The Early Spring is a time of continuing preparation for the season and especially the championship meets at the end of the season. It begins with an unofficial roadrace (Adrenaline 5K, March 15th, Haddonfield) and a scrimmage (Timber Creek March 26th, TBA) and quickly moves into the dual meets (Eastern Regional H.S., April 9th, Eastern; Lenape H.S., April 16th, Cherokee; and Cherry Hill H.S. East, April 22nd, Cherokee) and several local relay meets (Burlington County Hall of Fame Relays, April 5th, Maple Shade H.S.; Moorestown Invitational, April 12th, Moorestown H.S.; and Woodbury Relays, April 19th, Woodbury H.S.) . While there are many opportunities for everyone on the team to participate in these events, newer team members also have a novice meet (Crusader Frosh/Novice Meet, April 11th, Bushop Eustace H.S.) where they may hone their skills and perhaps qualify for Varsity competition. GO CHEROKEE!
Just for the record, guys, the rule in Cross Country and Roadracing is . . . OK, Coach Shaklee would say, "the rule is to win" but here's a more realistic rule . . . the rule is to look ahead for the photographer and gravitate towards his position! Get the picture and then worry about winning!
On March 15, 2014, you forgot that rule while outward bound in the Adrenaline 5K and, therefore, there are no decent pictures of you in that phase of the race! (See the first three pictures below to illustrate!)
Distance guys photographed in the race included: Kaleb Burch, Nick Maccariella, Justin DeTone, Jack Shea, Nick Falk, Steve Gravlin, Mike Zurzolo, Anthony Marrazzo and Lenny Wen. Sean Hickey and Josh Annandsingh were in the race but eluded the photographer.
Details at: Run Sign Up.
On April 5, 2014, the team traveled to Maple Shade High School and opened its season at the Burlington County Hall of Fame Relays. There it fared well in several events. The 4 X 1600m Relay team of Nick Maccariella, Nick Falk, Steve Gravlin and Mike Zurzolo finished 2nd in the Large School Division, with Maccariella and Falk setting new PR's at the distance! The 4 X 400m Relay team of Max Hilton-Lovett, Marc Woodard, Shawn Tracy and Tyler Kurzawa also took 2nd; and Woodard and Tracy were joined by Ronnie Oxendine and Rob Curley to take 3rd in the 4 X 100m Relay! Finally on the track, Shawn Tracy had a nice 50.9 split to lead-off the Sprint Medley Relay, and he, Ronnie Oxendine, Max Hilton-Lovett and Tyler Kurzawa finished 3rd in the event!
In the field, Cherokee's best performance came from Chase Hoger who had the 3rd farthest throw in the Shot Put competition!
Details at: MileSplit/NJRunner.
On April 9, 2014, the team traveled to Eastern Regional High School for their first dual meet of the season and, while there were many nice performances, they suffered their first dual meet failure of the season.
The top point scorer for Cherokee was Marc Woodard with wins in the 100m Dash and 110m High Hurdles (with a quick 14.9), and 3rd place finishes in the Long Jump and 200m Dash! Shawn Tracy won the 400m Dash and placed 2nd in the 200m Dash before teaming with Ronnie Oxendine, Ty Kurzawa and Max Hilton-Lovett to win the 4 X 400m Relay! Prior to the relay, Ty Kurzawa ran a strong 800m Run, setting a new PR and placing 2nd; and in the 1600m Run, Kaleb Burch ran a smart, tactical race to win and three others - Nick Falk, Mike Zurzolo and Steve Gravlin - all PRed to get 3rd, 4th, and 5th! Finally on the track, Nick Maccariella and Jack Shea both PR'd to take 1st and 2nd in the 3200m Run!
Cherokee had a tough time in the Field but two athletes set PR's while scoring in their respective events: Chase Hoger PR'd and took 2nd in the Shot Put; and Jordan Augenbaugh tied his PR while taking 2nd in the vault!
On April 11, 2014, a group of Freshmen and some "novice" members of the team bussed to Bishop Eustace Prep for the Crusader Frosh-Novice Invitational. Among the Sprinters, Matt Powell and Rob Curley provided the highlights. Powell took 3rd out of 67 and set a 24.89 PR in the Frosh 200m, and Curley took 6th at 25.18 for the last medal in the Novice 200m! Casey Malik and Terrance Graves placed 15th and 16 in the same event. Powell, Malik, Curley and Anton Specht then team-up to run 47.39 in the 4 X 100m Relay.
Among the distance runners, there were many excellent performances! In the Frosh 1600m, Cherokee had four in the top-ten including the winner, Nick Falk, and the 2nd place finisher, Jack Shea. Falk ran alone out in front but still managed to smash the previous meet record for the event by 8 seconds! Shea set a 5 second PR. Brendan Falzone and Joey Thompson both PR'd in 8th and 10th. In the Novice 1600m, Cherokee had the 3rd, 4th and 6th placers in Mike Zurzolo, Steve Gravlin and Noah Gil who all set new PRs, as did Rob O'Leary. Finally, the 4 X 800m Relays also went well with the Frosh team of Jack Shea, Brendan Falzone, Nick Falk and Joey Thompson placing 1st while, in the Novice race, the team of Noah Gil, Steve Gravlin, Lenny Wen and Mike Zurzolo placed 2nd! Falk's 2:11 and Zurzolo's 2:12 were the top splits.
Details at: MileSplit/NJRunners.
Here are some pictures from the 1600m Run and the 4 X 800m Relay, with a few from the 4 X 100m Relay:
