Masser 5-Miler kicks off Seashore Striders Racing Series

The 33rd edition of the Seashore Striders Racing Series will kick off with the 30th annual Masser 5-Miler at 7:30 a.m., Sunday, May 28, at Cape Henlopen High School in Lewes. The series started in 1990 following the end of the Sunburn Running Series of the ’80s, with Bruce Springer, Dr. Lee Masser, Rich Tikiob and yours truly as the driving forces to get it going. For 32 years we have hosted the series at the beach, giving runners of all shapes, sizes, ages and ability levels a choice of 10 to 12 races, always with two five-milers and the rest 5K races. To qualify for the series prizes, a runner must complete one five-miler and five 5Ks; performances are added together for the total time. At the end of the summer, following the Last Blast 5K awards, we give awards to the top five finishers in each five-year age group as well as all qualifiers, overall champions, overall masters, most improved, most consistent, Runner of the Year and the Hank Brittingham Volunteer of the Year Award. This summer, runners and walkers will have 11 races to get in their single five-miler and five 5Ks. The qualifying races, also known as the Ocean 11, are as follows: Masser 5-Miler May 28, Seashore 5-Miler June 4, Fathers Day 5K June 18, Jungle Jim’s 5K June 24, Firecracker 5K July 1, Race for the Ribbon 5K July 8, Beebe Heroes 5K July 9, Bill Degnan 5K July 16, Dam Mill 5K July 22, Race for the Paws 5K Aug. 5 and Run for JJ 5K Aug. 13. Many runners compete in more than the minimum, and that is fine, as we will take your best five 5Ks and your best five-miler to add to your total time. In 2022, more than 20 runners competed in every series event of the summer. This allows you flexibility. If you have a poor race, you can do another and the bad performance will not count against your best five 5Ks. The Seashore Striders Racing Series statistician is masters runner Tim Young.

5K competitive walk

This summer the Seashore Striders have added a walk-only division to the series, allowing a walker to qualify for the series and be eligible for end-of-summer awards. The following five events have separate walk-only divisions and will have overall top five awards separate from the 5K age-group awards: Fathers Day 5K, Firecracker 5K, Beebe Heroes 5K, Dam Mill 5K, Race for the Paws 5K. Walkers must complete all five in addition to one of the two five-milers to qualify for the series. “We know there are walkers who do not attend our events due to the fact that they are primarily for runners, so we wanted to add a walk division to the series to make it inclusive for all,” said Richard Tikiob of the Seashore Striders. Walkers who would like to register can go to seashorestriders.com.

Conference performances

Performances at last weekend’s conference championship track meet may have been some the best ever across the 18 events when looking back into the history of the meet. Seaford sprinter Jazonte Levan’s runs in the 100-meter (10.63) and 200-meter (21.57) dashes ranks up with the Henlopen all-time bests, as do Sussex Tech hurdler Yougendy Mauricette’s times in the 110-meter (14.11) and 300-meter (37.60) hurdles. There were four runners under 50 seconds in the 400-meter dash, led by Polytech’s Emeel James-Ragland (48.98), and another three under the two-minute mark in the 800-meter run. Ryan Baker of Cape ran a 4:20 mile; he also ran a workout 9:40 in the 3,200. The 400-meter relay was impressive as well with three teams at 43 seconds or better, led by the Sussex Central sprint foursome at 42.38 in a close one with Seaford at 42.40. The long jump was one of the best ever, with Tim Wright of Sussex Central unleashing a 24-feet-4-inch personal best. Right behind him were Mauricette of Sussex Tech at 23-7 and Dover freshman Jahiem Cole at 23-0. Add Cape’s Nate Horn throwing 50 feet in the shot put and Bailey Fletcher clearing 14-6 in the pole vault, and you have one of the best Henlopen boys’ meets in history.

Not to be outdone, the girls threw down some nice performances. Indian River junior Brynn Crandell completed the rarely done 800/1,600/3,200 triple with eye-opening times of 2:23, 5:09 and 10:52. It is the first time a Henlopen Conference girl has broken 11 minutes in the 3,200 meters. Tatiana Kelsic battled the tough Smyrna sprinters all meet and anchored a quick 400-meter relay to a time of 48.91, just missing the Eagles’ 48.40. Mi’Leah Cotton of Smyrna went 2:22 for an impressive 800 meters. She was one of four runners to break 2:30.

Finish chute