Cherokee Track & Field Pictures, 2008, Page II





Winter Preparation Continues!


Though still in a training phase for the Spring Season, Cherokee's top Varsity athletes are better conditioned and ready to compete in season-ending championship meets, such as the Sectional and Group Championships. The others -- Varsity, Junior Varsity and Freshmen -- continue to focus on strength training and skill-development while participating in smaller meets throughout the region.









Varsity Classic

On February 4th, 2008, top members of the team traveled to the New York City Armory for the Varsity Classic, and several did very well! Chris Steliga won the Long Jump in 22' 8-1/2", which moves him into 6th place on Burlington County's Indoor records board! Kevin Merrigan ran 22.6 in the 200m Dash and finished in 6th; while Alex Yersak ran 4:31.1 in the 1600m and finished in 7th. On the disappointing side of the ledger, Hurdler Chris Chen suffered an unexpected injury while preparing for the 55HH: he was spiked! He and Coach Cal spent the rest of the evening waiting for, but never receiving, treatment at the local hospital! After hours of waiting, they abandoned the effort and went home on the bus! Results at: Varsity Classic.





SJTCA Large-School Championships

On February 6th, 2008, the SJTCA Large-School Championship Meet, at the Bennett Indoor Complex in Toms River, gave the Junior Varsity and Freshmen members of the team an opportunity to test their skills against many of the top Varsity athletes in South Jersey. (The Varsity skipped this meet because they will be running in the State Sectionals on Saturday.) Several athletes who showed progress included Mark Martinez (8.59) and Duong Nguyen (8.29) who both PR'd in the 55m Dash; and Jack Conway and Cody McDonald who both split under 26 for the first time in the 4 X 200m Relay! In the distance events, Frank Devine (2:20.05) PR'd in the 800m. Ryan McNair, one of the few Varsity runners for Cherokee in the competition, had an excellent, close-to-a-PR (10:32.79) in the 3200m! For complete results: Bennett Indoor Complex Results


Sean Hartnett is back! Frank Devine Ryan Lutz gets the baton Ryan Merrigan and Mark Martinez in 55m Dash Ryan Merrigan in the 55m Dash Duong Nguyen in the 55m Dash
Ryan Bobb Steve McCarroll Tyler Mischenko Josh Ungerleider Alex Walker to Cody McDonald Alex Walker to Cody McDonald
Joe Cashin Ryan McNair in the 3200m Jeremy Sharps in the 4 X 400m Dan Basoff in the 4 X 400m Phil Brubaker in the 4 X 400m Eric Schadt in the 4 X 400m





New Jersey State Indoor Group IV Sectional Championships

On February 9th, 2008, many of Cherokee's Varsity competed in the first New Jersey State Indoor Group IV Sectional Championships, at the Bennett Indoor Complex in Toms River, and several advanced to the Indoor Group Championships next week! In the 3200m, Alex Yersak added yet another Sectional title to his resume -- he already has three Cross Country Sectional titles -- by winning the Group IV race in 9:44.97! Other qualifiers included Chris Steliga in the 400m (5th in 51.93); Ted Schickling in the 1600m (5th in 4:33.96); and the 4 X 400m Relay team of Chris Steliga, Niraj Patel, Kevin Merrigan and Mike Palmieri who won their heat (3:34.88) and, although outgunned by the seeded heat, still qualified in 6th place!

There were other nice performances as well. Kevin Merrigan ran 6.71 in the Trials of 55m Dash but just missed qualifying at 7th in the Finals (6.76). Among the distance runners, Chris Applegate finished in 8th place in the 1600m (4:37.57); Mark Saccomanno finished in 8th place in the 3200m (10:25.33); and Steve Burkholder, who also won his heat but finished in 7th overall, in the 800m (2:05.30). Complete results at: Bennett Indoor Complex Results


