Cherokee Track & Field Pictures, 2010, Page V





The Spring Season Continues!


The Early Championship Season: Mid-May, when everyone is primed to show their stuff! It starts with the Olympic Conference Championships at Pennsauken (May 12th); the Haddonfield Invitational (May 13th); the Burlington County Championships at Maple Shade (May 15th); the East Coast Relays (May 17th); the Throwers Meet at Bishop Eustace (May 19th); and the Haddonfield Distance Night (May 20th). GO CHEROKEE!









Olympic Conference Championships

On May 12, 2010 -- another delightful, South Jersey day in May: dark, temperatures in the 40s, wind and light rain off and on -- Cherokee traveled to Pennsauken High School for the 51st Annual Olympic Conference Championships! The main highlights were Steve Burkholder's win in the 800m Run, Ed Kramer's win in the High Jump, and the victory by Jon Scott, Darren McCluskey, Brandon Rapp, and John Barr in the 4 X 100m Relay!

In addition, Colin Merrigan, Drew Viscidy, Shawn Wilson, and Mike Lowinger took 3rd in the 4 X 800m Relay, with Wilson running a PR in less-than-ideal conditions! And Matt Venanzi, Aiden Lynch, and Ryan Bobb all PR'd in the 3200m Run! Jon Scott and Darren McCluskey took 3rd in their respective events, the 100m Dash and the 110HH (where Darren tied the school record at 14.63)! Finally, Mike Palmieri, in the 400IH, Ed Kramer in the Long Jump (PR of 20' 4"), and Jon Scott, Mike Palmieri, Steve Burkholder, and Drew Viscidy in the 4 X 400m Relay, all placed 6th in their respective events!

Among the Throwers, Brandon McCleese threw a 134' PR in the Discus and took 3rd; and Justin Nykiel threw the Javelin 151' 8" to take 4th!

The following individuals were named to the All-Conference, 1st Team: Jon Scott in the 100m Dash; Ed Kramer in the High Jump; Steve Burkholder in the 800m Run; and Jon Scott, Darren McCluskey, Brandon Rapp, and John Barr in the 4 X 100m Relay. In addition, Darren McCluskey and Brandon McCleese were named to the All-Conference, 2nd Team in the 110HH!


Mike Palmieri in 400IH Darren MCluskey in 110HH Brian Regensberg in HJ Brian Regensberg in HJ Brian Regensberg in HJ Kyle Smith in 1600m
Greg Malloy in 1600m Ed Kramer in HJ Ed Kramer in HJ Josh Perez in 1600m Jon Scott in 100m Scott to McCluskey in 4 x 100m
McCluskey in 4 x 100m Brandon Rapp to John Barr in 4 x 100m John Barr in 4 x 100m Coach Cal and McCluskey Burk in 800m Burk in 800m
Brandon Rapp wins 200m heat Matt Venanzi in 3200m Ryan Bobb in 3200m Aiden Lynch and Matt Venanzi in 3200m Jon Scott starts the 4 x 400m Mike Palmieri starts leg of 4 X 400m
Burk to Drew Viscidy in 4 X 400m Drew Viscidy in 4 X 400m Coach Cuneo





Haddonfield Invitational

On May 13, 2010, Cherokee sent a running four-some to Haddonfield High School for the Haddonfield Invitational. In relatively decent weather at this evening event, Ty Somers, Ross Staudt, Matt McCarroll, and Kyle Muench, all set PR's to finish 2nd in the 4 X 800m Relay with a time of 8:11.83!

No pictures because of darkness, and because Mr. McCarroll didn't bring his camera!




Burlington County Open

On May 15, 2010, the "Chiefs" traveled to Maple Shade High School for the 71st Annual Burlington County Open and, for the third time in a row, came home the County Champions!

The Cherokee team is generally strong, with many "quality" athletes but only a few truly excellent performers. At the meet, instead of greatness, it depended on its "strength in numbers" to win! Indeed, this meet was ideally structured for a team like Cherokee because, with the large number of events, the team had the opportunity to pick-up points across the board and overwhelm their opponents. That's what happened at the Open: a 1st here, a 3rd there, another 3rd there, a 5th here, a second there, another 1st, and so on. In this case, it added up to 98 points, 29 points more than the closest competitor!

