Cape track team takes on Milford and Sussex Tech

The Cape girls’ track team ran away from Milford and Sussex Tech April 2 to raise its record to 4-0. The Vikings beat Milford 103-42 and Sussex Tech 123-15 in Milford. Cape won all four relays on the day. Olivia Brozefsky won the 1,600 meters in 5:49, the 3,200 meters in 13:11, and the pole vault at 8-feet-6-inches to score 15 points, becoming the meet’s high scorer. Aya Daisey won the 400 meters in 1:09.0, while Liz Melson won the 800 meters in 2:47. Ce’yra Middleton won the shot in a good throw of 37-6, while Mackenzie Parker won the discus at 85-2. Daisey won the long jump at 15-0, while Timesha Cannon won the triple jump at 32-4. Daisey jumped 4-5 to win the high jump. 

On the boys’ side of the action, the Vikings fell to Sussex Tech 77-68, but beat Milford 77-69. The Vikings are 2-2 on the season.

Cape won both the 800-meter relay in a good time of 1:34.0 and the 1,600-meter relay in 3:50, while Sam Epstein won the 1,600 meters in 5:09 and David Smith won the 800 meters in 2:15. Bryan Ciabattoni won the 3,200 meters in 11:07, while Josiah Miller won the discus at 121-2. 

Cape will travel north to the Diamond State Invitational to be held at Appoquinimink High School on Saturday, April 6.

Beacon Middle wrap

The Beacon track team traveled south to take on Selbyville Middle April 3. The Vikings split 1-1, with the boys dropping to 5-2 with a 68-40 loss, while the girls raised their record to 7-0 with a 71-38 win.

Eighth-grader Kacie Gibbons was the meet’s high scorer with 11 ¼ points, winning the 55-meter hurdles in 10.0, winning the triple jump at 27-10, and running on the winning 400-meter relay team with sixth-grader Piper Price and eighth-graders Maggie Browne and Montana Jones.

Seventh-grader Lainey Shockro won the 400/800 double for the second meet in a row. Browne also won the long jump, and Hailey Archambault won the shot put at 28-6 and the discus at 66-7.

In boys’ action, Liam O’Donnell continued his fine season by winning the 1,600 meters in 5:33 and the 800 meters in 2:34. Tashawn Callaway won the 400 meters in 1:02.2, and DeShaun Lewis took the high jump at 5-2.

Blades Invitational

The largest middle school track meet in the state will take place Friday, April 6, at Lake Forest High School, with 12 to 14 teams taking part. The Mariner and Beacon teams will be competing in the show, with the top team taking home the trophy.   

This invitational is in honor of Jim Blades, a former track icon in the state who spent 33 years at Lake Forest as a teacher, coach and athletic director before losing a battle with cancer in 2004 at the age of 57.

The Middle School Track & Field Invitational is for middle school track teams in the Henlopen Conference. This event will give middle school track athletes a chance to shine under the lights of the new Jim Blades Stadium in Felton.          

The Beacon girls have won the team title in seven of the 13 years of the meet. Beacon won the opening year in 2006 and has won the last six straight team titles.

The Beacon boys won the team title in 2015, while Mariner boys won in 2017.

“We have been very successful over the years, winning seven team titles, but we know we do not have the same team as we have had in the past,” said assistant coach Jamie Loucks. “We have some talented, hardworking girls, and, of course, we are going after the title, but we are a lot closer to being on the same level as many other teams in the conference this year. We are going to try to compete our best, and we’ll see how it turns out.”

Pumped for Pets 15K, 10K, 5K

The annual Pumped for Pets 15K, 10K and 5K was held on the Kent Island Cross Island trail in Stevensville, Md. Seashore Striders racers Martin Rodriguez of Selbyville and Enos Benbow of Georgetown went 1-2 in the 15K event, as Rodriguez won in a time of 57:24, averaging 6:09 a mile. Benbow ran 58:51 for the second spot.