Athletes of the Week Aug. 7
Sawyer Brockstedt
Sawyer Brockstedt won the girls’ 13 category of the 2020 U.S. Kids World Teen Championship July 25 at the Longleaf Golf and Family Club in Pinehurst, N.C. The Sussex Academy eighth-grader is the first Delaware junior golfer to ever win the event. Sawyer shot even-par rounds of 72 in the first two rounds of the tournament, entering the final round three shots back. All she did was fire a career-low 67 to win the event by one stroke. Sawyer now boasts a plus-one handicap. She credits her recent jump to increased skills on the putting surface. “My putting has gotten better. I worked really hard on it. My speed control has gotten a lot better. I’m not leaving myself 10 feet for the second putt.” Sawyer is currently ninth in the Rolex world rankings for the 2025 graduation year, and she will likely compete for the Sussex Academy squad as an eighth-grader in the spring.
Mackinzie Brown
Another Cape field hockey and lacrosse athlete set to enter her sophomore season. Last fall, Mac was the only freshman on a Cape’s varsity field hockey team that won the Division I state championship. Field hockey coach Kate Austin said of Mackinzie: “Great kid, hard worker, understands the game and can be a coach on the field, versatile player who can play wherever you need her to contribute.” Last week, Mackinzie played at the College Connections Showcase in Boston and was chosen to play in the Under Armour All-Star Game that followed the camp. Mackinzie has been described as “quick witted.” The 2020 lacrosse season last spring just never popped, but when that is all reconfigured for the fall and spring of 2020-21, look up and down the varsity rosters for hockey and lacrosse for the name MacKinzie Brown.
Parker Brown
Parker entering his sophomore year at Roanoke College. He started his baseball career as a catcher and pitcher for the Bagel Bombers coached by Dynell Toppin and Adam Gelof in 2011 as a 10-year-old. In 2017, Parker moved to the Delmarva Aces team, where he was coached by Dave Whigham. Parker embraced the opportunity with the Aces and continued to work hard to improve his pitching mechanics under the guidance of Whigham and Guy Wilkins. Parker is looking forward to taking his 6-foot-4 self to Roanoke next week to get back to work with his baseball team. In his free time, he likes to golf, surf and fish. One of Parker’s best baseball memories is when he came in as relief behind Brock Hilligoss for Aces. Bases were loaded and the game. Facing all D1 commits for the opposing nationally ranked team, Parker got out of the inning with no runs scored. The Delmarva Aces went on to an upset win. Coach Ben Evick said of Parker: “Parker was a hard worker with deceiving stuff on the mound. Not overpowering, but he moves the ball around the plate and has good command of his pitches. Tough competitor that wants the ball.”
Jake Gelof
Jake is living with a host family in Brockton, Mass., playing for the “Rox” as one of the few rising freshmen invited to play in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League, which has teams in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire. Due to COVID and the cancelation of the Cape Cod league, the FCBL is one of the most competitive leagues in the country. Jake has started 18 of 19 Rox games at shortstop, has a batting average of .295 and sits toward the team- and league-lead in many offensive categories. On Tuesday, he performed a rare feat, hitting two walk-off home runs in one day in a doubleheader for two Rox wins. Jake earned varsity letters in soccer and baseball at Cape his freshman and sophomore year, including playing a big part in Cape’s first baseball state championship in 2018. He completed his high school education as a 4.3 GPA student at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. In 2019-20, he played for the No. 1-ranked high school and travel baseball teams in the country. In the fall, he will join his brother Zack playing for the University of Virginia baseball team.
