Seashore Half Marathon and 5K draws 350 runners

A total of 352 runners took part in the ninth annual Seashore Half Marathon, 5K and Relay, which kicked off the popular Irish Eyes 6-Pack Series. The 5K went north while the half marathon went south. Runners of the second leg of the relay were shuttled down to Gordons Pond to meet their teammates. Austen Cave of Delmar won the 5K rather easily. The race turned into a three-mile event when the turnaround cone grew legs and moved. Young Olivia Montini won the female 5K.

In the half, it was all Nathaniel Galef-Brown running 1:23:52 to win by over three minutes, while Corrie Ciaciura won the female half in 1:37:12 by over four minutes. Andrew Snow won the male Clydesdale division in 1:41:30, while Laura Marvin won the female Filly division in 2:04:04. The event also hosted 23 relay teams led by Chris and Linda Stanley with a time of 1:43:10. 

DIAA state championships

It is late May, and that means high school track and field is at its best, as the state championships will be held this Friday and Saturday at Dover High School, broken up into two divisions.

Indoor state champion Ce’yra Middleton is one of the top contenders in the throws, as she will compete in the shot put and discus events along with junior teammate Mackenzie Parker. Middleton will look to improve on her 38-foot-6-inch season-best performance. Jumper Amaya Daisey has gone 16-feet-8-inches this season and will compete in the long jump, while sophomore Timesha Cannon, in her first year in the event, will compete in the triple jump. Aya Daisey is one of four freshmen in the high jump and will look to get back to the 5-foot mark, while sophomore Olivia Brozefsky will compete in the pole vault where she eyes the 10-foot mark. Cannon will also take part in the 100 meters, while Taylor Johnson will run in the 300-meter hurdles and Brozefsky will run the 1,600 meters.

For the boys, Josiah Miller will compete in the discus, while junior Patrick Tkach will also take part. Senior Garrett Elgin will compete in the triple jump, looking to go over 44 feet. Junior Kenny Witherspoon will high jump, looking to go over 6 feet. Sophomore Giovanni Bendfeldt and senior Ryan Head will take part in the pole vault, while Isaiah Fillyau will run the 110-meter hurdles. Sophomore Carson Jeney will compete in the 300-meter hurdles, while junior Kolbe O’Donnell will run the 1,600 meters. Both Vikings teams will take part in all four relays.

Masser 5-Miler

The popular Masser 5-Miler, in its 25th year, will be held at 7:30 a.m., Sunday, May 27, at Cape Henlopen High School. The event kicks off the annual Seashore Striders Racing Series. The series started back in 1990 and has welcomed hundreds of runners to the beach each year while raising funds for many charities and generating thousands for the local economy. 

The Masser is the 5-mile qualifier event and Event No. 1 of the Seashore Striders Championship Series, where to qualify one must complete one five-miler and five 5K events throughout the summer.

This event will include a Clydesdale/Filly Division. Male participants must be 190-plus pounds and female participants must be 150-plus pounds to be eligible. All Clydesdale/Filly Division participants must weigh in race morning to participate. Please go the weigh-in station and check in with John. On race day, it is your responsibility to inform race staff that you’re a Clydesdale runner or we will assume you are an age-group runner. Clydesdale/Filly runners are encouraged to preregister, and once you have picked up your packet, you must go to the weigh-in station. Note: No duplication of awards. You may run either within your age group or as a Clydesdale/Filly. 

Online race registration will remain open through Friday, May 25, at 6 p.m. and will reopen on race morning at 6:30 a.m. Go to seashorestriders.com for more race information.

Delaware Lottery commercial

On May 16, I drove to Cape Henlopen State Park to take part in a Delaware Lottery commercial about a girl who buys a lottery ticket and wins the race. A fake race start was staged at the park where 30 runners did 18 sprints off the line for 30 meters. I called it speed work for the elderly. I went from being one of the runners to Mr. Confetti Man to Mr. Race Starter (at least my arm was) to a customer in the convenience store where the winning ticket was bought. Should be fun to watch with a lot of locals in the shoot and maybe you will see Linda Schwartz-Chi giving me elbows off the starting line. Look for the commercial to run from June 1 through Labor Day and go buy your lottery ticket!

Field Day celebrations 

Hundreds of runners that I would go on to coach at Beacon Middle or Cape Henlopen High School have gotten their first experience with track and field during this time of the year – it’s field day time! Shields will host its field day celebration Wednesday and Thursday, June 1 and 2, while the other three district elementary schools will also host their celebrations in the next few weeks. It’s a great chance to come out and cheer on the future athletes, volunteer and help out, or just watch the four productions, which all are a bit different. It is a busy time for me and the three other elementary teachers, and unlike other extra-duty jobs, there is no chip time, extra-duty pay or comp time offered. The PE teachers just do it for the love of the sport and the love of exposing young athletes to a day when they can put state testing, their multiplication tables, cursive and their ABCs aside, and let their athletic talent shine for some, and for others it is just the spirit of participating, trying their best, having fun and being part of a team.