Athletes of the Week April 24

Trevor Copes  

The Delaware Wrestling Alliance recently named Trevor Copes the Delaware Youth Wrestler of the Year. Copes is a member of the Henlopen Hammers Wrestling Club and a seventh-grader at Milford Central Academy. He won all seven events in the Diamond State Award tournament series. Copes is also a two-time middle school conference champ and a seven-time state champion. In the final tournament of the season, Copes defeated two high school varsity wrestlers, one of whom competed in the Maryland state tournament. “Trevor is a very talented athlete who challenges himself in practice and in competition,” said Benny Mitchell, Henlopen Hammers coach. Copes ended his season with a 40-1 record. Next year, Copes plans to challenge for a varsity spot at Milford High School as an eighth-grader.

Paul Jones

Paul is a Cape High class of 1971 graduate who played his first two years of high school at Rehoboth High. Paul played football and basketball, and threw the shot and discus for coach Tim Hickman. He became a Rehoboth Beach lifeguard at age 15. Paul was first-team all-conference in football and basketball his junior and senior years at the newly consolidated Cape. He was a fullback and defensive tackle. Paul married Ceil Betts from Milton his junior year in high school, and 50 years later they are still married. They have three children. Paul started at left tackle for the University of Delaware next to local Ray Sweeney as the Hens lost in the Division II National Championship game in 1974 to Central Michigan 54-14. Paul graduated with a degree in engineering and is now a financial planner with Delaware Financial Group with his son Shaun as his mentor. Paul’s nephew Mark Moore also played in the national championship game for Delaware in 2003, when the Hens beat Colgate 40-0.  

Martin Rodriguez

Local runner Martin Rodriguez has competed in three consecutive Boston Marathon races, and he is not shy about telling you all about them. This month would have been his fourth in a row, where he hoped to improve his marathon personal best time of 2:49:44, set at the Rehoboth Seashore Marathon in 2019. On April 19, Martin set up a 26.2-mile local course and hammered out an impressive time of 2:53:39, averaging 6:38 per mile. Martin, a 2001 Indian River graduate, started running in 2013 to lose weight to play competitive soccer; he once weighed more than 275 pounds. Martin averages 60 miles per week and currently weighs in at 132 pounds. As Martin would say, “Training continues.”

Malachi Stratton

When the Delaware Wrestling Alliance recently released its Diamond State Award winners, Stratton was the No. 3-ranked wrestler in the state. In the seven-tournament series, Stratton entered six and won all six. In that run, Stratton twice defeated a previous Eastern National champion. Stratton is a two-time middle school conference champion and has won seven state championships. Stratton wrestles for the Henlopen Hammers Wrestling Club and is a seventh-grader at Selbyville Middle School. “As good as Malachi was coming into this season, he grew by leaps and bounds. He is a tremendous talent with a great future in the sport,” said Benny Mitchell, Henlopen Hammers coach. Stratton finished the season with a 38-1 record.