South Jersey Large School 4 X 100m Relay from the Cherokee Blimp!
The Late Spring Season: late-April and early-May, when the weather and the season begin to heat up! It starts with the Woodbury Relays and the Penn Relays, and includes the dual meet against Eastern Regional High School; the South Jersey Invitational and the South Jersey Relays; the last dual meet with Washington Township; the Lenape District Championships; and the Cherokee Invitational. GO CHEROKEE!
Woodbury Relays
On April 17, 2010, Cherokee sent three teams and one individual to South Jersey's oldest and most prestigious relay meet, the 38th Annual Woodbury Relays, and two teams and the individual came home with gold watches! The first three members of the Distance Medley Relay team -- Josh Perez, Mike Palmieri, and Colin Merrigan gave anchor Steve Burkholder the baton only a couple of seconds behind the race leader, and Steve finished in an impressive 4:21.3 to take 1st place by eight seconds!
Another winner, the 4 X 110m Shuttle Hurdles Relay team of Ed Kramer, Mike Palmieri, Mike Wenzel and Darren McCluskey ran their fastest time of the year, almost a full second over powerhouse Absegami High School, to win the event! A third team, the 4 X 200m Relay, made up of Jon Scott, Darren McCluskey, Brandon Rapp, and John Barr ran their fastest time of the season but finished 4th in the event.
Cherokee's individual entrant, Ed Kramer in the High Jump, came in at 6' 4" and cleared it on his first attempt. He then easily cleared 6' 6" on his second attempt and, with everyone else out, he moved the bar to 6' 8 - 1/4", a personal record. Unfortunately, he failed to set a PR but did take 1st place in the event!
Details at: MileSplit.NJ.
The Penn Relays Carnival
On April 23 and 24, 2010, Cherokee sent two excellent relay teams and its top individual competitor to the incredible 116 year old Penn Relays Carnival at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. They all had high hopes but, in the end, those hopes were dashed!
On Friday, Jon Scott, Darren McCluskey, Brandon Rapp and John Barr finished a disappointing 6th in their heat after a bizarre "collision" between McCluskey and Rapp resulted in the loss of a shoe, the loss of valuable time, and mixed signals on the final pass that caused it to be made outside the zone! Done well, the 4 X 100 is a magnificent piece of choreography, as graceful as the ballet but with blistering speed! The key to success, however, is in the passes, and this time, Cherokee missed the opportunity on this grand stage.
On Saturday, Jon Scott and Brandon Rapp returned with Mike Palmieri and Steve Burkholder to compete in the South Jersey Large Schools 4 X 400m Relay. The team finished 10th out of 18 schools in the event.
On Saturday as well, Ed Kramer competed in the High Jump against some of the nation's top jumpers but none was significantly better than Ed, except on this day! Ed easily worked his way up and over 1.96m (6' 5") but, on this day, he was unable to clear the next height, 2.00m (6" 6 - 3/4"). Ed finished tied for 12th in the competition.
Results at: Penn Relays Results.
South Jersey Large School 4 X 100m Relay from the Cherokee Blimp!
South Jersey Large School 4 X 400m Relay
High School Boys High Jump Championship
Corporate Distance Medley Relay: Lenape District
Only hardcore Track addicts, and friends, relatives, a few Cherokee team members, and our photographer stayed to the end of Friday's program to see the Corporate Distance Medley Relay run under the poor lighting of Franklin Field! There, after a day of coaching their own athletes, Coaches Chris Callinan and Marc Jarvis of Cherokee, and Laura Heenan and Karen O'Neil of Seneca, stepped to the line to compete in the race! While they trained only lightly for the event, they came out of it 12th in a field of 26 teams, having had "a lot of fun reliving the old days" when they ran at the Penn Relays for real!
The complete Penn Relays results are at: Penn Relays Results, but for those who would like to see a video of the Corporate DMR go to: Video of Corporate DMR.
Dual Meet: Eastern Regional High School
On April 27, 2010, an unusually cold and windy day, the Cherokee Chiefs hosted their fourth dual meet of the season, this time against Eastern Regional High School and they came out with another victory! Key wins came from distance aces Kyle Smith, Josh Perez, and Steve Burkholder, and it was nice to see Sophomore Aiden Lynch and Freshman Shawn Wilson step up and take 2nd and 3rd in the 3200m Run! The Sprinters, led by Jon Scott in the 100m, 200m and LJ, and by Mike Palmieri in the 400IH, scored big-time points as well! Those two Sprinters also joined Steve Burkholder and John Barr in the 4 X 400m Relay for another important victory!
Jumpers and Throwers also took several critical 1st place points! Ed Kramer had a nice day in the High Jump and the Long Jump, taking 1st and 3rd; and Brian Regensberg had an equally nice day, taking 1st in the Triple Jump and 2nd in the High jump! Field athletes Dom Roskowski, with his 1st in the Discus, and Justin Nykiel and Brandon McCleese with their supporting performances in the Shot and Javalin, scored important points that gave Cherokee some "breathing room" during the meet!
