Often, here in South Jersey, the shift from Winter Track to Spring Track is subtle! The calendar says "March" but Winter hangs on . . ..
After what was the warmest winter on record, the weather shifted drastically in March with unusually low temperatures and a snow and ice storm! (You decide which picture is more likely to qualify as "fake news!") The team worked through this, however, knowing . . . hoping . . . praying . . . that the Spring thaw was coming! On the early schedule, the Adrenaline 5K Run, a bonding opportunity for the Distance Squad on March 18th; and a full-team Scrimmage at Cherokee on March 22nd! GO CHEROKEE!
Unlike the weather, the staff remained steady though some responsibilities have changed: Head Coach John McMichael now has primary responsibility for the throwers; Coach Jeff Thompson will work with the sprinters; Coach Chris Lynn will work with the jumpers and hurdlers; and Coach Steve Shaklee continues with the distance squad. GO CHIEFS!
On March 18, 2017, most of the Distance Squad missed the memo and only five showed-up for the squad's annual "bonding event," The 12th Annual Haddonfield Adrenaline 5K! Originally a benefit for the Bancroft School in Haddonfield, the school moved and, in 2006, the race became the Haddonfield Adrenaline 5K.
The team's numbers were affected by a number of factors, including a late-winter--early Spring training schudule that didn't allow 5K racing and several injuries. Indeed, no one was there to race all-out.
Coach Shaklee and Nick Falk were seen early jogging the course and looking for a place to cheer the team's actual runners: Brandon Marks, Brendan Falzone, Chris Monteleone, and Jacob Hyzy. (Can we count Brett Shea yet?!) Knowing what a dangerous hell-hole Haddonfield can be, at least five parents, the Messrs. Jackson, Falzone and Hyzy, and the Mesdames Falzone and Monteleone followed the boys at a distance to insure the safety of our runners . . . or at least that's what we were told. Alas, only two were caught by our photographer.
Details at: RunSignUp.
Here are some pictures from the race:
Regarding the results posted below, one commentator said Jack Shea lost a bet and carried Nick Falk's chickens -- or maybe Nick Falk -- throughout the race and this accounted for his showing. That suggestion was identified as "Fake News" when Nick Falk appeared in the results. Sad. Someone "in the know" offered the boring suggestion that both Jack and Nick gave their numbers to others. Believe what you like!
Jack Shea: finished 648th in 31:06 (Pace: 9:59; 35th/37 in his Division).
Nick Falk: finished 853rd in 46:23 (Pace: 14:52; 36th/37 in his Division).
GO JACK! GO NICK! ;< )
On March 26, 2017, several of Cherokee's coaches attended the South Jersey Track Coaches Association "Hall of Fame" Banquet at Lucien's Manor in Berlin. There they participated in the induction into the Association's "Hall of Fame" of a dozen or so Track and Cross Country greats from South Jersey's past, and especially the induction of a good friend of both Cherokee and RunningWorks: Coach Ringo Adamson.
The Association began this process in 2005 when they inducted ten of South Jersey's greats, including six Olympians, to their new "Hall of Fame." Since then, they've honored over one hundred South Jersey athletes, coaches and officials, including Cherokee's Marc Pelerin and Monica Olkowski!
Check out the "Hall of Fame" at: SJ Track.
On April 1, 2017 . . . Ah, Spring . . . the soft southern breezes wafting northward, carrying with them the inspiring message that Winter is finished and Spring has begun . . . the scent of the cherry blossums, the sound of baseballs hit from bats, the sight of Black Vultures hovering above, the sap flowing from oak trees, khaki shorts on the golf course . . . and, of course, the first big track meet of the Spring Season on a warm, sunny day! How could life be better?!
What, April Fools?! Whadda ya mean? . . ..
It was 40 degrees and strong northern winds added a "wind chill" that dropped the "feels like" temperature to 35?! No tents allowed . . . too windy to be safe?! Crazy coaches pretending it was "normal" for young people to be running around in their underwear? Wow! Welcome to Spring Track and the outdoor season here in southern New Jersey!
The weather was so crazy this past week, and field event areas were so wet and muddy, that only track events were allowed! But the Sprint, Hurdles and Distance teams stood up to the elements without complaint -- well, maybe a little whining -- and many ran very well at the Don Danser Memorial Relays.
