41 Seashore Striders head to Kentucky for Youth Nationals

A total of 41 athletes and 110 Seashore Striders supporters will travel to Lexington, Ky., to compete in the Cross Country Coaches National Youth Championships at historic E.P. Tom Sawyer Park. The course has hosted the Division I, II and III National Championships as well as a host of regional and state championships in the sport of cross country.

The Striders will travel with the largest group ever since the formation of the club in 1990 when the team of two, Suzannah Martin Frederick and Sally Beth Johnson, represented Delaware in Portland, Ore. The club added Johnny Mancuso and Jody Moore to Johnson the following year in Alabama and traveled with three athletes. Thirty-two has been the magic number until this year.

Here is a breakdown of the Striders and their age groups:

8 & U boys - Cody Kuhlman

6-8 girls - Emmi Swope, Mia Thompson, Allison Ortiz, Erin Noonan, Lorelai Freese, Claudia Stazzone

6-8 boys - Chris Friscia, Brooks Whaley

9-10 girls - Shiloh O’Grady

9-10 boys - Blake Fitzgerald, Michael Thompson, Lawson Whaley, Riley Stazzone, Eli Oliver, Tristen Willey

11-12 girls - Lily Noonan, Faith Mitchell

11-12 boys - Bennett Brumbley, Braden Trout, Stephen Hart, Caughnery Freese

13-14 girls - Katie Kuhlman, Olivia Montini, Devin Hundley, Bri Thompson, Jorja Willey, Lainey Shockro, Mia Nuebling, Gabrielle Cannon, Elizabeth Melson, Kassidy Willey

13-14 boys - Jakob Hayes, Alexander Arnold, Justin Friscia, Ryan Baker

15-16 girls & 17-18 girls - Emily Trout, Maddy Kuennen, Micayla Cannon

15-16 boys & 17-18 boys - Ryan Morrow, Austen Cave.

Good luck to the team! The races start at 9 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 17, and there will be 10 races averaging 200 to 300 in each race for a gathering of 2,500 to 3,000 of the best youth runners in the country. Delmar runner Austen Cave has a legitimate shot at challenging for a top three finish, as do three solid Striders teams in the girls’ 6-8, boys’ 9-10 and girls’ 13-14 divisions. The top 25 finishers in each division are named to the Youth All-American Team. Good luck, Striders.

MAL 5K

The Mispillion Art League 5K will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 1, in Milford. The course will start from the park next to the downtown Arena’s parking lot. Posts and arrows mark the scenic, challenging 5K course through Milford’s beautiful Riverwalk. Part of the course is a wooded path on Milford’s Goat Island. This is an out-and-back course for the runners. Register at www.seashorestriders.com for a $25 race fee or register on race day from 9 to 9:50 a.m. for a $30 fee. Award ceremony and post-race party will gather at nearby Park Place Restaurant.

Gobble Gobble

Next week in the Cape Region, there will be three Thanksgiving road races kicked off with the Gabby Gobble 5K on Thursday, Nov. 22, in Lewes, leaving Irish Eyes at 9:30 a.m. On Saturday, Nov. 24, the annual Pumpkin Pie 5K will be held from Grove Park in Rehoboth Beach, beginning at 9 a.m., and on Sunday, Nov. 25, the Turkey Trot 5K will be held in Bethany Beach at Sea Colony Fitness Center, beginning at 9 a.m.

All are outstanding races in our Cape area. These three races bring 1,500 to 2,000 runners to the Lewes, Rehoboth and Bethany areas. All charge an entry fee, which in turn generates a check to a charity. In the case of these three events, the Get Well Gabby Foundation, Toys for Tots, and Special Olympics Delaware will benefit. The large field of runners, with a higher percentage of visitors, will also stay in the area renting hotel rooms, campsites, rooms at local B&Bs; and eating at our restaurants and shopping in our retail stores. All this income generated in our Fisher-Price Cape Village because these three races get visitors to our area. I am not talking hundreds, I’m talking thousands of dollars generated from events that may cause a little disruption for an hour, but it is no lie that the healthy events are good for our economy, good for the city image, and good for the area in general. City and county leaders should want to keep the events in the area, in my opinion, but the trend I am seeing is that nonprofit leaders who hire race directors to produce their event are slowly disappearing because of the increases in expenses in the last two years. The larger events will survive, but the smaller events will disappear in the near future because expenses will outweigh the income.