Share: 

Athletes of the Week Oct. 23

October 23, 2020
Sam Connors

A junior field hockey player and honors student, Sam has the skill set and speed to play anywhere on the field. She has been a forward on the attack line, where she can finish in big moments like her goal in the 2019 state championship 2-0 win over Padua. She also inserts on corners. But coaches needed to sell Sam on switching to the center-back position to captain the defense. There is a tradition of great Cape players doing the dirty work in the back, including Tiara Duffy, Lizzie Frederick, Annie Judge and Anna Stancofski – all electric players who could come up and score. Cape beat Lake Forest 9-0 on Oct. 20. Sam inserted on corners, then joined the party, scoring two goals of her own. And she looked like a natural at center-back, which is a crucial position against the better teams on the schedule.     

Peyton Evans

Stop by the Lewes Fire Department if you want to find this Cape sophomore’s relatives. Peyton is a sophomore in her second year of running. She politely says, “Cross country is the only sport I do.” Against Caesar Rodney Oct. 21, Peyton ran a personal-best time of 23:31 and moved up to Cape’s No. 5 runner, holding on to 10th place overall as the Vikings escaped Caesar Rodney with a 27-28 victory. “Peyton was our No. 7 runner last year,” said coach Matt Lindell. “She was our fifth runner in the CR meet, and she was the difference in our one-point win against CR. Her time at the CR meet is well ahead of where she started last year, and I know that she will continue to drop time based on the effort she puts into workouts. She is always pleasant and always positive, and she is ‘all in’ when it comes to working with her teammates.” Peyton is an honors student. 

Lance Kauffman

Lance is the quintessential leave-it-all-out-there athlete. He pushes the pain barrier during every cross country race. He is the last person who wants to be passed on the home stretch in a close meet. Coach Matt Lindell said, “Lance is one of the hardest workers on a team full of hard workers. He ended up being our No. 5 at the end of last season, and since March, he has logged over 700 miles and is in the best shape of his running career.” He ran his career personal record in the Oct. 21 meet against Caesar Rodney (17:25) and could get under 17 minutes this season. Lance and teammate Julian Calloway (17:23) helped Cape to its biggest dual-meet victory “since forever,” in the words of Lindell.

Hope Reed

If you’re proofreading, just say “Rehoboth Reeds” and let it go. Hope is a junior and first-year varsity volleyball player who snapped at the net in a 3-0 win over Lake Forest Oct. 20, driving home five kill shots. Hope is blonde, broad-shouldered and flashes beast mode moments, just making a solid Cape team that much stronger. “Hope had a standout varsity debut. She proved to be aggressive both offensively and defensively at the net. She continues to listen to coaches and push herself past what she’s comfortable doing, an attribute we value,” said Cape coach Tyler Coupe. Joe Reed is the dad, Michelle the mom, while Brent, Paige and Alex are Hope’s older siblings. Hope is an honors student and has an affable personality; her job is to drive down and spike nonreturnable kill shots.

 

Subscribe to the CapeGazette.com Daily Newsletter