Final Score: Cherokee, 92.5; Eastern, 47.5!
Dual Meet Record: 4 - 0! GO CHEROKEE!
South Jersey Relays
On May 1, 2010, Cherokee competed in the South Jersey Relays at Buena High School. Distance highlights include the excellent performance by Freshman Shawn Wilson! On the 1600m leg of the Frosh Distance Medley Relay, Shawn made up a huge deficit against a strong Cherry Hill squad to bring his team home in 1st! It was truly a "Yikes!" performance by an up-and-coming distance star! Wilson was joined by Bryan Ingram on the 1200m leg, Zaire Williams, who had his own outstanding performance, splitting in 53.4 on the 400m leg, and Phillip-Robert Cerria on the 800m leg! Greg Malloy made his own statement as he led off in the 4 X 1600m Relay, clocking an 8-second PR to help his team -- Kyle Smith, Josh Perez, and Billy Hornung -- take 3rd in the event! Ty Somers and Matt Venanzi PR'd, and Matt McCarroll had his best race since returning from injury in the 4 X 800m Relay to finish in 4th place! And, finally, Eric Brikhead, Ian Foley, Lou Di Geambeardino, and Mike Czuba won the JV 4 X 800m Relay by nine seconds!
Brian Regensberg had a nice outing in several jump events, setting PR's in both the Long Jump and the Triple Jump. Regensberg also paired with Ed Kramer in the High Jump and, with Ed clearing 6' 6" and taking 1st among the individuals, the team of Kramer and Regensberg took 1st in the High Jump Relay, Large School Division!
Among the Throwers, Justin Nykiel and Brett Schules teamed-up to throw a combined 288' 8", which was good enough to take 2nd overall in the Javelin Relay!
Results at: MileSplit.NJ.
Mercer Twilight Invitational
On May 1, 2010, Coach Shaklee took Senior Steve Burkholder to the Mercer Twilight Invitational at Robbinsville High School in Robbinsville, NJ. Competing in the 1500m Run, Steve had the race of his young life! He finished 5th against a stellar field and set a school record in the rarely contested event! His time of 3:58.20 is the equivalent of a 4:15.0 in the 1600m, making Burk the second fastest "miler" in school history behind Cherokee's most famous distance runner, Marc Pelerin, who graduated in 2002.
Details at: MileSplit.NJ. A video of the race is available at: MileSplit.NJ.
Go 4 The Goal Roadrace
On May 2, 2010, Coach Shaklee and a group of Cherokee distance runners participated in the Go 4 The Goal Roadrace to honor the memory of one of their own, Tim Frantz. In September, 2008, Tim died of Ewing's Sarcoma, a particularly rare but nasty form of bone cancer that typically attacks teenage boys. Several of the runners knew Tim personally but others did not. Still, learning about Tim's courage and determination in the face of this monstrous disease had to be an inspiration for them.
Tim's fight against this disease is outlined on our webpage Tim's Memorial Page. The sponsoring organization, devoted to helping those with childhood cancer, is at Go 4 The Goal.
Dual Meet: Washington Township High School
On May 3, 2010, there was sadness in Mudville, Casey, as the team "struck-out" against their powerful Conference opponent, Washington Township High School. The distance runners took 15 of 27 points against a very strong Township team in the 800, 1600, and 3200 Meter Runs. Steve Burkholder doubled in the 1600m and 3200m, winning both events over one of the top distance runners in the area, Anthony Dentino. Josh Perez PR'd by several seconds in the 1600m to narrowly miss taking 3rd in the event; and Greg Malloy PR'd in the 3200m while finishing in a torrid battle with a Township runner to take 3rd place! Finally, Ty Somers, Ross Staudt, and Kyle Muench all finished with strong kicks and set PR's in the 800m to take 2nd, 3rd, and 5th places in that event!
Among the Sprinters and Jumpers, Jon Scott took 2nd in the 100m and 3rd in the 200m; Mike Palmieri took 2nd in both the 400IH and the Open 400m, and was a member of the 4 X 400m Relay team that also took 2nd but ran a PR for the season; and, finally, Darren McCluskey took 2nd in the 110HH! Several jumpers faired well: Eric Mudge vaulted a season PR and took 2nd; Brian Regensberg placed in both the Long Jump and the Triple Jump; and Ed Kramer was his usual reliable self, leaping to 1st place in the High Jump!
Finally, the highlights from the Field events are many! And not to be outdone by the scores of the distance runners, the Throwers took 21 out of 27 points from the throwers of Washington Township! Cherokee's throwers swept the Javelin competition with Justin Nykiel, Brandon McCleese and Brett Schules taking 1st, 2nd and 3rd! And Honorable Mention goes to Cherokee's German Exchange student and first-year thrower, Marius Meland who threw over 100' to PR in the event! In the Discus competition, Brandon McCleese and Dominic Roskoski (with a PR!) took 2nd and 3rd; and in the Shot Put, Brandon McCleese returned again to take 1st in the event, while Jeff You took 2nd! Freshman Mike Conway stepped-up in his first Varsity Shot competition and threw a PR!
