SJ Elite leading up to States

From Rain to Records: A Remarkable Run Through Sectionals

From the SJ Elite meet through Sectionals, it has felt like nothing but rain. Meets have been postponed, moved, and even cancelled. But despite the unpredictable weather, the girls have achieved some truly remarkable things this season. Let’s highlight some of the standout accomplishments.

Reaching .500 – A Historic Milestone

One of the season’s most significant moments came early. With a win over Cherry Hill East, the program reached a .500 all-time record for the first time ever. Just a few meets later, a win over Eastern pushed us into uncharted territory — a winning program record. When I took over in 2004, the team stood at 89-124-1. When the program first started, they had 11 dual meets a season and a small roster. That led to a big hole that I honestly never thought we’d dig out of. After our final dual meet, a loss to Rancocas Valley, the program’s record now stands at 152-152-2.

South Jersey Elite Meet Highlights

We had several impressive performances at the SJ Elite Meet:

• Addie Lore threw a season-best 115-00 in the javelin, placing 2nd. That mark ranks #3 all-time for a junior in school history.

• Sofia Recinto ran a lifetime best in the 800m, clocking 2:19.83 to place 4th — #14 all-time and #7 for juniors.

• Grace Wojciechowski ran 11:36.30 in the 3200m for 6th place — #8 all-time among seniors.

• In the 1600m, Alyssa Suriano led a dominant showing as the Lady Chiefs went 2nd, 3rd, 7th, and 8th. Alyssa clocked 5:02.21 (#6 AT, #2 Jr), followed by Maddie Meder in 5:02.29 (#3 Jr). Megan Niglio (5:08.96, #7 Sr) and Erin Healy (5:09.87, #3 Fr) rounded out the group.

• At the SJ Open, held just two days later, Rylan Cieslik ran her first open 400m in 59.78, placing 5th.

County Open Dominance

The County Open brought even more strong results:

• A 1-2-3 sweep in the 3200m, with Alyssa (11:02.94), Maddie (11:03.11), and Megan (11:03.31). Maddie and Megan ran lifetime bests, ranking #6 and #7 all-time.

• The 4x800m relay (Grace, Emily Butler, Maya Kumar, Gabby Urban) finished 2nd.

• In the 800m, Sofia Recinto became the County Champion, running 2:18.46, just edging out Maddie Meder (2:18.47). Erin Healy ran 2:22.54 for 5th — #7 all-time among freshmen.

• In the field: Addie Lore won javelin (115-5) and placed 5th in discus with a PR of 102-9 (#10 AT). Kim Moncrief tied for 3rd in high jump (4-8), and Addie Wright cleared 9-0 in pole vault for 4th.

• The team placed 2nd overall, just behind Rancocas Valley.

Sectionals: Making History Again

Sectionals brought great weather — finally — and even greater performances:

• In the 4x100m, Addie Judernatz, Ajane Hill, Veronica Ashcraft, and Morgan Shank ran their second-fastest time of the season (50.60), placing 8th.

  
  

  

  
  

• The 800m was fast and thrilling: Alyssa (2:14.75, #4 AT) and Sofia (2:14.97, #5 AT) placed 2nd and 3rd, while Maddie ran 2:17.85 (#11 AT) for 8th.

  
  
  
  

• Addie Wright cleared 10-0 in pole vault, finishing 5th.

• The 3200m was interrupted by lightning after we had already run, but not before a thrilling win. Alyssa ran a perfectly timed race, surging in the final lap to win in 11:01.63 — our first Sectional Champion of the meet. Megan placed 3rd (11:11.98), and Maddie finished 5th (11:23.69).

• At the end of Day 1, we were leading the team standings — but Saturday would prove crucial.

Saturday Success

• Addie Lore placed 2nd in javelin with a throw of 116-06.

• The 4x800m (Healy, Wojciechowski, Kumar, Recinto) ran 9:39.57 for 2nd.

• In the 1600m, Alyssa won her second Sectional title (5:05.52), with Megan 3rd (5:07.97) and Maddie 5th (5:15.07).

• The 4x400m (Recinto, Suriano, Ashcraft, Meder) finished 7th in 4:06.09 — just shy of advancing.

When the final scores were tallied, Cherokee won its second Outdoor Sectional Title in school history, scoring 68 points — 7 more than Pennsauken.

Final Countdown & Night Racer #2

After Sectionals, the Conference Meet was rained out, but we hosted Final Countdown the next day. Due to weather, field events were pushed to the following Tuesday — the same day as Night Racer #2 at Lenape.

That day, chaos struck. A fire in the maintenance garage near our concession stand destroyed four team tents (including two new ones), our hip numbers, and the electrical panel for the press box and stadium lights. Huge thanks to Lenape for stepping in and hosting the evening meet.

At Final Countdown, the highlights included:

• A 1-2-3 sweep in javelin: Addie Lore (97-0), Salma Abdallah (96-9), and Gabby Campanaro (95-3).

• Tyrnee Forbeck hit a PR of 14-0.5 in the long jump for 5th.

• On the track, Genisa John broke 6 minutes in the 1600m with a 5:57.61.

At Night Racer #2, the PRs kept rolling:

• Gabby Urban broke 2:30 in the 800m (2:29.89).

• In the 1600m, Erin Healy ran 5:07.08 to place 2nd — #11 AT and #3 freshman mark.

• Grace Wojciechowski ended her high school 1600m career in style (5:20.85).

• Maya Kumar PR’d with a 5:23.50, while Emily Butler ran 5:41.57 in her 1600m debut.

• Chloe Burdett broke 6:00 (5:57.49), and Sonal Patel (6:13.28) and Alexa Butler (6:26.72) completed the PR sweep.

With that, Cherokee wrapped up its home meet season for 2024–2025.

Looking Ahead: Group 4 State Championships

Next up is the Group 4 State Championship at Franklin High School:

Friday:

• 800m: Alyssa Suriano, Sofia Recinto

• Pole Vault: Addie Wright

• 3200m: Suriano, Megan Niglio, Maddie Meder

Saturday:

• 4x800m: Healy, Wojciechowski, Kumar, Recinto

• 1600m: Suriano, Niglio, Meder

• Javelin: Addie Lore