There were, however, some "great" things happening! Jon Scott won the 100m Dash and became the first Cherokee athlete to win the County title! He also took 2nd in the 200m Dash, and helped the 4 X 400m Relay team take 3rd! Not to be outdone, Steve Burkholder was a double-champion, taking 1st in both the 1600m and 3200m Runs, and became only the fourth runner in county history (the others in 1981, 2007, and 2008), and the first Cherokee athlete, to win the 1600-3200 double! Indeed, here is a picture of the two champions -- primo prom dates, ladies! -- celebrating their victories:

Burk and Jon Scott

In addition to Scott and Burkholder, the team of Colin Merrigan, Kyle Muench, Mike Lowinger and Ross Staudt took 1st in their event, the inaugural running of the 3200m Relay at the Open! And, finally, Ed Kramer, who scored in three events, took 1st in the High Jump and caused Coach Callinan to exclaim, "He looks great! He's a work of dynamic art! I guarantee the next time he competes in the High Jump, he'll break the school record! Quote me on that!"

Along with these scorers, points poured in from every area! Matt McCarroll, 3rd in the 800m, with Ty Somers, 6th. Darren McCluskey, a close 2nd in the 110HH; Mike Palmieri, 5th in the 400IH; Brian Regensberg, 5th in the Long Jump; Jon Scott, Darren McCluskey, Brandon Rapp, and John Barr, 3rd in the 4 X 100m Relay; Jon Scott, Mike Palmieri, Brandon Rapp, and Drew Viscidy, 3rd in the 4 X 400m Relay; and Justin Nykiel, 3rd with another PR of 163' 1" in some very close Javelin competition!

Complete results at: MileSplit.NJ.


Mike Conway in Shot Ed Kramer in the LJ Greg Malloy and Kyle Smith in 3200 Joe Cashin in LJ Joe Cashin in LJ Burk in 3200
SMith and Malloy in 3200 Jeff You i Shot Brian Rosenberg in LJ Brian Rosenberg in LJ Darren McCluskey in 110HH Trials Brandon McCleese in Shot
Matt Jackson in 100 Trials John Barr in 100 Trials Jon Scott in 100 Trials Colin Merrigan in 4 X 800 Kyle Muench in 4 X 800 Mike Lowinger in 4 X 800
Ross Staudt in 4 X 800 Jason Brockman in 200 Trials Brett Schules in Javelin Brandon McCleese in Javelin Darren McCluskey in 110HH Finals Jon Scott in 100 Finals
Somers, McCarroll, Venanzi in 800m Austin 'Marc' Bernstein in Vault Matt Venanzi in 800 Matt McCarroll in 800 Dan Basoff in TJ Brandon McCleese in Discus
Brandon Rapp in 200m Jon Scott in 200m Finals Justin Nykiel in Javelin Finals Barry Fitzgerald in 400IH Mike Palmieri in 400IH Darren McCluskey in 400IH
Shawn Wilson in 1600m Josh Perez in 1600m Burk in 1600m Shawn Wilson and Josh Perez Jon Scott in 4 X 400m Mike Palmieri in 4 X 400m
Palmieri to rapp in 4 X 400m Rapp to Drew Viscidy in 4 X 400m Drew VIscidy finishes 4 X 400m Team Team




East Coast Relays: Two school records set!

On May 17, 2010, Coach Callinan and a small group of sprinters, hurdlers, and jumpers bussed to the John Bauer Field in Randolph, NJ for the 40th Annual East Coast Relays. There they put a significent dent in the school's Track and Field Records! High Jumper Ed Kramer broke the record by leaping 6' 8 - 1/4", and he and Brian Regensberg, who cleared 5' 8", combined to take 1st place by 1/4 of an inch in the High Jump Relay! To match Ed's effort, Hurdler Darren McCluskey set his own school record of 56.23 in the 400IH! He and teammates, Mike Palmieri and Barry Fitzgerald came within .86 to set a new record in the 400IH Relays! Finally, the 4 X 100 team of Jon Scott, Darren McCluskey, Brandon Rapp, and Barry Fitzgerald ran a seasonal PR in that event! All in all, a very good outing!

Full results at: MileSplit.NJ.

Steve Moore's -- In the Bleachers -- renderings of Darren and Ed!


McCluskey in 400IH! Kramer in HJ!




Coach Witzig Named to Cherry Hill East Track and Field Hall of Fame!

On May 17, 2010, while several of the athletes he worked with were setting records at the East Coast Relays, Volunteer Coach Don Witzig was being inducted before a large crowd of fellow coaches and former athletes into the Cherry Hill High School East Track and Field Hall of Fame! In 1967, Cherry Hill East opened its doors and Coach Witzig began a 37 year coaching career at East as the new coach of Cross Country. Over those years, Don also coached Spring Track for over 10 years at East -- we won't mention the 20 years or so as the Bowling Coach -- and another 11 years as a volunteer and contract coach at Cherokee High School between 1999 and the present! The presentation at East focused on Coach Witzig's dedication to and knowledge of the sport, as well as the gentle humanity he brought to program! GO COACH!

