Athletes of Week April 11

Ty Mackert

A great kid and stellar lacrosse junior, Milford midfielder Ty was honored by shoutout Saturday afternoon at Briggs Stadium for ringing up his 100th career goal. Mackert scored six in a 10-9 loss to the visiting Charter Force after scoring six the night before in a win over Dover. Ty is a straight-A student, a member of the National Honor Society and plays unified basketball. He is a peer mentor for at-risk students in elementary school and for high school students with intellectual disabilities. Older sister Carley was class valedictorian for Milford in 2024  and plays field hockey at Alvernia. Another older sister, Alyssa, was a hockey midfielder at Lynchburg and teaches in the Richmond school system. But bottom line, in the words of Dire Straits, “Oh, yeah, the boy can play.” 

TJ Morris 

He’s a Salisbury sophomore baseball player straight out of Sussex Central, where he was the quarterback and a baseball player, a great combination kid. Back in 2023, in a state tournament win versus William Penn, TJ had five RBIs, including a grand slam.He also quarterbacked the football team to an 8-2 record. In an April 5 game at Christopher Newport, right-fielder  Morris cracked a fifth-inning grand slam in a 14-11 road win. Morris is the leadoff hitter. He also scored two runs in the game. Josh Reinhold (Cape) had a home run for the Captains. TJ graduated from the International Baccalaureate program at Sussex Central  and was a member of the National Honor Society. He is majoring in exercise science. His older brother Tyzhir coaches the safeties at Abilene Christian. AC lost to North Dakota State in the semifinals of the NCAA  tournament last season.

Robbie Payton

This Cape junior honors  student (3.7 GPA) on the Vikings’ baseball squad had his first varsity at-bat against Kent Island, taking total advantage of the moment as he went yard over the center-field fence, knocking in two teammates. "Robbie is a highly coachable player who is in his first year of varsity baseball," said Cape coach Ben Evick. "He’s been improving every day, and he always works hard. He has the desire to get better and better, and pushes the guys around him to work hard." Robbie recently completed his junior year as a varsity starter with football, primarily playing linebacker, where he recorded an impressive 47 tackles and two sacks. After the football season, Robbie dedicated his winter to focused training, making significant gains in both speed and strength. He has a deep sense of community, volunteering at the annual Andy & Opie Fishing Tournament, helping kids experience the joy of fishing. When he has spare time, you can find him on a golf course with friends. 

Emmett Wheatley

A junior honors student on the Cape baseball team, Emmett is a multi-tool athlete who has stepped into the starting right-fielder role this year. "He has come up huge for us in multiple situations," said Cape head coach Ben Evick. “He recently drove in the tying run against Delmar in the extra-inning marathon game. He is currently hitting .462, with two triples early in the season. Emmett is one of the fastest guys we have and understands how to run bases, so he causes issues for opposing teams." He also runs the 400 and 800 for indoor track where he is part of the 4x800 team that recently broke the school record. His split in the race was a burning 2:12. In his spare time, he likes to go to the beach and hang out with his friends.