Jack Boyle, senior Tim Gorman, sophomore Mike McClemens and junior Billy Bragg all made a huge push and finished with a flourish as CBA completed a dream season, the best season in state history, and one of the greatest in U.S. history with a record-breaking victory.
CBA’s 91 points is a meet record and its average of 15:58.99 is a course record at Portland Meadows Race Track, the host of the meet all eight years. The former record for points was 92 by Kroy in 2004 and Arcadia last year, and the old course record average of 16:00.22 was set by 2008 runner-up Elmhurst of Illinois.