Cherokee Track & Field Pictures, 2015, Page VII





Spring Track


The season is almost over with several local championships finished and Sectionals and Group States coming up fast . . . and the Meet of Champions after that! GO CHEROKEE! . . . GO CHIEFS!





NJSIAA South Jersey Sectional Championships

On May 23 - 24, 2015, Cherokee's elite traveled to Egg Harbor High School for the NJSIAA South Jersey Sectional Championships and, despite some PR's by several athletes, only two advanced to the upcoming State Group Championships.

Among the Sprinters, no one laid back but no one advanced. County Champ, Marc Woodard competed in three events but failed to advance. Rob Curley and Daulton Hopkins each ran PR's in the 100m Dash -- and Rob ran another PR in the 200m Dash -- but failed to advance. Ty Kurzawa just missed his PR in the 400m Dash -- might have been that "unusual" start? -- and failed to advance but he came back in the 800m Dash -- that used to be a "distance" event but now it's a "Dash" -- ran a PR and became Cherokee's 1st qualifier for Groups!

The Distance and Throws guys didn't have much luck either. Mike Zurzolo came close to setting a new PR but failed to advance. The best news came from Nick Falk who, despite an overly aggressive start, managed to hold on, finish 6th and advance! Throwers Adonis Giovetis PR'd in the Discus and Phil Quipot PR'd in the Javelin but neither advanced.

GO TY! GO NICK!

Details at: NJ.MileSplit.



Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals
Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals
Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals
Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals




Cherokee Night Racing # 3

On May 26, 2015, Cherokee hosted the last in the series of distance events, Cherokee Night Racing # 3, this time focusing on 800m and 1600m races but offering several Super Sprint Relays as well.

In the 800m, all five Cherokee runners -- Mike Zurzolo, Dave Osterhout, Naledge Brown, Nick DiCostanzo and Ty Kurzawa -- set new PR's with Zurzolo's 2:02 making him the second fastest 800m runner on the team this year behind state qualifier, Ty Kurzawa.

In the 1600m, PR's were a little more rare but 9 out of the 22 competitors managed to improve on their previous bests! Cam Wilburn continued his outstanding season with a small improvement, putting him at #10 on this year's Cherokee 1600m performance list. Joey Thompson knocked a few seconds off of his previous best but narrowly missed his sub-5 goal. Mike Algarra, Josh Annandsingh, Jon Conn, Pritesh Prajapati, Nik Kadirisani, Matt Zeitz and Ben Rosenberg were the others who ended the year with new PR's!

Cherokee entered two teams in the Super Sprint Relay (100 - 100 - 200 - 400) and both raced well! The B Team, manned by Terrance Graves, Dan Weiss, Kevin Milligan and Matt Powell, beat their seeded time by almost 3 seconds, with Powell clocking an FAT split in the 400m of 51.98; and the A Team of Marc Woodard, Daulton Hopkins, Rob Curley and Ty Kurzawa clocked a 1:36.15 to qualify for New Balance Nationals, with Kurzawa clocking his own FAT split in the 400m of 50.75!

Further details at: NJ.Milesplit.


Nightfall




Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals
Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals
Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals
Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals Sectionals




NJSIAA State Group IV Championships

On May 30, 2015, with high hopes, Cherokee's two qualifiers for the NJSIAA State Group IV Championships returned once again to Egg Harbor but those hopes were soon dashed on the track. Neither Ty Kurzawa, racing in the 800m, nor Nick Falk, racing in the 3200m, managed to advance to the state's Meet of Champions. That said, although it ended on a sour note, both Ty and Nick had outstanding seasons and made Cherokee proud!

Details at: NJ.MileSplit.


Groups Groups Groups Groups Groups




Awards Banquet and Season Summary

On June 9, 2015, the team, coaches and families met to enjoy a meal together while reviewing the accomplishments of the team this season and bidding farewell to our graduating seniors. The real highlight of the evening (no, not the gag gifts, guys!) was the Coaches' announcement of the Most Valuable Player in the Sprints/Hurdles, Jumps, Distance and Throws!

Each class was presented separately with Coach Kramer introducing the Freshmen; Coach Shaklee, the Sophomores; Coach Thompson, the Juniors; and Coach Lynn, the Seniors. Head Coach McMichael presented the All-Olympic Conference Awards with 1st Team going to John Hemple in the Shot Put, and 2nd Team to Marc Woodard in the Long Jump; Jack Shea in the 1600m; Rob Curley, Matt Powell, Daulton Hopkins and Marc Woodard in the 4 X 100m Relay; and Nick Falk, Ty Kurzawa, Mike Zurzolo and Justin DeTone in the 4 X 800m Relay!

Traditionally, the Coaches' MVP 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 them all! They are selected not simply because they are 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' MVP Awards: Marc Woodard, Sprints/Hurdles; John Hemple, Throws; Nick Falk, Distance; and Mark Kirby, Jumps!


MVP's


The evening ended on a light note when the team presented gag gifts to the coaches. Fortunately, no one recorded their remarks!

Best wishes to our Seniors, Josh Annandsingh, Justin DeTone, Noah Gil, Joe Hofacker, Dante Massimino, Phil Quipot, Cam Rabinowitz, Ryan Razler and Marc Woodard, who worked so hard while they were on the team and, now that graduation is here, they can take pride in everything they've achieved!


MVP's


Thanks to Coaches McMichael, Shaklee, Lynn and Thompson for their expertise and dedication this season! And special thanks to Volunteer Coach Ed Kramer who donated so much of his time to the athletes on the team! Finally, thanks to the parents who sponsored the Awards Banquet and for all the help they gave the team and coaches throughout the season! GO CHIEFS! . . . GO CHEROKEE!

Many thanks to our "guest photographer" Jon Falk, who took over the picture-taking at the banquet and gave us these shots!



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Banquet Banquet Banquet









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