Cape boys’ XC wins third straight conference title

Up against arguably the deepest, most talented field in Henlopen Conference meet history, the Cape Henlopen boys’ cross country team rose to the challenge to earn its third consecutive conference crown Nov. 6 at Killens Pond State Park in Felton.

Junior Ryan Baker, a guaranteed low stick all year, played that role again for the Vikings, placing fourth overall in 16:21 over five kilometers. Baker typically finished a minute or more in front of his teammates throughout the season, but Cape’s supporting cast cut that gap in half with some heroic performances. Sophomore Joey DeGregory (fifth, 16:38), junior Julian Callaway (seventh, 16:41) and junior Liam O’Donnell (10th, 16:53) all shattered the 17-minute barrier, all but guaranteeing a three-peat for the Vikings. Senior Brian Sponaugle sealed the deal in the No. 5 slot, crossing the line 21st in 18:03.

Cape’s top five runners averaged 16:55 on the day, a second faster than when they won the DIAA Division I title on the same Killens Pond course in 2020.

Up front, Polytech senior Kenny Guy repeated as Henlopen champ by outsprinting fast-improving Indian River junior Chase Sims over the final 200 meters. Guy’s winning time of 15:52 was the second-fastest clocking ever at Killens Pond by a Henlopen Conference runner and the 13th best statewide. Polytech senior Matt Gatune took third in a swift 16:03.

Baker, who blazed a state-best 15:23 at last week’s county meet, expected to challenge for the win but fell behind the top three midway through the race.

“It could’ve gone better,” Baker said. “I’ll just take it, learn from it and move on to next weekend.”

Juniors Alex Howarth (25th, 18:10) and Declan Morrissey (37th, 19:11) rounded out the scoring for the Vikings, who also got a 1-3 finish in the junior varsity race from juniors Andrew Wolak (18:17) and Jakob Hayes (18:26).

The Cape girls placed a close third on the strength of a standout performance from junior Katie Kuhlman, who broke the tape third in 19:30 to shave 24 seconds from her personal best on the Killens circuit. Kuhlman ran alongside heavy favorite Brynn Crandell of Indian River in the early going, held on for as long as possible, and was rewarded with a breakthrough performance.

Crandell, just a sophomore, captured her second consecutive Henlopen title and set a meet record of 18:42. Her time was just a tick shy of the all-time best by a Henlopen runner at Killens and ranks 16th in state history. Caesar Rodney junior Hannah Zura took runner-up honors in a fine time of 19:00. The Smyrna duo of Alyssa Young (19:45) and Kelly Barr (20:25) rounded out the top five.

Cape hung tough in the team race despite the absence of its No. 2 runner, junior Colleen Flynn, who was sidelined with a shin injury. Freshman Hailey Hassell stepped up and ran the race of her life, taking 12th in a huge personal best of 21:02, while junior Alexa Dougherty finished 15th in 21:23. Hassell, who transferred from Nevada before the season began, covered the Killens course in 29:16 just seven weeks ago.

Junior Allison Head (24th, 22:07), senior Mia Nuebling (25th, 22:10), junior Ariana Adili-Khams (41st, 23:21) and sophomore Kayla Droge (42nd, 23:29) also scored for the Vikings, whose 79-point total fell just short of champion CR (67) and runner-up Sussex Academy (73).

Cape head coach Matt Lindell was pleased with the boys’ showing but conceded that they will need to dig deeper if they want to challenge Salesianum at next week’s DIAA meet, scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 13, at hilly Brandywine Creek State Park.

“The boys came out with a win, so you can’t complain too much,” Lindell said. “We have some things we obviously need to work on as far as pre-race preparation. It was reminiscent of last year, when we won the conference meet but didn’t really run at our best, but then came back and took the state meet the next week. This is a team that responds well to challenges, and our workouts are designed to peak at the state meet. Our best running is still ahead of us, but we will have to tighten our pack up if we wanna go after [Salesianum]. It was a good day and we got the win, so we’ll take it.”

Lindell saw plenty of positives from his girls, too.

“I told the girls that [without Flynn] if we can be within 10 or even 15 points of first place, that’s a great day. I have to give kudos to Hailey Hassell. To go from 29 minutes in her first race here to almost breaking 21 today is just crazy. Allison Head had a great day, too, almost breaking 22 [minutes], and Katie [Kuhlman] put together a great race. She went out in 5:49 at the mile and looked good.”

Boys’ team results: 1) Cape Henlopen 47, 2) Polytech 71, 3) Caesar Rodney 75, 4) Smyrna 134, 5) Milford 143, 6) Sussex Tech 161, 7) Indian River 165, 8) Dover 216, 9) Woodbridge 254, 10) Sussex Academy 258, 11) Lake Forest 272, 12) Laurel 349, 13) Sussex Central 380, 14) Seaford 388, Incomplete - Delmar

Boys’ individual Top 15: 1) Kenny Guy (Poly) 15:52, 2) Chase Sims (IR) 15:56, 3) Matt Gatune (Poly) 16:03, 4) Ryan Baker (Cape) 16:21, 5) Joey DeGregory (Cape) 16:38, 6) Patrick Craig (CR) 16:40, 7) Julian Callaway (Cape) 16:41, 8) Colin Kay (ST) 16:46, 9) Liam Meginniss (SMY) 16:50, 10) Liam O’Donnell (Cape) 16:53, 11) Ian Cain (CR) 16:57, 12) Ian Hayes (Wood) 17:12, 13) Connor Wilson (SMY) 17:15, 14) Tyler Blandin (Poly) 17:32, 15) Joseph Klosiewicz (ST) 17:34

Girls’ team results: 1) Caesar Rodney 67, 2) Sussex Academy 73, 3) Cape Henlopen 79, 4) Smyrna 124, 5) Polytech 135, 6) Milford 155, 7) Sussex Tech 160, 8) Lake Forest 174, 9) Indian River 197, 10) Sussex Central 263, Incomplete - Dover, Early College, Laurel, Seaford, Woodbridge

Girls’ individual Top 15: 1) Brynn Crandell (IR) 18:42, 2) Hannah Zura (CR) 19:00, 3) Katie Kuhlman (Cape) 19:30, 4) Alyssa Young (SMY) 19:45, 5) Kelly Barr (SMY) 20:25, 6) Alexis Blackwell (CR) 20:32, 7) Josephine Ledford (LF) 20:34, 8) Arina Varrato (ST) 20:42, 9) Sadie Tunnell (SA) 20:51, 10) Lily Bowe (SA) 20:54, 11) Madison Todd (Poly) 20:58, 12) Hailey Hassell (Cape) 21:02, 13) Madison Crossley (CR) 21:06, 14) Katya Geyer (SA) 21:11, 15) Alexa Dougherty (Cape) 21:23.