The Championship Season continues and the really high-stress meets are upon us! The South Jersey Group IV Sectional Championships at Pennsauken High School on May 31st - June 1st, where the top six in each event advance to the State Group IV Championships at Franklin High School, on June 7th - 8th, and, from there, the top six advance to the State Meet of Champions back at Pennsauken High School on June 12th! Before the Meet of Champions, the team is expected to get together for a final time to review their achievements at a team banquet (TBA).
GO CHEROKEE!
Coach Shaklee gives us a meet day introduction so we'll let him have the honors!
"The weather was close to perfect for the two days of the South Jersey Group 4 Sectionals at Pennsauken High School on Friday, May 31st and Saturday, June 1st, and the Cherokee distance squad came into the meet looking to score points and help the team contend for a sectional title! They did just that, scoring 52 of the team's 80 points that earned a second place finish!
"The 800m Run was the first distance race of the meet on Friday and Bobby Poplau and Nick Kuenkel got things off to a great start! Bobby, coming back from illness, showed that he had recovered as he took the lead on the backstretch of lap two (into the wind!) and kicked away to a 1.5 second victory in 1:52.57, a new Personal Record, School Record and Meet Record! Behind him, Nick set a new PR of his own, becoming just the sixth Cherokee runner in school history to run under 1:55.0 with his 1:54.99 clocking for 4th place!
"Nick returned a couple of hours later to take the line for the 3200 Meter Run, along with freshman, Ben Realley and sophomore, Logan Bromley. Nick set in the pack for seven laps then blasted a 59.3 final circuit to win the race by seven seconds in 9:28.67! Ben ran a tough race to secure third! Logan, feeling the effects of a shortened base period this winter (due to injury) and too much racing this spring, struggled but never gave in, finishing in tenth.
"Day Two for the distance squad began with the 4 X 800 Meter Relay. Logan Bromley and Ben Realley doubled back from the 3200m and were joined by Tate Midora and Enzo Corona. While it did not go as we had hoped, the team still managed to place fourth led by Enzo's four second PR on leg three!
"In the 1600m Run, the final distance race of the meet, Enzo doubled back from the relay and was joined by Bobby and Nick who came in as the top two seeds and clear favorites. After a slow first lap, the tempo picked up with Bobby going to the lead. Nick took lap three and maintained a respectable pace which still saw a sizable pack together with a lap to go. Bobby went back to the lead and began his kick followed by Nick and Brody Bogos from Cherry Hill East. Bobby opened up a good lead but Nick was trailing Bogos with 100 to go. He then took off down the home stretch, closed the gap on Bobby and put three seconds on Bogus over the last 100 meters! With last laps of 58.53 and 59.00, Bobby and Nick went one-two in 4:19.28 and 4:19.51! Enzo finished a respectable twelfth with a time not too far off his personal best.
"Next up, some of the team will race on Tuesday at the Cherokee Night Racer 2 Meet while some of those who advanced to the state meet will train through for that event next Friday and Saturday!"
Official details at: NJ.MileSplit.
Skimming the official results, several of our non-distance performers did well: some advanced with PR's, some PR'd but didn't advance! In the 100m Dash, Brian Magee PR'd in 11.41, Murad Campfield PR'd in 11.50, and Ryan Bender ran 11.11, not a PR but his fastest race since early April, but none advanced! In the 200m Dash, both Brian Magee and Bankole Arole came close to their PR's but failed to advance. Bankole had the extra excuse of losing his necklace in the last 50m of his race and disrupting his momentum! In the 400m Dash, Carlo Brown clocked a PR 53.86 and Luke Ehly clocked a PR 55.19, but neither advanced; and in the 4 X 100m Relay, Noah Calderon, Brian Magee, Murad Campfield and Ryan Bender ran 43.37, just below qualifying, but through some seeding confusion among the officials, advanced to Groups!
