In the past, before the advent of fancy GPS watches and associated websites, the 5K race in Marlton on July 4th was something of a testing ground for the coaches and team: who was training, who was not, who needed "encouragement," and who did not, etc. There might be a few other times when the coaches and team might meet but, generally, it was up to the athletes until they all met at the RunningWorks Camp in the Poconos. Today, used properly, the watches worn by team members, and the routine practices on campus, tell all about our Cross Country athletes and their conditions.
Check back on this site: the Marlton 5K was a big deal for Cherokee Alums and current athletes. New and old friendships created or renewed; and Cherokee's grasp on 1st placed continued. Despite brutal heat and humidity this year, that grasp was maintained by Alum Mike Zurzolo '17, now coach at Highland H.S., and 2nd place was taken by current team member, Bruce Novoa in 2nd; Jonathan Merkel in 6th; and Jack Finley in 68th.
But those days when dozens of Cherokee Alums and team members ran the course are over as few showed for the race! Too old? Too hot? Too humid? Too early? Maybe on Thanksgiving this year?
Our photographer checked the weather and decided to stay home in the AC! Definitely too old!
The race's website persists on using a 2009 picture on their main page and you may be amused to see some Cherokeets! Prominently displayed is Alum Marc Pelerin '02, one of Cherokee's "greats" back in the day, and Coach Shaklee '73, Cherry Hill H.S. East, among others!
"Practice!?! . . . Practice?! . . . We're talking about practice?!"
Yeah, Allen Iverson, we're talking about practice.
Everyone who wasn't away on vacation, was at practice on July 23rd when our photographer chose to show-up!
Of course, they decide to continue following the coach's understanding of the "Norwegian Method" in the streets instead of on the grass! Cross Country on the roads? What an unusual idea!
But an annoying idea for the photographer! Light? Shadows mixed with really bright, rising sun! Can be artsy but on the streets of a housing development?! Nah! Background? Houses, cars, poles, signs, sidewalks, telephone boxes, trash containers, fire hydrants, . . . Yikes! Thus, the majority of the pictures are close-ups of the athletes!
For those ignorant peasants like me: I googled the Norwegian Method of running! "The idea behind Norwegian-style training is to spend more time at threshold intensity without overtaxing the body, yielding greater fitness with less overall risk. . . . thus, prioritizing more threshold work than traditional endurance programs typically prescribe." Continue on: Norwegian Training.
Here are a few of the pics selected randomly from that session, and all are available on our Google site.
Coaches and Captains sans backgrounds!
Here it is! The year in a glance! Parents, get your cars lubed and oiled, and your GPS's linked! Holmdel! DREAM Park! Crystal Lake Park! What?! Where?!
Here's the spreadsheet from our Google site showing all there is to see . . . until it's changed! Stay flexible because it's subject to change!
Here it is: Schedule.
Big change to start off the season! The Cherokee Challenge, once the foremost beginning of many schools' schedule, including ours, a quick, half day adventure on a Saturday, with a shortened race to begin the season, has been changed!
Now it keeps the same race program but it has been re-scheduled as an after-school event because of an important religious holyday on Saturday! A significant change but not insurmountable! The key here is to focus on your school work in class and drink some water and sports drink between to stay hydrated! Watch what you eat so you don't see some of it again when you race!
You've been working all summer to become a racing Chief, so go ahead, have fun . . . fast fun!
The 2026 Cherokee Boys Cross Country Team will be looking to carry on the tradition of excellence that has been a hallmark of the program for the past thirty years. In 2025, the team won a twelfth consecutive county championship, a fifth consecutive conference title, and a seventh consecutive South Jersey Group 4 championship, while placing second in the Group 4 State Meet and fifth in the State Meet of Champions. With five of the top seven from that squad returning, the expectations are high!
Leading the way is senior Ben Realley, who placed eleventh at the 2025 State Meet of Champions. Ben's time of 15:53 at Holmdel Park makes him the second fastest returning runner in the state.
Behind Realley, the other four returners from last year's top seven are seniors Sean Sooy, Max Harada, Gavin Danielewicz and Leo Vyvyan. Sooy was the team's third finisher at last year's Meet of Champions and his Holmdel time of 16:42 makes him the eight fastest Group 4 returner in the state. Harada finished twelfth at last year's Group 4 State Meet and has a Holmdel PR of 16:45. Danielewicz placed 22nd at last year's State Meet and ran 17:01 at Holmdel, while Vyvyan, who was our fifth man at both Sectionals and States last year, ran 17:23 at Holmdel.
