Sports

Ray Steele, who guided Indian River High School to a perfect 12-0 record and the Division II state football championship, has been named the Tubby Raymond Coach of the Year by the Delaware Sportswriters and Broadcasters Association and will accept the award at the annual DSBA banquet on March 22 at Dover Downs.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...”

If there was ever a right time to turn things on after a dismal 3-4 start to their 2011-2012 season, Indian River High School’s girls’ varsity basketball team found it. In the final week of their regular season, the Lady Indians defeated Dover and Seaford – two teams that got the best of them earlier in the year. The wins served as exclamation points for Indian River’s turn-around year, which saw 12 victories in their last 13 games, including a 10-0 streak to close out the season.

The Indian River Indians were bested earlier this month by Polytech in the State Team Dual Championships, but this past weekend, Feb. 17 and 18, the mindset switched as Sussex Central hosted the Henlopen Conference Individual Wrestling Tournament, with implications for State wrestling individual seedings.

Indian River senior wrestler Max Wilkinson earned third place in the 152-pound weight class at the Henlopen Conference Championship at Sussex Central this past weekend and picked up the highest seed of the five Indian River athletes who qualified for the upcoming State Wrestling Individual Championship at Cape Henlopen, scheduled for Feb. 24 and 25.

This past week, the Indian River boys’ varsity basketball team closed out what could be described as a forgettable season, but it doesn’t mean that it was all for naught. All things considered, head coach Marvin Phillips has kept his head and the team’s morale up, despite finishing the year with a winless record.

The season did not begin the way that Indian River High School’s girls’ basketball team had planned, as they opened up the schedule 3-4 before going on a 12-1 tear down the straightaway. But that doesn’t mean the team didn’t maintain their modest egos and class, and it was something they were recognized for this week.

Last year, Caravel narrowly edged Indian River in the final match of the Division II Team Dual State Wrestling Championship, but this past Tuesday, Feb. 14, at Smyrna High School, both teams were stopped short in the semifinals. The Indians powered past Seaford in the quarterfinal match after a slow start but were bested by a determined Polytech team, fueled with emotion that eventually carried them to the Division II title.

Since Indian River High School introduced its swimming program three seasons ago, head coaches Colin Crandell and Donna Smith have merely had ambitions of getting the program up and running. They never expected to see the success and progress it has brought along during its few young years, but they couldn’t be happier with the results.

Earlier this season, the Lady Senators of Dover got the best of Indian River in the final game of December’s Pat Borowski Classic. But as the Lady Indians have been piecing together win upon win through the second half of the schedule, they made sure that this past Tuesday, Feb. 14, they would exact their revenge. With consistent shooting, well-executed passes and assertive rebounding, the Lady Indians came together as a team this week, defeating Dover the second time around, 55-50.

Indian River junior Keeonya Shelton has been an instrumental part of the girls’ varsity basketball team. She scored 10 of her 14 points in the second half during Tuesday’s 55-50 win over Dover and has proven to be a threat on the entire court.

There’s plenty to be said of this past Sunday’s big game, Super Bowl XLVI, which drew in the largest viewing of any televised broadcast in the country’s history. The Nielsen Co. estimated on Monday that 111.3 million people had tuned into the big game, as the New York Giants bested the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl for the second time in four years.

Even with a loss last Saturday, Feb. 4, to William Penn, the transition into February has been a good one for Indian River High School’s varsity wrestling team. With a late-January win over Delaware Military Academy (DMA), followed up with victories in a tri-meet against Maryland schools on Friday, Feb. 3, the Indians were geared up for a strong showing against Sussex Central this past Wednesday, as they wrapped up the regular season.

The NFL’s New York Giants shocked the nation as a mediocre midseason was topped with a bevy of uplifting performances that inevitably led them to the Super Bowl title earlier this month. Few placed the 6-6 Giants in playoff contention, let alone on a post-season tear to the Lombardi trophy, but everyone knows how that ended. In similar fashion, the Indian River varsity girls’ basketball team began their season with a slow start, but has since found their stride on their way to what may unfold into a strong postseason surge.

