CBA gets National Record 266 dual meet wins in a row
Sept. 30, 2004 -John Coyle and Chris Bennett flew in from California. Sean Higgins drove from Virginia. Ken Kolb came from Maryland and Brian Kerwin from Washington, D.C. They were just a few of the dozens of former Christian Brothers runners who jammed themselves around the school’s campus yesterday in Lincroft. There was no way they were going to miss seeing their alma mater make history — history that they helped make possible.
And when Christian Brothers’ pack of 13, led by senior Brian Keating, flocked across the finish line together, history was indeed made. An enthusiastic crowd of about 500 watched as Christian Brothers defeated Middletown North, 15-50, for its 266 th straight dual-meet victory, a national record in boys cross-country.
The former mark of 265 was set in 1992 by Blackstone-Millville of Massachusetts. Christian Brothers began its streak on Sept. 19, 1974, when it defeated Marist, 15-50.
‘‘I had to be here for this,’’ said Coyle, a 1988 graduate who earned high school All-America honors and is considered the school’s greatest runner. He now lives in Palo Alto, Calif. ‘‘This is the culmination of something so many runners were a part of. It shows a level of consistency and excellence this program has maintained for 30 years.’’
Higgins, a member of the 1974 team that started the streak, lives in Moorestown, but he still had to do a lot of driving to be on hand.
‘‘I found out (about the record) last night,’’ said Higgins, who watched the race with former teammate Phil Shaheen. ‘‘I had business in Virginia today, but drove here as soon as I could. It’s very special to be here and to know I was part of this when it started.’’
When Keating crossed the finish line first in 17:09 — with his 12 teammates right behind him — the crowd erupted.
‘‘It was total euphoria,’’ Keating said. ‘‘To be on the team that broke the national record is just incredible. But this wasn’t about the team we have now; it was about all the past runners that you see here today. They put us in this position. This was for them and for Coach (Tom) Heath.’’
Heath is the architect of the streak. The 58-year-old, a 1965 Christian Brothers graduate, took over the program in 1971. He has led the team to a state-record 13 NJSIAA Meet of Champions titles, 19 state Parochial A championships and countless Monmouth County and Shore Conference titles.
But the streak holds a special place in his heart.
‘‘This is different,’’ Heath said. ‘‘It’s something extraordinary that I can’t compare to anything else. There are so many runners that were part of this, and that’s what makes it so unique.’’
Bennett, a 1994 graduate who lives near Coyle in Palo Alto, said Heath deserves all the credit.
‘‘Mr. Heath makes you believe when you are freshman that you can be as good as John Coyle if you work hard enough,’’ Bennett said. ‘‘Then he shows you a system that has worked forever and he trains you to be as good as you can be. Coach Heath is the reason for the success.
Heath calls Kolb ‘‘the hero of the streak’’ for running the race of his life in 1981, when Christian Brothers beat St. John Vianney on a sixth-runner tiebreaker to extend the streak to 94.
‘‘A chance to see my school break a national record, I couldn’t miss this for the world,’’ said Kolb. ‘‘I’m glad I did my share when I ran here.’’
Kevin Maloney, the coach at Blackstone-Millville since 1977, sent Christian Brothers his regards. ‘‘We send our congratulations to Christian Brothers,’’ he said. ‘‘Having a national record is something very special and difficult to accomplish. I hope they enjoy the record as much as we did.’’ Heath is certain he will. ‘‘Eventually it will end,’’ he said, ‘‘but until then we’ll be enjoying this record every single day.’’
