Cross Country Sports League: Week 1

It's that time of the year again, when the leaves die and flutter from the trees fleeing from snow, when the productivity levels dip below Jeff's height, when 5 Guys  come knocking at our arteriole doors, and when sleeping in on Saturdays becomes possible; no, it's not weekends during the summer, it's the two week break. While the two week break poses an ominous threat akin to sunlight for Ryan Federline to the rightfully fearful health fanatic(s) of the team, many bask in the freedom that it brings. During the two week break, the typical over-exhausted runner can be seen sometimes at night prancing aroung the track in an abscent state of mind, in a food coma anywhere that doesn't rhyme with "Saladworks", or towards the end of the break staring at running shoes as if to exercise their demons. Thankfully, the only shoe demons on the team  inhabited Wang's shoe, but have already torn their way out. Praise the lord.
Anyhow, by this point in my tirade that has probably wasted time enough for you to do about 10 burpees, sideplanks, or to hold a full conversation with Gilead. Now to the meat (Sorry Vignesh & Vimalesh), the climax of the entire post which comes along with such grandeur such that it may only reach your eyes once. On Monday, November 19th, the same day 149 years prior that Abraham Lincoln delivered a rather famous address at Gettysburg, CCSL (Cross Country League) opened its doors for business, calling innumerable, tired cross-country runners to the DeCou turf fields for the first game of the season: ultimate.

In the ultimate frisbee game, which raged into the night, Ben Dillon and team Asian fought against team WKUK (and John Lee). Starting out slow due to dump and runs by Mike Minion, Burt(s), and John Warkala of team WKUK, team Asian quickly fell to 0-5. Fortunately, Ben Dillon had threatened his team and Dan Helfand so much by that point that they started clicking, getting up by as much as 3 points at one time. However, due to precision passing by Mike Minion, diving catches by Dan Helfand, and defensive pressure by Mike Bruce, and outstretched receptions by John Warkala, team WKUK was able to go ahead by the near finish, leading 19-18. Team Asian soon became completely Asian, as Ben Dillon decided to tunnel home to Ashland shortly after falling behind. In order to offset this devastating loss, team WKUK decided to give team Asian one point as consepation, and thanks to an easily excitable soccer dad who threatened to kick us off "his" field, the game ended in a 18-18 tie. The several surprising standout players were Zach "Quack" Goldstein, who must have put glue on his hands, and Vimalesh Vasu, who appears could wheel and deal the frisbee.
 I also feel that I should mention Bryan Burt here because I'm pretty sure he would have failed a drug test during that game about ten times over.

The next day marked the inauguration of CCTL (""Tennis League) into the annual schedule; it was a huge success: Mike Minion won the Singles tournament, while Ryan Federline took the doubles titles with Dan Helfand, although Ryan deservedly took all the credit. Top 7 Week 1 tennis rankings are as follows:
1) Minion
2) Helfand
3) Dillon
4) Bruce
5) Mele
6) Taylor
7) Groff
Throughout the year, these rankings will continue to be updated.

To close out the hectic week, alumni day on Wednesday brought down Ben Helfand and Russell Beatty from their respective mountains in PA, while it similarly drove Mike Liachowitz down the coast to visit us from MA. The first game of the day, CCFL (""football league), brought fervor to the eyes of many as the day was charactized by incapable offensive lines (not to point fingers, bryan, warkala, and Jeff), the inability of players to catch the ball, and very little scoring. Honestly, all I can remember is getting crushed on every 4th down, every kickoff heading out of bounds, and last but certainly not least, Byran Burt annihilating Ben Dillon on 1st down "by accident"; it looked a lot like this:

Later in the day after Bryan Burt dislodged the ball that Ben spiked into his head, another game of ultimate arose, pitting Minion, Ben Dillon, and Dan Helfand against Russell and Ben Helfand, among other contributors; after several successive drives in which no one could score out of dropped and deflected passes, the game was given up, and the beleagered runners turned to 5 Guys, soccer, and later the East-West game, (which East won 28-0 thanks to Daishi Goto), and later something something else that is unmentionable and very censurable. By now, I don even know what the heck I am writing, so I'm just going to stop before I go on another tangent. Stay posted for next week's post.

States: A Team Effort

This post will be brought to you by two contributors: Mike Wang and Dan Helfand. Stay tuned for the upcoming season recap post.

