If last weekend is any indication, some state records will be in jeopardy when the DIAA Indoor Track and Field Championship is contested Saturday.
The event will be held at the Prince Georges Sports and Learning Complex in Landover, Md., for the fourth straight year, as Delaware has no suitable indoor track venue. The action gets underway at noon and is expected to end around 5 p.m.
Two state records were set in boys relays at the Ocean Breeze Invitational last Saturday on Staten Island, N.Y. The Howard quartet of senior Brandon Justin (50.4), junior Ian Chege (49.5), senior Zaire Hermon (50.8) and senior Edwin Rosembert (51.8) lowered the 4×400 meter record they set earlier this season to 3:22.51. They eclipsed a 1984 Howard squad of Adrian Murphy, Steve Brown, Yusuf Nuridden and Tony Brown that ran a converted 3:23.06 at the Naval Academy.
Salesianum set the mark in the 4×800, as sophomore Sean Banko (2:02.4), junior Lucien Peach (2:02.6), sophomore Mike Keehan (2:01.3) and senior George Steinhoff (1:57.3) finished in 8:03.65. That’s more than two seconds faster than the previous record of 8:06.04 set by the Sals’ John Walker, Steinhoff, Colin Parker and Andrew Hally at the same meet last winter.
William Penn’s Mike Mills (21.94) and Howard’s Rosembert (22.03) moved up to fourth and fifth all-time, respectively, in the 200 meters. Rosembert also ran a 49.67 in the 400, which also ranks fifth on the state’s career list. And Chege went 1:57.75 in the 800, which is sixth all-time.
Padua has won the last four Indoor girls team titles, and the Pandas are expected to field a powerhouse lineup again. The chase for the boys Indoor title has been much more competitive lately, with Salesianum (2016), Dover (2015), Tatnall (2014) and Caesar Rodney (2013) each winning in the last four seasons.
Tickets ($8) will be sold at the door, starting at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Huge week of hoops
The buzz is already building for Thursday’s boys basketball showdown, as No. 2 Newark (12-2, 5-0 Blue Hen Flight A) travels to No. 1 Mount Pleasant (14-1, 5-0) at 5:30 p.m.
But neither team can look ahead because both face a major nonconference test first on Tuesday. Newark will be at home against No. 7 Glasgow (9-4), while Mount Pleasant will play at No. 5 Hodgson (11-2). Both games will start at 5:15.
Mount Pleasant’s small gym is certain to sell out well in advance of Thursday’s Newark game, so act quickly to secure seats. Tickets ($5 adults, $2 students) are being sold online at www.greenknightssports.com through midnight Tuesday.
Any leftover tickets will be sold to Mount Pleasant students only during lunches on Wednesday. If any tickets remain Thursday, they will be sold to the general public during Mount Pleasant’s lunches from 11:02 a.m.-12:42 p.m. No tickets will be sold at the door before the game.
A major Henlopen North boys game comes Friday, as No. 3 Smyrna (11-2, 8-0) travels to No. 8 Caesar Rodney (10-3, 6-2) for a 7:15 p.m. tipoff. The Eagles routed the Riders 66-31 at Smyrna on Dec. 15, but CR is playing much better now. The Riders have won seven in a row and turned the tables on Cape Henlopen with a 73-62 home victory last Friday after losing to the Vikings 62-46 on Dec. 9 in Lewes.
Raiders win in double OT
Ursuline, Delaware’s top-ranked girls basketball team, picked up its seventh win over an out-of-state opponent Sunday. But it took two overtimes to do it.
Cardinal O’Hara (Pa.) hit a 3-pointer to take a one-point lead with seven seconds remaining in the second overtime. But the Raiders’ Alisha Lewis fired in a 30-foot 3-pointer of her own as time expired to give Ursuline a 52-50 victory. The All-State sophomore guard finished with 19 points.
The Raiders (12-1) own victories over opponents from New York, California, New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania this season. Their only loss was a 54-49 setback to Rufus King High of Milwaukee on Dec. 11.
Ursuline’s final seven regular-season games will be against in-state opponents, including a big home test against No. 2 Sanford on Feb. 16.
Rounding it up
— Wednesday marks the beginning of the National Letter of Intent signing period for high school seniors in football and soccer. Athletes in other sports are also expected to make their college destinations official this week. Please send signing photos and information to sports@delawareonline.com to be included in The News Journal’s online photo gallery.
— Wilmington Friends sophomore Connor Nisbet has been named Gatorade Delaware Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year. The sophomore won the DIAA Division II individual title with a time of 16:26.6. Nisbet also won at the New Castle County championships, Joe O’Neill Invitational, Middletown Invitational, White Clay Creek Classic and Blue & Gold Invitational while maintaining a 4.0 grade-point average.
— Immaculata sophomore Mike Piekarski, a 2015 St. Elizabeth graduate, has been named Colonial States Athletic Conference defensive player of the week. Piekarski averaged 13.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.0 blocks and 2.0 steals in two games.
Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ
Howard’s Edwin Rosembert (right) and Brandon Justin finish 1-2 in the 400 meters at the New Castle County championships last June. Rosembert and Justin helped the Wildcats set a state indoor record in the 4×400-meter relay last Saturday.