The Hurdlers started their outdoor season in the 4 X 110m Shuttle Hurdles. Ryan Belz, Tra Cabbagestalk, Brandon Fisher and Anthony Natale took 4th in their Division, with Ryan and Brandon competing in their first 110m race and Tra dropping his PR by over 3 seconds!
The Distance team was especially busy and successful, even though they held out several of their top distance runners. In the first event, the 4 X 1600m Relay, David Jackson, Jon Conn, Jake Hyzy and Mike Moraschi placed 3rd in their Division with David and Jake setting PR's despite the cold, windy conditions. In the Varsity Distance Medley, three Freshmen - Chase Miller, Bobby Hackney and Ethan Wechsler - handled the three long leg's, teaming with Senior 400m runner, Matt Powell, for 2nd, just a half-second behind the winning team! All three freshmen set new PR's for their respective distances! Those three came back later to team with Mike Algarra for 4th in the Varsity 4 X 800m Relay. In the Varsity Sprint Medley, Cam Wilburn ran a solid anchor 800m leg, teaming with Tyler Jackson on the 400 and Chris Cato and Kevin Milligan on the 200's. The foursome won their heat and placed 2nd overall. The JV 4 X 800m team of Mike Gavio, Matt Morgan, Matt Zeitz and Chris Monteleone also ran well to place 2nd, with Mike, Matt and Chris setting new PR's!
Official results at NJ.MileSplit, and here are some pictures of our stalwart runners!
On April 7, 2017, many of Cherokee's younger runners traveled to the Crusader Invitational at Bishop Eustace Prep. Again, real Spring failed to arrive and conditions were less than optimal . . . low 40s, cloudy, windy, misty . . . but the guys ignored that and ran well!
Sometimes guys get in a race and "cover the distance" but fail to really compete. That didn't happen at Eustace . . . ALL of the distance guys competed aggressively! In the Freshman 1600m, Chris Spisak might have gotten a little too excited and ended up running over the inside line several times which got him disqualified. Still, that didn't take away from his fine performance, as he ran away from the field with 500m to go to win decisively! Behind him, Chase Miller, Ethan Wechsler and Bobby Hackney took the next three spots, all under 5:00! Mike Gavio finished a couple spots back, just over 5:00! Matt Campbell, Aathi Annandan and Joe Sereday all beat their seed times in their first 1600m of the year! In the Open 1600m, Matt Smith won with a new PR in his first race since cross country, with Jon Conn and Mike Iannotta in 3rd and 4th just a few seconds back! New 1600m PRs were also set by Jake Hazy, Mike Moraschi, Matt Morgan, Nick Kadirasani, Matt Seitz and George Villanueva.
The Freshman 4 X 100m Relay team of Christian Mathis, Hazar Atay, Elijah Bard and Mohamed Fofanah worked hard at practice and saw the fruits of their labors with a time of 48.94 and 2nd out of nine teams in the event! This same group of freshman came back later to earn a 3rd place finish in the 4 X 200m, doing so from the 2nd of three heats. In addition, the Novice 4 X 100m team (including several new runners) of Chris Cato, Koehler Housel, Joseph Sands and Keith Cheek ran 49.58, good enough for 4th place out of 21 4 X 100m teams; and the Novice 4 X 200m team of Mike Muradov, James Voynow, James Gravlin and Moses Harris ran 1:50.45 and finished 10th of 22 teams!
Complete results at: NJ.MileSplit
Here are some pictures from the first three events before conditions became too dark for decent pictures!
On April 8, 2017, the Chiefs bussed deep into South Jersey for the Bridgeton Relays, a meet that dates back over 50 years! They hoped for a warm, calm, and sunny day but only the later made it to the starting line!
Lots of nice results but the highlight of the meet was the Distance Medley Relay where the team of Nick Falk, Kevin Milligan-Tinker, Cam WIlburn, and Jack Shea won the event! This is BIG news because (1) it's the fastest DMR time in the state so far (OK . . . only two weeks in!), and (2) the fastest DMR run by a Cherokee team outdoors since the 2012 squad, featuring former Cherokee greats Colin Merrigan, Drew Viscidy, Ross Staudt, and Shawn Wilson, ran 10:19.47 at the prestigious East Coast Relays! Nick showed a turn of speed as he closed on Egg Harbor's 1:55 half-miler down the homestretch to hand off even. Kevin then put Cherokee into the lead with a strong 400m leg. Cam was a little under the weather but still managed to run a solid 800 leg to keep Cherokee close, in 3rd place, and then Jack, in his first race since cross country, ran down the first two runners and closed well to give Cherokee a 10-second winning margin! That, boys and girls, is a major highlight!