Michael Wang

          On Saturday November 17, 2012, the Cherry Hill East Men’s Cross Country Team traveled up to historic Holmdel Park for the NJSIAA Group Championships, which they qualified for by placing second at the Sectional meet. The goal of this meet was to create new habits for upcoming Cherry Hill East teams, by creating a culture where it’s expected for East Runners to be near the front of all races.  The team was reminded to keep in mind during the race was to run “reckless” down the hills.

           

            The race conditions of the day were partly sunny, 52 degrees with a bit of wind.  As the gun went off, Mike Minion and Ben Dillon set the tone of the race early by going out hard and placing themselves in the top 15 at the 1.25 mile mark.  It was an extremely competitive race between the two as they often switched positions. In the end, Ben and Mike ran 16:49, and 16:50, respectively.  Last year at this meet, Ben and Mike ran 17:49 and 18:40, respectively. Ben improved by a whole minute while Mike improved by over 1:50 in under a year. This just shows how hard work can lead to dramatic improvement. Next up for East was Sophomore Dan Helfend who ran 17:15 good for 59^th place. Once again, Dan showed a competitive nature as he passed numerous people throughout the race. Rounding out the scoring was Chris Mele and Jared Dashvesky who ran 17:43, and 17:44, respectfully. This tight pack, along with Mike Bruce, ran close to each other throughout the race. Now, you’re probably asking what happened to freshman prodigy Aaron Groff; well. Aaron was right behind Dan at the 2.5 mile mark. Unfortunately, he suffered some excruciating pains and could not move, and later on had to be moved to Emergency Medical Transport. Truly an amazing season for a freshman, don’t worry Aaron, you have 3 more years to get it back.

 

            Overall, the team finished 12^th for Group 4, and 22^nd overall in the entire state of New Jersey. This concludes the 2012 Cross Country Season, and a truly amazing one. The graduating seniors would like to thank the entire team, and alumni, for the past 4 years. It’s been a great ride guys, and privileges to train, suffer, and laugh with so many of you. The memories of 4 years of will carry on for a lifetime.

            Next year, the team will return 5 of the 7 varsity runners with the goal of having 5 guys under 17 at Holmdel.  But for now, the team will take their two weak break. Then winter track is right on the doorsteps with the first race on December 15^th.

Dan Helfand

          I’d like to dedicate this section to my teammate, friend, and the best frosh anyone could ask for. Although you might not like attention, thats too bad Aaron, because I’m giving it to you. Aaron Groff runs tougher then any freshman I will ever meet in my life. I can always guarantee you that when Aaron finishes a race, running or swimming, he has emptied his tank. Aaron unfortunately experienced some problems in the race, and that is ok. Because I know Aaron enough to say that he would only drop out of a race for reasons he could not control. To everyone who has not yet told Aaron that he had a great season, you better do so.

          On a different note, all varsity members should be satisfied with their races. And to all, have a miserable two week break.

          I consider this year to be the start of a dynasty. Where Cherry Hill East will do more then put their name on the map, but own the map itself. Way to be “reckless” boys.

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~

 

Pennypacker & Conference

For many a runner on Cherry Hill High School East's Cross Country team, today marked an end to his 4th and unfortunately, final, cross country season. It has been a long journey, but it is far from over; the potential that our seniors and underclassmen have shown over the course of the season can only serve to create stronger individuals of ourselves and others, in running and out. But today will not be justly served if we think in the future; let's start with Pennypacker.

On Wednesday, October the 24th, the sub-varsity/freshmen boy's team canoed to Pennypacker Park for just another practice; however, they were so tired of doing the course there at long run pace, as they had done for countless Saturdays, that they decided to race it. In the freshman 5k race of the Haddonfield Sub-Varsity Invitational, Kennedy Omari (18:52), Sean Finias (18:52.5) and Brett Dashevsky all broke 19 for the first time, all nailing huge prs. While Kennedy skipped the 19-20 minute range completely (until Friday) Sean ran a HUGE race, breaking up the Kenyan-Arabian duo of Kennedy and Brett whilst fulfilling Coach's "Prophesy". Others who broke 20 were Cole Parsons(19:28), Vignesh Vasu (19:36), Sam Greenberg (19:39), and Gilead "The Israeli Missile" Caspi. Ryan Federline (20:03) and Dylan Clark (20:06) just missed the 20 minute mark, meaning that Ryan and Dylan can't do Basketball and Wrestling, respectively, in the winter. Just kidding guys; well, not really. Fortunately, we will be getting back Vimalesh Vasu (20:16) for the winter, who ran a solid race. Anyway, Alex Liu (21:15) and Benji Grossman (21:25) also had big races, dropping significant seconds from their prs.

