Top moments from our high school sports reporter's first year on the beat

The end of the school year is a natural time of reflection. That's no different for the chroniclers of high school sports than it is for the athletes.

In my first year on the high school sports beat, alongside luminaries of the craft Brad Myers and Kevin Tresolini, I witnessed the triumph of victories and heartbreak of losses and was the beneficiary of the generosity of coaches, athletes and parents who lent their time and insight.

As I look back on year one, here are a few of the stories and moments that have stood out.

Denim Perkins leads Dover High to first boys basketball state title

The state championship celebrations I observed were all joyous occasions, but none rivaled that of the Dover Senators boys basketball team. The squad's point guard Denim Perkins, listed at 5-foot-9 stood out.

After helping the Senators defeat Salesianum 56-53 to win the first boys basketball state title in Dover High's 58-year history, Perkins found coach Stephen Wilson near midcourt of the Carpenter Center. They wrapped their arms around each other as the white jerseys of Perkins' Senator teammates and the snapping cameras of the media floated around them. Tears welled in their eyes. Wilson told Perkins simply that he loved him and he is proud of him.

Perkins' 16 points, 12 of which came in the second half, were indispensable, but his leadership was his most important attribute that March day and throughout the season. "He's the heart and soul of this team," leading scorer Dorell Little, who first played with Perkins on the AAU team 6th Man Warriors in elementary school, told me.

After embracing Wilson, Perkins buried his face of tears in his white jersey then walked to the front of the stands to his mother, Roslyn.

"I'm just so happy for her that she got to experience this," Perkins said.

THE STORY: 5-foot-9 Denim Perkins is 'heart and soul' of Dover's first championship basketball team

Salesianum's Ethan Walther breaks 4-decade-old 800 state record

On a Wednesday January afternoon at a table in coach Tim Byrne's room inside Salesianum, Ethan Walther told me it was his dream to break the 800 state record set by Dover's Bruce Harris that would turn 40 in the upcoming spring.

The junior had just set the indoor state records in the 800 and 1,600 in consecutive weeks and would snap the 3,200 time the following weekend. They were impressive performances without question, but the outdoor time — 1:49.4 — existed in another ether, four seconds from Walther's time at the moment.

Fast forward to May 22 and the annual Meet of Champions at Abessinio Stadium, and I was struck by the herd of runners and coaches that crossed the artificial turf field from the back straightaway to the home stretch as Walther took the lead. Everyone seemed to know what was at stake.

Wearing a custom black Salesianum singlet, Walther crossed the line in 1:49.02, at that point the fastest time in the country. A.I. du Pont's Camerin Williams, who put the race on record pace, finished in second in 1:50.20, the third-best time in state history.

Harris, an assistant coach at Caesar Rodney where his son Gabe is a state champion hurdler, was among those watching from the infield.

"Ethan and Cam ran the race the way they were supposed to," Harris told me. "I was watching every moment of it, and where they needed to be at certain times. I'm so happy for both of them because it takes courage to run the 800."

After the race, a friend asked me where Walther would now rank on the greatest of all-time list I turned in back in February. I shook my head and said "higher, a lot higher."

THE STORY: Salesianum junior Ethan Walther collects 800 record; 2 more Delaware records go down

12-year-old figure skater shines on Wilmington ice

This highlight veers from the world of high school sports, but merits inclusion. When photographer Bill Bretzger and I showed up to a Saturday morning practice at the Skating Club of Wilmington to interview 12-year-old phenom Coco Zhang we didn't know what to expect. Or rather, we didn't expect much. What could we learn from a middle schooler unaccustomed to having a camera in her face?

We tracked Zhang's red gloves as she glided through the crowded ice, down and back and down again, touching little details from the programs she'd run at figure skating's national championships the following week in Columbus, Ohio.

Zhang stepped off the ice and sat down with us on two short benches in a corner of the facility. She explained how her training with coach Viktor Pfeifer, a three-time Olympian, had taken her to Colorado Springs and back and what she was hoping to get out of her upcoming experience competing against skaters anywhere from a year to six years older than her. Zhang was as articulate as any athlete I interviewed this year and held a perspective on training that eludes some athletes of the highest caliber.

"When I see other skaters from Viktor's team or any other skaters go to international competitions, I think I really want to be them someday," Zhang said. "I'm hoping each year to make it to nationals and see improvement, but it doesn't have to be one straight line up. There's going to be ups and downs."

THE STORY: At age 12, this figure skater is one of many holding promising futures in the region

Delaware QBs train together with former Blue Hen

A lot of folks might think what makes star players stars is their ability to make highlight-reel plays. But in many cases, what separates high-level players is that they can repeat mundane actions with superstar consistency.

That was one of the takeaways from the weekends I spent with former University of Delaware quarterback Nolan Henderson and the high school passers he trains. They whipped towels and swung poles before ever picking up a football, honing the rotational action Henderson looks for in most passers.

"I wish I threw this way my whole life," Henderson told me.

A year and a half after his UD career concluded, Henderson got another chance to throw himself this spring as a member of the Houston Roughnecks in the first-year UFL spring football league. In three games, Henderson threw for 531 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 143 yards and a touchdown.

Now, he's back training kids from Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey.

"My favorite thing is seeing a kid for the first time, it clicks for them and they use their hips and their weight sits back," Henderson said. "It's like, 'woah, they felt it.'"

THE STORY: How Smyrna and UD QB Nolan Henderson became a go-to mechanics coach in Delaware

Delaware relays run historic times in succession at Penn Relays

There's a majesty that Franklin Field exudes no matter when you're there. But this year's running of the Penn Relays was extra special for followers of Delaware high school track and field.

Delaware athletes competed in five of seven consecutive high school championship races in the five o'clock hour on Friday. The action started and ended with state record relays — first, the Salesianum distance medley and last, the Padua 4x800. In between, Tatnall finished second in the girls distance medley, and Isabelle Walsh of Middletown and Carlita Kaliher of Tatnall produced individual finishes of historic measure.

As I interviewed the athletes, we watched their First State competitors in the next race. More than one remarked how impressed they were with the rising level of competition in Delaware.

THE STORY: Salesianum, Padua break state records at Penn Relays: How it unfolded

Brandon Holveck reports on high school sports for The News Journal. Contact him at bholveck@delawareonline.com.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware high school sports: Top moments from 2023-2024 school year