[Much of what is said in the Introduction below is copied from last year's introduction to the sport and there is little reason to "recreate the wheel!"]
Back in the Dark Ages, when Winter or Indoor Track was first envisioned by coaches here in South Jersey, the programs were designed for really tough athletes! Many of the local meets were so-called "Polar Bear Meets," held outdoors when coaches thought having young people running around wearing shorts and singlets in freezing temperatures was good for their physical and personal development! In addition, other meets were held indoors although these facilities were badly designed for racing! They fashioned flat "tracks" of irregular lengths or set-up shaky banked wooden tracks in gymnasiums or "armories" generally untouched since World War II! At several places back in the 70's and 80's, the sprint track ended through garage doors into a parking lot! Yes, sprinters did 40 or 50 yard dashes and finished out in the parking lot where, on snowy or icy days, coaches caught them before they fell! At one major city Armory, before it was renovated, homeless people lived in the stairways and often urinated "close to home." And everyone who ever participated in Indoor Track back in the 70s and 80s will remember the pungent odor of "Atomic Balm" until the day they die! Today, the indoor facilities are much improved: the Toms River "Bubble" is tight but fairly comfortable, and the Ocean Breeze facility on Staten Island is absolutely magnificent! If only someone could work on those long bus rides! (For more details, ask Coach Shaklee and Marlton Rec Coach Shea what it was like "to be manly-men when they were just boys!")
Those early programs were designed as preparation for the Spring Season (and as a way to sidestep NJSIAA rules about coaching athletes out of season). Coaches concentrated on foundation and strength training for distance athletes, and skills training and conditioning for the sprinters, jumpers and throwers. That continues today, although the team participates in a number of meets at decent indoor facilities (including the Throws Meets at Cherokee High School) for both experience and a change of pace.
Last winter, the season began with cold temperatures and gusting winds, with three light snow storms before Winter Break, and that seems to be the pattern this year as the average temperature in South Jersey in late November and early December has been about 10 degrees below normal! But Cherokee's athletes are unfazed -- remember their physical and personal development? -- they'll ignore the elements and train outdoors looking forward to indoor opportunities to show their improvement! GO CHIEFS!
On December 14th, 2018, South Jersey's "lid-lifter" of the season, the Olympic Conference Meet #1 was contested at "The Bubble" in Toms River. The meet was designed for the "experienced but rusty" or the "brand new" and most teams brought only a few athletes to compete/practice. Still, it was an excellent opportunity for both the experienced and new to get their track spikes "wet!"
This was the first meet for Cherokee's new Track Coach, Dave Petruzzi and the experience was fairly easy as only a relatively small number of sprinter/hurdlers competed at the meet. The coach had an opportunity to see the Shuttle Hurdles team of Tray Cabbagestalk, Ty Ortiz, Chris Brandreth and Ben Brandreth; the 4 X 200m team of Tray Cabbagestalk, Zach Palfy, Trevor Tubb and Mateo Calderon; the 4 X 400m team that included the Brandreths and Zach Palfy and Luke Spuler; and the Sprint Medley team of Tyler Ortiz, Will Delendik, Jordan Hayes and Aatish Gupta. The coach and the guys were there for experience but it was nice to see the Sprint Med team take 2nd in the event!
Official results at available at: NJ.MileSplit.
Our photographer was at the meet but his equipment just isn't the best when shooting in the "photographically dark" Bubble -- AKA, the Black Hole! Here are a few soft and grainy results he saved from the meet:
On December 18th, 2018, the South Jersey Track Coaches Association conducted their Winter Meet # 1 at "The Bubble" but, unlike last time, a few teams showed up with experienced guys -- especially in distance events such as the Distance Medley Relay and the 4 X 800m Relay -- as well as their "rusty" experienced guys and their "shiny new" guys! Cherokee left their distance guys at home but brought along a combination of old and new sprinters, hurdlers and jumpers!
Two experienced Cherokee Sprint guys caught our immediate attention: Andrew Elsey was only .06 seconds off his 55mm Dash PR from last season; and Tray Cabbagestalk was only .36 seconds off his 55m High Hurdles PR from last season! Those are good starting points for two of Cherokee's returning Seniors! Later, they joined Tyler Ortiz and Freshman newcomer, Antonio Campbell in the 4 X 200m Relay. They ran well throughout and only gave up the lead in the last 30m of their race! In the Field, Zach Palfy had several nice clearances in the Pole Vault, and Chika Omeronye and newcomer Max Fisher opened their seasons well in the Shot!
For some it was a learning experience! In the High Jump, Freshman Antonio Campbell looked good as he cleared opening height but his much-more-experienced teammate Andrew Elsey chose to pass a few heights and then failed to clear! Freshmen Patrick Lippo, Wilson Leung and Devan Gohil learned what "fast" is in the 55m Dash; Lorenzo Kinsman and Thomas Bland learned that you have to stay in your lane in the 400m Dash; freshman Angelo Kyrtatas learned that the 55m High Hurdles can sometimes feel like the 110m High Hurdles; and the Freshman 4 X 800m Relay team of Matt Ambrose, Aiden Dickinson, Jameson Crozier and Bradley Popler found out that if you go out really, really fast in the first part of any race, it's very hard to come home really, really fast! But that's what these early meets are for, to learn and to improve! GO CHEROKEE!
