High turnout could mean good things for Cape cross country

I had a chance to sit down this week with Cape cross country coach Matt Lindell. We chatted about his expectations, and the nuts and bolts of this year’s team. Both the girls’ and the boys’ teams are enjoying the largest turnout since the early ’90s, with 44 boys and 24 girls out for practice on a regular basis. “The kids are showing up, working hard, and they seem to like it,” said Lindell. “The boys’ team has a nice 1-2 punch right now with Greg Boyce and Kolbe O’Donnell working real hard and pushing each other in workouts. I think the boys are going to sneak up and surprise some teams this year, as we are definitely better than last year.”

The Cape girls’ program has had a huge influx of young runners join the program as freshmen, and many of the girls have big meet and even national championship experience in the sport. Amaya and Aya Daisey and Lindsay Rambo have been involved with the Seashore Striders and have experienced some big meets in their younger years, while Caroline Maull and Fallon Moore have been in some pretty big distance races on the track. All-state runner Olivia Brozefsky looks to pick up where she left off last fall, and she should be one of the top runners in the Henlopen Conference this season. There are also some surprise new runners that are filling out the top seven and making the Vikings look pretty solid in the 1-7 slots.

“Our girls are also working hard, and it’s nice to have all this talent at once as they push each other in workouts,” said Lindell. “I’m excited to see how this team comes together, and we are just trying to get better each day and keep working hard.”

The Vikings will face Smyrna at the end of the season. The Eagles are always a tough team to deal with, but Lindell feels that if the Vikings can get into shape and race together in a pack, they can be competitive.

Cape will lead off the season Saturday, Sept. 9, at the Lake Forest Invitational held at Killens Pond State Park.

Striders Youth Cross Country

The Striders met this week for two optional workouts at Fort Miles in Cape Henlopen State Park as part of the preseason conditioning program for the team. Tuesday will be the first official day for the team. This season will be the 27th straight year for the Seashore Striders Youth Cross Country team, and the season will kick off at the Lake Forest Invitational Saturday, Sept. 9.

The Seashore Striders program is an organized youth cross country running team in existence since 1990. Youths from age 7 to 18 have participated in training and competition in local and regional events. A total of 495 youth athletes have qualified to participate at the regional championships, with 260 runners representing the Seashore Striders and the Cape Region at the national championships.

Participating in running events helps area youths build physical fitness, discipline, teamwork and a strong sense of self-esteem. Daily, we read about overweight issues and sedentary lifestyles that impact the health of today's youth. These young runners are hopefully building lifelong healthy habits through the program.

The Seashore Striders program has a home base directly across from the Cape Henlopen State Park lookout tower at Fort Miles and meets twice a week from 4:15 to 5:45 p.m. For information on the program, contact coach Tim Bamforth at 302-644-8952 or email tim@seashorestrider.com.

Summer series concludes

The Seashore Striders Summer Championship Series wraps up this weekend with the Last Blast Prediction 5K at Grove Park in Rehoboth Beach. Awards will be presented to the overall, masters and top five finishers and all qualifiers of the summer championship series. In addition to the age-group awards, the Seashore Striders will award the most improved and the performance of the year, recognize the runners who completed all 13 of the series events, hand out the Hank Brittingham Volunteer of the Year Award and honor the runners who have qualified for the series 10, 20 and 25 straight years. The race goes off at 7:30 a.m. from Grove Park.  

The top 20 runners closest to their predicted times will be the award winners. There will be no mile markers, no watches, no GPS devices, no finishing clock and no luck involved with the race.

It is one of the favorite, unique races of the summer. Runners can still register on race day beginning at 6 a.m. For more information, go to www.seashorestriders.com.