In addition to the returners from last year's top seven, this year's team also has quite a bit of depth. Sophomore Hamza Salahuddin, coming off of an outstanding freshman campaign, will certainly be contending for a spot in the top seven. He was New Jersey's second fastest freshman at last year's Shore Coaches Invitational and he made an even bigger splash in track where he ran times of 2:01 (800), 4:22 (1600), and 9:37 (3200). Others in contention for a top seven spot include seniors Bruce Novoa, Jack Finley and Matt Muschek; juniors Evan Amato, Trayce Slumsky and Dylan Weiner; and sophomores Colton Harbold and JJ Duncan. All of those athletes recorded sub-18:00 5K times last fall and any of them could make the varsity seven this year. Novoa, in particular, really seems to be rounding into form and training with a renewed sense of purpose.
Of course, even those who may not have a realistic shot at the varsity squad are also an important part of the team's success. Their dedication and drive to improve, not only make them better runners, but it motivates the members of the varsity squad to always give their best effort in practice and competition.
While our schedule is always subject to change, the season will begin at the Cherokee Challenge, which will be on Friday, September 4th with the first high school race going off at 4:00 PM. Traditionally held on a Saturday morning, this year's change was due to Rosh Hashanah falling on the following weekend. While several of the top varsity members of the team will skip this event in favor of training for the championship season, most of the team will open up here. The next week, the JV and freshmen will race in the South Jersey Shootout (Saturday, Sept 12th) and the following week, the varsity squad will join the rest of the team at the first annual Holmdel Opener. It will give the varsity team an opportunity to tour the course that they will return to for the State Group 4 Meet and the Meet of Champions in November.
Up next, there will be a few other opportunities for the JV and freshmen to race - the Ray Hoagland Invitational (9/26), the South Jersey Open (10/10), and the Baker Invitational (10/26) - while the varsity group will focus on the championship season - The Burlington County Meet (10/16), the Olympic Conference Meet (10/21), Sectionals (10/31), Group 4 States (11/7), the State Meet of Champions (11/14), and the Nike XC Regionals (11/21). With the depth of this team, we feel good about holding members of the top seven out when rest is required and subbing in guys who are knocking on the door of the top seven. With that as an option, our varsity squad will be fit, rested and ready to roll when it matters most!
Coach Shaklee's original preview is available at our Google address
It's August 16th, 2026 and, oh my, camp starts in the rain! The parents drove a long, 3 hours to Camp Canadensis in the Boondocks, not the animated cartoon's version of life in an imagined suburb but the opposite: survival in a remote, thinly settled rural area called the Poconos! Then there's rain and that stinks! "Dump the kids," says Mom, "and let's get out of here!"
S Camp begins with athletes finding their cabins, dumping their gear in a bunk, meeting their cabin mates, and maybe realizing what they should have brought for the week?! Then there's the Rec Room, the assignment of "Running Groups" and counselors for the first run, and a slow run around the facility to check-out things and get-out the kinks from the long ride. Day 1 has begun and the rest is the stuff of "war stories!"
"When I was a boy . . .!"
Barracks, bears, bugs, bats, bison, bandicoots . . .. Actually, no bats, bison or bandicoots but they sound good with the rest.
Our writer worked the camp for 25 years and, when some say how much better it is than it was when they were boys, they aren't kidding! There was one 30-gal hot water tank for each cabin and, after one or two showers, the hot water was gone. The water in the cabins came from wells that were polluted by a sulfur odor that no one wanted to smell let alone drink; the cafeteria well was pristine and the water was great but the chefs were two retired Army cooks who thought hot dogs and beans were gourmet stuff! Thus developed the idea that you had to bring bottled water and tons of food in order to survive!
Over the years, the camp changed ownership and it improved significently! There's perpetual hot water; the cabin well water is great, pure and cold, no bottled water is needed; buildings have been repaired or replaced; the cafeteria is run by a real chef from a Florida resort and his food is varied, plentiful and good. Among other things, huge salads are available at lunch and dinner! And there are desserts! The Army has moved out! Of course, some teenagers have allergies and other issues and they are dealt with carefully. Then there are those who are unable to try anything except what they have in their own kitchens provided by their loving mothers, so, there's that! Deal with it but don't bring Mom to camp!
From my experience, most campers (and counselors!) are exhausted after a week at camp, from doing two-a-day runs and numerous classes, games, swimming, and just hanging out. Rather than an hours-long discussion of what they did in camp, driving parents should enjoy long hours of quiet sleepers in their cars! You're welcome, I say! No charge.
August 19th and no major complaints from distant regions! Not much here either. Planting Fall flowers and doing my daily vocabulary test! Crapulence. Come on, that's some word made up by a middle-school kid! Maybe appropriate for camp? There are choices:
A) Sickness caused by excessive eating or drinking;
B) Fear of crowded places;
C) Extreme physical exhaustion;
D) A sudden loss of appetite.
He who gives Coach Shaklee the correct answer first will receive an XL Cherokee collared-shirt to give to whomever you like! Someone big!