Champions crowned at DIAA Indoor Track Championships

The Cape Henlopen boys’ indoor track team, one of the favorites heading into last weekend’s DIAA Championships, finished second in the state on the new 200-meter oval at the Ott Center in Philadelphia. Middletown High was sprint loaded and too much for the Vikings, as the Cavaliers tallied 48 points in just the 55- and 200-meter races and 18 points in the two sprint relays. Middletown scored in eight of the 13 events, while the Vikings spread out a little better, scoring in 10 of the 13 events. However, when a handful of the top sprinters are wearing the same uniform, it puts them in the driver’s seat.

The Vikings were able to crown two state champions in junior pole vaulter Will DiPaolo and senior high jumper Stephen Hart. DiPaolo cleared 12-feet-6-inches to win his first title. Hart, whose dad David was a 7-foot high jumper at Purdue, cleared 6-4 on his second attempt for a new personal best. Hart also jumped 21 feet in the long jump for sixth place.

Trey Johnson came out of the 55-meter trials with the fastest qualifying time of 6.47, putting him in the center of the straightaway, but he was only able to manage 6.52 in the final for sixth place. Jason Baker ran a season-best and personal-best time of 9:32.57 in the 3,200, while Elijah Shockley-Taylor ran 8.10 in the 55-meter hurdle trials and 8.13 in the finals for fifth place. Cape ran well in the 3,200 and 800 relays, as they turned in a time of 8:19.49 for third and a 1:30.69 for fourth. A good time of 3:33.71 in a hot 1,600 landed them in 11th place. Cardin Benjamin finished sixth in 2:00.82 in the 800, while Bodie Frederick finished sixth in the shot put in 46-8.

The Cape girls ran season-best times in all three relays, as the 3,200 relay finished sixth in 10:26.29, the 1,600 relay finished 11th in 4:29.69 and the 800 relay was 25th in 1:58.29. Anejah Grace ran 9.15 in the 55-meter hurdles for eighth place, while Keira Fletcher was fifth in the pole vault in 7-3. Mallory Kauffman was fifth in the shot put in 34-4.

Kai Thorton of Sussex Central had a huge day in the 55-meter hurdles, as the talented junior ran 8.14 in the trials for the fourth-best time heading into the finals. A great start and a clean set of hurdles put Thorton second overall in a personal-best time of 7.95. Victor Perez threw the shot 47-6 to finish in fourth place. Summer Harmon led the Golden Knights girls with a sixth-place finish in the long jump in 16-4, while Zaigeya Sheppard-Tunnell finished seventh in the shot in 31-0.

The only downstate girl to win a state title was junior Katya Geyer of Sussex Academy with a clearance of 5-4 in the high jump. Geyer also jumped 32-11 to finish sixth in the triple jump. Freshman Abigail Crowley had a good meet with impressive performances, as she ran 5:21.56 to finish ninth in the 1,600 and 11:24.31 to finish sixth in the 3,200. The Seahawks also ran well in the relays, as they turned in times of 1:56.56 in the 800 relay, 4:37.14 in the 1,600 relay and 10:53.64 in the 3,200 relay, all season-best performances.  

The Seahawks boys were led by their 3,200 relay that finished fifth in 8:23.87, while the 1,600 relay turned in a season-best time of 3:41.39. They also had a nice 800-meter run from Duncan Winger in 2:02.23, and Ryan Moody ran 4:44.84 to finish 11th in the 1,600 meters.

Fort Lauderdale Marathon 

Locals Marybeth and Bobby Hutton recently took part in the Fort Lauderdale Marathon, with about 3,000 in the field in Florida. Bobby was second in the 60-64 age group in 3:38:05, while MB was eighth in the 55-59 age group in 5:54:46. The race temperature was 86 degrees. When I jokingly questioned MB about being on the course about an hour longer than normal, she said she might be done with the marathon distance. I informed her I was going to make her run our local Seashore Marathon in the 20th year, and her reply was that she might not make the cutoff. I let her know that she would be OK because I knew the race director.

College track

Alexa Dougherty of the University of Delaware is with the Blue Hens at the Virginia Beach Oval for the CAA Championships this weekend. Dougherty, a Cape graduate, is an alternate in the 1,600 relay and the 3,200 relay. Cape graduate Katie Kuhlman is not traveling and staying home to train for the outdoor steeple chase. South Carolina Track & Field Director of Operations, Ben Bamforth, will be in Texas for the SEC Championships, one of the fastest track conferences in the country. USC will be competing on the new 200-meter banked facility in College Station. The National Indoor Division I Championship will be held in Virginia Beach, Va., in Mid-March.