Prep notes: Middletown's Lampkin earns trip to Cuba

Middletown sprinter Daija Lampkin will travel to Havana, Cuba, next week to compete for Team USA in the Caribbean Scholastic Invitational track and field meet.

The first international track and field competition for Middletown sprinter Daija Lampkin will take place in a country few Americans have been able to experience.

Cuba.

Lampkin is among 28 girls and boys nationwide who have been selected to compete in the 10th annual Caribbean Scholastic Invitational, to be held May 27-28 in Havana. The team was put together by the National Scholastic Athletics Foundation.

“They pay for my uniform, the hotel, the travel, the visa, everything,” Lampkin said. “We’re going to be Team USA competing against Cuba.”

Lampkin will leave for Havana on May 24, so she will miss the DIAA Meet of Champions on May 25. A rare chance to travel to Cuba is a good reason to skip a local event.

“Just the whole experience, meeting new people, rooming with them, getting to know them,” Lampkin said. “Going to a foreign place I’ve never been, getting that type of international experience, it’s going to be fun.”

The meet will coincide with Memorial Barrientos, a historic, elite track and field invitational that will include Olympians from Cuba and other Caribbean nations.

Lampkin, a junior, set a state record of 23.80 seconds in the 200-meter dash at the New Castle County Championships last Saturday. She swept the 55-, 200- and 400-meter dashes at the DIAA Indoor meet in February, and will be the Division I favorite in the sprints at the DIAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, to be held Friday and Saturday at Dover High.

Henlopen happenings

The Henlopen Conference is reaching the end of the regular season in several sports, with three postseason events scheduled for Friday.

In girls soccer, Southern Division champion Indian River will meet Northern Division winner Caesar Rodney for the overall Henlopen title at 6 p.m. Friday at Milford. It will be a rematch of classic battle on May 2, when CR (ranked second statewide in Division I) edged IR (ranked first in Division I) 4-3. Admission will be $7.

In boys lacrosse, Northern champ Cape Henlopen will play host to Southern winner Delmar for the overall Henlopen title at 7 p.m. Friday. Admission will be $7.

In golf, Northern champion Caesar Rodney will take on Southern winner Delmar in a dual match at Baywood Greens at 3:30 p.m. Friday. That will be followed by the Henlopen Conference golf tournament, which will start at 8 a.m. May 24 at Cripple Creek Country Club in Dagsboro. Admission is free to both golf events.

Rounding it up

— Sean Gilardi struck out 11 in a no-hitter and added two doubles and an RBI as the top-ranked St. Mark’s baseball team blanked Woodbridge 6-0 on Thursday.

— Cape Henlopen and Lake Forest played an epic softball game last Thursday, with the Vikings winning 11-10. Hannah Jones hit a grand slam for Cape, and Raegan Jackson, Jordyn Virden and Sydney Ostroski also homered. Brooke Glanden hit a home run for the Spartans, and center fielder Mya Maddox ripped three doubles.

— Archmere junior Leah DaCosta played a big role in three girls soccer wins last week. DaCosta, playing her first season as a forward, scored twice in a 4-0 victory over Newark Charter on Monday, added a goal in a 4-0 win over Wilmington Christian on Wednesday, then scored the game’s only goal in a 1-0 upset of perennial Division I contender Charter of Wilmington on Friday.

— Conrad students Tara and Rose Carr, competing for the Newport Rowing Club, won their third straight U.S. Rowing Mid-Atlantic Youth Championship Women’s Varsity double title on May 8 on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J. The sisters qualified for the U.S. Rowing Youth National Championships, to be held June 10-12 on the same lake. The Carr sisters finished fifth nationally last year.

Conrad students Rose (left) and Tara Carr won their third straight U.S. Rowing Mid-Atlantic Youth Championship Women’s Varsity doubles title recently.

— The boys tennis teams from Tower Hill and Archmere had to come back for a second day before the Hillers won 3-2 last week. James Fleming and Spencer Johnson won in singles for Tower Hill, Rodman Ward won in singles for Archmere and the Auks’ Spencer Lutz and Sam Wayne won the first doubles match on Tuesday. The second doubles match was suspended after two sets due to rain, but resumed Wednesday. Allan Wu and Julian Jackson took the decisive set 6-2 to give the team victory to the Hillers.

— Senior Brooke Beam became the first Indian River soccer player to score 100 career goals, reaching the milestone with a hat trick during the Indians’ 5-2 victory over Polytech on May 3.

— Senior Mesha Mosley scored her 100th career goal in the Sanford girls lacrosse team’s 20-12 victory over Westtown (Pa.) last Wednesday.

— Five Conrad athletes will continue their field hockey careers in college: Anna Fleetwood (Belmont Abbey), Wynnsome Gadson (Seton Hill), Breanne Owens (Stevenson), Xzyla Russell (King’s College) and Madison Varney (Neumann).

— A.I. du Pont hosted a Special Olympics soccer showcase before its May 9 girls soccer game against Newark. The school also capped fundraising activities by presenting $827 to Special Olympics Delaware.

— Wilmington Christian is seeking two assistant coaches for boys soccer next fall. Contact athletic director Joe Thomson at (302) 239-2121 or jthomson@wilmingtonchristian.org for details.

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