UC Girls 3-Peat XC Meet of Champions. Sheppard Wins!
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Some late-season injuries that led to several lineup adjustments created a serious challenge and major test for the Union Catholic girls’ squad. But their depth, resiliency, and savvy racing instincts came to the forefront, and several runners leveled up when it mattered most to propel the Vikings to their third straight title at Saturday’s NJSIAA Meet of Champions at Holmdel Park.
Sparked by the 1-2 punch of sophomores Paige Sheppard, who overcame a late fall to finish first in 18:02, and Cayleigh Kaiser, fourth in 18:33, and the return of Kayla Devine, Union Catholic, ranked No. 1 in N.J. and No. 7 nationally, dug down deep and scored an 80-101 win over runner-up and No. 2 ranked Princeton, the Group 4 champions.
WATCH: Girls Championship Race
The Vikings are just the third program in state history to win at least three straight titles. Red Bank Catholic won five straight from 1972-76 and three straight from 1994-96, and North Hunterdon captured four in a row from 1983-86 and three consecutive championships from 2017-19.
Union Catholic averaged 19:15 and had a scoring combination of 1-2-18-29-30. Princeton countered with a 5-12-20-31-33.
The top five in UC’s all-underclassmen lineup were Sheppard, Kaiser, junior Emmy O’Hearn, 32nd with a PR of 19:35, junior Ella Solorzano, 54th in 20:01, and sophomore Kayla Devine, who sealed the deal by placing 57th in 20:04.
It was just the second race of the season for Devine and her first race in two months. UC’s No. 6 and No. 7 runners were junior Joelle Ruccio, 103rd in 20:42, and sophomore Aubrey Devers, 113th in 20:56.
Last week, Ruccio filled in for sophomore Sophia Thompson and was a huge difference maker as she was UC’s No. 5 runner when the Vikings won their fourth straight non-Public A title.
On Saturday, UC ran without three of their regulars, Thompson, Jimmiea King, and Jasmine Parran. And this time it was Devine who stepped in and ran a gutsy race to put the Vikings over the top.
“We have had some injuries and lineup changes, but everyone who has filled in has done a great job,” said Sheppard. “Kayla coming back to race was so big for us today, and Aubrey just found out she was running yesterday and she ran great. I’m just so proud of how all the girls on this team have come together to help us win this title again!”
SHEPPARD WINS AFTER FALL
Ever since she finished second last year, Paige Sheppard has been driven to get back to Holmdel and get redemption by winning the title that narrowly eluded her a year ago.
The sophomore at Union Catholic, who has comfortably won every race she’s run this season, got what she came for, crossing the line first in 18:02. But she had to overcome some adversity before she captured the title.
Sheppard had built about a 15-second gap on the field with about a quarter mile to go when she took a nasty spill just before she exited the woods and hit the final straightaway. A stunned Sheppard peeled herself off the dirt, and with her knees bloodied she got back on her feet. Fortunately, Sheppard got back up to speed quickly and summoned her superior kick to finish the race strong. Liliah Gordon of Northern Burlington was second in 18:13.
“I’m not sure exactly what happened,” said Sheppard, who finished just two seconds behind Emma Zawatski of Freehold Township last year. “I just know that I lost my footing and went down pretty hard. I probably lost about five seconds or so. I got up as quick as I could and finished as fast as I could.”
Sheppard is the first girls’ champion ever from a Union County school.
“I’ve probably been thinking about this race and this day every day since I started my summer training,” said Sheppard. “It’s been my biggest goal and I’m just so happy to win this championship and help my team win.”
Sheppard, who ran a sophomore course record of 17:41 at the Shore Coaches Invitational last month, said she’s a much better racer this season and learned a lot as a freshman last year.
“Last year, I went out way too fast in this race,” said Sheppard, who will defend her title at the Nike Northeast Championships next Saturday at Bowdoin Park. “I learned to run much more relaxed this year and that’s made a huge difference.”
Sheppard controlled this race right from the gun, darting out to a quick lead and daring someone to go with her. Gordon, who won her third Group 3 title last week at 17:58, was the only one that did. Sheppard hit the first mile in 6:01, six seconds ahead of Gordon. Sheppard made a strong surge in the bowl as she opened a 16-second gap coming out of the bowl, and held a 14-second edge after two miles.