The AFC Championship two weeks ago was a traumatic one for Baltimore fans to watch, as the Ravens put on a show that many believed would hold an edge over a wavering New England defense.

The first half of the basketball season brought some obstacles to the court for Indian River’s girls’ varsity team, but once past the midway point the Lady Indians seemed to have found their niche, collecting their sixth straight win, punctuated with a nail-biter against Sussex Central that came down to the final seconds.

After facing some strong competition in last weekend’s quad meet, Indian River has responded nicely, pulling a convincing 40-29 win over Delaware Military Academy (DMA) on Monday, Jan. 30, leveling their overall dual team record to 5-5.

Lower Sussex Little League’s opening day is only a few months off, and registration is in full-swing. But it’s not just the young ones that Lower Sussex is trying to get involved this year. A recent surge in sign-ups, coupled with a dropping number of umpires, has the Lower Sussex Little League (LSLL) board looking for some new eyes to call the shots on the fields this year.

Indian River High School’s varsity swim team has advanced considerably since last year’s season. With the program now in only its third year, the boys’ team has racked up five wins so far this winter, and the girls have nabbed two, each an improvement on last year’s final record.

America’s pastime will soon be returning to Roxana, as online registration for Lower Sussex Little League kicked off earlier this month. In February, the Lower Sussex Complex will open for walk-in registration, as well. And with a few new age changes to the divisions, Lower Sussex Little League (LSLL) president Tracy Littleton is expecting another successful season for young baseball and softball players throughout the area.

With two meets on the road still left in the regular season, Indian River High Schol’s varsity boys’ and girls’ swim teams are a steady stride ahead of last year’s performance. In just the program’s fourth year, athletes are surpassing previous records as personal bests are consistently being shattered.

Sophomore Ben Boonin swam a 1:02.14 in the 100-meter butterfly during Indian River’s win over Seaford on Wednesday, Jan. 18. The showing earned Boonin a state cut-qualifying time and propelled the Indians to their fifth win of the season as they defeated the Blue Jays, 98-66.

The boys’ varsity basketball team at Indian River High School succumbed to another loss this past Tuesday, Jan. 24, as they hosted Henlopen rival Laurel, but it hasn’t been for a lack of trying. The winless Indians were able to keep a competitive edge through the duration of the game before the Bulldogs pulled away in the fourth quarter.

The Lady Indians’ varsity basketball team seems to have found their stride, picking up their sixth win out of their last eight games with a 56-44 victory over the Lady Bulldogs of Laurel this past Tuesday, Jan. 24. An early surge garnered Indian River some breathing room and allowed head coach John Frye to test his roster’s depth by rotating fresh legs onto the court, as well.

On Saturday, Jan. 14, Indian River High School’s varsity wrestling team wrapped up their tournament competition with a first-place overall team finish against upstate opponents, at the Mt. Pleasant Invitational. The six-team tournament saw wrestlers from IR, Mt. Pleasant, Howard, Wilmington Christian, Brandywine and Tatnall.

Junior Keiosha Shelton netted 12 points in Indian River’s 46-43 victory over Lake Forest on Tuesday, Jan. 17, and sank eight of her 11 free-throws, as the Lady Indians improved to a 6-5 record overall and 5-2 in the division.

While Indian River High School’s boys’ varsity basketball squad has had more downs than ups this season, head coach Marvin Phillips said he is still looking for that positive drive from his players. The Indians played host last week to the defending divisional champions from Polytech, who proved precisely why they were a top-five team in the state of Delaware.

A week has gone by since the Indian River varsity swimming team saw their last competition, but both the boys’ and girls’ teams are riding a high from their wins over Seaford earlier this month as the playing fields were finally leveled.

Indian River High School’s girls varsity basketball team may have faltered last week against Polytech, but a riveting game this past Tuesday, Jan. 17, hosting Lake Forest, has put the Lady Indians back in the hunt for a three-peat of the Henlopen Southern Division title. Consistency, strong defense and teamwork came together to help lift the Lady Indians to a 46-43 victory and a positive record.

Dozens of dogs waiting for a new “forever home” have temporary digs at the Sussex County SPCA in Georgetown. And those digs are about to get a little nicer, thanks to 10 students at Indian River High School.