SPORTS
June 15, 2013 | By Phil Anastasia, Inquirer Staff Writer
No great shot putter ever threw the discus better than Jess Woodard. No great discus thrower ever performed better in the shot put. "It's the combination that makes her so special," Cherokee throws coach John McMichael said of Woodard's two-event excellence. Woodard capped an incredible high school career with an incredible senior season at Cherokee. She is The Inquirer's South Jersey girls' track and field athlete of the year for 2013. "I'm humbled by it," Woodard said. "I love track so much, and to be able to work so hard and perform so well, it's such a blessing.
SPORTS
June 7, 2013 | By Nick Carroll, Inquirer Staff Writer
SOUTH PLAINFIELD, N.J. - Cherokee senior Jess Woodard slowly walked away after her final discus throw Wednesday at the Meet of Champions in South Plainfield. Woodard, who locked up her third straight title in the meet, was waiting to hear that she had made history. The throw ended up going 161 feet, 1 inch, good for a meet record but short of her 168-foot throw in the group finals Saturday and short of the state record, 172-2. She met her father off the field after retrieving her disc, and shed some tears.
SPORTS
May 26, 2013 | By Chris Melchiorre, For The Inquirer
Jess Woodard's teammates were bundled up and spectating, watching her compete in the final event of the afternoon. It was the team's fourth hour in the miserable, unseasonable weather. "They were out here supporting me," Woodard said. "But I think even they were ready to get back on the bus at that point. " It was a spectacle to see so many so bundled up in late May. But Woodard's game plan for the weather stood out just as much. Through sideways rain; strong winds; and bitter, cold temperatures, the Cherokee senior never stopped moving - running in place, jogging, stretching, shuffling back and forth.
SPORTS
May 22, 2013 | By Chris Melchiorre, For The Inquirer
With about a half-second left in the third quarter, Anthony Brunetti went airborne just in front of the net. He dived away from the goalie and dunked the ball in the net just as the buzzer sounded. His Lenape boys' lacrosse team charged the field as if it had just won a playoff game. In a way, it had. The goal put the Indians ahead by five scores - clearly more than enough cushion for a defense that was utterly dominant as fifth-seeded Lenape won, 9-4, at No. 4 Cherokee Tuesday night in the quarterfinals of the South Jersey Group 4 playoffs.
SPORTS
May 18, 2013 | By Austin Odenbrett, For The Inquirer
Christine DiLullo scored three goals as No. 11 seed Cherokee upset sixth-seeded Cherry Hill East, 12-9, Friday in a first-round game in the South Jersey Group 4 girls' lacrosse tournament. Jenna Castiglia and Michelle Tegethoff each added two goals for the Chiefs. Caitlin Delaney had six goals for the Cougars. Also in Group 4 first-round games: Alex Hlesciak scored seven goals, and fifth seed Rancocas Valley defeated West Windsor-Plainsboro South, 19-13. Mackenzie Hlesciak (four)
SPORTS
May 11, 2013 | By Tim McManus, Inquirer Staff Writer
Matt Long took matters into his own hands Thursday. Already pitching a gem, he made sure he had enough run support, too. Long drove in the go-ahead run in the third inning, and Washington Township nipped visiting Cherokee, 3-2, in an Olympic Conference National Division baseball game. The senior righthander threw a four-hitter, striking out four. His single drove in Tom Hildebrand, who had doubled. Township is The Inquirer's fourth-ranked team in South Jersey. Matt Curry cracked a two-run double for Cherokee.
SPORTS
May 10, 2013
Baseball CAPE-ATLANTIC LEAGUE AMERICAN Egg Harbor Township 4, Hammonton 3 COLONIAL CONFERENCE Haddon Heights 14, Lindenwold 4 Sterling 11, West Deptford 0 OLYMPIC CONFERENCE NATIONAL Washington Township 3, Cherokee 2 NONLEAGUE Shawnee 12, Seneca 2 Millville 6, St. Augustine 4 Delsea 6, Pinelands 4 Moorestown Friends 9, Burlington City 5 Northern Burlington 16, Holy Cross 10 Maple Shade 21, Medford Tech...
SPORTS
May 5, 2013 | By Nick Carroll, Inquirer Staff Writer
The final of the Jim Kelly baseball tournament had been delayed three weeks because of rain, but host Gloucester did not miss a beat and beat Woodbury, 11-1, on Saturday. Aldie Carracino went 3 for 3 with a pair of doubles and drove in five runs to lead Gloucester. The Lions' Tom O'Donnell homered. John Lindenborn added two doubles for Gloucester. The tournament began on April 13. Nonleague. Dan Gallone delivered a single in the seventh inning to lift Holy Cross to a 4-3 victory against visiting Riverside.
SPORTS
April 27, 2013 | By Tim McManus, Inquirer Staff Writer
The Cherokee girls' 4x400-meter relay runners knew they were capable of running a fast time. They just didn't think Thursday would be the day. And why would they? Their second-leg runner, Sarah Robbie, has been competing in mostly intermediate hurdles and 800-meter races this season. Their third-leg runner, Courtney Foster, hadn't been on the track since bruising her shins in a car accident two weeks ago. And their anchor, Brittany King, spent most of the afternoon asking her teammates for tissues to plug a leaky nose.