Last year, once again, an excellent group of Seniors led the team through the season, winning the American Division (for the ninth straight year), the Olympic Conference, the Burlington County Open, and the South Jersey Shootout. They ended the season by taking second in the South Jersey Group IV Sectionals Championships, fourth in the State Group IV Championships, and sixth in the State Meet of Champions! And, as a result of all of this, they received the Camden Courier-Post Cup, marking them as The Best in South Jersey! But now, Greg Bredeck, Rich Nelson, Will Andes and Vin Marziano are gone, and it is up to a new group of Seniors -- Colin Cunningham, Joe Foley and Mike Medvec -- to step up and lead the team to victory!
Following a traditon established long ago by the great champions of Cross Country, the team began its training only a few weeks after the Spring Track Season ended. Through weight training and endurance running, they built the physical foundation and the fraternal bonds so necessary for a sustained campaign throughout the season.
In late August, for the eighth year in a row, Cherokee's Cross
Country team attended the extraordinary
RunningWorks Cross Country Camp in Canadensis, Pennsylvania. There
they participated in a week-long program of training with top coaches and
athletes from the Northeastern United States, and learned from special guest
speakers, Olympian Suzy Favor Hamilton and the prominent sports
author, Marc Bloom.
The following pictures are of Cherokee coaches and athletes at camp.
Some of the guys are not shown but you'll get to see them in the days
that follow. Also, a wider selection of pictures from camp is available at
RunningWorks Cross Country Camp Pictures, 2006.
On September 12th for the first time, all four Lenape District teams competed against each other in a special "Quadrupal Dual Meet." That is, while all four teams ran in a single race, each team was scored one-on-one against each of the other three teams. Cherokee defeated both Shawnee High School (24 - 35) and Lenape High School (15 - 48) but lost to Seneca High School (24 - 32). Congratulations to those athletes at Senaca who broke Cherokee's 10-year-old streak of dual meet victories: last defeated by Highland High School in the Fall of 1996! The coaches selected Colin Cunningham as "Runner of the Meet" for his performance over the final 800m of the course! GO COLIN!
Here are some pictures taken during the event:
On September 16, 2006, Cherokee hosted The Eleventh Annual Cross Country Cherokee Challenge on its campus. For years, the coaches worried about impending tropical storms and hurricanes but, for the most part, their worries were unwarranted. This year, however, things was different! It rained for three days prior to the meet and continued to rain until early on Saturday morning! Despite the efforts of many volunteers, the "bottom" of the course was impassible and "Plan B," with a slightly drier course, went into effect. Fortunately, the meet went off without a hitch!
All too frequently, we take for granted the incredible amount of work that goes into making this meet a success and we forget to recognize the efforts of the parents in this endeavor. But no one worked harder than the parents! They shifted dirt, cut grass and brush, and laid out and marked the course; they collected ads, bought and delivered food and drink, and manned the concession stand throughout the day; and they performed a variety of duties out on the course to make sure the races went off on time! They "did it all" and the coaches and team sincerely appreciate it!
Many on the team did well in the competition with Cherokee in the lead until the final Senior race. Four Freshmen -- Steven Burkholder, Matt McCarroll, Ian Foley and Kyle Smith -- took medals in their race, as did four Sophomores -- Chris Applegate, Marc Saccomanno, Sean Hartnett and Rob Roselli! Junior Alex Yersak, in the lead through much of the race, was caught at the finish but still took 2nd!
The coaches named Sophomore Sean Hartnett as the "Runner of the Meet" for his performance in the Sophomore race! He ran tough and looked focused and "into the race" the entire time! GO SEAN!