Chris Steliga in the 400m Mike Palmieri in the 55HH Mike Brocco in the 55HH Ted Schickling in the 1600m Chris Applegate in the 1600m
Niraj Patel in the 55m Dash Kevin Merrigan in the 55m Dash Trials Mike Leoniy in the Shot Alex Yersak in the 3200m Marc Saccomanno in the 3200m
Kevin Merrigan in the 55HH Finals Jon Turner in the Shot Steve Burkholder in the 800m Matt McCarroll in the 800m Chris Steliga in the 4 X 400m Relay
Niraj Patel takes off in 4 X 400m Relay Patel passes to Merrigan in 4 X 400m Relay Merrigan adds to lead in 4 X 400m Relay Mike Palmieri anchors the 4 X 400m Relay Mike Palmieri crosses the line in 4 X 400m Relay





New Jersey State Indoor Group IV Championships

On February 16th, 2008, those who qualified at the State's Indoor Group IV Sectional Championships again traveled to Toms River for the next challenge, the New Jersey State Indoor Group Championships . . . a great finish here would get them into the up-coming NJ State Indoor Meet of Champions! But it started off badly for Cherokee when Alex Yersak, the winner of the the Sectional Group IV 3200m race, was unable to compete because of sickness. The news didn't get much better in the 1600m where Kevin "Ted" Shickling made a great effort in the first half of the race -- out in 2:11 -- but he was unable to maintain this pace and had to settle for 14th with a close-to-PR 4:35.80! Chris Steliga also had a rough outing, finishing the 400m Dash back in the crowd, about 2 seconds slower than he ran the previous week. But better news came from the 4 X 400m Relay team of Chris Steliga, Niraj Patel, Kevin Merrigan and Mike Palmieri: seeded 15th in the race, they ran their best relay of the season -- and Merrigan ran his best split of the season (50.5) -- finishing in 10th overall (3:32.07)! Complete results at: Bennett Indoor Complex Results





The Lawrenceville School's Invitational Tri-Meet

Also on February 16th, 2008, while Cherokee's qualifiers raced at the NJ State Indoor Group Championships, the rest of the team competed at The Lawrenceville School's Invitational Tri-Meet against The Lawrenceville School and Hillsborough High School. Highlights included two solid races by 3200m runners Sean Hartnett (10:16.0) and Matt McCarroll (10:16.5), and a strong high jump performance by Ed Kramer (5' 10")! Also, there were many new PR's: Ryan Lutz, Frank Devine and Ryan Bobb in the 1600m; Josh Ungerleider in the 800m; and Split PR's in the 4 X 400m Relay by Steve Burkholder, Chris Applegate, Frank Devine and Ryan Lutz! Other highlights to follow!

Additionally, faced with the absence of Coaches Callinan and Shaklee, who were at the Group Championships, Cherokee called upon two crack teams of statisticians and timers to monitor and report on the action! Team 1, identified simply as "Cherokee," included Adam "Pencil" Henriksen, Kyle "Fingers" Miller, and Mike "Thumbs" Czuba. Team 2, identified as "The Chiefs," included Mr. McCarroll and Mr. Hartnett.


Cherokee! Cherokee! Chiefs! Chiefs!

Some of the athletes in the meet:


Chris Chen in 55HH Mike Brocco in 55HH Carlton Irish in 55HH Jack Conway in 55m Dash Duong Nguyen in 55m Dash Will Pietra, Brian Kirshner, Dan Basoff in 55m Dash
Will Pietra in 55m Dash Jeremy Sharps in the 55m Dash Chris Applegate leads the 1600m Steve McCarroll in the 1600m Ryan Lutz, Ryan Bobb, Frank Devine in 1600m Chris Applegate in 1600m
Ryan Bobb in 1600m Frank Devine in 1600m Steve Burkholder in 1600m Steve McCarroll in 1600m Frank Devine in 1600m Alex Walker in the 400m
Cody McDonald in the 400m Major Mobley in the LJ Tom Senia in the 400m Joe Cashin on the track Brian Kirshner in the LJ Carlton Irish in the LJ
Josh Ungerleider in the 800m Joe Cashin in the LJ Mike Leoniy in the Shot Dom Roskoski in the Shot Jon Turner in the Shot Matt McCarroll leads the 3200m
Sean Hartnett in the 3200m Brian Kirshner in the HJ Steve Burkholder in the 4 X 400m Relay Steve McCarroll in the 4 X 400m Relay Josh Ungerleider in the 4 X 400m Relay Chris Applegate in the 4 X 400m Relay
Mike Brocco in the 4 X 400m Relay Jack Conway and Ryan Lutz in the 4 X 400m Relay Ryan Bobb and Ryan Merrigan in the 4 X 400m Relay Matt McCarroll in the 4 X 400m Relay Phil Brubaker in the 4 X 400m Relay Ed Kramer clears 5-10 in the HJ





