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2011 Cross Country News

CHESEREK BRINGS HOME NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FROM SAN DIEGO
SBP junior shows moxie after being tested for first time all year

Dec. 10, 2011

What transpired at the 33rd Foot Looker National Cross Country Championships was nothing short of an epic clash between two titans.

St. Benedict's Edward Cheserek and Indiana's Futsum Zeinasellassie went shoulder-to-shoulder - each fending off charge after charge from their counterpart - for the entire 3.1 mile race at San Diego's Balboa Park on Saturday.

Cheserek, however, had a little more left in the tank at the end and forged ahead with just 100 meters left and crossed the finish line first with a time of 14:52 to become St. Benedict's first-ever National Champion in cross country.

"This is absolutely amazing - what a race," said St. Benedict's coach Marty Hannon. "I don't know why the lord brought Edward to us, but this has just been a wonderful story capped by a brilliant race."

Cheserek, who landed in Newark by way of Kenya with only the clothes on his back in the Summer of 2010, has transcended his sport in just 17 short months. The Foot Locker title was his third national crown - he captured the 5,000-meter title and the Distance Medley Crown with his Gray Bees teammates in the outdoor track season last spring.

But this one may be his greatest accomplishment yet.

The final two miles of the "Battle at Balboa" resembled a heavyweight fight as the two unbeaten Africa-born runners traded blows at every turn. When Cheserek would take a lead, Zeinasellassie immediately came back to surge to the front, and vice versa.

It was still anyone's race with only 200 meters left. That's when Cheserek, who finished second to the wunderkind named Lukas Verzbicas at last year's nationals in Oregon, took charge and wouldn't be denied for the second year in a row.

He dug down deep and unleashed a huge final kick down the final straightaway, checking over his shoulder time and again to see if Zeinasellassie had one last surge. But the native from the country of Eritrea, for once, didn't have an answer and Cheserek crossed the line in first at 14:52, which tied for 11th in course history.

"I knew if I wanted to win I had to respond whenever he made a move and then finish faster than I ever have before," said Cheserek. "I was very confident the whole race that I could win at the end because my speed was my advantage. It was a great race and I am happy to beat a great runner like Futsum.''

Zeinasellassie, who never met Cheserek until the days leading up to the race, was gracious in defeat.

"Every time Edward made a move, I was just trying to stay with him. There were also times that I was trying to push it more, but this guy has great strength," said Zeinasellassie. "I did my best, but he was just a better runner.

"Coming to (San Diego), I didn't know what type of guy Edward was. But he is a great guy - I love him and have to congratulate him. He's a great champion and deserved to win."

(Watch the video of Cheserek's entire battle with Zeinasellassie from San Diego)

The victory put a capper on the single greatest cross-country season by a New Jersey runner, according to The Star-Ledger's Jim Lambert, who has been the beat writer for high school track for over 20 years.

"Edward Cheserek is now the undisputed King of New Jersey cross-country," said Lambert, who was in San Diego covering the race. "He's the first runner from New Jersey to ever complete an undefeated season by winning a national title. Secondly, his course-record rampage, including several that came on some of the most legendary courses in the country, and the sheer dominance he displayed over the season is unparalleled in the storied history of New Jersey's distance running."

Cheserek came into the national race having established a course record in all seven races prior to San Diego. But winning a national crown was first and foremost in his mind, and following a game-plan and executing it was paramount. It was also the first time he was challenged this season and he responded with a champion's heart.

"I wanted to be patient and then pick it up," said Cheserek. "Next year, maybe I'll break the record."

--By Ron Jandoli

CHESEREK WINS REGIONAL RACE; HEADED TO NATIONALS
Junior breaks another record; will be favored in San Diego

Nov. 26, 2011

Edward Cheserek made it 7-for-7 in 2011.

The Kenyan sensation established his seventh record in as many races this cross country season when he went out and destroyed a long-standing course mark on Saturday in the 33rd Foot Locker Northeast Regional Championship in New York.

Cheserek posted an astounding 15:20.5 on the course at Sunken Meadow State Park in Long Island to shattered the record of 15:32.3, which stood the test of time - 33 years to be exact. The former record was set in 1977 by John Gregorek when he was a high senior at St. Anthony's of New York before running in the 1980 and '84 Olympics.

