If you have not been to Paradise, you are now in Paradise. That's what I announced to the crowd of runners and walkers before the start of the 11th annual Stop, Drop & Run 5K Sept. 20 at Paradise Grill. 

The annual event, which raises funds for the Indian River Volunteer Fire Company, is the only 5K in Delaware that gives participants two choices on the course. The water course takes runners through a maze of the Pot-Nets community where 80% of the course is along the water. The cross country trail course is an out-and-back 5K that is fast, flat and simple. The unique part of the whole equation is that both courses come back together at 2.54 miles for the final push to the finish line. I asked the field at the start for a show of hands on how many were doing each course. Very few hands went up. Then I asked them if they were going to wait until they reached the 400-meter split to decide. That's when most of the hands went up.

The first one back from the cross country course and winning the male overall title was Lewes racer Tim Pagano in a time of 18:24. Melissa Wiley of Ocean City, Md., finished second overall and won the female title in 20:41. Rounding out the top three finishers was Jayden Palmer of Millsboro in 22:37. Milton’s Angela Messick took a tour of the community and then some, as she made up her own 3.45-mile course, but still managed a silver medal in the 30-39 age group. Craig Karchner finished third in the 60-69 age group in 28:18. It was his first bronze medal in eight years of finishing in the fourth position wherever he races.               

Harvest Hustle 5K

The Village Volunteers of Lewes held its third annual Harvest Hustle 5K at Fort Miles in Cape Henlopen State Park. The Sept. 29 race drew a record field of 138 runners and walkers. The out-and-back course to Herring Point brought runners and walkers through many park surfaces and into the Herring Point woods heading toward the historic Clam Shell Trail, while the 1K walk turned around just beyond the historic tower and made its way back to the start-finish line. 

Max Warren of Silver Spring, Md., hit the line in 20:12 for the male overall championship, while Xander Brough of Lewes ran 21:51 to win the 14-19 age group. Keeping it in the family, Kaleb Brough was third in 21:51, while Huxley Conner of Rehoboth was fourth in 22:05.

Milford runner Jamie Hicks finished fifth and captured the female overall championship in 22:08, adding more hardware to her already-packed trophy room. Angela Messick finished in the seventh position in 23:08 as the second female, while jumping Kim Geyer rounded out the top three in 24:56.

Dogfish Dash

The popular Dogfish Dash, in it’s 19th year, will take to the streets of Milton Sunday, Sept. 27. The 6K-ish run and the 1.5-mile on-campus walk will begin at 9 a.m. About 1,400 participants are expected to race, many in recycled costumes, raising money for Sussex County Land Trust. The only packet pickup is from 12 to 5 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 26, and no registration or pick-up will be held race day. Cool laser-engraved awards will go to the winners in overall, masters and top three in 13 five-year age groups. Costume judging begins at 8 a.m. on the stage.

Cape cruises to triple win

Sandhill Fields was the host to a quad meet Sept. 23 between Cape, Smyrna, Polytech and Delmarva Christian. The Cape boys swept Delmarva 15-50 and beat Polytech 16-44 and Smyrna 17-40 to go 3-0 on the day. Dylan Harp led the race from the horn and went through the opening mile in 5:05. Harp won easily in a time of 16:04. Teammate Nick Petito was second in 16:21 and Owen Barron finished third in 16:31. A much-improved Jude Bastian was fourth in 16:51, while rounding out the top five was Owen Beitzel in 17:15. 

On the girls' side, Cape beat Delmarva 15-50, Polytech 17-43 and Smyrna 19-36. Fab freshman Emily Hilton won the girls' race in a new personal-best time of 19:47. It was her first time under the magic 20 barrier. Claudia Stazzone was second in 19:53, while Logan Crotty was third in 20:17. Maile Godwin finished fourth in 20:53, while Shiloh O’Grady ran a nice season-best time of 22:07. 

Middle school XC

The opening middle school cross country meet of the year was held Sept. 21 inside Legends Stadium. The tri-meet featured Mariner, Georgetown and Selbyville racing 3,000 meters around the Cape campus. When the dust settled, it was a romp by Mariner, as coach Kenny Riedel's boys took the top nine positions led by Noa Urrestarazu in 11:49. Irving Flood finished second in 12:16, while Otto DiMichele was third in 12:18. Five of the Mariner top seven are eighth-graders, while fourth and fifth are talented sixth graders. Hoyt Kapp led Selbyville in 10th place in 13:39, while Alexander Ezell led Georgetown in 21st in 15:50.  

The Selbyville girls have a nice pack of three up front. They cruised the course effortlessly and entered the stadium side by side stride for stride. Nolyn Kenny inched ahead for the win in 14:24, while Savannah Reynolds was second in 14:25 and Mila Canino finished third in 14:26. Morgan Oliver led Mariner in fourth place in 14:40, while Andrea Bustos-Roblero led Georgetown 15:48 good for seventh overall.

The largest meet ever held at Cape will be Monday, Sept. 28, with six teams coming together in Lewes. It should be challenging fun.