A year ago, the Hudson Catholic boys’ track team went to the NJSIAA Relays at the Bennett Center in Toms River and came away with four team points in the Non-Public B championships, good for 13th place among the teams participating.
But for second-year head coach Jerry McCann and the rest of the Hawks, that performance was simply not good enough.
“The kids in the school are good athletes,” said McCann, the former Jersey City mayor who is an alumnus of Hudson Catholic and was a standout runner at the school in its infant stages. “They just weren’t trained properly. I was able to encourage more kids to come out for the team.”
One of the mainstays was senior Dylan Caban.
“We had a lot of returning runners and some new faces, so I was pretty excited for this year,” Caban said. “We’ve been working for years to do something big.”
So when the Hawks headed to the state relays once again in Toms River last Sunday, the expectations were just a little higher.
“Honestly, I thought we could win,” McCann said. “I told the school’s administrators that if we didn’t win, they could fire me. I knew we could win if we put it all together.”
To go from a four-point team that finished 13th to a state champion in one year? That had to be the politician in McCann coming out.
But then again, no one thought McCann had a prayer to become the mayor of Jersey City when he first ran in 1981 and upset the field.
“You’re right,” McCann said. “I have surprised some people. But when people ask me questions and think I’m going to give them a political answer, I say, ‘I’m a track coach now.’ This is what I really want to do. I’m 64 years old now. I realized that the happiest I ever was in my life was when I was coaching kids. At this stage in my life, I want to do what makes me happy.”
McCann set the ball in motion last year by changing the Hawks’ training regimen. He knew that it was the only way the existing runners could improve.
“We had two new coaches as well and I think they all changed our mindsets,” Caban said. “I knew that going forward, we would have success.”
Fellow senior Evander Pierre, a former basketball player, agreed.
“We knew the kind of talent we had,” Pierre said. “We knew that we were going back to Toms River to do something special. The hard work we put in is paying off. It’s not just one person.”
The Hawks shocked New Jersey’s track and field community by capturing the overall Non-Public B team title, collecting 70 team points, compared to 58 for runner-up St. Rose of Belmar. The Hawks were only two points shy of posting the best overall team total at the meet. That distinction went to nationally ranked Christian Brothers Academy, which totaled 72 points in winning Non-Public A’s state sectional.
In the process, the Hawks became the first Hudson County school to ever capture a state sectional relays championship. It was also the first-ever state sectional title in track and field for Hudson Catholic.
“It means a lot for us to do this,” Pierre said. “There are a lot of good teams in Hudson County and in the state. To say that we’re doing this for the first time means a lot.”
“It’s pretty amazing,” Caban said. “I’m a pretty humble person, so I never think of things that way. But it’s pretty amazing to be a part of history. It’s a big improvement over last year and the credit for that has to go to the team, for putting in the hard work necessary.”
The Hawks started the day by finishing third in the 55-meter shuttle hurdles relay, with Giovanni Thompson, Troy Carrington, Jonathan Barber and Mouloukou Bangoura doing the honors in 41.32 seconds.
The Hawks then won the 4×200-meter relay in 1:37.02, with football star Khashawn Decker, Sef Penson, Terrell Bush and Royaal Jones (a standout rugby player) winning the gold medal.
Hudson Catholic finished second in the 4×800-meter relay, with Caban joining forces with Jonathan Boc, Raevon Floyd-Bennett and Johnathan Rivera.
The Hawks then won the gold medal in the sprint medley relay, with Pierre and Caban joining with Decker and Jones to cross the line in a winning 3:49.09.
The Hawks also won gold in the 4×400-meter relay, with Pierre, Floyd-Bennett and Bush joining football standout Malcolm Stewart for top honors in 3:41.10.
Football players Kamau Laguerre and Syheim Simmons finished third and fourth respectively to give the Hawks the silver medal in the shot put relay. Simmons is one of the top running backs in Hudson County in the fall.
“We have a lot of football players who are athletic kids,” McCann said. “My job is to bring them all together and try to make the team even better by bringing in new kids. I’m inspired by the kids, because they’re the ones who are willing to do all the work. I’m just the motivator. I just had to make them believe they could be the best that they are.”
Sam Opaleye was the top performer in the high jump and combined with Pierre, they brought home a silver medal in the high jump relay.
Needless to say, it was an impressive performance.
“I think this shows we have promise here,” McCann said. “I think we can also do well in the upcoming state sectionals. Watching them develop and improve is what makes me happy. They believe they can win.”
“Deep down inside, I was hoping this was possible,” Caban said. “It just played out perfectly. It just happened.”
So did history.
“It’s really exciting,” Caban said. “We should be proud and I am proud.”
“I had no idea that we were the first team from the county to win this,” Pierre said. “I knew it was a first for the school, but not for the whole county. It really is something special.”
Yes, it most certainly is.
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.
You can also read Jim’s blog at www.jimhaguesports.blogspot.com.