The Kenyan sensation will now take his talents to the West Coast when he challenges the best the nation has to offer in the Foot Locker National Championships on Dec. 10 at Balboa Park in San Diego.

"I'm really excited," said Cheserek after his performance on Long Island. "Just to qualify for nationals two years in a row is great."

Cheserek picked Foot Locker over the Nike Nationals after placing second in the latter in Oregon last fall. The Nike regional was also run on Saturday, which forced Cheserek to make a choice when he could have easily been given, but wasn't offered an exemption back to Oregon due to last year's runner-up finish.

But he is just as happy to be going to sunny California. The weather there is expected to at least be matched by the unseasonably warm weather conditions at Sunken Meadows - temperatures in the mid-60s - as opposed to the cold and wind he never experienced until last year's regional race for Nike in Wappingers Falls, N.Y., where he finished as the runner-up there, too.

"When I woke up this morning and looked out, I said this is nice. This will be a good day," said Cheserek, who had trouble breathing in the chilly conditions in the regional race for Nike last year. "This weather suits me a lot better."

The junior will try to become just the second runner from New Jersey to ever win a national cross country crown. North Hunterdon's Brendan Heffernan won the national crown in 1992.

Cheserek, who is expected to beat Brandon Jarrett's 15:16 and sixth-place effort in San Diego in 2007 as St. Benedict's previous best cross-country star, will be picked as the favorite to win the national title.

But, can he make it 8-for-8 in records this season while continuing his season-long dominance when he hits San Diego?

"I take pride in getting these records," said Cheserek. "I can tell when the race starts if I feel good. Then I can go for it."

--By Ron Jandoli

CHESEREK LAUDED AS THE NATIONAL ATHLETE OF THE MONTH FOR OCTOBER
Jr. from Kenya has not only obliterated records, but beaten quality runners

Nov. 9, 2011

Edward Cheserek picked up his first of what most-likely will be numerous national awards when he was chosen as the Athlete of the Month for October by the National High School Coaches Association.

Cheserek, who shattered the record in all five races he ran last month, was presented the National Athlete of the Month award by Jaime Ferraro, Director of Operations for the NHSCA, on Wednesday just prior to the start of Convocation.

"We are here today to honor a very special and talented athlete," said Ferraro while presenting the award, sponsored by GTM sportswear. "Over six-thousand high school sports editors and writers voted on the award and have chosen Edward."

What Cheserek has done so far during his junior campaign is nothing short of staggering. He is not only eclipsing records, he is tearing them down. Of the five races he ran in October, he broke the previous record in three of them by more than 20 seconds.

And he isn't beating a bunch of inept runners, either.

Cheserek ran an 11:55.4 to set the record at 2.5-mile course at Van Cortlandt Park in The Bronx at the Manhattan Invitational. Tim Ball of Piscataway placed second - 25 seconds behind - and he is expected to win the New Jersey Group 4 championship this weekend in the NJSIAA championships.

The Kenyan sensation also won the Essex County Championships with a 14:20 over the 3.1-mile layout, beating his own course and New Jersey record by 22 seconds and finishing more than 44 seconds ahead of Blake Udland of Millburn. Udland is favored to win the state Group 3 crown on Saturday.

Perhaps Cheserek's greatest feat this season is when he took down the venerable course record at Holmdel Park by running a 14:53 in the Shore Coaches Invitational. He beat all the top runners New Jersey had to offer, including Christian Brothers Academy's Tim Gorman and George Kelly.

Gorman ran a personal best in that race with a 15:54 - but it was more than one minute behind Cheserek, while Kelly has run a personal best of 16:02 at Holmdel. Kelly is expected to outrun Gorman for the Parochial state title at the same course is weekend, but neither will challenge Cheserek's astounding record.

"The times are amazing," said St. Benedict's coach Marty Hannon, "but it ratchets up the expectations. I would not like it, if he succeeds, to feel like a failure if he doesn't (set records)."

