The Late Championship Season: Late May - Early June, when it all comes together! It starts with the South Jersey Group IV (Sectional) Championships (May 21st and 22nd), and the State Group IV Championships (May 28th and 29th), both at Egg Harbor Township HS; and the State Meet of Champions (June 3rd) at South Plainfield HS. After that, a few personal efforts, post-season -- the Pennsylvania Distance Classic (June 4th), the NJ International Track Meet (June 5th), and the Haddonfield Post-Season Invitational (June 10th); and a final summary of the team's accomplishments this season! GO CHIEFS!
South Jersey Group IV (Sectional) Championships
On May 21 and 22, 2010, Cherokee's finest competed in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group IV (Sectional) Championships at Egg Harbor Township High School. The clear "highlights" of Friday's competition were the victories of Steve Burkholder in the 1600m Run, and Ed Kramer in the High Jump! Steve became the first Cherokee athlete to accomplish this feat since Marc Pelerin in 2002! In addition, Steve's time of 4:17.30 is also the fastest time by a Cherokee athlete since Pelerin, and that makes him officially -- he was already there with his 3:58 in the 1500m, converted -- the second-fastest 1600m runner in school history! Burkholder, hoping for a double-win, returned on Saturday to compete in the 3200m Run but was forced to settle for 4th in the event! Still, he moves on to the State Group IV Championships in both events -- another 1st since Pelerin!
Ed Kramer, (6' 6") taking 1st overall in the High Jump competition, became the first Cherokee athlete to accomplish this feat . . . period! Last year, both Justin Turner (2nd) and Ed (5th) advanced to Group States, but Ed was Cherokee's first High Jump Champion!
Also on Friday, in the 400IH, Darren McCluskey finished a second off his school-record-breaking time of last week, and Mike Palmieri set his own PR (57.81) to finish 7th and 8th and just miss qualifying for the State Groups! But Darren came back in the 100m Dash (PR of 11.36) to take 7th in the event and move on to Groups! His sprint partner, Jon Scott had a bad start and missed qualfying in the 100m by one place! However, Jon came back on Saturday with the 4 X 400m Relay team of Jon Scott, Mike Palmieri, Brandon Rapp and Drew Viscidy to take 6th (3:27.06) and qualify for State Groups!
The startling news on Saturday was in the Field: Javelin throwers Justin Nykiel and Brandon McCleese got everyone talking! In the Trials, Justin threw 161' 3" to make it to the Finals. Brandon had a rougher time getting there, throwing a PR of 154' 4" but only qualifying as the 8th and last finalist! In the Finals, however, things really heated up! After fouling twice, McCleese "unleashed" a 25' PR heave of 169' 8", good enough for 5th place! Justin had the best series of his life, going three-for-three PR's in a row! First, 165' 10", then 169' 3", and then an incredible 176' 2", putting him in 4th overall! Yikes! Both Brandon and Justin move on to the State Groups!
In the High Hurdles on Saturday, Darren McCluskey (PR of 14.81) advanced to State Groups when he took 2nd in the Finals of the 110HH!
In addition, on Friday, Josh Perez and Shawn Wilson took 11th (4:33.15) and 17th (4:35.53) respectively in a field of 45 runners in the 1600m Run, despite having raced the previous evening at the Haddonfield Invitational! Also, Eric Mudge (11' 0") set a PR in the Pole Vault, finishing tied for 14th in the event! And, on Saturday, Matt McCarroll (2:01.61) set a PR in the 800m Run, finishing 11th in a field of 48 runners, while Kyle Muench (2:03.41) and Ty Somers (203:46) also PR'd to place 18th and 19th! Greg Malloy also PR'd in the 3200m Run (10:02.81) to finish 15th, while Aiden Lynch (10:15.83) tied his PR and won the unseeded section of the event!
Details at: MileSplit.NJ.
New Jersey Group IV Championships
On May 28 and 29, 2010, the nine athletes who qualified last week at Sectionals returned to Egg Harbor for the New Jersey Group IV Championships and four advanced to the State Meet of Champions! Ed Kramer cleared 6' 6" in the High Jump to finish 2nd and move on to the Meet of Champions! Ed's PR of 6' 8 - 1/4" makes him one of the favorites to medal and even win the championship!
Darren McCluskey broke the school record in the 100 High Hurdles that he held jointly with Blake Letchford (State Group IV Championships, 2002), clocking 14.50 to qualify for the Finals in the event! Then, in the Finals, Darren, once again, lowered the record, placing 4th in 14.30 and moving on to the Meet of Champions!
Justin Nykiel improved his PR to 180' 01" to take 5th in the Javelin and qualify for the Meet of Champions! For the record, in two weeks, Justin improved his PR in the Javelin from 163' 01" to 180' 01" . . . do the math . . . that's very impressive!
Steve Burkholder improved his PR by two seconds in the 1600m Run to finish 5th in 4:15.49 and move on to the Meet of Champions! Steve has at least two more opportunities to beat Marc Pelerin's school-record time of 4:11.83 set at Addidas Nationals in 2002!
