Indoor Peaking for the Girls
Tub Gator Time for the Lady Chiefs
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Meet of Champions Recap – March 2nd
Sunday, March 2nd, the girls competed in the Meet of Champions at Ocean Breeze Sports Complex in Staten Island. We were both opening and closing the meet, with the first event on the oval being the 4x800m relay and the last being the 4x400m relay.
The 4x800m relay is a showcase event, accepting only the top 24 teams entered. We came in as the 10th seed with a 9:42 mark from earlier in the season at Ocean Breeze. I down-seeded us to 9:51 to ensure we avoided the fast heat, as we weren’t running three of our top girls due to their individual event qualifications. Having the relay at the start of the meet makes doubling difficult for distance runners. When we won in 2022, the race was the last event on the track.
I (Coach Jarvis speaking here) challenged the girls to break 9:55, a goal that seemed realistic based on their personal bests. Freshman Erin Healy led off, settling into 11th place within the chase pack. But with a huge final lap, she surged up to 4th, clocking a personal-best split of 2:26.95—her first time under 2:27. She handed off to junior Sofia Recinto, who ran smart, controlled splits to gradually move into 3rd. Then, with a blistering final lap, she propelled us into 2nd, recording a stunning 2:22.93, shattering her previous best of 2:29.
Senior Grace Wojciechowski took over next, running steady and even splits to maintain 2nd place. She delivered a lifetime-best 2:28.87, breaking the 2:29 barrier for the first time. Senior Emily Butler anchored the relay, going out a bit too aggressively but managing to hold strong. Though the team slipped back two spots, finishing 4th in their heat, Emily still ran a solid 2:31.10, just shy of her PR (2:29).
When all heats were completed, the team placed 10th overall, clocking 9:49.84—less than two seconds from making the podium. That mark ranks as the 20th-fastest indoor time in program history.
The 1600m was up next, featuring Megan Niglio and Maddie Meder in the first of two heats. Coming off States, Megan entered with a season-best of 5:08 and Maddie with 5:11, earning them the 19th and 24th seeds, respectively. As the race unfolded, both runners settled into the lead pack, fluctuating between 5th, 6th, and 7th place. With two laps to go, Megan made her move, climbing into 5th, while Maddie held steady in 7th. Megan closed strong, surging into 3rd at the finish, clocking 5:03.56—just 0.35 seconds off her lifetime best. Maddie crossed in 7th with a time of 5:11.53. When the results were finalized, they placed 12th and 16th overall.
Next up was the 800m, where Alyssa Suriano entered as the 23rd seed in the first of two heats. She opened with a quick 31.75 first lap, coming through in 6th place, positioned right in the middle of the pack. She then settled in, splitting 35.53 on lap two but slipping to 10th. Maintaining her rhythm, she clocked 35.94 on lap three, moving up to 8th. With a powerful final lap of 34.85, she surged into 4th, stopping the clock at 2:17.86—more than a two-second personal best. Alyssa finished 14th overall, and her time now ranks #4 all-time indoors for the program. An incredible performance for her first individual race at the Meet of Champions!
The last event for us was the 4x400m relay that grabbed the last wildcard advancement. The girls ran 4:11.17 at States and were the 26th seed. We challenged the girls to run under 4:10. They were in the 2nd of six sections. Veronica Ashcraft led off for us and took the lead coming in off the break and never looked back. She split 1:01.55 which is her fastest indoor 400m split to date. She handed off to Sofia Recinto. Sofia lost a spot and dropped back into 2nd, but still managed to split 1:02.16 which is also her fastest indoor 400m split. Megan NIglio was next up for us running 1:02.87. We fell back one more spot and were now in 3rd. Freshman Emily Couture carried the final leg covering the two laps in 1:02.64. The clock stopped at 4:09.22. That time was 22nd over all and a huge season best time. The girls met every challenge that we asked of them today.
Eastern States Recap
With a quick turnaround, the 4x800m relay team headed to the Armory in New York City on Tuesday, March 4th, to compete in the Eastern States Championship. While this meet has lost some of the prestige it once had, I find myself saying every year that we won’t return—yet here we were again. We hadn’t put together a fully stacked 4x800m since the State Relays, but we entered with the goal of securing a Penn Relays qualifier. On paper, we were the top seed with the 9:42 we had run earlier at the Ott Center. With ten teams in the race, we knew others were likely in the same position as us, aiming for a fast time. Our lineup saw a slight change due to Sofia Recinto’s huge PR at the Meet of Champions.
Alyssa Suriano led off, settling into the middle of the chase pack as two teams surged ahead early. On lap three, a runner in front of her tripped, causing a brief scramble, but Alyssa managed to stay on her feet. She closed strong on the final lap, pulling us into 2nd place, nearly tied with the leader. Megan Niglio took the baton for the second leg, staying right on the leader’s shoulder before surging into first place. She handed off to Sofia Recinto with a slight lead, and Sofia held firm, even extending the gap slightly. She had a close call near the railing but kept her balance.
Anchoring the team, Maddie Meder took off and never looked back, using the teams ahead of her as targets to chase down. When the clock stopped, it read 9:21.64—good for the #1 time in South Jersey, #3 in New Jersey, and #18 in the U.S. Rueben Frank wrote a great article on the performance, which can be found here. That time is also the #15 mark in South Jersey history—an incredible achievement for the squad!
Lady Chief’s splits were as follows:
Alyssa Suriano 2:20.06 #8 all time indoor split
Megan Niglio 2:19.19 #9 all time indoor split
Sofia Recinto 2:23.93
Maddie Meder 2:18.48 #4 all time indoor split
Their time is also #6 all-time in school indoor track history.
Next week for us will be spent up in Boston. Once again the Alumni Association makes this trip possible covering the cost of hotels and entry fees.
*If any of our alumni would like to support this trip, please consider donating via Venmo [Cherokee4xalumni]
Thursday, Erin Healy will race in the freshman mile (2:20 pm) and the 4x800m relay will run that evening (6:10 pm)
Friday evening is the DMR (5:35 pm)
Saturday evening is the 4 x Mile (6:50 pm)
Both Megan Niglio (mile) and Alyssa Suriano (800m) qualified individually, but would rather run as a relay than do an open event. That is one thing I love about this group, they want to do so much for each other. Thank you all again for the support and allowing our programs to excel.
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