Young athletes bring magic moments to sports competitions 

Sportsmanship and graciousness - I spoke to Lake Forest’s Jerusalem Howard two years ago and just remember him as an extraordinary great kid. At Cape Feb. 6, Howard (38-0) lost his first match of the season to Nick Walker, a defending state champion. Howard is a two-time state finalist. After the overall team competition, Jerusalem was the first Lake kid in the handshake line. He is that guy – first class all the way. I posted his photo on old guy social media (Facebook) and got a bevy of responses and shares from Lake Forest muppets who know the kid. A few examples: Matt Freese: “That kid is the ultimate role model for young athletes! Smart, dedicated, polite, hard working, etc. Everyone can learn something from him!” Nicki White Robbins: “He is an absolute outstanding young man! Always kind and respectful! Definitely a role model for all youth!” Mike Eastman: “Jerusalem represents Lake Forest in a positive manner no matter what sport he is in. First class all the way, whether it’s on the wrestling mat, football field, golf course or, more importantly, the classroom. Not only is he a top-notch athlete, he is also ranked up toward the top of his class. Hopefully the right college will notice him and give him the opportunity to continue this at the next level!”

Barth Buster - “Who you gonna call? Barth Buster.” On Senior Night, Alex Barth (285) was back to the wrestling mat after a year off. He is a crowd favorite, which means a lot in high school. He has to be a hallway favorite as well. He went out to the mat with confidence and secured a pin over Chase Weakland (15-11) in 11 seconds. Alex is undefeated in a limited sample size (2-0 in JV matches and 2-0 in varsity bouts) and the spotlight shined bright on Senior Night in a magic moment he will certainly never forget. Cape has four heavyweights – Alex, Javier Morales, Wyatt Graviet and Owen Ordway. There will be wrestle-offs to see who wrestles in state duals.

Pedigree - Just get the Westminster Dog Show out of your conscious mind right now. We humans all have a pedigree – it’s just the family tree, or muppet matrix if you prefer. Sports pedigrees are paid attention to by recruiters. There is a positive correlation. Although klutzy parents sometimes produce fluid and athletic kids, there is someone in the gene pool who could walk and chew gum or touch the net. I was following the Drexel men's lacrosse team’s surprising 11-1 dominating win over Delaware last Friday. I wondered when Drexel loaded up the roster with lacrosse players. Sophomore Owen Knight, out of Radnor High on the Philadelphia Main Line, had a hat trick. I checked his online bio. Under personal it said, “Son of Jill and Doug Knight … his father played lacrosse at the University of Virginia and his mother was a field hockey player at Brown.” “There it is,” I screamed into the air from my office chair.  

Snippets - Jake Gelof will play in the World Baseball Classic for Team Israel. Cape’s Geordan Downing scored 31 points, including seven three-pointers in Cape’s 77-66 win at Caravel. The Vikings are 13-2 and have a showdown at Dover Saturday, Feb. 14. I can tell you stories of moms and grandmoms being shut out of games. No strollers are allowed; not sure about walkers and wheelchairs. I only wish I was being funny. Ryan Moody of Sussex Academy placed second in the indoor 1,600 at the East Coast Invitational in Virginia Beach, running 4:21.03, an indoor personal best. Ry-Dogg also put down a personal-best time of 9:50 in the two mile. Ava Calciano (Cape), the designated hitter in the UConn softball lineup, was 3-for-4 with two runs scored Feb. 7, in a 10-9 loss to Iowa. The game was played in Tallahassee, Fla. Milestone man Scott Layfield, the head wrestling coach at Sussex Tech, turned 55 and recorded his 200th victory as head coach. Check out his upcoming country album, “Big Guys and Small Dogs.” First cousins Mikey Frederick and Ella Rishko, the 2022 Cape Athletes of Year, each scored hat tricks over the weekend. Mikey had three goals and two assists in Mercer’s 13-9 win over Marist, while Ella scored three goals for Delaware in a 12-10 loss at Temple. Molly Mendes had three goals and an assist, as Rollins College beat Florida Tech 15-14 in double overtime. Molly was an all-purpose player at Cape, having scored 100 points as a Viking. Big-air snowboarders are wildly whack. Most are under 21 years old, so they don’t overcome fears because they have none. Back in the days of drafting soldiers, the ideal age was 19, which was before second-guessing and questioning orders became ingrained in the personality. Go on now, git!