The month of May marks the beginning of the Championship Season and this page will focus on the SJ Invitational (May 1st); the SJ Relays (May 3rd); the 2nd Annual Lenape District Championship (May 8th); the Cherokee Invitational (May 13th); the Olympic Conference Championship (May 14th); the Burlington County Championship (May 17th); the Eastern Regional Relays (May 19th); the Indian Frosh Finale and the Haddonfield Twilight Night (both on May 20th); and the Bishop Eustace Throw Meet (May 21st). GO CHEROKEE!
South Jersey Invitational
On the evening of May 1, 2008, key members of the team competed in windy, cool, and off-and-on rainy conditions at Buena High School in the South Jersey Invitational. The highlight of the meet was Chris Steliga's winning performance in the Long Jump! But others did well in this very competitve meet! Both Jon Turner and Kevin Merrigan placed 6th in their respective events, the Shot Put and the 400m Dash! And both Mike Palmieri and Scott Woodmansee PR'd as they ran very aggressively in the 400IH! Finally, among the distance squad, Ryan Bobb PR'd in the Frosh 1600m by 7 seconds, and Kyle Smith PR'd in the 3200m by an incredible 22 seconds!
Complete results at: Colona BCTCA
Here are some pictures taken before the sun fell.
South Jersey Relays
On May 3, 2008, Cherokee returned to Buena High School for the 41st Annual South Jersey Relays and, among other things, set a new school record!
In the early part of the meet, the Freshmen events were contested. In the field events, the team of JoJo Smith and Drake Rodgers took 4th in the High Jump; and Ryan Bavas and Jeff Ventresca placed 3rd in the Shot Put.
By mid-afternoon, the Varsity events began and, almost immediately, the sprint squad of Kevin Merrigan, Niraj Patel, Chris Steliga and Will Rapp set a new Cherokee standard in the 400m Relay! The details are impressive: according to the unofficial NJ track historian, Reuben Frank, the team ran "the fastest 400m relay (time) in county history by a school located outside of Willingboro . . . won the event for the first time in school history in a meet-best 42.81 . . . ran the fastest time in the county in seven years . . . ran the sixth-fastest in the state this year and the third-fastest in South Jersey!" Besides all of that, the squad broke their own school record time set only a few weeks ago at Woodbury, and they qualified for the Nike Outdoor Nationals in June!
Soon after their 400m Relay success, the same team of Merrigan, Patel, Steliga and Rapp placed 3rd in the Super Sprint Medley in 1:34.80 and qualified for Nationals as well! . . . Start eatin' them grits, boys, ya'alls goin' to Grenville!
In other action, the High Jump Relay team of Justin Turner and Ed Kramer finished 2nd in the Varsity competition at 11' 8", while a second team of Lynell Payne and Demetrius Richardson won the JV competition, also jumping 11' 8".
Additionally, Lynell Payne teamed with Jon Turner in the Shot Put and finished 2nd in the event, with Payne throwing a PR and Turner throwing very close to one!
No pictures are available as the photographer had a wedding to attend!
Lenape Regional High School District Championships
On May 8, 2008, an evening marked by moderate winds and drizzling skies, the team traveled to Senaca High School for the 2nd Annual Lenape Regional High School District Championships and, for the second year in a row, took home the winning trophy!
Cherokee's victory came from strong performances across the board. Two individuals won two events -- Kevin Merrigan in the 100m and 200m, and Chris Steliga in the Long Jump and the 400m -- while others won one -- Major Mobley with a Meet Record and PR in the High Hurdles, Devin Prate in the Javelin, and Matt Maze in the Vault -- but many others performed well and garnered important points for the team!
Will Rapp took 2nd in both the 100m and 200m; Lynell Payne took 2nd in the HJ and 3rd in a PR performance at the Shot; Ted Schickling picked-up another 2nd place with a seasonal PR in the 1600m; while Kyle Smith took 2nd with his own PR in the 5K! Alex Yersak also took 2nd in the 3200m; and Jon Turner picked-up another 2nd place in the Shot Put!
Third place point-scorers included AJ Valentine in the 800m; Mike Palmieri with a PR performance in the 400IH; Chris Steliga in the Triple Jump; Matt Addezio in the Vault; and Lynell Payne with a PR in the Shot Put!
