15th Run With Santa 5K attracts 107 to Cape Henlopen State Park

The Seashore Striders hosted the 15th Run With Santa 5K at Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes Dec. 12 and accomplished the four goals I set for the event. We attracted more than 100 participants again during a worldwide pandemic and hosted another safe event. The run raised money for the local Toys for Tots campaign; we team up with Apple Electric each year. We raised money for a local family in need that just suffered a loss in a local fire at their home. Lastly, we collected canned foods for the local Needy Family Fund.  

“So much good came out of this event today, and it is great that we can help so many people in the community with these events the Seashore Striders host,” said longtime runner Richard Tikiob.

Colten Morris, 19, captured the overall title and his third Seashore Striders event in a row in a 5K time of 16:47. Morris won the Great Pumpkin 5K in October in 17:25 and returned to win the Pumpkin Pie 5K in 16:28. He will leave in January for UNC Wilmington, where he will attempt to join the cross country team in the fall as a walk-on.

Becca Johnson, 26, finished sixth overall, winning the female title in a time of 19:14.  Jimmy Rubin, 49, of Bethesda, Md., won the male masters race in a time of 19:23, while Rebecca Rubin ran 24:33 to win the female masters title.

Here is a look at some of the impressive performances among the 10 age groups. Nolan Furlong of Lewes averaged a 7:30 pace at 7 years old to run 23:18 and win the 9-and-under age group with the fastest boys’ time 13 and under. Sister Nora Furlong, age 5, ran 32:03 to win the girls’ 9-and-under age group, while Anna Farrell of Lewes completed her first 5K and ran 36:52 to grab second place.

Three members of the Cape Henlopen cross country team, coming off a state championship win over Salesianum and being the first Division I team from the Henlopen Conference to win a title, grabbed the top three places in the 14-19 group. Ryan Baker of Lewes won the group in 17:33, while Ethan Edery of Rehoboth ran 17:38 for second and Lance Kauffman of Milton ran 17:41 for third.

On the girls’ side, Sussex Academy’s Sadie Tunnell of Milton ran 23:43 to win the girls’ 14-19 age group. Sisters Kelsey and Alexis Oliphant of Laurel ran side by side to grab the top two positions in the 20-29 age group in 21:53 and 21:54.

Luke Holman of Arlington, Va., ran 17:20 for second overall to win the 30-39 age group, while Natalie Lutz of Hockessin ran 20:25 paced by local Martin Rodriguez. Ultra-marathoner Mike Wardian of Bristow, Va., is coming off an injury, but still managed to win the 40-49 age group in 19:25, while a nice performance was turned in by John Costello of Milton to win the 50-59 age group in 19:38. Richard Boyle of Frankford ran an impressive 21:47 to win the 60-69 age group, while a stronger and improved Cecily Fisher of Lewes won the 60-69 age group in 26:07.

Special shout out to the Friends of Cape Henlopen State Park who monitored the course and the serve-yourself water stops as well as leading the race. For race results, go to www.seashorestriders.com.

All-state cross country

The all-state cross country teams were released this week going strictly by performances in the state championships that were held at Killens Pond State Park Dec. 4. Brynn Crandell of Indian River, county and conference champion as a freshman, landed on first team and has a shot to join an elite small group of Delaware runners who have been selected to the first team four years in a row. Sophomore Katie Kuhlman of Cape made the second team along with junior Josephine Ledford of Lake Forest.

On the boys’ side, junior Ryan Baker of Cape put together an incredible season to be selected to the first team along with seniors Kenny Guy of Polytech and Blaise Moyer of Caesar Rodney, while teammates Julian Callaway and Ethan Edery, both juniors, were selected to the second team. Seniors Jake Bole and Ralph Nicholson of Caesar Rodney were selected to the third team, along with senior Declan Burke of Indian River and senior Lance Kauffman of Cape. Senior David Wooten of Sussex Central also made the third team.