What a year! Teenager's lives are often crazy enough, with all the usual social and academic pressures placed on them, but then add the Coronavirus and the nation's clumsy response to the danger! Yikes!
What a season! In the beginning, no one was sure there would be "a Cross Country season," and then when it started (late), no one was sure it would continue! The state limited the number of meets available -- no Cherokee Challenge! no Shore Coaches! no SJ Open! no out-of-state weekend! -- and dropped the State Group Championships and the Meet of Champions! Throughout the shortened season, many believed that if a team came down with a number of positive tests, the state would step-in and cancel the season entirely! Yikes again!
For "the team" as a group, the season was a little "up and down" but largely exhilarating! The Varsity lost the Conference meet by three points but won the County Championships and then Sectionals! But did all of them come home happy? Had each played a significant role in the victory? And what about the JV runners? Where was their championship, and even in the Batch Meets, how did they perform? Was each of them happy after they ran? Had they achieved some milestone like a PR?
Running, and Cross Country in particular, is a crazy business! Even the ones who do it sometimes find trouble explaining to themselves (and especially to non-runners) why they do it.
In your brief spare time, give some thought to what you do and check out some of what has been written about the sport: the history in general with its incredible successes and failures, and then some current material found in numerous websites including LetsRun.com, NJ.MileSplit, RunnersWorld.com and others. All of it can be educational and inspiring! Recently, we came across "OvalsandTrails.com" and found a variety of personal stories by and about Cross Country runners:
You might like: Slagle, The Season is Over. You Won and Denton, Why Do I Run Cross Country. If not, just go out for a long run . . . it'll do you good and give your parents a break from your presence! ; < )
On November 18, 2020, the SJTCA issued their final ranking of Cross Country teams in South Jersey and, after Cherokee defeated Cherry Hill East at Sectionals, the team rose to 2nd place behind Haddonfield HS! CH East ended in 3rd, followed by Highland, Washington Township, Ocean City, Clearview, Haddon Heights, Audubon and Shawnee. GO CHIEFS!
On November 19, 2020, a group of South Jersey coaches meet on Zoom to select the 2020 All-SJ Team! While Zoom has its merits, it did not allow the quick give-and-take normally allowed with face-to-face debate and, at the end, the coaches rightly selected Nico Grilli for the team but failed to select Brett Shea, whom we felt also deserved the honor! Sore grapes? Maybe, but we're looking into hiring an experienced lawyer to argue our case . . . maybe Rudi Guiliani? ; < )
On November 19, 2020, the Burlington County Track Coaches Association announced their Burlington County Cross Country All-Star Team for 2020! Congratulations to Senior Captain Nico Grilli, who was named Runner of the Year; Senior Captain Brett Shea; Senior Dylan Odud; and Sophomores Patrick Ditmars and Conor Jacobs who were selected as members of the team!
The full list of ten runners, with their rationale for each selection, is available on our server at Burlington Country XC All-Star Team.
The season's over and it's a good time to go back and look at our Seniors before they really knew what had they signed-on for! Several laced their racing flats way back in Middle School (maybe earlier?!): Nico Grilli, Brett Shea and Dylan Odud! Milo Barkow came out in his Freshman year; and Christian Bennett made an entrance in his Junior Year! Enjoy looking back on those early years:
Phew, I'm pooped! I just finished two sets of Badminton with my grandmother and I'm pooped! Yes, I did all the things the coach said. I rested between sets and I drank appropriate amounts of water and Gatorade but we played in the sun and that may have caused my troubles! I usually do a 10-minute cool-down after competition but today I skipped it and went right inside and sat down! So, here I am, in my recliner, feet up, head back, my IV saline solution delivering vitamins, nutrients and pain-killers right into my bloodstream. Phew, I needed that!
The life of a serious athlete isn't easy, everyone wants to beat the big guys! Originally, I tested some of the lesser sports like Table Tennis but that seemed too easy, and a friend suggested distance running . . . but I wanted to test every part of my body and soul and it too was just too easy! Boxing, football, wrestling, even basketball seemed too crass; golf, billiards or bowling seemed too effete, but Badminton . . . a manly sport that had potential!
I started doing some research and came upon a study by ESPN!
