By February, after a steady series of heavy snow and ice storms throughout January, winter was half over and Cherokee continued to prepare for the Spring season. The distance coach concentrated on "rebuilding the base" and strength training for his athletes; while the sprint/jumps coach and the throws coach concentrated on skill- development and conditioning for their athletes. The training and the meet schedules were disrupted by the bad weather but, even so, the team participated in a number of meets for both experience and a change of pace.
Poreda Invitational
On February 2, 2011, the Sprinters and Jumpers returned to The Lawrenceville School for the Poreda Invitational. The highlight of the meet was when the 4 X 200m Relay team of Brandon Rapp, Drew Viscidy, Darren McCluskey and John Barr ran fast enough to qualify for Nationals! Brian Regensberg looked good in the Long Jump going 20' 7" but finishing in 8th behind some really nice indoor jumpers! Kenon Jenkins had a four foot PR in the Triple Jump, going 38' 1.5"! Finally, Brandon McCleese had a decent throw in the Shot Put although it was quite a bit shorter than his outdoor PR. Results at: MileSplit, NJRunners.
NJSIAA South Jersey Group IV Sectionals
On February 4, 2011, the team returned to the Bennett Center for the NJSIAA South Jersey Group IV Sectionals and came home with two 1st place victories and several fine performances! In the winner's category are Ty Somers who won the championship at 800m and Darren McCluskey who did the same in the 55m High Hurdles! Darren also took 6th in the 55m Dash. Greg Malloy toughed-out two races, even though he had the flu, placing 6th in the 1600m Run and coming back to take 4th in the 3200m Run. All three athletes qualified for the up-coming State Group Championships!
In other action, Brandon Rapp and Brandon McCleese both narrowly missed advancing to the State Groups in their respective events. Rapp finished 7th in the 400m Dash while McCleese finished 7th in the Shot Put. Drew Viscidy PR'd in the 800m Run to finish 8th while Mike Lowinger set an indoor PR in his 800m race. Ryan Bobb and Phillip-Robert Cerria PR'd in the 3200m Run. Finally, Matt Decker PR'd by ten seconds in the 1600m Run while Matt Venanzi set an indoor PR in the same event! Complete details at: MileSplit, NJRunners.
New Jersey Varsity Classic
On February 7, 2011, Cherokee sent a dozen or so members of the Varsity team to the New Jersey Varsity Classic at the famed New York City Armory. The meet was a hectic and crowded affair but it was a great opportunity for individuals and relays to qualify for the Eastern Regionals and other national meets. Not that Darren McCluskey would have trouble qualifying but he proved once again that he is the among the top hurdlers in the region when he took 1st place in the 55m High Hurdles competition! Also, the Distance Medley Relay team of Ty Somers, Brandon Rapp, Drew Viscidy, and Greg Malloy ran well enough to qualify as well!
In addition, Darren McCluskey came back with John Barr to run seasonal PR's in the 200m Dash; and the 4 x 400m Relay team of Brandon Rapp, Drew Viscidy, John Barr and Ty Somers ran well enough to place 3rd!
Results at MileSplit, NY.
Here are some pictures from the early part of the meet (John, let that be a lesson to you!):
South Jersey Track Coaches Open Meet #2
On February 8, 2011, Cherokee sent a group of athletes to the South Jersey Track Coaches Open Meet #2 at the Bennett Center in Toms River. Distance highlights include a significant PR performance by Ryan Bobb in the 1600m Run, and several other PR's in the same event by Phillip-Robert Cerria and Harry Herskovitz! Matt Decker took another step forward in the 3200m Run, clipping sixteen seconds off his previous PR and going under 11 minutes for the first time! Official results: MileSplit, NJRunners.
Haddonfield's Balmy Weather Invitational
On February 17, 2011, Cherokee athletes took advantage of an unusually warm winter day to "test their spikes" at the impromptu Haddonfield's Balmy Weather Invitational! Highlights include performances in the Sprints and the Distance races! In the Sprints, John Barr won the 55m Dash, while Brian Regensberg won the 200m Dash and then came back in what was described as "a sizzling 400" in the 4 X 400m Relay! Indeed, Brandon Rapp, John Barr, Drew Viscidy and Brian all ran well and easily won the race. Jason Brockman, racing for the first time since returning from a November injury, ran the 4th fastest split of the day to lead his relay team to a 2nd place finish!
