Athletes of the Week Oct. 25

Layni Dukes

A senior outside hitter for the 8-7 Delmarva Christian volleyball squad, this honor roll student recently scored seven aces and tacked on six kills in the 3-0 win against Red Lion. She has 47 aces, 85 kills and 50 digs and 30 assists this season. "Layni is a core and essential player on our team," said Royals first-year head coach John Luong. "She is a solid all-around player who plays front row and back row. She is a leader on the court and leads us in prayer as well." Layni is the vice president of the National Honor Society and serves as a worship leader at DCHS. She shares her athletic talents as a point guard for the Royals basketball team and plays on the school's soccer team. A music lover, she plays piano, bass and guitar in her spare time, and also can be found riding four-wheelers and throwing axes.

Donnacha Hefferan 

This Cape senior soccer player is always at the ready as a defensive midfielder for the Vikings and is a leader on the Legends Stadium pitch. "Donnacha is an unsung hero for us, and he does all the dirty work," said Cape head coach Patrick Kilby. "He is super disciplined and works very hard with great presence as our defensive central midfielder." This Cape honor roll student has quietly scored two goals and tallied an assist for the Vikings this season, and he is loved by his teammates. "He brings a lot to our team with his defensive capabilities and building out of the back," said fellow senior Cardin Benjamin. "He is also very good with headers in the box off of corners and set pieces." In his spare time, Donnacha enjoys going to the beach and spending time with friends and family.

Andrew Radka

Andrew, a junior, ran a personal-best time of 16:32 at the Sussex Country Cross Country Championships Oct. 23, helping the Cape boys win the team championship. “There is still time to run a little faster for the conference and state meets,” Andrew said. “I have confidence coach [Matt] Lindell can get us to where we can compete for championships.” Lindell said, “Andrew is the type of runner who you can tell to go race with someone and he will do all that he can to hold on for as long as he can. That is something you cannot coach. He is now holding onto the front of the pack quite well. In track, he was a runner who came on at the end of last season to run 2:02 as a part of our 4-by-800 relay team.” Andrew is an honors student who also takes AP classes. 

Brayden Redd

Brayden placed third at the Sussex County Cross Country Championships Oct. 23, running a personal-best time of 16:42. Cape easily won the team title after capturing the top three places with Jason Baker, Andrew Radka and Redd leading the way. Coach Matt Lindell said, “Redd is one of the gutsiest and most resilient runners that I have had the honor to coach. I have him as a student in my AP U.S. History class, and the excellent work ethic that he has in XC is the same that you see out of him in the classroom.” He has the 14th-fastest 5K time in Cape history at 16:42. Radka is No. 9 at 16:32. Redd knows his sport. He understands the strength of teams that will challenge Cape for championships, and he can be counted on to hang near the front like a wolverine on a leather boot.