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Athletes of the Week July 4

July 4, 2025
Lina Frederick

Lina is a recent Cape grad who was a school choice student to Cape from Milford as a freshman. She played field hockey and lacrosse with a part-time stint as a drummer in the Cape Jazz Band. She also ran indoor track as a freshman. Lina was a member of six state championship teams – three each in field hockey and lacrosse. Her senior year, she was a captain in field hockey along with Macy Steinwedel, Avary Miller and Atia Sabbagh, and lacrosse along with Steinwedel. Lina was first-team all-state in field hockey. Awards at graduation included the Kevin Kennedy Award (chosen by all head coaches) and the Elijah Ghabour Scholarship. Lina also participated in unified basketball and was an ambassador for Morgan's Message. She joins Frederick cousins Anna, Lizzie, Katie and Mikey as state champion winners, along with Rishko cousins Ella, Lulu and Mairead. She is heading to Salisbury University in the fall where she will play lacrosse and major in environmental science.   

Cali Smith

Cali held down shortstop for the Cape major softball all-star team and powered the offense for the District 3 third-place team. While she normally plays catcher, the Fred Thomas Middle School rising seventh-grader has been on the diamond since she was 6 years old and just enjoys playing softball. Fittingly, she plays travel ball for the Lady Bombers U12. The little bomber nearly hit for the cycle in the first game against Midwest, kicking things off with an inside-the-park home run before adding a triple and double to the box score. She drove in four runs in the June 25 contest. The following night, Cali drove in five runs and had a triple to help Cape upend Laurel 11-7. In the rematch against Midwest, Cali swiped three bags and drove in another run on a double. In her spare time, Cali enjoys going to the beach.

Jacob Smith

While the high school state champion Vikings relied on him for closing out games, Cape grad Jacob Smith has been starting games for Post 28 in Delaware's American Legion league. Jacob picked up a dozen strikeouts while conceding just two runs and two hits each in the team's 8-2 victory over Smyrna Post 14 June 12. Most recently, Jacob played the hot corner against Stahl Post 30 in a June 30 contest, when he tied the game at  7-7 with two outs in the bottom of the third on a bases-loaded double. The 2025 state champ will be attending Patrick & Henry Community College in Martinsville, Va., this fall. His final year of travel ball was spent with the Richmond Braves, and he thinks every baseball player in the area should want to play American Legion baseball in the summer. In his free time, Jacob hangs out around his house, which happens to be at a beach.

Mike Wardian

Ultra runner Mike Wardian, 51, jumps in local 5K races just for fun, but running always seems to be the mission for the congenial crazy guy. At the Beebe Heroes 5K June 27, Mike came down Market Street in Lewes first, running on the left shoulder where there were shade trees. He was wearing a shirt that read “Mike,” which is close to Nike, but no endorsement. Mike won the race in 17:16, a pedestrian pace for him. Last weekend, Mike repeated the same 1-mile loop 100 times in Dewey Beach. Many locals joined him for part of the journey because Mike is a Marathon Man of likability. Google Mike to marvel at what the former Michigan State lacrosse player has accomplished, from the Appalachian Trail to setting a treadmill record. Mike also ran seven marathons on seven continents in seven straight days. On the eighth day he rested? No, he ran an eighth marathon.