Sectionals: Brought to you by Michael Wang

On Saturday November 10^th, the Cherry Hill East Men and Women Cross Country Team went to Delsea Regional High School, for the NJ Group 4 South sectional championships.  The Men Team’s goals were to win the sectional title for the first time in over 25+years, while the Women Team’s goals were to qualify for States for the first time since 2008.

            First off was the Men’s race. With great racing weather of about 55 degrees, and no sun, the gun went off.  Junior Stud Ben Dillon took off right from the start and established himself in the top 7 of the race, as he knew he had to go out hard in order to stay competitive.  Ben ended up finishing 5^th for a blazing time of 16:24.  Senior Mike Minion and Super Soph Dan Helfand were close behind him for most of the race.  Minion and Helfand would finish back to back with very nice times of 16:47, and 16:46, respectfully.  Helfand’s race should be noted because he picked “fights” with practically everyone who was in front of him. Helfand passed numerous TWP and Southern runners, the main competition for the sectional title.  Great Job Dan Helfand.  Next up, Freshman Prodigy Aaron Groff, who ran with a bum knee, toughed out the pain and finished with a time of 17:03, unheard of for a freshman. Bright futures are indeed foreseeable for this humble man.  Junior Jared Dashevsky rounded out the scoring with a time of 17:07, staying right near Aaron Groff for the majority of the race.  Chris Mele and Mike Bruce were close to each other for the majority of the race and finished out the top 7 with times of 17:24 and 17:28, respectfully.

            Unfortunately, despite a great team average of 16:49, the team finished second to Washington Township for the Group 4 South title. This was the team’s best placing in over 25+ years, and while many members of the team are disappointed for not winning it all, great praise should be thrown on the team.  The team will travel to historic Holmdel Park next week for the New Jersey Group 4 meet, which they qualified by finishing in the top 5 of this meet. 

            The Women’s team also finished 8^th as a team for the meet, led by Junior Maddy Berman with a time of 19:56, good for 16^th place.  This was the Women’s team best finish since the 2008 season, after a few subpar seasons.  The culture and tide of the Women’s team is turning around.  Next year, the team will return 5 of the top 7 with hopes to once again be competitive. Great season Girls!
            This was Senior Mike Wang with your latest blog.
            Keep on Running~