Best Buddies run together over a lifetime

Best Buddies - Grown men latch onto their buddies at an early age and never let them go. “I got this buddy” usually leads into an anecdotal story about unbroken friendship. The bond is never broken; a man’s buddies travel the roads with him throughout his lifetime. Bryan Mack lost a good buddy last year when Scott Brozey, a classmate known for wearing No. 24 on the lacrosse fields at Cape, Delaware Tech and Wesley, was killed in a pedestrian traffic accident in Florida. Bryan ran the Coastal Delaware Running Festival half marathon April 23 wearing Cape No. 24. He raised $724  for the Scott Brozey Scholarship. Bryan ran 1:27:25, and his buddies Andrew Rogan (1:37) and Steve Peet (1:44) were close behind him. Those three, along with Scott Brozey, constitute a nice guys club, who are incredibly athletic young men who operate at a higher level, always having time for other people. 

Disoriented and wobbly - Daniel Young went out too fast in the Coastal Delaware Running Festival marathon April 23. I know that because at the 25-mile mark he ran out of fuel and coherency right in front of me, staggering into a motel parking lot with no plan on how to get back in the race. His 5K time was 18:30, which is sub-6-minute pace on the front end of a marathon. Two boxy-built state policemen riding in an ATV called for an ambulance. Good Samaritan runners from earlier and shorter races stood Daniel up. He had dried-up energy drink around his mouth. I threw my two cents into midair, “Sit him on the ground and support him. Keep him warm. His race is over. It’s his life we need to worry about.” I get it that Daniel wanted to finish, but wobbling another mile supported by newfound friends gave new meaning to the concept “assisted living.” I took photos, which raises its own ethical questions; perhaps I should have intervened, but photos tell a story and have value, and that raises the all-important question, “What is the medical protocol?” Doctors are less likely to weigh in on this subject than a fat guy wearing boots on a Weight Watchers scale. I saw Daniel’s time was 3:01:11. His last mile took 18 minutes. I’m just happy he survived. One runner hit me up on Facebook saying, “The emergency starts now, not 18 minutes later and a mile away, and if he was physically assisted and supported on the race course, he should be disqualified.” I just want to know what to do if that ever happens again.    

Beatdown bonding - It was a dreary day at the Temple sports complex in North Philly April 22, as the Owls women’s lacrosse team (13-2), off to their best start in 20 years, hosted the Florida Gators, the No. 2 team in the country and most prolific scoring team. And it was Senior Day for seven players, and I was the official photographer charged with getting photos, including Anna. The game started and it was late early, as the Gators jumped out 9-0. Florida had 12 girls from New York and another 12 from Maryland on the roster. Their fans took up half the stadium. I was on the field in front of their fans who were off the hook. I tried not to hear it because I’m professional photographer, not somebody’s grandfather. Temple fans countered with their own commentaries and it was all directed at the officials. The game ended 15-5. I saw Temple girls, all with bright futures in life, just take the loss head on, but for some fans, they don’t even know how to win, let alone lose. 

Snippets - Cape softball battled heavily favored Red Lion April 21 for nine innings before falling 15-9. The stat line afterward was staggering - 24 runs, 25 hits and 12 errors. Cape dropped to 4-5. Red Lion lost the next day to Indian River 11-5, falling to 7-2 on the season. The softball landscape is soggy statewide; a single dominant pitcher could lead a team to a state title. Junior varsity programs are vanishing, and Beacon and Mariner have combined to win one game halfway through the season. The question on the table is, can Cape softball get back to being a statewide contender? Go on now, git!