Since its first years as an institution, Christian Brothers Academy has been home to championship teams helmed by legendary coaches.

In 1965, CBA Basketball won the Academy’s first-ever state championship just five years into the school’s existence, when the Colts captured the New Jersey Parochial A title over Don Bosco Prep. On September 21, CBA officially renamed the famed Varsity Gym after that team’s head coach, Vincent “Vinnie” Cox. Starting this year, CBA’s basketball, wrestling, fencing and volleyball teams will play in the Cox Gymnasium, looking to follow in his teams’ footsteps and bring home championships.

Cox’s basketball teams won five state championships in 18 seasons, including three straight titles in 1971-1973. The 1973 state title capped off an unbeaten season at 28-0, receiving the Star Ledger award as the best team in New Jersey. CBA’s winning streak continued into the 1974 season, reaching a Shore-record 43 straight games.

“It is hard to believe, but I arrived here 62 years ago and those 62 years have been the best years of my life,” Cox told the crowd at the dedication ceremony.

Fittingly, the basketball team will play on a court that also was renamed in honor of a winning coach. In the same ceremony that unveiled the Cox Gymnasium, the playing surface was dedicated to 27-year head basketball coach, Ed “Wiz” Wicelinski. The Coach Wiz Court celebrates the dominant career of Wicelinski, who won three state championships and 14 conference titles during his time as head coach. His teams never recorded a losing record in 27 seasons, while winning their Shore division in 22 of those campaigns.

“Walking in here from now forward and seeing Coach Wiz [Court] is very, very special to me and will be for the rest of my life,” Wicelinski remarked towards the end of his speech.

Just three days earlier, the Academy honored longtime head cross country coach Tom Heath ’65 by dedicating the school’s fabled running trail to the 26-time state champion coach.

The Heath Cross Country Course is a 1.3 mile trail through CBA’s campus and is used for both cross country meets and the historic Freshman Run, which also now bears Heath’s name.

For 45 years and 135 running seasons, Heath was at the helm of one of the greatest athletic programs in all of high school sports. He guided CBA Cross Country to 26 state championships, 21 Meet of Champions titles, 15 Eastern States Championship wins, and a Nike National Championship in 2011. Of course, Heath’s 1974 team started what is now known as “The Streak”, a national record dual meet winning streak. When he retired from coaching after the 2015 cross country season, “The Streak” sat at a commanding 343-consecutive dual meet victories. 

On the day of the course dedication, CBA Cross Country fittingly set a new milestone in The Streak by winning dual meets number 399 and 400 in a row.

“I think that is the biggest thing about The Streak, almost everyone who ran at CBA was a part of The Streak, that is really special,” Heath said.