Among the jumpers, Vaulter Tobin Horwath stayed a foot below his PR of 12' 0", finished 11th at 11'0" and did not advance; High Jumper Sam Green stalled at 6'0" but took 4th overall and advanced; and Ryan Bender, this time in the Long Jump, cleared 21' 03", a huge PR, took 5th overall and advanced!
Curious events among the Throwers! In the Discus, Brody Wolfert threw 164' 04", a PR of around 12 feet, took 2nd and advanced! In the Javelin, Zach Ott threw 161' 06", about 6 inches off his PR, and took 2nd overall; and Austin Lenart threw 159' 10", about a foot off his PR, and took 3rd overall! Go figure! And finally, in the Shot, Andrew Gersenheimer threw his best of the year, 37' 02", but took 28th and failed to advance!
Our photographer was at the meet both days and took over 2,000 pictures for Cherokee and NJ.MileSplit. Friday was especially difficult as the athletes on the track finished their races out of an incredibly bright setting sun! (Reminded him of combat situations where he attacked enemy positions with the sun at his back blinding the enemy! Wait, that was John Wayne, not our photographer!) Anyway, apologies to those competing off the track as our photographer is too beat up to make it to the 'outer limits!' If you have something high-res that you're proud of and want to share, please send it to RunningWorksPics@aol.com.
In addition to the pictures posted below, our photographer posted others in our Google site
Last year, Danny Hassall of the Distance squad, took the "Big One" at graduation, Valedictorian, and this year, while no one on the team reached that high, a number of our Track team scholars were awarded Cherokee's highest academic recognition! A quick review of several District awards lists gave us Runners Anthony DiBattista (with no picture!), Myron Paes, Jack Couture, Brian Magee, Leo Vyvyan and Gavin Danielewicz, and Throwers Alex Goode and Austin Lenart! Congratulations! See specific award lists and pictures at District Awards.
The school website also identified four (only four?) of our team members who are continuing their athletic careers at college: Bobby Poplau, Rutgers; Nick Kuenkel, Monmouth; Anthony Free, West Chester and Silas Matteson, TCNJ.
On June 3rd, 2024, the team, with coaches, parents and friends met at school to share a meal together, review the accomplishments of the season, recognize individual achievements on several levels, and announce the "Coaches Awards" for the best of the best!
Essentially, the coaches highlighted the accomplishments of four groups: the Freshmen, the Seniors, the Junior Varsity award winners and the Underclassmen award winners. Our photographer was unavailable but the four groups are presented in order below!
After each group was recognized, the coaches went on to present the most significent awards of the night:
Rookie of the Year: Ben Realley - Ben qualified for States in the 3200m and as a member of the 4 X 800m Relay! Ben is also Cherokee's Freshman Record Holder in the 800m, 1600m and 3200m! Finally, statewide for Freshmen, Ben is ranked first in the 3200m, second in the 1600m and fourth in the 800m!
Unsung Hero: Matteo Evola - Matteo is recognized for his devotion to the program despite his constant battle with injuries, always there to support the team even when he was unable to run. He was a four year member of the team and also one of our top 400m and 800m runners!
MVP Categories:
Sprinter/Hurdler: Ryan Bender: raced 10.94 in 100m, jumped 6' in High Jump, cleared 21-3 in Lomg Jump to qualify for States! In addition, he anchored the 4 X 100m Relay that advanced all the way to the MOC! (Is there an "All-Around Award"?)
Field (Throwers/Jumpers): Brody Wolfert - secured second place at SJ Group 4 Sectionals in the Discus and advanced to Group States, and he was Cherokee's 3rd best in Javelin!
Distance: Bobby Poplau - School Record Holder in the 800m, 1600m and 4 X 800m Relay! SJ Group 4 Champ in the 800m and 1600m! Enough said but they'll be talking about him for years!
Congratulations to all and continued success in all of your endeavors!
