Athletes of the Week June 16

Lance Fargo

“You have to suffer if you want to play the blues.” Lance won his fourth National Championship in the Clydesdale category masters division Olympic distance June 11 at the Grand Rapids Triathlon. Lance was a category winner and overall winner who was a running back and wrestler for Tatnall back in the day. “I ballooned to 285 in my late 20s, so I started focusing on proper nutrition and cardio in addition to lifting. My first 5K race was the inaugural [Run for] J.J. Stein. He was a close friend and I ran to support his memory. After that, I became a regular at Seashore Striders events.” Lance plays the electric blues guitar and has one autographed by Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Albert King, Albert Collins, Johnny Winter, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Ron Wood, Dickey Betts, Derek Trucks, John Mayall, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, Robert Cray, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Elvin Bishop and a few others.  

Sonja Friend-Uhl

This Cape legend continues to tear up the track on the masters circuit at age 46. She ran 10:05 to win the masters 3,000 meters and clocked 4:43 to take third in the open 1,500 meters at the talent-rich Portland Track Festival June 10-11. A member of the Atlanta Track Club, Sonja is one of the most decorated masters athletes in the country and holds three age-group national records for 1,500 meters and the mile. She was crowned national champion in the 800 and the mile at the USATF Masters National Championships in February. Sonja captured a state title over 800 meters for Cape in 1989 and blossomed into an All-American cross country runner at William & Mary before competing in multiple Olympic Trials. She holds a 4:13 lifetime best for 1,500 meters, equivalent to a 4:32 mile.

Rylee Shockley

This power-hitting senior from Sussex Tech closed out her high school softball career by being named MVP for the Blue team in the annual Blue-Gold All-Star game thanks to a two-run, game-winning home run in the bottom of the fourth of the 6-4 Blue victory. Rylee had four RBIs in the game. She battled through an injury her senior season and was the team’s designated hitter, so that is what she did - she hit a ton. Rylee belted 10 home runs  during the regular season with a batting average of .590. Riley is heading to Lebanon Valley College in the fall. “I owe everything to my parents, grandparents and coaches who helped me get to the point I’ve reached today,” Rylee said. 

Zach Simpler

Zach was in the outdoor pool at the University of Delaware last weekend, competing for the Sussex Riptide team at the Special Olympics Delaware competition. Zach can freestyle, whether swimming or talking, and on Saturday he won four gold medals, capturing the 25-, 50- and 100-meter freestyle races, and swimming on the gold medal 4-by-50 freestyle team. Zach is coming off his junior year at Cape where he ran cross country, was on the swims team and finished the year on the track and field team. The most special thing about Zach is his engaging personality as he pushes himself to his limits while making everyone else feel better about themselves. That is his major talent.