The Late Championship Season: Late May - Early June, when it all comes together! It starts with the South Jersey Group IV (Sectional) Championships (May 27th and 28th) at Egg Harbor Township HS. Then the State Group IV Championships (June 3rd and 4th) and the State Meet of Champions (June 9th), both at Lombardi Field in Old Bridge, NJ. After that, a final summary of the team's season and accomplishments! GO CHIEFS!
South Jersey Group IV (Sectional) Championships
On May 28, 2011, many of the top members of the team traveled to Egg Harbor for the NJSIAA Group IV South Jersey (Sectional) Championships and several turned-in memorable performances! Darren McCluskey was Cherokee's lone Sectional Champion winning the 110HH! Ty Somers was the team's most prolific scorer, placing 4th in both the 1600m and 800m Runs, and running a leg on the 3rd place 4 X 400m Relay team which also included Brandon Rapp, Ross Staudt and Drew Viscidy! Rapp also ran his fastest FAT 200m Dash to finish 4th and advance to State Group Championships in that event and he just missed by .04 seconds making it in the 400m Run! In the 800m Run, in addition to Somers, both Ross Staudt and Colin Merrigan just missed making the State Group meet, finishing 7th and 8th overall. In the 1600m Run, in addition to Somers, Sophomore Shawn Wilson also advanced to States with a 5th place finish! Also, Greg Malloy continued his fine season with a strong 3rd place finish in the 3200m Run! Jason Brockman came up 1/100th of a second away from advancing in the 400 Intermediate Hurdles but did manage to establish a new PR! First year thrower, Joe McCarthy-Moore continued his excellent season with a 3rd place finish in the Javelin to advance to the state meet! Finally, despite the loss of key athletes to injury -- including Brandon McCleese in the throws and Brian Regensburg in the jumps -- the team still managed to finish in 5th place behind strong teams from Oakcrest, Egg Harbor Township, Cherry Hill East and Washington Township!
Details at: MileSplit.NJ.
New Jersey Group IV Championships
On June 3 and 4, 2011, Cherokee's qualifiers from the South Jersey Sectionals competed in NJSIAA's New Jersey State Group IV Championships at Old Bridge, NJ. Shawn Wilson started the action on Friday in the 1600m Run where he equaled his PR in the event! On Saturday, Ty Somers came on to PR in the 800m Run and Greg Malloy PR'd in the 3200m Run!
Darren McCluskey won his heat in the Trials of the 110 High Hurdles but later in the day he gave all Cherokee fans a nervous time in the Finals of the event! Indeed, though last at the first hurdle, he came on to take 4th in the event and advance to the Meet of Champions!
Brandon Rapp ran well in the 200m Dash but failed to advance. Later, he came back in the 4 X 400 Relay with Drew Viscidy, Colin Merrigan and Ross Staudt and helped them run their best time of the year to advance to the Meet of Champions as a wildcard!
New Jersey State Meet of Champions
On June 9, 2011, Cherokee sent her qualifiers from the previous week to the New Jersey State Meet of Champions at Old Bridge High School. They included Group IV Champion Hurdler Darren McCluskey, who qualified in the 110m High Hurdles; Colin Merrigan, Drew Viscidy, Ty Somers and Ross Staudt, who qualified in the 4 X 800m Relay; and Brandon Rapp, Drew Viscidy, Colin Merrigan and Jason Brockman who qualified in the 4 X 400m Relay!
The day was a sweltering one with temperatures close to 100 degrees but that didn't bother Darren McCluskey who first qualified 5th (14.43) in the Trials of the 110m High Hurdles and then came on to take 2nd (14.28) in the Finals of the event! Wow! That's a great time but not enough to break his own school record of 14.18 set at the Burlington County Open this year!
Later that day, as thunderstorms threatened, the 4 X 800m Relay team of Merrigan, Viscidy, Somers and Staudt took 6th in the event, dropping from their previous qualifying time of 7:58.01 to 7:52.60! That time made them the second-fastest 4 X 800m team in school history!
The rest of the meet, including the 4 X 400m Relay, was postponed because of rain but the action continued a few days later. The 4 X 400m Relay team of Rapp, Viscidy, Merrigan and Brockman ran well but finished out of the medal group. Special thanks to MaroonNews and MGD11, two crack photographers from NJRunners/MileSplit, for the pictures of the 4 X 400 team! We are, as they say in the movies, "Way spoiled, dudes!"
Detailed results at: NJRunners.
Darren McCluskey in Trials and Finals!
Colin Merrigan starts the 4 X 800 but not everyone went along gracefully!
Merrigan gets it going in the 2nd start with Viscidy, Somers and Staudt to follow!
Maroon News' view of the 4 X 400m Relay team!
MGD11's view of the 4 X 400m Relay team!
Post Season Recognition
On June 12, 2011, the team, coaches and parents met to enjoy a meal together while reviewing the accomplishments of the season and bidding farewell to our graduating seniors.
Not all the details are in but the team had three major accomplishments through the season: they won the Woodbury Relays and the 4 X 800m Relay team of Drew Viscidy, Colin Merrigan, Shawn Wilson and Ty Somers took home 1st place watches; they won the American Division of the Olympic Conference; and they won the Lenape District Cup for the 5th year in a row! And speaking of 5th, the South Jersey Track Coaches Association, the premier team-ranking organization in the region, listed Cherokee as the 5th best team at the end of the season, behind track powerhouses Timber Creek, Oakcrest, Delsea and Bridgeton! Besides the team accomplishments, the NJ Runners/MileSplit Network announced the NEW JERSEY ALL-STATE TEAM and Darren McCluskey was named to the "Second Team" as the second-most-incredible hurdler in the state!
The Coaches' Awards are by far the most important awards of the season because they are given by people who really know the athletes and know the most-deserving of all! They were selected not simply 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:
Greg Malloy, Distance
Brian Regensberg, Jumps
Brandon Rapp, Sprints
Brandon McCleese, Throws
Darren McCluskey, Hurdles
Ty Somers, Multi-Event Award
The Awards Banquet, catered by the parents, went off as gracefully as a royal wedding! Most of these pictures were provided by the reclusive artist known as "Pelly:"
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!