Cape, Tech athletes compete at Henlopen championships Feb. 1
The Henlopen Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships are being held Friday, Feb. 1, in Snow Hill, Md.'s indoor facility with the field more up for grabs than it has been in recent years. I look for Caesar Rodney and Milford to battle up top in the boys' competition, but they can’t ease up, because a well-rounded Lake Forest team, Cape with the best jumper in the conference, and Sussex Tech and its many distance runners have some quality guys who can and will put some points on the board trying to sneak into the top three teams.
The Smyrna girls are looking like they might be closing in on their first indoor title, led by sprinter/jumper Raven Luckett, who can chalk up 40 points if you don’t pay attention. The well-rounded Cape girls should score well in the field, and points will definitely come from basketball players Madison MacElrevey and Kadijah Doughty in their events. Sussex Tech will rack up some points with jumper/hurdler Bri Hall leading the way. Caesar Rodney is the team that I feel will be in the money at the end of the day as the Riders should arrive with a full team ready to score. Lake Forest and Milford will be in the shadows, but don’t count them out. If you're looking for a good competitive meet to watch, take Route 13 south, drive for an hour, and look for the action at the Snow Hill field house on your right.
Cape grads at Thomson Invite
The Thomson Invitational was held last weekend at the University of Delaware Field House in honor of Bill Thomson, Delaware’s spokesperson for the sport of track & field. Thomson, a Delaware Track & Field Hall of Famer, was a USA national team coach several times in the 1970s and 1980s. The meet attracted some very competitive teams from along the East Coast with several locals taking part in the competition. Cape graduate Shanel Dickens, a freshman at Delaware, won her first NCAA collegiate race as she captured the 500 meters in a time of 1:18.86. Dickens outran junior Leslie Miles of Towson, who was second in a time of 1:19.00. In the 1,000 meters, Cape graduate Ali Coning, a freshman at Towson, finished eighth overall in a time of 3:17.39. Ketsia Dornevil of Delaware State won the race in a good time of 3:05.28. An interesting race later in the meet found Dickens and Coning racing on the 4-by-800-meter relay team as they both ran the second leg for their teams. Delaware State won the race in 9:46.20 in a photo finish, followed by Dickens and her Delaware team in second in 9:46.37. Coning and her Towson team were fourth in a time of 10:03.76. Sussex Tech graduate Paige Morris, a junior on the Delaware team, was 11th in the long jump in 16-feet-4-inches and also second in the triple jump in 36-11-1/2. Competing unattached in the triple jump was Cape graduate Hannah Pepper, finishing 16th in 32-7-1/2.
Celtics or bust
Last Friday night for the third straight weekend on a plane, I boarded Southwest Airlines with son Ben as we flew to Boston, checking into the historic Park Plaza Hotel just after midnight. I was born just outside of Boston in Waltham, while my family lived in Watertown until I was 12 years old. Following a lunch meeting with Dave from Chronotrack, Ben and I walked through the Boston Common watching some throwback ice hockey players in an impressive pickup game. We took a train to Marlborough and stayed overnight with relatives and Sunday rode the train in to the Garden, the home of the Boston Celtics. Ben’s birthday present was one of the biggest NBA games of the year with the Miami Heat visiting the Celtics for a 1 p.m. afternoon tipoff. The game had a lot of local hype, as former Celtic Ray Allen would be making his return in a Miami uniform. The game lived up to all our expectations as we had great seats in the private sports deck with video monitors at each seat, our own waitress, an all-you-can-eat buffet, and the wildest, loudest crowd I have ever seen. The game went into double overtime with Paul Pierce hitting a fadeaway jumper in the lane over future Hall of Famer LeBron James to win it for the Celtics 100-98. We were able to stay for the first two minutes of the second overtime before rushing to a taxi for a NASCAR trip to the airport. We arrived with 15 minutes to spare before boarding the plane for BWI. A great city, a great game and a great trip to remember.
Upcoming races
Saturday, Feb. 2 - 5th annual 5K Run/Walk to the Plunge, Rehoboth Beach.
Sunday, Feb. 10 - 8th Valentine's Chase 5K Couples Run, Lewes.
Sunday, March 10 - 3rd Get Pumped for Pets 5K/10K, Kent Island, Md.
Sunday, March 10 - Inaugural The Lucky Leprechaun 5K, Milton.
Saturday, March 16 - 6th St. Patrick’s Day 5K Run, Denton, Md.
Saturday, March 23 - 7th St. Paddy’s Day Shamrock Shuffle 15K/5K, Rehoboth Beach.
Saturday, March 30 - 2nd Bunny Palooza 5K/10K, Bethany.
