Delaware high schools honor senior athletes with Friday Night Lights program

WILMINGTON, Del. - The coronavirus has put a stop to all of the high school sporting events in our area which means in many of the schools in our local area, seniors will be missing the final spring seasons. For a few schools in Delaware, they have found ways to honor these athletes before they graduate.

FOX 29 photojournalist Bill Rohrer has the story.

“My older brothers have always been in sports and they always pushed me.”

For Jennifer Cleary, she is a 14-season athlete for Tower Hill School in Wilmington, Delaware. Since the 8th grade, she’s played a sport in each of the school’s seasons. She competed in field hockey in the fall, squash in the winter and golf in the spring. Like most of the senior athletes at her school, she will miss her final spring season with the golf team.

“I think it is really disappointing. Luckily, I am one that gets to continue to play the sport after high school,” said Cleary.

Cleary will compete in collegiate gold at the University of Virginia when she starts as a freshman in the fall. This year, she would have competed for her first individual state title at Tower Hill.

“Last summer, I hit a break where I started to play better and so I was disappointed that I thought I could have a good shot at it this year, but there will be plenty of other tournaments. So luckily, that is keeping me optimistic and keeping me focused on the future and practicing for what’s to come," she added.

Tower Hill’s Director of Athletics, Seth Kushkin, and other schools throughout Delaware participated in Friday Night Lights, by turning on their stadium lights and scoreboards for twenty minutes and twenty seconds. It’s a small way to honor the graduating student athletes in their schools and the athletes in their conference.

“I don’t know if it fills a lot of the voids, but it was just that opportunity just to acknowledge all that they have been a part of and all that they have given to Tower Hill through their four and five year varsity programs,” said Kushkin.

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