Hot and humid Lake Forest Invitational kicks off cross country season

A hot and humid Lake Forest Invitational was held Sept. 10 at Killens Pond in Felton, hosted by Spartans head coach Eric Payne and his staff.  The meet management was excellent, and the decision to combine the big school/small school races and have one varsity race for each gender was an intelligent and safe decision. The attendance was definitely much smaller than the good ol’ years, and I am not sure what we can do as cross country supporters to build the meet back up again. The meet, produced at one time by the late Jim Blades, was one of the best in the state at one time.

Sussex Tech boys finished third in the varsity boys’ race with 112 points, led by senior Ben Bamforth in a time of 17:46. Caesar Rodney was fourth with 121 points, led by Jonathan Epstein in 17:59.  Sam Nye led the Cape Henlopen boys in 18:57, while the Vikings finished 10th overall.

Cape Henlopen finished eighth in the varsity girls’ race with 247 points, led by frosh Olivia Brozefsky in 21:38. Sussex Tech finished 15th of the 18 teams, led by Chloe Fisher in 24:45.

Luke Burton finished sixth in 14:18 on the 2.1-mile course to lead the Seashore Striders boys, while Emma Barthelmess led the Striders girls in 15:49 and Aya Daisey was a shadow behind in 15:50.

Dogfish Bib Party

I came home from Striders practice recently to find a hardworking group of Striders enjoying the annual bib party in my dining room. The crew attached 5,100 chips on 2,550 numbers for the upcoming Dogfish Dash 8K race in Milton. Special thanks to Georgette O’Cone, Jane Boyd, Donna Long, Monique Bamforth, Amy Kuhlman, Brett Kuhlman, Katie Kuhlman and Louann Goldfarb. Oh boy, I cannot forget little Cody Kuhlman, who kept us on our toes throughout the night. Cody is my little Strider who is always entertaining … “Excuse me. Excuse me Do you have any ice cream?”  

Katie K at Shields

I have coached Cape Henlopen senior field hockey and lacrosse athlete Katie Klabe on the youth level with the Seashore Striders as well as the middle school level with the undefeated Beacon Middle School track & field team. Katie was my student at Shields, and every week she fought to be first around the track and the first to remind me that she won. Katie was a tough runner in cross country, where she hung toward the front and could outkick anyone near the finish line. Katie competed in several national championships. On the Beacon team, Katie was my relay girl and ran one of the best 200-meter dash races in her final race of her middle school career, breaking 28 seconds as an eighth-grader. 

Katie, who is nursing a hamstring pull, is now my assistant in the gym as part of her high school intern program, and “Miss Katie” is loved by all. If I can get her to stop laughing at what comes out of the mouth of a 5-year-old kindergarten student, then we will get some work done this semester.  

Upcoming races

Saturday, Sept. 17 - Ronald McDonald House 5K, Lewes, 8:30 a.m., races2run.com

Saturday, Sept. 17 - 20th annual Dewey Beach Sprint Triathlon, Tower Road, Dewey Beach, 7:30  a.m., www.deweybeachtriathlon.com

Saturday, Sept. 24 - Fifth East Coast Corn Run 5K, Millsboro, 9 a.m., seashorestriders.com.