The Hurdlers and Sprinters were involved in a number of events. The 4 X 110m Shuttle Hurdle team of Ryan Belz, Brandon Fisher, Ant Natale, and Tray Cabbagestalk ran well but unfortunately were disqualified for a lane violation. Obviously, they were disappointed, but it just made them hungry for their next opportunity to race, correct their mistakes, and clock a fast time. Sprinters races included he 4 X 100m Relay of Tray Cabbagestalk, Matt Powell, Andrew Elsey, and CJ Lee ran 46.73 for 11th place in the large school division; the 4 X 200m Relay of Kevin Milligan-Tinker, Nkenna Opara, Matt Powell, and CJ Lee ran 1:38.38 for 8th place; and the 4 X 400m Relay of Kevin Milligan-Tinker, Matt Powell, Cam Wilburn, and Tyler Ortiz ran 3:41.59 for 5th place.
In the Field that included both Throwers and Jumpers, the Javelin Relay of Jared Selkow (126' 6") and Adonis Giovetis (131' 1") brought home the only Field medals from the meet by finishing 3rd with a combined distance of 257" 7". The Shot Put Relay of Luch Pizarro (35' 6.5") and Adonis Giovetis (39' 3") threw a combined distance of 74' 9.5"; the Discus Relay of Kieran Kelly (104' 5") and Tom Deutsch (114' 5") threw a combined distance of 218' 10".
Among the Jumpers, the Pole Vault Relay of Ryan Bishop (8"6") and Kenny Sprankle (7' 6") combined for 16' 0", with Bishop tying his PR and the team placing 5th! The Long Jump Relay of Nkenna Opara (17' 7") and Tyler Ortiz (16' 9") combined for 34' 4"; and the Triple Jump Relay of Nkenna Opara (33' 6") and Tyler Ortiz (36' 2.5") jumped a combined 69' 8.5".
Complete results at: NJ.MileSplit.
On April 12, 2017, the entire team traveled to Washington Township High School for the first dual meet of the season.
In the old days -- a long time ago when Coach Shaklee was a high school runner -- the "Dual Meets" were stressed by newspapers and Conferences: teams had as many as eleven dual meets a season . . . and then they competed in the big weekend meets! Insane! Today, only three Dual Meets are scheduled against Division opponents to determine the Division Champions. It's nice to be Division Champion but hardly a worthy goal for serious high school teams. For most, Dual Meets are developmental meets that help to train athletes for upcoming Conference, District, County, and higher State Championships.
Is all of that some kind of rationalization because the Chiefs lost their first dual meet? Well, maybe . . ..
The Throwers got things off to a decent start with a "sweep" in the Javelin! Senior captain Adonis Giovetis set a new PR on his second throw (132' 9") and then improved again on his third throw (136' 2") to grab 1st place! Junior Jared Selkow was second (118' 9"). Newcomer Ahmad Miller was third in 115' 0" in his competitive debut! Two other new guys also did well in their debut: Sophomore Jack Vick reached 102' 3" and Freshman Nathan Chang threw 96' 5". Sophomore Nick Villamil is not new to the team, but he PR'd when he threw 88' 3".
Unfortunately, Washington Township came back with a vengeance in the other two throwing events. In the Shot Put, Junior Mike Nessler PR'd with his best throw of 32' 5.5". Junior Kieran Kelly opened with the best throw of his life when he hit 36' 0.25'. As in the Javelin, Adonis Giovetis again led the way for the Chiefs with his outdoor PR of 39' 11.25" which was only good enough for 3rd place in the competition. In the Discus, Mike Nessler opened with a PR of 93' 1" which he then outdid on his final throw which sailed 96' 7". Adonis Giovetis made it a trifecta of PR's by reaching a lifetime best of 111' 10". Kieran Kelly was just a few inches shy of his PR, but his best throw of 112' 0" earned him 3rd place! Junior Jared Selkow threw a PR of 76' 8" in the JV portion of the Discus competition.
