CBA's Boys Are Ready To Go After Another National Title

The boys cross country team has been so prolific and so consistent and so good for such a long time that it often feels difficult to judge just how good this team is from year to year. 

Currently, the Brothers are ranked No. 18 in the country and are coming off their second straight seventh-place performance at Nike Cross Nationals. But the team could very well be even better than that, if only for one reason: Winning has been a cultural identity for the Northeastern school. 

Perhaps that's the kind of luxury one shouldn't complain about, least of all for a dominant program which won its first national title in 2011. But when you've qualified for the last eight Nike Cross Nationals and won every single dual meet you've competed in since 1974, it's a valid question.

"Every year we go in with the goal of winning a national title," said Sean McCafferty, who's in his third year as the head coach of the boys program and is coming off a boys New Jersey Group and Meet of Champions title. "That's obviously such a difficult thing to talk about, being in New Jersey and being in the Northeast and not being able to see most teams until that day in December. But this year, if everyone is running well, I think we have a very good shot at winning a national title."

If recent form is of any indication, this year's team should be among its deepest in years. On Saturday at the Bowdoin XC Classic, the Brothers went 1-2-3-9-18 in the Varsity II race, finishing 55 seconds apart from its first to last scorer, and tallied 33 points across a 16:36 average. 

The meet itself had four ranked teams, and CBA looked downright dirty against all of them. 

In the overall meet merge, CBA scored the lowest point total, beating La Salle Academy, No. 20 Haddonfield Memorial, No. 24 Corning and No. 19 Xavier. It all added up to a very good first showing for a number of runners. 

"We did extremely well," McCafferty said. "Our fourth guy, he was a bit of a surprise. We didn't expect him to be our fourth guy and run that well. Things are moving in the right direction for us."

Five runners made their debuts for the team at Bowdoin, including the team's top two returners from last year, seniors Tim McInerney and Luke Reid. The squad's transfer from Portland Jesuit, Shaw Powell, was second overall. The Brothers' fourth and fifth scorers, Nolan Kus and Tim Cahill, were No. 1 and No. 2 for the team last week at the Battle @ Ocean County. 

And then there are a host of runners who are still working toward a spot in the top seven. 

"We think we have a large upside on the backend there and can be rolling in a month and a half or two months," McCafferty said. 

On any given week, the runners could change, and that's the ingredient McCafferty considers special. He won't name a top seven. He won't even name a very precise "varsity" number, which typically divides the team's top runners from its jayvee. 

McCafferty believes all 45 members of his boys team have a legitimate shot to earn a spot on the top seven. Almost all of them will get an opportunity in varsity races at some point this season. 

"Everybody on the squad has a chance," Sean McCafferty said. "We train, we warm up, we do workouts together. Everything is together." 

Depth is an indicator of talent and success, and it's one of the first things coaches will list when describing their squad's chances at state or nationals that year. But when it comes to CBA, it's probably more than that, too. To be successful for one year, three years, five years, even 10? How does a team reload year after year? 

Over the Brothers' history, runners not only have been given opportunities, but those same athletes have made the most of their chances. 

"I'll say Nolan Kuss and Tim Cahill, for example. In practice last spring, these two kids did not seem to be the kids we would have expected to fit into those four and five spots," McCafferty said. "But they saw openings and stepped in. That's a microcosm of what our team is all about. 

"We owe it to the season and to the team to tell it to them straight. Seven guys are wearing the blue with the white CBA. Those are the guys that matter. And it doesn't matter what you were before, whatever. Show up every day and work hard." 

That's not to say things don't get nervy for young runners. It happens from time to time when numbers are called. 

"Becoming nervy doesn't always manifest itself in a bad way," McCafferty said. "It does happen. The whole learning experience is where we put you in this race to succeed. We're not putting you in a situation to fail. We try really hard to make sure we're not setting kids to fail. Making sure a kid is ready to race."

Training ends up being crucial. And CBA has a system. McCafferty calls it a "traditional linear system," and it's utilized in the summer, in particular. He relies on "loop running," where the team will train on one to two mile stretches, on repeat. 

"We see our runners constantly, every 10 minutes or so," he said. "And we'll see how they react the pace and group." 

* Four finishers from the Battle @ Ocean County

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Years ago, McCafferty used to be the only coach at Holmdel High School, and at times he found it difficult to accomplish everything he set forward in his mind. But now he's in his 18th year coaching, on his third year as the head at CBA and fifth season overall, and he has two other assistants--Michael Mazzaccaro and Karl Torchia--on staff. If one of his coaches sees something he doesn't, they'll communicate. The system of loops gives each coach a chance to identify where their runners are at. They'll make sure young runners have specific responsibilities and are given opportunities to lead. 

"We want to make sure everyone feels like they're a part of something," McCafferty said. 

Ultimately, CBA will have to perform if it wants to reach the heights it last achieved in 2011. Over the last four-year stretch at NXN, the Brothers have been less successful, finishing 11th in 2014 and 20th in 2015. 

But two straight seventh-place outings have given the team more hope. The program understands the unique conditions of Portland, and it's often raced well as a team, rather than having one singular force up top. 

McCafferty said one of the more important races on the calendar is the Shore Conference Championships at Ocean County Park in Lakewood at the end of October. 

"A lot of people mock it because it's pancake flat," McCafferty said. "But it mimics what Glendoveer (Golf Course) is like. From the gun to the finish, you're running as hard as possible.

"Holmdel, the way we run it, the kids can relax at certain points and we expect them to," he continued. "But at Glendoveer you can't do that. Ocean County is very similar to that. It's not mud or muck. It's almost like a 5K on the track, but you're grinding the entire way. Its' a lot tougher than people realize."

Tough is good, too.

And for a team like CBA, that'e s challenge it often embraces.

It's the only way to judge just how good this team can be on any given day.