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Happy New Year to my running and racing readers

December 27, 2019

Last week on the night before the weekly Snow Hill invitational, the Cape girls enjoyed a pre-meet pasta dinner at Katie and Maggie Brown’s house. We did a gift exchange, which was super fun with a lot of laughing and some stealing, of course.

I was able to snag a $25 SoDel gift card from hurdler Noelle Sabbagh, as I was one of the last to choose. Events like this are when the girls can bond as a team, and it can translate to the success of a program.

Sistrunk wins at Ursinus Invite

Savannah Sistrunk, a senior sprinter at Sussex Academy in Georgetown, won her first big race of the season as she captured the 55-meter dash in a time of 7.43 seconds. The win was just .01 ahead of Taylor Small of St. Georges Tech. Sistrunk went into the finals with a trial time of 7.44, tied with the fastest trial time in the field of 84 girls. She returned to finish second in the 200 meters in 26.94, and finished out her day in 15th in the 400 meters in 1:05.78.   

“The soccer coach came up to me last year and said she was the fastest girl he ever saw on the soccer field and that I should talk to her about running track,” said coach Jay Diaz. “She decided to come out, and so far, she has done an unbelievable job for us.”

Congratulations to Savannah, who definitely opened some eyes with a great effort in a big meet.

Happy New Year

I thought I would leave a few gifts to some of my running friends as we get ready to burst into the year 2020.

To Marybeth Evans, I leave another sold-out marathon and half marathon with 3,000 runners and no defers or changes. To Martin Rodriguez, I leave a 40-degree day at Boston and a sub 2:50. To Craig Karchner of Fusion, I leave another race to time and no bandits. To Fredman, I leave another race to shoot, 104 columns and 208 athletes to write about.

To my 4-by-800 relay team, I leave a sub 10:20 relay performance. To hurdler Noelle Sabbagh and jumper Reagan Ciabattoni, I leave successful first outdoor high school track seasons. To sprinter/jumper Tia Jarvis, I leave new pain-free feet. To Mike Sewell, I leave another masters title. To runner Holly Smith, I leave a 2:59:59 Rehoboth Seashore Marathon in 2020.

To runner Jules Woodall, I leave another 1,000 races. To runner Richard Tikiob, I leave another photo to take and story to tell. To coach Matt Lindell, I leave a Henlopen Conference cross country title. To runner/biker Mike Richardson, I leave another trip north to Bethany Beach. To Jack Noel, I leave another race and another trick with Trixie. To runners Joey Kwit and Roxy Castillo, I leave another weekend at the beach and a Wawa gas card.

To running truck driver Enos Benbow, I leave another mile to drive, toll to pay and race to run. To coach Rick Hundley of Indian River cross country, I leave seven boys and seven girls ready to work hard every day and a summertime day off. To the 9-10 Bantam Striders cross country team, I leave a year of training and a trip to the podium. To coach Gilbert Maull, I leave another three-year contract and an AARP membership for his boy Tom Brady.

To the new Beacon Middle School track & field coach, I leave a successful season and another 10-year record of 96-1. To Mark Carter, I leave another awesome Dogfish Dash with over 3,000 runners in Milton. To Sussex Academy coach Jay Diaz, I leave a track. To all my running and racing readers, I leave another successful year of 52 columns as I close in on 1,400 columns in a row dating back to May 1993. Happy New Year! 

 

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