“Most house flies live outside” sounds like a country song, but those jokers were for real along the cross country course Oct. 8 at the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment, as the Mariner boys and girls hosted Seaford in a middle school cross country meet.
October temperatures hovered near 80, and humidity hung in the air like wet blankets on a campground clothesline. Runners were happy on the way out, but looked pained at the finish line. A typical middle school distance runner doesn’t hide inside the pack; they go for it and pay for it at the end.
The Mariner boys and girls remain undefeated, both teams 3-0, the boys facing a stiff challenge for a 23-36 win, while the girls laid down the cross country shutout 15-50.
Carl Stump of Seaford was the overall boys’ winner in 12:02. The official boys’ top 15 were: Carl Stump (S) in 12:02, Ryan Baker (M) in 12:11, Jakob Hayes (M) in 12:22, Bryan Ramirez-Montano (M) in 12:23, Colin Hignutt (S) in 12:25, Jia Qi Xie (M) in 12:32, Gabriel Miller (S) in 12:45, Jia Han Xie (M) in 13:03, Jackson Isaacs (M) in 13:14, Jay'Lier Long (M) in 14:36, Connor Pencek (M) in 15:06, Davonte Collins (M) in 15:16, Jose Hernandez-Vega (S) in 15:27, Bennett Breitenbach in 15:51, and Jayceon White (M) in 16:05.
Katie Kuhlman scorched the women’s field, running 12:13, which would have placed her fourth in the boys’ race. The top 15 were: Katie Kuhlman (M) in 12:13, Brayden Parkes (M) in 13:56, Ali Stevenson (M) in 14:02, Mac Cryne (M) in 14:12, Olivia Burkentine (M) in 14:23, Molly Greeley (M) in 14:30, Sara Dawson (M) in 14:47, Lillian Fisher (M) in 15:18, Mollie Skipper (M) in 15:48, Trinese Losiewski (M) in 16:12, Adele Schumaier-Harris in 16:21, Evelyn Turman (M) in 16:33, Lilie Coulter (S) in 16:41, Brianna Windish (M) in 16:53 and Kaci Ieppert (M) in 17:12.
Mariner, coached by Kenny Riedel, will run at Sussex Academy on Monday, Oct. 15.