On June 7th, 2024, those who qualified at the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 4 Sectional Championships, traveled to Franklin High School for the NJSIAA New Jersey State Group 4 Championships! That included individual Distance runners, Seniors Nick Kuenkel and Bobby Poplau and those who made up the 4 X 800m Relay: Freshman Ben Realley, Junior Tate Midora, Sophmore Logan Bromley and Junior Enzo Corona. Also, qualifying were Sprint guys in the 4 X 100m Relay, Sophomore Noah Calderon, Senior Brian Magee, Junior Murad Campfield and Senior Ryan Bender. In addition, three Throwers advanced: in the Discus, Brody Wolfert, and in the Javelin, Zach Ott and Austin Lenart; as well as two Jumpers: Ryan Bender in the Long Jump and Sam Green in the High Jump! GO CHIEFS!
Once again, Coach Shaklee was quick to review the accomplishments of his squad!
"It's been a long year and a long spring season! A lot of good stuff has transpired but some of the athletes on the team are ready for a break.
"While seniors Nick Kuenkel and Bobby Poplau were still holding strong going into the State Group 4 Championships, the members of the the 4 X 800 Relay were beyond their competitive peak and struggling to approach previous performances.
"Group 4 is incredibly strong in the distance events this year! That was made clear on Friday in the first distance race, the 800m Run. On a warm and windy day, Bobby Poplau came in as one of the favorites. Although he ran the third fastest time in Cherokee history, 1:53.07, he had to settle for fifth place. It was an aggressive, physical race and Bobby was never able to get into a good position on the rail, running much of the race in lane two. As a result, he was working from the start to the finish, with no "float" time at all. That took a lot out of him and although he never gave up, he did not have his usual strong finish in the last 100 meters. Although he was disappointed with the outcome, he should be proud of the way he raced . . . never giving up and staying focused right to the line! Bobby now has the three fastest 800's in school history!
"Later on Friday, Nick Kuenkel took to the track for the 3200 Meter Run. As the 13th seed based on sectional times, we were concerned that there would be two heats and Nick would be relegated to the unseeded section. We were pleased to discover that there would only be one heat! The field was an incredibly strong one with only one of the top contenders deciding to scratch and focus on the 1600. As a result, although it was a large field, it went out fast enough to spread things out and, soon, a front pack of about seven runners were all that remained up front. After coming through the 1600 in 4:33.93 (there were FAT splits) running in perfect position, tucked in on the rail, Nick knew a move would be coming soon. With a little over three laps to go, Westfield's Avery Keith made the move and the pace picked up substantially with only Nick and two others going with it. With two and a half laps to go, Keith had opened a lead and Nick was running in third, right behind Brendan McMahon of Ridge High School. With 500m to go, Nick moved into second and held it to the line, fighting off a big kick from Manalapan's Stephen Kyvelos, the Indoor Group 4 State Champion. Nick's time of 9:05.87 was a three second PR! As the third fastest 3200 runner in school history behind Marc Pelerin (2002) and Shawn Wilson (2013), he is closing the gap on the top two. If he chooses to run this event at the upcoming Meet of Champions, it will be interesting to see if he can catch one or both of them!
"On Saturday, we had a 4 X 800m relay and Bobby and Nick doubling back in the 1600. The 4 X 800 results clearly showed that it is time for those guys to take a break and then start preparing for cross country. They all ran well off of their best times and we finished sixteenth in a field of thirty teams. The team of Ben Realley - 9, Tate Midora - 11, Logan Bromley - 10 and Enzo Corona - 11, cannot be faulted as the effort was there. They are just beyond their peak and tired from the long season (a lesson for the old coach for next year!).
"Later in the meet, Bobby and Nick came into the 1600 ready to go, although they both had to be feeling the effects of their Friday races. The field was loaded and it went out at a fast but steady pace with eight runners clustered together between 2:06.98 and 2:07.75 at the 800. With a lap to go, Bobby was in seventh and Nick was right behind him in eighth. Although they both worked hard over the last lap, they were able to pass just one runner. Nick had the slightly stronger finish, taking sixth in a PR of 4:14.59, which puts him number four on the Cherokee All-Time List. Bobby finished right behind him in seventh at 4:14.77.
