Cherokee Track & Field Pictures, 2005, Page V

The Final Weeks: State Championships!

NJ Sectional Championships: South Jersey

On May 27th and 28th, the best on the team represented Cherokee at the NJ Sectional Track and Field Championships at Egg Harbor Township H.S. One of the great surprises in the meet was Tom Nessler's outstanding PR in the discus, a 148' 3" toss that made him the Sectional Champion! Other significant performances came from distance aces running the 3200m: Tom Yersak posted a 9:41.93 (his fastest this year!) and finished third in the event; and Matt Dolan set another PR in 9:43.43 and finished fourth! Finally, in the 800m, two other top distance performers, James Maneval, running 1:59.48, and Mike Candy, running 2:00.54, finished fourth and sixth respectively. All of these athletes qualified for the upcoming State Group Championships!

In addition, there were several other impressive PR's set in the meet. In the Shot Put, Charlie Spenser threw 44' 4" and Andrew Miller threw 39' 10 1/2"! And, in the sprints, Sam Shapiro set PR's of 11.2 (H.T.) in the 100m and 23.2 (H.T.) in the 200m!

~ Day 1 ~

~ Day 2 ~

NJ State Group Championships

On June 4th, five of Cherokee's qualifiers for the NJ State Group Track and Field Championships competed at Egg Harbor Township H.S. to advance to the upcoming "Meet of Champions," but only one met the standard! Tom Nessler, saving his best throws for the Championship season, once again "stepped up" when it was needed. On his first throw of the day, Tom launched the discus 152', a PR by almost four feet! And, for insurance, he followed that with another toss of 151' 9"! As a result, Tom qualified for the Meet of Champions!

Unfortunately, Cherokee's runners failed to advance. In the 800m, James Maneval, in 2:00.08, and Mike Candy, in 2:01.06, failed to qualify. And in the 3200m, neither Tom Yersak nor Matt Dolan managed to crack the top six and move on to the MOC. Matt had an especially tough time when he fell on the fourth lap and was unable to get back among the leaders in the race. For complete results: Scullion.

NJ State Meet of Champions

On June 8th, a band of coaches and Cherokee's lone qualifier for the NJ State Meet of Champions traveled to South Plainfield, NJ for the event. Senior Tom Nessler took first in the Sectionals, sixth in the Group States, and he was seeded thirteenth out of thirty-plus qualifiers in this, his last high school competition. Everyone complained about the unusual construction of the discus circle but Tom made good use of the experience, throwing 150' 5" and winning the eight place medal in the competition! For complete results: Scullion. The photographer was unavailable but the pictures are almost legitimate, having come from the previous week's competition!

Cherokee Track & Field Awards Dinner

Following a long-standing tradition, Cherokee's Track and Field team held its annual banquet on June 12th. There the team, coaches, families and friends enjoyed a meal together, applauded the accomplishments of the team this season, and bid farewell to the graduating seniors. Besides the great food provided by the parents, highlights included the announcement of the Most Valuable Player in the sprints, hurdles, jumps, distance and weight events; and a review of the individual awards granted by the South Jersey Track Coaches Association, the Camden Courier-Post, the Burlington County Times, the Olympic Conference, and Cherokee High School.

Here are a few pictures from the Awards Dinner.