August 19th marks the official start of the fall season for Cherry Hill High School East Cougars. For the majority of sports at East, the first six practices of the season are known as “mandatories” for the athletes because that is the number required for participation in the competitive season. With the 2024-2025 school year around the corner, the fields are full of athletes anxiously anticipating their fate for the upcoming season. East athletes have the opportunity to pick from several sports this fall including soccer, football, field hockey, girl’s volleyball or tennis, cross country, and cheerleading.
Girls Soccer:
Head Coach Rachel Steelman-Tonon and Assistant Coach Ralph Steelman led the East Varsity Girls to a 7-10-1 record in the 2023-2024 season, with fifteen players returning this fall. In an exciting start to their preseason, the East Cougars won the first-place trophy at the Stockton Annual High School tournament, on August 17th. Overall, they finished 4-0-1. After tying Absegami 1-1, defeating both Gateway 5-1 and Vineland 4-1, they went on to beat Egg Harbor Township and Haddon Heights in the final rounds, both coming down to penalty kicks. During the week of August 26, East Girls Soccer will play in three scrimmages against Delsea, Haddonfield Memorial, and Cinnaminson High School. The team’s first game of the season takes place at Bishop Eustace on Tuesday, September 3rd.
Boys Soccer:
As Mike Melograna enters his 10th season as the Head Coach of the East Varsity Boys Soccer team, he shares that the team has been working hard this season, having played twice a week in a summer league. Coach Melorgana, along with Assistant Coach John Aiello, have high expectations for the varsity squad because it is a “senior heavy group that has a lot of experience and depth in every position.” Last year, the East boys soccer team “underachieved a little bit, only going 10-6-2,” according to Mike Melograna.
“We have basically done everything in my ten years, but we haven’t won something tangible. We have been to a sectional final and a Coaches’ tournament. We have won big playoff games and beaten number-one teams. However, we haven’t been able to sustain that success throughout the entire year,” said Melograna. As a proud East alumnus, Coach Melograna is excited for this senior-heavy group to fulfill their potential and exceed their expectations.
During the week of August 26, the boys will play in three scrimmages against Clearview, Haddonfield Memorial, and Sterling High Schools; they will host the team’s season opener against Bishop Eustace on Wednesday, September 4th.
Football:
Head Coach Tyler Drob has kept the football team very busy this summer, as practices are held Monday through Thursday from 4 PM – 7 PM every week. Starting on August 12, the football team started their camps from 8 AM – 12 PM each day. Over the last two seasons, East football won 11 out of 20 games, which is much better than the previous two years’ 5-20 record. With the improved stadium and night lights, players and fans are hoping for the best season yet. On August 19, they had their first scrimmage at home against Washington Township and their second scrimmage is on Thursday, August 22, away against Seneca. Although the first game of the season is away at Clearview High School, on August 29, the home opener takes place on Friday, September 13, against Triton. This will be Cherry Hill East’s first home Friday night lights game in school history. According to Coach Drob, the team can’t wait for the season opener and looks forward to the challenge of a “schedule and conference [that] have gotten tougher.” Captains for the 2024-2025 season, Denzel Lee, Jaxson Bowman, and Dom Tomasetti, will lead the East Varsity Cougars into, what’s expected to be, the most exciting season yet. The East community has a lot to look forward to this fall — especially the highly anticipated Cherry Hill East versus Cherry Hill West game on October 10 at 6 PM, which takes place at home this year.
Field Hockey:
Another fall sports team ready for the season is the East Girls Field Hockey team. Coach Brooke Hullings began the mandatory practices on August 19th which last from 8:00 AM – 11:00 AM. Last season, these Lady Cougars went 3-14. East will host the first field hockey scrimmage, on August 26, against Cinnaminson High School; they open the 2024-2025 season away at Camden Catholic on September 4. Looking forward to another fun season, Sophomore Posie Radetich (‘27) said, “West is our biggest rival because on game day everybody goes all out…Playing West is our big game and they are our biggest rivalry.”
Girls Volleyball:
Coach Joe Feeney, coming from Sterling High School, takes on a new position as head coach for the East Girls Volleyball team. After 20 years and leading the team to a phenomenal 20-6 2023-2024 season, Coach Scott Mooney has officially retired. Heading into the new season, there are only four graduating seniors, making for a young and energetic team.
Most excited for daily volleyball practices, Sophomore Stella Kim (‘27) also “cannot wait to dress up for game days and experience senior day and the annual car wash, which unfortunately, did not happen last year.” The volleyball team’s first scrimmage is on August 26 against Eastern Regional High School, and the first game of the season takes place on September 4 at Shawnee High School.
Girls Tennis:
Coming off an excellent 2023-2024 season, Cherry Hill East Girls Tennis team collected a winning record of 13-4. Again, they will be led by Head Coach, Mary Jewett. In 2023, Cherry Hill East had an exciting win against Lenape in the regular season but lost to them in the sectional championships. With four returning players, they look to win their first sectional title since their 2020 season. Their first scrimmage will take place on Wednesday, August 28th against Haddonfield Memorial at 9 AM at the Centennial Courts, and they will travel to Moorestown High School for their season opener on September 5th.
Cheerleading:
Head Coach Brianna Potts and twenty-five Cherry Hill East cheerleaders practiced hard this summer to prepare for the 2024-25 season. The senior captains led the East Cougars through their three-day-a-week preseason practices, teaching new cheers and dances for the season. They also participated in a mandatory National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) Cheer Camp which took place at East over the summer. This enthusiastic cheer squad looks forward to traveling with the football team to Clearview High School on August 29 for their first appearance of the season. Sophomore Hailey Linderman (‘27) is “most excited for the East versus West game because it’s at home this year” and it will take place in the new and improved stadium. Additionally, Linderman says, “I’m excited for the first game because, even though it is nerve-racking, at the same time, it is also good.”
Cross Country:
Coach Christine Mason, for the girls, and Christopher Corey, for the boys, have kept the Cherry Hill East Cross Country team very busy this preseason. This week, the girls traveled to Holmdel Park to run the course that will be used for their upcoming meets. For this season, Logan Freedman (‘27) has some clear goals in mind which include “to compete at the Meet of Champions and for our team to improve as a whole.” This summer, the East Boys Cross Country athletes worked hard: running eight miles at each practice to prepare for the season.
On Thursday, August 22, they will also head to Holmdel Park to practice the course. As the season approaches, Alvin Lin (‘26) has many goals for himself including “winning sectionals and qualifying for the Nike Cross Regionals and Nationals.” As the fall season approaches, Cherry Hill East’s distance runners are ready to compete with other schools, in hopes that their summer commitment to working hard will pay off. Battle at Ocean County Park, the team’s first meet, will be held on September 13th.