On Monday, April 25th, Christian Brothers Academy honored one of the greatest icons in school history: Coach Tom Heath.

For 45 years and 135 running seasons, Heath has been at the helm of one of the greatest athletic programs in all of high school sports. He guided the CBA Cross Country team to 26 state championships, 21 Meet of Champions titles, 15 Eastern Regional wins, and a Nike National Championship in 2011. He added three prestigious Penn Relay national distance medley relay championships with the track team.

No one can mention Heath's legacy without mentioning "The Streak." What began with a 15-50 victory over Marist on September 19, 1974, quickly grew to become a staple of CBA tradition- a commitment to victory, and a common link between nearly every runner who has donned the original varsity cross country singlet. On September 28, 2004, "The Streak" broke the national record with victory number 266. Twelve years later, "The Streak" sits at a commanding 343-consecutive dual meet victories.

A 1965 graduate of the Academy, Heath returned to his alma mater in 1970 to teach mathematics. He took an assistant coaching role for the cross country team and was named head coach soon after. He taught countless students the importance of truly hard work, and that in the pursuit of true excellence, "everything matters."

On Monday, members of Heath's final cross country team presented their coach with a framed original cross country singlet. Current and former runners signed the frame around the singlet as well.

His coaching colleagues, track head coach Karl Torchia and newly-promoted cross country head coach Sean McCafferty, gave Heath one last cross country championship jacket for CBA's 2015 all-groups Meet of Champions title.

On behalf of the Academy, Principal Ross Fales and Director of Athletics Vito Chiaravalloti presented Heath with a one-of-a-kind painting by James Fiorentino.

"Coach Heath will go down as one of the most accomplished coaches in U.S. history," Chiaravalloti said. "His dedication to Christian Brothers Academy and the impact he has made on both the running world and the lives of countless student-athletes is remarkable."