By Elizabeth Wulfhorst
LINCROFT – While most rising high school seniors are still dreading the college application process, Gavin Schmitt has his acceptance all locked up. And it’s a good one.
Schmitt, a Christian Brothers Academy cross country and track and field standout, has committed to attend Stanford University next fall as part of the Class of 2031. He will run both for the Cardinal.
In three years at CBA, Schmitt has posted some stellar stats. He is a standout distance runner with multiple Top 20 finishes at the state and national levels. At the 2025 NJSIAA Cross Country Meet of Champions in November, Schmitt ran a 15:28 5K, finishing second for CBA and contributing to the school’s historic course record average of 15:40.14 in Holmdel. In February, he helped CBA win its 28th Non-Public A Indoor State Championship with a second-place finish in the 3,200-meter, behind senior teammate Luke Hnatt. In June, he finished second in the 1,600-meter with an outdoor personal best time of 4:08.81 at the NJSIAA Track & Field State Meet of Champions at Pennsauken High School.
While Schmitt visited both Wake Forest and Notre Dame, he said Stanford offered the culture he was looking for. “Stanford is a place where very high-achieving people go and everyone there, on and off the team, was focused on being the most successful version of themselves,” he said. Schmitt said he “clicked” with the team, coaches and staff.
The “Northern California weather was also a huge plus for me,” Schmitt added. “Being 70 degrees all year round is a huge benefit in getting consistent training and not having to battle the weather too much.”
Schmitt said he prefers cross country because of the variety of courses and terrain. “The unpredictability of the sport is a lot of fun and is a major factor at the D1 level,” he said. But he is also looking forward to track competition. “I still love track and am excited to experience some different distances.”
“I’m excited to keep developing as a distance runner and see where I can take it.” While Stanford is giving Schmitt the opportunity to continue his athletic career, it’s also one of the top-ranked universities in the country for academics, and he intends to take advantage of that. “I am planning to study economics or engineering,” he said, noting Stanford doesn’t offer an undergraduate business degree, “so a lot of people go into engineering and math.”
“I’m not completely set on a degree yet, but I want to take advantage of all Stanford has to offer academically and set myself up for a successful future outside of running,” he said.
Before Schmitt heads to Palo Alto, he still has a senior season to look forward to at CBA and more to learn from his coaches and teachers.
“Most teachers and students around the school think we are a bit crazy for getting to school at 7 a.m. to do a morning double before class starts,” Schmitt said about the rigorous training the team undertakes, but “going to practice every day after school is always the highlight of my day,” he said.
“This is an average day for us and we have learned it takes a lot to be elite.”
He said, no matter the conditions, the team “will figure out a way to get something positive out of the day.”
CBA, a perennial running powerhouse, lost five of its top seven runners to graduation this year, but Schmitt calls that a “big opportunity for a lot of our younger talent to step up and fill those roles.”
“No day goes to waste at CBA,” he said. “We are constantly working for the same goal every year: be the best CBA team ever.
“This tends to mean being better than the team from the year before because we are very good at achieving our goals.”
As Schmitt speaks about the team, it’s easy to see why Stanford wants him running for them next year; he has a team-player mentality in what is, in effect, an individual sport. “Obviously I have big individual goals that I want to accomplish, but I’m most excited about seeing what we can do together as a team,” Schmitt said.
As he waits to wear the Cardinal red, Schmitt will stay in Colts blue for a little longer, mentoring the underclassmen and challenging them to be their best in pursuit of more titles.
“The greatest thing I have learned from my coaches at CBA is how to work hard.”
The article originally appeared in the August 20 – 26, 2026 print edition of The Two River Times.
