Cape cross country beats CR by a single point two times
Brecknock County Park off Old Camden Road is a discus throw away from Caesar Rodney High School; it is the home course for the perennial powerhouse Riders cross country teams. The Riders rarely lose at home and are especially dominant on the boys’ side of the roster under veteran coach Mike Tucci.
On Wednesday, with October temperatures in the 80s and gnats gnawing runners through three loops of the same trail through the woods, the Cape boys sprang a mild upset, winning the meet 27-28.
The order of finish was Blaise Moyer, CR, 16:35; Ryan Baker, Cape, 16:42; Jacob Bole, CR, 16:55; Ethan Edery, Cape, 17:01; Jullian Callaway, Cape, 17:23; Lance Kauffman, Cape, 17:25; Julian Jones, CR, 17:26; Seth Flaherty, CR, 17:41; Ralph Nicholson, CR, 17:55; and Daniel Adili-Khams, Cape,18:02.
“If Lance doesn’t hold off their kid Jones for sixth place, the result flips,” said Cape coach Matt Lindell. “That and Daniel Adili-Khams, our fifth runner, holding onto 10th was also huge.”
Baker, a tough runner who doesn’t say boo on Halloween, used his summer of mileage to push CR’s Moyer, one of the top runners in the state, while staying ahead of Jacob Bole.
Cape was expected to win the girls’ meet, but the Riders ran tough and pushed the Vikings runners to the max, as Cape prevailed 27-28 behind lead runner Katie Kuhlman in a time of 20:54.
The order of finish in the girls’ meet was Kuhlman, 20:54; Ariana Adili-Khams, Cape, 21:36; Angelina Lione, CR, 21:54; Madison Crossley, CR, 22:04; Arianna Purtell, CR, 22:05; Mia Nuebling, Cape, 22:28; Sydney Wissman, CR, 22:46; Lindsay Rambo, Cape, 22:55; Olivia Anderson, CR, 23:07; and Peyton Evans, Cape, 23:31.
“Cross country is the ultimate team sport,” said Cape assistant coach Rob Perciful. “That was certainly proven today with a pair of one-point wins.”
Coach Matt Lindell said, “It was nice to come out with two wins versus an always well-coached and motivated CR team. I thought our kids did well given the heat and hearty supply of gnats that were consumed over 3.1 miles. Callaway and Kauffman came up clutch in the last tenth of a mile to pull ahead of CR’s third man, which made the difference, and on the girls’ side Katie and Ariana’s 1-2 finish was huge in the win vs. CR. Overall, both teams are ahead of where we were last year after meet No. 1, and I know we can drop a lot more time with some cooler weather and a couple more meets under our belt.”
A mask is not required when runners are racing, but many wore them through the woods as gnat deflectors.
The public was allowed to watch the race at Brecknock Park, but visitors are not permitted next Wednesday, Oct. 28, when the Vikings travel to Polytech to run against the Panthers of coaches Czar and Shelly Bloom.
Poly is tough, having doubled down Smyrna in its opener 18-39 on the boys’ side and 25-34 on the girls’ side.
