05/28/2002

• SCHOOL: Dover
• RESIDENCE: Dover
• CLASS: Senior
• AGE: 18

• ACCOMPLISHMENT: Won four gold medals twice last week, at last Monday's Delaware Division I High School Boys Track and Field Championship Meet at Lake Forest, and at last Wednesday's Meet of Champions at the University of Delaware. His victories came in three individual events - the 100-, 200- and 400-meter runs - and Lilly twice ran anchor on winning 4x400 relay teams.

• THE BEST OF TIMES: Lilly was tops in the state in the three sprint events this year. His performances last week were, state meet listed first, were: 100 (10.88 seconds, 10.89), 200 (21.54, 21.65) and 400 (48.65, 47.66). Proper conditioning prepared Lilly.

"It takes thorough training to be able to go [run in multiple events] like that, and when it gets down to the meet, you also have adrenaline, which carries you through the race. I am pretty much used to it by now, but that was rough [the Meet of Champions being just two days after the state meet]. I was a little upset they didn't give us more rest, but I was really pleased with the [Meet of Champions], with the performances of my teammates and all of the athletes that were there."

Lilly thought Dover's win in the 4x400 in the Meet of Champions was the best way to end his career. "The 4x400, everyone says that's the man's race, and we came out and won. I will cherish that one the most."

• THE LILLY FILE: In state-meet qualifying for the 200 (May 17), Lilly ran a 21.48 ... Graduates on Wednesday ... Turned 18 on Saturday ... Honor roll student ... 6-foot-2, 207 pounds ... Also won four gold medals at this year's indoor track state meet (200, 400 and two relays) ... Counting indoor and outdoor track seasons, Lilly has been named the state's top boys athlete five times ... Also a two-time All-State wide receiver and earned full football scholarship to Boston College ... Will play for the Gold in the Blue-Gold senior all-star football game at Delaware Stadium on June 29.

Next week's selection will be based only on varsity high school performances from May 28 to June 1.

By BUDDY HURLOCK
Staff reporter
05/19/2002

FELTON -- Picture a shot putter. Now picture a sprinter.

The two pictures should not match.

But this season, two Delaware high school athletes are each doing the unusual track and field combination - William Penn senior Carlton Rose and Brandywine sophomore Aysha Gregory.

At the Delaware High School Track and Field Championships at Lake Forest High on Friday, Rose won the Division I boys shot put state title with a put of 57 feet, 6 1/4 inches.

Rose also qualified for the 100-meter dash finals. It will be held at Lake Forest on Monday. Saturday's events were postponed due to rain.

"It's hard to do both. Not many throwers are capable of coming out and doing well on the track. And not many runners are good enough to go and throw," said Rose, 5-foot-11, 185 pounds.

There are certain hassles to competing in shot put and sprints, such as the way events are scheduled at meets.

Field events often start all at once, and sprints are among the first on the track. On Friday, Rose was allowed to make his final put out of turn so he could prepare for the 100 qualifying.

Gregory said that in a meet this year in Maryland, she had to traverse hilly ground to get from the shot put location and the track.

"I ended up not making it into a final for running because I was so tired from running up and down that hill," said Gregory, whom Brandywine plans to use to anchor its 400- and 800-meter relay teams at the state meet.

Staying focused is the key to pulling off the odd coupling.

"You have to make sure your mindset is switched. Any thoughts from shot put can mess up my running, and if I'm doing shot put, it's 100 percent shot. I can't have my mind flip-flopping," Rose said.

Rose was a shot putter first; Gregory ran first.

Rose took up sprinting this year after he showed speed at some scrimmages. Gregory started shot put to emulate her older brother.

Each came to find techniques from one craft aids the other.

"Speed and power. They're the same things used in both. The speed and power I use to get my start in the 100 is the same thing I use to get myself going in [the shot put]," Gregory said.

"His quickness on the track has helped him be quicker in the [shot put] circle," William Penn coach Jim Hopkins said of Rose.

Rose and Gregory are also two of the state's better discus throwers. In Friday's Division I girls discus final, Gregory placed second behind William Penn senior Lateefah Vaughn. Vaughn won at 137-8. Gregory threw 127-7.

Rose, who won the shot put and discus in last weekend's New Castle County championship meet, will also compete in the discus and run the Colonials' second leg in the 800 relay on Monday.

"I'm a thrower. But I'm also a good runner. That's what thrills me the most," Rose said.

