Cape sweeps Sussex County Cross Country Championships
The Cape boys’ and girls’ cross country teams began their postseason push by sweeping the Sussex County Championships Oct. 22 at Sandhill Fields in Georgetown.
Coach Matt Lindell’s boys earned their ninth consecutive county title with ease, tallying 20 points despite competing without low stick Jason Baker. The defending state champion sat out with back soreness, but fellow senior Riley Stazzone stepped up in his absence. Stazzone battled Sussex Academy star Ryan Moody until the final strides, with the Seahawks senior taking the win in a wild photo finish and stopping the clock in 15:52.3. Stazzone crossed just a tenth of a second later and was chased home by teammates Nick Petito (third, 16:27), Andrew Radka (fourth, 16:33), Dylan Harp (fifth, 16:45) and Brayden Redd (sixth, 16:56). Benjamin Moody, Will Parker and Seth Moore went 7-8-11 to help Sussex Academy take second in the team race with 46 points.
The Cape girls matched the boys’ team trophy on the strength of a one-three finish from sophomore Claudia Stazzone and senior Natalie Schneider. Stazzone dominated from the gun and notched a personal-best time of 19:29.8, while Schneider clocked a quick 20:06. Both Vikings slashed around two minutes from the times they ran at last season’s county meet. Sussex Tech sophomore Savannah Stevenson split up the Cape duo with a 19:56 clocking, while Sussex Academy’s Riley Moriarty (20:30) and Jordan Blades (20:39) rounded out the top five. Sussex Academy placed four runners in the top nine, but Cape’s depth won the day, as Logan Crotty (seventh, 20:52), Shiloh O’Grady (10th, 21:36) and Allison Ortiz-Rivera (13th, 22:00) helped the Vikings secure the team title with 34 points.
The Cape boys, fresh off a seventh-place finish at the prestigious Virginia Showcase last weekend, showed why they will be a favorite for the DIAA state title Saturday, Nov. 8. Even without Baker, 10 Vikings broke 18 minutes, with another six athletes sub-18:40. The Cape JV would’ve placed third in the varsity team race.
“I think it’s coming together at the right time, and we’re ready to drop some good times in the next couple of weeks,” Lindell said. “The boys ran well, especially coming off a short rest after Saturday. The girls ran relatively well. Our top three were coming off Saturday as well, and the remaining parts of the roster ran Friday.”
Lindell had high praise for Riley Stazzone after the senior dipped below 16 minutes for the third consecutive race.
“It was a great race to watch. Coming off a decent workout Monday and Saturday’s PR, I was really pleased with that,” he said. “You flip a coin on that lean, and either guy’s gonna win it 50% of the time.”
Lindell also lauded his talented group of ninth-grade boys, six of whom finished in the top 21.
“Really, from day one, this has been a special group of freshmen,” Lindell said. “They’ve fed off of each other all season, they like each other, and they’re progressing nicely. When they won the freshmen race at [the] Carlisle [Invitational in Pennsylvania], it was really impressive. Today, they built on that.”
