Henlopen Conference track & field season wrap-up

With the Henlopen outdoor season behind us, I thought I would do a wrap-up by event looking at the big three: conference championship, state championship and Meet of Champions. The Henlopen Conference enjoyed one of the finest outdoor seasons in its history, with several athletes among the top in the state. Among the boys, the Henlopen Conference had six state leaders, while three female Henlopen athletes led the state. Here is a look at the boys’ side. Look for the girls’ breakdown next week.

100 meters

Among several sub-11-second performances this season, Timothy Wright of Sussex Central rose to the top with a time of 11.12 at the state championships, while Emeel James-Ragland of Polytech went 11.17 and Ashton Stephens of Indian River posted 11.20. Both Wright and Stephens made the Meet of Champions final, but senior Demitri Carter of Smyrna took the conference in 11.22.

200 meters

The class of the event was Yougendy Mauricette of Tech, blazing to a time of 21.56 at the KSB Invite. He came back with a 21.60 in the conference trials and a 21.84 at states. Mauricette was disqualified in the Henlopen Conference final for raising his arm in the air at the finish. Jazonte Levan of Seaford went 22.56 to win the conference, 22.53 to win the state Division II title and 22.15 to win the Meet of Champions for an outstanding season.

400 meters

Mauricette raced to a state-leading performance of 47.96 at the NY Relays, while Kamron Wilkerson of Polytech went 50.75 at states. Daymien Mickle of Smyrna went 50.35 to win the conference, holding off William Harrison of Sussex Central, who finished second in 50.70. Mason Adams of Smyrna ran 50.78 at the Meet of Champions to grab second place.

800 meters

A fun event to watch, it seemed to get faster as the season neared its end. Matt Gatune of Polytech dominated the event all season, ending with a second-place finish in the Meet of Champions in 1:52.94. Ian Cain of CR just missed breaking the two-minute barrier, as he ran 2:00.06 at the Meet of Champions, with Cape’s Brian Sponaugle going 2:00.52. At the conference championships, Gatune won the title in 1:55.37, with Liam Meginniss of Smyrna second in 1:58.60.  A week later, Gatune went 1:53.64 to win the state title, while Cain went 2:00.51 and Julian Callaway of Cape ran 2:00.81.

1,600 meters

Gatune ran his fastest when it counted the most, and no one could match his closing speed in the mile, as the senior went 4:17.24 at the state championships to join the likes of Bruce Harris, Danny Harmon and Lance White. Meginniss ran his personal best with a 4:22.11 at states, while Ryan Baker of Cape went 4:23.47 for a Henlopen top-three sweep. Baker returned to the Meet of Champions and ran a personal best of 4:21.89 for third. At the conference meet, Gatune went 4:19.92 for the win, followed by Baker at 4:23.02 and Kenny Guy of Polytech at 4:24.92.

3,200 meters

The Henlopen Conference seemed to dominate this event, as Gatune and Baker went head-to-head in a battle for eight laps at the conference championships, with Gatune running 9:17.00 to Baker’s 9:18.00. The talented two went 1:02 for an impressive final 400 meters before a cheering crowd. Guy ran 9:30.00 for second at the state meet, then held off the field to win the Meet of Champions a week later in a new personal best of 9:25.55, perhaps the biggest race of his career.

110 hurdles

Yougendy Mauricette of Tech posted a 14.11 at the conference trials to earn the top time in the state. He went 14.35 at the state championships. Elijah Williams of Smyrna ran 14.73 at states and returned with a 14.68 at the Meet of Champions. 

Cole Brickman of Indian River ran 15.19 to win the DII title, a tad faster than his second-place conference finish of 15.21. Mauricette won the Meet of Champions in 14.40, with Williams close behind in 14.68. 

300 hurdles

Mauricette again turned in a fast time of 38.11 at the conference finals, while John Small of Cape ran 40.87. Cole Brickman was third at the state meet in 41.31 in the DII race, while Mauricette ran 38.46 to win the DI title. Isaiah James of Smyrna broke the barrier in 39.80. Mauricette ran 38.01 in the Meet of Champions, while James ran a season best of 39.75.

