Cape finishes second at DIAA Cross Country Championships

Indian River sophomore Brynn Crandell and Salesianum senior Ryan Banko overcame horrendous conditions to deliver historically fast times at the DIAA state cross country meet Nov. 13 at Brandywine Creek State Park in Wilmington.

Regular-season results throughout the state indicated that the meet might be one of the fastest ever contested at Brandywine Creek, but muddy trails, gale-force winds, and colder-than-expected temperatures made times irrelevant for most athletes.

Crandell and Banko didn’t get that memo.

Crandell capped off a dominant season by running away with the Division II girls’ race. She broke away from defending champion Tiffany Herrera of Saint Mark’s and stopped the clock in 19:37, the 10th-best performance ever at Brandywine Creek and the fastest since 2014. With the victory, Crandell became the first runner from a public school to win a DII title since 1998 and the first Henlopen Conference runner to earn a state crown in either division since 2001.

Herrera finished second in 19:46.

In the boys’ Division I competition, Banko pulled away from a pack of four after a mile and stormed to victory on his home course, posting a 16:35 time that ranks as the seventh-fastest ever at The Creek. Banko also helped the Sals (56 points) dethrone defending champs Cape Henlopen (72) in the team race, as Salesianum placed all seven of its harriers in the top 25.

Junior Ryan Baker placed third overall in a quick 17:19 to pace the Vikings – just a few tenths behind Kenny Guy of Polytech – while senior Julian Callaway broke the tape 9th (18:12) and sophomore Joey DeGregory took 11th (18:23). Junior Liam O’Donnell (18th, 18:54) and senior Brian Sponaugle (31st, 19:29) closed out the scoring for Cape, which narrowly led the team race at the mile mark but couldn’t quite hold on. Juniors Alex Howarth (47th, 20:12) and Andrew Wolak (57th, 20:37) also finished for the Vikings.

“I think Sallies did what we did to them last year,” Cape head coach Matt Lindell said. “They just had a tighter pack than we did. The meet was close after the first few runners. The weather threw a wrench into everyone’s plans. The course was muddy. [Ryan] Baker fell twice – once at the mile – and to come back and finish the way he did was impressive. The effort that the boys put in today, facing the challenge of coming into Sallies’ back yard as well as the weather and everything else, they could’ve easily folded. They kept it close, and it looked a lot closer than 16 points. Second [place as a team] would be a huge celebration most years, but the program has gotten to the point that our standards are so much higher than they used to be. The kids have high expectations, they worked hard all year, and you could tell today that hey just left everything out there. Sallies ran great and worked hard for it.”

The Cape girls rebounded from a rough Henlopen Conference meet to place a strong fourth in Division I, tallying 110 points behind a sixth-place finish from junior Katie Kuhlman. “Katie K” ran in the top four until the final few meters, stopping the clock in 21:15. Junior Alexa Dougherty (21st, 23:03), freshman Hailey Hassell (22nd, 23:13), senior Mia Nuebling (26th, 23:27), and junior Allison Head (35th, 24:02) all delivered for the Vikings, who would’ve beaten Henlopen champions Caesar Rodney 27-28 and conference runners-up Sussex Academy 24-31 with dual-meet scoring. Sophomores Lillian Fisher (51st, 25:29) and Kayla Droge (52nd, 25:29) rounded out the Cape finishers.

“The girls were head and shoulders above expectations today,” Lindell said. “They all stepped up. Mia Nuebling ran one of the best races I’ve seen her run. That was a great way for her to go out as a senior. We were still six points short of CR, but we ran without [No. 2 runner] Colleen [Flynn] and faced some adversity throughout the season. These girls are all coming back, with the exception of Mia, and they’re excited for next season. This was the first day of next season for us, and [the girls] responded well.”

Padua scored an easy team win in the girls’ DI race, placing five runners in the top 10 and scoring just 27 points. Mary Dorsey took the individual title for the Pandas in 20:01. Saint Mark’s brought home the girls’ DII trophy with a 61-point tally.

Tatnall prevailed in the boys’ DII competition, scoring 29 points behind Nicolas Pizarro’s individual win (17:18).

Other Sussex County runners who earned top-15 medals were Chase Sims of Indian River (second in DII, 17:26), Colin Kay of Sussex Tech (eighth in DI, 18:07), and Ian Hayes of Woodbridge (15th in DII, 19:24).

Boys’ Top 15 individuals - Division I: 1. Ryan Banko (Sal) 16:35; 2. Kenny Guy (Poly) 17:19; 3. Ryan Baker (Cape) 17:19; 4. Matt Gatune (Poly) 17:30; 5. Jonathan Drew (Midd) 17:47; 6. Jack Mancuso (Chart) 17:50; 7. Matt Miller (Sal) 18:03; 8. Colin Kay (ST) 18:07; 9. Julian Callaway (Cape) 18:12; 10. Ian Cain (CR) 18:23; 11. Joey DeGregory (Cape) 18:23; 12. Alejandro Lobo (New) 18:29; 13. Jonas Rush (Midd) 18:33; 14. Patrick Craig (CR) 18:35; 15. Sam Felice (Sal) 18:39.

Boys’ team scores - Division I: 1. Salesianum 56, 2. Cape Henlopen 72, 3. Middletown 98, 4. Polytech 127, 5. Caesar Rodney 133, 6. Smyrna 216, 7. Charter 218, 8. Milford 230, 9. Sussex Tech 240, 10. Appoquinimink 244, 11. Newark 277, 12. William Penn 283, 13. Dover 362, 14. Mt. Pleasant 406, 15. St. Georges Tech 414, 16. Sussex Central 484, 17. Hodgson 516, 18. Delcastle 529.

Girls’ Top 15 individuals - Division I: 1. Mary Dorsey (Pad) 20:01; 2. Sophia Holgado (Pad) 20:25; 3. Courtney Candy (Appo) 21:07; 4. Hannah Zura (CR) 21:12; 5. Geneva Laur (Pad) 21:14; 6. Katie Kuhlman (Cape) 21:15; 7. Maria Lombardi (Chart) 21:32; 8. Claire Andreasen (Chart) 21:48; 9. Kelsey Wolff (Pad) 21:52; 10. Julia Querey (Pad) 21:57; 11. Alyssa Young (Smy) 22:03; 12. Isabelle Walsh (Midd) 22:15; 13. Madison Crossley (CR) 22:24; 14. Mary Flanagan (Pad) 22:29; 15. Jane Mazzeo (Pad) 22:31.

Girls’ team scores - Division I: 1. Padua 27; 2. Charter 76; 3. Caesar Rodney 104; 4. Cape Henlopen 110; 5. Middletown 146; 6. Appoquinimink 174; 7. Smyrna 175; 8. Sussex Tech 191; 9. Milford 233; 10. Polytech 251; 11. Sussex Central 332; 12. William Penn 354; Incomplete: Delcastle, Dover, Hodgson, Mt. Pleasant, St. Georges Tech.