Cherokee Track & Field Pictures, 2018, Page V





The Spring Season Continues!


The second part of the Early Spring Season is a time of continuing preparation for the season and especially for the championship meets at the end of the season! Gradually improving speed, strength, endurance, and skills are the keys to success! It continues with a dual meet against Lenape (April 25th); the Penn Relays (April 27/28th); "Richard's Run" (April 29th); the South Jersey Open, Individuals (May 3rd); the Holmdel Night of 3200s (May 4th); and the SJ Open, Relays (May 5th).

GO CHEROKEE!






Dual Meet: Cherokee vs. Lenape High School

On April 25th, 2018, the team traveled to the District's sister-school, Lenape High School, for their third dual meet of the season! Thought to be their most challenging Division contest of the season, the team showed-up BIG TIME to maintain their undefeated dual meet season: they took 12 of 16 possible 1st place points; 11 of 16 possible 2nd place points; and 6.5 of 16 possible 3rd place points! GO CHIEFS!

At the Throws, Coach Kramer reported an amazing day as they took 17 of 27 possible points and set new PR's in 17 of 28 marks! In the Javelin, Jared Selkow took 2nd place; and Ahmad Miller took 3rd place with a PR of 7 feet! In addition, PR's were also set by Nathan Chang (3'); Aiden King (13'); Ethan Hilburn (13'); and JP Aimone (6')!

In the Shot Put, Kieran Kelly finished 3rd with a return to where he was a few weeks ago! Luch Pizarro finished 2nd knocking on the door of 50' for the first time since the Indoor season; and several of our other Putters had PR's including Mike Nessler (2'); Al Fofanah (4'); Marcus Dawson (1'); and Darien Massimino (4')! Josh Morgan also had a small PR and Chika Omeronye threw an outdoor PR!

In the Discus, Cherokee swept the event! Luch Pizarro squeaked out a 3rd even after getting hurt in warm-ups! Mike Nessler finished 2nd with a 5' Conference Championship's qualifying throw on his last attempt; and perhaps after seeing Mike get a big mark, Kieran Kelly threw a big 4' PR on his last throw to pick up the victory! Kieran also had all of his throws over 120'! Colin Mahoney also PR'd by over a foot in the event!

Coach Lynn was also enthusiastic about the performances in the Hurdles, Sprints and Jumps! The Hurdlers won their events 11 to 7 with Joey Carroll taking 1st place in the 400IH, where he PR'd for the fourth time in five meets; and Ty Ortiz added 2nd place points in the event! In the 110HH, Naledge Brown dropped a full second off his PR and placed 2nd!

The Sprinters had an even better day, outscoring Lenape's sprinters 24 to 3 in their events! In the 100m Dash, Devin Ibarrondo clocked a PR and just out-leaned EJ Bard for 1st and EJ in 2nd! Not to be outdone, EJ came back in the 200m Dash and out-leaned Devin for another 1-2 finish! In the 400m Dash, Kevin Milligan and CJ Lee took 1st and 2nd! The Coach was especially impressed by the performances of PJ Tecco in the 100; Luke Spuler, PJ Tecco, Drew Evans, PJ Tecco, Avanish Karlipudi, Harshit Charipally and Jamarie Forrester in the 200; and three Freshmen who all clocked sub-59's in the 400: Tommy Bland, Chima Opara, and Luke Spuler! Other PR's were set by Jamarie Forrester, Matt Zeiler, Jake Free and Brian Stillwagon!

The Jumpers also had a nice day as they outscored Lenape's jumpers 21 to 15 in their events! In the Pole Vault, Kenny Sprankle grabbed a 3rd, and Zack Palfy cleared his first height at 8-0 on his first day in PV competition! In the High jump, Joey Carroll tied his PR and took 1st! In the Long Jump, Nkenna Opara jumped a PR 19' 10" (without touching the board!) to win, Liam DiFerdinando grabbed 3rd; and Chris Brandreth, Jeremy Sher, Mateo Calderon (by 1' 6") Rakesh Chandraraj and Chima Opara set new PR's! Finally, in the Triple Jump, the squad swept the event! Liam DeFerdinando had a huge PR going 41-6, Nkenna Opara took 2nd; and Tray Cabbagestalk for 3rd! Additional PR's came from Chris Brandreth (2' 6"), Denny Sweeney, Jeremey Sher, Mateo Calderon and Chima Opara.

Coach Shaklee and the Distance squad recognized the quality of Lenape's distance runners, planned accordingly, and ended up taking 22 of 27 possible points! In the 1600m Run, it was a tactical race with Justin Kelly and Ethan Wechsler running up front and Lauer and Kazandjian of Lenape sitting on them through 1100 meters. At that point, Justin picked up the pace and the racing began. He controlled the race from the front and closed in 58.8 for the last 400m, despite easing up a bit in the final 100! Ethan, who had lost some ground from 1100 to 1200, closed in 58.5 to move from 4th to 3rd, just behind Lauer who took 2nd! Close behind them, Nico Grilli also ran a strong last lap to set a new PR!