Cheserek started off November like he did all of October - breaking a record. He made it 6-for-6 in course records this Fall by establishing the record of 15:18.2 in the New Jersey Catholic Conference Championships last Saturday. He beat the previous mark by only 3/10s of a second - that's because he already owned that record from a year ago.

"My prayer for him is that he can keep it in perspective given all of the attention that he has gotten and will get," said Hannon. "My mission is to keep the expectations within reasonable bounds.

Cheserek, who won't be competing with the aforementioned runners this weekend because St. Benedict's isn't part of the state association, will now set his sites on the Foot Locker Cross Country National Championships on Dec. 10 in San Diego. In order to get to California, Cheserek will have to pass the Northeast Regional test on Nov. 26 at Sunken Meadows State Park in Long Island.

--By Ron Jandoli
--Photos by Kyle Ober

CHESEREK BREAKS HIS OWN MARK BEFORE ALUMNI GATHERING
Water Polo team goes 1-1 in tournament
Soccer team celebrates Seniors

Oct. 30, 2011

Throngs of people have been awed by the record-breaking results Edward Cheserek has been putting up race-after-race this season.

But even Cheserek seemed impressed after his latest effort.

"Wow!"

That was the first word uttered after Cheserek found out he had just run a 14:20 to eclipse his own course record by 22 seconds at Brookdale Park last Friday in the Essex County Championships in Bloomfield.

The time lowered his New Jersey record for a 5K course, breaking the mark of 14:34.6 he established only two weekends ago at the Brown Invitational in Rhode Island. He also held the fastest time on New Jersey soil when he posted 14:42 at Brookdale in last year's county race.

Cheserek got to showcase his talents before a crowd that included a host of Alumni and the man who was responsible for bringing the wunderkind to America in the Summer of 2010, Fr. Richard Quinn.

Fr. Quinn, a Maryknoll priest who has worked in Kenya since 1972, caught Cheserek's stunning performance in the Essex County Championships for the second straight year. He visits his native New Jersey every year during the Fall season.

"He's come a long way," said Fr. Quinn of Cheserek, "and he seems to be handling everything very well. I couldn't be happier for him."

Cheserek admitted his time could have even been lower. But, after running a 4:28 first mile and coming in at 9:16 at the two-mile mark, he coasted to the finish because he began experience tightness in his hamstring.

The top runner in the nation this year says he will be back in 2012 to go even lower at Brookdale.

"I want to come back next year and run 13-something here," said Cheserek, who has now established new records in all five races he's run in 2011.

The Gray Bees, as a whole, did extremely well in the team standings. With Cheserek's first place effort and a 9th-place showing by Adebayo Eisape, who ran a personal best (16:27.6), coach Marty Hannon's club placed third behind Millburn and Livingston.

The Water Polo team took part in the weather shortened Garden State Championships and went 1-1 in the tournament on Saturday in Lawrenceville.

St. Benedict's opened play in the tournament with a 5-4 victory over Pingry. Isaiah Del Rios connected on the game-winning goal with only 8 seconds left in the match to snap a 4-4 deadlock. Del Rios led all scorers with a hat trick.

Coach Glenn Cassidy's club came back in the afternoon and dropped their second game in four days to Lawrenceville, 10-6. The Gray Bees were locked in a 6-6 standoff, but got shut out in the final quarter. Dennis Tassie led the effort with three goals.

The second day of the tournament got wiped out because of the rare snow storm that blanketed much of New Jersey on Saturday.

"I'm proud of the effort by the kids, especially considering the loss (to Lawrenceville) Wednesday," said coach Cassidy. "It would have been easy for the kids to give up and resign themselves. However, they fought back and made a great effort."

The Soccer team moved within two victories of its seventh national title by besting Queen of Peace, 12-0, on Senior Day.

And three seniors, Christiano Francois, Kaio DePaula and Kevin Milla each contributed with two scores apiece to help the Gray Bees remain perfect after 22 games. The game was played before a boisterous crowd on the Lower Field at the school.

The Gray Bees, which have been ranked No. 1 in the nation since taking over the top billing on Sept. 27, will wrap up the season in the state Prep Championships on Thursday against Blair before the championship game is staged on Sunday, both games are scheduled to be played at NJIT.

