Beacon edges Mariner in cross country action

The Beacon and Mariner cross country teams celebrated Halloween by squaring off in their annual, season-ending dual meet at Cape Henlopen High School. Coach Michelle Beyer-Gillen’s Beacon squad edged the Mariner boys in a 27-29 thriller, while her girls prevailed 22-37.

After a season that saw the district’s two boys’ teams battle back and forth from meet to meet, Beacon rode a 1-3 finish from seventh-graders Ethan Thompson (11:15) and Nick Petito (11:19) to victory. Mariner seventh-grader Asher Woods took second in 11:17, and sixth-grade teammate Jude Bastian placed fourth with an 11:38 clocking. Beacon’s Drew Mongeluzo grabbed fifth (11:53) and was followed home by Anthony Amalfitano of Mariner (12:07). Beacon’s Theo Hart ran the race of his life in seventh, going 12:09 to drop 80 seconds from his season best on the 1.86-mile CHHS course and beat a pack of Mariner athletes to the line. Hart’s huge effort essentially clinched the meet for Beacon, but Mariner’s Bennett Steinmann (eighth, 12:19), Caleb Olmsted (ninth, 12:19) and Joe Ruark (10th, 12:28) kept the margin razor-thin. Ryder Uszenski closed out the Beacon scoring in 11th, stopping the clock in 12:30. Beacon finished the season 5-1, while Mariner capped off a 7-1 campaign.

The girls’ race featured a matchup between Mariner sixth-grade star Bree Terhune and seventh-grade standout Shiloh O’Grady of Beacon. O’Grady seized the lead in the opening meters and maintained a slight edge until around the 2K mark, when Terhune made an aggressive pass. Terhune held a three-second edge when she entered Legends Stadium for the final 300 meters, and she doubled it by the time she hit the tape. Her sizzling time of 11:56 broke the course record by 22 seconds, while O’Grady’s 12:02 clocking also bettered the previous record. Beacon seventh-graders Claudia Stazzone (12:44) and Mia Thompson (12:59) placed third and fourth, respectively, to take any drama out of the team race. Lindsay Hassell (sixth, 13:21) and Elena Pereda (seventh, 14:08) also scored varsity points for Beacon, which finished the year at 5-1. Allison Ortiz-Rivera (fifth, 13:13), Gabby Hamstead (ninth, 15:04), Ava Haase (10th, 15:05) and Kenzie McLaren (12th, 15:24) closed out the scoring for Mariner (0-8).

Sea Witch Running Festival

Big numbers turned out for the Sea Witch Half Marathon, 5K and 1-Mile Fright Walk in Lewes and Rehoboth Beach, as the half attracted 105 participants and the 5K drew more than 400 to the line.

Saturday’s half was a T course beginning at the Cape Henlopen main beach parking lot. Leading for most of the race was Cara Scheibling, 35, of Morristown, N.J., who hit the finish in 1:26:38, averaging 6:37 a mile. It was the only Striders event of the year where a female was the overall winner of the race. Taking second and the overall male champion spot was Lewes runner Mike Sewell, 53, who hit the line in 1:28:30. David Teklits, 42, of Philadelphia, won the male masters race in 1:32:29, while Jen Cawthern, 48, of Lewes ran 1:38:12 to win the female masters crown.

Zachary Newman, 40, of Brooklyn, N.Y., ran away with the 5K title Sunday, as he blazed through the course in 17:12. Katya Geyer, 14, of Rehoboth Beach and Sussex Academy, won the female title in 20:25 for a seventh-place overall finish. Mark Evans, 46, was second overall and winner of the male masters title in 18:48, while Amy Dischler, 52, won the female masters race in 21:11.

Nolan Furlong, 9, ran 21:52, while 11-year-old Jude Peacock set a personal record at 22:29. Shiloh O’Grady, 13, ran 23:09 to win the 10-13 age group, while 12-year-old Mia Thompson ran 23:18. Ruby Leps, 8, ran a personal best of 23:40 and stopped twice to pick up candy along the course, still managing to win her age group. A total of 22 runners competed in both the half marathon and the 5K run.

Three races this weekend

The Seashore Striders, coming off a double weekend of Sea Witch races, now head into a triple race weekend. On Saturday morning, the MAL 5K to benefit the Milford Art League will step off in downtown Milford at 10 a.m. The Striders will then move to Killens Pond for the Henlopen Conference Cross Country Championships beginning at 2 p.m. On Sunday, the Striders will host the East Coast Cross Country Championships at Sandhill Fields in Georgetown, where 400 young athletes will compete in 10 races on the day.