A few snapshots of athletes I meet in my travels

LIZZIE THE LOVABLE - Grandson Davey, who is 6 with Down syndrome, saw his sister Lizzie after a Saturday lacrosse game at Hudson Fields and went into his pirate love boat attack mode jumping into Lizzie’s arms where he kept squeezing her and saying those comforting words, “Lizzie, Lizzie!”

CUTE CATTS - Ashley is a second-grade student at Rehoboth Elementary. She should learn the songs for “Annie Junior” now and tell them to throw away the wig. She is seen here, her head peeking over the fence watching the Cape girls lacrosse team beat Tower Hill for the first time in school history. Ashley, a stray Catts for a brief moment, told me her father’s name was Richard, which meant nothing to me until later when I blurted out, “Ricky don’t lose that number.”

TIARAH’S TIARA – This Cape senior pole vaulter got her game going last Friday in the Henlopen Conference Meet jumping 8 feet. I told Tiarah who is a super smart and poised person that clearing 8 feet with a “prom do” may be a Henlopen Conference record. Then she let me have it.

“I’m not going to the prom!”

And that’s why I’m the lovable idiot I prefer to be. This photo is not staged; it's just the way some people look at me.

ARISTOTLE FALLS OUT - Aristotle Johnson of Dover gave it everything he had running the 1600 meters in 4:34 then fell to the track and had to be helped back to the infield by longtime Dover trainer Mike King. Two summers ago after a road race I asked Aristotle if there was a story behind his cool name.

“No story, my mother just liked it,” he said.

SMILING SMITH - Milford sophomore Dawan Smith is a natural at full speed with no wasted body motion. Last Saturday at the Henlopen Conference Meet he won the 400 in 49.8 then came back and dusted the field in the 200 in 22.9. Smith shut down his competitive personality after crossing the finish line in the 200 and quickly flashed a winning smile telling a teammate, “I’m going to be on the front page.”

FAST FRIENDS - Leeann Seiwell is hugged by her teammate Nicole Brown after the pair came from behind to place first and second in the 800 meters giving the Riders 18 points and propelling them to the school’s 10th straight Henlopen Conference meet championship. Seiwell came back two races later to capture the 3200 in 12:26. These kids are a lot tougher than my fabricating and exaggerating athletic peer group.

HARRY ROSARIO - A Sussex Central junior, Harry won both races he entered - the 1600 and 800 and somehow the asterisk “slow heat” doesn’t diminish the effort as Rosario sells out with every ounce of effort in his body to get to the finish line first. If he runs any 5Ks in the summer I will comp his entry fee after asking Tim and Wayne to waive it. I see this runner as a potential great one.