The fourth annual Lover's Lane Valentine Boardwalk 5K was held in the Nation’s Summer Capital Feb. 14, bringing 169 runners and walkers to the starting line in Rehoboth Beach. Zach Lassack, 29, of Lutherville Timonium, Md., easily ran away with the win in a time of 16:52.7, finishing 2:32 ahead of second-place finisher Jake Kolodziej, 25, of Lewes.
One of the best female masters runners in the area, Natalie Lutz, 43, of Hockessin, was third overall in 19:30.3 to win the female title.
Martin Rodriguez, 44, of New Castle finished fourth to win the male masters title in 19:47.8. Local Paul Timmons, 56, of Rehoboth Beach rounded out the top five in 20:15.6.
On the female side, second place and top masters title went to 48-year-old Jamie Hicks in 22:03.4, just 16 seconds behind her husband Robert. Third place went to 26-year-old Nicole Wasserleben of York, Pa., in 22:38.3, while Hope Guzzo Mater, 36, of Laurel, Md., was fourth in 22:56.4 and Teri Welsh, 58, of Milton was fifth in 23:41.4.
Proceeds from the event went to Habitat for Humanity Maryland Chapter.
DIAA Championships
The 2026 DIAA Indoor Track & Field State Championships are scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 21, at the new University of Pennsylvania Ott Center.
Look for Padua and Tatnall to lead the girls’ contenders, while Smyrna should score in several events.
On the boys’ side, Dover is peaking at the right time, having just run one of the fastest mile relay races of 3:22.57 in Delaware indoor history last weekend at the Ocean Breeze. Salesianum, Middletown and Cape will also be in the mix for the boys’ team title.
The Cape boys are the only downstate team to ever win a state title, as the Vikings captured the championship in 1984, 1985 and 1993.
Speaking of Cape, Will DiPaolo leads the state in the pole vault with a clearance of 14-feet at Ocean Breeze Jan. 31.
Leading the field event charge is Sussex Tech’s Jordan Welch, who is the state leader in three events. Welsh jumped 6-10 in the high jump Jan. 3, 23-5 in the long jump Feb. 13, and 48-2 in the triple jump Jan. 22.
On the girls’ side, Katya Geyer of Sussex Academy is the only downstate leader, with a height of 5-2 in the high jump Jan. 10.
Finish chute
Cape graduate Bailey Fletcher of Ohio State finished third at the Tiger Invitational in Clemson, S.C., jumping a new personal best of 4.8 meters or 15-feet-7-inches. Fletcher finished behind Karl Pohlak of Duke and Matt Phillips of Clemson. Also at the Clemson meet, South Carolina threw down a 3:00 mile relay, which averages 45 seconds per person at 400 meters. That puts the Gamecocks’ foursome in the mix for an NCAA title.
Junior Jamar Beasley of Cape ran 2:01.68 in the 800 meters last week at Ocean Breeze, while senior Andrew Radka ran 2:03.04. Freshman Dylan Harp ran 4:40.66 in the 1,600. Senior Riley Stazzone won the 3,200 in a tough time of 9:35.64, setting himself up nicely for the state championships. In the same event, sophomore Nick Petito was ninth in 10:04.08 and senior Brayden Redd was 10th in 10:05.14. Bernard Jones jumped 20-1 in the long jump. Cape ran 1:32.80 in the 800-meter relay for sixth place, while the girls ran 1:56.88 for 18th. Thrower Mallory Kauffman was third in the shot in 37-8 ½ . Cape took the top two spots in the vault with Bailey Fletcher jumping 13-0 and Douglas Simpson clearing 12-6. Sophomore Brayden Uszenski jumped 39-9 ¾ in the triple jump. Junior Logan Crotty set a new personal best in the 1,600m with a time of 5:45.30, while senior Natalie Schneider ran 5:47.31. Senior Lily Holodick ran 1:04.18 in the 400.
Zaigeya Sheppard-Tunnell led the Sussex Central girls with a 14th-place finish in the shot in 29-2 ¾, while Kai Thorton was 10th in the 55-meter hurdles in 7.83.
