The Beacon and Mariner track and field teams squared off at Cape Henlopen High School April 25, with the Mariner boys pulling away late for a 60-49 victory and the unbeaten Beacon girls earning a 73-36 win. Picture-perfect conditions and a competitive atmosphere produced outstanding performances throughout the middle school meet.
On the boys’ side, Mariner eighth-grader Dawson Clifton notched personal bests in winning the 100 meters in 11.6 seconds and 200 meters in 25.3 seconds, while teammate and fellow eighth-grader Steve Ramirez doubled up for victories in the discus with a toss of 75-feet-3-inches and shot put in 31-feet-8-inches. Eighth-grader John Small ran away with the 55-meter hurdles, establishing a new personal best of 9.0 seconds in the process, and came back to take the triple jump with a hop-step-jump of 33-feet-4-inches. Beacon got a pair of wins from sixth-grader Jeremiah Jackson, who clocked 58.7 seconds for 400 meters and soared 17-feet-10.5-inches in the long jump. Eighth-grader Tony Minni captured the 800 meters in 2:28.5, while eighth-grader Josh Evans kept up Beacon’s distance dominance with a come-from-behind win at 1,600 meters in 5:37.4. Beacon’s Deashaun Lewis and Mariner’s Mekhi Smith tied for first place in the high jump, both jumping 4-feet-6-inches. Beacon won the 4-by-100-meter relay in 50.3 seconds, but Mariner got revenge in the 4-by-200 with a 1:46.3 triumph.
The deep, talented Beacon girls’ squad won 10 of 13 events and rode the spectacular sprinting of eighth-grader Mehkia Applewhite to an easy win. Applewhite scored runaway wins in the 100 meters in 13.2 seconds and 200 meters in 27.8 seconds, while Haley Archambault delivered 10 points of her own by capturing the shot put in 27-feet-7.5-inches and discus in a personal best of 68-feet-1-inch. Beacon continued to pile up the points thanks to wins from Noelle Sabbagh in the 55-meter hurdles in 9.8 seconds, Elizabeth Melson in the 1,600 meters with a 5:57.1 personal best, sixth-grader Lainey Shockro in the 800 meters with a 2:41.5 personal best, and Jania Currie in the high jump leaping 4-feet-4-inches. Beacon also scored blowout wins in the 4-by-100-meter relay of 54.5 seconds and 4-by-200-meter relay of 1:59.8. Eighth-grade star Reagan Ciabattoni continued to own the jumps for Mariner, as she set a new school record of 16-feet even in the long jump and easily took the triple jump with a 31-feet-6.5-inches effort. Ciabattoni also torched the track in the 400 meters, winning in 1:07.3.
Both Beacon and Mariner will be in action this Friday night at the annual Cape Relays, as Beacon will host the six-team relay meet beginning at 4 p.m. from Legends Stadium.
DQ Dash
This Sunday will mark the inaugural running of the Dairy Queen DQ Dash 5K Run that will raise money for the first official Lewes Fourth of July Fireworks Celebration. The out-and-back course will go north to the Children’s Beach House and return to Dairy Queen for the soft-serve post-race celebration. The race will begin at 9 a.m., and medals will go to the top three finishers in 10 age groups. Online registration will remain open through Saturday night at www.seashorestriders.com, or runners and walkers can register race morning from 8 to 8:50 a.m. at Dairy Queen. Join us for a good cause and see you at the DQ Dash. Dilly-Dilly-Dilly Bar!
Penn Relays
The Cape girls competed at the Penn Relays in the 400-meter relay and 1,600-meter relay high school events April 26 in what is considered the largest track meet in the country. The exposure, the excitement, the crowds and the funnel cakes are things the girls will never forget. My favorite memory of the Penn Relays is when my two-mile relay team ran 8:12 on a hot Saturday morning at Franklin Field, and, unfortunately, we finished last in the race, as 12 of the 16 teams broke the eight-minute barrier. I’m not sure if that is a good memory or a bad memory. Good luck, Cape.
Seashore Classic
The Seashore Classic Half Marathon, Two-Person Relay and 5K will kick off the Irish Eyes 6-Pack Series at 8 a.m., Saturday, May 12, in Lewes. Register now and enjoy a nice journey to Rehoboth Beach through beautiful Cape Henlopen State Park. Don’t forget the two-person relay (male, female, coed) if the winter weather has hurt your half-marathon training.
Marathon water stops
Last week, I worked the Co-Del 5K water stop with my Cape indoor track girls, as 800 runners and walkers came by us in Dewey Beach … Gatorade here/water here!
I was amazed at all the participants thanking the girls for being there and volunteering their time. I say it all the time; an event cannot be successful without the addition of volunteers, and the majority of the runners are such nice people.
On Sunday, I helped out at the CoDel Marathon water stop with the Seashore Striders at Lewes Beach, and about 700 runners passed the stop. Much less talking to the volunteers until we got to the back-of-the-packers who are in it for the fun of it. Over and out!
