There's a period between senior prom and graduation where student-athletes are focused on two things — finals and titles.
I’m Greg Giesen, Sports Strategist for Delaware Online, and this is the De Game Day newsletter.
This week we are beginning the countdown toward the end of the high school sports season – though if you asked the DelawareOnline.com sports staff, it feels like the season is never-ending. Still, DelawareOnline.com high school sports reporter Brad Myers is getting you prepared for the postseason while high school sports reporter Brandon Holveck is recapping the Henlopen Conference. DelawareOnline.com college sports writer Kevin Tresolini is taking a look at one of the best NCAA Division II baseball teams in the country ... and they're in Delaware. 🤫
The end is near for high school sports
Welcome to the start of the three-week scramble for state championships in the busiest time of the year in Delaware high school sports.
The DIAA Boys Volleyball and Girls Lacrosse tournaments started on Tuesday. The DIAA Track and Field championships will be held Friday and Saturday at Dover High School.
All of the other DIAA championships — baseball, softball, boys and girls lacrosse, tennis and golf — will be playing out over the following two weeks.
The schedules for all of these tournaments can change from day to day, as DIAA officials work around potential weather delays and proms, graduations and other ceremonies that mark the end of the year for participating schools.
Delaware Online plans to keep you in the know daily with updated scores and schedules for each tournament, posted each morning at 5 a.m.
🏆 RANKINGS: Lot of changes in Delaware spring high school sports rankings as the postseason nears
We’ll also be at many of the tournament games — especially all of the championships — with reporters and photographers. So pack your lawn chairs and bug spray and say hi to us as we’re out reporting on the state’s top athletes and teams.
Caesar Rodney wins Henlopen Conference title
The Henlopen Conference track and field championships concluded Monday night at Lake Forest after meet officials postponed the second day of competition Friday.
Behind a strong sprint crew, Smyrna won its second straight girls team title. On the boys side, Caesar Rodney overcame Cape Henlopen by a final tally of 129.5-125.
Smyrna received wins from Aaliyah Turpin (100 hurdles and 100 dash), Krista Byrd (400) and Mi'Leah Cotton (800) and had the winning 4x100 and 4x400 relays. Turpin won the 100 last year as a freshman.
Caesar Rodney won the 4x800 and 4x400 and received individual victories from Gabe Harris (300 hurdles) and Ian Cain (1,600).
Seaford's Jazonte Levan had the fastest time in Thursday's 100 preliminaries, 10.55, a 100th of a second shy of the state record set by Glasgow's Leshon Collins in 2012. Levan on Monday repeated as Henlopen champ in the 100 and 200. He set the 200 state record of 21.01 last year.
Brynn Crandell of Indian River also repeated as a double champion, winning the 3,200 and 1,600. A distance swimmer in the winter, Crandell has run the fastest cross country 5k in Delaware each of the last three years. She's 10th in state history in the 3,200 having run 10:38.04 at last year's Meet of Champions.
Cape Henlopen's Bailey Fletcher cleared a personal best of 15-1 in the pole vault. Fletcher moved to sixth on the state all-time list. Dover sophomore Jaheim Cole won the long jump for the second straight year. He is ninth all-time with a jump of 23-5.
Milford's David Fuhrman threw a state-best 50-1.5 to win the shot put. Smyrna's Elijah Williams maintained his form in the short hurdles, winning in 14.22. He placed second to Harris in the 300 hurdles, finished fourth in the long jump and won the high jump, clearing 6-2. Lake Forest's Kirja Hickman won the shot put (37-10) and discus (128-4).
🥇 New Castle County track and field championships: Walther sets boys 1,600 state record as Padua and Saint Mark's claim county titles
– Brandon Holveck
Goldey-Beacom set for the NCAA Tournament
In just its eighth season since bringing back baseball, Goldey-Beacom continues to be among the best programs in NCAA Division II.
The Lightning has been selected for its second straight and third NCAA Tournament berth in that span. Goldey-Beacom (33-19) is the sixth seed in the East Region and will take part in a 4-team double-elimination set at Molloy University on Long Island. The winner advances to a best-of-3 East super regional where World Series berths are earned.
Coach Tom Riley’s squad begins play Thursday at 2 p.m. vs. No. 3 Post (28-19), with No. 2 Molloy (39-12) and No. 7 New Haven (29-23) rounding out the field. The Lightning swept a double-header from CACC rival Post in April but hasn’t played Molloy or New Haven.
Leading the way for Goldey-Beacom has been junior shortstop Braden Kolmansberger, the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Player of the Year. Kolmansberger’s season has featured a school-record 28-game hitting streak, including a game against Holy Family in which he swatted three home runs to tie that school mark. He is batting .353 with a team-best 11 homers and 55 RBI, one off the single-season school record.
Goldey’s .298 team batting average has had many contributors, including first-team All-CACC picks Darin Miller (.345), a third baseman, and DH Garrett Musey (.361), plus outfielder Anthony Charles (.356) and first baseman Kyle Walker (.319), a Conrad graduate.
A senior from Mount Pleasant, Justin Jump has again keyed the Goldey-Beacom pitching staff. He is 6-3 with a 4.29 ERA in 13 starts and is already GBC’s career strikeout leader with 192. Nate Miller (5-4, 3.52) has also been a reliable starter while Gage Bendix, Karl Schmidt and Mike Hawbaker head a proven relief corps.
Goldey-Beacom will need contributions from all of them and many others to extend its postseason and further enhance its national reputation.
– Kevin Tresolini
🤪 Just for fun: Odessa Orange? Concord Grapes? Let's give Delaware high schools some new nicknames
🦅 Fly Eagles Fly: Here's how to sign up for our Eye on the Eagles newsletter
👟 Get moving: Delaware pickleball: Where to find pickleball courts with new courts coming soon
💃 Delaware Prom 2024: Welcome to prom season 2024 in Delaware
You can get more sports coverage at Delaware Online or DEGameday on Instagram. You can also follow Brandon, Brad or Kevin on X, formerly known as Twitter. Finally, if you have any questions or suggestions for this newsletter, you can contact me at fgiesen@delawareonline.com.
And here are the Delaware sports stories we don't want you to miss.
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