Cape Excels at Middle School Track Invitational

Written by: Kate Ingerski; 8th grade at FTMS

Cape middle schools Beacon, Mariner, and Frederick D. Thomas Middle School (FTMS) showed out at the Jim Blades Track and Field invitational on Friday, April 17th. Each school put forward multiple athletes who scored points and earned medals for their team. For the girl’s teams, Beacon placed 3rd overall, Mariner placed 6th overall, and FTMS placed 10th overall. The boy’s teams also impressed with Beacon placing 6th, Mariner placing 15th, and FTMS placing 3rd. 

In the first event, Beacon started off strong in the 55-meter hurdles with 8th grader Elijah Cain running 8.31 seconds, earning 1st place and 10 points for his team. Simone Bodis also earned 5 points for Beacon in 4th place, hurdling in 9.39 seconds. The next event was the 100-meter dash, where the girl’s teams stepped up. Beacon’s Addison Wilson stole 2nd place sprinting 12.83 seconds and following that in 3rd place Mariner’s Keylonna Harmon ran in 12.91 seconds. In the 200-meter dash, Beacon came out on top with 8th graders Jace Reddix running in 24.64 seconds and Addison Wilson running in 26.85 seconds, both taking 1st place and scoring 10 points for their team. The girl’s 1600-meter run resulted in a tie for second place with Eva Csaszar from Beacon running in 6 minutes and 2 seconds. Not far behind was 6th grader Dixie Spath in 5th place running in 6 minutes and 17 seconds, also breaking the girl’s school record for the mile at FTMS. The boy’s 400-meter dash featured Griffin Sender from FTMS, running in 56.25 seconds and earning 2nd place. The Mariner girl’s 4 by 100-meter relay team included Ondra Massey-Schiazza, Avaiya Hazzard, Addison Mohacey, and Keylonna Harmon. The group secured 3rd place overall with a time of 54.08 seconds, scoring 6 points for their team. 

Throughout the meet, the Cape teams dominated in the field events. The triple jump pit saw Beacon’s Addison Wilson win 1st place with a jump of 34 feet and 9 inches, Mariner’s Addison Mohacey in 2nd jumping 31 feet and 9 inches, and her teammate Fiona Fisher securing 3rd place and jumping 31 feet and 6 inches. Elijah Cain from the Beacon boys’ team also placed 3rd, with a jump of 34 feet and 10.5 inches. Addison Wilson acquired a 2nd place medal for the long jump, with a length of 16 feet and 3 inches. Mariner’s Ondra Massey-Schiazza and Alexa Fruchtman tied for 4th place, both jumping 14 feet and 6 inches.

During throwing events, the FTMS boys’ team blew away the competition. For the shot-put event, Niikai Jackson broke the FTMS record and earned a 1st place medal with a throw of 40 feet and 11 inches, with his teammate Elijauh Whaley following closely behind in 2nd place with a throw of 39 feet and 8 inches. Niikai Jackson also showed up in the discus event with an impressive throw of 113 feet and 6 inches, securing 2nd place and setting another new school record. 

Cape made an excellent appearance at the Jim Blades Track and Field invitational meet. The Beacon, Mariner, and FTMS track teams impressed all and continue to make us #CAPEPROUD! 

For more pictures on Instagram @shotbykatescanon