DOVER – Soaring 13 feet, a foot beyond his previous best vault, Dallas Parker won his third event at the end of the afternoon on Saturday to clinch the DIAA Track and Field Division II championship for A.I. du Pont, a team with only six scoring athletes.
In a meet defined by multi-event exhaustion on the Dover High track, Ethan Walther established himself as this spring’s best distance runner, sweeping the 800 (1:56.65), 1,600 (4:21.24) and 3,200 (9:39.07), then recording a powerful leg in the 4x400 to bring Delaware Military Academy to second place for the first time in Division II.
Parker’s triumphant leap was needed and gave the Tigers a 7-point margin over DMA (106-99).
Salesianum rode its sprinting dominance to the Division I title, the Sals’ 124 points a healthy gap ahead of Cape Henlopen (69), Middletown (68) and Smyrna (67).
Two Seaford sprinters from different schools dazzled the field.
Jazonte Levan of Seaford High in Division II ran the day’s fastest 100 (10.87) and 200 (21.43). Yougendy Mauricette of Sussex Tech, his friend since middle school, won the 300 hurdles (38.35) and long jump (21-0¾) in Division I in the day’s best performances.
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“Last year I was running 11s because I had no drive phase,” said Levan, who scored 17 touchdowns last fall. “But working on my acceleration, I can run 10s consistently. You should break down your races to your weaknesses. I broke that down daily.”
Elijah Williams of Smyrna outleaned Mauricette in the 110 high hurdles — both running 14.13 in a photo finish — then finished second in the 300 hurdles.
“He had a great start. I had to make it up after the first five,” said Williams “You’ve got to practice keeping your body straight. Your arms have to be perfect. You have to snap your leg over, even if you hit one; you’ve got to maintain it.
“I always knew Elijah was great. Last year he was runner-up. It’s great because we all push each other,” said Mauricette, who won four events at this meet last year. “We’ve worked on my start for years and years. My start was my problem; now we have to work on the last half.”
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Salesianum’s path to the Division I crown featured speed, with Jasyn Truitt winning the 200 (21.6), finishing second to Sussex Central’s Tim Wright, who won the 100 in 10.77, and anchoring the winning 4x100 relay with Anthony DelliCompagni, Vinny DelliCompagni and Bishop Lane.
Jake Portale and George Mackin joined the DelliCompagni brothers in the Sals’ 4x200 victory. Lane topped Sage Philips of St. Georges to win the 400 (47.69).
Matt Miller fended off a challenge from Salesianum teammate Jim Kennedy to win the 1,600 in 4:22.15 after taking third in the 3,200 on Friday behind Ryan Baker of Cape and Camerin Williams of Hodgson.
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“Jimmy reminded me I had to push myself, getting in front of me on the last lap,” said Miller.
Running alone for the second mile, Baker delivered the season’s fastest time (9:29.28) in the metric 2-mile. On Saturday, Salesianum’s Miller prevailed on a humid track after the misty morning drizzle abated.
“I saw steam coming off the last lap,” observed Baker.
A.I. derived all but three of its 106 points from five versatile runners.
Parker won the 300 intermediate hurdles, was third in the 100 highs and lifted himself to a personal best (6-6) in his high jump victory.
“I always had the form,” said Parker, a student of biometrics. “I just had to put it together.”
Donte Dockery won the triple jump (46-2) and placed in two jumps. Agostin Ramos was fifth in the pole vault. He and Jalen Wright scored in both hurdles, Wright adding long jump points. Lathan Love-Brown brought a second (800) and third (1,600).
The four collaborated on a critical third place in the 4x400 relay that lifted the Tigers into position so that Parker’s victory in the late-finishing pole vault could clinch the team title. Ja'Mari Boyd added a shot put sixth place.
Walther insisted on joining DMA’s metric mile relay as the Seahawks chased the meet title. In his sub-55 third leg, Walther overcame a 20-meter gap to bring his team into second place, but Kai Robertson’s overpowering anchor preserved Dickinson’s sole victory of the day.
“I’m beyond tired,” Walther gasped to a friend after a titanic finish in the 800, after Love-Brown and Tower Hill’s Colby Twyman each briefly led in the stretch. “You can’t give it up that easily. I knew it was time to go.”
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Saint Mark’s Connor Gebhardt pulled into second, complementing his second place in the 1,600, to keep the Spartans in the hunt. They were third at 97½. Eric Cureton provided DMA’s other muscle, winning the 400 (49.31) and scoring in three other races.
Elsewhere in Division II, Vandrick Hamlin won the long jump (22-4), finished second in the triple jump and helped Caravel win the 4x100. Tower Hill’s Vincent Grillo won the shot put (50-4½). Brandon Rife of Laurel won the discus by 15 feet (155-4). Jordan Hollis paced Odessa’s first-ever 4x200 victory. Justin Friscia and Logan Serpico led Sussex Academy in the 4x800.
Cole Brickman of Indian River’s resurgent Henlopen South champions, his wrestling-season medial cruciate ligament knee injury healed, repeated in the Division II high hurdles (14.96).
“I was the last person to the first hurdle,” said Brickman. “I banged up my knee. I hit three hurdles, but caught them.”
In Division I, Matty Klous of Salesianum continued his pole vault dominance, ascending to 14-6, then narrowly grazing the bar at 15 feet.
Amari Burke and Sage Phillips, despite seeded in the slower heat, gave St. Georges the 4x400 victory.
In addition to Wright, whose blast out of the blocks overcame Salesianum’s Truitt in the 100, Sussex Central earned another upset, when Kevon Moore-Briddell won the discus (144-6) over defending champion Courtney McDermott of Mount Pleasant, who incurred foul trouble. McDermott threw 53-3 to win the shot put.
Jahiem Cole, a ninth grader from Dover High, won the triple jump (45-9¼) by 2 feet. Kyle Davenport of Middletown joined Parker in high jumping 6-6. Cape’s Trey Leggins, Liam O'Donnell, Benjamin Cardin and Benjamin Clifton won the 4x800 relay over a strong field.