4-by-100 relay

Central’s foursome had the most success, turning in a 42.97 at the Meet of Champions to hold off a charging Cape team. That was reversed at the conference meet, as Cape ran 43.42 to hold off Central at 43.73. One of the best state meet races saw another Cape-Central finish, with Cape second in 43.04 to edge Sussex Central’s 43.06. Cape broke the school record in that race.

4-by-200 relay

Central ran a quick 1:28.71 for second at the state meet, while Polytech ran 1:30.07.  At the conference meet, Central turned in a time of 1:30.35, while Smyrna logged 1:31.75 and Cape registered 1:31.92. At the Meet of Champions, it was Central finishing second in 1:28.00. Seaford won the DII title in 1:31.52. The Golden Knights owned the two sprint relays among Henlopen Conference competition this season. 

4-by-400 relay

Smyrna had the hot team in the mile relay, as the Eagles ran 3:28.07 to hold off a tough Poly team at 3:28.81. Central and Cape both ran 3:33 at the conference championships. Dover went an impressive 3:30.33 at the Meet of Champions. When the Eagles stacked it up at the Penn Relays, they ran 3:22.28 to clearly put them on top.

4-by-800 relay

Cape and Polytech have more distance runners than most of the other teams combined, and they had several thrilling matchups during the season. First up was the conference meet, with Cape taking the victory in 8:13.32 over Polytech in 8:22.02. Cape also took the state title with a personal-best performance of 8:10.65 over Polytech’s 8:10.68 in one of the closest, most exciting races of the season. Poly’s Matt Gatune took the stick 40 meters down and ran his opener in 52 seconds to get the Panthers back in the race, catching Cape anchor Julian Callaway at the bell lap. Side by side with 150 to go, it looked like Gatune’s race plan was playing out, but Callaway dug deep and came back to pass him at the line for the Vikings win. At the Meet of Champions, Cape ran 8:14.59 for second, while Dover ran 8:31.20 for fourth place.

Long jump

Devin Demoe of Smyrna jumped 21-feet-8-inches, while teammate Elijah Williams jumped 21-2 to go 1-2 in the conference. P.J. Henry of Central also went 21-2 for third.

Yougendy Mauricette of Sussex Tech unleashed a huge 23-3 jump to win the DI crown over Jakwon Kilby of Dover at 22-0. Shamel Pressely of Lake jumped 21-9 to take second in the DII competition. Kilby took the Meet of Champions in 22-10, with Mauricette second in 22-7.25.

Triple jump

Pressely won the conference in 40-11, followed by Hayden Hall of Indian River in 40-3. Kilby had the best jump of the year at 48-0 to win the DI title and was second at the Meet of Champions with a 45-6 jump.

High jump

Devin Demoe of Smyrna won the conference at 6-0, followed by Earl Downing of Lake, Jayvon Laguerre of Milford and Lance Ranford of Dover also jumping 6-0. Downing returned a week later to win the DII title with a nice 6-4 jump, while Demoe won the DI title also at 6-4.  

At the Meet of Champions, it was Ben Gusciora of Milford leading the conference with a 6-2 clearance. One of the youngest jumpers in the conference to clear 6-0 was Steven Hart of Cape Henlopen.

Shot put

Tony Benson of Dover won the conference at 46-4, while Tyree Archer of Smyrna threw 45-6 for second. Benson was third in DI states with a toss of 49-1, with Archer fourth at 46-11. Benson came back with a huge throw at the Meet of Champions for fourth place with a toss of 51-0.

Discus

Ethan Roth of Dover won the conference with a toss of 141-3, while Jerome Jenifer of Polytech was second at 128-10. Kevon Moore-Briddell of Central was third at 125-10. Roth was second at DI states in 145-7 and came back in the Meet of Champions to throw 148-6 for fifth place.

Pole vault

Cape jumper Bailey Fletcher continued his storybook first season by winning the conference with a jump of 12-6, followed by Declan McGrellis of Lake at 12-0 and Robert Salter of Polytech at 11-6. Fletcher was second at the state meet at 12-0. McGrellis jumped 13-0 at the DII states, while Hayden Hall of Indian River cleared 12-0. Fletcher took second at the Meet of Champions with a personal best of 13-0.