Cape unified track and field captures second state title in three years

Thanks to the efforts of the boys and girls on Cape’s unified track and field team, the school has now claimed a state championship in all three seasons of the 2023-24 school year. The champs were crowned May 18, joining the field hockey team and wrestler Austin Guerrieri on the winners’ mount.

Seniors Connor Pencek and Tony Palmer set the pace for the boys, combining for four top-three finishes. The speedy Palmer’s 12.73 seconds won the 100-meter dash, while Pencek conquered the 200- (26.63 seconds) and 400-meter dashes. Pencek’s 58.44 broke Palmer’s DIAA Unified Track & Field State Championship record in the 400-meter dash.

Palmer flashed his versatility with a second-place finish in the long jump. Freshman Jaxon Benton finished fourth in the 100- and 200-meter dashes but nabbed third in the 400-meter dash. Senior Alejandro Alvarez-Roman took second in the 400-meter dash and finished just outside the top three at fourth in the long jump.

Elle Nauman’s time of 1:23.01 in the 400-meter dash gave the girls their only top finish, but it was part of the nine top-three finishes the girls registered across five events. Junior Laiya Ward’s times of 15.48 and 34.02 were good for second in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, respectively. Carrie Reed’s highest finish was in the long jump where she placed second, but she took third in the shot put as well as the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. Senior Brooke Kochinsky took third in the 400-meter dash and elevated to second in the shot put. 

The girls had to stave off last year’s champ, Smyrna, to clinch the team victory.

Cape’s 2024 title is not only the second state championship the program has won, but also the second title in three seasons after the Vikings were crowned in 2022.