Several non-scoring performances deserve mention: Sean Hartnett's seasonal PR in the 1500m; and Richie Davis' PR of over 3 feet in the Triple Jump!
All in all, the team scored 117 points in the meet, surpassing the closest competitor by 32 points! GO CHEROKEE!
Here are some pictures taken before darkness set in.
Cherokee Invitational
On May 13, 2008, Cherokee hosted the 9th Annual Cherokee Invitational for "novice" performers at Lenape High School and it was a great success. Many thanks to the administration and staff at Lenape for their extraordinary help throughout the meet; to the Cherokee parents who manned the barbecues and counters at the concession stand (see pictures below!), and to the Cherokee upperclassmen who helped with many of the events!
Cherokee highlights at the meet included the 1st and 2nd place finishes by Kyle Miller and Ryan Lutz in the 3200m, and some nice performances in the field events: Chris Velarides and Joe Cress took 2nd and 3rd in the Discus; Mike Leoniy took 3rd in the Shot; Frank Wall tied for 4th in the Vault and took 5th in the Javelin; Sean Stout took 5th in the Shot; and Drake Rodgers took 4th in the High Jump!
For the webpages devoted to the meet, see Cherokee Invitational Main Page.
The first few pictures provide a brief glimpse at some of our parent-volunteers in action. Paris-trained chefs grilling the finest rice-fed beef -- ask Mr. Applegate! -- while others, such as Mr. Saccomanno, advise appreciative runners on how to race effectively. Many parent-volunteers are not seen in these pictures but their work is greatly appreciated by the coaches and athletes!
Olympic Conference Championship
On May 14, 2008, Cherokee's top performers traveled to Pennsauken High School for the Olympic Conference Championships, a meet used to select the conference "All Stars." The highlight of the meet came when Chris Steliga won the Long Jump! In 3rd place with only one jump remaining, Chris came through with his best jump of the day to win the event by a mere 1/4 inch! Later, Chris teamed with Kevin Merrigan, Niraj Patel, and Will Rapp to provide a great finish in the 4 X 400m Relay! Besides setting another team PR, the guys ran side-by-side against Winslow High School, the top team in the state, and only lost to them by a split second! Their time of 3:23.1 was the fastest time in Burlington County this year and the second fastest time in Cherokee school history!
In other action, distance star, Alex Yersak finished 3rd against an outstanding field with the fastest 1600m time by a Cherokee runner in the past six years (4:25.3)! And both AJ Valentine and Kevin Schickling PR'd in the 800m Run!
Other medalists for Cherokee included Marc Saccomanno, 3rd in the 3200m Run; Major Mobley, 4th in the 110HH; Justin Turner and Lynell Payne, 4th and 5th in the High Jump; Will Rapp, 5th in the 200m Dash; Jon Turner, 5th in the Shot Put; and Kyle Smith, 6th in the 3200m Run.
Burlington County Championships
On May 17, 2008, Cherokee showed-up at Maple Shade High School determined to win the 70th Annual Burlington County Championships, and win they did, by the largest margin in recent memory: Cherokee 111, with the closest rival, Northern Burlington at 51! Chris Steliga was probably the top performer at the meet, with a victory in the Long Jump (22' 3"), 2nd in the Triple Jump (41' 1.25"), 2nd in the 400m Run (50.10), and a 49.6 anchor leg in the winning 4 X 400m Relay! But he was not alone! Alex Yersak took 2nd place by running a 9-second PR in the 3200m Run (9:36.2), and then he took 3rd place in the 1600m Run in 4:30.1; Jon Turner took 2nd place in the Shot Put throwing a 1 foot PR of 49'1.5", and he was followed by Lynell Payne taking 3rd by throwing his own PR in the Shot of 46' 9"; and, finally, Justin Turner took 3rd in the High Jump with his own PR of 6' 2"!
