Local kids dot the landscape of college sports rosters

Lost in transition - The running season transitions from summer to fall with barely a wobble. The Seashore Striders Labor Day Last Blast Prediction 5K ended the summer series, which is a prelude to the fall longer-distance marathon season. A total of 156 runners ran the Last Blast Aug. 30. Races2Run featured the Summer's End 5K Aug. 31, with 144 finishers. That totals 300 5K runners ages 9 to 87 racing for reasons unknown over a 24-hour period. The Summer’s End 5K came came down to a final 400-meter sprint featuring  Kyle Brightbill, 50, battling Teddy McCarthy, 21. Teddy (18:16) outkicked Kyle (18:22) to win the race. “In my younger days that would have bothered me,” said Kyle, a sub-15 guy in his 20s. “I give the kid credit, he came back and got me.”  

Cross country - Cross country will open the season Saturday, Sept. 6, at the Lake Forest Invitational. Cape’s top 10 runners heading into the season are: Jason Baker, Riley Stazzone, Brayden Redd, Nick Petito, Andrew Radka, Josh Cohen, Jude Peacock, Dylan Harp, Owen Beitzel and Alex Ernakovich on the boys’ side and Natalie Schneider, Claudia Stazzone, Zoe Miller, Maya Yngve, Logan Crotty, Bree Terhune, Allison Rivera-Ortiz, Claire VonLindenberg, Kate Hill and Alisa Tsirtsan on the girls’ side. 

Triple play - Last Thursday night, I stayed home alone locked down left with my own devices. I watched the Cape game on Delmarva Sports Network, while tracking the Phillies hosting Atlanta and streaming the Delaware State at Delaware game. And I could write a game story on each one in under 45 minutes pretending I was there, which I believe is generally considered unethical or plagiaristic journalism. My alone personality yells, but I have never yelled in person at a game. It’s odd the different personalities of the unleashed sports fan.

Sly like a fox - Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones got two first-round picks and tackle Kenny Clark from the Packers, but, most importantly, he avoided paying Micah Parsons $47 million per season to play linebacker. Expect the Cowboys to show up in Philadelphia this Thursday night and to put a scare into the Eagles. CBS Sports lists the spread as 7.5 in favor of Philly.  

Snippets - Maurki James (Cape), running back for Old Dominion University, rushed 10 times for 32 yards as the Monarchs lost to Indiana 22-14. The game was played in front of 47,000 fans. James, of Lincoln, is a redshirt freshman. Maryland field hockey beat Stanford Aug. 29 3-1. Delmar girls Macy Bradford and Josie Hollamon scored goals, while Jordyn Hollamon had an assist. Maryland beat Villanova Aug. 31 4-0. Jordyn had her first two collegiate goals. Josie had a goal and Bradford had three assists. Appalachian State field hockey beat Towson 7-1 Aug. 29. Senior Sam Connors (Cape) had two assists for the Mountaineers, while freshman Bailey Masten (Milford) had an assist for the Tigers. Michigan State field hockey beat Ohio University 5-0. Ohio sophomore Addy Basile (Cape-Sussex Academy) started for the Bobcats, while freshman Rilyn Lehman (Sussex Academy) saw the field for the Spartans. Sophomore Grace Wiggins started for the Richmond Spiders who beat Longwood 3-0. Liberty field hockey beat Duke 4-3, overcoming a 3-0 deficit. Duke senior Reagan Ciabattoni saw playing time for the Blue Devils. Nikki Parsley-Blocker (Milford) is the head coach at Liberty. Nikki is a former assistant at Yale University. Devon DeGregory (Cape) started on defense as the No. 3 Salisbury Seagulls beat Stockton of New Jersey 3-0. Ethan Felker (Cape) is a junior defensive back on the roster of Misericordia University. JT Timmons (Caesar Rodney) is a freshman quarterback on the roster at Alvernia University. There are 17 players from Delaware on the Alvernia roster coached by Steve Azzanesi, who had been an assistant at Delaware State and Wesley College. Jaydon Mifflin, a redshirt junior (Sussex Tech), saw game action for Delaware State in the 35-17 loss to Delaware. Jaydon is a 6-foot-2, 275-pound defensive player. Cape football will host William Penn Friday, Sept. 5. The Colonials lost their season opener to St. Georges 25-7. They were 3-7 last season. The LaSalle College Explorers (2-0) defeated the Malvern Prep Friars (0-1) 42-35 on Friday at Ocean Stadium in New Jersey in the Battle of the Beach. Both teams are loaded – non-boundary schools – and the game was packed. Salesianum will host LaSalle Sept. 5, at Abessinio Stadium, then they play at Malvern Prep the following Friday. The following week, Sussex Central travels to Abessinio. Sallies plays eight Delaware schools during the regular season. The Golden Knights beat West Philly High in their home opener 40-6. The West Philly mascot Speedboy represents the school’s commitment to speed and agility in athletics. The girls’ teams are the Speedgirls. Speaking of speed, the West Philly neighborhood is a hotbed of talent, and most prospects end up at Catholic school programs. Go on now, git!