CHESEREK AT IT AGAIN - SETS ANOTHER RECORD AND BREAKS HIS OWN NJ MARK
Soccer team takes out last year's NJSIAA champion in South Jersey
Water Polo team competes in brutal bracket in Conn. Tourney

Oct. 16, 2011

Simply Awesome!

Edward Cheserek does it again - establishes his fourth record-breaking feat in as many weeks.

This time, the junior assaulted the 5K course at Goddard Park in West Greenwich, R.I. on Saturday and smashed the course record by 25 seconds with 14:34.6 to win the Championship Race at the Brown Invitational.

Cheserek crushed old standard of 15:00.5 set in 2004 by Cory Thorne of New Hampshire and, in the process, ran the fastest high school cross-country 5-K time ever run by a New Jersey runner, beating the mark of 14:42 he established last year in the Essex County Championships.

"I am truly speechless. I can no longer find any words," said St. Benedict's coach Marty Hannon. "If someone had asked me before the race, I would have said that if he could have run 14:50, I didn't know if that was possible. To break the course record by over 25 seconds, honestly, I cannot believe that."

In his four races so far this season, Cheserek has now established course records at Garret Mountain (Passaic County), Holmdel Park (Monmouth County), Van Cortlandt Park (The Bronx) and now Goddard Park.

The Kenyan sensation will now take a week off before taking aim, for the second straight year, at the Essex County Championships at Brookdale Park in Bloomfield on Oct. 28 and his record of 14:42 there.

The rest of the cross country team also took part in the Brown Invitational and all posted personal bests. Adebayo Eisape ran a 17:02.0, and was followed by Benjamin Guerin (18:17.8), Isaac Tucker-Rasbury (18:26.1) and Darien Edwards (18:47.3).

The Soccer team took a long road trip to Atlantic County in South Jersey and defeated last year's No. 1 team in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, St. Augustine Prep of Richland (Read more...)

The Water Polo team traveled to Connecticut and came up against some stiff competitions in a very difficult bracket of the Greenwich Tournament.

The Gray Bees did, however, have a very close battle in their last game of the tournament and dropped a 12-11 decision to Choate Rosemary Hall of Wallington, the seventh meeting between the two teams in the last 12 years of this tournament.

The Gray Bees cut a three-goal deficit to one with 29 seconds left on the clock, but couldn't regain possession to try for the equalizer. Rameses Spellman, who had four goals, was named to the All-Tournament Team, while David Philemon received Honorable Mention.

The Gray Bees return to action Wednesday for a 4 p.m. match at home against Pingry, a team SBP beat last month, 15-8.

ANOTHER WEEKEND; ANOTHER RECORD VICTORY FOR CHESEREK
Soccer team remains perfect through 15 games; holding steady at No. 1
Water Polo team goes 1-1 over holiday weekend

Edward Cheserek made it 3-for-3 in records this season.

This time, the Kenyan sensation took on Van Cortlandt Park and ate up the venerable 2.5-mile course in The Bronx.

The St. Benedict's junior, who established course records at Garret Mountain and Holmdel Park already this year, posted another standard by taking more than eight seconds off the previous mark by running an astounding 11:55.4 in the Eastern States Championship at the 39th Manhattan Invitational.

The Manhattan Invitational is lauded as the biggest cross country invitational in the U.S., and now the record belongs to Cheserek. He beat the previous record of 12:03.8, established by Joe Rosa of West Windsor Plainsboro North two years ago. Cheserek also beat Rosa's mark at Holmdel the week before.

Cheserek, who shredded 39 seconds off his 12:34.4 at the Manhattan Invitational last year - he had just returned to competitive running after suffering a stress fracture - will now travel to Providence, R.I., this Saturday to challenge the course record at the Brown Invitational. He ran a 15:00.8 over the 5K layout a year ago, just missing the mark of 15:00.

The Soccer team got a breather on Sunday when it hosted Pennsylvania's Roman Catholic at NJIT and cruised to a 10-0 verdict.

Coach Jim Wandling, whose club is ranked No. 1 in the nation, was able to empty his bench against the inferior opponent from Philadelphia.

(Check out the full story of the Gray Bees' victory over Roman Catholic)

The Water Polo team split a pair of matches over the Columbus Day Weekend.

