Smyrna boys and Caesar Rodney girls win Henlopen Conference Track Championships

Polytech distance star Matt Gatune swept the 800-, 1,600- and 3,200-meter races for the second straight year to highlight two days of action at the Henlopen Conference track and field championships May 12-13 at Lake Forest High.

The meet’s opening day featured the boys’ 3,200, a much-anticipated showdown among the top three performers in Henlopen Conference history: Gatune, Cape Henlopen’s Ryan Baker, and Polytech’s Kenny Guy. Gatune and Baker blazed the opening mile in 4:41, gapping the field, and stayed stride-for-stride through six laps. With about 700 meters left, Gatune surged a few seconds ahead. The Columbia-bound senior held off a hard-charging Baker over the final circuit to win in 9:17, slicing eight seconds from Baker’s conference record. The Cape junior crossed the line just a tick behind in 9:18, breaking his own school record by a huge margin. Their times were the fastest ever recorded by Delaware public schoolers.

Gatune returned the next day to dominate the 1,600 (4:19.93) and 800 (1:55.37), but his heroics weren’t enough to deny defending team champions Smyrna another trophy. The Eagles tallied 131 points behind golds from Devin Demoe (long jump and high jump), Demitri Carter (100 meters), and Daymien Mickle (400 meters), outpacing Polytech (120) and Cape (111.5). Meanwhile, Sussex Tech junior Yougendy Mauricette made his mark on the meet by sweeping the 110-meter hurdles (14.48) and the 300-meter hurdles (38.11).

Cape sophomore Bailey Fletcher soared to gold in the pole vault, clearing 12-feet-6-inches to establish a new personal best. The Vikings quartet of senior Brian Sponaugle, junior Liam O’Donnell, sophomore Benjamin Clifton and senior Julian Callaway triumphed in the 4-by-800-meter relay, notching the fastest Cape time (8:13.32) since 2002, while sophomore Dean Miguez, junior Konner Knarr, junior L.T. Messick and junior Keishawn Mansfield captured the 4-by-100 in a season-best 43.42.

On the girls’ side, Caesar Rodney upended 2021 champ Smyrna by a 114.5-110 margin behind victories from Bree Talley in the 800 meters (2:27.47) and Aniya Hill in the discus (110-feet-8-inches). CR trailed the Eagles late in the meet, but Talley spearheaded a 1-2-4 finish by the Riders in the 800 to help her team edge ahead. Lake Forest sprinter Cierra Young was the lone double winner, as she took a tight 100-meter final in 12.73 and eased to a 200-meter victory in 25.75.

Cape junior Katie Kuhlman used a blistering kick over the final lap to win the 1,600 meters in 5:23.79, an eight-second personal best, and took a close second in the 3,200 (11:48). Senior Tia Jarvis claimed gold in the 300-meter hurdles, breaking the tape in 47.98. Kuhlman and Jarvis teamed with sophomore Hannah Maney and junior Alexa Dougherty to score a decisive victory in the 4-by-800-meter relay (9:59), while Maney, Dougherty, Jarvis and senior Emma Duffield placed first in the 4-by-400 (4:12.00).

Cape Notes:

The Vikings’ other individual medalists were John Small in the 300-meter hurdles (silver, 40.87), Sponaugle in the 800 (bronze, 2:01.57), Dougherty in the 300 hurdles (bronze, 49.62), and Cailyn Bledsoe in the discus (bronze, 98-feet-3-inches). The boys’ 4-by-200-meter relay team of Knarr, Messick, Mansfield and Ashton Bell added a bronze in 1:31.92.

Baker’s 9:18 clocking in the 3,200 ranks 106th nationally among juniors and 26th on the East Coast.

The Vikings boys dominated the distance races, placing nine runners in the top 19 over 1,600 meters (all under five minutes), seven in the top 17 at 3,200 (all under 11 minutes) and five in the top 10 at 800.

The boys' 4-by-100-meter relay time of 43.42 missed the school record by just two-tenths of a second.