Howell Throws Meet

On February 21st, 2008, Coach Lynn took a group of shot putters to the Howell Throw Meet at Howell High School in Farmingdale where they threw several PR's and took several age-group awards! Highlights included Freshman Ryan Bavas' 2nd place among the Freshmen competitors; Sophomore Mike Leoniy's 5th among the Sophomores; and Seniors Jon Turner's 2nd and Nick Walker's 6th among the Seniors! Also deserving recognition are the PR's thrown by Jon Turner, Joe Cress, Eric Biggs and Ryan Bavas!

Taking action pictures in the facility was harder than first thought but here are some saved by PhotoShop:


Shane Gallagher Shane Gallagher Ryan Bravas Ryan Bravas Joe Cress Joe Cress
Eric Biggs Eric Biggs Dom Roskowski Dom Roskowski Nick Walker Nick Walker
Mike Leoniy Mike Leoniy Mike Leoniy Jon Turner Jon Turner Jon Turner





Eastern States Championships

On February 26th, 2008, Coach Callinan took the team's star Long Jumper, Chris Steliga to the 71st Eastern States Championships at the Armory in New York City, hoping to become the first Cherokee athlete to win an individual Eastern States Championship. (In 2000, Josh Joseph, Mike Caputi, Marc Pelerin and Dave Sitzer won the 4 X 800m Relay!) And Chris almost pulled it off by jumping 22' 7.50" and taking 2nd against the best jumpers in the region! Indeed, less than an inch separated him from 1st place, and from his PR of 22' 8.50"! Complete results at: Mile Split Network





Haddonfield Adrenaline 5K Roadrace

On March 15th, 2008, eight members of the distance squad entered the Haddonfield Adrenaline 5K Roadrace to get some idea of their fitness after a season of training. Led by the team's star, Alex Yersak, the group performed well in the exercise, winning the award for the top High School Team in the race! Alex finished in 25th place (16:00) among some very fast racers, and he was followed by Ted Schickling in 40th (16:37), Chris Applegate in 42nd (16:37), Ryan McNair in 63rd (17:31), and the McCarroll brothers, Matt in 78th (17:47) and Steve in 89th (18:07). Coming back from injury were Kyle Miller (94th in 18:19) and Adam Henriksen (187th in 20:54); with Freshman Ryan Bobb splitting the two in 97th (18:23). Also in the race were Coach Shaklee (65th in 17:32), who won his age group award ("Reeks and Wrecks Well Over 50"); and Coach Callinan (82nd in 17:51), running only his second race in a major come-back effort!

Some pictures below. Ryan Bobb competed in "stealth mode" and no pictures are available. Chris Applegate wore the sweatband because he lost a bet, and we really hope he is luckier next time!

Complete results at: South Jersey Running Companies.


About a 1/4 mile into it, Chris and Ted on right Chris and Ted close up Steve McCarroll, Ryan McNair, Matt McCarroll Alex Yersak dogs Bernie Muller of Bryn Mawr College Alex Yersak about 400m from finish
Ted Schickling breaks away with about 400m to go Chris Applegate at about 400m to go Ryan McNair and Coach Shaklee Matt McCarroll about 400m from finish Steve McCarroll about 400m out
Kyle Miller about 400m out Adam Henriksen about 400m out Coach Shaklee and Ryan McNair about 400m out Coach Callinan early in the race





Courier-Post All-Star Teams

On March 23, 2008, The Camden Courier-Post announced their All-Star Teams for the Winter Season and two of Cherokee's athletes, both distance runners, were named! Alex Yersak was named to the All-Group IV, First Team for his performances in the 3200m; and Kevin "Ted" Schickling was named to the All-Group IV, Second Team for his performances in the 1600m! Congratulations, guys!


Alex Yersak in 3200m at Sectionals Ted Schickling in 1600m at SJTCA Meet








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