"Now it is up to Bobby and Nick to decide which event they want to focus on at Wednesday's State Meet of Champions at Pennsauken High School. Whatever they decide, they both have had outstanding seasons and great high school careers! They are two of the best runners (and people) in school history and we are very proud of them!"
In addition to the Distance squad, the Sprinters -- Sophomore Noah Calderon, Junior Murad Campfield, Senior Brian Magee and Senior Ryan Bender -- raced the 4 X 100m Relay in 43.02, taking 14th/24 overall. The time was a PR for the group, having clocked 43.37 at Sectionals! The top 30 teams in the state advance to the Meet of Champions and Cherokee finished 26th/30 to advance!
Among the Throwers, Senior Brody Wolfert at the Discus was seeded second at 164' 04" from Sectionals but was unable to match that performance at Groups and failed to advance. Senior Zach Ott and Austin Lenart were at the Javelin, and Zach, seeded at 161' 06" threw 165' 08" and advanced, while Austin, seeded at 159' 10" threw 159' 09" did not advance!
Finally, the Jumpers, Senior Ryan Bender advanced from Sectionals in the Long Jump with a huge PR of 21' 03", but this week he only cleared 20' 09" and failed to advance; and High Jumper, Junior Sam Green stalled again at 6' 0" and he too failed to advance.
Extensive details including videos, pictures and results with splits at: NJ.MileSplit
Our photographer was there and "focused" on Cherokee only. Here are some of his pictures and they and the rest are on our Google site!
On June 8th, 2024, the SJTCA members, essentially the Track and Field coaches of South Jersey, met to select the members of the 2024 All-South Jersey Team and several of our athletes were recognized!
The selection is the most prestiguous in the region as it is the coaches throughout the region who make the selections. In the past, it was left to a newspaper writer or two who, unless you're talking about Reuben Frank, were far less informed than the combined knowledge of dozens of coaches.
This year, the association selected these Cherokee athletes:
800m Run: Bobby Poplau
3200m Run: Nick Kuenkel
4 X 800m Relay: Bobby Poplau, Nick Kuenkel, Logan Bromley, Ben Realley
Congratulations to all and continued sussess in the future!
Futher details available at: SJ Track.org
On June 12th, 2024, a relay team and three individuals, who advanced from the earlier State Group Championships, arrived at near-by Pennsauken High School for the NJSIAA New Jersey State Meet of Champions: our 4 X 100m Relay, of Sophomore Noah Calderon, Senior Brian Magee, Junior Murad Campfield and Senior Ryan Bender; our Javelin thrower, Senior Zach Ott; and two of our absolute best distance runners, Seniors Bobby Poplau and Nick Kuenkel! GO CHIEFS!
Off the track, at the very beginning of the meet, our focus turned to Field events where Senior Zach Ott competed in the Javelin! All season, Zach was our best thrower with a PR of 167' 11" in May and a throw of 165' 08" at Groups to qualify for the MOC! But things did not go well this time. Zack only managed to throw 156' 07" to finish 20th in the event. Still, his actual throws throughout the season and, more important, his dedication and leadership qualifes him as "one of the best of the best" on the team! GO ZACH GO CHIEFS!
For the guys on the track, the excitement began fairly late in the meet and, from an observer's point of view in the middle of the field, the race went well! Noah to Campfield, Campfield to Magee, Magee to Bender . . . all smooth, practiced passes! Everyone expected a new PR but the actual time of 43.14 was a tad slower than their qualifying time of 43.02 clocked at Groups! Still, it was an excellent conclusion to their season! GO CHIEFS!
