Athletes of the Week Feb. 14

Bryan Ciabattoni

A Cape senior heading to Penn State main campus in the fall to major in speech therapy, Bryan was a pleasant surprise winner at the Henlopen Indoor Track Championships Feb. 6, jumping 12-feet-9-inches in the pole vault to win the gold and contribute 10 points toward the eventual Cape victory. Bryan was lame for three months beginning in August when he suffered a grade three sprained ankle by not sticking the landing in practice. He is a decent distance runner who can crank an 11-flat two mile. “I picked up pole vaulting about eight months ago and really liked it,” he said. Brian goes once a week to the Philly Jumps Club to practice and get instruction. He added, “and I watch a lot of YouTube.” Bryan takes all honors classes and one AP class. He will be the top-rated vaulter going into the state championship meet and thinks if he clears 13 feet he can win the title.  

Josiah Miller

A 6-foot-3, 280-pound honors student and shot putter for the Cape track team, Josiah won the indoor title Feb. 6 at UMES. Josiah put the shot 47-feet-8-inches to win and contribute 10 points to the Cape team score. Josiah’s personal best this season is 48-8. “I want to break 50 feet in the state meet and win an individual state title,” Josiah said. “There is a lot of technique in my event, and it’s also a mental thing. There are times when you have to slow yourself down in the circle.” Josiah is a top-flight academic student who plans to major in mechanical or architectural engineering in college. “I’m undecided where I’m going to go,” the junior said. Also a big offensive tackle with great feet in football, he is still undecided whether he will play football his senior season at Cape. 

Sawyer Walker

Sawyer, a senior on her way to Winthrop University to play lacrosse, was a surprise winner in the high jump at the Henlopen Conference Indoor Track Championships Feb. 6 at UMES. “I cleared 4-10, my personal best, and Coach G [Ellis Gaulden] said, ‘You clear 5-0 and you can win this thing.’ My teammates started clapping, and on my second attempt, I got over and the bar stayed on. No one else cleared it. Then on my first jump at 5-2, I also cleared. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’” Sawyer added, “It’s great to cross-train. It’s just two different worlds into one sport. I know all of this is going to help my lacrosse when I get to Winthrop. I did a five-on-five lacrosse tournament at Winthrop, and when the game was tied and went to Braveheart [one-on-one with goalie], my teammates picked me and I scored, and we won the championship and got T-shirts.”

Karnell Wise

A junior jumper on Cape’s Henlopen Conference Indoor Championship track team, Karnell won the long jump in a personal-best distance of 21-feet-7-inches, placed third in the triple jump at 41-8, secured a fifth in the high jump at 5-8, and ran on Cape’s 4-by-200 relay that placed fourth. He contributed 22 points to the team victory. “I transferred to Cape from Virginia two years ago,” he said. “My uncle is Harold Harmon, a former Indian River football and track athlete. Coach Ellis did the same events I’m doing, so he really helps me out. He is an amazing coach, both inspirational and motivational, and he really cares.” Karnell described himself as an average student. “I’m a slow starter, and now I strive to get better, just like on the track.”