“There
is more in us than we know. If we can
be made to see it, perhaps,
for the rest of our
lives, we will be unwilling to
settle for less.”
Founder,
Outward Bound
One of the great things about
cross country is that it truly offers us insight into ourselves. It allows us to see the “more” that is in all
of us. In practice, on the racecourse,
and in the daily sacrifices we make, cross country helps define who we
are.
Through cross country, you
have learned things about yourself that few people are ever privileged to
discover because you have tested yourself over and over again. Every time you stepped to the starting line,
another test began. At that moment, you
knew that the next sixteen-plus minutes were all up to you, and that they would
require all of your focus, determination and courage. Conquering your fears and doubts, harnessing
the power of your will, and overcoming the desire to just stop and make it go
away, you did what your peers dared not: you challenge yourself to the very
core of your being. On those occasions
-- whether you won or lost, whether you overcame your fears or gave in to them,
whether you found the strength within you or succumbed to the doubts -- you learned
something about yourself. Over time, you
will come to know that there is more in you than you
thought. Always remember that…and
never settle for less.
__________________
The Cherokee Cross Country Team of 2003 was unwilling to settle for
less. It began with a summer in which,
as a team, we logged more miles than any other Cherokee team in any other
summer. The results of this effort did
not go unnoticed. While we expected to
field a strong varsity team, the commitment and dedication shown by every one
resulted in a year in which we had one of our deepest squads ever. A look back at the season makes this clear …
On September 16th,
at
On September 17th,
the Newark Star Ledger published the first poll of the season, which found us
ranked 5th in the state.
On September 20th,
Tom Yersak and Greg Bredeck led the team to a fine showing at our
home meet, the Cherokee Challenge. Tom
earned “Runner of the Meet” honors with his outstanding time of
On September 24th,
while keeping several of the top runners out of competition to train, we
soundly defeated a usually strong Eastern team, 15-49. “Runner of the Meet” Will Andes,
placed 4th with his first sub-18 minute 5k, as he joined Nick
Freeman, Greg Bredeck, Paul McFadden, Matt Dolan and Steve Brown in
a sweep of the first 6 places.
On Thursday, September 25th,
15 team members, along with 14 from the girls team,
boarded a charter bus bound for
On September 30th,
we improved our dual meet record to 4 wins and 0 losses with easy wins over
Washington Township and Lenape. Rich
Nelson was the star of the day (and “Runner of the Meet”) with his 50
second improvement over his time on the GCC – B course earlier in the
season. Rich’s time of 17:25 was a 5k
PR.
On Saturday, October 4th,
we made the trek to Holmdel Park for the Shore Coaches Invitational. The trip proved worthwhile as both the
Varsity and JV teams came away with wins and the freshman squad placed 11th
out of 29 teams. Sean McLaughlin
earned “Runner of the Meet” honors with his tremendous finish from the tennis
courts and his Holmdel PR of 16:34.6. Greg
Bredeck turned in an outstanding sophomore time of 16:38.4 and Tom
Yersak made it three under 17:00 with his 16:44.8. James Maneval and Nick Freeman
also PR’d on the course and came close to the 17
minute barrier. In the JV race, Rich
Nelson – 1st, Matt Dolan – 4th, Will Andes
– 5th and Steve Brown – 13th gave Cherokee a great
start, while Vinny Marziano, showing a glimpse of the improvement yet to
come, ran strong to secure the win with his 36th place finish. Brandon Smith led the freshmen while
finishing 14th.
On Wednesday, October 8th,
we finished our 7th straight undefeated dual meet season with a shut
out of Cherry Hill East. Matt Dolan
was the “Runner of the Meet” off of his
On Thursday, October 9th,
we had a very successful day at the Burlington County Freshman-Sophomore
Championships. All 5 of our freshmen,
and the two sophomores who ran, earned medals.
Brandon Smith finished 4th leading the freshmen and
earning “Runner of the Meet” honors. Nick
Forrester – 12th, Don Bosworth – 13th, Zach
Viggiano – 15th and Joe Foley – 18th followed
closely behind. In the sophomore race, Mike
Brown ran a strong race to place 8th while Casey Bordash
took home the 23rd place medal.
On Saturday, October 11th,
the team divided, with the varsity heading to Van Cortlandt
Park for the Manhattan Invitational, and the rest of the team staying in the
area for the South Jersey Open. Both
groups were successful. The varsity
squad put 5 runners in the top 20 to win their race with 69 points. Mike Candy had his best race of the
season, finishing 19th, and earning “Runner
of the Meet” honors. At the South Jersey
Open, Cherokee dominated the JV race as Rich Nelson, Matt Dolan, Steve
Brown and Will Andes swept the first four places. Three other Cherokee runners finished in the
top 25: Vinny Marziano – 11th, Jeff Mullen – 17th
and Eric Sczepanski – 25th.
