Cape needs to celebrate 40th-year anniversaries of 75-76 state title teams
Shadows of success - John Bishop, a member of Cape’s 1975 and 1976 state championship basketball teams, stood in the shadows at Cape’s Big House Dec. 8, watching the Vikings defeat Polytech 60-48. The 1974-75 starting team was Bishop with Purnell Ayers, Jimmy Allen, Ronson Burton and Carlton “Snoop” Allen. The 1975-76 title team starting five was Ayers, Bishop, Johnny Allen, Jeffrey Hood and Emory Sumlin. Fans still talk about Bishop dropping 40 on Newark in a tournament game in 1976 played at Laurel before the three-point shot and no dunking allowed in the game.
Stealth infiltration - Late in the boys' game versus Polytech, which had a rocking student section with cheerleaders flying through the air and DJ John Miller energizing the crowd, no one noticed the Cape girls' swimmers back from a meet at St. Andrew's after capturing their 40th dual meet win in a row, 101-68 over the Saints. In the season in between field hockey and girls' lacrosse - 12 state titles since 2009 - the swimming girls have quietly knocked down 40 wins in a row using the same formula: stud athletes, great depth and a bunch of honor roll girls. Good stuff! Girl power rocking the Cape. Individual winners for Cape were Amelia Nigh-Johnson, 100 butterfly, 1:02:75, and 100 backstroke, 1:05:24; Sarah Hyde, 200 individual medley, 2:12.12 and 100 breaststroke, 1:12.39; and Molly Weeks, 100 freestyle, 57.54, and 50 freestyle, 26:19. Cape also won the 200 medley relay in 1:59 with a team of Madelyn McGreevy, Hyde, Nigh-Johnson, Weeks and the 200 free relay in 1:45.5 with Hyde, Nigh-Johnson, Sarah Rambo and Grace Brokaw.
Below the mean water line - I was never as skinny as when I ran marathons in 1977 and 1978, so forget “skinny back then” or the fact that “I used to be cute” because it doesn’t help me 37 years later. I have a personal theory that all of us underappreciate our own talents and gifts in real time and that we are moving targets and change is constant. Grandma Rose: “Don’t ever be disappointed in who you are now because it’s only going to get worse.” Ray Quillen sent me a starting line photo from before the 1978 Lewes Marathon. In it are coach Fred (Fredman yet to be invented), Chico Barranco, Ray Quillen and Steve Flores. Our Fred family came to Lewes in the summer of ‘75; we knew nobody, and by ‘78 my track and cross country teams had won three state titles, I ran two marathons and we doubled our children from two to four. And it just continued to get better with more family and friends added to the circle. So now I’m a basking shark floating in gulf stream waters.
Sports power grid not comparable - Years ago on a Friday morning in my classroom, a triple jumper opened the paper and discovered he won the state title the night before. A lacrosse player said to him, "But you guys are Division II. What is that all about? Can you explain that to me?” I said to the lacrosse guy, “He’ll explain right after you explain how there are only four boys' lacrosse teams in the entire state that can throw and catch.” My point was if a title is up for grabs and you capture it, then it’s nothing but good. Sports aren’t comparable, and boys to girls comparisons should never be made. Hardball and boys' soccer are tough places to make a living, yet Cape made it to the finals in baseball and lost in semis in soccer. The Cape lacrosse girls won the state title and so did the field hockey girls. Is there anything to compare? Not really, all these teams were tough, just let it go at that.
Snippets - The Cape boys' swim team lost at St. Andrew’s 105-65. Coach Bill Geppert said, "We should do all right in the Henlopen Conference. St. Andrew's has a very strong boys' team." Jack Weeks won the 100 butterfly (never say The Butter) in 55.27 and 100 backstroke (you can say back, just be careful), while Ambrose Hochrein won the 50 freestyle (you can say free). Cape girls' basketball is at home Friday night against Caesar Rodney. This is an early season "what’s up” game to determine what time it is. The Riders coached by Bill Victory were 15-5 last season and defeated Cape twice.
NFC East predictions for the weekend, Washington loses at Chicago, Philly beats Buffalo, Dallas loses at Green Bay and Giants win at Miami. You can get posted middle school sports results through capevikingssports.com, the next step is to have coaches post some data, like a box score and wrestling results. It's not for me, it’s for the kids.
Go on now, git!
