Local high school track and field teams will head to the DIAA Championships this Friday and Saturday at Dover High School. Cape, Middletown, Salesianum and Dover are each looking to make some noise at the meet.   

Middletown looks like the team to beat, as the Cavs have a good shot at winning all four relays, while Cape has the best pole vault crew, led by Will DiPaolo, in the state and should score over 20 points in this single event.

Dover was disqualified in the 800-meter relay at the Henlopen Conference meet and will be looking to come back strong  this week. The Senators are looking to take a shot at the mile relay state record, while Cape has the depth to score big points in the 3,200-meter run with Ryan Baker and Riley Stazzone leading the way, and they should also score high in the discus with Liam Ramsey only 4 feet from the school record of 168 feet.  

Cape, Dover and Sallies will try to hang on to the talent of Middletown, a tough task as the Cavs added some quality middle-distance runners, having run 7:55 in the 4-by-800 this season, to complement their already-tough sprint crew.  

In Division II action, Sussex Academy's Ryan Moody will try to lower his mile personal best, hoping to go under 4:16. He will also likely show up in either the 800 or 3,200 – or both. Moody will be a tough act to beat wherever he lines up.  

Katya Geyer was third in the high jump at the Henlopen Conference Championships and hopes to add to her state championship title list, while conference champ Harper Mamele of Cape will be in the Division I high jump having already cleared 5-feet-6-inches.

Cape middle-distance runner Maile Godwin set a personal best last week by running 2:22 in the 800 meters. She is inching closer to that 2:20 milestone.

Cape set a big personal best in the 4-by-800 relay, breaking the 10-minute mark with a time of 9:58. I think they have the talent to break the 9:50 mark if each leg runs their best race.

Sussex Academy’s Jesse Jean-Louis will be in the mix in both Division II hurdle races, as he has developed quickly into one of the best in the state and could easily be the most improved on any team.  

Race4Warriors 

The Race4Warriors 5K, 10K and Half-Marathon was held May 9, in Lewes, with Joseph Volk winning the half in 1:29:44.8 and Althea Donawa in second in 1:33:57.8. Sussex Academy runner Nolan Furlong was third in 1:36:37.5.  

In the 10K race, Matt Sparacino won in 37:39.1, followed by John Costello in 45:59.2. Logan Crotty, a member of the Cape Henlopen conference championship-winning 3,200 relay, was third in 48:57.4.  

The 5K race went to R. Parsons in 19:24.2, followed by JR Gillespie in 22:10.2. Don Cowie was third in a time of 25:09.4. Former Sussex Tech runner Meghan Davidson won the women's 5K in 26:06.  

The event supported wounded warriors and homeless veterans. The vision was to bring the military and civilian communities together to build stronger relationships. More than 400 participated in the event held from American Legion Post 17 in Lewes.

A new record

The Seashore Striders have donated a record board for track and field to both Fred Thomas and Beacon middle schools (Mariner already has a nice display at the gym).

Two records were broken for the Beacon girls, as Addison Wilson broke Alia Marshall’s record by running a 100-meter time of 12.6. Wilson also set the 200-meter record, crossing the line in 26.73 seconds to break the record held by Ally Diehl.

Jace Reddix set the 100-meter record with a clocking of 11.6 seconds, while Reddix tied the 200-meter record of 26.64 with Curtis Purnell. Elijah Cain ran the fastest ever 55-meter hurdles in 8.31.

Fred Thomas Middle, in only its second year, set a group of new records as well.  

On the boys' side, Julian Kaufmann set the record in the 100 meters with a 12.0 time, and Griffin Sender has a new 400-meter record of 56.27. Austin Rowlands now leads the 55-meter hurdles in 9.32. Duke Spath has the best high jump in 5-feet-8-inches. The 400-meter relay team set a new record in 48.3, while the 1,600-meter relay team set a new record of 4:11.42. Kaufmann set the long jump record of 16-2, while Niikai Jackson set a shot put record of 40-11 and a discus record of 118-0.

On the girls' side, Jaida White's time of 1:08.7 set the record in the 400 meters. Dixie Spath set the new 1,600-meter record in 6:06.25. Quinn Clark's time of 9.66 set a new 55-meter hurdle mark. The 1,600m relay now has the standard at 4:46.22. Harper Serman set the triple jump record at 29-5, and Finley Tuer set the discus record at 60-1.