Cherokee Track & Field Pictures, 2005, Page III





The Team Hits Mid-Season Form!



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:


Steve Watson in LJ John Carfagno in LJ Sean Shendook in Vault Matt Addezzio Justin Magulick in TJ
Ryan Forbes in Vault Robin Chen in 400 IH Shot Shot Mike Schiafone
Aaron DeCaires in 100m Sprinters Rocco and Nick/Steve Iwanczuk Sprinters Watson and Nick/Steve Iwanczuk Sam Shapiro finishes the 100m Lead pack in 1600m
Leonine Vin Marziano in 1600m Matt Dolan leads 1600m Sprinter Scott Schoneman in HH Chris Chen in HH
Rich Nelson leads the 800m pack 200m 200m Steve Lang and Aaron DeCaires in 200m Chris Steliga
Lead pack in 3200m Alex Yersak takes lead John Carfagno in HJ Steve Lang in HJ Matt Wright in HJ





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.


Franklin Field before the action

Mike Candy in the early pack Will Andes along the backstretch Tom Yersak along the back James Maneval along the backstretch The scoreboard gives the results
Steve Watson passes to Steve Iwanczuk Steve Iwanczuk moves along the back Steve Iwanczuk passes to Chris Staliga Chris Staliga to Sam Shapiro The Results, Page 1





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!


Steve Watson finishes his jump Ryan Forbes at the Vault Scott Schoneman in 400 IH Mike Schiafone in I400 IH 100m
Nick and Steve Iwanczuk and Steve Watson in 100m Sam Shapiro in 100m Start of the 1600m Maneval, Andes, Bredeck and Yersak shadow WT Vin Marziano in 1600m
James Maneval and Will Andes take 1st and 2nd Steve Lang in HJ Matt Wright in HJ Dan Costello in the 200m Schoneman, Chen and Lang in HH
Chris Steliga takes 2nd in 200m Early going in the 3200m Mike Candy to Will Andes in the Mile Relay James Maneval in the Mile Relay Matt Raychert anchors the Mile Relays to victory





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.


Tom Yersak and parents at Scholar-Athlete





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!





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