Cherokee Cross Country Pictures, 2019, Page V





"The Bigs" . . . !


Cherokee did it again! They arrived at the state championship series in relatively healthy condition! Ranked 1st in South Jersey by the South Jersey Track Coaches Association and ranked 3rd in New Jersey by NJ.MileSplit! It could be a lot worse! But ranking isn't all it's cut out to be: you still have races to win! GO CHIEFS!

The first of the state championships, the SJ Sectional Championships is open to all varsity teams in South Jersey but only the top five teams in each Group (18 teams in SJ Group IV) advance to the Group Championships. From there, it is even harder to advance, with only the top two in the State Group IV race (20 teams) moving on to the state's Meet of Champions! (There are additional "Wild Card" entries allowed for the teams running the fastest times of the day, after the various race winners. These usually come from the Group IV race.) Then, in case the team isn't completely worn out, there's Nike Team Regionals in New York State! . . . Nike Team Nationals in Oregon . . . the World XC Championships in Paris . . . the Galaxy Challenge on the Moon! Yikes! . . . GO CHEROKEE!





The Fifth Man

In 2013, Patrick Bendzick first published a short article on the importance of the 5th man on the team and, since then, it has been repeatedly re-printed and continues to be admired and debated by Cross Country runners and coaches. Check it out and see what you think!

Patrick Bendzick, I Am the Most Important Person on the Team.





~~ MileSplit's Boys NJ Cross Country Team Rankings # 9 ~~

On November 5th, 2019, NJ.MileSplit announced their NJ.MileSplit Boys NJ Cross Country Team Rankings # 9 and the Chiefs remained in 3rd place on the list! CBA and West Windsor-Plainsboro North HS remained at 1st and 2nd. The selection was relatively easy as none of the top Varsity teams competed last week. However, a few significant changes are expected to occur after the Sectional Championships this week! GO CHEROKEE!

Details at: NJ.MileSplit.





~~ SJTCA Cross Country Team Rankings # 9 ~~

On November 6th, 2019, the South Jersey Track Coaches Association announced their SJTCA Cross Country Team Rankings # 9 and Cherokee remains at 1st on the list, followed by the usual suspects: Haddonfield, Cherry Hill East, Ocean City and Kingsway! GO CHEROKEE!

List at SJ Track Coaches Association.





~~ All-Time Delsea Cross Country Performance List ~~

Reuben Frank, the master of all South Jersey Cross Country and Track and Field lists just provided a comprehensive All-Time Delsea Cross Country Performance List just in time for this week's Sectional competition. We've copied it to our server at: Reuben Frank's All-Time Sectional Performance List.






~~ NJSIAA South Jersey (Sectional) Cross Country Championship ~~

On November 9th, 2019, the coldest morning of the season, Cherokee's Varsity returned to Delsea Regional High School for the NJSIAA South Jersey (Sectional) Cross Country Championship and came home with their first Sectional Championship since 2016!

Coach Shaklee offered these comments on the victory:

"The team was successful in the first round of the state tournament, winning the South Jersey Group 4 Sectional title for the first time since 2016! It was the 9th sectional title overall for the team!

Ethan Wechsler led the way with his second place finish! Although he was disappointed at not repeating his victory from last year, Ethan did manage to run 27 seconds faster than last year which gave him the 4th fastest time in course history and broke the Cherokee record on the course, set in 2002 by Keith Krieger, by 4 seconds!

Following Ethan closely, Chase Miller finished 4th in the very deep field with a new 5K PR, and Tyler Jackson finished 6th! Mike Gavio continued his excellent season, finishing as the team's 4th man in 14th place with a new 5K PR of his own! Brett Shea showed that he is well on his way back from injury and illness that has hampered his season, also setting a new 5K PR to finish 16th, while Nico Grilli ran tough to finish 20th despite recent injury-related breaks in his training. Finally, Danny Boria was the team's 7th finisher in 36th place with his second fastest 5K of the season!

There were several impressive efforts at the meet and it was a very tough call on the Runner of the Meet but the coaches selected Mike Gavio to highlight both his stong race and his consistently strong season! As he has done in each race this year, Mike ran smart and tough and really deserves the award! GO MIKE!

Now the focus is on taking it to the next level and competing well at the Group 4 State Championship at Holmdel next Saturday! We all are aware that we need to bring our A-game if we want to capture that title!" GO CHIEFS!

Reuben Frank reported on Cherokee's victory at the meet but marked his headline with only three exclamation marks! That said, he gave NO EXCLAMATION MARKS to the Haddonfield team that won their 16th straight South Jersey, Group 2 title and advanced to State Groups for the 44th consecutive year so maybe Cherokee shouldn't feel slighted! Check out both stories at SJ Track Blog: From the Backstretch or a copy of the Cherokee story on our server at Frank's Blog.