Soon after the 4 X 100, an intimidating group of 800m runners took to the track, and not the least of them was Bobby Poplau, Cherokee's record-holder in 800m! Calm as usual, a little smile before the race, and then the gun sounds! Hands and feet flying over two laps, the best, including Bobby, running close at the front! His routine is to stay close to the front and then, with about 200m to go, to take off and finish fast! This time it was with the best of the best in the state and, despite his effort, he finished 4th in a tight group, 1:53.14, less than a second off his PR! Another exciting race from Cherokee's "prime mover!" Personally, we'll miss him dearly and we look forward to seeing him run at Rutgers! GO BOBBY! GO CHIEFS!
Perhaps saving the best to last, the 3200m Run was on the track and Nick Kuenkel was there in front! Next to him, a couple of barn-burners in the state and, right beside him, the Manalapan kid who lost to Nick by a tad last week at Groups. This is going to be a great race! The gun fires and, as usual the race goes out quickly but not that quick: it is 3200m, after all! The pace increases, the race in front is down to three, including Nick. Though feeling the heat and the pace, Nick sticks close to the front, perhaps planning to respond if the leaders faulter or take off!! They take off and Nick does too, finishing the last quarter in 62! Another outstanding time for him, 9:07.66, a few seconds off his PR! Second place! What a stud, even with those loose glasses! Personally, we'll also miss him dearly and we're looking forward to seeing him at Monmouth next year! GO NICK! GO CHIEFS!
Coach Shaklee sent his view of the Meet of Champs!
"The Cherokee boys team had seven athletes competing at the State Meet of Champions at Pennsauken High School on Wednesday, June 12th: Zach Ott in the Javelin, Noah Calderon, Murad Campfield, Brian Magee and Ryan Bender in the 4 X 100 Meter Relay, Bobby Poplau in the 800, and Nick Kuenkel in the 3200!
"Making it to the Meet of Champions was a nice accomplishment for Zach and, while he did not have his best day, he still managed a good toss of 156-09 to place twentieth. Zach has had a very good season and he will be missed next year as that consistent, dependable competitor in the javelin!
"The 4 X 100 Meter Relay Team had another strong showing. They have been extremely consistent throughout the championship season, running between 43.02 and 43.37 four times! Despite a couple of less than perfect hand-offs, the team did it again with a 43.14 clocking to place twentieth among the fastest teams in the state! It was a nice way for the two seniors, Brian Magee and Ryan Bender to end their high school careers! Noah Calderon and Murad Campfield return next year, and we'll have to wait to see who steps up to fill the void left by Brian and Ryan!
"Bobby Poplau and Nick Kuenkel have been absolutely great in this their senior seasons! They are both the model of dependability and consistency. Every time they go to the line, you know they will race well; they just never have a bad race! The State Meet of Champions continued that tradition for both of them!
"Bobby finished fourth in the 800 with a negative split time of 1:53.14 (56.83/ 56.31). That was the best finish by a Cherokee athlete in the 800 at the Meet of Champions since 2000, when former school record holder, Dave Sitzer, finished third (coincidently, in the exact same time of 1:53.14!). Bobby now has six of the seven fastest 800 times in school history, all between his school record time of 1:52.57, recorded when he won the SJ Group 4 Sectional Championship, and his time from his third place finish at the Indoor State Meet of Champions - 1:53.45 Seven performances all within .9 seconds of each other! That is consistent excellence!
"Nick Kuenkel also had a negative split race in the 3200 . . . a BIG negative split! He ran great tactically, covering the moves through the race while staying tucked in on the rail. The race went out conservatively and most of the field was still in contention when Nick came through the 1600 in third place at 4:41.87. Things heated up from there and really got going on the last lap! A slight gap formed between the two leading runners (Jimmy Wischusen of Union Catholic and Stephen Kyvelos of Manalapan) and Nick with 250 to go. However, Nick put the hammer down on the last straightaway and managed to catch Kyvelos for second in a time of 9:07.66, closing out the second 1600 in 4:25.79 and the last 400 in 62.61! It was the best 3200 finish ever at the Meet of Champions by a Cherokee runner! Nick leaves Cherokee as the third fastest ever in the 3200 and he owns four of the top seven performances in the event by a Cherokee runner, all between 9:05.87, run last week at the Group 4 State Meet, and 9:09.06, run at the New Balance Indoor Nationals . . . another great example of consistent excellence!