With this, the final dual meet of the season, the 2010 Dual Meet Record stands at 4 - 1. But there are still many other goals -- especially the District and County CHampionships -- to reach for this season! GO CHEROKEE!
This meet, the Throwers and Jumpers are highlighted!
A few starts and some not-often-pictured Cherokee runners!
Lenape District Championship
On May 6, 2010, Cherokee traveled to Lenape High School for the 4th Annual Lenape District Championship and, for the fourth time in a row, came home the District Champions! The meet, held in the evening under the lights and contesting all the regular dual meet events, as well as the 400m and 3200m Relays, demanded a high level of concentration and talent across the board to insure victory! Cherokee had plenty of both, picking-up eight 1st place medals as well as a number of key 2nd and 3rd place medals, to win the championship!
Two Cherokee athletes set or tied records at the meet! In the Javelin competition, Justin Nykiel threw his Jav 156' 8" and set a new PR for himself, while winning the event and besting his own meet record of last year! And High Jumper Ed Kramer tied the previous meet record of 6' 6" set last year by Seneca's Drew Kanz!
In addition to Justin's and Ed's 1st place finishes, Jon Scott took 1st in the 100m and 2nd in the 200m Dashes; Steve Burkholder took 1st in the 1500m and 2nd in the 800m Runs; Darren McCluskey took 1st in the 110m High Hurdles; Mike Palmieri took 1st in the 400m Intermediate Hurdles; the team of Darren McCluskey, John Barr, Matt Jackson and Zaire Wilson won the 400m Relay; and the team of Jon Scott, Mike Palmieri, John Barr, and Drew Viscidy won the 1600m Relay!
Thrower Brandon McCleese had an exciting Triple PR night, throwing his best in the Javelin, Discus, and Shot Put! Brandon took two seconds and a fifth in the competition! Additional PR's were set by Matt Venanzi, who had a huge PR in the 3,000m Run; Shawn Wilson in the 1500m Run; and all three Triple Jumpers: Brian Regensberg, taking 2nd; Ed Kramer, taking 3rd; and Joe Cashin!
Overall results: (1) Cherokee, 122.2; (2) Lenape, 100 1/2; (3) Seneca, 45 1/2; (4) Shawnee, 24. Complete results at: MileSplit.NJ.
There are no pictures from the meet because it was held "under the lights."
Cherokee Invitational
On May 11, 2010, undaunted by unusually cold, dark and dreary conditions, and a steady light rain, Cherokee hosted the Eleventh Annual Cherokee Track and Field Invitational! Surprisingly, the meet was well-attended and it ran as fast as in earlier years!
Several of the distance runners did very well at the meet! Erik Birkhead set a twelve-second PR in the 1600m to take 3rd place; and Ian Foley set his own five-second PR in the 800m for 4th! Lou DiGeambeardino also set a PR in the 800 -- his by three seconds -- and then he came back with a 55.8 split in the cold rain during the 4 X 400m Relay to lead his team to 6th place! And others set PR's as well: Andrew Yang, Angus Endicott, and Phillip-Robert Cerria in the 800m; and Matt Adams in the 1600m! Finally, in the 4 X 400m Relay, Mike Czuba matched the speed of sprinters Jason Brockman, Alex Walker and Eric Ortiz, and anchored the team to a 1st place finish!
Among the Sprinters and Jumpers, Barry Fitzgerald ran a tough 400IH for a PR and 2nd in 61.90! Matt Jackson took 5th in the 200m Dash, and 6th in the 100m Dash, and Jason Brockman placed 8th in the 400m Run, while Freshman Zaire Williams placed 11th. Jumpers Kenon Jenkins took 3rd in the Long Jump, with Aakash Patel taking 12th. And Dan Basoff, Joe Cashin, and Aakash Patel finished 1st, 3rd, and 8th in the Triple Jump competition. Finally, in the Vault, Eric Mudge placed 5th.
Several Throwers did well too! Sophomore Evan Rosenberg PR'd in the Javelin, throwing 133' 6" and taking 2nd place, with Senior Tom Marzili not far behind, throwing 120' 5 and taking 4th place! Sophomores Aidan Zeith and Junior Marius Meland also had strong showings as they went 114' 6" and 106' 10" respectively! In the Discus, Junior Lionel Perkins took 8th with a PR toss of 93' 5"! And, finally, in the Shot, Freshman Mike Conway threw 35' 6", just under his PR, and took 8th; Senior Dan DaTorre tied his PR of 34' 4"; and Dan Hawkes and Shane Gallagher threw their own PR's of 31' 9" and 31' 9.5" respectively!
Unlike the athletes, neither the camera nor the cameraman do well in cold, dark, dreary, and rainy conditions, so there are no pictures from the meet.
Meet results are available at: Cherokee Invitational Results