Extra Workouts Help Fuel East XC at Sectionals

When Cherry Hill East was shut down for three days due to Hurricane Sandy, restrictions were put in place to keep athletic coaches from scheduling practices during the time off. While days off from practice may sound great for many high school kids, it was not ideal for the Cougars, who had business to take care of at the Group 4 sectional championships a little over a week later.

So the runners took it upon themselves to get in the workouts.

“We weren’t allowed to practice while we were off for those three days, and guys got together and ran,” said East head coach Matt Cieslik. “Our guys didn’t miss a beat. I have a great group of seniors and they made sure that everybody was doing exactly what they should have been doing.”

One of those leaders was Ben Dillon.

“Coach wasn’t allowed to order the official practice because of the hurricane, but we all stayed in contact and met up during the days off so we could continue to run,” Dillon said.

Those extra practices kept the Cougars shape and the results were evident Saturday when East advanced to states by finishing second in South Jersey, Group 4. Dillon led the way, finishing fifth in 16 minutes, 24 seconds. Dan Helfand and Mike Minion weren’t far behind, placing 15th and 16th, respectively.

Dillon said the unusual circumstances may have worked in the team's favor, as the runners were a little more rested, while still in peak form.

“I think that may have actually helped us out a little bit because we had a little extra time,” said Dillon. “We all came out here and did what we could to get second place.”

Dillon stayed with the front pack for most of the race, alternating between fourth and sixth.

“My thoughts going into it was that if I took it out really fast and got with the front, I would stay with the front,” Dillon said. “That’s kind of what I did. I stayed up there with the front pack kids.”

“He and Mike have kind of alternated back and forth all year as far as who has been one and two,” said Cieslik. “Ben really stepped it up to become a frontrunner today, and that’s what you really need in these big races. You need somebody up front. You have to have that one guy.”

Washington Township won the meet comfortably with 85 points, while East was second with 103. Southern Regional, Lenape and Egg Harbor Township rounded out the top five. While Cieslik expected his team to finish in the top five—which comes with an automatic entry into states—he was pleasantly surprised to see his team do so well.

“On paper, I thought that we were third or fourth,” said Smith. “Washington Township and Southern had clearly established themselves as one-two. Lenape beat us pretty easily earlier this season and then we just beat them at the last meet, so I figured with would be between us and them for third and fourth.”

Peter Skryzalin was the top finisher for West, crossing the line in 26th place. The Lions finished in eighth place, 10 points behind fifth-place Egg Harbor Township.

On the girls’ side, Maddie Berman placed 16th for East and Kristen Thomas was 25th for West. Neither team advanced to states.