Overwhelming details on Sectionals at: NJ.MileSplit.


Varsity at Sectionals

Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals
Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals
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Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals
Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals





~~ SJTCA Cross Country Team Rankings # 10 ~~

On November 11th, 2019, the South Jersey Track Coaches Association announced their SJTCA Cross Country Team Rankings # 10 and Cherokee dropped to 2nd on the list! Haddonfield took over 1st after their victory in a different race at Sectionals, followed by Cherry Hill East, Ocean City and Kingsway! GO CHEROKEE!

List at SJ Track Coaches Association.





~~ MileSplit's Boys NJ Cross Country Team Rankings # 10 ~~

On November 12th, 2019, NJ.MileSplit announced their NJ.MileSplit Boys NJ Cross Country Team Rankings # 10, the Sectionals edition and, despite Haddonfield's faster times at Sectionals (in a different race), the Chiefs remained in 3rd place on the list! CBA and West Windsor-Plainsboro North HS remained at 1st and 2nd, with Haddonfield in 4th. They mentioned Coach Shaklee's birthday so maybe that swayed the voters? GO CHEROKEE!

Details at: NJ.MileSplit.





~~ NJSIAA Group Cross Country Championship ~~

On November 16th, 2019, the weather even colder and much windier than the previous week, the team competed in the NJSIAA Group Cross Country Championship and, after a tough run, became the Group 4 State Champions!

Several reporters wrote on the event but the most in-depth comments in multiple articles were provided by Reuben Frank in his SJTCA web-blog, From the Backstretch!. We've copied those articles on our server because blog articles routinely disappear. Here are three: (1) Cherokee Wins Sixth State XC Title!!!; (2) List of Every SJ Boy Who Ran Sub-17 Today at Holmdel!!!!!; and (3) Haddonfield, Cherokee, Cherry Hill East Boys Earn Spots on the All-Time S.J. Holmdel List!!!!!. In another article, Mr. Frank listed the All-Time Burlington County Holmdel Sub-16 Runners.

Sean Miller of NJ.com reported on the race: Southern's Braddock wins Group 4, Cherokee captures team title. Copied on our server at: Miller quotes Wechsler!

No one covered the action better than Robert Kellert's truly great: NJ.MileSplit on Groups.

Coach Shaklee, still panting from all the running he did on Saturday, sent the following remarks:

"It had been 12 years since Cherokee had last won the Group 4 State Meet and, from the beginning of the season, this was one of the team's biggest goals! Going in to Saturday's meet, we knew that we controlled our own fate and that we just needed to run well . . . nothing special, just get the job done. That is what this group did and it resulted in a state championship, the first since 2007 and the 6th in school history!

"As he has done all season, Ethan Wechsler led the way! He finished 2nd in 15:51, a new Holmdel PR, 5 seconds faster than what he ran to get 4th in the Meet of Champions last year! Chase Miller and Tyler Jackson were the next two for the team, finishing in 13th and 15th. Chase matched his time from Shore Coaches while Tyler knocked 6 seconds off of his previous course PR with a time 52 seconds faster than what he ran at last year's state meet! Brett Shea took another step forward in his return from injury/illness, finishing 28th and knocking 7 seconds off of his best Holmdel time set at last year's meet! Mike Gavio was the team's 5th man and, although he was having a tough day, Mike never stopped trying and hung in there to place 54th, giving us a 28-point margin of victory over runner-up, Ridge.

"Danny Boria was our 6th man and he established a new course PR, 4 seconds faster than what he had run at Shore Coaches! Danny also beat the 6th man from every other team in the race! Nico Grilli, still fighting through a difficult back problem, finished as the team's 7th man! While it wasn't what Nico is capable of when healthy, it is still telling to note that he was the top 7th man out of all 20 teams in the race, 17 seconds faster than the next best 7th man!

"Next up, the team will face the best of the best in Saturday's State Meet of Champions back at Holmdel!"

The two team pictures below were copied from the Cherokee Twitter account. Remember that old educational video game, "Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?" Our photographer thinks someone has to tell DB that a new version is coming out asking, "Yoo-hoo, Where in the world is DB?" ; < )

Funny/goofy/nonsense line of the day! Cherokee has a crack team of "funny line experts" who regularly listen for the "funny/goofy/nonsense line of the day" expressed by onlookers at cross country events. Several years ago, one boys' coach won a record number of votes when he shouted to his runner: "Use your legs!" On Saturday, this record was smashed by a girls' coach who actually "enhanced" the original line! At about 3/4ths of a mile into the race, on the hill just after the tennis courts, the coach screamed, "Use your arms! Use your legs!" The record is now hers!