Coach Glenn Cassidy's team traveled to Princeton on Saturday and dropped a 15-11 decision to a club team. After a 3-3 opening quarter to Gray Bees fell behind midway through the second period and could never quite catch back up. Rameses Spellman and David Philemon paced the attack with 4 goals apiece.

SBP, however, returned once again to the .500 mark for the season by routing St. Peter's Prep, 16-1, on Monday with a home match in the HAB Pool.

The Gray Bees (6-6) scored 17 seconds into the match, piled up eight goals without allowing any in the first quarter and never looked back. Rameses Spellman led the assault with 4 goals as 10 different players figured in the scoring. Dennis Tassie, David Philemon and Calvin John chipped in with two goals each.

CHESEREK TAKES DOWN THE MOST HALLOWED RECORD IN NEW JERSEY HISTORY
Soccer Team avenges loss from 2010, solidifies No. 1 ranking

Oct. 2, 2011

The record at Holmdel Park is the most coveted is New Jersey cross country annals.

And now it belongs to Edward Cheserek.

Cheserek went out Saturday and claimed the record over the brutal 3.1 mile course at Holmdel Park and posted a 14:53, eclipsing the standard by 3 seconds that was established by one of New Jersey's all-time greats, Joe Rosa.

The junior from Kenya has now taken down the record at every course he has run on New Jersey soil. Last year, in his first season in America, Cheserek became the standard barer for the courses at Warinanco and Brooklake Parks and at Blair Academy before coming out this season and demolishing the record at Garret Mountain last week.

And now Holmdel.

The course in Monmouth County is the place that holds all the top meets every year, including the NJSIAA's Meet of Champions. Some of the greatest runners the state has ever known have succumbed to the infamous hills inside the park. Others have set the standard for the likes of Rosa, and now Cheserek, to take down.

Rosa's mark was supposed to stand the test of time. After all, the West Windsor Plainsboro North product's sensational 14:56 two years ago shattered the previous mark of 15:15.2 set by Craig Forys of Colts Neck in 2006. That's right, Rosa (now at Stanford), demolished the record by nearly 20 seconds.

And now it belongs to Cheserek.

"Joe Rosa was the greatest distance runner in New Jersey history up until this point," said St. Benedict's coach Marty Hannon. "Holmdel is renowned as 'The Course' in New Jersey history - all the great runners have had a piece of the history. That's what makes it the most important."

The Soccer Team, the No. 1 team in the nation by both ESPN and the National Soccer Coaches Association, has now avenged its only two losses from a year ago. On Sunday night, coach Jim Wandling's team put up perhaps its best effort of the 2011 campaign by dismantling previously unbeaten Salesianum (Del.) by a 3-0 margin. This comes after beating Chaminade (N.Y.), 3-1, earlier this season against the only other team that handed the Gray Bees a loss in 2010.

--By Ron Jandoli

CHESEREK BEGINS HIS YEAR TEARING UP ANOTHER COURSE IN RECORD FASHION
Soccer team makes it 11-for-11: now has eye on No. 1 ranking
Water Polo team competes in Beast of the East

Sept. 26, 2011

What a way to begin the 2011-12 campaign.

Edward Cheserek, who won the national title in the 5K last spring after finishing second in the Nike Cross Country Nationals in the fall, began his assault on a number of cherished records when he obliterated the course standard at Garret Mountain on Saturday.

Cheserek, who seems to set records every time he steps on a course or track, opened his junior year by running a 14:53 to claim the title at the Passaic County Coaches Invitational. The time was nearly 23 seconds faster the previous best of 15:15.5, which was established in 2003 by one of New Jersey's all-time greats, Mohamed Khadraoui of Paterson Kennedy.

Cheserek will now take aim at the record on the famed Holmdel Park course this coming Saturday when he competes in the Shore Coaches Invitational. Another of the state's all-time legends, Joe Rosa of West Windsor-Plainsboro North, currently owns the standard at the Monmouth County course with a 14:56, which he ran in 2009. Cheserek will also be after Rosa's 2.5-mile mark of 12:03.8 at Van Cortlandt Park a week later (Oct. 9) in the Manhattan Invitational.

