Sea Witch races draw nearly 800 runners
A big Sea Witch weekend of racing took place in the local running mecca, as just under 800 ghosts and goblins took part in the half-marathon and 5K in Lewes and Rehoboth Beach.
The events were dedicated to retiring festival founder Carol Everhart, who started the races with me in 1990 with 97 participants.
The half-marathon took place at beautiful Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes with the great support of the Friends of Cape Henlopen. The race took runners from the bathhouse main parking lot on a T course to the Cape May-Lewes Ferry terminal, back to Herring Point and down to Gordons Pond before returning north back to the start-finish area.
Brett Stinson of Clayton won the overall male title in 1:24:23, just 20 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Tyler Blandin of Camden Wyoming in 1:24:40.
Local Sam Spellman of Milton in 1:26:00 was the third-place finisher, while Zach McBride of Upper Marlboro, Md., finished fourth in 1:26:18 and masters winner Justin Mann of Wilmington took fifth in 1:28:22 to round out the top five male finishers.
Lauren Pollock of Middletown ran away with the female overall title in 1:27:14, nearly three minutes ahead of second-place finisher Sydney Koons of Downingtown, Pa., in 1:30:04. Arianna Pagogna of Wilmington in 1:32:54 finished third, while Christine Lloyd of Newtown, Pa., finished fourth and won the masters title in 1:37:29, and Brittany Druck of York, Pa., wrapped up the top five in 1:45:14.
A day later in the 5K race, Tim Pagano of Lewes won the male overall title with a 20-second cushion in 16:52, while Zach Martinez of Wilmington in 17:12 finished second. Rounding out the top five were masters winner Mark Walchinsky of Alexandria, Va., in 18:17, Quade Cummings of Milford in 18:31 and Connor Moore of Taylor, Pa., in 18:35.
On the female side, elite racer Elizabeth Swierzbinski of Wilmington ran away from the field to finish in 17:48. Melissa Wiley of Ocean City, Md., was second in 20:25. Sisters Kelsey Oliphant of Laurel in 20:54 and Alexis Oliphant of Laurel in 21:56 finished third and fourth, respectively, while past winner Eve Hoffman of Washington, D.C., in 21:56 wrapped up the top five. Amy Blithe of Wilmington won the masters title in 22:16.
Conference championships
The Henlopen Conference Championships will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday Nov. 1, at Killens Pond State Park. The races will feature one of the fastest fields on both the boys’ and girls’ sides when compared to previous years.
On the boys’ side, the Henlopen Conference has 20 boys under 17:19, while 15 have broken 17 minutes and three have dipped under 16. The field is led by Cape Henlopen standout Jason Baker in 15:19.
Twenty girls have run 21:31 or better, while 12 girls have gone under 21 minutes and five have dipped under 20 minutes. Morgan Thompson of Caesar Rodney leads the way for the conference with her 18:42 5K time.
Henlopen Conference Top 20
Boys - 1. Jason Baker, Cape, 15:19; 2. Riley Stazzone, Cape, 15:43; 3. Ryan Moody, Sussex Academy, 15:52; 4. Griffin Spana, Caesar Rodney, 16:09; 5. Isaiah Winslow-Hill, Smyrna, 16:16; 6. Brayden Redd, Cape, 16:20; 7. Andrew Radka, Cape, 16:23; 8. Nick Petito, Cape, 16:24; 9. Evan Easton, Caesar Rodney, 16:25; 10. Devin Washington, Smyrna, 16:34; 11. Talan Gerardi, Lake Forest, 16:35; 12. Eli Parfitt, Milford, 16:37; 13. Josiah Weaver, Smyrna, 16:41; 14. Dylan Harp, Cape, 16:42; 15. Owen Fay, Polytech, 16:46; 16. Joshua Cohen, Cape, 17:01; 17. Ben Moody, Sussex Academy, 17:09; 18. Jonathan Bush, Caesar Rodney, 17:10; 19. Kellan Burke, Polytech, 17:11; 20. Charles Wissman, Caesar Rodney, 17:19.
Girls - 1. Morgan Thompson, Caesar Rodney, 18:36; 2. Grace Walker, Smyrna, 19:19; 3. Claudia Stazzone, Cape, 19:29; 4. Lindsay Mollura, Polytech, 19:49; 5. Natalie Schneider, Cape, 19:49; 6. Savannah Stevenson, Sussex Tech, 19:56; 7. Analyse Caskey, Caesar Rodney, 20:14; 8. Riley Moriarty, Sussex Academy, 20:30; 9. Bailey Fuller, Polytech, 20:35; 10. Jordan Blades, Sussex Academy, 20:39; 11. Adriana Schrock, Woodbridge, 20:40; 12. Chloe Stephens, Smyrna, 20:41; 13. Logan Crotty, Cape, 20:52; 14. Aubrey Hobbs, Lake Forest, 21:01; 15. Leila Hernandez, Indian River, 21:03; 16. Vivian Kiige, Caesar Rodney, 21:07; 17. Katya Geyer, Sussex Academy, 21:08; 18. Leah Porreca, Caesar Rodney, 21:13; 19. Taegen Forester, Sussex Academy, 21:14; 20. Bianka Thornton, Polytech, 21:17.
