Cape cross country runs past Polytech

Both the boys’ and girls’ teams of Cape Henlopen came away with a victory over Polytech Oct. 28 on the 3.1-mile Woodside course. The Cape boys won 27-32, while the Cape girls won 18-37. My friend Czar Bloom coaches Polytech, and just like he did for the Milford Bucs for so many years, Bloom has built the Panthers into a tough team that will give opponents a run for the money. Any Czar Bloom-coached team is always ready for a challenge.

“We were losing the meet at two-and-a-half miles on the boys’ side with Polytech having three runners up front, and our guys had to run down their No. 3 runner for us to win,” said Cape coach Matt Lindell. “We were thankful that we run 5,000 meters in Delaware and not 2.7 or 2.8 miles like they used to do long ago. Their No. 3 runner ran a great race, but he just didn’t have anything left at the end.”

Top eliminator Kenny Guy from Poly won the race in 16:41, nearly equaling his time from last week. Teammate Matt Gatune improved nearly 20 seconds from last week to turn in a time of 16:47 for a clutch performance for the Panthers. The Vikings then put their pack of five scorers across the line to secure the meet, as Jack Fisher from Poly faded to eighth in 18:02. Ryan Baker finished third in 17:05, while Lance Kauffman was fourth in 17:47. Julian Callaway was fifth in 17:51, while Ethan Edery was sixth in 17:58. Fifth runner Daniel Adili-Khams caught Fisher at the line to run 18:01 for seventh place.  

Had Fisher hung on for fifth, a 10-second gap, the result would have flip-flopped with the Vikings down 29-30. Liam O’Donnell in 18:48 for 10th and Andrew Wolak in 18:56 for 11th rounded out Cape varsity runners.

The Vikings girls had a bit of an easier time with the Panthers. They were led by sophomore Katie Kuhlman, who ran away with the win in 21:14. Ariana Adili-Khams was second in 21:45. The Panthers’ Maddie Todd had a two-minute improvement over last week to grab third in 21:50, while Cape’s Mia Neubling improved to run 22:00 for fourth place. Elizabeth Melson threw down a one-minute improvement to take sixth in 22:59, while Peyton Evans was seventh in 23:17. First-year cross country runner Tia Jarvis, winner of the Henlopen Conference 400 meters last winter, got the first finish under her belt, as she was eighth in 23:45 to be Cape’s fifith finisher. Lindsay Rambo had some trouble with lunch, as she finished 10th in 26:00, while Kayla Droge was 13th in 27:58.

“The girls looked solid, and we continue to improve and work with the team on keying on each other and closing up the gaps,” said Lindell.

Cross country wrap

The second Wednesday of the season may have been a cool day in Sussex County, but the competition was hot, as several good performances were turned in.

Sussex Academy had little trouble with the Indians from the River, winning the girls’ meet 21-40. The story of the day was freshman Brynn Crandell, who smoked it and set a new course record at Sandhill Fields in 19:35 to win by a 1:19 margin over Sussex Academy’s top runner Emily Trout, who ran 20:54. The River boys grabbed the top six places, led by Declan Burke in 18:00 and Robert Senseny in 18:14 to win 15-49.

The Sussex Central boys topped the CR JV team by a 29-30 margin. They were led by David Wootten in 17:45, Jaden McTeer in 18:13 and Tyler Sosnoski in 19:31. The Riders rested their varsity to prep for a Saturday showdown with Saint Mark’s at Killens Pond. The Riders girls easily won 15-50. They were led by Sydney Wissman with an easy race of 24:24.

The Milford Bucs topped Dover by a score of 20-41. They were led by Conor Sylvester in a time of 18:40. Faith Mitchell in 20:13, Brianna Thompson in 22:37 and Kassidy Willey in 23:44 grabbed the top three to beat Dover 16-41.

Lake Forest handled Seaford on the boys’ side 19-42, led by Deandre Snipes-Brown of Lake with the win in 21:07. Josephine Ledford led the Lake girls to a 15-50 sweep, as she hit the line in 20:24 on a 3.1-mile Chapel Branch course with more than a turn or two, to say the least.

Henlopen Conference Top 10 list

Boys 

1. Blaise Moyer, CR, 16:35

2. Kenny Guy, Poly, 16:40  

3. Ryan Baker, Cape, 16:42  

4. Matt Gatune, Poly, 16:47 

5. Jacob Bole, CR, 16:55              

6. Ethan Edery, Cape, 17:01 

7. David Wooten, SC, 17:11

8. Julian Callaway, Cape, 17:23  

9. Lance Kauffman, Cape, 17:25  

10. Julian Jones, CR, 17:26                                    

Girls

1. Brynn Crandell, IR, 19:35  

2. Josephine Ledford, Lake, 19:42 

3. Faith Mitchell, Milford, 20:13

4. Alyssa Young, Smyrna, 20:37

5. Katie Kuhlman, Cape, 20:54

6. Emily Trout, Sussex Academy, 20:54

7. Ariana Adili-Khams, Cape, 21:36

8. Maddie Todd, Poly, 21:50

9. Angelina Lione, CR, 21:54

10. Kelly Barr, Smryna, 21:59.       

The Great Pumpkin Run

The Seashore Striders will host a drive-through packet pickup from 4:30 to 6 p.m., Friday, Oct. 30, at the Lewes library, where shirts and bibs can be picked up. Any runner who registered after Oct. 26 will receive their T-shirt in the second order following the race.

The race will be held at 9 a.m., Halloween morning, Oct. 31. We currently have 140 participants. The course will start from the bathhouse parking lot in Cape Henlopen State Park and follow the bike trail to Fort Miles, then turn around behind the campground. The race will have custom pumpkins for the top three finishers in each age group as well as recognizing the overall and masters champions. Costumes are not required, but encouraged. Social distancing and masks will be required outside of racing. Participants should arrive at the race site between 8 and 8:40 a.m. The event will be capped at 200 runners. Go to www.seashorestriders.com for more information.