The Beacon Middle School track and field team celebrated its season June 8 at the Cultured Pearl in Rehoboth Beach as 120 athletes and family members attended the banquet. High school assistant coach Rob Perciful, longtime Seaford High School track and field and field hockey coach, gave some inspirational words to the athletes. His message was always believing in yourself and never saying you cannot achieve a goal. High school jump coach Ellis Gauldin, a former 7-foot high jumper at Connecticut, also spoke to the athletes about being students first and athletes second and believing in themselves as they make the next step to high school.
Both coaches work part time with the Beacon athletes in certain events, and both are a very big part of the success of the Beacon program.
Season highlights on a young boys' team include an 11th-place finish at the Jim Blades Invitational, a fourth-place finish at Cape Relays, a sixth place at Cape Classic Invitational and a sixth place at the Rich McKinnon Invitational, where Giovanni Bendefelt won the 110-meter hurdles, 300-m hurdles and long jump to capture three titles and score 30 points. The boys ended with a 1-8 overall dual meet record.
On the girls' side of the action, the team ended the season with a 9-0 overall dual-meet record and continued their dual-meet winning streak dating back to 2010 to 62 straight. The girls won the Jim Blades Invitational for the fourth time in a row by 57 points, while they also captured the Cape Relays by 16 points for the second year in a row. The girls won the Cape Classic Invitational for the fourth time by 69 points and finished the season by capturing the Rich McKinnon Regional Championship by 77 points for the second time in the past three years.
Following the presentation of the season participation certificates, the coaching staff presented awards to the following athletes:
Leadership Award - Giovanni Bendfeldt and Sydney Hollinger
Most Improved Award - Griffin Joseph and Breahna Kusen
Sportmanship Award - Ethan Shuttleworth and Natalie Guida
Team Spirit Award - Brenden Groll and Sarah Perrotta
Rising Star Award - Josh Evans and Noelle Sabbagh
Rookie of the Year Award - Tony Minni and Mehkia Applewhite
The 3 D's Award - Rose Minni, Timesha Cannon and Sydney Hollinger
Coaches Award - David Smith II and Aya Daisey
Most Valuable Award - Giovanni Bendfeldt and Olivia Brozefsky.
The Delaware Senate and the Delaware House of Representatives presented a tribute to the girls' team for their accomplishments. It will be on display at Beacon Middle School. Special thanks to Sen. Ernie Lopez and Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf for this honor.
The evening ended with a slide show that captured the magic moments and memories of the season.
Upcoming races
Saturday, June 11 - 13th DFRC Blue Gold All-Star 5K, Irish Eyes, Lewes, 8 a.m., www.seashorestriders.com
Saturday, June 11 - 2nd Red, White & Brew 5K, Crossfit Vicarious, Milford, 9:30 a.m., www.races2run.com
Sunday, June 12 - 2nd Made Ya Look Salon & Spa 5K, Rehoboth Beach, 8:30 a.m., www.races2run.com
Friday June 17 - 13th Georgetown Library 5K, Georgetown, 7 p.m., www.seashorestriders.com
Saturday, June 18 - 6th Irish Eyes 5K, Milton, 8 a.m., www.seashorestriders.com
Sunday, June 19 - 26th Father's Day 5K, Rehoboth Beach, 7:30 a.m., www.seashorestriders.com.