Among the Jumpers, in the Pole Vault, Kenny Sprankle tied for 1st, and Ryan Bishop tied his PR and placed 3rd! In the Long Jump, Washington Township swept but Ty Ortiz set a new PR! In the High Jump, Andrew Elsey tied his PR at 5' 10" and took 1st! Finally, in the Triple Jump, four jumpers excelled and qualified for the Conference Championships: Freshman Liam DiFerdinando cleared 37' 10.75"), Sophomores Tra Cabbagestalk (39' 4.5") and Ty Ortiz (38' 11"), and Junior Nkenna Opara. Nkenna's 41' 7" is the farthest jump by a Cherokee athlete since Darren McCluskey in 2011!
In the Hurdles, Washington Township took 17 of 18 points but Ryan Belz, Tyler Ortiz, Brandon Fisher and Naledge Brown all had PR's in the 400m Intermediate Hurdles, and Anthony Natale, Tra Cabbagestalk, Brandon Fisher, Ryan Belz and Liam DiFerdinando all hit PR's in the 110 High Hurdles. Natale took the only point scored by the Chiefs in the two events.
The Distance squad had a pretty nice day! Freshman, Chris Spisak, won the 1600m in a nice early season time of 4:37 with his senior teammates, Nick Falk and Jack Shea, helping with the pacing duties. Cherokee scored the 1-2-3 sweep to add 9 points to the team score! The 800m saw a slew of PR's led by Cam Wilburn's negative split victory! Freshman, Bobby Hackney won the 2nd heat with a big PR, and additional PR's were set by Jake Hyzy, Mike Gavio, Mike Moraschi, Chris Monteleone, Matt Morgan, George Villanueva, Matt Campbell, Aathi Anandan and Joe Sereday. The 3200m was covered by Nick Falk and Jack Shea running together at threshold pace to take the first two spots! As usual, most Distance team members raced in a 4 X 400m Relay and new personal records were set by, Chris Spisak, Matt Smith, Bobby Hackney, Jake Hyzy, Nik Kadirasani, David Jackson, Ethan Wechsler, Mike Gavio and George Villanueva! The final scoring toll for the Distance squad was: 21 - 6!
The Sprint squad had a rough time but several upperclassman and several newcomers helped to keep the team in the running! In his first race as a Chief, Freshman Jamar Dimanche ran 11.4 in the 100m to take 3rd, and Tra Cabbagestalk ran 11.6, with Andrew Elsey, CJ Lee and Freshman EJ Bard following in 11.7! In the 200m, the Chiefs were led by Junior Captain Kevin Milligan whose 23.4 earned him 2nd place! Close on his heels was Jamar Dimanche who ran 24.2 and placed 3rd!. Jamar's first two races on the Cherokee track team earned valuable points for the team, and everyone is excited to see what he will do by the end of the season! The other runners in the varsity heat were CJ Lee (24.0), EJ Bard (24.6), and Matt Powell (24.8). Finally, in an exciting 4 X 400m Relay, Tyler Ortiz led off with a 54.4 and handed off to Freshman Tyler Jackson who showed the poise of a seasoned veteran holding off his competitor while on the outside of lane one on the first turn, and then blasting along the back stretch! Although Tyler gave up the lead on the homestretch, an expertly executed handoff to Joe Sands put the team back in first place! Joe ran a 53.7 and handed off to Kevin Milligan who anchored the relay in 51.1 to win the event in 3:32.3!
All in all, some nice performances by team members but not enough to overcome Washington Township! Final score: Washington Township, 76; Cherokee, 64. Dual Meet Record: 0 - 1. Hurumph!
Here are some pictures from the meet. Yeah, the Field guys got ripped but our photographer will rectify that soon! He took hundreds of pictures in the track area and here are a few:
On April 15, 2017, a significant part of the team traveled for the first time to Central Regional High School in Bayville, NJ for their Eagle Relays. The event offered a wide variety of distance and sprint relays, and throws and jumps relays, in a relatively short period of time: it was over in an appropriately fast four hours! Zoom!
In the Distance events, Brandon Marks, David Jackson, Matt Smith, and Brendan Falzone teamed up for the 4 X 1600m Relay to open the meet. They finished in 6th place in 19:09.43! It was Brandon's 1st race since cross country but he raced well, and both David and Matt set new PRs! Later, the 4 X 800m Relay consisted of an all-Freshman lineup of Chase Miller, Bobby Hackney, Ethan Wechsler, and Chris Spisak. Their talent was on full display as they finished in 6th place (in a varsity race) in 8:41.25, and broke the old Freshman School Record by 16 seconds!
