The month of May marks the beginning of the Championship Season and this page will focus on the SJ Relays (May 5th); the Inaugural Lenape District Championship (May 10th); the Cherokee Invitational (May 15th); the Olympic Conference Championship (May 16th); the Burlington County Championship (May 19th); the Indian Frosh Finale and the Haddonfield Twilight Night (both on May 22nd); and the Bishop Eustace Throw Meet (May 23rd). GO CHEROKEE!
S.J. Relays
On May 5, 2007, the team bussed to Buena High School for the S.J. Relays. The early part of the meet allowed the Freshmen to compete against others in their age group, while the later part was reserved for many of the top varsity athletes in South Jersey. In the Freshmen events, the Cherokee Frosh won four relays! Matt McCarroll, Mike Palmieri, Brian Schules and Steve Burkholder won the Distance Medley; and Mike Palmieri, Alex Walker, Brian Schules and Matt McCarroll won the 4 X 400m Relay! In the field, Mike Leoniy and Sean Stout won the Shot Put, and Ed Krammer and Royce McGarry won the High Jump!
Highlights from the varsity events included two record-breaking relay performances in the Shuttle Hurdles and the Long Jump! In the Shuttle Hurdles, Chris Chen, Mike Schiafone, Major Mobley and Aaron DeCaires finished in 1:01.5 and broke the previous school record of 1:03.3 set by A. Spencer Davis, LaRue Robinson, Sean Mayers and Blake Letchford in 2001! And in the Long Jump, Chris Steliga and Aaron DeCaires combined to move the school record up to 41' 7 - 1/2", breaking the previous record by an inch!
Lenape District Championships
On May 10, 2007, the Lenape District sponsored the 1st Annual Lenape District Championships under the lights at Lenape High School, and Cherokee came home a decisive winner! Competing against Lenape, Shawnee, and Seneca High Schools, Cherokee outscored the 2nd place team -- Lenape -- by 45 points! Kevin Merrigan had his usual stellar day when he won the 100m and 200m, and ran on the winning 4 x 100m -- with Sean Farrow, Joe Gentes and Bill Iamurri -- and the winning 4 x 400m -- with AJ Valentine, Steve Watson and Mike Schiafone! Aaron DeCaires had a great day as well, winning the 400 IH with a new PR and the 110 HH! He also placed 2nd in the TJ and 4th in the LJ! Chris Steliga won the LJ and then the 400m with a PR; Bill Iamurri led off and took 2nd in the 4 X 800m with a 2.5 second PR; Mike Schiafone took 2nd and PR'd in the 400 IH and had a PR split on the winning 4 X 400m; Devin Prate won the Javelin; Chris Applegate won the 3200m; and Joe Gentes had his own PR in the 400m! At the end, the team held the 1st Lenape District Track and Field Cup marking them as the District Champions!
The Weightmen got ripped on pictures because the photographer had duties in the HJ area . . . next time, guys!
Cherokee Invitational
On May 15, 2007, Cherokee was forced to host the 8th Annual Cherokee Invitational for "novice" performers at Lenape High School because Cherokee's track is in such poor condition. Still, with the extraordinary cooperation of the Lenape Track and Field staff, the meet went on without a problem! Special thanks to them, to our parents who went to extraordinary lengths to provide amenities at the meet, and to our senior team members who helped to run the events!
Highlights include: Mike Guadian won the discus for the second year in a row; and Kyle Magulick and Dean Barr took 1st and 2nd in the shot! Marc Saccomanno was 2nd in the 3200. AJ Valentine, Bill Iamurri and Joe Foley went 3, 4, and 5 in the 400, and then teamed with Mike Medvec for 2nd in the 4 x 400m Relay! Finally, Adam Henriksen had a huge PR in the 1600m and Joe Masoero PRed in the 800!
For the webpages devoted to the meet, see Cherokee Invitational Main Page.
