``Tom saved his best races for last,'' Cherokee coach Steve Shaklee said, ``but he didn't have a bad race all season.''

Yersak's last two state races were at the state group meet and at the Meet of Champions, the two most important days on the state's cross country calendar. At both meets, Yersak was South Jersey's top finisher.

``Tom ran his best races when it mattered most,'' Shaklee said. ``He's a very focused runner and a great student. You can always depend on Tom to do the right thing.''

Finishing a close second to Yersak as South Jersey's top runner was Lenape senior Anthony Kelhower.

Yersak finished behind Kelhower in several races during the season but came back to take two of the final three big races of the season.

Kelhower won the South Jersey Group 4 race at Delsea before Yersak took the two state races at Holmdel Park.

``Coach Shaklee does a great job getting us ready to run well at the end of the season,'' Yersak said. ``A lot of our races during the season are low- key. Our team goal is to run well at the end of the year.''

Yersak's third-place finish in the state Group 4 race helped the Chiefs, who finished No.1 in the final Courier-Post rankings, to a third-place finish as well.

At the Meet of Champions, Yersak placed 10th overall while the Chiefs finished fifth. It was the eighth straight year Cherokee placed sixth or higher at the meet.

During the season, Yersak's front-running helped lead the Chiefs to team championships at the South Jersey Shootout and the Burlington County Open.

On Oct.2, Yersak finished eighth overall while leading Cherokee to first place in the Seeded Invitational Race at the Great American Cross Country Festival in Cary, N.C. Yersak also ran two big- time races on the challenging Van Cortlandt Park course in Bronx, N.Y.

On Oct.16, Yersak finished 11th overall while leading Cherokee to a second-place finish in the Eastern States Division A race. Then on Nov.27, Yersak finished 61st overall in the seeded race at the Foot Locker Northeast Regional.

``I never doubted anything coach Shaklee told me to do,'' Yersak said. ``It was exciting to see how much I improved from the time I was a freshman.''

Four years ago it would have been impossible to predict that Yersak would run himself into a Player of the Year award. At the time, this season's best runner on South Jersey's best team had no prior competitive running experience.

``The only reason I joined the team was because I had friends running on it,'' Yersak said of fellow senior teammates Matt Dolan and James Maneval. ``I'm glad I did because I've really enjoyed it. I'm definitely happy how everything turned out.''

After all, the Chiefs were returning their top six runners from last season's team, which placed fifth at the Meet of Champions.

The Chiefs had a very strong summer of training and were prepared to initiate their run toward state supremacy. Then came Murphy's Law.

Senior captain Sean McLaughlin, the Chiefs' top finisher at last season's Meet of Champions, and senior top-five runners James Maneval and Mike Candywere all were sidelined early in the season with serious foot injuries.

The team never ran at full strength and finished fifth at the Meet of Champions.

``I'm proud at the way our runners never gave up,'' Cherokee coach Steve Shaklee said. ``Going into the last week of the season, they were still focused on winning the Meet of Champions.''

Although Cherokee didn't attain its preseason goal, Shaklee might have done some of the best coaching of his career. And that's saying a lot.

``Some years things don't go your way and you need to overcome the problems. That's what we did this year,'' said Shaklee, this season's Courier- Post Boys' Cross Country Coach of the Year. ``I thought our guys competed well and ran the best they could. We're not too disappointed with finishing fifth at the Meet of Champions.''

Shaklee's Cherokee teams have become regular participants at the Meet of Champions awards ceremony. The Chiefs are the only team in the state to finish in the top six at the meet for the last eight years.

``We take pride in our consistency,'' Shaklee said. ``Tradition has become a large part of our program. The runners who have been in the program teach the new kids the right way to do things.''

This season's team won Shaklee a fourth Courier-Post Cup, symbolic of South Jersey's top team. The Chiefs have finished either No.‚1 or No.‚2 in the Courier-Post final rankings since 1997.

Cherokee, which won its eighth straight Olympic Conference divisional title, also finished first at the inaugural South Jersey Shootout, first in the Seeded Invitational Race at the Great American Cross Country Festival in North Carolina and first at the Burlington County Open.

Assisting Shaklee with his coaching duties for the fifth year was Chris Callinan.

``I appreciate having Chris on the staff. He brings a lot of energy to the team,'' Shaklee said. ``I don't think we would be the team we are if hewasn't a part of the program.''

Shaklee began his coaching career at his alma matter, Cherry Hill East, where he was a volunteer assistant to cross country coach Don Witzig and track coach Dennis Smyth.

``I learned a lot from them,'' Shaklee said. ``That early experience made me realize coaching was something I wanted to continue to do.''

Shaklee coached Shawnee for three seasons before beginning his already legendary run at Cherokee in 1992.

On Sept.‚21, the Chiefs gave Shaklee his 100th career dual-meet victory.