Keith Krieger is looking forward to running the 10K in the USATF Junior Nationals in California this summer. To qualify for that event, Keith went to a college meet at Villanova University on Monday night, May 12th. It was, to put it mildly, one of the most unusual track races on record!
Reuben Frank, Sports Reporter for the Burlington County Times captured the event perfectly in his article "Krieger Finds Himself All Alone in 10,000 Race" , that appeared in the Burlington County Times on Friday, May 16, 2003.
Pictures on that dark, cold and windy night were almost impossible but a few blurred efforts are available. Here is one of the least offensive, possibly presented to show young athletes what happens when they bring the wrong uniform! (Click to enlarge all pictures.)
This meet, run on May 13th, was designed for athletes who would not qualify for the up-coming Conference, County, and State meets . . . truly novice Track and Field athletes. The meet went well, with hundreds of male and female athletes participating, but, as usual for this season, the weather did not cooperate. Wind, rain showers, temperatures in the high 50s . . . at the very least, not a good situation for picture-taking!
Only one picture was possible, and this one was taken well before the meet as five early-arriving members of the Track Boosters' Club set-up for a long afternoon and evening in the concession stand. The ladies include Mrs. Price, mother of Senior Steve Price; Mrs. Stewart, mother of Senior Joe Stewart; (third parent not yet identified); Mrs. Cuneo, mother of Junior Kevin Cuneo; and Mrs. Krieger, mother of Senior Keith Krieger. Thanks ladies! (Click for a larger version of the pictures.)
The top athletes in the Conference competed on May 14th to determine who would be on the All-Conference Team. Cherokee's star shot putter, Senior Matt Dalessio, won the competition with a personal best of 52' 3". On the other side of the field, Senior Matt Schlatter took 3rd in the Pole Vault, while Senior Gerard Lake took 5th in the Triple Jump. On the track, Junior Alex Whirledge took 4th in the 400m; and Sophomore Tom Yersak finished 3rd in the 3200m, followed closely in 4th by Junior Nick Freeman. Finally, Sophomore James Maneval finished 5th in the 800m.
The team went to Maple Shade on May 17th hoping to place second behind the powerful team from Willingboro but ended up losing important points in unexpected ways, including a fall in the intermediate hurdles and a DQ in the start of the 4 X 400m. Still, in the 3200m, Keith Krieger ran an unchallenged 9:29.5 for 1st place, while Freshman Greg Bredeck's 9:49.9 broke the County Frosh record previously held by Krieger (9:56.6), set a new Freshman school record, and took a 6th place point for the team. Matt Dalessio threw the shot 53' 10' for another PR and 2nd place; Matt Schlatter vaulted 11' 6" for a second in that event; and Alex Whirledge ran 50.57 to get 2nd in the 400m. Three distance guys (Yersak, Freeman, and Candy) ran PR's in the 4:30s but only Yersak, at 4:32.6, scored points for the team. Finally, Leo Klawiter took 6th in both the 100m (11.49) and the 200m (22.97).
On May 19th, Cherokee went to this new meet at Willingboro's fabulous "Carl Lewis Stadium" hoping to break three school sprint relay records, and they came home with 2/3rds of that goal accomplished! In the 4 X 100, Mobley, Klawiter, Chao and Whirledge ran 43.96 (F.A.T.), taking 6th place and beating the old record of 44.6 set in 2001. Then in the 4 X 200, Chao, Klawiter, Scialabbo and Whirledge ran 1:31.20 (F.A.T.), taking 5th and replacing the old record of 1:32.17 set last year. In the 4 X 400, they clocked a 3:23.29 (5th place), just missing their own record of 3:23.01 set this year at the Penn Relays. Also, in the 4 X 1600 relay, Yersak (4:34), Krieger (4:26); Candy (4:35) and Freeman (4:41) ran 18.18.53, placing second, but about 26 seconds behind Cherokee's excellent school record in the event.
In the field (which were non-relay events), Matt Dalessio continued his impressive string of 50+ throws by heaving the shot 53' 4" and taking 3rd; while Micah Mobley hit 39' 4" to take 6th in the Triple Jump.