Complete results and hundreds of pictures from the meet are available on this website at: Cherokee Challenge
The following pictures show many of the Cherokee athletes in action:
And it ain't over until it's over . . . and that doesn't happen until the "truck team" removes everything associated with the Cherokee Challenge except the mud! (Picture by Ryan Elliott)
Pat Montferrat, a friend of Cherokee CC and Track, took the following pictures at the Cherokee Challenge:
On September 20, 2006, Cherokee met Cherry Hill East in a dual meet at Gloucester County College and Cherokee emerged the victor: 22 - 38. Cherokee placed eight runners in the top eleven with Alex Yersak taking 1st; Steve Burkholder, 3rd; Colin Cunningham, 5th; Chris Applegate, 6th; Mike Medvec, 7th; Kevin Schickling, 8th; Marc Saccomanno, 10th; and Matt McCarroll, 11th! The team dual meet record: 3 - 1.
The coaches named Freshman Steve Burkholder the "Runner of the Meet!" Steve has run well every time out but he ran exceptionally well against East. He was most impressive in his drive for the finish line where he beat East's up-and-coming Sophomore Dave Burger for an important 3rd place in the race! GO STEVE!
On September 23, 2006, Cherokee traveled to Gloucester County College for the Third Annual S.J. Shootout. The meet is an unusual one where, besides the usual Freshman and Junior Varsity races, the Varsity sqaud is separated and run in three different races: the "5th, 6th and 7th man race," the "3rd and 4th man race," and the "1st and 2nd man race."
In the Freshman race, Ian Foley and Frank Devine led the way for Cherokee, finishing 5th and 7th out of 82 finishers! In the JV race with 190 finishers, Sophomore Sean Hartnett, finished in 4th, closely followed by Junior Brenden Burke in 8th and Sophomore Evan Stone in 9th!
The Varsity races, run by over 25 teams, began extremely well for Cherokee when, in the "5th, 6th and 7th man race," Junior Kevin Schickling took 1st, Freshman Matt McCarroll took 7th and Sophomore Marc Saccomanno finished in 10th! In the "3rd and 4th man race," Sophomore Chris Applegate finished in 3rd, while Senior Mike Medvec finished in 18th. In the "1st and 2nd man race," Freshman Steve Burkholder and Senior Colin Cunningham challenged the leaders from the start but finished in 18th and 30th place. With the scores combined, Cherokee finished 7th in the team scoring.
Selecting the "Runner of the Meet" was very difficult because so many athletes ran impressive races. However, the coaches selected Freshman Matt McCarroll not just because he ran a tough race in the "5th, 6th and 7th man race" but because, when offered the opportunity, he grabbed at the chance to compete in the Varsity race! Besides that, it was Matt who uttered the immortal words "Get out of my way!" just short of the finish line when a fellow competitor illegally tried to block his advance! GO MATT!
Complete results at: Shootout Results
On September 26, 2006, Cherokee met two conference rivals at Gloucester County College for a double-dual meet. They won both races: 20 - 39 against Eastern Regional High School and a close 24 - 31 against a determined Washington Township High School! Alex Yersak took first in what was for him a segment of a long training run. Chris Applegate played a key role, defeating a Washington Township runner with a late surge. Other key players included Steve Burkholder, who took third on the team; Mike Medvec, who ran one of his strongest races of the season; and Mike Saccomanno, who battled two Washington Township runners to the finish and dropped below 18 minutes for the first time (17:53)! The team's record is now 5 - 1!
The coaches selected Mike Medvec as the "Runner of the Meet!" He finished right behind Steve Burkholder and scored a point at a very significant moment in the meet. Township had five runners in before Cherokee's fifth man but Mike's earlier scoring prevented the loss. GO MIKE!
Last year, the father of one of Cherokee's runners died and Mike Medvec, one of our seniors, decided to sponsor a road race -- The Chuck Eells Memorial 5K Road Race -- to raise money for the childrens' college educations. Mike enlisted the help of many people and, on Saturday, September 30, 2006, the race went off without a problem! More than 300 people participated, including the Cherokee Boys and Girls Cross Country teams, and the Girls Field Hockey team as well! Best wishes to the family and congratulations to Mike on a job well done!
Here are some pictures of the Cherokee guys as they ran the race.
Here are some pictures of several Cherokee parents either helping out or running the race! Apologies to the dozens of others who were missed!
