Teens the stars at Power 2 Parkinson’s 5K

The inaugural Power 2 Parkinson’s 5K, directed by Sussex Academy juniors Lindsey Guida and Mackenzie Cummings, was held April 6 at Sussex Academy, attracting 130 runners and walkers. The event raised just under $4,000 for the local Parkinson’s Education and Support Group of Sussex County. The event was held on the Sussex Academy cross country course and was held in honor of Guida’s pop-pop who has Parkinson’s disease. The event originated from a CAS Project that student-athletes were required to complete.

Jodi Johnson, 16, of Seaford won the male overall championship in 18:10, averaging a 5:51 mile pace, while 17-year-old Jake Mundok of Lewes was second in 18:15. Patrick Short, 16, of Georgetown rounded out the top three male finishers in 18:25. 

Emily Trout, 15, of Ocean View captured the female title in a time of 22:25 to average 7:13 a mile. She was followed by 13-year-old Katie Kuhlman of Milton in 23:47. Ryann Howard, 14, of Milton rounded out the top three female finishers in a time of 24:37.

“I am really pleased with how the race turned out, and I thank all the runners and walkers, sponsors and volunteers for all their support,” said Guida. “I never thought we would have over 100 people in the race. It was really funm and we were glad to be able to support Parkinson’s disease.”

Cape track & field

The Cape girls raised their record to 5-0 with a 107-39 win over Polytech and veteran coach Czar Bloom.

Cape led off the meet winning the 4-by-800 relay with the team of Hadley Rhue, Liz Melson, Zoe Callard and Mia Neubling in a time of 11:13. Cape also won the other three relays in the meet, including the 4-by-200 in a good time of 1:49.9 with the team of Bre Kusen, Aya Daisey, Amaya Daisey and Mehkia Applewhite. That same foursome ran 1:49.3 as Beacon Middle eighth-graders and still holds the school record. Cape won the 4-by-100 in 52.9 and the 4-by-400 in 4:34.7. Olivia Brozefsky scored 15 points in the meet, winning the pole vault in 8-feet-6-inches, the 1,600 meters in 5:41, and the 3,200 meters in 12:43. Tia Jarvis won the 400 meters in 1:04.0, while Taylor Johnson won the 300 hurdles in 53.8.

Applewhite won the 200 meters in 27.8, while Mac Parker won the shot with a good throw of 36-2. Ce’yra won the discus at 94-2.

The boys’ team raised their record to 3-2 on the season with a 83-63 win over Polytech. Chris Rushin won the 100 meters in 11.4, the high jump at 5-10, and ran a leg on the winning 4-by-100 that hit the line in 45.3. Cape also won the 4-by-200 in 1:34.4, while Curtis Purnell won the long jump at 19-1 and the 200 meters in 23.7. Josiah Miller won both the shot put and discus at 47-10 and 110-11, respectively, while Bryan Ciabattoni won the pole vault at 10-6.

The Keith Burgess Invitational will be this Saturday at Lake Forest High School.

Jim Blades Invite

The Beacon girls finished second and the Beacon boys finished fourth at the April 5 Jim Blades Invitational at Lake Forest, as Lainey Shockro led the way with 24 points on the night. Shockro won the 800 meters in 2:39, finished third in the 1,600 meters in 5:57, and finished second in the long jump at 14-5½. Leading the boys was Justin Friscia, who ran 2:25.4 to win the 800 meters. Liam O’Donnell ran a blistering 5:09.6 to win the 1,600 meters. The Beacon girls lost to a talented Smyrna team and had won the last six team titles in a row.  

“We competed pretty tough and scored just about what we thought we could, but Smyrna sports, from middle school to high school, are at the top in many of their sports,” said coach Gilbert Maull. “It seems like all the athletes move to the Smyrna area, and their track teams are real tough.”

The Beacon girls and boys competed at home April 9 with Selbyville, Mariner and Seaford. The boys went 2-1 and the girls went 3-0. The boys lost to Selbyville 61-48. O’Donnell won the 1,600 meters and was second in the 800 meters for 10 points, and Juston Friscia, just a seventh-grader, won the 800 meters and was second in the 1,600 meters to highlight the boys’ team. Deshaun Lewis scored nine points with a win in the high jump.   

The girls’ team was led by eighth-grader Kacie Gibbons. She won the triple jump, the 55 hurdles, and was on the winning 4-by-100 relay team. Shockro scored eight points, winning the 800 meters, while Montana Jones anchored both the winning 4-by-100 and 4-by-200 relays.

Beacon will host nine teams at the Cape Relays on Friday night at Legends Stadium beginning at 4 p.m.

Middle school teams competing with Beacon Middle School will be Dover Central, Gauger-Cobb, Kirk, Mariner, Millsboro, Newark Charter, Postlethwait and Selbyville.

Mariner Middle wrap

The Mariner boys and girls fell to Selbyville and Beacon, but defeated Seaford. Mariner’s girls got standout showings from sixth-grader Ali Stevenson, who won the 1,600 meters in 6:09 and set a school record of 2:43 in the 800. Eighth-grader Cailyn Bledsoe won the discus and established a new school record of 71-1. Other winners were seventh-grader Anna Kucharik in the 400 in 1:10 and eighth-grader Shaniya Miller in the long jump at 14-6. The Mariner boys got an individual win from eighth-grader Trey Leggins, who captured the 400 meters in 59.8.