Baker wins 3K at Golden Bear Invitational

The 2022 version of the popular Golden Bear High School Invitational was held Jan. 15, in Kutztown, Pa., at the O’Pake Fieldhouse at Kutztown University. Though team scores were not tallied, the Cape boys were out front when the dust settled after 15 events among 39 teams.

“I was happy with our performances, and it was a good meet for us to take part in,” said coach Ellis Gaulden. “The meet was competitive, but it was on our level and not out of our reach in any event.”

Cape was led by Ryan Baker, who captured the 3,000 meters in 9:13.38. The Vikings also captured the 4-by-400 meters in 3:46.03. Baker returned to place second in the 1,600 meters in 4:43.64, while a time of 1:39.02 grabbed another second for Cape in the 4-by-200 relay. Cape placed two in the top 10 of the 400 meters, as Andrew Wolak was third in 54.45 and Owen Daminger was seventh in 56.52. Konner Knarr had a big jump in the long jump at 20-feet-4 1/2-inches, which was good for fourth place. Bailey Fletcher was third and Eddie Hauck was fourth in the pole vault, both at 10 feet. Jakob Hayes was sixth at 9-6, also in the vault. William Cerf was fourth in the high jump at 5-4. Ben Clifton was sixth in the 800 meters at 2:10.82, while Joey DeGregory was eighth at 2:11.13.

The Cape boys will compete at the Ocean Breeze Invitational Saturday, Jan. 29, while the Cape girls will compete Sunday, Jan. 30.

Cape girls compete in NYC

The 27th annual New Balance Games will be held Friday and Saturday, Jan. 21 and 22, at the New Balance Track & Field Center at The Armory in New York City. The meet is for high school teams in the United States. The unique thing about the New Balance Games is that on Friday night they group the freshmen and sophomores together, and it becomes a very competitive meet with many races right down to the wire. The Vikings of Cape Henlopen have fared very well over the past five years with anchor runners like Timesha Cannon, Bre Kusen and Tia Jarvis bringing their teams to victory in the mile relay. At the 2020 New Balance Games, it was Jarvis who ran 59.9 on the 4-by-400 as anchor with the winning team of Noelle Sabbagh, Reagan Ciabattoni and Katie Kuhlman. The Vikings were third in the 4-by-200 as well in 2020. Other notable records set at The Armory, the mecca of track & field on the East Coast, were Taylor Johnson in the steeplechase and Meredith Lockwood in the 1,000 meters, which now is held by Kuhlman, set this season. The Vikings have fared well in the long jump as well at The Armory with two straight years of going 1-2 in the event. The Daisey twins, Amaya and Aya, went 1-2, and Jarvis and Ciabattoni also went 1-2 in the event.

This year, Cape will feature Lainey Shockro in the sophomore vault. She will double back with the varsity vault the next day. Shockro has jumped 10-4 this season. Cape will run in both sprint relays Friday night, while freshmen Lina Frederick and Ella Ruppert will both race the 1,000 meters. Sophomore Montana Jones will be featured in the infield in the 55 meters, while sophomores Landon Diehl and Grace Wiggins will take part in the long jump competition. Sophomore Hannah Maney will race the 200 meters, then handle the leadoff duties in both relays. Saturday will feature the invitational sections along with varsity sections in which the Vikings will have four athletes competing. Kuhlman will run the 3,200 meters to kick off the day, while Elizabeth Melson will high jump and run the 1,000 meters. Alexa Dougherty will tackle her first steeplechase, which is a combo of endurance and hurdling. Jarvis will race either the invitational 500 meters or the varsity 600 meters.

The meet will be shown live at milesplit.com or runnerspace.com. Good luck to the Vikings!