GO CHEROKEE!
On July 4, 2012, several current cross country team members and a number of Alums participated in what is supposed to be a "fun run" but is fast becoming a personal time-trial and a kind of reunion for the team! Current team members included Shawn Wilson, Kaleb Burch, Matt Denker, Danny Mintzer, Brandon Ilagan, Joe Lacy and Freddy Rasmussen. And Alums included Steve Burkholder '09; Chris Applegate '09; Kyle Miller '09; Kyle Muench '10; Drew Viscidy '12; Bill Hornung '12; Ian Foley '10; Jeremy Morgan '12; and Adam Henriksen '09. Apparently, the Alums are strong believers in "building self-esteem" among the younger guys because they allowed Shawn to finish 1st overall and Kaleb to finish 4th among Cherokee's runners! Details at: L & M Sports. This picture, showing Shawn finishing 1st in the race, came from Nancy Rokos of the Burlington County Times.
In late August, for the fifteenth year in a row, most of Cherokee's Cross Country team attended the extraordinary RunningWorks Cross Country Camp in Canadensis, Pennsylvania. There they participated in a week-long program of training with top coaches and athletes from the Northeastern United States, and learned from special guest speakers, Olympians Erin Donohue and Sheila Reid, our own RunningWorks' Director, Olympian Marcus O'Sulivan, and one of RunningWorks' favorite counselors and speakers, Haverford graduate and Olympic Trials competitor, Annick Lamar.
For more on the camp, see the RunningWorks website at: RunningWorks.
The following pictures are of Cherokee coaches and athletes at camp. Some kept a much lower profile than others . . .! A wider selection of pictures from camp is available at RunningWorks Cross Country Camp Photos.
Recently, Pat Montferrat, the publisher of MileSplit's NJRunners, interviewed Cherokee's Shawn Wilson on a variety of topics related to his performance last year in Cross Country, his training and his hopes for this year, and his hoped-for dinner with Darth Vader. Check out that interview at: Shawn Talks to NJRunners
Mr. Montferrat also interviewed Coaches Shaklee and Callinan on various topics related to coaching and Cross Country. His technical artists -- Emmy Award nominees in both the hair and make-up categories -- did wonders on the two coaches making each look no more than 60 . . . maybe 65! Check out that interview at: Shak and Cal Talk to NJRunners.
On September 11, 2012, Cherokee's Cross Country team received an official wake-up call and a black eye courtesy of Cherry Hill East High School! In their meet at Gloucester County College, Senior Shawn Wilson led the way for the team with an easy win but Cherry Hill East took the next four places and put their 6th man in before Cherokee's 3rd! East's 21 - 37 victory was their first EVER -- that's over 15 years! -- against Cherokee in Olympic Conference competition!
Cherokee's Runner of the Meet was sophomore, Rob Harper, who finished as the team's 5th man in his first cross country race. Fellow sophomores, Justin DeTone (4th) and James Transue (7th) were also in the team's top seven. Depressing details at: MileSplit/NJRunners (race 4).
Dual Meet Record: 0 - 1.
On September 15, 2012, Cherokee hosted the 17th Annual Cherokee Challenge. Originally this meet was designed to test the runners' condition before they entered "the real season" but lately it has become much more than that! The races are shorter -- only 3200m -- and, while competitive in nature, the whole experience was supposed to be more lighthearted and enjoyable than the meets of the regular season. But no one wants to lose anything so it has become something of an all-out sprint -- especially in the first 800m -- over 3200m! This year appeared even more so!
The highlight of the meet was the "Senior Race" where some of the top distance racers in the region challenged Cherokee's champion, Shawn Wilson, in an all-out dual for supremacy! The race began as expected in an all-out sprint over the first 400 to 600 meters. Shawn later described the first 400 as "sub-60 . . . and it didn't seem to slow down much after that!" By the first mile and the first hill, Shawn showed his strength and slowly pulled away from the field, and by the second hill it was clear he would win the race! But he didn't just win, he ran the fastest time of the day and he set a new course record! Courier-Post staff writer Celeste E. Whittaker had the following to say aboput Shawn's race: Cherokee's Wilson Sets Course Record; and writer Kevin Kolodziej recognized Shawn's achievement in the Burlington County Times at: Wilson Up to Early Season Challenge. . . . Dragon Ball Z?!
Other medal winners on the team included several much-improved runners: Kaleb Burch finished 30th in the Junior race and Rob Harper and Justin DeTone placed 27th and 29th respectively in the Sophomore race. Justin's time was 1:16 faster than his time from last year. Also improving on their times from last year were Matt Decker, James Transue, Freddy Rasmussen and Zach LoPresti. Freddy earned Runner of the Meet by improving by 1:52 from last year's race and finishing as the 151st senior after taking 220th in last year's junior race!
Further details at: NJRunners/MileSplit.
On September 20, 2012, Cherokee again traveled to Gloucester County College for competition against two Conference teams: Washington Township and Eastern Regional High Schools. The coaches separated the team into three segments for training: two worked-out in nearby woods while a third competed in the meet.
Scored separately, the team of Kaleb Burch, Matt Decker, Justin DeTone, Rob Harper, Robert-Phillip Cerrica, James Transue and Dan Mintzer won the competition against Eastern Regional 20 - 35, but lost the competition against Washington Township 37 - 20. Six of Cherokee's seven runners improved on their performances from last week even though they were training through this meet and were coming off some difficult practice days. Kaleb Burch took 1st place against both teams and earned Runner of the Meet honors! He dropped 24 seconds from his previous time and sprinting away from the Washington Township pack down the homestretch for the win!
Details at: NJRunners/MileSplit (Race 1).
Dual Meet Record: 1 - 2.
On September 22, 2012, Cherokee returned to Gloucester County College for training. Most of the upperclassmen worked out in the fields surrounding the college while some team members entered the Freshmen and JV competition in the SJ Shootout. The Freshmen, Jordan Kittles, Jose Fraile and Matt Gross ran their first Cross Country races and showed that, with more training and confidence, they will be significant additions to the team! Coach Shaklee picked Jordan as the Runner of the Meet because of his aggressive style throughout the race!
Further details on the meet at: NJRuners/MileSplit.
On September 28, 2012, the team traveled to the Maymont Cross Country Festival at Maymont Park in Richmond, Virginia for a long weekend of competition and fun. The competition came first in the form of Freshman, JV and Varsity races on the hilly and difficult Maymont Park course and then the fun came at the Kings Dominion Amusement Park just north of Richmond!
At the meet, the varsity group ran well to finish 18th in the championship race. Shawn Wilson, suffering from some stomach disorder, still managed to run 15:41 for 3rd to lead the way. Kaleb Burch ran his fastest 5K yet, and Matt Decker and Justin DeTone both finished under 18 minutes on the challenging course. Rob Harper also PR'd as the team's 5th man to complete the scoring. In the JV race, Danny Mintzer and Mike Hare were the team's top two finishers with Mike earning Runner of the Meet honors for his big PR performance! Zach LoPresti also PR'd.
Official details at: MileSplit/VA.
Mrs. Devine, a parent of one of our Alums and the nurse accompanying the team, used her trusty camera phone to capture some of the action, and the other pictures came from the MileSplit/Virginia website. For those unaware of the problem they're having in Richmond, apparently the water is so tainted that it causes hair to turn orange overnight! It may also cause "gastronomical disruptions" and "Port-A-Pot Syndrome" as Shawn Wilson, no lover of water anyway, learned! The CDC is investigating.
