Athletes of the Week March 3
Abby E'Nama
A senior honors student at Cape, this 6-foot-3 powerhouse stepped up big time in the Vikings’ win over Mt. Pleasant Feb. 28, scoring nine points, grabbing six rebounds and blocking five shots in the 38-35 success over the 20th-seeded Green Knights. "Defense has always been my key," said E'Nama, who blocked a shot in the final seconds to preserve the victory. "I saw her coming, and I went for the ball and got it."
"Abby really showed senior leadership," said Cape coach Lauren Carra. "She got some key rebounds and critical points for us." Abby also played volleyball for the Vikings and plans to play at Juniata University in Huntingdon, Pa.
Zack Flores
Cape’s senior 285-pounder wrestled junior varsity for three years, prompting coach Chris Mattioni to say, “Nobody does that! Zach just kept coming to practice and kept working at it.” The 6-foot-4 Flores, whom friends and fans affectionately call Fluffy, put together a monster senior season, going 34-6 and winning the Henlopen Conference Championship. In the state championship final, Flores drew Bryan Wynes (30-3), whom he had already beaten twice. The match was a forklift, with Flores trying to lift and topple the road grader that was Wynes. It went to the second overtime; Wynes got to neutral from the bottom, but Flores could not, and the match and state championship went to Wynes. But the story of Fluffy the heavyweight became part of Cape wrestling lore.
Cory Lawson
Lawson (40-4) versus Sussex Central’s Brandon Bautista (40-10) in the 160-pound state championship final was the last match of the 2017 wrestling season. Lawson won the regular-season dual-meet matchup by a point, but Bautista won 4-3 over Lawson at the state duals semifinals. Then Lawson came back and beat Bautista in the Henlopen Conference Championship. So, when the rivals met for the last time in the state championship match last weekend, there was some history. The match was wrestled cautiously by both athletes and went to overtime. The first period is 60 seconds, starts at neutral and is sudden death, a takedown wins it. Lawson seeming on his heels sprang like a jungle cat and tackled Bautista around the shoulders, sending him to his back. The Cape crowd chanted “Cory! Cory!” and they sang Happy Birthday to him on his 18th, which also happened to be the occasion of his 100th win.
Sydney Pedersen
A junior point guard for Lauren Carra's Lady Vikings, Sydney has her sights set on the basket and is lighting up the scoreboard in the playoffs. She popped in 20 points in Cape’s win over Mt. Pleasant in the first round of the DIAA State Tournament Feb. 28, hitting four three-pointers. She also sank both ends of a one-and-one with 5.6 seconds remaining to stretch the lead to three and finish the Vikings’ victory. "Sydney has had an up-and-down year, with her shot struggling in some games," said Carra. "But she's found her shot now, and it's a great time to have it. I'm really proud of her." Sydney’s up-and-down game has settled into a “downtown game,” hitting three-pointers in the playoffs.
