|
The Cape and Caesar Rodney track and field rivalry runs deep in the veins of every athlete at each school. Countless state championship banners hang high in both schools and, more often than not. if one doesn’t have the most recent conference trophy, the other does.
On Saturday, the adversaries faced each other, this time in track and field at the Keith Burgess Invitational held annually at Lake Forest. Cape’s Lady Vikings placed second behind the Riders while the boys took third. However, it was “Rivalry Week” in the Henlopen Conference as Cape hosted CR on Tuesday, April 15.
The story begins with head coach George Pepper’s girls squad. Over the years,
Pepper has built somewhat of a downstate dynasty in track and field, with the most recent Division II state championships coming in a four-year streak during 2002-05. Caesar Rodney hit the ground running, taking the lead in points early and holding it until halfway through the meet.
“CR is regarded as one of the top teams in the state,” Pepper said. “We don’t have quite the depth that they do with a school more than twice our size.”
The Seth sisters, Savonne and Cierra, again proved to be assets for the Lady Vikings. Cierra flew to a 4-10 first place in the high jump while Savonne glided to a win in the 300 hurdles in 46.94 to put Cape ahead by 5 points for the first time in the meet. The meet continued to reverse, alternating between the rivals at nearly every event.
Senior Christine MacDonald contributed a win in the triple jump followed by teammate Hannah Pepper in second. Shanika Evans took first in the discus with an 89-5 throw, while Cierra Seth collected another win in the shot put with 31-8. Andrea Wells, Arvontis Smith, Pepper, and Savonne Seth won the final event, the 4x400, but it wasn’t enough to overtake CR. Despite winning 10 of 18 events, the Riders defeated the Lady Vikings by 75.5 to 66.5, a mere nine-point difference.
“The girls competed extremely well,” added Pepper. “Solid performances produced some of the top times in Cape history.”
Only a sophomore, Rebecca Pepper ran a 5:22 mile, the third fastest female time in the books. Savonne Seth came close to breaking the school record in the 300 hurdles, a record she broke last track season. Cierra Seth was Cape’s top scorer, winning all four of her events: the 100 meter dash, high jump, shot put and the 4x100 relay with Wells, MacDonald and sister Savonne.
A tri-meet, the Lady Vikings easily tamed the Laurel Bulldogs 112-21. Cape improved to a 5-1 record.
The boys team also pulled a 1-1 split, losing to CR 95-51 but defeating the Bulldogs 104-37.
“We’re a small but very strong team,” said senior distance runner Brett Morris. “CR is deep and always tough competition for us.”
Individual state champion sprinter Isaiah Brisco left his competition in the dust, winning the 110 hurdles in 14.74, 400 in 51.35 and 300 hurdles in 42.15. Derek Gay threw to a first in the discus and Trevor Reed did the same in the shot put, while Paris White soared to a 6-foot win in the high jump. The Vikings will face two more rivals, Dover and Milford, in the upcoming weeks.
|
