Delaware sent 44 indoor track & field teams to Pennsylvania for the state championships Feb. 21. You heard that right, the state championship track & field meet was held at the Ott Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
Local athletes grabbed four of the 26 state titles up for grabs, as senior Jordan Welch of Sussex Tech won the triple jump with a nice distance of 48-feet-1 ¼-inches. Four jumpers went over 46 feet, with three being from the Henlopen Conference.
Senior Will DiPaolo of Cape won his specialty, the pole vault, making him a two-time state champion with a leap of 14-feet-1, nearly 2 feet higher than the next closest jumper.
“I’m a senior in high school and this is my fourth year on the track team with a PR in the vault officially at 14-1,” said DiPaolo. “I have been hitting 15 to 16 feet in practice consistently and almost cleared a school record of 15-1. I go up to Philly normally twice a week, and this state title means quite a bit to me as I am carrying on a legacy of state-level pole vaulters from Cape, but I’m focused on improving for the next state meet more than anything.”
Welch was second in the long jump in 22-1, only 2 inches from a state title, and third in the high jump, only managing to clear 6 feet, well off his season and personal best of 6-10.
In one of the most exciting events of the day, senior Ryan Moody ran 4:18.58 to capture the 1,600-meter title, taking the win after not leading until the final two strides to the finish. Moody ran three consecutive 1:06 quarters and finished with a 1:00 400 meters and a super impressive 28 second 200 meters. Dylan McCarthy of Tatnall was second in 4:18.95.
“The race went out a little slower through 800 meters, so I was comfortable sitting in third place, but the second half just felt like it kept getting faster,” said Moody. “I was able to hold on through the last lap and then just closed hard to get the win by under a second. It was a great feeling to finally win a state title. It’s been a goal of mine since freshman year, and I’ve been super focused on it this year. I was very happy to have all the hard work pay off.”
Senior Kai Thorton of Sussex Central captured the 55-meter hurdles title with a time of 7.67 in the finals after racing to a trial-leading time of 7.64.
“I am incredibly proud of Kai’s work effort and confidence this season,” said coach Derek Shockro. “We were in line to enter the Ott Center and he told me he believed he was going to win a state championship. His belief became a reality as he won the race, but more importantly I believe he will continue to win in life knowing that hard work brings results.”
Senior Zaigeya Sheppard led the Sussex Central girls in the shot put with a toss of 29-11 good for 10th place, while junior Savannah Stevenson led the Sussex Tech girls in the 400-meter dash with a 14th-place finish in 1:03.40. Senior Katya Geyer led the Sussex Academy girls with a second-place finish in the high jump at 5-2, while the 3,200-meter relay finished seventh in 10:41.67. Geyer also competed in the triple jump, finishing 12th in 32-1, while freshman Reagan Klahr finished 11th in the high jump with a clearance of 4-8.
The Sussex Academy boys finished third in the 3,200 relay in 8:35.94, while Moody also ran well in the 3,200 meters where he finished sixth in 9:45.24.
Senior Mallory Kauffman of Cape finished second in the shot put in 38-7 ¾, while the 3,200-meter relay team finished third in 10:26.44 with anchor Maile Godwin running a relay PR split of 2:26. Junior Keira Fletcher finished sixth in the pole vault at 7-7, while the 1,600 relay team managed a top 10 finish in 4:21.51.
On the boys’ side, senior Trey Johnson finished sixth in the finals of the 55-meter dash in 6.46 after running 6.44 in the trials, while junior Jamar Beasley has enjoyed his finest track season to date running 2:01.05 in the 800 meters for fifth. Dylan Harp finished seventh in the 1,600 in 4:34.55 in his magical freshman season, while senior Riley Stazzone was third in the 3,200 in a PR time of 9:33.93. Cape’s 800 relay finished fifth in 1:32.18, while the 1,600 relay was seventh in 3:36.56. The 3,200 relay finished ninth in 8:49.74, while Bernard Jones was eighth in the triple jump in 42-7 and 10th in the long jump in 20-8 ¼. Douglas Simpson finished third in the pole vault in 12-6, while Liam Ramsey was ninth in the shot in 44-11 ¾.
In the team competition, Cape led the downstate teams with a fourth-place finish with 34 points, while Sussex Tech finished eighth with 24 points. Sussex Academy finished 10th with 19 points, while Sussex Central finished 14th with 10 points.
On the girls side, Cape Henlopen was 12th with 16.5 points, while Sussex Academy was 15th with 10.5 points. Sussex Tech and Sussex Central did not score.
