So far, not too bad this season! Some cold days but some warm days as well . . . enough to get outside on the track for some workouts! The "indoor season" will continue to focus on base and strength training for the distance athletes, and skills and conditioning for the sprinters, jumpers and throwers . . . and to provide a number of meets to add a challenge and to check on how things are going. GO CHIEFS!
Coach McMichael sent the following report on the meet:
On January 14, 2017, several of Cherokee's athletes traveled to the Bennett Center for the Olympic Conference Meet. They were slightly discouraged going into this meet because a number of the team's top athletes were dealing with minor injuries and unable to compete. However, that feeling of soon disappeared when, in the first event, senior Ryan Belz set a PR in the 55 hurdles! It was his first time under 10 seconds and it topped his previous best by almost three-tenths of a second! Also in the 55M High Hurdles, Becker Elbanna ran his second fastest time of the season! Becker finished in 11th place and Ryan was right behind him in 12th.
Next on the track was the 1600 Run, which featured senior Brendan Falzone, freshman Ethan Wechsler, and junior Taha Rana. They ran 4:47.64 (10th), 5:05.85 (20th), and 5:11.97 (23rd), respectively.
The next event provided the highlight of the meet for the Chiefs, as junior Kevin Milligan-Tinker ran a PR in the 400 dash and brought home the team's only medal of the meet! His time of 51.81 was good for 3rd place in the Olympic Conference (and third overall when including athletes from the Tri-County Conference). His time beat his previous indoor best of 54.39, and surpassed his previous outdoor PR of 52.31! In addition, his time of 51.81 was the fastest 400m run by a Cherokee boy indoors since Brandon Rapp ran 50.72 and Drew Viscidy ran 51.14 in 2012. Senior Matt Powell missed his indoor PR by just 0.09 seconds as he ran 54.76 for 14th place!
Soon after, Senior Cam Wilburn and sophomore Tyler Ortiz took to the track for the 800 run. Cam missed his indoor PR by 0.66 second as he ran 2:11.66 for 7th place. Tyler ran 2:18.50 which is faster than his indoor 800m debut on Monday of 2:19.46. He finished in 23rd.
Freshman Chris Spisak continued his impressive run of debut indoor races by displaying his talents for the first time in the 3200m Run. After dropping a solid 4:45.39 in the 1600m Run on December 30th and a swift 2:10.21 in the 800m Run two days ago, Chris covered the 16-lap race in a very respectable 10:08.14. He finished just out of the medals in 4th place.
As usual, the 4 X 400m Relay team wrapped-up events on the track by clocking 3:42.51. Junior Kevin Milligan-Tinker returned as the starter and he handed the baton to senior Ryan Belz. He passed off to sophomore Tyler Ortiz, and senior Matt Powell did his customary duties on the anchor. The guys were disappointed when they missed earning medals by taking 4th place by 0.14 seconds! As bummed as they were, this will probably only motivate them when they run the 4 X 400m Relay next Saturday!
Cherokee had just four guys in action in the field events. Sophomore Andrew Elsey (5' 6") and senior Michael McShane (5' 0") competed in the high jump; and senior Adonis Giovetis (37' 9-1/2") and sophomore Luch Pizarro (35' 9-3/4") competed in the shot put.
Cherokee's photographer was unavailable for the meet but here are some more details on the meet: NJ.MileSplit.
On January 17, 2017, the team returned to the Bennett Center in Toms River for the SJTCA Meet # 8, Novice and Coach McMichael sent the following report on the meet:
The SJTCA Novice meet got off to a great start, courtesy of the Distance Medley Relay of Chris Spisak, Tyler Jackson, Ethan Wechsler, and Chase Miller! They won the race of 14 teams with an impressive time of 11:29.10! What makes this even more spectacular is that they are all Freshmen!
The meet shifted gears quickly going from a distance race to the 55 High Hurdles where sophomore Tray Cabbagestalk ran 9.10 for 10th place. This was a significant PR for Tray as he bested his previous mark (9.44) by over three-tenths of a second!