"We wish our seniors all the best as they move on to college! For those returning, take what you have learned from the example set by these seniors and come back next year ready for even greater things!"
Extensive details, including results, videos, additional pictures, discussions, etc at: NJ.MileSplit.
The rest of our photographer's pictures and those of Tom Smith, a professional photographer and a friend of Cherokee who works for MileSplit, are available on our Google site!
SJTCA Awards Ceremony, 2024
On June 20th, 2024, The SJTCA sponsored an "Awards Ceremony" at Cherokee High School for the many levels of awards winners thropughout the season, including State Champions, Meet of Champions Champions, Scholar-Athletes, All-SJ Teams and SJ Performers of the Year, etc. The ceremony showcased the incredible amount of Track and Field talent in South Jersey, including Cherokee's own All-South Jersey winners, Bobby Poplau, Cherokee's record-holder in 800m and Sectional Champion and 3rd at the MOC; Nick Kuenkel, Cherokee's third-fastest 3200m runner in history, Sectional Champion and 3rd at the MOC; and the 4 X 800m Relay Team of Bobby Poplau, Nick Kuenkel, Logan Bromley and Ben Realley . . ..
Coach Shaklee and our photographer attended the ceremony and caught our award-winners on the stage during the All-SJ Team presentation. Unfortunately, the photographer brought only one camera and that refused to play along! (Allen's Camera Shop thought that the 250,000+ clicks on the camera may have been a factor but decided that the two batteries just ended their season at the Meet of Champions, even though they were recharged! Hurumph!) Undaunted, their iPhones went into action!
Coach Shaklee fled the ceremony as soon as his athletes were recognized because he had to catch a plane; and Nick Kuenkel had the choice of attending the ceremony or enjoying the beach (with his girlfriend?) and he chose the later!
Though some may feel up to it and go on to national meets, the Meet of Champions generally marks the end of a long season! Hand shakes and hugs, words of appreciation, the return of uniforms and equipment, promises to stay in touch, . . . happiness at what was accomplished, sadness at what was not . . ..it's all part of the process! For some, high school Track will be the most intense and difficult physical challenge you'll ever face, for others it's just Step One!
One thing is certain for all: many of you have made firm friendships through the season, through the years, and you must not let them disappear! So often, we take those things for granted, and, so often, they just fade away. Many go to different colleges, get jobs away from home, or join the Army or some other form of national service . . . new experiences, new friends . . . but don't let your high school and team friends fade away. Get names and numbers in your phone and join the school's Alumni Association, or our unique Track and CC Alumni Association! Don't disappear!
Most of all, don't forget the coach with whom you dealt so closely . . . !
That said, thanks to Coaches Hoffman, Shaklee, Thompson, Viscity and Ludwikowski,for their dedication and expertise this season; and special thanks to Coach Shaklee for his help in maintaining this multi-year history of Cross Country and Track and Field; and to Cherokee's Athletic Director, Mr. Scott Agnew, who appreciates the sport and the work it involves much more than most AD's; and, finally, to the parents for the support they gave their son(s), the team and coaches during this long season!
Best wishes to all our athletes! We sincerely thank our graduating seniors for their work, leadership and performances, and we hope to see some of them soon, competing at the next level! Also, we look forward to seeing our undergraduates return even stronger next year to continue the exceptional history of Cherokee Track and Field!
~~ GO CHIEFS! GO CHEROKEE! ~~
~~ VALETE ET PLAUDITE! ~~