Cape finished an impressive fourth place in the gold division at the annual Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh University, one of the most popular, prestigious and talented invitationals of the season.
Senior Jason Baker ran to a fifth-place finish in 15:21, only 28 seconds behind the individual champion Travis Furmanski, a senior from Cedar Crest. North Penn put three in the top 10 to win the team title with 104 points.
Cape’s Nick Petito, just a sophomore, ran the best race of his season in 16:31 for 53rd, while Andrew Radka was 77th in 16:48. Brayden Redd was 80th in 16:49, while Riley Stazzone was 86th in 16:52. The Vikings’ third through fifth scorers were only four seconds apart, making them tough to beat. Josh Cohen was 99th in 17:01, while Dylan Harp, just a freshman, broke the Cape freshman record with a time of 17:03 to round out the top seven. Jude Peacock broke the 18-minute mark in 17:57.
The Cape girls finished 14th in the team race in the middle division. The Vikings were led by Claudia Stazzone in 19:50 for 32nd place. Natalie Schneider was 76th in 20:57, while Logan Crotty was 80th in 21:00 for her season best. Freshman Bree Terhune was 151st in 21:58, while Allison Ortiz-Rivera was 161st in 22:04. Shiloh O’Grady was 190th in 22:37, while Alisa Tsirtsan was 203rd to wrap up the scoring in 22:47.
In the 8K College Division, Cape grad Ryan Baker led his Lehigh team with a tough time of 24:20.
A total of 173 teams and more than 1,000 runners competed in the college division won by Georgetown with 103 points.
In the college women’s race, Penn State and Villanova finished tied with 119 points, but the tie goes to the sixth runner. Penn State’s sixth runner took 47th to Nova’s 80th to give PSU the team title.
Henlopen Conference Top 10
Boys - 1. Jason Baker, Cape, 15:19; 2. Ryan Moody, Sussex Academy, 15:56; 3. Isaiah Winslow-Hill, Smyrna, 16:16; 4. Riley Stazzone, Cape, 16:20; 5. Evan Easton, Caesar Rodney, 16:25; 6. Nick Petito, Cape, 16:31; 7. Devin Washington, Smyrna, 16:34; 8. Andrew Radka, Cape, 16:34; 9. Brayden Redd, Cape, 16:45; 10. Griffin Spana, Caesar Rodney, 16:45.
Girls - 1. Morgan Thompson, Caesar Rodney, 18:54; 2. Claudia Stazzone, Cape, 19:48; 3. Grace Walker, Smyrna, 20:06; 4. Natalie Schneider, Cape, 20:13; 5. Riley Moriarty, Sussex Academy, 20:33; 6. Savannah Stevenson, Sussex Tech, 20:36; 7. Lindsay Mollura, Polytech, 20:45; 8. Chloe Stephens, Smyrna, 20:47; 9. Adriana Schrock, Woodbridge, 20:50; 10. Analyse Caskey, Caesar Rodney, 20:55.
Middle school wrap
The Beacon and Mariner cross country teams delivered a bevy of quick times at a five-team dual meet with Georgetown, Laurel and Selbyville Oct. 6 at Cape Henlopen High School. The Mariner boys shut out Laurel 15-50 to remain undefeated, while the Beacon boys toppled Selbyville 20-38. Mariner seventh-grader Noa Urrestarazu picked up the first win of his career by covering the 3K course in a personal-best time of 11:38, while teammate Logan Cole grabbed second in 11:48. Beacon got top-five performances from Thomas Bonk (third, 12:01) and Jackson Hilton (fifth, 12:26), while Selbyville’s Colin Connor crossed fourth in 12:25. Georgetown got a 10th-place showing from Warren Davis (12:50), while Laurel was paced by Sandoval Garcia (53rd, 19:26).
Beacon’s girls stayed unbeaten with a 24-31 victory over Selbyville, while Mariner blanked Laurel 15-50. Eighth-grade star Emily Hilton once again spearheaded the Beacon effort, winning easily in 12:43. Hilton got support from Elle Stretch (third, 13:05) and Brielle Antos (fourth, 13:06). Georgetown’s Trinity Sipes earned runner-up honors in 13:02, while Stella Hastings of Mariner placed fifth in 13:20. Laurel’s A’Miya Phillips stopped the clock in 22:34 for 59th overall.
Finish chute
The Ashley Furio 5K will take place this Saturday at Crooked Hammock at 9 a.m., followed by the Darby Dash 5K Sunday at the Cape Henlopen State Park main beach bathhouse, also at 9 a.m.
My son Jake had another crazy race challenge last weekend in Fort Collins, as the Otillo Swimrun series, held mostly in Europe, came to Colorado. The event offered a combination of open-water swimming in the reservoir and trail running through Lory State Park's diverse trails. Jake and tethered partner Cristian Vasquez finished third overall in the World Championship Division, running 18.5 miles with 10 runs and swimming 5 miles with nine swims, and climbing over 2,000 feet in elevation for a time of 5:38:50. That’s about the same time it took Jake to swim from Cape May to Cape Henlopen five years ago.
Sussex Academy will head to the Ugly Duckling Invitational this Saturday at Killens Pond, which will offer a nice course preview for the upcoming Henlopen Conference Championships.
Cape is gearing up to travel to the Virginia Showcase Saturday, Oct. 18, just before the Sussex County Championships to be held Wednesday, Oct. 22, at Sandhill Fields in Georgetown.