Official details at: NJ.MileSplit.
Our photographer did his best at the meet but, after he counted 11 overhead lights burned out (really, they couldn't replace the bulbs in the off-season?!), he knew nothing great was going to result. Also, he missed the first few heats of the 55m Dash and, as a result, he lifted a few not-so-great ones from the NJ.MileSplit site.
Recently, the Lenape District named two individuals associated with Cherokee's impressive Cross Country team to receive their highest awards. Please see this at the bottom of our Cross Country page Here.
On December 27, 2018, a couple dozen Cherokee athletes returned to The Bubble in Toms River for the SJTCA Winter Meet # 2 and, before reporting on the details and posting some pictures, consider this: "Technically, the gap between 4:40.01 and 4.39.9 is incredibly small -- .02 -- but, psychologically, it's as big as the Delaware River!" Ask Ty Jackson if he agrees! : <)
Speaking of, Tyler Jackson racing the 1600m for the first time, clocked a good one to finish 4th in 4:40.01! (So-o-o-o close!) Tyler also doubled back in the 4 X 400 and recorded a respectable 55-second split! Other distance guys, the three Sophs, Nico Grilli, Dylan Odud and Brett Shea have all been running mileage with no speed workouts so they were in the 800m unprepared for the intensity of the pace! Still, they ran decently, especially Nico who clocked an Indoor and Outdoor PR and finished 2nd in his heat and 8th overall!
The highlight of the meet was the 1st place and Indoor PR performance of Senior Luch Pizarro in the Shot Put! In his first meet of the season, Luch put the Shot 50' 04", bettering his last year's Indoor PR throw of 50' 01"! That throw placed him 10th in New Jersey, 5th in Group 4, State, and 3rd in Group 4, South Jersey! His teammate, Darien Massimino had a decent Indoor throw of 30' 11", slightly less than his previous 2018 Indoor and Outdoor PR of 31' 01".
Several other team members set or improved their PR's as well! Sophomore Zach Palfy, a newcomer to the Pole Vault, improved his PR to 8' 6". While not exceptionally high for a Pole Vaulter, it is significant when you consider the lack of an Indoor training facility for the Vault! Also, two of our athletes who were previously seen as Cross Country runners, set either All-time or Indoor PR's in the Open 400m Dash: Senior Aatish Gupta clocked an Indoor PR of 57.99, and Freshman Kevin Hess, clocked a decent All-time PR of 58.41! Finally, Senior Andrew Elsey set his Indoor PR of 24.23 in the 200m Dash; and Sophomore Chima Opara followed with his own All-time 200m Dash PR of 25.23!
In the Relay events, the team of Tra Cabbagestalk, Will Delendik, Jordan Hayes and Tyler Jackson took 5th/19 overall in the 4 X 400m; Cabbagestalk and Hayes, joined by Andrew Elsey and Tyler Ortiz, took 13th/24 overall in the 1600m Sprint Medley; and then Cabbbagestalk and Ortiz, joined by Chris Brandreth and Ben Brandreth, looked better and finished slightly faster in the Shuttle Hurdles Relay than earlier this month.
Official results at: NJ.MileSplit.
A good beginning makes a good end! Look in a mirror: it's never too late to set new goals or to dream a new dream! After that, Do something! . . . Make a move!
On January 5, 2019, the team opened the new year at two different meets: the SJTCA Winter Meet # 5, a meet that followed the upcoming state relay format, and the Ocean Breeze Freedom Games.
Two distance teams in particular looked pretty good at the SJ meet! In the winter, Coach Shaklee focuses on distance training with few speed workouts and his athletes are generally not "sharpened" for any meet. That was the case here, as relatively-unprepared Chase Miller, Tyler Ortiz, Tyler Jackson and Ethan Wechsler raced both the Distance Medley and 4 X 800m Relays! In the DMR, they took 1st place while clocking a time that will surely get them into the seeded heat of the state indoor relay championships; and in the 4 X 800, they took 2nd place with a decent time as well! In passing, Ethan had a nice 2:03 on his leg of the 4 X 8 but Tyler Ortiz looked very good in both the DMR's 400 leg and his leg of the 4 X 8!
The team didn't set any records at Ocean Breeze but there were several notable performances: Luch Pizarro threw only 47' 1" in the Shot Put but took 3rd in the competition; and Andrew Elsey matched his PR of 5' 10" in the High Jump and took 6th!
Official results at NJ.MileSplit for the SJ Meet, and at NY.MileSplit for the Ocean Breeze Meet.
Our photographer went to the SJ meet but he thought Cherokee runners were in the first four relays only and left early! (He's a senior citizen and deserves your understanding!) Yes, there appears to be duplicate pictures of the Varsity runners but they doubled in their races! Also, our photographer checked the Ocean Breeze pictures provided by NY.MileSplit and was unable to find any of Cherokee's athletes! Probably moving too fast for his camera . . . ya think? Anyway, if you find anyone, please send the picture along through the coach.
