Glenn D. Loucks Games
Look, we've all learned to laugh at adversity . . . well, sometimes . . . but this was getting ridiculous! All season, the Cherokee distance squad looked forward to running a great Distance Medley and, all season, "Dame Fate" subverted that goal! In early April, the Buena Relays were postponed because of rain and Cherokee could not attend on the make-up date. Then April 23rd, the Willingboro Relays were postponed because of rain and, again, Cherokee could not attend on the make-up date. And then, on May 7th, the South Jersey Relays were simply canceled! The Cherokee guys had one more place to run the DM and challenge the record books: the Glenn D. Louck Games in White Plains, NY!
Everything started well as the bus left school promptly at 1 PM on April 12th. The race was scheduled for 5:30 PM in White Plains and the team expected to have several hours for race prep once they arrived. But, again fate interrupted the best laid plans! On the Garden State Parkway near Bloomfield, NJ, perhaps 40 miles from White Plains, the bus blew a tire and erased their last opportunity to run the DM!
Instead of standing around all afternoon waiting for a repair truck to arrive, the coaches and athletes ran over to a local park and used the all-weather track there to run mile time-trials and repeat 200s. It wasn't a record-breaking DM at the Glenn D. Louck Games but it was a nice performance. Mike Candy ran a PR of 4:26.6, closely followed by Tom Yersak (4:31.4), James Maneval (4:33.8), and Will Andes (4:45.3). Here are some pictures taken during the time-trial:
Cherokee Invitational
On May 17th, many of the new and/or younger guys on the team participated in The Ninth Annual Cherokee Invitational, a meet held for "track novices" at Cherokee High School. And many did well against hundreds of competitors from dozens of schools in the SJ area! (See the special webpage, Cherokee Invitational, for results and additional pictures from the meet.)
Highlights from the meet included performances from the sprinter/hurdlers: Chris Steliga took 5th in the 200m (24.15); Robin Chen took 9th in the 400IH (64.44); Steve Lang took 7th in the 400IH (63.39); and Mike Schiafone took 3rd in the 400IH (61.01 and 7th in the HH (17.58). Aaron DeCaires seemed to be all over in this meet, scoring 3rd in the HH (16.88), 4th in the LJ (17' 11 3/4") and 6th in the 400IH (63.36)! Also, Steve Watson took 3rd in the LJ (18' 6") and 7th in the 200m dash. Finally, among the sprinters, the 4 X 400m Relay team of Robin Chen (56.0), Steve Lang (54.6) Aaron DeCaires (57.2), and Mike Schiafone (53.8) took 3rd in 3:42.02.
In the Field, Glen Pease took 4th in the discus (112' 11") and Justin Magulick took 3rd in the TJ (36.5). And among the distance runners, Joe Foley took 4th in the 800m (2:09.25) and Kevin Schickling took 6th in the 1600m (5:02.66).
Olympic Conference Championships
Each year, the best individuals in the conference meet to name the "champion" in each event, and this year only one Cherokee athlete met that standard. Thrower Tom Nessler won the discus competition with a throw of 143', his best of the year! However, several Cherokee athletes had excellent performances: Steve Watson had a nice PR in the TJ (38' 6 1/4") and Matt Dolan also PR'd in the 1600m (4:36.3) and took 6th overall. In addition, Sam Shapiro took 9th (out of 23 qualifiers) in the 100m with his own PR (11.3); and Freshman Alex Yersak had a huge PR in the 1600m (4:36.4)!
Burlington County Championships
On May 21, 2005, the team traveled to Maple Shade for theBurlington County Championships. The meet began auspiciously when Tom Yersak and Greg Bredeck took 2nd and 3rd place in the 3200m, but then only one other Cherokee athlete was able to place among the top finishers. That was Tom Nessler, who took 2nd in the Discus! Sprinter Sam Shapiro took 5th in the 100m in 11.4 and then ran 23.56 for a PR in the 200m. Hurdler Mike Schiafone also ran a PR: 60.9 in the 400IH. And distance runner, Rich Nelson, shaved a little off his PR in the 800m by running 2:02.60. Lastly, pole vaulter Ryan Forbes matched his PR by clearing 11.6 and tying for 4th! Complete results at: BC Open.
Eastern Regional Relay Classic
On May 23, 2005, the coaches took only a few Cherokee athletes to the Eastern Regional Relay Classic at the Carl Lewis Stadium in Willingboro, NJ. Highlights included a win in the 4 X 1600m race by Tom Yersak, Alex Yersak, James Maneval and Matt Dolan, and a 4th place showing by Ryan Forbes in the vault (matched his PR of 11' 6").
Indian Frosh Finale
On May 24, 2005, several of the team's Freshmen participated in the Indian Frosh Finale at Pennsauken High School. Highlights included Steve Addezzio setting a PR of 24.4 in the 200m and Chris Chen improving his own PR in the 110 HH to 18.3! Pictures were tough because it was "a dark and cloudy day" but here are some that survived the cut!
Haddonfield Twilight Meet
The Haddonfield Twilight Meet, held on May 25, 2005, focuses entirely on distance runners, and it has become something of a tradition in the past few years. Indeed, Cherokee runners look forward to this meet to demonstrate their readiness for Sectionals and, for those not going to Sectionals, to establish their season PR's.
In addition, recent Alums just home from college often attend this meet to see how "the young guys" are doing. This year, cheering from the sidelines were recent Alums Keith Krieger, Kevin Cuneo, Brett Wintermute, Nick Freeman, and Joe Stewart. Thanks for the support, guys!
Despite the wind and rain, standout performances included Tom Yersak going under 4:30 in the 1600m for the first time this season (4:29.8); Mike Candy, coming back from sickness and still running a 2:01.8 in the 800m; and four excellent PR's in the 3200m: Paul McFadden's 9:58.8; Vin Marziano's 10:03.7; Mike Medvec's 10:48.8; and Steve McCarroll's 10:56.7!
There are no pictures from this meet because of the dark and rainy conditions.