Yikes! You've been working your butts off and this is the payoff: States! the State South GP 4 Sectionals; the State GP 4 Championships; and the State Meet of Champions! Mixed in, a few end-of-the-season meets to allow top quality individuals to sharpen even more, and for lesser individuals to have one more opportunity to lower or raise a PR! GO CHIEFS!
Coach Shaklee sent this report on the meet!
"The Cherokee boys Track & Field team finished in ninth place at the South Jersey Group 4 Sectionals held at Lenape High School on May 15th & 16th with 38 points.
"On the first day, the meet did not start great for the team as the 4 X 100 Relay had an off day and failed to score.
"Next up was the 800 Meter Run. Senior, Logan Bromley, had his best race of the season, running a patient race and finishing strong to take 4th in 1:58.11 and give the team 4 points in that event! Sophomore, Evan Amato, also ran very well. Although he did not score, he did set a new personal record of 2:04.57!
"Next on the track was the 100 Meter Dash. Sophomore, Davis Walker, running into a strong headwind, managed to win his heat but, unfortunately, the time did not advance him to the final. Had he been in a different heat, the story most likely would have been different.
"In the next running event, senior, Colin Feehan, set a new PR in the 400 Hurdles but was unable to place in the top six, leaving the team with just four points heading into the final track event of the day, the 3200 Meter Run.
"Juniors, Max Harada, Sean Sooy and Gavin Danielewicz were in the line-up for Cherokee. Sean decided to take the lead from the start and push the pace, a difficult task in a championship race. Sean led for the first six laps, and even opened up a lead on the field. However, the strain of running from the front caught up with him and the pack caught him with 800 to go. Max was with the pack and he took the lead with a little over a lap remaining. Although he closed well, two other athletes also closed very well and Max had to settle for third with a new PR of 9:22.98! Sean finished in fifth which gave us a total of eight points in the event and twelve total on the day. Gavin tried his best but the early fast pace of the race left him hurting over the final mile. He still finished eighth and his time of 9:43.18, while not his best, was still 30 seconds faster than his best time from last year, showing how much he has improved! It will be nice to have all three of these guys returning next year!
"While the track events were being run, a couple of good performances were happening in the field. Senior, Noah Calderon, set a new PR in the long jump at 20' 8" to take tenth and junior, Justin Cecchetto, took tenth in the pole vault with a new PR of 10'!
"Day Two also did not start well for the team as we didn't field a runner in the first event, the 400, and our athletes in the second event, the 110 hurdles, did not have the best day. The field events on Day Two also resulted in no team points. The third, fourth and fifth events on the track, however, were a different story!
"The 4 X 800 Meter Relay team of Sean Sooy, Evan Amato, Logan Bromley and Dom Pileri, ran to a fourth place finish! Sean's lead off, 2:01.82, put us in the mix in a close 4th. Although Evan did not have his best race on the second leg, he still kept us close enough as he handed off in 7th. Logan ran an even better race on the third leg than his open 800 from the day before, moving us from seventh to fourth and splitting 1:57.95 on a very windy day! Dom ran a very aggressive, determined anchor, recording his best time of the season to maintain our position and give the team four more points to put us at 16!
"The 200 Meter Dash was next and Davis Walker showed that the 100 from yesterday was simply a result of being in the heat most affected by the wind. On this day, all the heats were running into an equally bad head wind! Despite that obstacle, Davis ran a powerful race and finished 3rd in 22.44 to give the team an additional 6 points for a total of 22!
"Sophomore, Jack Tindall, junior, Max Harada and Freshman, Hamza Salahuddin were up next in the 1600m Run and the wind was still a big factor! As a result, none of the three went to the lead during the first two laps, preferring to tuck in and be patient. They passed the 800 in 2:15 with a big pack all together. With 700 meters to go, Jack moved to the lead and began his push to the finish. His move worked perfectly as he ran away from the field with a 2:04.46 last 800 and a 60.76 last 400, for a winning time of 4:19.40! Max also managed a negative split with a 2:11.29 last 800 and a 63.91 last 400 to repeat his third place finish from the 3200, and another PR at 4:26.47! Hamza struggled a little in what was a very physical first 800 and came up just short of qualifying in seventh place. Between Jack's first place finish and Max's third, a total of 16 additional points were added to the team total for a final score of 38! With most of the point scorers returning next year, things look promising for Cherokee Track & Field 2027!