In the 800m Dash, Coach Shaklee didn't want a tactical race so Brandon Marks "volunteered" to take it from the gun! In the stretch, he held off the charge from two Lenape runners to finish 2nd, a step behind teammate, Tyler Jackson, who closed well in the last 100m to win the race! Chase Miller finished 5th with a new PR; and in the JV heat, Mike Moraschi, Matt Morgan and Corey Zeitz all set new PR's! Finally, with the meet already wrapped up, the 3200m was more about getting some VO2 work in than it was about racing. Chris Spisak ran a steady pace to win comfortably while Justin Kelly doubled back from the 1600m for 2nd!

The Distance Team always has a meet-ending Intra-Distance-Squad race pitting three evenly-matched teams. This fell apart when a key athlete on one team developed a "ginker" in an earlier race and had to withdraw. That was a pity because his team's lead-off runner, Eathan Wechsler clocked a PR! Whatever . . . the team of Mike Gavio (PR), Nico Grilli (PR), George Villanueva and Brandon Marks (PR) narrowly defeated the team of Chase Miller, Matt Morgan Mike Moraschi and Brett Shea, all of whom set new PR's!

Final Score: Cherokee: 99.5; Eastern: 40.5! GO CHEROKEE!

Dual Meet Record: 3 - 0!

Official meet results at: SJTCA Web.



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Penn Relays

On April 28 and 29, 2018, Cherokee sent its best sprinters across the river to The University of Pennsylvania's Franklin Field and The 124th Annual Penn Relays! This multi-day meet is one of the most incredible opportunities for Track athletes to challenge the best runners from around the United States and the Carribbean and, even when not at their peak, it's a great experience! The meet runs, as they say, "like clockwork" but everything else around it is in chaos! Mobbed corridors, stretching and warming-up athletes everywhere, hucksters selling everything imaginable! In the future, knowledgeable track friends will ask, "You run Penns?" and it's always very cool to say, "Yeah, I ran in the Relays." Few ask how you ran because most got killed!

This year, Cherokee entered two relay events with four athletes who had competed at the Penn Relays before -- Kevin Milligan, Will Delendik, Tra Cabbagestalk, and Ty Jackson -- and four who had not -- Tyler Ortiz, Joshua Ortiz, EJ Bard and Devin Ibarrondo but expectations were high!

In the 4 X 100m Dash, Bard, Ibarrondo, Cabbagestock and Delendik raced almost a second faster than last year's team and finished 105th against 445, a better percentage than last year! Specific details on their heat/event at: Penn Relays 4 X 100

In the South Jersey 4 X 400m Relay, Milligan, Ty Ortiz, Joshua Ortiz and Ty Jackson combined to finish much better than last year when a team member fell during a baton pass! Last year, the team clocked 3:46.16 and finished 28th of 29 schools in the South Jersey race; this year, they cloked 3:31.41 and finished 10th of 31 South Jersey schools! Specific details on their heat/event at: Penn Relays SJ Large Schools 4 X 400

Main page for Penn Relays results at: Penn Relays Schedule/Results.

Special "shout out" to Ty Jackson's mother who made Channel 6 News on Saturday and bragged about Cherokee and her son!

Our photographer was unavailable for this meet, and NJ.MileSplit does not have the right to shoot at the Penn Relays, so there are no pictures from the meet. That said, after the meet, the Penn Website apparently opened over 500 race videos on their site, at least for now. Try digging through for Cherokee's races! USATF Videos.






Richard's Run


On April 29, 2018, Coach Shaklee and over a dozen members of the team participated in the 12th Annual Richard's Run at Cooper River Park. The race benefits the Go 4 the Goal Foundation, an organization dedicated to funding research for pediatric cancers. The race is named after a young man who died of a childhood cancer but Cherokee XC and Track has a special connection to the organization: Tim Frantz, one of our own, died in 2008 of Ewing's Sarcoma, a form of bone cancer. Indeed, a feature in the race is the Tim Frantz Award to the top finisher!

The team is in the middle of the season and the coach asked the runners to do a "threshhold" workout (and not race) but it is always nice to see a team member win the Tim Frantz Award! Justin Kelly took 1st, followed by Chris Spisak, Ethan Wechler, Chase Miller, Brandon Marks, Mike Iannotta, Mike Gavio, David Jackson, Nico Grilli, Jon Conn, Matt Smith, Matt Campbell, Brian Lafferty, Ty Jackson and Ty Ortiz.

Coach Shaklee, still suffering from a variety of physical problems, worked in "survival mode," added 44 seconds to last year's time and went from 12th to 18th place. Hurumph!

Besides the donuts, bagels, pizza, etc. at the finish line, the guys enjoyed the run and the opportunity to honor Tim's life and courage. More on Tim can be found on our site at: Tim's Memorial Page.