Olympic Conference Championships
On May 16, 2007, Cherokee's top performers traveled to Pennsauken High School for the Olympic Conference Championships but the meet was soon canceled by thunderstorms and lightening. Only a few events were completed under very difficult conditions -- the 400IH, the 100m Dash, the HJ, and the Discus -- but others were started and several Cherokee athletes were able to compete before the storms finally ended the meet. Highlights include Lynell Payne (4th in the HJ); Kevin Merrigan (3rd in the 100m); Alex Yersak (4th in the 1600m); Dom Roskoski (3rd in the Discus); and Mike Schiafone (6th in the 400IH)!
Burlington County Championships
On May 19, 2007, Cherokee's Varsity squad traveled to Maple Shade High School for the Burlington County Championships where they took 4th place in the County! The scoring highlight of the meet was the 1st place taken in the Triple Jump by Senior Steve Watson! In the Long Jump, Chris Steliga was forced to take 2nd place when an opponent inched by him on his final attempt! Kevin Merrigan doubled in the 100m and 200m, making the finals in each, and taking 3rd and 4th respectively! Aaron DeCaires tripled in the 110HH, the Long Jump and the Triple Jump, making the finals in all three, and taking 5th, 6th and 5th respectively! And Mike Schiafone took 5th in the 400IH! Among the distance runners, Alex Yersak took 3rd, and Chris Applegate took 6th, in the 3200m; while AJ Valentine ran a PR and took 6th in the 800m!
Indian Frosh Finale
On May 22, 2007, the Freshman sprinters bussed to Pennsauken High School for the Indian Frosh Finale, the last opportunity for the Freshmen to compete this year against their peers. Hurdlers Mike Palmieri, Eric English and Josh Krehnbrink took 4th, 5th and 6th in the 400IH; and Palmieri came back to take 5th in the 110HH. Also, the 4 x 400m relay team of Palmieri, Krehnbrink, Justin Nykiel and Alex Walker finished 4th. Finally, Sam Denmark PR'd in the Long Jump!
Haddonfield Twilight Meet
Also on May 22, 2007, the distance team traveled to Haddonfield High School for the Haddonfield Twilight Meet and, as usual, many of the guys set impressive PR's! For example, in the 3200m, Steve Burkholder dropped 13 seconds from his previous PR to win, and Sean Hartnett and Marc Saccomanno took 3rd and 4th, both with their own PR's! Adam Henriksen and Ryan McNair then followed with their own PR's! In the 1600m, Chris Applegate dropped 11 seconds from his PR to finish 2nd, and Alex Yersak followed in 3rd with his fastest time of the season. Mike Medvec ran his own PR to win the second heat of the 1600; and he was followed closely by Kevin Schickling who ran his fastest time of the season! Rob Roselli, Steve McCarroll, Evan Stone, Joe Masoero and Mike Czuba all PR'd in the 1600! In the 800m, AJ Valentine finished 3rd, a hair off his PR; and Matt McCarroll PR'd to win the Freshman 800! What a night!
And night it was with the sun disappearing behind the trees soon after the meet began. The rapidly decreasing quality of the pictures suggests the growing darkness in the stadium.
Bishop Eustace Throw Meet
On May 23, 2007, the Weight team bussed to Bishop Eustace Prep for the Eustace Throw Meet. There were many great performances but perhaps the most impressive was Dom Roskoski who took 3rd in the Discus and threw significant PR's in all three events! Also in the Discus, Dan Farid took 5th and Chris Ratkis took 6th; and Harshil DeSai, Joe Cress and Ed Davis all threw PR's!
In the Shot, Kyle Magulick took 3rd and PR'd, with Jon Turner and Lynell Payne in 4th and 5th! And, in addition to Roskoski, Tom Saling, Chris Ratkis, Joe Cress and Mike Zdep all threw PR's! Finally, in the Javelin, besides Roskoski's PR performance, Ed Davis threw his own PR!
