Cape indoor track teams compete hard in Snow Hill

The Cape indoor track team traveled to the Worcester County Rec Center in Snow Hill, Md., Dec. 13 for the second indoor meet of the year. The boys’ meet was won by Parkside High School with 67 points, while the Vikings were third with 62 points. Lake Forest was fourth with 44 points, Sussex Tech was seventh with 28 points, Smyrna was 10th with 25 points and Caesar Rodney was 15th with 10 points.

The Vikings continued to dominate the relays, winning the mile relay with the team of Nathan Loucks, Demetris Parker, Christian Partlow and David Smith in a time of 3:57.3, while Cape’s 3,200-meter relay team was second in 9:00.7. Cape also placed high in the 800-meter relays, but a DQ in the race took four points away. Individually, Greg Boyce was second in the 1,600 meters in 4:43.3 for a personal indoor best, while Ryan Head was also second in the pole vault at 10-feet-6-inches. Curtis Purnell was third in the 55-meter dash in a season-best time of 6.81. Isaiah Fillyau was third in the 55-meter hurdles in 8.35.  John DiStefano was third in the 3,200 meters in 11:01.7. Owen Allen ran a season-best in the 800 meters in 2:11.6. Curtis Purnell was third in the long jump at 19-feet-4-inches. Garrett Elgin was fourth in the long jump in 18-feet-10-inches and second in the triple at 39-feet-3-inches.

Carson Jeney was fourth in the triple jump in 34-feet-6-inches. Jordan Jefferson was sixth in the 55-meter dash in 6.90. Both Jordan Keener and Kenny Witherspoon were eighth in the high jump at 5-feet-4-inches, while Cesar Campos was eighth in the vault at 8-feet-6-inches.

The girls’ meet was won by Kent Island with 80 points. In the Henlopen Conference, the Eagles from Smyrna led the way in third with 73 points. The Vikings were next with 28 points for sixth, while Lake was 10th with 17 points, Sussex Tech was 12th with 13 points, Seaford was 14th with 6 points and Caesar Rodney rounded out the scoring with a 16th-place finish with 2 points.

Ce’yra Middleton led the Vikings with a win in the shot put with a throw of 36-feet-3-inches, while Amaya Daisey won the long jump with a season best of 15-feet-7-inches. Timesha Cannon was third  in the long jump at 14-feet-11-inches. Cannon returned to run a 7.87 in the 55-meter dash. Mackenzie Parker was fourth in the shot put at 30-feet-9-inches. Aya Daisey tied for second in the high jump with a leap of 4-feet-6-inches, while Martha Billups was fifth in the triple jump at 23-feet-9-inches. The 800-meter relay team of Aya Daisey, Amaya Daisey, Hannah Evans and Bre Kusen was seventh in 2:02.9.

The Vikings will travel to the Pat Russo Invitational again in Snow Hill Wednesday, Dec. 20, when each team can enter two athletes in each event and medals will be presented to the top three finishers in each event.

Run with Santa 5K

A name change from the Snowball Run to the Run with Santa 5K last weekend brought 70 runners out to Cape Henlopoen State Park in Lewes for some holiday fun and a run. There was hot cider, two kinds of chili, homemade cookies, Santa hats, Rudolph noses, Christmas music, Mr. & Mrs. Claus photo cutouts and jingle bells to bring the runners into the spirit. There were Santa suits and costumes everywhere, from big-bearded Santas to clean shaven Santas, from plump Santas to skinny Santas, from sexy Santas to sexy Santa’s helpers. We even had a “Bad Santa,” who had a bit too much bourbon during his overnight travels.

The course took runners through the youth camp and onto the bike path for a trek to the overlook at Fort Miles and back – always a runner’s favorite.

Martin Rodriguez of Selbyville captured the overall male title in 18:55, while 16-year-old Mikayla Cannon won the female title in 23:31. Chris Stanley of Fruitland, Md., won the male masters in 20:13, while Jackie Quigley won the female masters in 23:59.

Striders Food Drive

The Seashore Striders donated all the canned food items collected at the Run for Santa 5K to the Casa San Francisco Center. Casa San Francisco in Milton provides a wide range of services aimed at helping low-income residents of Sussex County. They provide housing and three daily meals for up to 12 adults for a maximum of 30 days. A case manager works with each resident to obtain income and locate affordable housing opportunities. They also help with medications, laundry, clothing and transportation. The staff at the center does a great job in the community, and anytime the Seashore Striders can help the cause, we try to lend a hand.

Martin and Enos

I have worked races with many people, from paid workers and volunteers to just someone lending a hand for a few minutes. Race events do not happen without great volunteers, and to me, it’s the volunteers who make a great event. In most cases, the volunteers who come forward to help and also run are not worried much about their performance and are happy just to take part in the event. Once in a while, a great while, I get a great volunteer who is also a great runner who not only cares about lending a hand, but also cares about training and racing hard.

Martin Rodriguez is a lot like our local truck driving runner, Enos Benbow. Both Martin and Enos would do anything to make a Seashore Striders race better, and both show up hours before the event to get the behind-the-scenes jobs done. Then, they disappear for 20 minutes before the start of the race to get in a quick warm-up, then show up  on the line for the start. In most cases, it is Martin or Enos who is also the first one back – last weekend it was Martin. Martin is coming off a sub-three-hour Rehoboth Seashore Marathon, where he qualified to toe the line in his favorite race, the Boston Marathon.

Race into the New Year

The annual Race into the New Year 5K and quarter-mile 12 & under kid’s dash will be held Sunday, Dec. 31, in Rehoboth Beach, beginning at 12 noon. Go to www.seashorestriders.com for race information and to get registered for the final local race of the year.