Cherokee duo makes quick work at Lenape Districts

(Whoops, pub May 9)
Hail to the Sprints: Cherokee sprinters Kevin Merrigan, Will Rapp and Niraj Patel nearly swept the 100. Merrigan won in 11.21, Rapp followed in 11.31 and Patel finished fourth in 11.50.

Early dominance: Lead by a number of athletes, including throwers Jennifer Houghton and Andrea Leach, the Lenape girls' team swept four of the meet's first seven events.

Quote: "I like [this meet] because you get to see who's in your district and how you stack up," Leach said.

DELRAN -- Only until Cherokee sprinters Kevin Merrigan and Will Rapp left the baseball diamond did they really start to shine.
Both former junior varsity outfielders, Merrigan and Rapp have found greener pastures on whichever track they run, and the one at Seneca High, host of the Lenape Regional High School Districts meet Thursday, was no exception.
The duo went 1, 2 in the 100 – Merrigan winning in 11.22 – to help give the Chiefs, a team not known for its sprinters in recent years, a real force.
Merrigan was not accustomed to seeing positive numbers on the score sheet.
"I hit all right and my fielding, well it wasn't that good, so I didn't really standout," the Monmouth University-bound senior said. "Not like track where I could excel and compete with the top athletes in South Jersey."
The Chiefs have undergone a major transformation in the sprinting department this year. While Merrigan debuted in track last spring, joining marquee multi-athlete Chris Steliga, he recruited Rapp (11.31) this year.
And senior Niraj Patel, who was known as best sprinter on the 2007 junior varsity squad, is now known by coach Steve Shaklee as one of the Chiefs' most improved athletes, evident of his fourth-place finish in the 100 (11.5).
And their newfound depth was flexed last Saturday at the South Jersey Relays when the Chiefs' foursome punched their ticket to the North Carolina-based Nationals by meeting the 4x100 standard of 42.9, spiraling to a team-best 42.81.
"We know what we're capable of and we're capable of a lot because of all the hard work we put in," Merrigan said.
The 100 was one of many events the Chiefs excelled in Thursday. Junior Major Mobley won the 110 hurdles in 15.31 and senior Kevin Schlicking took second in the 1,500 in 4:13.08.
Shawnee sophomore David Forward entered the 1,500 wanting to couple his strong finish with an equally strong start.
Forward said he felt like he was on his first-lap target pace of 64 seconds after 300 meters, but the watch said otherwise, clocking him at 68 seconds after 400.
Despite the slow start, the sophomore broke free from the pack after another lap to finish in a meet-record 4:06.41.
"I should just sprint the first lap next time," Forward said, smiling. "But that's something I've been trying to practice on, getting out faster."
Not counting its dominant win in the 4x800, ran in 9:35:43 by the quartet of Carmen Delph, Miya Johnson, Allie Richman and Brianna Beddall, the Lenape girls' team swept four of the meet's first seven events.
Lenape's throwing duo of senior Jen Houghton and junior Andrea Leach flourished in the field, sweeping the shot put and individually setting meet records in two events; Houghton in the shot put (37-10) and Leach in the discus (33-3).
"I like [this meet] because you get to see who's in your district and how you stack up," said Leach, who also threw 33-3 for second in the shot put.
Turns out the Indians stack up well and girls' throwing coach Steve Lee knows why.
"They work hard and they know what it takes to compete," Lee said of Houghton and Leach. "They respond week in and week out."
Doing their best to break up the Indian's early monopoly, Cherokee's Rachel Montague won the 110 hurdles in 15.18 and Seneca's Michelle Brown took the 400 in 57.58.
The Lenape boys also fared well and no one better than junior Ryan Garvin. After anchoring the 4x800 relay team of Corey Halloway, Corey Halloway and Hayes Rainier to victory and to a season-best time of 8:18.09, Garvin came back in the open 800, outlasting Shawnee senior Ian Boyle by running a meet-record 1:59.