After that, Cherokee entered three squads in the 4 X 200m Relay. The team of Tyler Ortiz, Naledge Brown, Jamie Voynow, and CJ Lee ran 1:42.21 for 5th place! The second team of Joe Sands, Anton Specht, Kenny Sprankle, and Tyler Jackson ran 1:42.62 for 7th place; and the third team of Justin Perper, Josh Penn, Nick Greco, and Darren Franks ran 1:56.65 for 29th place.
In the Freshman 55m Dash, Mohamed Fofanah was Cherokee's lone representative where he ran a PR of 7.27 for 4th place. Ironically, the third place time was also 7.27, so Mohamed missed out on a medal by a thousandth of a second! In the Novice 55m Dash, Cherokee entered Jamie Voynow (7.57), Nick Greco (8.53), Josh Penn (7.79), and Justin Perper (8.32). Jamie's time was his second fastest time ever; Josh's time was a PR; and Justin's time tied his PR exactly!
The meet ended in a manner similar to how it began . . . with medals! Cherokee entered two squads in the Sprint Medley Relay. The first team of Anton Specht, Tray Cabbagestalk, CJ Lee, and Tyler Ortiz ran 4:02.36, which was good enough for 2nd place in the field of 19 teams! The second team of Joe Sands, Mohamed Fofanah, Darren Franks, and Naledge Brown ran 4:11.53 for 8th place.
In the Field events, Cherokee had only two competitors. Junior Kenny Sprankle had a best performance of 8' 6" in the Pole Vault, which tied him for 4th place; and fellow junior Kieran Kelly had a best throw of 31' 3-1/4" in the Shot Put, which resulted in 14th place.
Our photographer was unavailable again but here are further details on the meet: NJ.MileSplit.
On January 21, 2017, the team returned to the Bennett Center for the NJ State Group IV Relays, a painfully long and uncomfortable meet for athletes, parents, officials and photographers! Coach McMichael lived through it and sent the following report!
Knowing how insanely competitive Group IV can be, the coaches told their athletes to relax, to race competitively, and to try to run their best times of the season! Interestingly, in four of the six events on the track, they did that and more!
The day started with the Distance Medley Relay. Senior Nick Falk handed off to junior Kevin Milligan, who handed off to senior Brendan Falzone, who passed the baton to freshman Chris Spisak. Their total time of 11:00.97 was good for 10th place and it was the best Distance Medley Relay of the year. In addition, the team's anchor, Chris Spisak, ran a 6-second PR, dropping his time to an impressive 4:37! Finally, looking back, it was even more special because it was the fastest DMR a Cherokee squad has run indoors since a group of Chiefs ran 10:52.36 in 2013!
The meet went to the opposite end of the spectrum as the next event was the Shuttle Hurdle Relay. The group of Tray Cabbagestalk, Ryan Belz, Michael McShane, and Becker Elbanna clocked 35.75 seconds. This is also a season-best time and it is the best Shuttle Hurdle Relay run by a Cherokee team since 2010! That group ran 33.11 and featured a familiar face: Coach Ed Kramer!
Next up was another quick race. The 4 X 200m Relay consisted of Kevin Milligan, Terrance Graves, Will Delendik, and Matt Powell. Their time of 1:36.96 was good for 15th place and is the best time run by a Cherokee team since 2014 (1:36.73)!
The only other distance race followed next on the track. The 4 X 800m Relay team of Cam Wilburn, Chase Miller, Tyler Ortiz, and Brendan Falzone ran 8:54.78.
The Sprint Medley Relay was the penultimate event, and it featured Ryan Belz on the 400m lead-off leg. Will Delendik and CJ Lee handled the 200m legs, and Naledge Brown brought the stick home on the 800m anchor leg. They finished the race in 4:16.99.
