Dover, CR race to track titles

Dover's Maurice Miles leaves the field behind in winning the 800-meter event in 1:58.03 Saturday at the Henlopen Conference Track and Field Championships. The Senators collected seven individual titles at the meet. Staff photo/Jason Minto

By Mike Lewis, Staff writer

FELTON - Jessica Schultz reached her goals at the Henlopen Conference track and field championships on Saturday at Lake Forest High School.

So did her former team.

Schultz, who transferred from Caesar Rodney to Dover prior to her senior year, swept the 100-, 200- and 400-meter titles, but the Senators fell short of catching the Riders for the girls team title.

CR outpointed Dover 148-113 to capture its fourth consecutive conference crown. Cape Henlopen finished third with 84 points.

"There were a lot of solid performances," Riders coach Brian Berns said. "The girls knew they had to help each other to pull this out. They came through and I'm proud of them."

After winning the 3,200-meter relay on Friday, the Riders captured two individual titles on the meet's second day, with Liz Paul (12:38.8) winning the 3,200 and Micki Younger capturing the shot put with a career-best toss of 39 feet, 4 inches.

The bulk of CR's points came from the team's depth, as it placed at least two athletes in the top six in six of the day's 14 events.

"Our motto has been 'All for All,' and I think they really bought into that," Berns said. "Wherever they were, they worked hard for each other. They knew if they all could contribute, it would make us strong."

For Schultz, who was the defending 400-meter conference champ, the object of the day was not only to defend but to capture the other two individual sprint events.

"I'm pretty proud of myself," Schultz said. "I was hoping to win all of them. I don't really have a strategy. I just don't want anyone getting ahead of me."

Also capturing three individual titles was Cape junior Katharine DeVilbiss, who added the 100 and 300 hurdles crowns to the pole vault title she earned Friday.

DeVilbiss, a junior, was the defending champion in all three events.

"I've been all over the place this year," DeVilbiss said. "I've been doing a lot of sprint work but I'm more consistent in the hurdles."

Rebecca Singh of Sussex Tech also gave an impressive performance by breaking out into a large lead early in both the 800- and 1,600-meter races and winning both by more than five seconds.

"That's the way I run," Singh said. "I can't go out slow. It's just the way I am."

In the boys' event, Dover displayed a balanced effort in sprinting, distance and field events to capture their first conference crown since 2000.

The Senators completed the meet with 146 points. Sussex Tech collected 100 points for second.

Overall, Dover earned seven individual titles, one in sprints, one on the field, two in the hurdles and three in distance events.

"Everybody stepped up," Senators coach Jim Solomon said. "I can't single out one individual. It was a total team effort."

In both the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs, Dover junior Charles Gibson shadowed Milford's Chad Carpenter in the early laps then overtook him late to claim the titles.

"We've been competing against each other throughout my career," Gibson said. "It's a friendly rivalry. This is the first time for me beating him all year."

Odun Balogun captured titles for the Senators in both the 110 hurdles and 200-meters, and ran runner-up to freshman teammate Gary Sumpter in the 300 hurdles.

Maurice Miles (800-meters) and Clay Trader (triple jump) also won individual events for Dover.

"Through the years, it had always been our sprints that have carried us but now we're pretty balanced in all areas," Gibson said.

"It was a good day," added Solomon. "We'll savor the moment but we also have to get ready for next week and the state tournament."

Kevin Maull (100 meters) and Marcus Morris (400 meters) won individual titles for Sussex Tech.

Solomon was named the conference Coach of the Year for boys' track. Berns and Woodbridge coach Charles Gibson shared the honor for girls' track.

Mike Lewis can be reached at 741-8231 or mlewis@newszap.com.