"Edward continues to amaze everyone," said St. Benedict's coach Marty Hannon. "The record at Holmdel will be a big challenge! We will see."

The Soccer Team played Saturday night and put forth perhaps their best all-around game of the season, posting a 5-0 verdict of Pennsylvania's Central Dauphin at NJIT.

Miguel Alves scored twice, once in each half, to pace the attack for coach Jim Wandling's club. Christiano Francois, who made it 10-for-10 by scoring at least once in each game thus far, Pablo Perez and Jorge Acosta each scored single goals.

With a 5-1 victory over Old Bridge on Monday, the Gray Bees, currently ranked second in the country, have a shot to take over the No. 1 spot when the latest ESPN rankings are revealed later on Tuesday (Sept. 27). That's because the Sacramento Jesuit of California, the season-long holder of the top ranking, posted a tie on Friday night.

The Water Polo Team, after losing twice Friday in the opening day of the Beast of the East Tournament in Pennsylvania, came back strong on Saturday in the "Flight 4" bracket.

Coach Cassidy's club beat Central York (14-4) and Mechanicsburg (10-5) to advance into the championship game of the bracket. But the Gray Bees dropped a 12-11 sudden-death overtime decision to Episcopal Academy.

SBP nearly the won the game in regulation, but Dennis Tassie's apparent goal came just after the final buzzer sounded and was disallowed. The teams were forced into two, 2-minute overtime periods deadlocked at 9-9.

Both teams scored once in each extra session to force the sudden-death. Tassie won the swim off in the final stanza and the Gray Bees got two shots off, but neither found the mark. After the teams traded offensive attacks without any success, Episcopal managed to slip behind SBP's defense off a break and scored the game-winner with 45 seconds left to pull out the victory.

"It was a great effort by the kids and they never gave up," said Cassidy. "It really was an incredible game. While I'm extremely disappointed by the outcome, I couldn't be prouder of the kids."

Isaiah Del Rios totaled 9 goals in the tournament, one more than Tassie. David Philemon and Rameses Spellman finished with 8 scores apiece, while Oliver Brillant and Kevin Gaspar continue to shine in goal.

FALL SPORTS SEASON NOW IN FULL SWING FOR ALL 3 TEAMS

Sept. 18, 2011

St. Benedict's water polo team had a week off before playing their second match of the season. And, although the Gray Bees were more competitive, coach Glenn Cassidy's club dropped a 14-8 decision on Friday to Malvern Prep in the HAB Pool.

The Gray Bees kept in close against Malvern, trailing by only one, 7-6, at the halftime break. Rameses Spelling scored 3 of his 4 goals during the opening half, while teammate Dennis Tassie hit for two scores.

And like their season-opening loss Germantown, the Gray Bees went an entire quarter without scoring, which ultimately spelled the demise of Cassidy's team for the second straight outing. This time SBP was shut out, 4-0, in the third quarter by Malvern and could never recover.

Spellman leads the team in scoring through the first two matches with 7 goals, just one more than David Philemon. Tassie and Isaiah Del Rios have scored twice each, while Antonio DeSousa has added one goal.

The Gray Bees hit the road for the first time when they travel to Martinsville to take on Pingry on Tuesday (Sept. 20) at 4 p.m.

The Gray Bees soccer team traveled to Philadelphia over the weekend and came away with the championship in the Penn Charter Invitational (read more...)

The cross country team has competed twice in the early going, but has done so without the services of the nation's top runner this year, Edward Cheserek, who will open his season in next weekend's Passaic County Coaches Invitational on the course at Garret Mountain.

Without their all-star, the Gray Bees opened the season in the Randolph Invitational last weekend. Adebayo Eisape ran very well in the varsity race, coming in 19th and winning a medal. Darien Edwards placed in 32nd in the JV race, while Joshua Martins came in 20th in the Freshman race.

Coach Marty Hannon's team came back this weekend and competed in the Catholic Conference Bernie Magee Class Race at Warinanco Park. Eisape placed 24th with a personal best time of 17:47.3. Edwards also came in with a PB when he crossed the line with a 19:56.6.

Click here for Cross Country News from the 2010 season.