The Hurdlers had two opportunities to compete! In the 3 X 400IH Relay, Ryan Belz (1:02.81), Tyler Ortiz (1:03.53), and Naledge Brown (1:05.22) ran a combined time of 3:12.56 to finish 5th; and in the Shuttle Hurdles Relay, Tray Cabbagestalk, Ryan Belz, Brandon Fisher, and Tyler Ortiz finished just out of the medals by earning 7th place in 1:16.86.
The Sprinters competed in four events! The 4 X 100m Relay of Tray Cabbagestalk (12.0), EJ Bard (10.7), Matt Powell (11.7), and Will Delendik (10.7) ran 45.14 to finish in 8th place. Following that, the meet presented the only opportunity this Spring for the team to race the Small Sprint Medley, which is also known as the "Swedish Relay." The race consists of four legs -- 100-200-300-400, in that order. Will Delendik ran the 100 leg (12.0), handing off to EJ Bard for the 200 (24.4), then to Kevin Milligan-Tinker for the 300 (36.2), and, finally, to CJ Lee who brought the baton home on the 400 anchor leg (53.3). Their combined time of 2:05.78 was good enough for 5th place!
The third sprint relay, the (traditional) Sprint Medley, consisted of CJ Lee (200), Joe Sands (200), Matt Powell (400), and Cam Wilburn (800). Their splits of 23.9, 24.5, 53.3, and 2:04.1 added up to a FAT of 3:45.75 for 3rd place!
Finally on the track, the meet-concluding 4 X 400m Relay of Tyler Jackson (53.4), Joe Sands (55.4), Aatish Gupta (56.4), and Naledge Brown (56.8). Tyler led-off with the team's fastest time, and Joe took the lead at about the halfway mark of his leg and he kept his foot on the gas until he handed off the baton. Aatish and Naledge were not caught and the team clocked 3:42.07 to win their heat!
For the only time all season, Field relays at this meet consisted of three people. Field action started early with the Javelin Relay. Ahmad Miller had a best throw of 107' 4". In only his second time competing in the event, Kieran Kelly threw a PR of 112' 5", and Senior captain Adonis Giovetis had a best throw of 126' 8". Their combined distance of 346' 5" was good enough for 10th place.
Next up was the Discus Relay. Adonis Giovetis recently set a PR of 111' 10" and he broke that on his second attempt with a 114' 1" throw! Obviously feeling good, he improved even more with this final throw of 116' 5"! Not to be outdone, Kieran Kelly was also able to set two PRs. His first throw of 117' 10" exceeded his old PR of 112' 8" from last season. Not satisfied, he sent the discus flying out to 122' 5" on his next attempt. He didn't go farther on his final throw, but he still reached a respectable distance of 119' 5". This put all three of his throws beyond his old PR! His best throw of 122' 5" also qualifies him for the Olympic Conference Championship later in the season! Finally, after two fouls, Senior Tommy Deutsch reached 94' 3" to give the team a combined distance of 333' 1" which was good enough for 3rd place!
Finally in the Field, the Shot Put Relay featured a PR as well as Sophomore Luch Pizarro threw 38' 3" on his first attempt! Kieran Kelly had a best throw of 34' 2.5" and Adonis Giovetis reached 39' 0.25". Their throws added up to 111' 5.75" which placed them just outside of the medals in 7th.
With all of the action on the track wrapped up, the meet ended with the Triple Jump Relay. In our last meet, Junior Nkenna Opara cleared 41' 7", which was the farthest jump by a Cherokee boy since Darren McCluskey jumped 41' 11" in 2011. Today, he backed that up as he led the way for the Cherokee contingent with a best leap of 41' 4.25"! Sophomore Tray Cabbagestalk is new to the event this season but he cracked the 40-foot barrier with a best jump of 40' 2.75"! Junior Tyler Ortiz reached 37' 0.25" on his best jump, which gave the team a combined distance of 118' 7.25" and earned them 2nd place, the best finish by a Cherokee team in any event today!
On the whole, it was pretty good day for the Chiefs as the guys brought home medals in more than half (7 of 12) of the events in which they competed!
For further details on the meet, go to NJ.MileSplit.
Again, the photographer stayed close to the track through most the day. Here are some pictures that he caught:
