Luke Burton leads Striders at Kentucky Nationals
Ten-year-old fifth-grader Luke Burton finished second overall in the field of 260 runners at the recent Cross Country Coaches National Youth Championships in Lexington, Ky. Burton led the team of 34 members of the Seashore Striders who traveled by car, bus and plane to take part in the event with over 2,000 of the best youth cross country runners in the United States.
Burton, who went through his opening mile in a quick 5:45, trailed the leader Caleb Hymans of the Nova Pacers by 15 seconds, and by the finish it was just about the same as Hymans ran the hilly course in 10:53. Burton hit the line in 11:11 for second overall and his second straight top three finish at the Nationals and third straight top 10 finish.
Teammate Brexton Carter ran well to finish 12th in 11:47 in the race, while Rafael Perez-Rivera was 105th. In the 9-year-old race, Caughnery Freese, a first-year runner coming from Washington state, was eighth overall in 12:04, while Drew Barthelmess was 48th and Josh Kenton was 66th overall.
First-year runner Evan Sydnor finished 70th in the 11-year-old race in 12:50 for 3,000 meters, while another first-year runner Aiden Bowman was 115th in 13:48. Ryan Pickard was 130th in 14:53.
In the 8-year-old final Strider Ryan Moody finished 25th in the race in a time of 8:39 for the 2K course.
In the 13-year-old race, Strider Blake Hundley finished 26th in a time of 14:25 for the 4K course. Hundley also competed in conference high school competition for Sussex Academy this season.
In the 15-16 boys' division, Albert Norman of Sussex Central ran a new personal best of 17:20 for the 5K course, while Sam Nye of Cape Henlopen ran 17:33 in the same race.
For the girls, Allaire Burton finished 17th in the 7-year-old race in a time of 9:58 for the 2K distance, while first-year runner Regan Best was 100th in the 8-year-old race in 10:54.
Julie Daniello was 65th in the 9-year-old girls race in 15:56, while Devin Hundley led the 10-year-old Striders with a 20th-place finish in 12:53. Teammate Katie Kuhlman was close behind in 21st with a 12:56. Lainey Shockro was 73rd in a time of 14:15.
In the 11-year-old girls' race, Natalie Guida was 55th in 13:25, while Mia Nuebling was 56th in the same time of 13:25, while Myranda Beebe was 81st in 14:03. Emily Trout, a first-year runner, led the 12-year-old Striders in 64th in 13:10, while Emily Moody was 130th in 15:59.
The largest age group for the Striders was the 13-14 girls' team where the purple and gold put 10 tough middle school girls and one high school runner on the line, and they finished ninth as a team. Olivia Brozefsky finished 45th in 16:07 to lead the team on the 4K course, while Lindsay Rambo was 71st in 16:47. Emma Barthelmess finished 75th in 16:55, while Aya Daisey was 83rd in 17:06. Zoe Callard was next in 17:09 to round out the top five scorers who had a 1:02 top five gap. Amaya Daisey was 95th in 17:22, while Lindsey Guida was 119th in 17:53. Brighid Loftus finished 141st in 18:53, while Ellie Scoda ran 19:43. Miranda Perez-Rivera was 158th in 22:03 to round out the team finishers.
The Coaches Association recognizes the top 25 in each race as Youth All-American’s and the Striders named seven to the team: 2. Luke Burton, 8. Caughnery Freese; 12. Brexton Carter; 17. Allaire Burton; 20. Devin Hundley; 21. Katie Kuhlman; 25. Ryan Moody.
Congratulations to the Strider runners.