Varsity at Groups

Groups Groups Groups Groups Groups Groups
Groups Groups Groups Groups Groups Groups
Groups Groups Groups Groups Groups





~~ NJSIAA Meet of Champions ~~

On November 23rd, 2019, the team returned to the state's championship course at Holmdel Park for the NJSIAA Meet of Champions!

Coach Shaklee sent the following report:

"The boys ended the regular season with a 4th place finish in the State Meet of Champions! You have to go back to 2001's 4th place finish to find the last time Cherokee made the top 4! The last time Cherokee finished higher than 4th was 19 years ago in 2000 when, led by individual winner - Marc Pelerin - the team finished a close 2nd behind (who else?) CBA.

"The lofty finish was largely fueled by the outstanding running of the team's top two senior/captains, Ethan Wechsler and Chase Miller! Ethan knocked 10 seconds off of his previous best at Holmdel to place 4th in 15:41, becoming the 2nd fastest Cherokee runner ever on the course, just one second behind Shawn Wilson who ran 15:40 to win the State Group 4 Championship in 2012! Chase knocked 15 seconds off of his time from last week and 11 seconds off his previous best from last year, to place 21st in 16:18, moving him to the #10 spot on the All-Time Cherokee List.

"For their outstanding efforts, Ethan and Chase were named Co-Runners of the Meet by the coaches. GO ETHAN! GO CHASE!

"Behind the top two, the team put three runners - Tyler Jackson, Brett Shea and Mike Gavio - between 16:47 and 16:58 to secure the 4th spot in the championship, just 4 points in front of WWPN! It was the first time in school history that Cherokee put five runners under 17:00 in the same race -- FINALLY! Danny Boria survived a much too-aggressive start to finish as Cherokee's 6th man, the 5th fastest 6th man of any team on the day! Nico Grilli, hampered by a persistent hip injury, was the team's 7th man, the 3rd best 7th man from any team on the day!

"Next, the team will reincarnate as the "Evesham Harriers" and compete in the Nike XC Northeast Regionals on Saturday, November 30th. GO HARRIERS!

In his SJTCA web-blog From the Backstretch!, Reuben Frank reported on Cherokee's performance at the meet! Again, we've copied his article on our server at Wechsler, Miller lead Cherokee to 4th at M-of-C and All-Time Top-10 SJ Average at Holmdel!!!. Again, only three exclamation marks. : < (

In the South Jersey Local News, Medford Central Record, Bill Kile commented on Cherokee's run at the MOC. Again, we've copied his article, on our server at Historical race for Cherokee at Meet of Champions.

Incredible coverage of the meet at: NJ.MileSplit.


Varsity at MOC

The action by our phtotgrapher


MOC MOC MOC MOC MOC MOC
MOC MOC MOC MOC MOC MOC
MOC MOC MOC

The action by Tom Smith, A MileSplit friend!


Smith, MOC Smith, MOC Smith, MOC Smith, MOC Smith, MOC Smith, MOC
Smith, MOC Smith, MOC Smith, MOC Smith, MOC Smith, MOC

Miscellanous Stuff


MOC MOC MOC MOC MOC MOC





~~ SJTCA Cross Country All-South Jersey Team ~~

On November 24th, 2019, the coaching members of the South Jersey Track Coaches Association met and selected the SJTCA Cross Country All-South Jersey Team! Both Ethan Wechsler and Chase Miller were named to the twelve-person team! GO ETHAN! GO CHASE!

The others named to the team can be found at: SJ Track Coaches Association.

We asked our photographer to select his best pictures of Ethan and Chase for the SJ Cross Country Awards Banquet and, so far, he has only submitted this one of Ethan. Was this taken at the Meet of Champions? And where's Chase?!


Wechsler in Middle School






~~ FootLocker Cross Country Northeast Regionals ~~

On November 30th, 2019, Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx of New York City will host the FootLocker Cross Country Northeast Regionals but Cherokee won't be there! Instead, Cherokee's Varsity will compete as the Evesham Harriers at Bowdoin Park, Wappingers Falls, NY in the Nike Cross Northeast Regionals. If they qualify, they'll advance to the 16th Annual Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Oregon. GO HARRIERS!

Nike is the newcomer on the block as FootLocker is celebrating their 40th Annual championship and, in the past, Cherokee runners or Evesham Harriers were there for several of them! Indeed, two of our athletes advanced (only top 10 individuals) on three occasions to the FootLocker Cross Country Nationals at Balboa Park, San Diego, California! In 2000 and 2001, Marc Pelerin '01 raced Van Cortlandt twice and advanced both times! In 2000, he finished 9th in 15:50.1, and in 2001, he finished 6th in 15:40.1! In 2002, Keith Kreiger '02 finished 12th in 15:55.7 and failed to advance! In 2011, another Cherokee/Harrier, Shawn Wilson '12 raced the course and finished 21st in 16:31.1 and failed to advance, but he returned in 2012 and finished 3rd in 15:42.5 and advanced!

