Looking outside, few have noticed that Spring Track is on the horizon but the Chiefs are getting ready for an exciting season! New Head Coach John McMichael has primary responsibility for the sprinters and hurdlers; Coach Jeff Thompson will work with the jumpers; Coach Chris Lynn will work with the throwers; and Coach Steve Shaklee continues with the distance squad. In addition, Cherokee and Monmouth University graduate, Ed Kramer will focus on the High Jumpers, the focus of his own athletic efforts. The core of the team worked through what was probably the coldest winter in the 21st century but, though it wasn't obvious until the second week of March, the Spring thaw is coming! The first scrimmage is at Timber Creek on March 25th. Wear your woolies! GO CHEROKEE!
At Cherokee High School on March 16, 2015, it looked like a session at the Red Cross where blood donors lined up for a good cause but Cherokee's distance athletes were on the track giving blood for another reason! Shannon Grady, former All-American in Track and Field and now Exercise Physiologist and CEO of Go! Athletics, a Sports Performance, Nutrition, and Wellness Training Center, was there to supervise a series of 800m exercises, obtaining blood samples and monitoring heart rates after each exercise.
The VO2max Test and the Blood Lactate Profile are today's "gold standard" for identifying heart rate training zones and intensities. Knowing their "zones" allows athletes to identify their optimal paces for training and racing. They "stay within themselves" when training rather than follow unscientific group training models. Coach Shaklee believes coaching is both an "art" and a "science" and the results of this testing will help to insure his athletes achieve their greatest potential!
While this was going on, the team photographer stopped by and caught some the action! In the final pictures, both Nick Falk and Coach Shaklee reflect the stress of the day! Phew . . . exhausting!
On snowy March 21, 2015, the distance squad followed a long-standing tradition of racing the Adrenaline 5K, formally known as the Bancroft Run in Haddonfield. In the past, the coach used the race to judge the fitness of the team as they entered the Spring season but now, with the advent of scientific blood sampling, that goal is less significant. Well, maybe less significant as the coach develops training programs but not to the athletes who believe knocking off a PR (and maybe taking a 1st place in your age group) is far more important for bragging rights than some numbers in a blood test!
The pictures include a few odd looks at Haddonfield history but there were several interesting battles on the course. One early picture below shows Justin Kelly and Mike Zurzolo racing beside the eventual female winner of the race, Meghan McGlinchey, a well-respected LaSalle University graduate, and a second at 4/10ths of a mile from the finish shows Justin leading her by a few seconds (he kicked her butt!); another shows Jack Shea at 4/10ths of a mile from the finish battling two former NJ State Champions, our own Marc Pelerin and Haddonfield's Chris Platt (Jack whipped Pelerin but lost to Platt!)! Other battles from 4/10ths of a mile included Mike Zurzolo's successful sprint against the two runners pictured beside him; and Brandon Marks' competition against another 15 year old that also ended successfully!
Looking at some of the numbers, at this point, it looks like several of the guys ran very well, setting 5K PR's! Nick Falk dropped his PR by 10 secs with his 15:50 time, accomplished with very even splits . . . each 1600 in the 5:06-7 range. Frosh, Justin Kelly recorded his first sub-17 time (16:48), perhaps motivated by that top female in the race threatening him for the final 1/2 mile of the race! Justin finished fast and beat her by 6 seconds! Fellow Frosh, Brandon Marks dropped his best time from 17:59 in the Fall down to 17:45; and Sophomore, Cam Wilburn also set a new PR! In addition, the Cherokee Group won the high school division and Nick Falk won his age group! Not sure of the prizes that go with those successes . . . a team van? . . . maybe a Jaguar for Nick? . . . it is Haddonfield ya know!
Race details at: L and M Sports; and there's a finish line video available at: You Tube.
On a breezy, dark and cold day, March 25, 2015, the team traveled to Sicklerville for the first and only "tri-scrimmage" of the season involving Timber Creek, Haddon Heights and Cherokee High Schools. Early scrimmages are like cattle drives with large groups of athletes being "prodded" onto the track, runways and circles! Sprinters and distance runners -- dozens of males and females in each event -- are corralled at their starts waiting to be released by the sound of the gun; jumpers stand in long lines waiting to dash down the "chutes;" and weight men and women gather at each of the Throws areas nibbling on grass . . . wait, we're getting carried away here . . .. Suffice it to say that, with all three teams, boys and girls, experienced and inexperienced, at the first meet of the season, it can be a tad crowded and discombobulated!
The day's nasty weather was not conducive to setting PR's but, just looking at the distance events and those who improved on previous times, Brian Cackowski and Pat Mahoney PR'd in the 1600m; and Jack Shea, Matt Powell, Justin Kelly, Mike Algarra and Naledge Brown did the same in the 800m! There were lots of PR's in the training 4 X 400m Relay at the end of the meet: Kelly, Shea, Falk, Falzone, Marks, Smith, Rabinowitz, Gil, Iannotta, Cackowski, Zarzolo, and DeTone! Generally speaking, Cam Rabinowitz, Nick Falk, Mike Zurzolo and Justin DeTone ran well enough at the meet to warrant "High Fives" from the coach!
Speaking of "High Fives," by now everyone knows Coach Shaklee had an operation on his foot that has hobbled him for over a month, and he will continue to wear an orthopedic boot for another six weeks. Well, a big "High Five" to Coach Thompson who, perhaps to honor Coach Shaklee ( ? ), decided to wear a similar boot on his foot for six weeks! What a guy!