The freshman team placed 5th led by Brandon Smith’s 17th
place finish and Zach Viggiano’s best race of the year to finish 32nd.
On October 20th,
after a week off from competition, the freshmen and sophomores headed back to
Delsea for the South Jersey Frosh/Soph Meet.
Although resting sophomore standout, Greg Bredeck, Cherokee still
looked strong with Will Andes and Vinny Marziano sharing “Runner
of the Meet” honors with their best races of the season to date. Will placed 3rd,
with a 5k PR of
On October 24th,
we won our 3rd straight Burlington County Championship, and our 6th
in the last 7 years. Tom Yersak –
2nd, and Greg Bredeck – 3rd, continued their
string of fine races with Greg getting the nod for “Runner of the Meet.” James Maneval, Nick Freeman and
Mike Candy all placed in the top 10 as well. In the open race, Cherokee had the
distinction of having the first freshman – Brandon Smith, the first
sophomore – Rich Nelson, the first junior – Matt Dolan, and the
first senior – Eric Sczepanski.
On October 31st,
we showed that Cherokee had two good varsity teams by placing 4th in
the Olympic Conference Championships while holding out our top 6 runners. Paul McFadden, Matt Dolan, Rich Nelson,
Vinny Marziano and Steve Brown finished between 12th and
29th with only a 31 second spread, as we came within 14 points of
winning the meet. Paul’s performance
earned him first team All-Conference honors, while Matt, Rich, Vinny and Steve
made the second team. In the JV race, Brett
Wintermute improved his time by
On Tuesday, November 4th,
a windy, overcast day, the varsity 7 gave a preview of the upcoming track
season in a 3200 meter time trial on the track.
Tom Yersak, Sean McLaughlin, Nick Freeman, Greg Bredeck, James
Maneval and Mike Candy all finished between
On November 5th,
the season came to a close for everyone but the top 7 runners with our first
trip to the Haddonfield Invitational. We
continued the ongoing intra-squad rivalry known as the Cherokee Challenge II by
dividing the team in two (Nova, coached by Shak and Duke, coached by
The state championship rounds
began on Saturday, November 8th, with the South Jersey
Sectionals held at
The following Saturday, November
15th, at the Group 4 State Meet, we were faced with the same two
opponents and several other very strong teams.
Even with four PR’s on the course (Yersak, Bredeck, Freeman and
McFadden), New Jersey’s #4 ranked team, Ridgewood, knocked us out of the 3rd
automatic qualifying spot by a narrow margin (121 to 128). Fortunately, we earned the top wildcard spot
to reach the Meet of Champions for the 7th consecutive year. Nick Freeman’s first sub-17:00
clocking on the tough Holmdel course earned him “Runner of the Meet” honors.
On Friday, November 21st,
we headed back up to Holmdel for a pre-meet run at the course before going to
the Red Roof Inn in
On Sunday, November 23rd,
Tom Yersak, Greg Bredeck and Sean McLaughlin were named to the 12
man All-South Jersey Team by the South Jersey Track Coaches Association. Coach Shak was informed later that day that
the same three were selected to the 7 man All-County Team.
On Saturday, November 29th,
five members of the team competed in the Footlocker Northeast Regional
Championships at Van Cortland Park in
On Sunday, November 30th,
preparations for the 2004 cross country season began.
_______________
…Yes, a look back makes it
clear that this team did not settle for less.
While some goals may have eluded us, it was not from lack of effort or
conviction. The character of this team
is a direct reflection of the fine character of each of you. Thank you for another great season.
Seniors:
Brett Wintermute, you came a long way in one season! We’re glad you finally made the decision to
join us, and only wish you had done so earlier.
You’ll be happy to know … IT’S TRACK TIME!
Jason Becker, in your two seasons of cross country, you have had
more than your share of injuries. It has
been inspiring to see you deal with that adversity in such a positive way –
never getting down or giving in, always staying positive. Your great attitude has helped to make us all
better.
Eric Sczepanski, your sense of humor, while sometimes a bit strange,
has often helped to lighten the stress level in what can be a very difficult
sport. We thank you for that, and for
the increased level of commitment you have made this year. Get ready for a good senior track
season!
Kevin Cuneo, you have helped this program so much through your
example. You have always worked hard and
you have always handled your successes and failures with maturity and with
class. The determination and courage you
have shown in your return from injury this year has inspired us all. Thank you for that,
and for the leadership you have shown.
Nick Freeman, you are a great example of what this sport is all
about. You are the workingman’s runner! Your achievements stem from your willingness
to outwork other athletes. Thanks for
the leadership you have provided this season.
But, even more, thanks for showing your teammates what can be
accomplished through hard work and determination. That example will make us better next year
and for years to come.
To all of you, please
remember that, whatever we accomplish in the coming years, you are, and will
always be, a part of it.
_________________