A special thanks to the parents who served as "designated drivers!" Your help in this effort is greatly appreciated! Special props to Mr. Keith Jackson, now 50 and in a higher age group, who not only served as a driver but raced the course well, dropping his time from last year's 19:31 to this year's 19:09!

Race details at: L and M Sports.



Tims Run Start


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South Jersey Open, Individuals


On May 3, 2018, the hottest and most humid day this season, individual team members who qualified traveled to Delsea High School in Franklinville for the South Jersey Open, Individuals. The meet is a two-day event with individual championships this evening and relay championships on May 7th.

Several Sprinters/Hurdlers had impressive outings! Joey Carroll continues to lower his PR in the 400IH and close-in on a sub-60 clocking: this time 1:00.98! Chima Opara raced the 400m Dash and crossed the line in a PR 58.47; and, perhaps most impressive, Kevin Milligan took 1st in his heat and 5th overall in the 400m Dash, clocking a new PR of 50.33!

Among the Jumpers, Liam DiFerdinando cleared 41' 5" in the Triple Jump and 19' 4.50" in the Long Jump . . . both were the second-farthest of his career!

Most of the Distance Squad will compete at the Holmdel Night of 3200s tomorrow so they skipped this meet. However, three Distance athletes competed in the 800m Run and raced well! Ty Jackson crossed the line in 2:01.36, a little over a second from his PR; Brandon Marks crossed in 2:02.80, only .03 off his PR; and Mike Iannotta crossed in 2:05.63, over a second faster than his previous PR!

Details at: NJ.MileSplit.

Our photographer didn't have a great night! Either he was in the wrong place and missed a performance or he gave up trying to get decent pictures of our runners coming out of the setting sun!



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Holmdel 'Night of 3200s'


On May 4, 2018, most of the Distance squad returned to Holmdel High School for the Holmdel 'Night of 3200s', and most ran well despite the less-than-perfect conditions! The muggy weather, along with the wind, definitely had a negative impact on the times. Still, of the fifteen Cherokee athletes who ran, nine managed to set new PR's!

Justin Kelly's race was the highlight of the meet! In his first competitive race of the Spring season, Justin dominated the field, pulling away over the final two laps for a convincing victory. His 9:16.61, run with a big negative split, gave him the win and the fastest 3200 time in the state this year! It also moved Justin to #4 on the Cherokee All-Time List behind Marc Pelerin '02, Shawn Wilson '13 and Nick Falk '17!

Also running in the seeded heat, sophomores, Chris Spisak and Ethan Wechsler finished 5th and 10th with new PR's that moved them to #9 and #13 on the Cherokee All-Time List! In the previous heat, fellow sophomore, Chase Miller, improved his previous best by over five seconds to take 2nd and move to #14 on the Cherokee list. Other PRs were set by Nico Grilli, Mike Gavio, Matt Morgan, Bryan Lafferty and Matt Campbell!

Details at: NJ.MileSplit.



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South Jersey Open, Relays


On May 5, 2018, the second part of the South Jersey Open, this time devoted to Relays, was conducted at Rancocas Valley High School and Cherokee sent their Sprinters/Jumpers and Throwers.

Several Freshmen scored well in the Jump "Relays": Zack Palfy and Mateo Calderon placed 2nd in the Long Jump; and Chima Opara PR'd in the Triple Jump, and he and Mateo Calderon took 3rd in the Triple Jump! Although the Freshmen in the 4 X 400m Relay didn't score, Tommy Bland ran a big PR on his leg!

Several Varsity teams did well too! The Super Sprint Medley (100-100-200-400) of Will Delendik, EJ Bard, Devin Ibarrondo and Kevin Milligan ran 1:34.94 to place 2nd and qualify for Nationals, with Kevin split an unofficial 50.00 on the anchor leg! The Varsity 4 X 400 team of CJ Lee, Rome Young, Jamarie Forrester and Naledge Brown ran a nice time of 3:36.4 and placed 2nd in the Large School Division. This was a season best for Naledge and a PR split for Jamarie (his best open race to this point was a 56.2 so that PR split was very impressive! Finally, the 4 X 100 team of EJ Bard, Devin Ibarrondo, Andrew Parker and Will Delendik placed 2nd in the Division while clocking a season best of 43.71!

Generally, the Throwers didn't have their best day but Luch Pizarro provided a nice team highlight in the Disc with a 10' PR that met the qualifying standard for the Olympic Conference Championships! Luch teamed with Mike Nessler to take 3rd in the Discus Relay!

Details at: NJ.MileSplit.

Pictures from the Jumps area and the Track only! Unfortunately, our photographer was asked by NJSIAA officials to shoot BEHIND the foul line in both the Javelin and Discus at all meets because of the (incredibly remote) possibility of being hit and, while a shot or two taken from the rear can be interesting, it's not a great location for shooting those events. There are no Throws pictures from this meet and we'll see if the officials remember this "rule" at the next meet.



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