Henlopen Conference track: Depth leads to titlel; Dover boys, CR girls grab crowns
By Chris Gasiewski, Delaware State News

From left, Dover High’s Matt Costa, Jeremy Hicks, Gary Sumpter, Bo Thompson, Lavesta Bryant and Alessio Monsanto celebrate the Senators’ victory in the boys meet at the Henlopen Conference Championships Saturday at Lake Forest High.Delaware State News/Daniel Korup

FELTON — Depth is a feature that every coach hopes for, but rarely has.

When a roster is deep, it propels a team to the top of any sport.

Take this year’s Dover High boys’ track and field team for instance. The Senators welcomed several members from the football and basketball teams for the spring season, who hadn’t participated in the sport.

Not only did Dover run to a 11-0 record and Henlopen Conference regular season title, the Senators were consistent in every facet of the sport.

It was all capped Saturday, when Dover completed its dominance of the conference. With three individual winners and two relay teams taking gold, the Senators motored to the Henlopen title at Lake Forest High.

The Senators compiled 149 points to win. Cape Henlopen was second with 78, Caesar Rodney third with 77 and 2005 champ Milford was fourth, accumulating 74.

In the girls’ competition, CR earned another place in Henlopen history, gaining its seventh consecutive championship.

The Riders had 150 points, with Milford in second with 91. Dover was third (71) and Cape fourth (69).

“(The additions) just gave us depth,” said Dover coach Jim Solomon, who garnered boys’ coach of the year honors. “We haven’t had that (since), well, we never had that, where you can run the 4x100 a totally different team than the 4x200.”

Dover’s DaVon Heath won the high jump (6-foot), East Carolina-bound Gary Sumpter took the 110-hurdles and Mike Roach placed first in the triple jump (43-21/2).

The Senators also won the 800-relay (1:31.4) and the 1,600-relay (3:27.42).

“It was just a matter that we had more numbers,” Solomon said.

Most of the key additions came when Carlton Brown, Dover’s football coach, lured athletes like Roach and Roger Lilly to continue competing to stay in shape.

The result was a supporting cast for Sumpter, a standout sprinter, and jumper Jeremy Hicks.

And the Senators needed it, especially having Sumpter sidelined most of the season to a knee injury. He was healthy enough to return for this weekend’s meet.

He seemed to have no lingering pain in helping Dover to its third conference title in the past four years.

“They have the talent to do more than one sport,” Sumpter said of the depth. “It shot us to the moon.”

While Dover was deep, CR’s girls’ team was steady.

The Riders gained the extra points from second and third place finishes all season, leading to their eighth straight conference regular season championship.

“We got a couple of firsts too,” CR coach Brian Berns said. “They understand the value of every point.”

Saturday, CR crowned Ashley Cox in the 100-hurdles (16.86), Nichole Little in the 400 (58.84) and Bonnie Hanna in the high jump (5-2).

CR also had two second-place finishes, a third place and won two relays.

“This is a special group,” CR coach Brian Berns said. “I have a dozen seniors, who have gone through all four years. You don’t have that anymore.”

Cape junior Brycen Davis was the meet’s top boys’ performer winning the 100 (11.56), 200 (22.87) and anchoring the winning 400-relay team (44.15).

It was his first conference titles.

“It felt good,” he said. “I’m going to put (the medals) around my mom.”

Milford’s Sheena Johns defended her title in the 100 (12.74) and won the 200 (25.8).

Meet notes

Milford coach Czar Bloom was named the girls’ coach of the year … State meet online registration is due tonight at 7. … The Meet of Champions event will be held May 23 at Caesar Rodney High.