Trials of Miles 2024
Trials of Miles 2024
Congrats to Bobby Poplau for his 2nd individual school record
Bobby Poplau made the most of his long bus ride to Randall’s Island in Manhattan for the Trial of Miles at Icahn Stadium! As one of fourteen athletes to make the seeded heat, he knew he would face the best competition he had ever run against.
The top three finishers from the New Balance Indoor Nationals were in the race as well as several others who had already run significantly under 4:10 for the mile. In fact, Bobby’s seed time of 4:15.12 was only faster than one of the other competitors, and then only by about a tenth of a second.
The race had a pacer who was tasked with taking it out through the 800 in 1:58. Although, they were slightly off of that pace, it was still very fast and Bobby, hanging on in last place, came through 808 in 2:06.10.
The third lap was key to a fast race and, to his credit, Bobby held on even though he was running in uncharted territory. With a lap to go, the clock read 3:10.63.
Although he was in a world of hurt, he kept focused and closed admirably to take tenth in 4:13.08!
That converts to 4:11.61, just narrowly taking down the previous school record set by Shawn Wilson when he took third at the Holmdel Royal Rumble eleven years ago!
The top three milers in school history have set themselves apart (Marc Pelerin is third with his 4:11.86 converted from the mile - 4:13.33 - he ran to take 6th at the Adidas Outdoor Nationals twenty-two years ago).
The three of them are all over three and a half seconds in front of anyone else on the Cherokee 1600 list!
Congratulations to Bobby on a tough race and a new school record to go with his 800 record set earlier this year! He is also a member of the school record 4x800 Meter relay. Now, on to the championship season! It will be fun to see what Bobby can do on the track over the next month!
Fundraising Goals
It is the mission of 4xAlumni to support the current crop of track and field and cross country athletes.
We are focusing on 5 major areas that we feel, with the support of the coaches, are important for this generation of student-athletes:
Offset or completely cover the cost of post-season events not sponsored by the school. This includes National Meets (cross country, indoor and outdoor track) and invitationals (Oregon, etc).
Award scholarships for deserving seniors.
Provide State Champions and School Record holders with gifts.
Support families with athletes who would like to attend a cross country camp but cannot afford it.
Provide funding for athletes needing physiotherapy who cannot afford it.
We currently only have the availability to collect funds via Venmo, but we are actively seeking ways to collect via credit card, Zelle, PayPal, and other forms to accommodate the ecosystem in 2024.
During the months of April, May, and June, we will be collecting funds that will directly contribute to scholarships for graduating seniors. Please consider donating to help fund our scholarship money.
Venmo: @ Cherokee4xalumni
Sectionals Meet Up
Looking forward to the end of the season, Cherokee will be competing in the Group 4 Sectionals at Pennsauken HS on May 31st and June 1st. Because of the proximity to local watering holes and Marlton, the 4xAlumni group will be meeting at Double Nickle to celebrate the season and get another chance to connect with others.
Please consider joining us after the track meet at Double Nickel (1585 Route 73 Pennsauken) at 3 pm on June 1st. We’ll have 4xAlumni gear to give away + much more. This is a 19/21+ event.
Consider filling out this Form so we can have an idea how many are attending.
About 4xAlumni
We are a non-profit organization with volunteer board members that seek to help provide funds that go directly to the current team. Our mission is:
to provide funding for travel and lodging to championship meets not covered by the school.
to provide scholarships to graduating seniors.
to provide recognition and awards to State Champion winners and new School Record holders.
to provide funding for current athletes who need assistance attending cross country camp.
to provide funding for current athletes who need assistance seeking treatment from injuries related to track/cross country.
Our Board
President: Jeff Storch ‘99
Vice President: Michelle (Bilicki) Wolosky ‘00
Secretary and Treasurer: Caitlin (O’Malley) Bertheaud ‘05
Social Media & Communication: Lisa Burkholder ‘06
Marketing & Fundraising: Marc Pelerin ‘02
Event Coordinator: Tim Haggerty ‘96
Team Liaison: Dave Sitzer ‘00
Voting Members: Joe Halin ‘00 & Sunny Patel ‘96
Venmo: @ Cherokee4xalumni