Dogfish Dash on tap Sept. 28 in Milton with more than 1,500 expected

Henlopen Conference cross country action Sept. 24 saw the Cape Vikings boys win easily over Smyrna by a score of 18-43 and Polytech 20-41 on the 5,000m course at Blackbird State Forest. Jason Baker stayed out front, winning the race by nearly a minute in a time of 16:27, while Riley Stazzone was second in 17:14. Isiah Winslow-Hill from Smyrna took the third position in 17:20, while Kellan Burke of Polytech was fourth in 17:31. Owen Beitzel of Cape wrapped up the top five in 17:40. The Cape girls were equally successful with wins over Polytech 22-35 and Smyrna 25-30. Natalie Schneider of Cape was first across the line in 20:28, while Lindsay Mollura of Polytech finished second in 20:45. Grace Walker of Smyrna was third in 20:52, Claudia Stazzone was fourth in 21:56 and Logan Crotty of Cape was fifth in 22:15. In late action Sept. 20, the Cape boys captured the cool Spartan Moonlight Showcase held at Saint Mark’s on the 4K course. Jason Baker ran a quick 12:10 to win the varsity boys’ race, and Riley Stazzone was fourth in 12:43.

The off-centered 18th Dogfish Dash 6K Run and 3K Walk will step off at 9 a.m., Sunday, Sept. 28, in Milton. Registration is still open at seashorestriders.com. The Striders team checked in more than 400 participants at the first pickup this Wednesday in Rehoboth Beach, while the second and final pickup will be from 12 to 5 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 27, at the Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton. There will be no race-day registration. About 1,600 runners and walkers are expected for the race, and gates open at 7 a.m. for parking. Arriving early is the key to success on race morning. The race benefits the Sussex County Land Trust.

Brian Lovett, a 51-year-old master runner from Allentown, Pa., won the second Harvest Hustle 5K Sept. 20, at Cape Henlopen State Park in a time of 19:26, while Aimee Morgan, 39, of Magnolia won the female title in 20:07. Brian Shipkowski, 45, of Delmar was third in 20:37, and Reid Lovett, 17, of Allentown was fourth in 21:10. Shaun Epps, 39, of Berwyn, Pa., ran 22:29 for fifth overall, while Jaime Rosevear, 43, of Seaford ran 23:32 for sixth place. Meryl Ludwig of Rehoboth ran 23:50 for seventh place, and Gavin Radka of Rehoboth Beach was eighth in 24:22.

Austin Guerrieri of Milton, a Cape state champion wrestler, won the 10th Paradise Grill Stop, Drop & Run 5K held Sept. 21 at Paradise Grill in Long Neck with a time of 19:45. Erik Gibbs of Felton was second overall in 20:15, while Melissa Wiley of Ocean City, Md., led the whole “water course” in a time of 20:31 to capture the overall female title. Aimee Morgan of Magnolia was fourth in 20:54, and Jayden Palmer of Millsboro wrapped up the top five in a time of 22:36. Lawrence Kattes of Georgetown won the male masters in 22:50 with a sixth-place finish, while Susannah Baden of Rehoboth Beach won the female masters in a time of 26:47. Proceeds of the event went to the Indian River Fire Company.

Henlopen Conference cross country Top 10

Boys - 1. Jason Baker, Cape Henlopen senior, 15:32; 2. Ryan Moody, Sussex Academy senior, 16:07; 3. Riley Stazzone, Cape senior, 16:21; 4. Evan Easton, Caesar Rodney senior, 16:39; 5. Nick Petito, Cape sophomore, 16:39; 6. Brayden Redd, Cape senior, 16:45; 7. Andrew Radka, Cape senior, 16:55; 8. Eli Parfitt, Milford sophomore, 17:14; 9. Jonathan Bush, CR senior, 17:15; 10. Joshua Cohen, Cape senior, 17:19.

Girls - 1. Morgan Thompson, Caesar Rodney sophonore, 19:39; 2. Claudia Stazzone, Cape sophomore, 19:48; 3. Natalie Schneider, Cape senior 20:13; 4. Riley Moriarty, Sussex Academy junior, 20:38; 5. Lindsay Mollura, Polytech freshman, 20:45; 6. Grace Walker, Smyrna sophomore, 20:52; 7. Jordan Blades, Sussex Academy freshman, 21:11; 8. Logan Crotty, Cape junior, 21:15; 9. Bree Terhune, Cape freshman, 21:23; 10. Leila Hernandez, Indian River senior, 21:30.

Middle school wrap

Cape middle school cross country is off and racing, with the Beacon boys winning over Woodbridge 15-56 Sept. 22, led by Thomas Bonk hitting the finish in 14:05. Beacon also took the next four places for the sweep, with Daxton Napolitano second in 14:14, Jack Hilton third in 14:22, Grove Thompson fourth in 15:09 and Gavin Brooks wrapping up the top five in 15:43. On the girls’ side, Beacon beat Woodbridge 15-77 as reported, but it should have been 15-50 if scored correctly. Maybe I’ll do a middle school scoring Zoom clinic in the near future. Emily Hilton was first in 14:28, which would have placed her fourth in the boys’ race, while Elle Stretch was second in 15:30. Brielle Antos finished third in 15:50, while Charlotte Brooks was fourth in 17:00 with Megyn Chenosky wrapping up the top five in 17:26.

The Mariner boys beat Sussex Academy 18-45 and Georgetown 18-45 on the 2.02m Sandhill course, led by Logan Cole in a time of 12:58. Noa Urrestarazu of Mariner was second in 13:15, while Irving Flood of Mariner was fifth in 14:06. On the girls’ side, Mariner beat Sussex Academy 23-36 and Georgetown 20-39, with Stella Hastings of Mariner finishing second in 14:28. Fiona Fisher was third for Mariner, while Garrity Cox of Sussex Academy grabbed fourth. Eva Piper of SA wrapped up the top five in 15:16.
The Fred Thomas boys beat Selbyville 19-54, and the girls also won 19-40. No individual results were posted following the meet on websites4sports.