Cape High School talent mostly missing from local road races

Sitting on stories - I can top most of the stories I hear for the first time from the newly arrived people holding important positions in my life, what I call “replacement players,” most of whom look like they have a restricted license in their back pocket. I was watching another 5K of 400 runners start and finish in Dewey Beach July 30 and wondered, “Where are all the local young guns? The athletes who run cross country in the fall. This is a perfect training ground for them, so where the heck is everybody?” I have stories like bringing Guy Wiggins to a race in 1987 - “You can run; I’m sure of it” - paying his entry and watching his skinny-legged self run 18:30 on zero training. And in the early ’90s, Aaron Hood, aka Hoody, rode his bike to a 5K, I paid his entry and he went out and broke 17 minutes, yet I just couldn’t understand how anyone finished ahead of him. And then Hoody was back on his bike pedaling into his individualized noncompetitive universe. But I’m always looking for talent. In the College Day 5K, in the 14-18 age group there were 20 women and only one from Delaware (Camden) and 13 males, with three from Delaware but no one local.

Milton Majors - The Eastern Regionals are in Bristol, Conn., not to be confused with Bristol, Pa., home of the Bristol Stomp and Pete Cimino (1962) who scored 114 points against New Hope/Palisades High School and later pitched in the majors for Minnesota Twins and California Angels and once had 20 strikeouts in a minor league game. The eight winners of American regional tournaments and the eight international winners go to Williamsport, Pa., for the Little League World Series. Milton is in the Mid-Atlantic Region along with Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. It’s a double-elimination format and the winner goes to Williamsport. The New England Region is Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont. Milton plays Sunday, Aug. 6, versus Pennsylvania. The winner plays Maryland Monday, Aug. 7. Teams from both Pennsylvania and New Jersey have won the World Series four times. I know two people who pitched their teams (towns/states) to Little League World Series titles – Tom Kazor, Morrisville, Pa., in 1955, and Joey Marmelo, Levittown, Pa., in 1960. You need a once-in-a-lifetime supporting cast to make it to the World Series. We all know Tom’s River won the World Series in 1998, beating Georgetown 2-0 in the regionals to get there. Can Milton make it to Williamsport? They absolutely can make it. I’d say they are better than even money. Milton 2017 is a once-in-a-lifetime Major League team. “In it to win it,” that’s what they all say, but I expect this Milton team can actually “get ‘er done.” The team is accepting donations to defray the cost, so get up with somebody if you want to be a community player. Checks can be mailed to Milton Little League, P.O. Box 175, Milton, DE 19968.

No better Mecca - The Cape Region is the Mecca for girls’ lacrosse. Just start with nine straight state championships at Cape High (You Know!), then move over to numerous age-group titles through the Atlantic Lacrosse program all synergized by 10 years of the Eastern Shore Lacrosse League. Atlantic and Eastern Shore are regional developmental programs, starting with scoopers. Lacrosse players from lots of nearby places elect to play Eastern Shore and Atlantic, so don’t go chasing waterfalls, it’s easier just to grab a glass of water. Tryouts for Eastern Shore lacrosse for fall 2017 and summer 2018 are Sunday, Aug. 20 at Champions Stadium. Tryouts are open for all prospective players who will be in grades 4 to 11 in fall 2017. You can preregister at easternshorelax.org. Questions should be emailed to foundationfrederick@verizon.net and, of course, check the ESLA Facebook page.

Snippets - Practices for fall sports begin Tuesday, Aug. 15. I’m thinking a surprise team at Cape will be volleyball, which is coming off a 12-3 season and first-round state tournament loss to Appoquinimink. Rising Cape senior Jody Boyer has verbally committed to play field hockey at Shippensburg University in central Pennsylvania. The Raiders, often referred to as The Ship, are a Division II program in the tough Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. They are coming off a 20-3 season and national championship. Head Coach Bertie Landis, whose motto is “Live, laugh, love,” has retired. Tara Zollinger, a former Maryland player and Syracuse assistant coach, takes over as head coach. Caitlyn Wink, a defender from Delmar, is the only other Delaware player on the roster. The Ship was 7-9 in women’s lacrosse last spring. And yes, Division II schools offer athletic scholarships, a limited number by NCAA rule spread over the entire roster according to a formula - this is the same for Division I. Speaking of scholarships, I need Dion to sing my song because “I’m the Squanderer,” more on that later. Go on now, git!