Senior Ryan Baker, coming off a freshly set two-mile record last week, etched his name again on the Cape indoor track record board as he broke the 45-year-old 1,600-meter record of 4:26.06 held by the legendary Lance White. Baker ran the eight-lap mile race in 4:25.53, finishing 18th at the U.S. Army Officials Hall of Fame Invitational at the Armory in New York. The time converts to 4:23.99 for 1,600 meters.
Liam O’Donnell also ran the mile in 4:35.08 for 34th place, while freshman Jason Baker ran the two-mile in 10:30.84 for 70th place overall. Freshman Brayden Redd also ran the two-mile in 11:01.12 for 116th, while Eddie Houck jumped 12-feet-0 in the pole vault for a seventh-place finish. Baker has already qualified for the New Balance Indoor Nationals in the two-mile, which will be held March 10-12 in Boston.
Snow Hill final
The final Snow Hill Invitational was held Jan. 25 in Snow Hill, Md., as Cape, Sussex Academy, Sussex Central, Sussex Tech and Milford all took part in the meet. The teams are gearing up for the state championships, which will return to the 200-meter Prince George’s sports complex oval in Landover, Md., Saturday, Feb. 4. The DIAA Championships have not been held in Landover since 2019.
On the girls’ side of the action, it was Sussex Academy finishing third in the team standings with 43 points followed by Milford and Cape with 40 in fourth place. Sussex Central was sixth with 34 points, while Sussex Tech was 15th with six points.
On the boys’ side, it was all Vikings as they easily took the team title with 90 points, while Sussex Central was fifth with 36 points. Sussex Academy was eighth with 25 points, while Sussex Tech and Milford were both 10th with 22 points.
Cape’s Ben Clifton highlighted the Vikings’ performance, as the junior set a new record in the 500-meter dash with blazing time of 1:10.21 for third in the race. The previous record, held by multi-state champion Kai Maull (1:10.34), was set back in 1998. Maull still holds four other indoor school records – long jump at 24-2, triple jump at 48-7 ½, 200 meters at 22.98 and 400 meters at 50.52.
“I ran the 500 meters for the first time two weeks ago at Virginia Beach, running 0.04 off the record,” said Clifton. “I was very frustrated because I was so close and didn’t think I was going to have another shot until next year. Thankfully, I was able to run it today with two strong Maryland runners pulling me along. This sport is all about the work you put in, so it was a very rewarding feeling when Coach G told me I got the record.”
Girls’ top three highlights
Kennedy Johnson of Cape won the long jump in 14-8, while Adyson Kaufman of Cape won the triple jump in 30-0. Tatiana Kelsic of Sussex Central finished second in the 55-meter dash in a season-best time of 7.45 and returned to win the 300-meter dash in a season-best 43.79. Katya Geyer of Sussex Academy finished second in the 1,600 meters in a good time of 5:26.60, while the Milford 3,200-meter relay team went 11:07.30. Milford’s Faith Mitchell was second in the 3,200 meters in 12:43.24, her best time this season, while Lily Bowe of Sussex Academy was second in the 800 meters in 2:31.41. Addison Bowman was second in the pole vault in a nice jump of 9-0, while Anejah Grace-Johnson of Cape was second in the long jump in 14-7. Kamille Trammell of Cape was second in the triple in 27-4. The Sussex Academy 3,200-meter relay ran 11:07.40 for third place, while Ny’Ajah Henry of Sussex Tech was third in the 55-meter dash in 7.64. Lily Bowe was third in the 1,600 meters in a good time of 5:27.29, while Cape was third in the 800-meter relay in 1:55.53. Ella Ruppert of Cape was third at 800 meters in 2:33.64, while Anejah Grace-Johnson was third in the high jump in 4-8. Hailey Archambault of Cape was third in the shot put in 27-11¾, while Moriah Duffie of Milford was third in the long jump in 14-3. Alivia Longo was third in the triple jump in 27-2.
Boys’ top three highlights
Yougendy Mauricette of Sussex Tech won the 55-meter hurdles in a season-best 7.63, beating his previous best time of 7.76. He returned to capture the long jump in 21-4. Cape’s Cardin Benjamin, just a sophomore, won the 1,600 meters in 4:47.08, while teammate Jason Baker, coming off a nice race at the Armory in NYC, won the 3,200 meters in 10:27.36 for the best time at Snow Hill this season. The Cape boys won the 800 relay in 1:37.41, while Justin Friscia of Sussex Academy won the 800 meters in 2:08.54. The Sussex Central boys won the 1,600 relay in 3:40.74 for a Snow Hill season best, while Eddie Houck of Cape jumped 12-0 in the pole vault for the win. Tim Wright of Sussex Central won the triple jump in 44-8 and was second in the 55-meter dash in 6.73. Cardin Benjamin was second at 800 meters in 2:08.58, while Cape took second in the 1,600 relay in 3:46.96. Victor Perez of Sussex Central threw 42-5 in the shot put for second, while Thomas Williams of Sussex Central was second in the long jump in 20-8. Emmanuel Charles-Aine of Sussex Academy was second in the triple jump in 39-1. Joey DeGregory of Cape was third in the 3,200 in 10:39.62, while Yougendy Mauricette of Sussex Tech ran 2:08.71 for third at 800 meters, a race he normally does not compete in. Donald Saintphard of Sussex Tech was third in 5-8 in the high jump, while Machi Savage of Cape was third in the long jump in 19-7. Ronin Mozingo of Sussex Tech was third in the triple in 38-1.
