Athletes of the Week Dec. 11
Ryan Baker
The top 10 runners in Division I all broke 17 minutes at the Dec. 5 cross country state championships. The Vikings needed a high place and low number from Ryan Baker and got it, as he hung with the leaders from post to paddock, running 16:30 on the slippery Killens Pond trails to place third overall. Oddly, Salesianum placed first, seventh and eighth, yet trailed Cape 14-16 behind Baker in 16:30, Ethan Edery, fifth in 16:46 and Julian Callaway, sixth in 16:48. “Ryan was out of contact because of COVID quarantine, missing the Sussex County meet, but he trained on his own and came back ready to compete,” said coach Matt Lindell. “His improvement over a period of time has been remarkable. His mental toughness is what makes him great. He is not afraid of the big moments; not to mention, he is talented.”
Ethan Edery
Ethan has battled through some injuries this season, but unless you were his coach or trainer, you would never know. He doesn’t look for or offer excuses. The apparent No. 1 runner on a talent-laden team was sometimes beaten by his own teammates. He just trained hard to stay near the front. Rounding the bend onto the straightaway at the Division I state meet, it was Edery (16:46) in fifth with teammate Julian Callaway (16:48) in sixth on his heels. The next two runners were from Salesianum. Ethan and Julian held them off, setting the table for Lance Kauffman, Daniel Adili-Khams, Liam O’Donnell and Andrew Wolak to bring it home for Cape’s first cross country title in 19 years. Ethan was Cape’s No. 1 in the Henlopen Conference Championship meet, running 16:48 for fourth place, followed by Baker and Callaway. Ethan was Sussex County champion with a time of 16:16.
Katie Kuhlman
Katie gets up every day and tends to her 50 goats. Then she goes to school, participates in FFA and runs cross country. Katie competes without missing a beat. At the DIAA cross country championships Dec. 5, Katie K went to the front and pushed the pace. She’s an unusually pleasant personality who can live inside the pain barrier of pace for five kilometers. Katie led at 2.5 miles, but a Panda ran her down. Mary Katherine Dorsey of Padua rolled to a time of 19:33, with Katie in second at 19:54. The year before as a freshman, Katie placed 19th in the same race. “She will lead off my 4-by-800 this winter,” said indoor track coach Tim Bamforth, who was crazy like Katie minus the goats when he ran for Cape in 1983-85.
Emily Monigle
Emily Monigle stepped into two high-powered Cape programs – field hockey and lacrosse – four years ago. She was best known as the younger sister of Lindsey Monigle. Emily can smile and compete on the pitch and in the classroom. She possesses the dog-off-the-chain factor of a player who’s always ready to roll on game day. Ranked first in her class and heading to Johns Hopkins in the fall to play field hockey, Emily showed up in a major way in Cape’s 4-0 semifinal field hockey win over the Dover Senators. Emily scored the only two goals of the first half and continued to crank shots off corners in the second half. And on defense, she was her usual solid self. “On game day, you want Emily on your team,” said coach Kate Austin.
