Cape XC wins Tidewater Invitational titles

The Lady Vikings captured the team title at the 49th annual Tidewater Invitational. Only two runners were in the top 10 finishers and four in the top 20, as they scored 67 points for the win at Winter Place Park Oct. 6. Although Sussex Academy did not have a runner in the top 10, the Seahawks showed what pack running means, as they placed all five of their varsity scorers from 12th to 20th under a minute apart to take second in the team division with 77 points. Polytech was third with 91 points, while Caesar Rodney was fourth with 121 points. Sussex Tech rounded out the top five teams, scoring 145 points.

Super sophomore Brynn Crandell of Indian River threw down a time of 18:32, averaging under six minutes a mile to win the overall individual championship by over 40 seconds, while Sarah van Ornum of Kent Island ran 19:11 for second place. Crandell is coming off last week’s Sallies Invitational where she had the fastest time of the day in 19:28, which impressed many at hilly Brandywine Creek State Park. Hannah Zura of Caesar Rodney was third in 19:20, while Katie Kuhlman of Cape was fourth in 20:00. Arina Varrato is having a standout season at Tech, as she ran 20:28 for fifth place. Ellie Yerkes of Polytech was sixth in 20:42. Junior transfer for Cape, Colleen Flynn, ran 20:50, good for seventh place, while Sophie Leight of Easton ran 21:01 for eighth place. Madison Todd of Polytech ran 21:14 for ninth, while Josie Ledford rounded out the top 10 in 21:14.

The boys of Cape Henlopen put three runners in the top 10 to capture the team title with 68 points. Polytech was second with 87 points and four in the top 20. JM Bennett was third with 174 points, while Caesar Rodney was fourth with 176 points. Kent Island rounded out the top five teams with 177 points. Only three points separated teams three through five in the race. 

Individually in the boys’ race, senior Timothy Synowiec of JM Bennett ran 15:29 to capture the overall title, while the Poly duo of Kenny Guy and Matt Gatune ran 15:46 and 15:56 for second and third overall, respectively. Cape runner Ryan Baker was fourth in 16:01, while Chase Sims of IR was fifth in 16:18, a new season best. John Condon of Cambridge-South Dorchester ran 16:22, while Colin Kay of Sussex Tech ran 16:41 for a new personal best. Cape’s Joey DeGregory ran 17:00 for eighth place, while Ian Cain of CR was ninth, also in 17:00. Cape Julian Callaway ran 17:02 to round out the top 10 places.

Mariner tops Seaford

The Mariner cross country teams defeated host Seaford Oct. 4 at Chapel Branch Nature Area, with the girls winning by a 19-41 score and the boys securing an 18-43 victory. The girls were led by sixth-grader Allison Ortiz and eighth-grader Chloe DeForrest, who finished 1-2 in 11:35 and 11:38, respectively, for 1.55 miles. Also scoring for Mariner were eighth-grader Liv Longo (third overall, 13:03), eighth-grader Zoe Miller (sixth, 15:01), and sixth-grader Maren Edwards (seventh, 15:59).

On the boys’ side, sixth-grader Asher Woods took top honors with a 10:09 clocking, taking his first career win by nearly a minute. Also scoring for the Vikings were eighth-grader Brayden Redd (second overall, 11:03), seventh-grader Aidan Wyatt (fourth, 11:51), eighth-grader Andrew Henion (fifth, 12:10), and sixth-grader Quinn Kluchnik (sixth, 12:26). Mariner runners dropped an average of 52 seconds per mile from last week's times. The Vikings will visit Laurel Monday, Oct. 11.

Beacon beats Sussex Academy

The Beacon boys hosted Sussex Academy Oct. 4 at Cape Henlopen High School in Lewes, with Cape grabbing the top eight positions to win 15-50. Riley Stazzone of Beacon was first across the line in a time of 11:55 for the 3,000-meter course, while Ethan Thompson was second in 12:14. Cooper Forcucci ran 12:48, while Nick Petito ran 12:53.  Theo Hart crossed the line in 13:24, while young Nathan Re ran 13:29.  Max Wyshock ran 13:39, while Aaron Tikiob ran 13:53 for Beacon. Owen Mattioni of Sussex Academy ran 14:02 for ninth place, while Mason Trench of the Seahawks was timed in 14:18 to round out the top 10 finishers.

The Beacon girls easily handled Sussex Academy by a 17-40 score on the Cape High course Oct. 4. Beacon’s Lily Noonan was the top finisher in 13:19, followed by a good race out of Izzy Daniel in 13:42. Sixth-grader Erin Noonan ran 13:51 for third, while sixth-grader Shiloh O’Grady was fourth in 13:53. Fifth place went to Sussex Academy’s top runner Makenna Blades in a time of 14:37, while Paige Ballinger of Sussex Academy was sixth in 14:49. Sixth-grader Mia Thompson was seventh in 15:00, while Striders teammate Liza Williams of SA also ran 15:00 for eighth place. Riley Moriarty finished ninth in 15:02, and Maya Yngve of Beacon rounded out the top 10 in 15:15.

Finish Chute - Congrats to Albert Norman, a junior out of Sussex Central and Delaware State, who ran 25:33 to finish third at the recent Don Cathcart Invitational. It was reported that the time is a new school record, but I would encourage the DSU Sports Information Department to double-check results from the mid- to late ’80s. I was a teammate with two Kenyan runners, Caiphas Villicazi and Aasas Asafu, and I know both of them broke 25 minutes for five miles. I’m sure of this because I chased them from the start and never did catch them!