On a cool and windy afternoon March 26, the Fred Thomas Middle School track & field teams won their first ever track meets. The boys prevailed over Selbyville 69-40, while the girls earned a 60-49 victory over Selbyville.
Fred Thomas won eight of the 13 events on the day, led by eighth-grader Jude Peacock in the 1,600-meter run in a tough time of 5:10.7. He came back to win the 400-meter dash in 59.2. Peacock also led off the 4-by-200 relay to close out the meet. The team won in a time of 1:52.8.
Eighth-grader Sam Schubert won three events for 15 points, as he captured the 200-meter dash in 26.0, the high jump in 5-feet-2-inches and the triple jump with a nice hop-step-jump of 35-3 ½. Eighth-grader Ryder Uszenski of Fred Thomas won the 800 in 2:44.7, while eighth-grader Vincent Fegley won the long jump in 15-0.
On the girls’ side, eighth-grade basketball ace Kha’Nihya Johnson won three events, taking the high jump in a nice middle school jump of 4-8, the 200 in 29.5 and the long jump in 15-5. Seventh-grader Amelia DiPaolo won the 400 in 1:16.5, while eighth-grader Lexi Bryson won the 800 in 3:00.5. Seventh-grader Isabella Emory won the shot put in 21-1, while eighth-grader Samantha Matthews won the discus in 41-3. Fred Thomas won the 800 relay in 2:10.9.
High school track
The Cape track & field teams will head west to the Cambridge Classic Invitational at Cambridge-South Dorchester High School in Cambridge, Md., Friday, March 28, beginning at 3:30 p.m.
The Sussex Central Golden Knights and the Sussex Academy Seahawks will take part in the Diamond State Invitational at A.I. DuPont in Wilmington Saturday, March 29, beginning at 9 a.m.
Both meets are popular events with large fields of more than 20 teams. They will give coaches a look at who is in early season shape heading into April.
The high school season is one of the shortest seasons in all sports, and when you digest it, you can see the actual racing season is really only like six weeks long.
UD steeplechase
Cape graduate Katie Kuhlman, a sophomore at the University of Delaware, has been training for the 3,000-meter steeplechase, and last weekend, she took part in her first competition. Katie traveled with her team to Richmond, Va., for its first outdoor meet of the season, the Fred Hardy Invitational, hosted by the University of Richmond. Katie ran 11:44 to finish in eighth place overall. High school teammate Alexa Dougherty was the top finisher in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:06.25. The Blue Hens will travel to North Carolina for the popular Raleigh Relays this weekend.
Ryan and Dave Show
An interesting 5,000-meter race happened last weekend as Dave Carillo of Bucknell and Ryan Baker of Lehigh went head-to-head at the Keystone Challenge at Shippensburg University. Conditions were not conducive for a personal best, as it was very windy with rain at the end of the race. The 5,000 comprised mostly runners from Bucknell and Lehigh, with Dave racing into the lead at the start. As the race wore on, only Lehigh’s Baker remained close. Baker, who excelled at Cape as a distance runner, surged ahead with two laps to go for the win in 15:13. His closing lap was 1:08. Dave finished strong in second in 15:18. Dave and Ryan ran negative splits from the mile on, which made it a race. This past indoor season, Dave ran an impressive 8:40 3K. My goal is to get both standout distance runners in a summer series 5K this summer. Erik Farinas, a longtime runner with the Seashore Striders, is the connection to his nephew Dave.
Sweet T
Time sure does fly by. One of the best Cape track & field athletes that came through jumping and sprinting with a Cape uniform is now a junior at Delaware State University. Tia Jarvis is running for Miss Senior and has begun a campaign for the title. “My goal isn’t just about the title or the crown; it’s about leaving a real impact,” said Tia. “I want to create opportunities for my class to prepare for life after college, host events that empower students, and set up initiatives like mentorship for young girls. This is my chance to pour into my campus community before I graduate, and I want to make it count.”
Tia won the Henlopen Conference in the 300-meter hurdles her senior year and made it to the final of the Delaware Meet of Champions. Possibly one of her best all-time meets was actually the Indoor Henlopen Conference Championships at UMES when she anchored the winning 4-by-800 relay, led off the winning 4-by-200 relay and closed the meet by anchoring the 4-by-400 relay. Good luck, Sweet T. We know you will make a difference.