Among the "unsung" who deserve mention are the others who qualified for Groups but failed to advance! Brandon McCleese had a bad day at the Javelin but, as a Sophomore, he has a bright future in the event! And the 4 X 400m Relay team of Jon Scott, Mike Palmieri, Brandon Rapp and Drew Viscidy took 12th out of 23 teams and failed to qualify. When you remember the hundreds of Group IV Javelin throwers in the state, and the hundred or more Group IV relay teams that never made it to the Championships, they still have much to be proud of!
GO CHIEFS!
Details at: MileSplit.NJ
New Jersey Meet of Championships
On June 1, 2010, the elite of Cherokee's Track and Field team competed against some of the greatest athletes in New Jersey in the sultry heat of South Plainfield. Darren McCluskey, Justin Nykiel, Steve Burkholder and Ed Kramer, all qualifiers from the earlier State Group Championships, arrived at the state's Meet of Champions with high hopes, but none were realized. Darren hurdled, Justin threw, Steve ran, and Ed jumped but none reached his goal at this meet. Still, many thousands in New Jersey never got that far, so Cherokee is justly proud of what they accomplished! And, looking to the future, one of the four, Darren McCluskey, who reached the finals in the 110HH at the meet, will return next year!
Full results at: MileSplit.NJ.
Post-Season Doldrums
Refusing to let the season end gracelessly, four Cherokee athletes participated in post-season events but the outcomes were not what they anticipated. On June 4, 2010, Junior Greg Malloy made the unfortunate decision to run a season-ending race in the most oppressive heat of the season: temps in the high-80s, high humidity . . . what was he thinking?! Greg traveled to West Chester Henderson High School for the 5th Annual Pennsylvania Distance Classic. There he ran the 5K, finishing 8th in a field of 13th, while clocking a 16:32.57. Details at: MileSplit.PA. The following day, June 5, 2010, almost-Alum Ed Kramer, disappointed with his performance at the New Jersey State Meet of Champions, traveled to Holmdel High School for the 24th Annual New Jersey International Track Meet. Ed finished 2nd in a field of five, jumping only 6' 4" behind Stephen Lewis (6' 10") the Pennsylvania state champion. Details at: MileSplit.NJ. And, finally, on June 10, 2010, almost-Alums Kyle Muench and Steve Burkholder drove over to near-by Haddonfield High School for the Haddonfield Elite Invitational, a "last chance for a PR/school record" for some, and a prep for Nationals for others. Both guys failed in their efforts, with Kyle running only 2:06.43 in the 800m Run, and Burk finishing 2nd in the 1600m Run, clocking 4:18.02, very fast but not a PR or school record! Details at: MileSplit.NJ.
Post-Season Recognition
Through the month of June, 2010, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Camden Courier-Post, the Burlington County Times and the South Jersey Coaches Association named Cherokee's school record-setting High Jumper Ed Kramer to their First Team, All South Jersey! GO ED!
In Addition, on June 20th, 2010, the Burlington County Times named Coach Callinan the 2010 Burlington County Track Coach of the Year, remarking on the team's successes at the Burlington County Open (third year in a row) and the Lenape District Meet (fourth year in a row)! This is Coach Callinan's first year as Head Coach and the first time he has received this type of recognition. The complete article, written by Sportswriter, Reuben Frank, can be found at: Boys Track Coach of the Year.
Also on June 20th, 2009, the Burlington County Times named four Cherokee athletes to their First Team All-Burlington County, and one to their Second Team All-Burlington County.
First Team
Senior Jon Scott: 100m Dash
Senior Steve Burkholder: 1600m Run
Senior Ed Kramer: High Jump
Senior Justin Nykiel: Javelin Throw
Second Team
Junior Darren McCluskey: 110m High Hurdles
The newspaper also awarded First Team honors to the 3200 Meter Relay Team of Kyle Muench, Ty Somers, Matt McCarroll, and Ross Staudt!
The complete Burlington County Times awards page with details on each award is available at: 2010 County Awards.
Coaches' Awards
The Coaches' Awards are the highest recogniton our Cherokee athletes can receive because no one knows and appreciates the talents of the athletes more than the coaches themselves. They are selected not just because they were the fastest runners, the highest or longest jumpers, or the farthest throwers on the team. These factors are important but the coaches also consider their dedication to the team and its values, their leadership, character, self-discipline and self-motivation, sportsmanship, competitiveness, and persistence. Congratulations to the following athletes who were selected to receive the Coaches' Awards:
Steve Burkholder, Distance
Ed Kramer, Jumps
Jon Scott, Sprints
Justin Nykiel, Throws
Darren McCluskey, Hurdles
Mike Palmieri, Multi-Event Award
Thanks to all of our athletes for a fine season! Best wishes to our graduating Seniors and our "Graduating Parents," and to all of you who will return next year to continue the Cherokee tradition of sports excellence! GO CHEROKEE!