NORTH PENN HIGH SCHOOL
BOYS INDOOR STATE TRACK
CHAMPIONS 2008
Head Coach Jay Jones
Assistant Coaches: Ernie Perilli, John Fluck
Team Members in picture:
Front row lt / rt: Brian Quintrell, Justin Bookheimer, Zack Montijo, Michael Joel, Mike Wesolowski
2nd row Lt / Rt: Alex Hill, Abu Siddique, Ronnie Akins, Dominic Camasso, Brandon Rothenberger, Nick Romano
Alex Poulin, Tim Stauring
3rd row Lt / Rt: Coach Perilli, Coach Jones, Steve Franks, Mitch Cashatt, Sean Gentry, Brad Miles,
Zach Hoagland, Coach Fluck
Coaches and Team Members not in Picture:
Seniors: Banji Akintoye, Jesse Hulstein, Ryan Kaye, Justin Keen, Scott Kenyon, Ji Kim, Yinan Kuang, Phong Le, Nathan Lipsi, Michael Ly, Asseem Malhotra, Samuel Marino, Sebastien Nantermet, Victor Oh, Brian Pellechia, Robert Shuttle
Juniors: Sergeo Anikin, Thomas Burghart, Nick Burwit, Derrick Cartwright, Dwayne Douglas, Greg Dreher, Steve Eastlack, Brian English, Justin Haines, Justin Kohl, Brian Kuntzmann, Casey Reim, A J Sapon,
John Scatton, Chris Wallace
Sophomores: William Bednar, Sam Bernitt, Richard Brady, Dan Burkwit, Luk Duffy, Michael Duggan,
Mike Eastlake, Lucas Gerhart, Paul Hasyn, Zach Heimer, John McCullough, Henery Oestreich, Jordon Rolon,
Jake Sapon, Tim Seese, Matt White, Mao Ye
Freshman: Alex Dello Buono, Roberto Gasper, Craig Needhammer, Jonathon Nguyen, Reggie Paige, Harry Perry, Dominic Pileggi, Nicholas Swan, Corey Wallace, Malik West, Christopher Yang
2008 PTFCA All-State:
4X800m 1st Team: Brian Quintrell, Justin Bookheimer, Steve Franks, Zack Montijo
4X400m 2nd Team: Mike Joell, Zack Montijo, Alex Hill, Justin Bookheimer
Zack Montijo 2nd Team 800 meters
North Penn PTFCA 2008 Indoor State Championship 44.5 pts:
Sean Gentry 4th Place High Jump; 6th Place Triple Jump
Zack Montijo 2nd Place 800 meters
Justin Bookheimer 5th Place 800 meters
Steve Franks 6th 800 meters
James Green 5th Place Shot Put
4X200 Relay 5th:
Mike Joell, Alex Hill, Abu Siddique,Ronnie Akins
4X400 Relay 2nd:
Mike Joell, Zack Montijo, Alex Hill, Justin Bookheimer
4X800 Relay 1st in a New State Record:
Brian Quintrell, Justin Bookheimer
Steve Franks, Zack Montijo
National Indoor Champions North Penn 4X800m Relay Team, Armory, NY
Inducted NPAAA Hall of Fame 2015
The Difference between "Yeah and Yes"
The 2008 Indoor Track season was shrouded in mystery as the cold Pennsylvania winter arrived. The North Penn Knights had long relied on their senior leadership for experience and strong results; however, this was a team subjected to the entire turnover inherent to a high school varsity teams. They would have to rely on their depth like never before in order to reach or even surpass the heights achieved by so many before them. Adorned with the successes of their 2006 State Championship, third-year coaches Jaimey Jones, Jonathan Fluck, and Ernie Perilli were now charged with the task of turning their team into a storied program.
As the elements of winter forced the team inside, the coaches made sure that their athletes were ready to weather any storm. No matter the circumstance, Coach Jones demanded the most out of each workout. There was a simple message threading this campaign together: the answer was always “yes not yeah”. “Yeah” was taking a snowy day off. “Yes” was meeting teammates for a work out on News Years Day. “Yes” was leading the coldest workout of the season. “Yes” was taking responsibility for your team and holding other accountable for their contributions to the team. Soon enough, the coaches were seeing their messages and practice permeate the psyche of the team. Everyone began to see this transformation on the tracks of Glen Mills, Ursinus College, Lehigh University and, come February, Penn State University.
The stage was then set for eleven athletes to represent North Penn High School on Penn State’s Ashenfelter track facility. Of those eleven athletes, six were under classmen. Once again, if the knights were going to achieve the standard of success at the State meet that they were used to, they were going to have to rely on the leadership and depth that got them there. The trio of seniors Zack Montijo, Justin Bookheimer, and Steve Franks turned in a strong showing for the Knights taking 2nd, 5th, and 6th respectively in the 800 meter run. This trio later combined with Brian Quintrell to turn in a gold medal performance for the 4X800m relay. The relay team set new state record in the process. An inspired performance by Mike Joell, Alex Hill, Ronnie Akins and Abu Siddique earned them a 5th place medal in the 4X200m relay. With the coaching of Mitch Cashatt, Sean Gentry was quietly turning in outstanding personal performances to earn him 4th in the high jump and 6th in the triple jump. Entering the final event of the day, the Knights were not going to leave anything up to chance. Mike Joell, Alex Hill, Zack Montijo, and Justin Bookheimer sealed the state championship with a 2nd place finish in the 4X400m relay. The attitude and commitment had paid off for the program once again in winning the 2008 Indoor State Championship.
With the continued support of the coaching staff, the 4X800m relay team went on to win The National Scholastic Indoor Championship title at the Armory Track in New York City. The time turned in by the 4X800m relay was the #1 in the United States..
The trophies and medals continue to stand as a testament to the valiant performances and feats of strength shown by both athletes and coaches alike. Far beyond those markers of success, the lessons of discipline and leadership continue to serve every member of that team. In the end the North Penn Knights were too strong to be beaten and the tradition continued.