Sophomore Stephen Polefko ran 17:27 at Holmdel Park on Saturday, Oct. 3, setting a new Oratory Prep sophomore course record at the state's biggest cross-country meet.

Polefko's time broke the previous Oratory sophomore mark of 17:35, held by James Nolan since 2023. It placed him 22nd in the Varsity F race and ninth all-time for any Oratory runner at Holmdel.

The Summit-based Rams finished fifth in their race with 168 points and ranked 33rd in the overall merge of all 198 teams at the 51st Annual Shore Coaches Invitational. Among New Jersey teams only, Oratory placed 27th. The meet drew 2,353 runners, according to the team's race report on the Oratory Prep Omega.

Union Catholic won the Varsity F race with a 16:43 team average, NJ.com reported.

Oratory's top five ran a 17:47 average, the fifth-fastest in program history at Holmdel. Junior captain Henry Salaki followed Polefko with a 17:31 for 24th place. Junior captain Chad Vassallo ran 17:41 (30th), sophomore Robert Dudley clocked 17:49 (35th), and junior Will Timbie rounded out the scoring five at 18:28 (62nd).

The pack ran tight early. The Rams came through the first mile between 5:43 and 5:50 in the wooded section of the course. By two miles, the top runners had moved up to around 11:30 to 11:40.

Polefko, who authored the team's race report, wrote that the goal was to learn the championship course ahead of November's postseason. He said the Rams can be competitive when they return to Holmdel and called a strong Non-Public A finish and potential Meet of Champions qualifiers "very possible goals five weeks from now."

Holmdel Park hosts the NJSIAA State Championship meet. The course features a 50-meter opening hill, rolling terrain and a 200-meter climb known as "the Bowl."

On the JV side, 21 Oratory runners competed. Greyson Astle placed seventh overall with a 19:04, and the JV squad finished sixth out of 30 teams.

The Rams head to Oak Ridge Park in Clark on Tuesday, Oct. 13, for the conference championship.