"Next up, those not racing the state meet will have the Cherokee Final Countdown Meet on May 21st and the Cherokee Night Racer 2 Meet on May 26th, with the State Championship Meet falling on Friday and Saturday, May 29th-30th at Franklin High School."
Details at: NJ.MileSplit.
Our photographer provided the following pictures from Sectionals.
Coach Shaklee sent the following report on the meet:
"On Thursday, May 21st, fourteen Cherokee distance runners competed in The Final Countdown Track Meet, held at our home track. Eight of them ran the 1600, three ran the 800, and, for some speed work, three ran the 400.
"The 1600 was a little bit of a mixed bag, with personal records recorded by only three of the eight Cherokee runners. Junior, Jack Finley placed 2nd in heat 2 and 11th overall with a new PR of 4:47.24! In that same heat, sophomore, Rocco Bellano knocked a few seconds off of his previous best, stopping the clock at 5:09.09! Junior, Jonathan Merkel, won the first heat and set a new PR of 5:09.24! Junior Bruce Novoa, Sophomore Evan Amato and Junior Leo Vyvyan, while not quite setting new PRs, ran well to take 6th, 8th and 10th respectively!
"Seniors, Logan Bromley and Dom Pileri, and freshman, Hamza Salahuddin, were running the 400 to work on their speed for the 4 X 800 Relay next week at the Group 4 State Meet. All three of them ran very well, clocking 51.36, 52.51 and 55.08, establishing new PR's and placing 4th, 7th and 22nd respectively! They are definitely ready for a good relay at States!
"All three Cherokee runners in the 800 also set new PRs! Sophomore, Dylan Weiner, led the way with his aggressive racing in heat 2. He made a move for the lead on the backstretch of the second lap and, although he came up a little short of the win, he did manage to take two seconds off of his previous best with a time of 2:06.94! Also setting new PRs were freshman, Colton Harbough, 2:10.50, and sophomore, Fletcher D'Alessandro, 2:25.65!
"Next up is the second Cherokee Night Racer Meet. This will be the final competition for those not moving on to States."
Among the Sprinters, in the 100m Dash, Sophomore Davis Walker took 1st/49 overall and clocked 10.85, a tad slower than his PR of 10.85! Senior Noah Calderone took 10th in a PR of 11.65; Junior Isaiah Williams-Lewis took 32nd/ in 12.29 (off his PR of 12 flat); and Freshman Justin Chea followed in 33rd with a PR of 12:32! In the 400m Dash, as reported by Coach Shaklee, two distance guys dropped down for speed work: Senior Logan Bromley took 4th/41 overall with a nice PR of 51:36, and Dom Pileri took 7th with his own PR of 52.51! Also in the 400m, two Freshman had some nice races at 21st and 22nd: Tyreek Maulsby clocked a nice 55.06, a tad slower than his PR of 54.81 set at Moorestown; and Hamza Salahuddin clocked 55.08, his PR for the season! Finally, in the 4 X 200m Relay, the team took 2nd/8 entered in 1:34.47.
The 110m Hurdlers took 9th and 13th/14 overall in the event and both set new PR's: Juniors Colin Feehan clocked 18.98 and Jacob Nabinger clocked 20.66. In the 400m Hurdles, Nabinger returned and finished 22nd/24 overall while racing a PR of 1:06.84.
In the Jumps, Junior Isaiah Williams-Lewis cleared 5' 6" in the High Jump for a season PR and took 4th/7 overall, while Senior Sam Zucco cleared 5' 2" and took 6th. In the Long Jump, Senior Noah Calderone cleared 20' 0.25" to take 3rd/13 overall; Freshman Anthony Alleva followed in 4th with a PR of 19' 5.75"; and Sophomore Silas Francino finished in 10th at 17'6.5". Finally, in the Pole Vault, Junior Justin Cecchetto cleared 10' 0" to take 4th/7 overall; and Junior John Spicer cleared his PR of 8' 0" and finished 7th.
