Henlopen Conference cross country season steps off

Wednesday afternoon was opening day for Henlopen Conference cross country action.

Sophomore Katie Kuhlman led the visiting Cape girls to a one-point win over rival Caesar Rodney 27-28 at Brecknock Park, while sophomore Ryan Baker set a personal best of 16:42 with a second-place finish to lead his Cape boys’ team to a one-point win as well over the Riders with an identical score of 27-28.

Senior Declan Burke led the Indian River Indians with an opening win in 18:14 and senior Robert Senseny grabbed second in 18:22 to pace the Indians over the Delmar Wildcats 15-50. On the girls’ side, it was freshman Brynn Crandell with her first win in 20:28. She is the real deal for the Indians.     

Senior David Wooten grabbed the individual win for Sussex Central, while junior teammate Jaden McTeer was second, but the Bucs of Milford took the team title with a close three-point win 28-31. The Bucs were led by Dale Osterman in 19:12. On the girls’ side of the action, Milford’s Faith Mitchell opened up with a time of 20:53 to easily win the girls’ race, while Lariemi Ramirez-Sandoval of Central led her team in 26:32 for seventh place.

A late wrong turn by the Lake Forest leader allowed Woodbridge’s Ian Hayes to get the victory in 19:35, while Gabe Martin led Lake in 20:47 in second place, as the Spartans won the meet 22-33.

Josephine Ledford was the only female Henlopen Conference runner under 20 minutes, as the talented junior ran 19:42 to lead her team to a 24-31 win over Woodbridge, led by Bethany Knutsen in 24:35 for third place.

A top 10 list for the Henlopen Conference will be done each week and published in my column beginning next week.

Websites4sports.com

Cross country home coaches are asked to report their team scores following their meet on the websites4sports site as well as the results of both the boys’ and girls’ individual finishers. Coaches are asked to list the following: Place, Name, School, Time, and to go at least 10 deep, preferably 20. Having each coach reporting these results would give consistency to the Henlopen Conference and the sport.   

Howl-o-ween 5K

There will be live racing in Ridgely, Md., this Saturday morning at 9 a.m., Oct. 24, as the second Howl-o-ween 5K will be held at Martin Sutton Memorial Park in the center of town. The event will benefit the Caroline County Humane Society. Social distancing and mask wearing will be required at all times when not racing. There will be no race-day registration, and water stop will be a serve-yourself setup. Runners and walkers are asked to arrive at the park no earlier than 8 a.m. to pick up their T-shirt and bib. For more information, go to www.seashorestriders.com.

Shields Elementary running to Hawaii

Shields students have ended their fifth rotation and 25 classes have started their walk/run to Hawaii with the goal to reach the islands 4,937 miles from Lewes. I promised them a Hawaiian hula party when they accomplish the task. I will continue to update the public, as the students are excited about the challenge and the healthy benefits walking and jogging can do for their bodies. I am combining the challenge with healthy eating focusing on fruits and vegetables, which we call “go foods.”

As of Oct. 23, we have circled the track 7,055 times for 1,411 miles, and we are currently in Oklahoma City. The top five classes through their five-day rotation are: 1. Team Libby (third grade) - 566 laps; 2. Team Gannon (fifth) - 487 laps; 3. Team Johnson (third) - 475 laps; 4. Team Davis (fifth) - 430 laps; 5. Team Peet (fourth)- 409 laps. Stay tuned!

The Great Pumpkin Run

The upcoming Great Pumpkin Run to be held on Halloween morning has more than 100 registered participants and room for 100 more. The out-and-back course will start at 9 a.m. from the bathhouse parking lot in Cape Henlopen State Park and follow the bike trail to Fort Miles, then turn around behind the campground. The race will have custom pumpkins for the top three finishers in each age group as well as recognizing the overall and masters champions. Costumes are not required, but encouraged. Social distancing and mask wearing will be required when not racing. The event will be capped at 200 participants. Go to www.seashorestriders.com for more information.