The JV race was almost identical to the freshman race in terms of relative success. Jeff Braun (17:29)led the way, fighting his way to a victory in the JV section of the race; however, Jeff did not win the race, as Penn Tech's #1 man (Remember the kid that I destroyed in the woods at County's?) somehow managed to enter into the JV race. Sean Taylor (17:52) also ran a good race, breaking 18 for the first time. Sean was followed by Lokesha Shah (18:19), who dropped a moderate pr, and Jason Decker (18:47) who dropped 142 seconds off of his 5k pr from the beginning of the season. Great job Jason.
Aaron Zucker (19:06) and Bryan Burt (19:14) also recorded prs, with Bryan dropping almost 2 minutes this season, a season that almost came to an end for him with a red bull overdose and nearly falling off a tree.

While several individuals elected not to race on Wednesday in order to save up energy for the final race of their seasons, everyone raced on Friday at the Olympic Conference meet at GCC. At 3:40 on Friday, seconds before the smoke of the gun kissed the October breeze, 7 men stepped to the line, all with separate plans but with the similar intention to succeed. Not long after, everyone was finished, finished of energy, effort, but not of promise and hype for sectionals. Minion led the way to a 6th place, 1st team all-conference finish with a blazing 16:27 on the "C" course; this fantastic time also led Minion to achieve the Njrunners Silver Standard, a huge feat in itself. Ben "Sick" Dillon (16:38) and Dan Helfand (16:39) also ran great races, earning 2nd team all-conference letters. A-Aron Groff (16:54) also had an ENORMOUS race, and was the first freshman to break 17 for East in God knows when. Varsity won second place in the varsity race with a blazing 16:45 average, second to only Twp.
Can't wait for next Saturday, boys.

The JV race, although not as positive as the varsity race, experienced lots of success. Jeff Braun (17:54) won the JV race again (this time against some competition, nice job), pulling the classic JV trifecta (SJ soph champ - Pennypack - Conference); I know its frustrating Jeff, but you've put yourself in the best position to succeed. Other notable performances were run by Alex Liu (21:08) who managed to pr again, and Aditya Kuntamukula, who managed to race without even coming to a single practice; since the race results were so screwed up, I'm going to wait until we get it cleared up to commend those who deserve it.

Going forward, the six other members of varsity and I expect everyone* to continue to run with us through states and until MOCs, as we truly appreciate all over the positive attitude that radiates from certain members of the team. Surely, if every one of my teammates had the silent humility and motivation of Jason Decker, the hidden ferocity of Jeff Braun, the desire to learn of Sean Finias, the know-your-role-ness of Sam Greenberg, and the leadership-by-example of Sean Taylor, MOCs would not even be a doubt in my mind. Something ends and something begins: the season continues.
Keep on running.

GCC: Frosh/Soph Meet (By Jeff Braun)

On Saturday the Freshman and Sophomores (Minus Dan Helfand, Chris Melee, and Aaron Groff) went over to the familiar GCC course for the SJTCA Frosh/Soph Invite. After getting moved from Monday to Sunday, many of the original teams who were supposed to be in attendance were not, leaving only a crowd of 90 Freshman and 30 Sophomores. The Freshman started the day off with Kennedy, Brett, Cole, Sean, and Sam getting medals, and Sean had a good time of 16:23. Otherwise, the gap in between our 1st and 5th man was only 20 seconds, so any Freshman can still step up. Now to the Sophomore race. The day began with Loke$sh's absence and this was a shame because he could have easily procured himself a medal. All 4 of the sophomores got medals (Being that they only needed to beat 5 kids it wasn't that hard of a feat) however good times were posted around the board, and Burt pr'ed with a 19:49. Jeff Braun secured first place and also broke 18. Overall, the underclassmen went in to this race knowing what to do, and they got some hardware during it. Hopefully on Wednesday we are going to see a Freshman take charge at Penny Packer, and everyone should PR.