". . . ESPN put together a panel of experts to determine which sports were most and least difficult. The group was made up of sports scientists from the United States Olympic Committee, academicians who study the science of muscles and movement, top athletes, and sports journalists. They scored each sport from 1 to 10 in ten different categories: endurance, strength, power, speed, agility, flexibility, nerve, durability, hand-eye coordination, and analytic aptitude."
I decided on a sport in the middle -- The Middle Way, as the Buddhists suggest -- and chose Badminton, rather than a lesser sport like distance running! But now, exhausted as I am, I wish I chose something easier like Cross Country!
Phew! ; < )
For a chart demonstrating the greater challenge of Badminton over distance running see: Sport Skills.
On November 23, 2020, NJ.MileSplit provided a list of New Jersey's Fastest Freshmen 5K's and, with reservations, we note the Cherokee Freshmen who made the Top-100 on the list! Typically, there are so many different courses and different weather conditions that making such a list is little more than Voodoo science but it's often fun to see (and question) the lists.
Two local guys provide the most serious competition for Cherokee's Freshman: Aiden Williams, brother of All-SJ selection, Senior Zach Williams; and Peyton Shute, brother of SJTCA Runner of the Year, Senior Brady Shute, both finishing 5th and 6th respectively on the list, and both clocking under 17:00 at West Deptford's course!
Cherokee's Freshmen PR's were all run at DREAM Park at one time or another. Remember, Cross Country is both an individual AND a team sport! How many teams have a nucleus of Freshmen this good?! Stick together, encourage each other, bring the weaker runners along with you, be state champions in the future!
Here are Cherokee's six who made NJ.MileSplit's Top-100 list:
Nick Kuenkel in 18th: Sectional run of 17:16.20
Andrew Free in 43rd: Batch Meet time of 18:03.90
Matteo Evola in 60th: Batch Meet time of 18:20.38
Julian Hatch in 65th: Batch Meet time of 18:27.90
Luke Reistle in 83rd: SJTCA Open time of 18:45.00
Robert Poplau in 87th: Olympic Conference Championships time of 18:50.40
"The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep (to myself!),
And miles to go before I sleep.
And miles to go before I sleep."
GO CHEROKEE!
Complete list at: NJ.MileSplit.
Coach Shaklee regularly reviews the national track and field websites for insights into the sport and he came across the following comments in Lets Run that he wanted to pass along to his younger runners! Look back on the high school careers of Cherokee stars like Ethan Wechsler to appreciate how telling this advice can be!
Quote Of The Day
Jake Wightman talking about how he and Neil Gourley were finishing in the middle of races when they were 16 and now have risen to be World Class finalists.
"When I go back to the U15/U17 level and I was racing Neil Gourley up in Scotland, we were finishing in the middle of the field in races. You never would have thought that we'd have been the kids to go on and make senior teams now, so you can't over-analyse, especially when you're really young, about the rate of progression you could have.
"If you were to try and pinpoint potential Olympic medalists from a field of 16-year-olds . . . you don't know, so it's for anyone at that age to keep the faith because everyone changes at different rates and grows and develops in their own time."
On November 24, 2020, NJ.MileSplit posted their penultimate New Jersey Boys Top 20 Team Rankings and Cherokee's position in the state improved from 11th in the previous ranking to 8th! GO CHIEFS! Their explanation is available at: NJ.MileSplit.
On November 24, 2020, Reuben Frank created another blog entry, "The Boys . . . All-Time South Jersey Holmdel Performance List!!!!!", and here's a shortened list of only Cherokee's Stars!
When will you make the list?!
(Just a thought: This winter, when the virus has ruined Indoor Track and you're training for the future, maybe a few adults can find a decent day to take some runners up to Holmdel and challenge the course in a workout? Be Not Afraid! CBA does well on that course because they're nearby and they train on it!)
Coming out of the Bowl in the winter! Piece of cake! Unfortunately, it's the mile and a half getting there and then another mile and a half getting to the finish line that can be daunting! . . . "Oh Mama, help me."
