2nd Place Sectionals Finish
Congrats to those athletes moving on to States!
As promised, here is the Cherokee boy’s recap of the Sectional meet, thanks to coach Shaklee.
We have more exciting news as two former Cherokee athletes have joined our Executive Board: Chase Miller and Mike Gavio. We are extremely excited for them to join us.
In addition to Chase and Mike, we are looking for members of the Lady Chiefs to join the Board. If you’d like to be considered for the Board, please reach out via email, leave a comment, or contact Coach Shaklee or Coach Jarvis.
Sectionals Recap
The Cherokee boys Indoor track and field team placed second at the South Jersey Group 4 Sectional Championship Meet on February 14th at the Toms River Bubble.
The team scored 40 points to finish behind a dominant Toms River North squad and three points ahead of third place, Cherry Hill East. 30 of the team’s 40 points were scored in the three distance events, the 1600, 800, and 3200. Tobin Howarth’s third-place finish in the pole vault and Sam Green’s fourth-place finish in the high jump accounted for the remaining ten points.
The 1600 Meter Run was Cherokee’s best event with junior, Logan Bromley, freshman, Jack Tindall, and senior, Enzo Corona taking first, second, and fifth for a total of twenty points. The race went out fairly slowly and the lead pack was crowded as the field hit the halfway point around 2:15. There was a slight increase in pace on the 5th lap before Logan moved to the lead with three laps to go and began a long grind to the finish. His last three laps were run in 31.7, 31.4, and 29.9, for a final time of 4:21.37, a new PR! His time makes Logan the ninth-fastest Cherokee runner indoors and the seventeenth-fastest overall! He needed to run that fast to hold off his freshman teammate, Jack Tindall, who continues to round into form following his return from injury. Jack’s time of 4:22.81 was an indoor PR by three seconds and a new Cherokee indoor freshman record (in fact, it is three seconds faster than the current Cherokee outdoor record)! Enzo set a new PR of 4:25.74 to finish fifth, despite not being 100% healthy and dealing with a lot of head congestion!
In the 800, sophomore, Ben Realley, was in the seeded (3rd) heat while junior, Dom Pileri, was in the second heat. Dom ran a very strong race with a big negative split to come from behind to win his heat with a three-and-a-half-second PR. His time of 2:03.49 held up for seventh overall, just missing advancing to the state group meet by one place! In the final heat, Ben set a new indoor PR of 1:58.91 to finish fourth in a very strong field!
Seniors, Liam Tindall and Ben Weiner, and sophomore Sean Sooy were all in the 3200 Meter event. The race went out slowly and there was a lot of contact throughout. After the mile, reached around 4:57, the pace began to pick up. Liam held on to finish third in 9:44.17, while Sean set a new PR of 9:50.05 for seventh and Ben ran a new indoor PR of 9:55.56 for eighth!
Next up, Logan, Jack, Enzo, Ben R., and Liam will compete in the State Group 4 Championships back at the bubble next Sunday.
Fundraising Goals
It is the mission of the Cherokee XCTF Alumni Association to support the current crop of track and field and cross country athletes.
We are focusing on 5 major areas that we feel, with the support of the coaches, are important for this generation of student-athletes:
Offset or completely cover the cost of post-season events not sponsored by the school. This includes National Meets (cross country, indoor and outdoor track) and invitationals (Oregon, etc).
Award scholarships for deserving seniors.
Provide State Champions and School Record holders with gifts.
Support families with athletes who would like to attend a cross country camp but cannot afford it.
Provide funding for athletes needing physiotherapy who cannot afford it.
We currently have the availability to collect funds via Venmo, cash and checks, and credit card. You also can become a paid subscriber.
During the months of January, February, and March we will be collecting funds that will directly contribute to funding for winter track post-season meets. Please consider donating to help fund our scholarship money.
Venmo: @ Cherokee4xalumni
Cherokee XCTF Alumni Association Venmo
About Cherokee XCTF Alumni Association
We are a non-profit organization with volunteer board members that seek to help provide funds that go directly to the current team. Our mission is:
to provide funding for travel and lodging to championship meets not covered by the school.
to provide scholarships to graduating seniors.
to provide recognition and awards to State Champion winners and new School Record holders.
to provide funding for current athletes who need assistance attending cross country camp.
to provide funding for current athletes who need assistance seeking treatment from injuries related to track/cross country.
Our Board
President: Jeff Storch ‘99
Vice President: Michelle (Bilicki) Wolosky ‘01
Secretary and Treasurer: Caitlin (O’Malley) Bertheaud ‘05
Social Media & Communication: Lisa Burkholder ‘06
Marketing & Fundraising: Marc Pelerin ‘02
Event Coordinator: Tim Haggerty ‘96
Team Liaison: Dave Sitzer ‘00
Voting Members: Joe Halin ‘00 & Sunny Patel ‘96