The weather made it especially tough on the Sprinters and Throwers who seem to need temperatures in the 90's before they're happy! Some performances stood out for one reason or another. Marc Woodard looked good in the 100m and the Long Jump; and Rob Curley, Daulton Hopkins, Cristian Ognibene and Terrance Graves had decent starts to their season in both the 100m and 200m. Coach McMichael also noticed three Freshmen who had promising starts despite little or no training in their events -- Kevin Milligan-Tinker and Sebastian Graterol in the Long Jump, and Colton Schneeweis in the Vault! In the Throws, John Hemple, Philippe Quipot and Matt Gross were the top Cherokee performers!
The photographer made it to the meet and tried to get everyone competing on or near the track, at least through the 800m. He declared, "If they're dressed for competition and wearing Cherokee orange, I'll shoot 'um!" So check the pictures below and see if you're in there somewhere! He promised to get out to the Throwers soon!
On April 4, 2015, the team traveled to Maple Shade High School for the first relay meet of the season, the Burlington County Hall of Fame Relays.
Let's start with a helpful message: when the weatherperson says "breezy" that means "prepare for something akin to a tornado." For example, the forecast for this Wednesday is "Intermittent rain likely, breezy, high around 46 degrees." The point: be prepared . . . it won't be nice! Just sayin'.
On the track, there were some encouraging distance performances against the Large School competition! The team of Justin DeTone, Jack Shea, Mike Zurzolo and Nick Falk won the Varsity 4 X 1600m Relay by (as Coach Shaklee said) "sticking to the plan! They ran to win, not for time . . . and they executed it perfectly." The all-Freshmen team of Brandon Marks, Kevin Milligan-Tinkler, Matt Smith and Justin Kelly won the JV Distance Medley Relay by almost 200 meters; and the team of Cam Wilburn, Mike Algarra, Brian Cackowski and Joey Thompson all ran well taking 1st in the JV 4 X 800m Relay!
Among the sprint/jump events, Cherokee won the JV Sprint Medley Relay but the names are not listed in the results yet! However, Coach McMichael did mention anchorman Matt Powell's PR performance in the event! The Varsity Sprint Medley Relay finished 5th and the coach praised both Rob Curley and Daulton Hopkins for their times, and he was glad to see how well Tyler Kurzawa did despite several weeks on the "injured reserve" list! He also mentioned Terrance Graves' and Kevin Milligan-Tinkler's splits in the Varsity 4 X 200m Relay! Finally, the team of Marc Woodard, Dave Osterhout, Al Panaccio and Sam Kramer took 3rd in the 4 X 110 Shuttle Hurdles Relay; and the Long Jump team of Marc Woodard and Daulton Hopkins took 3rd in that event.
Out in the Field, Coach Lynn said Cherokee had a big day in the Javelin! Every thrower -- Ryan Razler, Matt Gross, Steve Huber, Dante Casella and Drew Dittmer -- had PR's and Matt Gross and Ryan Razler took 3rd and medaled in the event!
Details at: NJRunners/MileSplit.
On April 8, 2015, The Chiefs welcomed conference rival, Eastern Regional High School to their dark, cold, wet, and wind-swept (the weatherperson did say "breezy") stadium for the first dual meet of the season! Welcome . . . welcome . . . and please wipe your feet!
Despite the weather, both teams competed strongly, the score was neck-and-neck throughout, and the meet came down to the final events, the 4 X 400m Relay and the High Jump! The relay team of Matt Powell, Daulton Hopkins, Marc Woodard and Ty Kurzawa took those valuable points but that left Cherokee's key jumper, Sam Kramer with an almost impossible job of beating Eastern's excellent squad. He did well but the final score had The Chiefs losing the meet by a single point -- 69 to 70 -- and left many team members wondering: What more could I have done to win this meet?
Several sprinters probably answered themselves, "not much!" as they certainly extended themselves to win the meet! Besides running the second fastest split on the 4 X 400m Relay, Marc Woodard won three individual events -- the 100m Dash, the 110 High Hurdles and the Long Jump! Ty Kurzawa, coming back from injury ran a strong second lap and won the 800m, and then he came back to run the fastest split in the Relay; and Matt Powell and Daulton Hopkins competed in four events to score points for the team! Matt won the 400m Dash and then led off on the Relay, and Daulton took 1st place in the 200m Dash, raced the 100m Dash and the second leg of the Relay, and Long Jumped!
There were those who ran tough among the distance runners too! In the 1600m, Nick Falk and Justin DeTone ran tactically strong races to take 1st and 2nd with strong finishing kicks! Cam Wilburn and Mike Iannotta both competed aggressively and ran fast despite the conditions. In the 800m, Ty Kurzawa won the race, Mike Zurzolo placed 3rd, and, while no one expects PR's on a day like this, Brendan Falzone beat his previous PR by several seconds. In the 3200m, Nick Falk returned and showed his high level of fitness as he ran the entire race alone to finish 2nd with a sub-10 minute clocking . . . impressive considering the conditions and the fact that he had already won the 1600! And Justin DeTone also doubled and secured the 3rd spot with Justin Kelly in 4th!
In the Field, the highlight came from the Shot Putters who took 1st and 2nd place in the competition: Dante Massimino and John Hemple!
Dual Meet Record: 0 - 1. Come on, Cherokee!