On December 4, 2020, the Philadelphia Inquirer published a "Funky Winkerbean" cartoon that an anonymous emailer suggested applied to our team! The mailer was wrong: (1) we need not remind you that the girls and boys teams took 1st in their last championship races of the season; and (2) we're sure . . . aren't we? . . . Nico? . . . that the top runner on the boys team is not nicknamed "Sundial!"
On December 4, 2020, NJ.MileSplit posted their final New Jersey Boys Top 20 Team Rankings and several teams exchanged positions based on unofficial post-season races but Cherokee's position in the state remained at 8th! GO CHIEFS! Their explanation is available at: NJ.MileSplit.
Each year, the coaches, team, parents and friends, meet at school for the end-of-the-season Cherokee Cross Country Banquet, an extravagant meal provided by the parents, and a celebration of what was accomplished throughout the season! But this is 2020 and none of that happened!
On December 15th, using an Internet program, the coaches and team "met" and reminded each other of the crazy season they just experienced! Most of the discussion revolved around the coaches' comprehensive 2020 Booklet that includes everything you wanted to know (and perhaps not know) about the season! The coaches recognized each of the team's athletes and discussed the major accomplishments of each, including the All-County, All-Conference and All-South Jersey recipients, and then discussed the team's major accomplishments, the County and Sectional Championships!
Finally, the three special awards were announced:
The Most Improved Award went to Joe Hough following these remarks by the coach: "This individual improved a lot last year in the 2019 Cross Country season. He knocked about 2 minutes off of his time, finishing the season with a PR of 19:44. But that's not unusual for a new runner. However, our Most Improved Athlete discovered what consistent, hard work does, and, after a winter of cross training, he started running consistently during the spring and summer when Covid would have made it easy to back off! He came into this season transformed by his hard work into a serious runner! He began the season by dropping a minute off of 2019's PR, running 18:45 at DREAM Park! Then came back exactly seven days later and ran over 50 seconds faster! He has dropped almost 4 minutes from his first 5K last year and in doing so, has earned this award. Our Most Improved Athlete - Sophomore, Joe Hough!" GO JOE!
The Unsung Hero Award went to Brett Shea following these remarks: "The Unsung Hero Award goes to an individual who makes valued contributions to the team without many accolades. This year's Unsung Hero is a young man who was invaluable in organizing team activities this past spring and summer, increasing team morale in the midst of a pandemic and assisting the coaches in helping the team stay focused amid a long summer of training! Owner of a lifetime PR of 16:23, he was robbed of a spot on the 2020 All-SJ Team despite being the 10th fastest runner at Sectionals . . . he would be the top man on just about any team in NJ for both his racing ability and the leadership that he brings to the team! This year's Unsung Hero - Senior Brett Shea!" GO BRETT!
The Most Valuable Player Award (MV Runner?) went to Nico Grilli following these remarks: "The 2020 Cherokee XC MVP is a four-year varsity letter winner who has found a way to get better each year, despite dealing with multiple injuries. His freshman year he dipped under 18 minutes at the Haddonfield Invite, helping lead a young assistant coach's team to victory over the "wiser" head coach's team! In 2018, he ran 16:52 at the County Meet and was a member of our Varsity 7 for all the championship meets! Last year, he was on our County, Conference, Sectional and State Championship teams, where he had a PR of 16:08; and this year, he was the lead runner of our SJ Group IV Championship Team and had a PR of 16:02! Those are the numbers, but this athlete's value goes beyond performance. In a year where athlete leadership was needed, this young man was a natural, leading by example in everything he did, and setting the stage for the successful season that all of us were a part of. This year's Most Valuable Player - Senior Nico Grilli!" GO NICO!
Coach Shaklee's annual "Message to the Team" is available both in the booklet and on our Cross Country Main Page.
The meeting ended with the coaches expressing their appreciation to the team for their exceptional year under very difficult circumstances and the hope that they'll all stay healthy and focused on what they can achieve in the Spring when vaccines are widespread and the virus is defeated!
During the season, the team's parents provide a variety of services that, without them, the team just couldn't function but Sophomore Patrick Ditmars' father, an artist, added an additional "level of service" when he produced this imaginative T-shirt tribute to the Varsity team members and coaches! Special thanks to Mr. Ditmars for this fantastic view of the guys! Very Cool!
