Herring Point five & dime this Sunday at Cape state park
The 5th annual Herring Point 5K & 10K will be held on the beautiful Gordons Pond Trail from Herring Point to Gordons Pond this Sunday, Oct. 14, beginning at 9 a.m. It will be one of the most scenic events in the state as you run through the woods and marsh and enjoy the new trail, see beautiful views, and hear the ocean waves as you breeze by. We will begin both events, the 5K and the 10K, at Herring Point and head north toward the Biden Center before making a U-turn and picking up the trail to Gordons Pond. Don't miss it!
Registration will remain open through Saturday evening at 6 p.m. and will reopen at 8 a.m. on race day at Herring Point.
Cross country news
Connor Nisbet of Wilmington Friends School ran a 15:05.7 at the Great American Cross Country Festival in Cary, N.C., last weekend, breaking the Delaware 5K high school record. The previous record of 15:06.8 was run in 2015 by Charter’s Kevin Murray on the same fast and flat course. Nisbet led a tight pack as the 2K split passed in 5:54.2, but fell off the pace finishing 15 seconds back for sixth overall. Austin Cave of Delmar turned in the fastest time of the day at the Salesianum Invitational in the 16:30 range, and now the question is, “How fast can he go?” The Delaware State Championships will be on the same course the second Saturday in November.
The Caesar Rodney girls finished second at the Salesianum Invitational Oct. 6 with 68 points and were led by Maleah Chumley in a tough time of 20:12. The Riders put five in the top 26, while Cape was led by Mia Neubling in 22:51 and Liz Melson in 23:04. Caroline Maull was 22nd in 23:35. The Vikings were fourth with 117 points. Tristan Holland led the Cape boys in 29th place in 19:54.
The Riders come to Lewes Wednesday, Oct. 17, at the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment in a battle of the unbeaten teams as the meet will likely decide the Henlopen Conference regular-season champions. The Vikings will have to be on their A game in order to run with the Riders, who keep improving weekly. Dover, Worcester Prep and Delmar will also join the meet making it a five-team affair. Arrive early; parking will be only in the main college parking lot.
Seashore XC Invite
This Saturday, Oct. 13, will be the 4th annual Seashore Youth Cross Country Open, with five age divisions, to be held at the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment in Lewes. The course walks will be at 10 a.m. with the meet beginning at 11 a.m. Registration is $10 and runners may register on race day at 10 a.m. The 5U group will race a 1K/.62-mile course, while the 6-8-year-olds will race the 2K/1.24m distance. The 9-10 and 11-12 groups will race the 3K/1.86m course, and the 13-14s will race the 4K/2.48m course. Awards will be presented to the top 10 finishers in each of the five age groups. Runners do not have to be associated with a team to compete in the race, just have fun, challenge themselves, and give running a try.
Francisco Puac wins Dewey Goes Pink
Francisco Puac of Georgetown won the largest race of his career as he captured the 8th Dewey Goes Pink 5K in 18:04. Not only is Francisco a much improved runner from where he was two years ago, but also one of the nicest men you will meet. A young middle school student out of Caesar Rodney running for Postlethwait, Madison Todd, 12, won the female title in 20:50. Look for seventh-grader Madison to be a front runner, along with Mariner ace Katie Kuhlman and Milford’s Faith Mitchell, to name a few.
Shields student Avary Miller, 10, finished 2nd in the girls’ 10-13 age group at the Dewey Goes Pink Race, and her dad John David Miller, 44, sent me a photo of his crew at the finish line. JD was 3rd in the male 40-44 division, while Luca Miller, 12, was 2nd in the boys’ 10-13 division, and Zane, 14, was 3rd in the boys’ 14-18 division. JD and sister Hannah Miller, a fellow teacher at Shields, were both on my track team so many years ago that can’t even recall the year.
Mikey Thompson, age 10, ran 23:55, while 8-year-old sister Mia ran 27:21. The Gannon threesome got into the mix in Dewey as 10-year-old Tripp Gannon ran 32:25, and 7-year-old twin brothers Briggs & Finn (future law firm) sprinted to the line in 32:38 and 32:40 after jumping over every cone on the course and blaming their mom Erin for holding them back as she finished in 34:18.
In back-to-back weeks in the local area, more than 5,000 runners took part in the Dogfish Dash and Dewey Goes Pink events, upholding the reputation of the Cape Region as a mecca for the average runner!
