Athletes of the Week Dec. 15
Skylar Johnson
Just four games into his varsity career, Cape's sophomore combo guard has already shown coaches and fans that he has the makings of a prime-time performer. In Cape's runaway win over Polytech Dec. 12, Johnson scored the first bucket of the night and never looked back, finishing with career highs of 10 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals. Johnson is a blur on both sides of the ball, but he really shines on the defensive end, where he uses his freakish quickness to make life miserable for opposing backcourts. After losing four key guards to graduation, the Vikings needed their young perimeter players to step up, and so far, Johnson has done just that.
Morgan Mahoney
A transfer from New York last August, this Beacon Middle School honor roll student is quite the find for the Vikings' athletic program. She scored 13 points to lead her squad over Mariner Middle Dec. 13. A forward on the Beacon team, she has played basketball since first grade on Staten Island, where she excelled on numerous travel ball squads. She is also a regular in the weight room with her mom. "Morgan is a great kid," said Beacon coach Sam Purple. "She has a really good basketball IQ, knows what she's doing, knows how to move the ball. She sees the open pass and can take a nice jumper, which is pretty cool for a big girl." When not playing basketball, Morgan loves singing in the choir and hanging out with friends and family.
Maddie McGreevy
A 16-year-old junior swimmer for Cape, Maddie is a 5-foot-9 crossfit honors student who also takes an Advanced Placement class. Maddie swims two open events and two relays at each Cape meet, usually the 200 individual medley and 100 backstroke. Versus Caesar Rodney Dec. 12, she switched up and won the 200 freestyle relay, but lost her first race of the season in the 100 back by a half of a second. “I was a Dewey guard last summer, which got me in great shape,” Maddie said. “I did the open water swim leg in the Rehoboth biathlon as part of a relay. I swim year round for the Barracudas swim team out of Seaford for coach Scott McIntyre. My mom takes care of my nutrition. My diet is designed toward to me being a swimmer.”
Sydney Pederson
Each fall, Sydney gets her license renewed from the downtown store giving her permission to launch three-point shots from any area code without paying extra postage. At Polytech Dec. 12, Sydney was the only non-reluctant shooter on the court. Like the song lyric “hit me with your best shot, fire away,” she drilled five three-point baskets for 15 points on top of another nine for a total of 24 in Cape’s shorthanded 55-32 victory over the Panthers. “We ask Sydney to do a lot, from handling the ball to scoring,” said coach Lauren Carra. “And so it goes with shooters, sometimes they’re hot and sometimes not, but they have to keep shooting.” Cape hosts Caesar Rodney this Friday night.
