Adria Windish and Sam Mincey show Cape’s Got Talent

Bringing the Big House down - Cape’s Adria Windish brought the wrestling crowd to its collective feet before the state championship matches March 4, as she sang the national anthem. And the deeper into the song she went, the more resounding her rendition. When she put the song to rest, the standing crowd gave an ovation as if Adria had just won a state championship. Cape’s director of all things musical, Chris Burkhart, said of Adria, “She is Matilda in the school's production of ‘Matilda’ next weekend. Sings in the Cape choirs and is a member of the Cape dance team. She just won a big dance competition upstate, but I'm not sure about what the competition was called. She's a hyper-focused dancer on top of everything else she does.” 

I Wanna Dance With Somebody - Sam Mincey, who sings with the Cape Jazz Band and on occasion with the Cape marching band, sang the national anthem to start the wrestling day March 4, a sort of Saturday morning special treat. Sam is a Cape kid from way back; his extended family is part of the Cape fabric. I posted his photo on Facebook simply asking, “Who is this guy?” I heard back from Lorenzo Hopkins, whom I’ve known since he was a Lewes Junior High wrestler 40 years ago. “Samuel Mincey, the son of Lavessa Justice, Cape class of ’88. Nephew of Kamela Justice, also a Cape graduate. Another Hopkins little cousin. His grandmother is our aunt, one of 15 born to our grandmother Cordelia Hopkins.” Chris Burkhart provided a quick sketch on Sam: “All-state choir, sings in Cape Chorale and is the singer with the Cape Jazz Band – he was recognized on stage at the Temple Performing Arts Center for his performance with the band at the Temple Jazz Festival. He plays trombone in the jazz band and flute in the marching band and Cape wind ensemble. Sam performs in plays and musicals.”

Trey Mitchell - Trey completed his first season as the head coach of Caesar Rodney wrestling and had the Riders in the conversation among the best teams in Division I, which also included Cape, Sussex Central and Salesianum. The Riders upset Salesianum by a point in the regular season and lost to Cape in the state dual semifinals 34-32. Cape needed pins by Luke Bender (157)  and C.J. Fritchman (175) in two of the last three bouts to rescue the match. “They are better with Trey at the top,” said my son Dave, who has been riveted on wrestling his entire life. “They are just tougher.” Trey was the first to congratulate C.J. Fricthman and first in the handshake line after the Cape match, and that is the type of toughness and leadership not everyone possesses.

Jimmy Boeheim - I watch other old guys carefully, from coaches to sportswriters to photographers, seeing if they are even capable of stepping off and stepping away gracefully. I prefer to “steal away into the night” (song by Robbie Dupree released in 1980), but seems like yesterday. Jim Boeheim, 78, Syracuse men’s basketball coach, was awkward in not announcing his retirement in a forthright manner, and it most likely has something to do with a year remaining on his contract. After covering the conference, then state wrestling tournaments two straight days over two straight weekends, I was creaking like a robot in a Flash Gordon movie.   

Snippets - The semifinal scores of the DIAA girls’ basketball tournament were Ursuline over Woodbridge 62-47 and Sanford over Caravel 63-20. Caravel played Sanford tough in the final game of the regular season, losing 53-48. Sanford has six seniors, but two of them are managers. Sanford lost to Caravel in last year's finals 53-47. Sanford eliminated Cape last season 53-27. Virginia Tech women’s lacrosse beat Elon 17-11 behind five goals from Ella Rishko (Cape). Molly Mendes (Cape) has six goals and eight assists for unbeaten Division II program Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla. Regan Torbert (Dover) played 40 minutes in goal for the Stevenson women’s lacrosse team and recorded eight saves, but the Mustangs lost to Mary Washington 11-6. Regan, a sophomore, has battled through injuries to get back on the field. The Lucky Leprechaun 5K is set for 11 a.m., Sunday, March 12, in Milton. If you run slow enough, you can fade into your own parade like Mister Tambourine Man. The parade starts at 2 p.m. Go on now, git!