Cape athletes shine in championships

For many in the Cape Region, it was a weekend to enjoy bright sunshine and calm waters.

But for high school wrestlers and swimmers, it was high stakes and high stress – state championship weekend in both sports.

For the wrestlers, it was a short trip to the meet: Cape High hosted the state tournament for the fifth straight year.

Cape fans brought down the house as freshman Anthony Caruso defeated Robbie Rosser of Milford in the 106-pound weight class, avenging a rare loss two years ago at the middle school finals.

In the 160-pound class, Cory Lawson scored a double-leg takedown in overtime, delivering a stunning defeat to top-seeded Kalen Wilson of Smyrna, who had beaten Cory in three previous bouts this season.

Cory pointed skyward after the match and said his victory was for his dad, Duane Lawson, who died in a car fire in Rehoboth Beach when Cory was only 5 years old.

Meanwhile, at the University of Delaware, Cape’s swimming relay team of Molly Weeks, Sarah Rambo, Sarah Hyde and Amelia Nigh-Johnson – all juniors – won the 200-meter freestyle relay in 1:39:23, setting a new school record and bringing home the first-ever state swimming championship.

But victories are only part of the story. Congratulations to all the athletes, coaches and families who put in hours of training and developed the confidence it takes to participate in sports like these.

Congratulations also to Cape’s unsurpassed loud and loyal fans.

If there’s one thing we’re waiting for, it’s the day Cape builds an aquatics center to go along with turf fields and a championship gym. All students at a school only 2 miles from Delaware Bay and 4 miles from the ocean should learn to swim.

Beyond that, as Cape’s outstanding sports arenas have shown, great facilities not only encourage great athletes, they also draw great events with crowds that boost tourism and our economy.