Additional PR efforts came from Mike Brocco who was 5th in the 110HH (15.78); and AJ Valentine who was 3rd in the 800m Run (1:59.50)! And additional points came from Kevin Merrigan and Will Rapp who were 4th and 5th in the 100m Dash, 2nd and 5th in the 200m Dash, and key legs -- along with Niraj Patel and Chris Steliga -- in the 4 X 400m Relay victory! Kevin Schickling and Steve Burkholder added 4th and 5th places to Alex Yersak's 3rd in the 1600m; Major Mobley took a close 2nd in the 110HH (followed by Mike Brocco's 5th) and a 5th in the Long Jump; and Matt Addezio and Matt Maze took 5th and 6th in the Pole Vault!
As usual, Rueban Frank of the Burlington County Times provided historical details to illustrate the significance of Cherokee's win: "Cherokee's first County Championship in school history" . . . "placed at least one athlete in the top three in 12 of 16 events" . . . "their 111-1/2 points were spread out, with 22 in the sprints, 26 in the distance, 10 in the hurdles, 30-1/2 in the jumps, 14 in the throws, and 10 on the relay" . . . "59-1/2 point margin of victory is sixth-largest in meet history" . . .."
Add 'um up and that means an overwhelming victory! GO CHIEFS!
Complete results: Ed Colona.
Eastern Regional Relay Invitational
On May 19, 2008, a contingent of Cherokee's sprinters and throwers traveled the short distance to the Carl Lewis Stadium in Willingboro for the 6th Annual Eastern Regional Relay Invitational. It was a chilling meet, and not just because the weather was bad! But that's another story.
Highlights included the 1st and 2nd place medals won by Jon Turner and Lynell Payne (another PR!) in the Shot Put, and the 1st through 3rd place sweep by Justin Turner, Ed Kramer and Lynell Payne in the High Jump! Also, Matt Maze took 3rd in the Vault, a significant accomplishment considering the 30-knot winds gusting through the stadium!
Everyone anxiously awaited the outcome of the 800m Relay, scheduled late in the meet, as Cherokee's star team of Kevin Merrigan, Niraj Patel, Will Rapp and Chris Steliga ran against some of the fastest teams in New Jersey, and went for yet another season PR, but a "traffic accident" on the final pass ruined the opportunity! Will Rapp got caught up in heavy traffic as he passed to Chris Steliga and the baton fell to the track. Steliga scrambled to pick up the baton but, after he was hit by an in-coming runner, it was all he could do to grab the baton and make it to the finish.
Limited results at: Ed Colona.
For a change of pace, watch Matt Maze squirm over the crossbar!
Frosh Finale and Haddonfield Distance Night
On May 21, 2008, many members of the team competed in either the Frosh Finale at Pennsauken High School or the Haddonfield Distance Night at Memorial Field in Haddonfield. Highlights at the Finale included a 2nd place in the Triple Jump by Brandon King, a 3rd in the Long Jump and a 4th in the High Jump by Drake Rodgers, and PR's by Eric Birkhead and Ryan Merrigan in the 400m! JoJo White ran the fastest 100m among the Cherokee runners, while Tyler Shane ran the fastest 200m!
At the Haddonfield Distance Night, team members competed in the 800m, 1600m and the 3200m races. In the 800m, AJ valentine and Steve Burkholder took 3rd and 4th overall, with AJ clocking sub-2 for the second consecutive time and Burk dropping and 1.5 seconds off his PR! The biggest breakthrough came from Brian Schules who ran 2:07.3 -- a 5 second PR -- to win the second heat! Jack Conway and Mike Czuba also set personal PR's in the race!
In the 1600m, Cherokee took 8 of the top 10 places, including the top four led by Chris Applegate. Sean Hartnett, Matt McCarroll and Marc Saccomanno finished 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the race! Kyle Smith and Kyle Miller were 6th and 7th; and Ryan Lutz and Steve McCarroll were 9th and 10th! Eight of ten runners set PR's, with the highlight being Adam Henriksen's first sub-5 clocking at 4:59.9! The other big PR was by Kyle Muench who knocked a bunch of time off to finish in 5:02.1!
In the 3200m, Ryan McNair set a new PR at 10:20.5; and Ryan Bobb set his own big PR by clocking 10:52.1 and breaking 11 minutes for the first time!
Complete results for the Haddonfield Distance Night: Running Company.
These pictures are from the Frosh Finale, the afternoon meet. No pictures from the Haddonfield Distance Meet, an event run under the stadium lights, are available.