This two-day meet at Egg Harbor Township H.S. on May 23rd and 24th, was marred by more rainy and cold (mid-50s) weather, but many of Cherokee's athletes performed well and several qualified for the State Group IV Championships on June 1st. On the first day, two athletes qualified: shot putter Matt Dalessio took 2nd with a PR throw of 53' 10-1/2"; and in the 400m, Alex Whirledge took 6th with a time of 50.6. In the 100m, Micah Mobley ran a PR of 11.4, making it to the finals, but he finished in 8th and failed to qualify. And Tom Yersak matched his PR of 4:32 in the 1600m but also failed to qualify.
On Saturday, both Keith Krieger (4th in 9:27.6) and Tom Yersak (6th in 9:48.6) qualified in the 3200m; while the 4 X 400m team of Jason Chao, Leo Klawiter, Joe Scialabbo and Alex Whirledge broke the school record, running 3:22.66, and qualified 3rd. Other highlights included three PR's: Will Andes set the Burlington County Freshman record in the 800m at 2:01.5; James Maneval ran 2:02.0 in the same race; and Andrew Medvec threw over 100' in the Discus.
The top six qualifiers in each event from the four Sectional Meets around the state competed in the State Group IV Championships at Egg Harbor Township H.S. on May 30th and 31st. The top six here would move on to the State Meet of Champions on June 5th.
In the 400, Alex Whirledge ran 50.87 but failed to qualify; and in the 3200, Sophomore Tom Yersak ran a PR of 9:46.37 but he too failed to qualify. On the other hand, Keith Krieger and Matt Dalessio took third in their respective events and qualified for the MOC. Keith ran a PR of 9:21.03 in the 3200; while Matt, in 7th place on his last attempt at 51' 11", threw a magnificent PR of 54' 1-1/2"! Lastly, the 4 X 400 team of Jason Chao, Leo Klawiter, Joe Scialabbo and Alex Whirledge ran 3:25.8 to take 5th and qualify for the MOC.
At the State Meet of Champions on June 5th, Matt Dalessio threw 52' 4" and took 10th place in the shot put. Keith Krieger continued to lower his 3200 time with a outstanding PR of 9:17.19 -- the 4th fastest 3200 in county history -- and took 6th place in the event! Finally, the 4 x 400 team of Jason Chao, Leo Klawiter, Joe Scialabbo and Alex Whirledge again broke the school record with a remarkable time of 3:20.41!
The team, parents and coaches met on June 8th and enjoyed a meal together while recounting the accomplishments of the 2003 Spring Track season. Besides winning the American Division of the Olympic Conference (5-0), Varsity team members set four new school records (4 x 100; 4 x 200; 4 x 400; and the 10,000 Meter Run), and Freshmen set three (Distance Medley; 800 Meter Run and the 3200 Meter Run).
Keith Krieger, with a PR of 9:17.19 in the 3200, and Matt Dalessio, with a PR of 54' 1-1/2" in the shot, were Conference Champions in their respective events. Keith was also named the "SJ 3200 Meter Runner of the Year" and elected to the 1st Team, All-SJ. He also holds the County Record in the 10,000 M Run: 31:39.90. Matt was named to the 1st team, All-SJ, Group IV Team.
Senior Jason Chao (400 IH); Sophomore Tom Nessler (Discus); Junior Alex Whirledge (400 M Run); and Sophomore Tom Yersak (3200 M Run) were named to the 2nd All-Conference Team.
Freshmen Will Andes (2:01.50 in the 800 M Run) and Greg Bredeck (9:49.90 in the 3200 M Run) set both the Freshmen School Record and the County Record in their events.
Keith Krieger qualified in May for the 10,000 Meter Run at the Junior Nationals and, on Saturday, June 21st, Keith competed against sixteen other qualifiers at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. The only high school runner in the field, Keith took 6th in 30:57.36, and set a new school record in the event! In addition, Keith's time was the fourth fastest in state history and only seven seconds behind the SJ record set in 1975 by Marty Ludwikowski of Cherry Hill West.
In July, as a result of this outstanding race, Keith and his coach were invited to the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California. There they participated in testing, training, tours and seminars related to distance running.