NJ Meet of Champions Recap
7 athletes across 4 different events competed at the prestigious meet
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 4x100 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 4x100 Meter Relay Team had another strong showing. They have been extremely consistent throughout the championship season. They have run 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 and Murad will return next year, and we will 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 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 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 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!
Fundraising Goals
It is the mission of 4xAlumni 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 only have the availability to collect funds via Venmo, but we are actively seeking ways to collect via credit card, Zelle, PayPal, and other forms to accommodate the ecosystem in 2024.
During the months of April, May, and June, we will be collecting funds that will directly contribute to scholarships for graduating seniors. Please consider donating to help fund our scholarship money.
Venmo: @ Cherokee4xalumni
About 4xAlumni
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 ‘00
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
Venmo: @ Cherokee4xalumni