Cape indoor track team racing outside

Following Delaware Division of Public Health approval, the Cape COVID-19 safety plan was approved for track & field meets to be held at Legends Stadium. I wrote the plan, which was a combination of my Seashore Striders race plan with the Sussex County and Henlopen Conference Cross Country Championships plans from events I directed this past fall.

The Vikings, with the help and support of first-year Athletic Director Kevin Smith, will host five upcoming meets over the next five weeks leading up to what will be the first indoor track state championship events to be held outside. The meet is planned to be a two-day affair with the boys’ competition Friday, March 5, and the girls’ competition Saturday, March 6, both to be held at Dover High School. 

The Vikings will kick off competition at 2:30 p.m., Friday, Jan. 22, hosting Sussex Central. Only two spectators per athlete are allowed into the stadium, and all spectators must social distance in the bleachers.

Sussex Academy will travel to Cape Monday, Feb. 1, followed by Dover Monday, Feb. 8. Caesar Rodney will come to Cape Tuesday, Feb. 16, while Smyrna will wrap up the dual-meet season Monday, Feb. 22.   

Freeze the Day 5K

Freezing Cancer in its Tracks is the slogan and theme of the inaugural Freeze the Day 5K Run/Walk to be held at 10 a.m., Sunday, Feb. 21, at Sandhill Fields in Georgetown. This event will benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Eastern PA-Delaware and has been organized by Sussex Academy student-athlete Sadie Tunnell. The event will follow all current COVID-19 guidelines, which means there is no race-day registration. Registration will close at 6 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 20. There will be long-sleeved T-shirts and awards as part of the event as well.

The Seashore Striders will host a drive-by packet pickup at the Lewes library from 3 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 20, when runners and walkers can pick up their race T-shirt and bib. All interested runners, walkers, sponsors and donors can go to seashorestriders.com for more information. 

Shields’ Grayson Davis eighth at Nationals

Fifth-grader Grayson Davis leads Shields Elementary School in the number of laps completed in our trek to Hawaii, as he averages over two miles each PE class in 15 minutes. As his PE teacher, I’m not surprised. His dedication, determination and work ethic have not only helped him circle the track, but more importantly, perform well on the wrestling mat, which is his No. 1 sport.

This past weekend, Grayson and his dad traveled to Tulsa, Okla., for the winter National Wrestling Tournament, where Grayson placed eighth overall among more than 80 wrestlers in his age group. Grayson recently turned 11, so he had to move up to the 12U division where most of his competitors are already in middle school.  

Grayson, who won the summer Nationals last year in Atlantic City in the 82-pound weight class, ended the weekend with a 4-2 record in the 84-pound weight class.

Grayson is no stranger to working out, as he is part of the McDonald Wrestling Academy, founded by three-time Delaware state champion Connor McDonald, practicing three days a week in Millsboro. He also travels to Pennsylvania as part of the MPR Wrestling Club two to three times per week. During the week, Grayson is up at 6:40 a.m. for a morning workout of cardio and weights before coming to school. His plan is to wrestle for Beacon Middle School in sixth grade, and just maybe I can land him on my cross country team in the fall for some more preseason wrestling training.