Dual Meet: Pennsauken Vs. Cherokee
On April 26, 2005, Cherokee suffered yet another defeat at the hands of a tough opponent, Pennsauken High School! Still, the Cherokee team produced some interesting results. The Distance squad swept the 1600m (Matt Dolan, Vin Marziano, Greg Bredeck) and the 3200m (Alex Yersak, Mike Medvec, Steve McCarroll); and Rich Nelson held off a strong surge by a Pennsauken runner to win the 800m. In the Jumps, vaulters Ryan Forbes, Matt Addezzio and Sean Shendock took 8 1/2 points out of 9 in the event; and Tom Nessler took 1st in the Disc. In the Sprints, Cherokee received another "reality check," but Robin Chen took 2nd in the 400 IH and 3rd in the 110 HH; while Scott Schoneman took 2nd in the 110 HH. Click on the thumbnails below for some pictures from the meet:
Penn Relays
Cherokee's premier distance runners, Mike Candy, Will Andes, Tom Yersak and James Maneval, were very excited about their prospects at the upcoming Penn Relays and they expressed that excitement to Reuben Frank, Sports Reporter for the Burlington County Times. Frank had this to say in his follow-up article that appeared in the Burlington County Times on April 29, 2005: "Cherokee, Bordentown await gun at Franklin Field." Additional articles by Mr. Frank and other members of the sports staff can be found at: Philly Burbs.com
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On April 29th and 30th, 2005, several Cherokee squads and bands of supporters traveled to Philadelphia for the 111th running of the Penn Relays Carnival; and for one group, the 4 X 800m squad, it was a great opportunity to improve their standing in the record books at Cherokee High School. Their best was 8:00.8; the record stood at a daunting 7:49.34 set in 2000! Unfortunately, that goal was not achieved: the 4 X 800 team of Mike Candy (2:02.3), Will Andes (2:00.2), Tom Yersak (1:59.7) and James Maneval (1:59.7) took 6th in the race, posting an 8:02.05. Still, Tom Yersak PR'd in the effort!
That afternoon, the 4 X 100 team of Steve Watson, Steve Iwanczuk, Chris Steliga, and Sam Shapiro had some success when they took 6th in their race, clocking a 45.80, and shaving more than a second off their previous best!
The following day, April 30th, the 4 X 400 team of Chris Steliga (54.5), Matt Raychert (52.9), Rich Nelson (55.2), and Mike Schiafone (54.9) clocked a 3:37.78 in their event.
For complete results: Penn Relays
Below are some pictures from the first day of the Relays. No pictures are available from the second day as it was too dark and raining.
Dual Meet: Cherokee vs. Washington Township
On May 3, 2005, in the final dual meet of the season, Cherokee broke the dual meet drought with a close victory over Washington Township, 72 - 68! The lead exchanged hands at various times throughout the meet and it was finally decided in the last race of the day, the Mile Relay. This was won in impressive fashion by Mike Candy, Will Andes, James Maneval and Matt Raychert who, by the way, did not lose a dual meet relay this season! Important points were scored in every area but especially impressive were Sam Shapiro's double wins in the 100m and 200m; Chris Steliga's 2nd in the 200m; and Steve Iwanczuk's 3rd in the 100m. Mike Candy pulled in five key points in the 800m, taking 1st while posting a very fast 2:02.0 on Washington Township's loose cinder track. In the field, Tom Nessler also scored big points when he took 1st, launching the discus 144' 1", a PR and one of the best throws in South Jersey this year! Tom Ajderian also PR'd when he threw the discus 128' 8" and took 3rd; and Glen Peace threw another PR in the discus, 104' 8". Finally, and not easily overlooked, was the success of high jumpers, Matt Wright, Steve Lang, and Ryan Forbes, who soared to dizzying heights and made a 9 - 0 sweep of Washington Township's jumpers!
South Jersey Scholar-Athlete Award
On the evening of May 3, 2005, at an awards banquet sponsored by the South Jersey Coaches Association, Cherokee's premier distance runner, Tom Yersak was recognized as the Olympic Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Tom received a plaque honoring his achievement and a US Savings Bond from Commerce Bank. In his remarks to the audience, Tom thanked those who helped him win the award and stressed the importance of both athletic and academic excellence in high school. The picture below shows Tom, looking "fabulous" in his new suit, with his parents.
Haddonfield's Last-Minute Distance Meet
A last-minute cancellation of the SJ Individual Championships and the SJ Relays left Cherokee with a huge gap in the schedule so, when Haddonfield announced a special "Last-Minute Distance Meet" on May 5th, the coaches took advantage of the opportunity to run many of the distance guys!
In the 800m, Will Andes finished 2nd in 1:56.5 (behind Rob Novak of Bordentown), and James Maneval took third and PR'd in 1:58.6! In the second heat, Joe Foley won with his own PR of 2:09.3! And, in the Freshman 800m, Chris Steliga surprised many with a PR of 2:11.6 in his first attempt at the distance!
In the 1600m, Sophomore Mike Medvec ran his first sub-5:00, a big PR of 4:52.6; Junior Rich Nelson ran his first sub-4:40, clocking a 4:39.2; and Freshman Steve McCarroll ran his first sub-5, placing 4th in the Freshman race at 4:56.8!
Finally, in the 3200m, Senior Matt Dolan placed 5th, clocking a PR of 9:45.9; and Junior Greg Bredeck continued his return to form by posting his first sub-10 time of the year, a 9:57.1! Freshman Alex Yersak PR'd by over 20 seconds, running 10:01.4; and Vin Marziano showed he is on the way back from injury by running another PR of 10:17.1
All in all, a very satisfying day for the distance squad . . . except, perhaps, for the fact that the photographer was AWOL!