Besides the Distance Medley Relay, Cherokee probably had the highest hopes for a strong performance from the 4 X 400m Relay. The team of Kevin Milligan, Terrance Graves, Tyler Ortiz, and Matt Powell did not disappoint. Their time of 3:36.90 earned them 13th place. It was their fastest 4 X 400m Relay of the season, and the fastest time run by a group of Cherokee boys since the 2013 squad ran 3:36.89!
Further details at NJ.MileSplit.
On January 21, 2017, the team returned to the Bennett Center for another in a series presented by the South Jersey Track Coaches Association, SJTCA Meet #9. Coach McMichael sent the following report!
As a coach, it is always nice to see guys peaking when it gets close to the championship part of the season. Tonight, Cherokee had at least one Chief set a PR in every event on the track!
The meet started with the 200m Dash where both guys from Cherokee broke their PRs! Junior Joe Sands ran 26.15 and classmate Becker Elbanna ran 26.08, which was faster than his outdoor PR!
Freshman Ethan Wechsler was our lone competitor in the 1600m Run. He was hoping to break the 5:00 barrier. Unfortunately, he fell just short, but he ran his best time in the event of 5:03.07!
Becker Elbanna must have wanted to PR in both of his events tonight, so he went out and set a new best in the 55m HH by clocking 9.25. Sophomore Tray Cabbagestalk was also in the race and he just missed his PR of 9.21 by stopping the clock at 9.22! Senior Michael McShane got bumped by another hurdler but managed to finish the race in 10.73.
One of the highlights of the meet has to be the 55m Dash! Cherokee entered three guys in the race and all three broke their PRs! Apparently, Tray Cabbagestalk was so upset by his near-miss in the 55m HH that he decided to obliterate his PR in the 55m Dash! He lowered his previous best of 7.21 all the way down to 7.04! Fellow sophomore Will Delendik was in a different heat but his time was just a few ticks back in 7.07. That bested his previous PR of 7.09. Saving the best for last . . . junior CJ Lee had the biggest improvement as he dropped his PR from 7.41 all the way down to 7.20!
Senior Matt Powell mainly runs the 400m Dash but he took his first crack at the 800m Run this season tonight. He ran a solid race and chopped his old best indoor time down from 2:12.41 to 2:11.70. Unfortunately, in the same race, Junior Matt Morgan ran with a pack of runners that accidentally cut-in from the California start a tad too early and all were disqualified from the race!
The final event on the track was the 400m Dash and the Chiefs were well-represented by senior Terrance Graves and junior Kevin Milligan-Tinker. Terrance dropped almost a full second off his previous PR of 57.15 by running 56.25 tonight! Kevin missed his PR by 0.02, but he still ran a great time (51.83) and brought home the only medal of the night as he finished in 3rd place (out of 70 competitors)!
Cherokee's photographer was unavailable but here are some more details on the meet: NJ.MileSplit.
On January 26, 2017, the Cherokee Throws team hosted the Cherokee Throw Down # 2 at the school. This time, the team added a third Shot Put circle, a sophisticated IAAF Certified circle that can be used to host international Shot Put competitions (in case the Russians want to send some athletes to Cherokee's Throw Down #3!) and, even with almost 200 throwers, the meet moved rapidly! Coach McMichael sent the following report!
Cherokee entered eight in the meet and, of those eight, half of them broke their PRs! Junior Kieran Kelly led the way by bumping his best from 33' 10.75" up to 34' 9.25". To improve by almost a foot is a huge improvement! Cherokee's two freshmen set their own PR's tonight. Darien Massimino threw 26' 5.25" which raised his personal best by almost 3 FEET as his old PR was 23' 8"! Phil Quipot tacked a few inches onto his old PR of 22' 7" by throwing 22' 11.75". And finally, senior Avi Patel improved on his PR of 21' 4" when he reached 21' 8.5" this evening!
Additional details can be found at: NJ.MileSplit.
