Cape girls’ track tops Smyrna 77-69
The Lady Vikings brought a game plan to the table and moved their track athletes around to beat Smyrna 77-69 May 3 at Dover High. The Vikings won three of the four relays, capturing the 3,200 relay in 10:39 with senior Gabby Robertson on the anchor, running a personal-best leg of 2:42 in her final relay race. “We had an 18-second lead with either Katie Kuhlman or Alexa Dougherty ready to anchor, and at the last second, we went with Gabby to anchor it,” said distance coach Martin Rodriguez. Dougherty was able to get in the hurdles for a third-place point, and Kuhlman was able to add the 800 meters to her busy day. Cape also won the 800 relay with the team of Hannah Maney, Anna Kucharik, Kennedy Johnson and Tia Jarvis with a lean at the line for a season-best time of 1:50.8.
Dougherty also came through for the team in the 400 meters, her first time racing the open, and grabbed a big second-place finish after coming out of the 300 hurdles. Jarvis ran a season and personal best of 47.5 to win the 300 hurdles in a nearly perfect race with only one mistake. Kuhlman and Emma Duffield ran the 1,600 and 800 races and turned them into NCAA-style kicker’s contests, saving their legs for the sprint to the finish. Kuhlman returned to win the 3,200 in similar fashion, before joining teammates Maney, Dougherty and anchor Jarvis to close out the meet with a win in the mile relay in 4:17. Cape outscored Smyrna 12-6 in the two throwing events and picked up four points in the pole vault.
Last season, Cape traveled to Smyrna where the Vikings won a close, emotional meet giving them the Henlopen North championship, while this time around, Smyrna, Caesar Rodney and the Vikings each have one loss. The Riders beat the Vikings 74-72 in April in Camden.
Boys fall to Smyrna
The Cape boys met a tough Smyrna team May 3 at Dover High, losing to the Eagles 77-69. Fast performances were turned in on the track by both the Eagles and the Vikings, as several season-best performances were left on the track. The Vikings won three of the four relays, but only managed one individual win on the track, as Ryan Baker took the 3,200 in 9:58. The Vikings took the 3,200 relay in 8:40, 400 relay in 44.2 and 1,600 relay in 3:31. Smyrna took the 800 relay in 1:32.0. Smyrna won four of the six field events, while Cape won the pole vault with Bailey Fletcher going 12-feet-0 for a career and season best. Cape also grabbed the shot put win.
The boys’ Henlopen Conference Championships are more spread out over five tough teams than I ever remember them being. Cape has a lot of depth and can diversify well, while Smyrna has some top eliminators who can put up the points. Sussex Central has a tough sprint crew, and never count out the jumping Lake Forest Spartans. Polytech and Dover have some great athletes as well, and as I hesitate to say it is anyone’s meet, it just could be if everyone pulls points from each other over 18 events.
Delaware Middle School Classic
The Delaware Middle School Classic will return to Cape Henlopen High School Friday, May 6, and will play host to eight middle school teams from the Henlopen Conference. Action in the field will begin at 4 p.m., with track events at 4:30 p.m. Beacon and Mariner will finish a successful season under coaches Solomon Cox, Jen Cawthern and Jim Sumstine. In case of poor weather, the meet will take place Tuesday, May 10.
Seashore Half Marathon & 5K
The 13th annual Seashore Half Marathon will take off from Irish Eyes on Anglers Road in Lewes at 8 a.m., Saturday, May 7. The course takes runners onto the Cape Henlopen State Park trail to Herring Point and beyond to Gordons Pond. The turnaround is just before they reach the parking lot at Gordons Pond. The out-and-back course will give runners 13.11 miles of beautiful Cape Henlopen scenery. The 5K course turns around on the trail at 1.55 miles.
Awards will be presented to the top overall and masters finishers in both events as well as 10-year age groups. Irish Eyes will host the post-race gathering. Packet pickup will be held from 5 to 7 p.m., Friday, May 6, at Irish Eyes. For race information, go to seashorestriders.com.
