Athletes of the Week Dec. 27
Anna Bockius
Anna Bockius, a Padua Pandas junior distance runner with ties to Rehoboth Beach, won the mile and 2-mile races at the 70th annual Bishop Loughlin games held at the Ocean Breeze indoor complex on Staten Island, N.Y. Anna clocked a time of 4:47 in the mile and also won the 2-mile in a time of 10:34. She was named Athlete of the Meet. Freshman teammate Paige Ballinger, in her first season racing on a track, was third in the mile in 5:07. Padua also won the 4-by-400 when Bockius received the baton in third and brought home the victory in a time of 4:06.5. Anna’s resume includes a 4-by-800 (2:13) New Balance National title as a sophomore with a team time of 8:53. She was also on a team that won the Millrose Games 4-by-400 in a time of 4:06. Anna’s split on anchor was 58.10. Anna was named Division I cross country state champion Nov. 9, with a time of 17:41. She was followed by Paige Ballinger in 18:01. Troy and Ellen are Anna’s parents.
Trey Leggins
A sophomore sprinter for the Royals of Queens University in Charlotte, N.C., Trey earned Atlantic Sun Conference Track Athlete of the Week recognition after taking first place in the 400 meters in a time of 50.7. Trey now sits eighth on Queens’ top 10 list for the event, and his time is the best in the Atlantic Sun Conference this indoor season. The meet was held Dec. 7 at Winston-Salem College. Trey is home for the holidays. He was at the Mariner versus Fred Thomas basketball games last Thursday. His little brother, Carter Leggins, is a sixth-grader at Mariner. Trey ran track for Cape and is considered a long sprinter. He has a fluid style. He’s primarily a 400-meter guy, but he occasionally bumps up to the 800-meter distance. His dad Bobby was on the 1996 Cape basketball team coached by Jerry Peden that reached the state finals. Trey also played basketball for Cape.
Malachi Stratton
Malachi is off to a tremendous start for his senior season at Sussex Central. The three-time state champion reached the podium at two of the toughest high school wrestling tournaments in the nation as well as taking third place at the Ray Oliver Invitational in Owing Mills, Md. In early December, he placed sixth at the Ironman. Then last weekend, he finished fourth at the Beast of the East in the 113-pound weight class. He defeated the eighth-ranked wrestler in the nation, Dunia Sibomana of Long Beach, N.Y., by a 3-2 decision. He also avenged a loss at the Ray Oliver Invitational with a 9-6 overtime victory over Carter Shin of Chantilly, Va. Malachi is coached by Shane Miller at Sussex Central. He trains with his brother Rashad, a two-time state champion, at Stratton Trained Wrestling. Malachi grew up training with the Henlopen Hammers Wrestling Club. He will be going after his fourth state title in March and is currently ranked No. 1 in the state at 120 pounds.
Grace Wiggins
Catching up with Grace, just a first-semester freshman at the University of Richmond. Grace was at Cape the Friday before Christmas as part of the Morgan’s Message forum. She was part of state championship teams her senior year in field hockey and lacrosse. She projected as Division I level in both sports but chose to play field hockey at the University of Richmond, where she was a member of the All Atlantic 10 Conference rookie team. Grace was one of only two Americans on the entire All A10 Conference rookie team. Every other player was international. That honor is no joke. Grace’s aunt Cheryl Wiggins was the Lower Delaware Gridiron Club Downstate Athlete of the Year her senior year at Cape. Now, Cheryl is a doctor of audiology. Can you hear me now?
