The 33rd running of the Masser 5-Miler took to the streets and trails of Lewes May 24, kicking off the 36th Seashore Striders Summer Racing Series.

The annual event was held in memory of the late Dr. Lee Masser, one of the four founders of the series along with myself, Bruce Springer and Richard Tikiob. A field of 260 turned out to Cape Henlopen High School.

“We are always pleased to honor Doc, and it was a nice turnout today to kick off our series,” said Tikiob. 

Owen Parsons of West Chester, Pa., took the win in a time of 28:30.6, while masters champion Tim Pagano of Lewes grabbed the runner-up spot in 28:42.7.  The Harrington Harrier, Matt Sparacino, finished third in 29:11.6, while Martin Rodriguez of New Castle took the fourth position in 29:39.5. Andy Gorlich of Milton rounded out the top five male finishers in 30:38.1.  

Eve Hoffman of Washington, D.C., won the female title in 32:54.0, while Melissa Wiley of Ocean City, Md., was second in 34:33.1. Third place went to masters champion Jamie Hicks of Milford in 36:16.1, while Ella Dougherty of West Chester was fourth in 36:23.7 and Sussex Tech graduate Arina Varrato of Georgetown rounded out the top five finishers in 36:41.9.   

Tikiob also presented the age group champions with custom laser engraved coasters with a beach scene photo, taken by Tikiob himself, engraved into the burned wood. 

“The Seashore Striders take pride in the awards we present, and we try to mix things up with quality unique awards,” said Tikiob.

The series continues Sunday, May 31, with the 19th Race for the Ribbon 5K at Cape Henlopen State Park. Former Seashore Strider Luke Burton, a 2014 national cross country champion, will be our honorary guest. 

Meet of Champions

The Cape boys' sprint crew took advantage of state champion Middletown electing to go to prom rather than the Meet of Champions, as the Vikings grabbed both the 4-by-100 relay and the 4-by-200 relay titles, naming them to the first-team all-state.

Other locals winning titles and named first-team all-state include Sussex Academy’s school record holder and state 1,600-meter indoor and outdoor state champion senior Ryan Moody, as he set a personal-best time of 4:12.31. Talan Gerardi of Lake Forest ran 4:15.55 for second place. It's pretty amazing that the top two were from the Henlopen Conference and both from Division II schools. I am sure both performances were also school records. Moody’s time is the fastest any Henlopen Conference runner has recorded in history.  

Cape's Will DiPaolo won the pole vault in 13-feet-6-inches, with Doug Simpson in second at 13-0 for a 1-2 finish for the Vikings.  

Sussex Academy's Katya Geyer tied for the win in the high jump clearing 5-0. Cape state champion junior Harper Mamele, who is coming off her 5-6 personal best, did not compete.

The word around the state, but not official yet, is that this year may have been the final year for the Meet of Champions. 

Finish chute

Ashley Carrier, a Cape grad who's now a senior at DeSales University, located in Center Valley, Pa., penciled her name into the record books as a part of the 400-meter and 1,600-meter relay teams that set school records this season and was named to the all-conference third team. The 400 relay time of 49.06 was a school record, as well as the mile relay time of 3:59.81. Ashley is also ninth on the 100-meter top 10 list for DeSales with a time of 12.92. Ashley was a sprinter for me at Cape and also for current coach Jen Cawthern. Congratulations to hard-working Ashley.

Side note - My friend Paul Ecker, a Cape graduate with a family in Rehoboth Beach, attended DeSales, where he specialized in the 400 and 800 mid-distance events. He is one of those guys who always had that god-gifted speed. Ecker just competed in the Masser 5-Miler, cruising to a time of 30:53 to finish sixth overall.

The Grove Club Walking & Jogging Club meets every Tuesday evening at 6 p.m., with my friend Margaret Colvin leading the charge, while the Lewes Laces also meets during the week for runs and walks in the Lewes area.

The newly Timmons family – Paul and Tanya recently tied the knot – celebrated Memorial Day with the Murphy Challenge, which consists of a mile run, followed by 100 pull-ups, push-ups, squats. The finish is another mile run.