In the Field, Junior Shot Putter Jacon Cranmer put the Shot 36' 11" to take 10th/19 overall in the competition. He was followed directly by Junior Jaxon Jacobus in 11th who put it 35' 10", and Junior Stephen Shultz who put it a PR 35' 08". In the Discus, Junior Matthew Greski flung it 104' 05" for 6th/16; Sophomore Evan Carbone sent it 88' 05" for 11th, and Senior Dominic Eleftheriou followed in 14th at 77' 03". Finally, the Javelin! Senior Sam Zucco took 4th/13 overall with a 129' 06" throw; Freshman Joey Buono threw 116' 01" and took 9th; and Senior Dominic Eleftheriou returned to fling it a PR 81' 8".
Details at: NJ.MileSplit.
Our photographer was unavailable.
On May 26th, 2026, Cherokee again hosted an evening event, the Cherokee Night Racer #2, a final opportunity for distance runners to achieve their goals in the 800m and 1600m races! Others who qualified, sharpened for the up-coming NJ Group States Championships.
In the 800m Run with 128 finishers and 12 heats, Cherokee entered only three athletes. Senior Logan Bromley took 2nd overall in 1:57.65, a nice sharpening exercise for Groups! Freshman Hamza Salahuddin achieved the same when he finished 14th in an 800m PR of 2:01.93! Two others raced the event: Junior Bruce Novoa finished in 24th and set a new PR in 2:06.44; and Freshman Tyreek Maulsby finished 31st and also PR'd in 2:08.14!
Details at: NJ.MileSplit
Our photographer was unavailable.
On May 26th, 2026, Sophomore Jack Tindall, perhaps hoping for a faster sharpening experience than he would find at home, traveled to Henderson High School in West Chester, PA for the John Hay Pennsylvania Distance Festival. There he raced against some incredible milers and finished 15th over hundreds of others.
Our photographer was unavailable.
Coach Shaklee wrote the following on the State Group 4 Championships at Franklin High School.
"The Cherokee boys track and field team had five individuals and a relay team qualify for the Group 4 State Championship at Franklin High School on Friday and Saturday, May 29th and 30th: Logan Bromley - 800m, Max Harada & Sean Sooy - 3200m, Davis Walker - 200m, Jack Tindall and Max - 1600m, and the 4 X 800m Relay of Dom Pileri, Sean Sooy, Hamza Salahuddin and Logan!
"First up on Friday was Logan Bromley in the 800m. Unfortunately, it did not go well as Logan got a little tripped up early in the race and lost his focus. He would come back on Saturday with a much better race.
"The 3200m was next and it was run under pretty challenging conditions - heat, sun and wind. Max Harada, who had struggled to recover after his excellent double at Sectionals, was in questionable form. He had missed several days of running and had done no workouts since his sectional races. As a result, Max opted to scratch from the 1600 and just focus on the 3200. While not at 100%, Max did a nice job of staying focused and racing well, finishing seventh with another sub-9:30 clocking, advancing to the Meet of Champions! Sean Sooy, showing some strain from a long competitive season, hung in for most of the race but faded over the last 800, finishing 12th.
"On Saturday, a cool and very windy day, first up for the team was the 4 X 800 Relay. Dom Pileri struggled on the lead-off, handing off to Sean Sooy far behind the leaders. Sean over-ran the first 400 trying to close the gap but then faded on the second lap. Hamza Salahuddin did what he could on the third leg but it was difficult with the very strong wind on the backstretch and far turn. Logan Bromley got the baton pretty far back and ran a smart, tough race on the anchor leg to move us up in the standings with a time fast enough to qualify for the Meet of Champions!
"Next up, sophomore, Davis Walker, won his heat of the 200m and finished sixth overall!
