Junior Jason Baker continues to rack up wins, titles and great performances for the Cape Henlopen Vikings track & field team. This past Saturday, the light-footed, talented distance runner put together his finest all-time performance on the track at the 21st Unionville Invitational. The meet was held at Farrell Stadium in West Chester, Pa., where Baker dominated the eight laps of the metric two-mile to turn in a time of 9:12. What is even more impressive is the fact that Baker breezed through the 1,600 split in 4:40, which meant that his second mile was a blazing 4:32. His final 400 meters was just over 1:02, which should open some Division I eyes throughout the country. Many high school boys have run the 3,200 as fast or faster this season, but not many have run the second mile eight seconds faster than the first. To be able to push yourself mentally to run that fast is quite an accomplishment in itself. If pushed, could he possibly take a shot at the nine-minute mark? Only time will tell.
High school track
Cape traveled north to Milford April 29, to take on the Bucs. The Vikings won the boys’ meet 108-33 and the girls’ side 121-19. Results were not immediately available, but some highlights include the following. Cape’s Jameson Tingle went 6-feet-2-inches in the high jump for a personal record, while Will DiPaolo jumped 13-0 in the pole vault. Stephen Hart scored 15 points by winning the high jump in 6-4, the long jump in 21-0 and the triple jump in 40-5. On the girls’ side, junior Lauren Marchetti won the 100-meter dash in 13.2, the 200-meter dash in 27.5, and anchored the winning 400 and 800 relays. Mallory Kaufmann won the shot in 36-9.5 and discus in 93-1.5, while Claudia Stazzone won the 1,600 in 5:58 and 3,200 run in 14:48. Marley Fyock jumped a personal best in the triple jump at 33 feet and also won the long jump in 15-3.5. Anejah Grace ran a quick 15.6 in the 100-meter hurdles.
Sussex Academy traveled west April 29, to take on Laurel, Woodbridge and Early College in Laurel. On the boys’ side, Sussex Academy went 2-1, beating Woodbridge 104-33 and Early College 102-35, but losing to Laurel 81-55. On the girls’ side, Sussex Academy went 3-0, beating Woodbridge 99-35, Laurel 83-52 and Early College 95-38. Ryan Moody led the Seahawks by winning the 1,600 in 5:02.0 and the 800 run in 2:08.0. Will Parker won the 3,200 in 11:35.0, while the team of Harrison Dabbs, Alec Villar, Rocco Buonopane and Ben Moody won the 3,200 relay in 9:14.7. State indoor champion Katya Geyer won the high jump in 5-0, the triple jump in 33-1 ½ and was third in the long jump in 15-3 ½. Reagan Klahr jumped 16-2 ¾ to win the long jump. Brianna Sordi won the 1,600 in 6:02.0, the 800 run in 2:42.0 and anchored the winning 3,200 relay in 12:23.6. Rachel O’Day won the shot in 29-3.
Plantation Lakes 5K
More than 400 folks turned out for the inaugural Plantation Lakes 5K April 26 in Millsboro, where awards went to the top three male finishers and the top three female finishers.
Ariel Simbana of Millsboro was the winner in 20:33.9, while Michael Griffith of Mount Laurel, N.J., was second in 21:42.9. Brian Owen of Mechanicsburg, Pa., ran 22:22.8 for third place. On the female side, Keely Wells of Laurel finished first in 24:05.1, while Holly Merrett ran 24:42.3 for second place. Kelly Kravchenko of Frankford ran 25:00.2 for third place overall. The event was hosted by Plantation Lakes, produced by Corrigan Sports and timed by the Seashore Striders.
Middle school track
The Fred Thomas boys beat Georgetown 83-26 and Millsboro 60-49. Eighth-grader Jude Peacock led the way with a win in the 1,600 run in 5:14 and a school record in the 400 in 57.3. Peacock also anchored the second-place 800 relay team. Eighth-grader Sam Schubert won the 200 in 25.0 and the triple jump in 35-2, while seventh-grader Ayden Bonilla won the discus in 95-3. The Fred Thomas girls beat Georgetown 58-51 and Millsboro 58-51. Eighth-grader Kha'Nihya Johnson won the high jump in 4-8, the long jump in 15-0 and anchored the 800 relay to a 2:03.0 win. Eighth-grader Lexi Bryson won the triple jump in 26-9, while seventh-grader Amelia DiPaolo won the 400 in 1:16.4. Cape middle schools will be in action Saturday, May 3, at the Dover Middle School Invitational at Dover High School.
