The month of May marks the beginning of the Championship Season and this page will focus on the SJ Invitational (May 1st); the SJ Relays (May 3rd); the 2nd Annual Lenape District Championship (May 8th); the Cherokee Invitational (May 13th); the Olympic Conference Championship (May 14th); the Burlington County Championship (May 17th); the Eastern Regional Relays (May 19th); the Indian Frosh Finale and the Haddonfield Twilight Night (both on May 20th); and the Bishop Eustace Throw Meet (May 21st). GO CHEROKEE!
South Jersey Invitational
On the evening of May 1, 2008, key members of the team competed in windy, cool, and off-and-on rainy conditions at Buena High School in the South Jersey Invitational. The highlight of the meet was Chris Steliga's winning performance in the Long Jump! But others did well in this very competitve meet! Both Jon Turner and Kevin Merrigan placed 6th in their respective events, the Shot Put and the 400m Dash! And both Mike Palmieri and Scott Woodmansee PR'd as they ran very aggressively in the 400IH! Finally, among the distance squad, Ryan Bobb PR'd in the Frosh 1600m by 7 seconds, and Kyle Smith PR'd in the 3200m by an incredible 22 seconds!
Complete results at: Colona BCTCA
Here are some pictures taken before the sun fell.
South Jersey Relays
On May 3, 2008, Cherokee returned to Buena High School for the 41st Annual South Jersey Relays and, among other things, set a new school record!
In the early part of the meet, the Freshmen events were contested. In the field events, the team of JoJo Smith and Drake Rodgers took 4th in the High Jump; and Ryan Bavas and Jeff Ventresca placed 3rd in the Shot Put.
By mid-afternoon, the Varsity events began and, almost immediately, the sprint squad of Kevin Merrigan, Niraj Patel, Chris Steliga and Will Rapp set a new Cherokee standard in the 400m Relay! The details are impressive: according to the unofficial NJ track historian, Reuben Frank, the team ran "the fastest 400m relay (time) in county history by a school located outside of Willingboro . . . won the event for the first time in school history in a meet-best 42.81 . . . ran the fastest time in the county in seven years . . . ran the sixth-fastest in the state this year and the third-fastest in South Jersey!" Besides all of that, the squad broke their own school record time set only a few weeks ago at Woodbury, and they qualified for the Nike Outdoor Nationals in June!
Soon after their 400m Relay success, the same team of Merrigan, Patel, Steliga and Rapp placed 3rd in the Super Sprint Medley in 1:34.80 and qualified for Nationals as well! . . . Start eatin' them grits, boys, ya'alls goin' to Grenville!
In other action, the High Jump Relay team of Justin Turner and Ed Krammer finished 2nd in the Varsity competition at 11' 8", while a second team of Lynell Payne and Demetrius Richardson won the JV competition, also jumping 11' 8".
Additionally, Lynell Payne teamed with Jon Turner in the Shot Put and finished 2nd in the event, with Payne throwing a PR and Turner throwing very close to one!
No pictures are available as the photographer had a wedding to attend!
Lenape Regional High School District Championships
On May 8, 2008, an evening marked by moderate winds and drizzling skies, the team traveled to Senaca High School for the 2nd Annual Lenape Regional High School District Championships and, for the second year in a row, took home the winning trophy!
Cherokee's victory came from strong performances across the board. Two individuals won two events -- Kevin Merrigan in the 100m and 200m, and Chris Steliga in the Long Jump and the 400m -- while others won one -- Major Mobley with a Meet Record and PR in the High Hurdles, Devin Prate in the Javelin, and Matt Maze in the Vault -- but many others performed well and garnered important points for the team!
Will Rapp took 2nd in both the 100m and 200m; Lynell Payne took 2nd in the HJ and 3rd in a PR performance at the Shot; Ted Schickling picked-up another 2nd place with a seasonal PR in the 1600m; while Kyle Smith took 2nd with his own PR in the 5K! Alex Yersak also took 2nd in the 3200m; and Jon Turner picked-up another 2nd place in the Shot Put!
Third place point-scorers included AJ Valentine in the 800m; Mike Palmieri with a PR performance in the 400IH; Chris Steliga in the Triple Jump; Matt Addezio in the Vault; and Lynell Payne with a PR in the Shot Put!
Several non-scoring performances deserve mention: Sean Hartnett's seasonal PR in the 1500m; and Richie Davis' PR of over 3 feet in the Triple Jump!
All in all, the team scored 117 points in the meet, surpassing the closest competitor by 32 points! GO CHEROKEE!
Here are some pictures taken before darkness set in.
