Off and running
By KEVIN CRANSTON
Burlington County Times

It's 8:30 on a Thursday morning and the Cherokee High School boys cross country team is already a few miles into its long run.

An hour later, the first two runners appear and it's Chiefs head coach Steve Shaklee and senior Tom Yersak, who went 10 miles.

A little while later, another group returns, having just completed 13.

Finally, the last pack of runners comes rolling in. Not satisfied with doing 14, it decides to add one to make it a 15-mile day.

In all, 10 runners went 10 miles or more. And this is coming less than a week after the team returned from camp in the Poconos, where it ran doubles and logged between 60 and 70 miles for the week.

Clearly, this year's Cherokee team is putting in the work and is prepared for the season ahead, as it tries to reclaim the Group 4 crown and make a run at the Meet of Champions title.

"This is probably the best group in terms of summer training that I've ever had," Shaklee said. "That's all I can say about them right now because we haven't raced yet, but I've never had a group from top man down to bottom do as much running as this group did over the summer."

Senior Sean McLaughlin agrees.

"Everybody is just in such great shape," he said. "Nobody ran inconsistently over the summer. I mean, there is some talent, but we're really not running off talent. All the running we've put in should lead to more consistent races."

Like it seems to possess every year, Cherokee is heading into this season with depth, experience and talent. Back are three guys who ran in the 16:30s at Holmdel Park. And most importantly, Cherokee returns six of its top seven from a team that placed third at sectionals, fourth at states, and fifth at the M of C.

"This team is the older, stronger version of last year," Shaklee said. "It's really the same guys. We lost Nick Freeman, who was anywhere from second to sixth man. It hurts to lose the one guy, but we had a strong enough pack behind him that I think we can fill in that spot OK. We were pretty good last year and this year I think we just need to take it a step further."

At the front of the Chiefs' usually tight pack will be Yersak and McLaughlin, who will battle week after week for the No. 1 position. Rounding out the top three will be junior Greg Bredeck.

Beyond that, the next four spots are up for grabs. In the mix to snatch them up are seniors James Maneval, Paul McFadden, Mike Candy and Matt Dolan, along with juniors Will Andes, Vinny Marziano and Rich Nelson.

"We just have incredible depth," Yersak said. "I think what's cool is we have like 10 or 12 guys going for varsity spots, which is probably our biggest strength."

The first major test for the Chiefs will be when they travel to Cary, N.C., on Oct. 2 to compete in the Great American Cross Country Festival. Second in the invitational seeded race last year, the team will move up to the Race of Champions this year, which features some of the top teams in the country.

"We're gearing up for Great American a little bit, but not a ton," assistant coach Chris Callinan said. "If we were really gearing up for it, we would have to do some hard workouts and we're not. We're still looking at the Meet of Champions as being the big thing.

"But we wouldn't put ourselves in the Race of Champions if we didn't think we would be up in the race. The best we ever finished in the Race of Champions was sixth (in 2000), so if we get in the top five, we would be happy with that."

Great American will allow Cherokee to see top teams from other states, as well as fellow Group 4 power Toms River North. Like the Chiefs, Toms River North returns a number of talented harriers from a squad that placed second at states and third at the M of C last season, so the two should have some interesting showdowns throughout the season.

The national quality race will provide Cherokee an opportunity to improve its position in the newly established Nike Team National Rankings. Currently, the Chiefs are ninth in the Northeast preseason poll, with Christian Brothers Academy and Toms River North holding the top two spots.

The regional rankings are more significant this year with the creation of a national high school team cross country championship. Slated for Dec. 4 in Portland, Ore., the race will include the top two teams from each of the eight regions, plus four at-large selections.

The Chiefs would love to participate in a race of that caliber, but they aren't going to let themselves become overly concerned about the polls. Top priority for Shaklee and his team is to accomplish great things on the state level, and if an Nike Team National invitation comes, that's just an added bonus.

"What we have to be cautious of is not letting ourselves change what we are intending to do over the course of the season in order to somehow meet qualifications for that meet," Shaklee said. "When you look at it, the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the Northeast are in our state. I've got to believe that if we are able to beat those teams at the end of the year, that would go a long way towards getting us an invitation to that meet.

"Other then that, we're not doing anything special to prepare for it. Our goal is sectionals, Group 4 states and Meet of Champs. Those are the ones we're focused on. Everything else is going to have to take care of itself and I think it will if we're able to reach those goals."

The miles have been put in, the goals have been set and the confidence is present. For this team, there is only one thing left to do: lace up the spikes and get after it.

8.29.04