Athletes of the Week Jan. 14
Ja’on Harris
Cape senior track athlete Ja’on Harris ran the first leg in the 4-by-200-meter relay Sunday at the Collegeville High School Invitational at Ursinus College, propelling the Vikings to a first-place finish in a time of 1:37.4. “There were six teams in the fast heat, and it was pretty wild,” Ja’on said. He also placed fourth in the 200-meter dash, just missing third. There were 39 contestants in the 200 meters. Ja’on was on the Cape football team the last three seasons and survived some tough football injury-free. “I plan to run track this spring, then go to Delaware State University. I have already talked to coaches and know they have a heck of a program. We will run with a full team this weekend at Kutztown University.”
Konner Knarr
Konner is a junior with a fast-sounding name and the speed to match. He ran the third leg Sunday on Cape’s victorious 4-by-200-meter team, then came back to run on the 4-by-400m team that ran a season-best time of 3:53 to place third. “Due to vacation and snow and COVID issues, we didn’t have practice for 15 straight days, so we were all surprised we ran so fast,” he said. Konner takes AP and honors classes. His brother Hunter is at Syracuse, while sister Katie attends the University of Miami. “I like the 400 better than the 200 because it's less pure speed and more a combination of speed and endurance,” he said.
Daniel Saez
Daniel is a senior athlete from the athletic Saez/Horsey family and admits to being the family member who has tried the most sports. “Football, wrestling, lacrosse and track over the last three years,” Daniel said. “I’m not bragging, but my strength is being a well-rounded athlete. At this point, if I had to pick a favorite sport, it would be track.” Daniel ran the second leg on the first-place 4-by-200 relay team. Daniel also placed fifth in the triple jump in 35-feet-6-inches. “I really like Coach G [Ellis Gaulden] and working with him. I like to do what I want to do, and I do it with confidence,” Daniel said. “I plan to go to Hampton University and major in kinesiology. I want to be an athletic trainer.”
John Small
John is a junior built for track, the type of person who can run hurdles, do the jumps and race on the sprint relay teams. He ran anchor on the 4-by-200 meter team that included Ja’on Harris, Daniel Saez and Konner Knarr. “John was going to concentrate on his hurdle race, but we needed him in the relay, and he did a great job,” said coach Ellis Gaulden. John also placed second in the 55-meter hurdles in a time of 8.57. John’s grandfather John Small threw the shot put for Cape on the 1978 state championship team.
