Beacon Middle track team celebrates season

The Beacon Middle School track & field team held its annual banquet May 20 at Irish Eyes in Lewes, with 160 athletes and family members attending the celebration. The speaker for the girls’ portion was alumna Zoe Scott. Zoe competed for the team from 2012-14 and was a standout high jumper, triple jumper and sprinter for three straight undefeated teams. Scott jumped 5-feet-2 in the high jump, which was ranked in the top 10 nationally in 2014, and she still holds the Beacon school record in the event. Scott went on to compete in high school for Caesar Rodney and was Delaware state champion her freshman year in the high jump. Scott is currently a student at Delaware State University. The message to the girls of “never give up” was a message Scott was very familiar with, as she was hospitalized for many months her sophomore year when doctors found a tumor on her spine. Scott basically had to learn how to do everything again, and as she said, “If it was not for my family and friends who were with me every step of the way, I don’t know if I could have gotten through those tough months in the hospital.”

Highlighting the boys’ season were a 10-4 dual-meet record and fourth-place finishes in the Jim Blades Invitational, the Cape Relays and the Delaware Middle School Classic. One of the individual highlights for the boys was the new 800-meter record of 2:16.6 set by seventh-grader Justin Friscia.

Highlighting the girls’ season were a 14-0 dual-meet record and team championships in the Cape Relays and the McKinnon Invitational in Wilmington. The Beacon girls were also second at the Jim Blades Invitational and the Delaware Middle School Classic. The girls’ team is 96-1 over the last 10 years.

The Rising Star Awards were presented to Lindsay Fernandez and Jerzy Haines, while the Rookie of the Year Awards went to Lindsay D’Ambrogi and Stephen Hart. The Leadership Awards went to Janya Currie and Daeshaun Lewis, while the Most Improved Awards went to Maggie Browne and TaShawn Callaway. Hailey Archambault and Justin Friscia won the Performance of the Year Awards, while Montana Jones and Aiden Bowman won the Coaches Awards. The Most Valuable Athlete Awards were presented to hurdler Kacie Gibbons and distance runner Liam O’Donnell.

Special thanks to all the parents, the Cape administration and the Cape community for all their support of the program.

Masser 5-Miler

The 26th annual Masser 5-Miler will be held Sunday, May 26, at Cape Henlopen High School beginning at 7:30 a.m. Late registration will open up at 6:15 a.m. for $25. The race is named after Dr. Lee Masser, the backbone and one of the founders of the Seashore Striders Racing Series. Age-group awards will be presented to the top three finishers in 16 age groups, while the overall top 3 and top masters finishers will receive awards as well. The event is the Delaware Clydesdale & Filly State Championship with awards to the top three in multiple age and weight groups as well. The course utilizes the Delaware trail system by running 3.5 of the 5 miles on area trails.

Edery blazes the 1,600 meters

Cape freshman Ethan Edery broke five minutes in the 1,600 meters during the second half of his track season this spring and then exploded to become the top freshman ever in Cape history. At the Henlopen Conference Championships, Edery ran 4:44, before lowering his time to 4:35 at the Delaware State Championships for a huge personal best. Then, May 22 at the Rod Lambert Meet of Champions, Edery ran 4:31.53, which is the fastest freshman performance that I remember in my 37 years associated with the program. Ethan ran the 400 meters for me back at Beacon Middle School, and just knowing how tough mentally he was and how he did not break down during workouts, I knew good things were in his future. Congratulations, Ethan.