Cherokee wins first BurlCo Championship

MAPLE SHADE -- The Burlington County Open turned 70 Saturday and the Cherokee boys' team made it a pre-season priority to be there to celebrate.
The Chiefs have made the trip to the meet's Maple Shade location the last 14 years, and before that, met wherever the competition was since establishing themselves in 1975.
But the Chiefs have never come so far as they did Saturday, improving upon fourth-place finishes their previous two years to win their first county championship ever, outscoring runner-up Northern Burlington by 59.5 points to win with 111.5 points.
Although the Chiefs never trailed after the first event, coach Steve Shaklee said they won this championship from behind, claiming only two events – both starring senior Chris Steliga – but scoring in all but two of the meet's 16 events.
"It was a definitely an overall team effort and that's what makes it so rewarding because, other than [Chris Steliga], we don't really have superstar athletes," Shaklee said. "They just nickel and dime you to death.
"Thirds, fourths, fifths, it all adds up. And if you do that in enough events you win a meet."
Steliga leaped 22-3.5 to win the long jump and collected two of Cherokee's four silver medals in the 400 (50.1) and the triple jump (41-4.25) all before coming back to anchor the 4x400 relay team of Kevin Merrigan, Niraj Patel and Will Rapp to a 3:25.96 come-back win, catching front-running Burlington Township with a 49.6 split.
"He's like a one-man team," Shaklee said of the senior.
Despite clinching the meet before the 4x400 finale, the relay team was still pressed to perform by coach Chris Callahan.
"He wanted us to go in with a winning mindset, to walk away as champions but to be completely honest, we all felt like total crap," Steliga said, laughing. "My legs were shot and I'm thinking like 'I don't wanna do this.' I get the baton in second and I'm like 'Great, now I actually have to do some work."
Senior runners Alex Yersak scored major points in the distance events, taking second in the 3,200 (9:36.14) and third in the 1,600 (4:30.4), just ahead of teammates Kevin Schlicking and Steve Burkeholder and behind winner Shawnee sophomore David Forward (4:26 .8) and runner-up Lenape junior Ryan Garvin (4:27.53)
After winning the 3,200 in an outdoor-best 9:29.11, Forward passed Garvin with about 300 to go in the 1,600 and managed to hold off the fleet junior on the homestretch. Teammate Ian Boyle won the 800 in a personal-best 1:58.0, passing Cinnaminson's Kenny Hoff (1:59.0) along the outside lane of the final bend.
Willingboro senior sprinter Tyrone McRae was the other male athlete to double victories, taking the 200 (22.38) and the 400 (49.57)
Thanks partly to wins by Cherokee's high hurdler Rachel Montague (14.91) and discus thrower Erika Cotton (104-3), the Lenape girls trailed 42-41 after six events, but won five of the next 10 en route to their second straight county championship, beating Seneca (57) and Cherokee (54) with 146 points.
Sophomore Caitlin Orr and senior Erika Griffith started the Indians' party, going 1,2 in the 3,200.
Orr later coupled her 11:31.18 win with a gutsy 5:13.68 performance in the 1,600, one in which an early kick – to stave off Moorestown's tandem of Allison Tetreault and Brianna Rogers -- slowed to a crawl.
"I poured it on so much with 300 to go, and I couldn't keep it. I could barely move," Orr said, smiling. "I don't know whether [Tetreault] was right behind me, but I heard [distance coach Jack] Walsh yelling at me, 'Go, Caitlin.' And I was like 'Oh, God' so I really just tried to go."
Senior Lindsey Walsh won the high jump with a modest 5-2 win, but was challenged on the second leg of the 4x400 relay.
After lead-off runner Mikki Livingston gave Walsh the lead, a Willingboro runner pushed the boundaries of sportsmanship by pushing Walsh off track, literally, a foul that went uncalled.
"It fueled me to finish the last half of the race," Walsh said.
Walsh remained focused, speeding past the runner with 200 meters left to give a lead that neither teammates Brianna Beddall nor Moira Cunningham would relinquish, winning in 4:01.53.
Walsh looked at the bigger picture of the championship.
"We're just trying to start a tradition so that even when we're gone, everyone else is still keeping the program strong," she said. "We want to make ourselves known throughout the state. You gotta start somewhere."
Northern Burlington senior jumper Ariel Woodard-Stephens was the only athlete not from Lenape to pair wins, taking the triple jump (35-9) and long jump (16-3.5), the latter achieved in a fewer number of jumps than done by runner-up Lenape senior Dana Cataldo.