"Finally, sophomore, Jack Tindall, while not looking as sharp as he had at sectionals, still ran well in the 1600m, passing several runners in the homestretch to finish second and advance to the Meet of Champions!"
Watch the races on video at NJ.MileSplit.
June 2nd, 2026, those who qualified advanced to the NJ State Meet of Champions at near-by Pennsauken High School and Coach Shaklee provided a review of the action!
"The 4 X 800m Relay was the first event on the schedule. We switched the order, with Sean Sooy running lead-off, Hamza Salahuddin running the second leg, Logan Bromley on the third leg, and Dom Pileri on anchor. It was not our best effort, as the team finished in 22nd place, but the highlight was Dom anchoring in 1:59.72, his second fastest 800m ever!
"Jack Tindall was in the first of two heats in the 1600m. Knowing he was competing against those in the second heat, when the pace slowed, Jack went to the lead early and ran a strong second 800m. He nearly won the heat, just getting caught on the homestretch but finishing a mere 3/10th of a second behind the winner! His time of 4:14.43 was seven seconds faster than his seed time and it held up for ninth overall!
"Max Harada was also in the first of two heats in the 3200m. Once again, he ran a very focused, determined race, finishing in fourth place in his heat and 11th overall! His time of 9:25.02 was his second fastest time of the season and a good way to wrap things up!"
Our photographer and Tom Smith, a good friend of Cherokee at MileSplit, provided these pictures to our Google link. Sean Sooy, where are you?!
On June 10th, 2026, yet another opportunity to show-off and sharpen was provided by the Christian Brothers Academy at their campus in Lincroft. The Winner's Circle at The Horse Farm encouraged many of the top runners in the state to race on a fast track with lots of competition before the upcoming New Balance Nationals on June 18th.
Our top runners included Sophomore Jack Tindal and Freshman Hamza Salahuddin! Jack was unable to stay competitive against the top runners in his race but Hamza finished in a very strong 4:22.92 in his race to set an excellent new PR for himself!
Coach Shaklee reported the following:
"Jack Tindall and Hamza Salahuddin both had plans to run at the New Balance Nationals two weeks after the Meet of Champions. This meet, at CBA, was designed to bridge the gap and keep them sharp for the National Meet. Unfortunately, Jack tweaked his hip flexor in a workout after MOCs and missed several days of running. As a result, the meet did not go well for him and he made the decision to skip Nationals and, instead, rest up before beginning his training for the fall.
"Hamza was coming off of a sub-par race in the 4 X 800 at MOCs and this event would determine if he should run Nationals or, as Jack did, skip it to rest before beginning his summer training. He answered that question with his fastest 1600 ever - 4:22.92, a five second PR, making him the second fastest freshman 1600m runner in Cherokee history, behind Jack from last year!"
Further details at: NJ.MileSplit.
Our photographer was there and posted the following at our Google site.
On June 18th, 2026, Cherokee's lone participant at the New Balance Nationals, Freshman Hamza Salahuddin toed the line in the Freshman 1600m race. Last week, Hamza smashed his PR while running 4:22.92 in the 1600m at The Winner's Circle at the Horse Farm and he entered this race with high expectations!
Unfortunately, entered in the 5th of 6 heats overall, Hamza (competing for the Tub Gator TC) stayed competitive throughout the race with the leader finishing in 4:29.6 and Hamza finishing a close 4th in 4:32.31.
Coach Shaklee sent the following analysis.
"Hamza was in the fifth heat of six in the Freshman Mile at NBON. The race was tactical and there was a lot of contact on the first lap as no one wanted to lead and the group bunched up. When it got going, Hamza did not immediately cover the move and, although he finished well over the last 300, it was a slightly disappointing outcome as he placed fourth in his heat and 39th overall. Stil, Hamza had a great freshman season with PR's of 2:01.93 for 800m, 4:22.92 for 1600m and 9:37.63 for 3200m! He is primed and ready for an even better sophomore year to come"!
Details at: Leone Timing.
Our photographer was unavailable.