Though neither of our "Harriers" scored well at FootLocker Nationals, everyone who went agreed that San Diego is a great place to race in December! Portland, Oregon in wet December? . . . never been there but not so sure!

That said, Nike Cross Regionals offers an advantage not offered by FootLocker. At Nike, two teams and five individuals automatically advance, and then four At-Large teams and five individuals are selected from all the Regionals! If that doesn't sound tough, you're living in La La Land!!

Reuben Frank reviews the South Jersey history of FootLocker in his blog From the Backstretch!






~~ Nike Cross Northeast Regionals ~~

On November 30th, 2019, Cherokee's Varsity squad, plus several back-up runners, traveled to Bowdoin Park, Wappingers Falls, NY for the Nike Cross Northeast Regionals. The plan was for Ethan Wechsler, Chase Miller, Mike Gavio, Bret Shea, Ty Jackson, Nico Grilli and Danny Boria to compete in the Championship Race, and Bobby Hackney, Dylan Odud, Matt Campbell and Conor Jacob to compete in one of the Open races. That changed when Nico Grilli, who was suffering from an almost season-long hip injury, and the coaches decided to rest Nico and move Bobby Hackney into the Championship race.

Coach Shaklee had this to say about the team at Regionals:

"The Cherokee cross country team, running as the Evesham Harriers, traveled to Bowdoin Park in Wappinger Falls, NY for the Nike XC Northeast Regionals. Having never finished higher than 10th as a team, the boys were looking to improve on that . . . and they did, finishing 6th out of 28 teams in the championship race! Ethan Wechsler also had an individual goal . . . advancing to the National meet by finishing among the top 5 individuals (not on a team that qualified). Unfortunately, he came up just a hair short, finishing 8th with just two runners in front of him on teams that advanced! As always, Ethan gave it all he had but the toll of the previous three hard races (Sectionals, States, MOC) just took too much out of him and left him with just not enough gas in the tank! Still, 8th ties Ethan for the highest finisher ever by a Cherokee runner (with Jack Shea in 2015).

"Behind Ethan, Chase Miller 29th, Brett Shea 57th, Mike Gavio 64th and Danny Boria 83rd completed the scoring for the Harriers while Ty Jackson 86th and Bobby Hackney 119th came in as the team's 6th and 7th runners. While it wasn't a perfect team race it was yet another good one! This group has done an outstanding job all season of showing up and taking care of business on the course. It is probably the most consistent team we have ever had with really not one bad race the entire year!

"Picking a Runner of the Meet is too difficult so we decided to highlight three guys -- Brett Shea, Mike Gavio and Danny Boria -- who all raced very well! Brett was 41 places and 23 seconds better than last year, while both Mike and Danny came the closest to their Holmdel Park times on a course that runs considerably slower! For their efforts, they are Co-Runners of the meet. GO BRETT! GO MIKE! GO DANNY!

"Prior to the Championship Race, Dylan Odud, Matt Campbell and Conor Jacob raced in the Open Race with Dylan making a strong effort and finishing in 18th place!

"As we look back on the season we are proud of the many accomplishments of this group of guys: County, Conference, Sectional and State Group 4 Champions . . . 4th at MOC's (highest finish in well over a decade!) . . . 6th at the Regionals (highest finish ever!). Many thanks to our seniors for the great job they have done . . . leaders both on the race course and every day at practice. They will be missed!"

In his SJTCA web-blog, From the Backstretch!, Reuben Frank reported on Cherokee's performance at the meet! Again, we've copied his article on our server at Cherokee edges Haddonfield, takes 6th in NXN Northeast Regionals at Bowdoin!!!!!. Five exclamation marks! I declare . . . bring the smelling salts! : < )

Official results from the day at: Leone Timing. The results are free but if you want to see a video of the race you need to join RunnerSpace.com. MileSplit did not have the video rights to the meet. The offical website provides pictures from the meet but they are so whimsical and careless they're hardly worth looking at. The photographer didn't even shoot the top ten in the race. Still, if you want: Runnerspace.

Our photographer was unavailable for the meet but here are some pics taken from the NY MileSplit website. The photographer took over 800 pics of the Championship Race but he apparently rode in the lead vehicle and probably 400 of the pictures are of the leader and the lead group! He did, however, stop in two places and shot the passing race. Treat those mob pictures as you would one of those "Seek and Find" games you played as a child!


Nike Regions Nike Regions Nike Regions Nike Regions Nike Regions Nike Regions Nike Regions
Nike Regions Nike Regions Nike Regions Nike Regions Nike Regions Nike Regions Nike Regions








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