State Title Birthday Gift
Cherokee Boys win their 8th State Title on Shak's birthday
Hello to all of our new subscribers. Thanks for joining us and to those of you who have been with us for a while, you might notice something a little different.
The Alumni group has decided on a rebrand, away from 4xAlumni and toward a more unified (and easier to recognize) brand, Cherokee XCTF Alumni Association.
We look forward to sharing our passion of Cherokee XC and TF with you through newsletters, events [Save the Date(s)] for December 26th or December 27th, and much more.
Our mission is simple: help Cherokee XC & TF by providing support for needs that aren’t met through the school or the booster club. We work hand in hand with the coaches, admin, booster parents, and the team to fill in the gaps needed by the team.
Want to donate? We gladly accept donations that go directly to supporting the entire program.
State Meet
The Cherokee Boys Cross Country Team headed to Holmdel Park on Saturday, November 9th, for the Group 4 State Championship race. With five of the top ten ranked teams in the state in our race, we knew it would be a tough competition, especially since our top runner, Jack Tindall, had been sick during the week and was not back to 100%.
Video of the Group 4 race (pro account needed)
North Jersey Section 2 champs, Westfield, ranked fourth in the state, came in as the slight favorite over us (ranked fifth) and Cherry Hill East (ranked sixth), with ninth ranked Ridgewood and tenth ranked Manalapan also in the mix.
As a team, we had talked about the importance of getting out and into position in the first 1000 meters of the race and, as the field exited the woods up by the tennis courts, it was clear that the boys had taken that to heart with six of our seven in the large lead pack. As has been the case in every race we’ve been in this year, no one showed any interest in pushing the pace and things slowed down heading to the mile mark which the pack hit in the low to mid 5:30s, a very conservative start. With that slow of a start, it was not possible to say which teams were in contention since the pack was so large.
By the two mile, things had changed significantly, and not for the good. Cherry Hill East was running great and they were clearly winning the team race with a mile to go. Jack Tindall had faded and was struggling to hold it together. Liam Tindall was also struggling and it looked like it was not going to be our day.
And that was when the character of this team really shone through! Over the last mile, they refused to give up and, to a man, they chased people down. Coming into the finish, East had two runners in front of our first, their third in front of our third and their fourth in front of our fourth. In each of those battles, however, our guys kept fighting and they stayed close, minimizing the amount of points we were down.
In the team scoring, East’s top two were seventh and ninth, but Ben Realley and Logan Bromley were tenth and eleventh, making the score 16 to 21 in favor of Cherry Hill East after two runners each. Jack Tindall held it together and finished strong in fifteenth, one place behind the third East runner (after 3 each, the score was 30-36). With East’s fourth man finishing seventeenth, we needed a strong effort from our remaining runners to stay in contention . . . and we got it. Although he was not at his best, Liam Tindall toughed it out for an eighteenth place finish, in 16:43, to make the score 47 to 54 after four.
Cherry Hill East’s fifth man, like his teammates before him, set a new PR on the Holmdel course, finishing in 28th in the team scoring at 16:57, giving them a final score of 75 points. However, right behind Liam was sophomore, Sean Sooy, in nintheenth at 16:43, giving us a score of 72 points and an eighth state championship! For good measure, Enzo Corona finished 21st in the team scoring with a time of 16:46. With a one through six spread of only 25 seconds, this was the epitome of a team race and capped off a season in which this group has continued to find ways to win! Even Ben Weiner, who had an off day in 54th at 17:29, has much of which to be proud. This was not his day but he his outstanding effort last week helped secure our sixth consecutive sectional championship and propelled us into the state meet on a high note!
Coach Thompson and Coach Shaklee could not be more proud of these young men! Perhaps more than any other group in Cherokee Cross Country history, this team truly exemplifies what it means to be a TEAM. They are there for each other and they feed off of the energy of the pack. Even those who did not make the top seven were instrumental in our success! Their dedication and hard work all year long has been inspiring to the varsity seven and they were out on the course on Saturday cheering for their mates and keeping them motivated and focused from start to finish!
We are excited as we look forward to next week and the State Meet of Champions! We know that whatever happens, these guys will handle it, work as a team, and get the best result they are capable of. How do we know this? Because, that is what they do every time they go to the line!
Recap from NJ.Milesplit:
GROUP 4 BOYS LIVE UP TO HYPE
There was a lot of hype surrounding the boys' Group 4 race and it certainly lived up to it by producing the closest team race of the day and four sub-16 runners.
The team battle was another South Jersey showdown between No. 5 ranked Cherokee and No. 6 Cherry Hill East. A week after Cherokee defeated Cherry Hill East by 10 points in the SJ Group 4 Sectional race a week ago, the Chiefs again came out on top in a thriller, 73-75. Defending champions No. 4 Westfield was third with 97 points.
Cherokee was trailing Cherry Hill East, 47-54 after each team had four runners in, but Cherokee sophomore Sean Sooy finished 12 places ahead of Cherry Hill East's No. 5 man to secure the win.
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 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 September, October and November, we will be collecting funds that will directly contribute to funding for cross country 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
Venmo: @ Cherokee4xalumni