On January 28, 2017, the coaches split the team, sending part to the SJTCA Meet # 10 at The Bubble in Toms River, NJ; and part to the Ocean Breeze High School Invitational at the Ocean Breeze Track and Field Center on Staten Island, NY. Coach McMichael sent the following report:
Freshman Tyler Jackson, senior Ryan Belz, and junior Joe Sands got things started in The Bubble with the 400m Dash, and Tyler and Ryan both set new PR's! Tyler ran 56.84; Ryan ran 58.59; and Joe ran 58.99. Then Ryan Belz returned a bit later and set another PR in the 55m High Hurdles, clocking 9.51, breaking his previous best by 0.3 seconds! Fellow senior Michael McShane joined him in the event and he, too, set another PR, chopping over half of a second from his best with a time of 10-flat! These are massive improvements in a 55m race!
The Ocean Breeze Track and Field Center opened one year ago and quickly made a name for itself as a premier track and field facility on the East Coast. The boys were very excited to compete in the 2nd annual Ocean Breeze Invitational, and they certainly made the most of the opportunity!
The action on the track began with the 800m Run. Seniors Cam Wilburn and Brendan Falzone ran 2:07.75 and 2:11.90, respectively. Cam's time was an indoor PR and just missed his best time outdoors (2:07.64).
The meet provided an opportunity for freshmen and sophomores to compete in races with other athletes in their grade. Sophomore Tyler Ortiz ran a PR of 2:16.30 in the Sophomore 800m Run. The future of Cherokee distance running was well represented in the Freshmen 800m Run. Chase Miller led the way for Cherokee with a 3rd place finish in 2:09.83! Chris Spisak was in a different heat, but he finished in 4th place with a time of 2:10.47, which just missed his PR of 2:10.21! Ethan Wechsler and Mike Gavio ran in the same heat and stopped the clock in 2:15.09 and 2:21.93. Chase and Chris earned Cherokee's only medals of the meet!
Senior Matt Powell and junior Kevin Milligan got things started in the sprints as both clocked 7.12 in the 55m Dash. Both are primarily 400m runners. In fact, this was Kevin's first time running the 55m Dash and it was the first time Matt has run the event since he was a freshman! Matt's time was a PR! Junior CJ Lee also competed in the 55m Dash and was close to his PR in 7.24. Sophomores Tray Cabbagestalk, Will Delendik, and Andrew Elsey competed in the Sophomore 55m Dash. Tray knocked 0.01 off of his previous PR by running 7.03 today. Will ran 7.16, and Andrew was next in 7.19 which lowered his PR. Tray was 9th overall and missed making the eight-person final by a heartbreaking 0.02 seconds!
The Ocean Breeze Track and Field Center features a banked track, which the guys took full advantage of in the 200m Dash. The Chiefs had six guys in the 200m Dash and all six set new PR's! Kevin Milligan led the way in the varsity heats of the 200m Dash by running 23.74. This is his fastest time indoors or out. Matt Powell was next in 24.29, and CJ Lee set a new all-time best (indoors or out) of 24.51. Later, classmates Will Delendik, Andrew Elsey, and Tray Cabbagestalk competed in the Sophomore 200m Dash. Will's time of 23.56 beat his previous PR's, indoors and out! The top 6 finishers from 12 heats qualified for a Sophomore 200m Dash Final. Incredibly, Will finished in 7th place! In a heartbreaker akin to Tray's in the 55m Dash, Will missed the final by 0.08 seconds. Andrew Elsey clocked 24.66 and Tray ran 24.83.
Two Cherokee photographers made it to Ocean Breeze. Additional results on that meet at: NJ.MileSplit.
Additional results from SJTCA Meet #10: NJ.MileSplit.
Photographer Jon Falk sent the following series, inappropriately titled "Safe at Home Plate." Does he look safe to you?!
Here are some other pictures from our regular photographer featuring, among others, the Fullback and the Jeweler:
