Cape girls take fifth, boys finish seventh at track championships

The Cape Vikings competed in the Delaware State Indoor Track & Field Championships Feb. 22 in Landover, Md., which brought together 41 teams from up and down the state for a day of running, jumping and throwing. 

The Lady Vikings scored 41 points to finish fifth, second among public school teams, with only 10 girls competing and only nine scoring in the meet. Cape was led by two seniors, both finishing second in their specialty event, as Olivia Brozefsky jumped a new school record of 10-feet in the pole vault, while Sawyer Walker jumped a season best of 5-2 in the high jump. Sophomore Tia Jarvis finished third in the 400 in 59.8, while the 3,200 relay team of freshman Katie Kuhlman, junior Taylor Johnson, sophomore Elizabeth Melson and Brozefsky also finished third in a time of 10:12.76.  

“I was really proud of the girls in the relay, and it’s our second-best time of the season,” said distance coach Martin Rodriguez. “E-Beth ran a personal best of 2:31 and Olivia protected our third-place position with a solid 2:30.”

Jarvis was fourth in the long jump at 16-5, while both sprint relays were sixth overall. The team of sophomore Reagan Ciabattoni, sophomore Noelle Sabbagh, Kuhlman and Jarvis ran a new school record of 4:20.16 in the 1,600 relay, and the team of Ciabattoni, Sabbagh, freshman Jania Curry and Jarvis ran a season best of 1:53.29 in the 800 relay. Ciabattoni jumped a season best in the triple jump to finish her busy day with a hop, step and jump of 34-4 ¾, just over a foot shy of the Cape school record of 35-11 in her first indoor season.

“We were really happy with the performances of the girls today, especially only having nine that scored in the meet,” said assistant coach Gilbert Maull. “We only brought two seniors and one junior to the state championships, so we are young and the future is bright for these girls.”

The Vikings boys’ team finished seventh with 29 points, led by senior Giovanni Bendfeldt winning the state championship in the pole vault with a season and personal best of 13-0. Junior Josiah Miller finished second in the shot put with a throw of 47-6, while sophomore Ethan Edery was fifth in the 1,600 meters in 4:32.28 and sixth in the 3,200 meters in 10:04.60. The Cape 3,200 relay team of sophomore Julian Callaway, senior Sam Epstein, sophomore Brian Sponaugle and senior David Smith II ran 8:46.24 to finish sixth overall, while the Cape 1,600 relay team of freshman Andrew Wolak, Callaway, sophomore Hunter Jones and Smith grabbed a point with an eighth-place finish in 3:41.66.

Both teams will take a week off before they begin the spring season Monday, March 2.

Jake & Meb

Jake Bamforth, a senior at the University of Southern Florida, competed in the Gasparilla 8K Feb. 23 in Tampa, as 5,500 runners and walkers toed the starting line for the annual event. The 8K distance, equivalent to a five-miler, was one of the many events held throughout the weekend that brought thousands of runners to Tampa for the annual festival.

“It’s the largest event in Tampa and they shut down a major roadway along the water, and it is just wall-to-wall runners the whole way,” said Jake. “It’s a cool event and nicely run.”

Jake, who had a goal of being in the 27s, last ran the race two years ago, finishing in the 32-minute range for third in his age group.   

As the gun sounded, a group of four raced to the front, with the top two breaking away. Jake and a local high school speedster ran stride for stride through the halfway point in a fast 13:06.

With a mile to go, Jake pulled away and tried to go after the second-place runner, which he closed in on quickly. Little did Jake know that racing in second place was one of the most popular, talented, well-known runners in the country, Meb Keflezighi. He’s the only athlete in history to win the Boston Marathon, the New York City Marathon and an Olympic medal. Jake made up 50 seconds and finished a few strides back to take third place overall in 27:17 for a new personal best.

“People were yelling Meb’s name at the start and most of the way, but I really didn’t know who it was at first,” Jake said. “It was pretty cool to have him there and take some photos with him.”