Cape girl power: 13-hour days and 13 state titles

Thirteen-hour day - At 7 a.m., July 12, some field hockey girls met on the track for a conditioning workout with Carrie Lingo. And then it was Cape’s Champions Field Hockey Camp - open to all - from 9 a.m to 3 p.m. And then some of the girls got over to Beacon for an Eastern Shore Lacrosse practice. Then back over to Champions Stadium for open field hockey from 6 to 8 p.m. That does sound excessive, but so does 13 state titles in field hockey and lacrosse since 2009. I have no idea if the girls love it, but they do it and get to hang with their friends and dream of chasing more championships. Who said there’s nothing to do around here?  

Coach Ed Murauskas - A big old Lithuanian 20-year Marine I met 25 years ago on the Cape sidelines. He coached the line a few years for coach Brian Donahue. Ed’s head tilted to the left, I recollect. “What happened to your neck?” was the first thing I asked him. “I got jumped and stabbed from behind by some little guy when we invaded Grenada. Do you remember that action?” And I had to confess that I did. Ed decided he liked me. It’s fun being a big guy and friends with a guy who is bigger. Ed passed away June 2. There will be a memorial service for Ed Saturday, July 16, at the Long Neck Chapel of Melson Funeral Services, 32013 Long Neck Road, Millsboro. Stop by any time between 10 a.m. and noon to pay your respects.

Draw Dogg - Meg Bartley, Cape’s stellar three-sport athlete and Virginia Tech lacrosse walk-on, was hired by Franklin and Marshall College as an assistant to head coach Mike Faith. Meg spent the 2016 season as a volunteer at Virginia Tech. Meg was ACC Rookie of the Year in 2012. She is all-time leader in draws for a season with 90 and career draws with 285 and eighth in career goals with 113. The Diplomats are one of the top NCAA Division III women’s programs in the country.

Flower power - For the 2011 girls’ basketball semifinals it was Cape versus Ursuline. Cape had beaten Dover 49-33 in the quarters while Ursuline defeated Hodgson 47-37, but the Raiders had two injured players out for the Cape game. Before the game, Meg Bartley and Johnesha Warren delivered flowers to the injured girls. It was totally their idea. Cape went on to win that game 63-55 to reach the state finals for the first time in 37 years. I remember coach John Noonan was so impressed by the act of sportsmanship, but maybe Meg Dogg and J-Dogg were just softening him up.

Lacrosse Tuesday night - The fields at Rehoboth Elementary School are teeming on Tuesday night with pickup players, mostly boys with some young girls on a separate field. That front field has been the site of great summer lacrosse going back 40 years. You don’t have to travel to get a game at the beach in the summertime.

Carlton Allen - Got this email from former Cape athlete Reggie Soots: “Fredman, you may have heard that Carlton Allen, Cape grad 1979, died on July 3, 2016. As a teammate of Carlton’s through junior high and high school, this news is very saddening. Carlton was an outstanding athlete, as he earned it naturally coming from a family of great athletes. I will always remember his smooth release when he elevated for a jump shot and that he was a very good pitcher, winning three games in 1976 for our undefeated junior high baseball team. When I think of Carlton, I fondly remember his soft, deep voice and captivating smile. I am sure many others in the Cape Region have numerous memories of Carlton. I know he had an impression on my life coming from the good old Dodge City Sussex County. We all seem to stick together and in this case we all mourn together.” Carlton was a preacher, and he lived in Jacksonville, Fla. 

Snippets - Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade and LeBron James took the stage at the ESPY Awards July 13  and urged fellow athletes to be active socially. But no one went out on a limb like RBG, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, not to be confused with CP3, RG3, LBJ, because issues are one thing, but bad for your brand is something else again. Go on now, git!