Track Pictures, 2004, Page III





Lenape Dual Meet

On April 19th, a very hot and windy day, the Chiefs met District rival, Lenape High School, in a very tough meet. The final score of 79 - 61 is deceiving and fails to suggest how close the meet was until the final minutes! Highlights included a strong showing in the weight events, with McHugh and Baker throwing PR's in the Jav, Addezzio and Kerbaugh leading the sweep in the Shot, and Nessler and Ajderian leading the sweep in the Disc. In addition, Brian Sand led a sweep in the Vault; Tom Yersak ran especially well in the 1600m (2nd) and 3200m (1st); Brett Wintermute had a nice PR in the Intermediate Hurdles (1st); John Convery had two PR's in the Highs and the Intermediates; Alex Whirledge, coming back from a hamstring problem, won the 200m and 400m; Joe Scialabbo, out for more than a week, took 3rd in the 100m; and Mike Candy, just back from a stress fracture, won the 800m!

The "real" highlight of the meet, however, came at the end when a team of weightmen challenged others to an "invitational" mile relay. Five Cherokee squads were soon formed and the race began! Quickly but inaccurately dubbed "The Thunder Thighs," the sleek and powerful squad of seniors Mike McHugh, Andrew Medvec, Kevin Cannon and Rich Baker rounded the track in a blistering 4:21.8. Some pointed out that, alone, two years ago, Marc Pelerin ran almost 10 seconds faster over the same distance, while others remarked wistfully that it will be a long time before such a spectacle returns to a high school track! The last pictures below -- though dark because of passing storm clouds -- are of the gallant competitors!

Click on the thumbnails for larger versions:

Jerry Procopio Mike McHugh Rich Baker Adrian Lu Brian Sand
Tom Ajderian Steve Addezio Lim, Scialabbo and Smith in 100m Yersak and Andes in 1600m Alex Whirledge takes the 400m
Mike McHugh Andrew Medvec Kevin Cannon Rich Baker Fabulous Four victory lap





Penn Relays

On April 23rd and 24th, several Cherokee squads competed at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia. On the 23rd, the 4 X 100 team made up of Joe Scialabbo, Justin Smith, Michael Lim and Alex Whirledge ran 44.6, their fastest time this season. And on the 24th, the 4 X 400 team of Alex Whirledge (49.7), Will Andes (50.9); James Maneval (52.5) and Brett Wintermute (53.1) finished in 3:26.35 and qualified for the Philadelphia Area Championship race. In that race, the same guys went 49.9 - 50.9 - 52.9 - 53.1 to finish 7th out of 12 qualifiers in 3:26.95.

There are no pictures from the 4 X 100 race but here are some from the 4 X 400:

Whirledge begins the straightaway Whirledge near the back turn Whirledge enters the turn Whirledge powers around the turn Andes on the straightaway
Andes entering the turn Maneval on the back straight Maneval enters the turn Wintermute on the back straight Maneval enters the turn
So, when they're done, what's for lunch?





Shawnee Dual Meet

On April 27th, Cherokee met another of its District rivals, Shawnee High School, in a close-fought meet. It started badly as Shawnee scored big points in the Long Jump and Jav but, as the meet progressed, that gap was soon closed. Sprint star Alex Whirledge took 1st place in the 100, 200 and 400 and anchored the winning 4 X 400 relay; and other key points were scored by hurdlers John Convery and Brett Wintermute. The distance squad almost swept the 800, 1600, and 3200, with Will Andes taking 1st in the 800, and Tom Yersak winning both the 1600 and 3200. Tom Nessler took 2nd in the Disc with a throw of 140' 5"; and John Kerbaugh took 2nd in the Shot with a vastly improved PR of 45' 4". And, finally, a totally unexpected 2nd and 3rd in the TJ by Freshmen Steve Watson and Adrian Lu helped to raise the final score to 77 - 63.


Team members support the LJ Rick Baker watches his jav fly John Grazioli: Jav watcher Mike McHugh shouts his jav out Adrian Lu at the LJ
Dan Morad shows his unorthodox style! Mukund Das flings the jav Austin Dill watching it fly Brian Sand in the vault Dan McCusker ready to throw
Nick LaRoche flinging the disc Distance guys on the first lap of 1600 Convery and Wintermute in the highs Start of the JV 800mJ Tom Nessler in the shot





S.J.Open and S.J. Relays

On April 30th and May 1st, the Chiefs competed in the S.J. Open (a meet for the top athletes in S.J.) and the S.J. Relays, one of the last big relay meets the season. On the 30th, three runners did especially well: Senior Alex Whirledge took 2nd in the 400 in 49.89, his first FAT sub-50; Sophomore Will Andes dropped his 800m PR by five seconds, taking 2nd in the race and finishing in 1:56:69; and Tom Yersak dropped 3 seconds off his 1600m PR, finishing 6th in the race in 4:25.92!

On May 1st, Coach Shaklee rested many of the top Varsity and gave a chance for the lesser runners to make their marks. The Frosh 4 X 800 team of Smith, Cunningham, Maneval and Foley took 1st place, with the last three runners setting PR's. Another Freshman team of Lu, Watson, DeCaires and Shapiro took second in the 4 X 100. And Freshmen Steve Watson and Adrien Lu won the Freshmen Triple Jump, with both athletes in the high 36's! Other highlights included Sophomore Rich Nelson (4:42) and Junior Matt Dolan (4:45.9) setting PR's in the 4 X 1600; and the Varsity 4 X 200 team of Scialabbo, Smith, Lim and Whirledge finished 3rd.

News from the field will be coming soon!


Tom Yersak PR's in the 1600 Will Andes PR's in the 800 Colin Cunningham PR's in the 4 X 800 Chris Maneval PR's in the 4 X 800 Joe Foley PR's in the 4 X 800
Rich Nelson PR's in the 4 X 1600 Paul McFadden in the 4 X 1600 Matt Dolan PR's in the 4 X 1600 Albert Tsang in the IH Steve Nelson in the 4 X 200
Josh Zarnawski prepares to vault Josh Zarnawski easily clears the height Brian Scott Ryan Forbes prepares to vault Ass't coaches in the cheap seats!





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