Among the distance performances, Drew Viscidy knocked a couple seconds off of his 800m PR to win the event! Ross Staudt and Shawn Wilson, both returning from injury and racing for the first time in a month, finished 2nd and 3rd in the 800m Run. Ross set a season PR and Shawn set an overall PR! Finally, Colin Merrigan, racing for the first time this winter, ran a strong 800m race for 5th, and Mike Lowinger tied his season PR in 6th!
In the 1600m Run, Matt Venanzi closed very well to place 2nd and set a new PR, and Matt Decker also PR'd!
NJSIAA Group IV Championships
On February 19, 2011, Cherokee sent their three qualifiers to the NJSIAA Group IV Championships at the Bennett Center in Toms River. Hurdler Darren McCluskey, the SJ Sectional Champion, ran the second fastest time in the state this year in the 55HH. Unfortunately, an Old Bridge hurdler ran the fastest time, beating Darren by 6/100th of a second! Darren will get another chance at him at the Meet of Champions. Ty Somers, also a SJ Sectional Champion, finished 6th in a very competitive 800m Run to advance to the State Meet of Champions. Finally, Greg Malloy, hampered by a knee injury, failed to qualify for the Meet of Champions but still PR'd in the 3200m Run! Details at: MileSplit, NJ Runners.
NJSIAA Meet of Champions
On February 26, 2011, Hurdler Darren McCluskey and Middle Distance runner, Ty Somers, both South Jersey Sectional Champions and qualifiers from the Group IV Championships of last week, traveled to the premier indoor meet in the state, the NJSIAA Meet of Champions at the Bennett Center in Toms River. Darren, competing in a race where 1/100th of a second often means defeat, finished 8th in the 55m High Hurdles Trials but came back for 4th in the Finals! Ty, racing in the second heat of the 800m led throughout the race giving up the victory only in the last five meters! Ty's PR performance left him 9th overall in the event! Details at: MileSplit, NJ.
Eastern States Championships
On March 1, 2011, several of Cherokee's top athletes traveled to the New York City Armory for the 74th Annual Eastern States Championships. Hurdler Darren McCluskey continued a series of very strong performances in the 55m High Hurdles when he advanced through the Trial's, the Semi's, and then took 4th overall in the Finals, running his second fastest time ever in the event! In the Distance Medley, the team of Ty Somers, Brandon Rapp, Ross Staudt, and Shawn Wilson didn't fare as well but Ross PR'd in his 800m split and Shawn came within a few seconds of his 1600m PR in his first mile race since last Spring. Finally, in the 4 X 200m Relay, the team of John Barr, Drew Viscidy, Darren McCluskey, and Brian Regensberg set a season best time! Further details at: MileSplit, NY.
The pictures are a little rough because it was relatively dark in the Armory but this group shows a series of Darren McCluskey pictures through the Trials, Semi-Finals, and Finals in the 55m Dash; Brian Regensberg in several Long Jumps; and the four-man Distance Medley squad.
New Balance Indoor Nationals
On the long weekend of March 11-13, 2011, nine of Cherokee's best athletes -- this time officially unaffiliated with the school and running as the "Tomahawk Track Club" -- traveled to the New York City Armory for the New Balance Indoor Nationals. The action began on Friday afternoon when the 4 X 400m Relay team of John Barr, Brandon Rapp, Colin Merrigan and Brian Regensberg, competing in the Emerging Elite Division, narrowly missed a top-6 finish! They took 7th in the 25 team field!
Early on Saturday morning, the team and the team's supporters gathered at the Armory or in front of their computers at home to watch Cherokee's best hurdler, Darren McCluskey compete against the nation's best in the 60m High Hurdles. Unfortunately, that excitement was quickly dampened by Darren's "false start" in the Trials! Yikes! Later that day, Darren returned with the rest of the 4 X 200m Relay team -- John Barr, Brandon Rapp and Brian Regensberg -- and ran their fastest time of the season but again failed to move on to the Finals in the Emerging Elite Division.
Finally, late on Saturday evening, the 4 X 800m Relay team of Ty Somers, Shawn Wilson, Ross Staudt and Drew Viscidy also ran their fastest time of the season -- with Wilson, Staudt and Viscidy clocking PR's -- and, while they failed to finish among the best teams, they appear to have run fast enough to qualify for the up-coming Penn Relays! Stand-by on that news!
Details at: MileSplit, NY.
