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Athletes of the Week July 1

July 1, 2022
Noah Diamond

Diamonds are made under pressure, and this Cape Henlopen junior proved that he could handle it by slugging a Lower Sussex fastball into right-center field to score two runners and move the Cape Senior All-Stars into the finals of the District 3 tournament. "It was a fastball right down the outside of the plate," said Diamond. "I just took it. I was hyped." An honor roll student at Cape, he also wrestles and plays lacrosse for the Vikings. In his spare time, he plays travel ball with the Delaware Spartans. "Noah is a great teammate," said manager Aaron Block. "He plays second, catcher and is solid on the mound. He's a great kid." Noah is also a camp counselor for young children at Beach Buddies in the summer. When not working, he can be found enjoying the beach.

Peyton Riley

A 22-year-old emerging runner from Danville, Pa., Peyton is transferring to Bloomsburg University, where he is going to make an effort at being a distance runner after clocking “only” a personal-best 2 flat as a high school half-miler. Peyton’s first serious 5K resulted in a 15:47 clocking, as veteran runners wondered how fast he would go if pushed wire-to-wire by another fast person. Peyton was an accomplished football and basketball player in high school. He is transferring from Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport. Peyton shows all the talent of a sub-15 5K runner who may be better suited for longer distances. Local top eliminators will be tracking him this summer. 

Sawyer Walker

Sawyer transferred into Cape from Caesar Rodney as a lacrosse player, and as a bonus, she was a Henlopen Conference indoor champion in the high jump. In 2020, she was part of a Cape senior class that lost the season due to the COVID shutdown. She went to Winthrop for a year, but wasn’t jazzed about staying there. After looking hard at Virginia Tech, Sawyer elected Xavier University, a Division I startup program that will play its inaugural season in the 2022-23 school year as an independent before joining the Big East Conference the following year. It will join Butler, Connecticut, Georgetown, Marquette, Villanova and Denver. Sawyer was just at the Beach Blast tournament last weekend helping with coaching where needed. Sawyer is a can’t-miss D1 college lacrosse frontline player. 

Mike Wardian

Mike is a former Michigan State lacrosse player who lives in Virginia and part time in Rehoboth Beach. He is considered a loco-local by the running community. Mike’s been running across the country since May 1, averaging 50 miles per day, and is expected to arrive at the Boardwalk on Rehoboth Avenue about noon, Friday, July 1. Mike’s last day running will be 100 miles over 24 hours. After flopping in the Atlantic Ocean, Mike will run to the Dewey Beer Company for lunch. Then July 2, he will run in the Seashore Striders Firecracker 5K at Grove Park in Rehoboth Beach. Mike will cross the country in 75 days; his goal is to raise $100,000 for World Vision's clean water work around the globe.

 

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