Seniors give Cape chance at track title

By BUDDY HURLOCK
Staff reporter
04/30/2002

A diverse senior class has made the Cape Henlopen boys track and field team a favorite to win the Division II state title.

Matt Jackson, Nick Adams, Andrew Freeman and Matt Riggin are crossovers from cross country. Each finished in the top 13 when Cape won the Division II state title last fall.

Two years ago, Cape followed a cross country title with a track championship in the spring.

Now the Vikings (7-0) are gearing up for another double championship run.

"I'm very senior-heavy this year, and what they've been doing right now has been unbelievable," said coach Pat Pollock, whose team features 17 12th-graders, some with talent in sprints and field events, too.

Shawn Hopkins has set a school record with a 14.2 in the 110-meter hurdles. Dewayne Holloman is among the state's best in the 400.

In long jump, the latest honor roll (see www.n5cta.com) has Cape seniors at Nos. 3, 4 and 5: Mike Blankenship (21-4), Larry Miller (21-3 1/2 ) and Antonio Alford (21-1 3/4 ).

The team's senior class has had to overcome tragedy. Four years ago, freshman cross country runner Danielle Guerin died in a car accident. Blankenship was in the same car.

"The whole group, with how they've matured over the four years and been through so much together, for that reason, I am really going to miss this group," said Pollock, who also is leaving Cape Henlopen after this school year. He recently married and is moving to Middletown.

By JENNIFER JANVIER
04/02/2002

School: A.I. du Pont Class: Junior  Age: 16  Residence: Wilmington

Accomplishment: Set a record in the girls pole vault at the Christiana Relays on Saturday. Rusk cleared 9 feet, 8 inches on her second attempt, topping the mark of 9-7 3/4 set by Seaford's Reagan Hastings at last year's Delaware High School Meet of Champions.

Not a bad debut: Rusk had little experience in pole vaulting, having just picked up the sport about a month ago. The Christiana Relays meet was her first major meet. "I've never been at a big meet like this," Rusk said. "The only other meet I was in was a dual meet against Delcastle [earlier in the week]. There were no other Delcastle pole vaulters, so my teammates and I were just kind of messing around."

No coach's surprise: Last year, Tigers coach Steve Lantz had already heard of Rusk. Relatives and friends had told her that she would be a natural because of her diving and gymnastic ability, and Lantz finally saw her on the track team this year. "She has body control, gymnastic ability and upper body strength," Lantz said. "[Her diving and gymnastics] were the perfect lead-in to be a pole vaulter." Her state record was not much of a surprise to Lantz, either. In the meet against Delcastle, Rusk cleared 9-6.

Aiming higher: Rusk hopes to qualify for the Penn Relays and needs to clear 10 feet to do that. Her last chance comes this Saturday at the Diamond State Relays at A.I. "I've seen her go over 10 feet so many countless times in practice," Lantz said.

The Rusk file: Won her second straight state diving title this past February at the DSSAA Swimming and Diving Championships....spent the spring of her freshman and sophomore years playing lacrosse for the Tigers....Was a competitive gymnast for 10 years.

04/16/2002

Meredith Lambert last ran track for Tatnall as an eighth-grader. She set three school records, since broken, and was a state meet qualifier.

Lambert has had great cross country success for Tatnall. She was named the state's top girls runner her junior and senior seasons. She was a state champ her junior year and holds course records at three of the state's five main courses.

After spending her last three springs playing soccer for the Hornets, Lambert has returned to track to prepare for her collegiate running career.

Lambert has enjoyed a fast start, running to the state's best times this season in the 800-, 1,600- and 3,200-meter races.

At the Beltway Classic in Maryland on April 6, Lambert ran the 3,200 in 11:10.24, not far off the state record of 11:09.1 set by St. Mark's Monica Witterholt in 1985.

Lambert's other state-best times are 2:24.8 (800) and 5:14.4 (1,600).

"These were the times I wanted to be running. I didn't realize how soon I would get there," Lambert said. "I've been excited to get out on the track. To see the results, to get good times and win races, and also just for the love of running."

Lambert is entered in the 3,000 for the Penn Relays (April 25-27).

"During basketball season she'd go on 30- to 45-minute distance runs before basketball practice, three to four times a week," said Pat Castagno, the former Salesianum and University of Delaware runner in his second season as Tatnall's coach.

Also ...

• William Penn junior Akeem Pierce won the 100 in 10.5 seconds at Saturday's Colonial Invitational. That's one-tenth of a second shy of the state record shared by Dickinson's Vando Davis and Hodgson's Dayne Ross.