Coach Witzig and his wife, Kathy





Bishop Eustace Throwing Invitational

On May 19, 2010, Coach Roskowski took his throwers to the Bishop Eustace Throwing Invitational at the high school in Pennsauken. For some, it was an opportunity to "gear-up" for the up-coming state meets; for others, it was the last chance to set a PR for the season! In the Shot, Freshman Mike Conway ended his season with a PR heave of 36' 2" . . . way to go, Mike! Senior Ryan Zeitz used this last high school meet to further his PR by over 2.5 feet, heaving the Shot 37' 4.25"! Junior Lionel Perkins stepped-up and threw 34' 2.75", and Sophomore Dan Hawkes threw 31' 9" to finish out for the Shot Putters!

The Cherokee Discus throwers were overshadowed by the performance of Sam Mattis of East Brunswick as he hurled the discus 197' 3" smashing the state sophomore mark of 191' 10" set in 2000 by Glenn DiGiorgio of Bayonne. (Hmmmm, has this kid ever considered the optiminal training opproitunities in the sunnier, southern part -- say, Marlton -- of the state?) Still, the Cherokee Weight guys did some great things as well! Sophomore Brandon McCleese used this meet to prepare for Sectionals, and he had a steady series, throwing a solid 121' 10". Dom Roskowski also used this meet to prepare for Sectionals, hitting 118' 3". Jeff You took a standing-throw approach, fronting his discus over the 108' mark; and Sophomore Mark Cashin, only competing in the discus for a second time, threw a PR of 80' 8"!

The Javelin was the most exciting event as the Varsity guys geared-up for the up-coming championship meets! Justin Nykiel had a great series, throwing 158' 2' to win the event. Brandon McCleese, Evan Rosenberg, and Brett Schules had nice days as well, throwing 144' 6", 128' even, and 121' 6" respectively!

Results posted at: MileSplit.NJ.


Mark Cashin Mark Cashin Mike Conway Mike Conway Jeff You Jeff You
Lionel Perkins Lionel Perkins Dom Roskowski Dom Roskowski Brandon McCleese Brandon McCleese
_____________ _____________ _____________ Dan Hawkins Mark Cashin _______________
_______________ Tom Marzili _______________ _______________ Jeff You Marius Meland
Marius Meland Marius Meland _________________ _________________ _________________ Tom Marzili
Brett Schules Brett Schules Evan Rosenberg Evan Rosenberg Brandon McCleese Justin Nykiel




Haddonfield Distance Night

On May 17, 2010, most of the team's distance runners bussed over to Haddonfield for the Haddonfield Distance Night. Typically, Haddonfield's track, surrounded by trees, provides an ideal venue for good racing and this night was no exception!

Perhaps the most impressive was the record-breaking 1600m run by Freshman Shawn Wilson! Shawn smashed Alum Steve Ridenour's 11 year old Freshman Record, clocking 4:33.05 to finish 3rd in the race! Yikes! Can you imagine that kid in Cross Country hammering the slopes of Holmdel Park to the screams of hundreds of adoring women . . .?! He should ask Marc Pelerin who played soccer his Freshman year only to realize that his true destiny was in Cross Country and Track and Field! Listen . . . is that the music from "Chariots of Fire" that I hear . . .?

But Wilson was only one of Cherokee's distance team to "rock and roll" at Haddonfield! Kyle Muench negative split to win the 800 in a personal best of 2:03.79, with Ross Staudt, Colin Merrigan, Mike Lowinger, Drew Viscidy and Eric Birkhead close behind sweeping places 3 through 7! Birkhead's time was a PR by over four seconds! Ian Foley knocked a half-second off of his PR in the 800, while Lou DiGeambeardino won the 2nd heat of the 800 with a two-second PR!

In the 1600, in addition to Wilson's record, Ty Somers and Matt Venanzi both had big PRs, and Josh Perez ran a strong race, narrowly missing the win with his second place finish just in front of Wilson!

Finally, Greg Malloy, Aiden Lynch and Ryan Bobb swept the first three spots in the 3200 with Lynch setting a PR in the process.

No pictures from the meet but check out this cartoon rendering provided by Steve Moore.


Cherokee at Haddonfield!








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