Cross country season kicks off Sept. 10 at Lake Forest Invitational

Tim Bamforth

September 9, 2022

Karen Eller from Wilmington ran every race of the summer series and was awarded the Hank Brittingham Volunteer of the Year Award for staying behind after races to help clean up and pack up. SUBMITTED PHOTO

The Lake Forest Invitational will kick off the Delaware high school cross country season this Saturday, Sept. 10, at Killens Pond in Felton. The runners take off 10 a.m., with races every 30 minutes, from varsity to JV to third team to the eighth grade & under open race. Cape will be led by favorite Ryan Baker, who went under 9:20 in the 3,200 meters last spring, which is flat-out cruising! Liam O’Donnell and Joey DeGregory will give the Vikings a nice 1-2-3 punch up front with the leaders. Katie Kuhlman will lead the Cape girls into the season as she heads into her senior year.

Jay Diaz and his Sussex Academy team, led by Brett Parker on the boys’ side and Lilly Bowe on the girls’ side, will pick up where they left off last year with a young team that now has a year of experience under its belt. Shaila Collins and her Sussex Tech team will be led by Coleman Woodard on the boys’ side and Arina Varrato on the girls’ side. Rick Hundley and his Indian River Indians will be led by first-team all-state runner Brynn Crandell and senior Chase Sims.

The Henlopen Conference Championships and the Delaware State Championships will both be at Killens Pond this season, so it is important to get runners on the course.

Fall racing with the Striders

The 18th Cannonball 5K & Trenny Elliott Memorial Walk will take place in Lewes Sunday, Sept. 11, while the fourth Tunnel 2 Towers 3.43-mile race will be at Cape Henlopen State Park Sunday, Sept. 18. The annual Dogfish Dash is sold out at 1,000 runners and will be in Milton Sunday, Sept. 25, while the inaugural Run Like A Scarecrow 5K will be held at Hudson Fields Saturday, Oct. 1. The seventh annual Paradise Grill Crushin’ Cancer 5K will be Sunday, Oct. 2, in Long Neck, while the sixth annual Ashley Furio 5K & Crooked Crawl will come to Lewes Saturday, Oct. 15. The second annual Darby Dash 5K will be Sunday, Oct. 16, at Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes, while the fourth Howl-o-ween 5K will be held Saturday, Oct. 22, in Ridgely, Md. The 19th annual Mariner’s Bethel Trail 5K/10K & 1.5-Mile Walk will be Sunday, Oct. 23, at Camp Barnes, while the second annual Sea Witch Half Marathon and 32nd Sea Witch 5K Classic will take place Oct. 29-30 in Lewes and Rehoboth.

Delaware Senior Olympics

Cape volunteer track & field coach Peter Klotz will be the meet director of the Delaware Senior Olympics at Cape Henlopen High School Sunday, Sept. 25, in Lewes. Throwing events start at 9 a.m., while track and jumping events start at noon. If anyone is interested in competing, they must be 50 years old, but can live in any state. Throws include the shot put, discus and javelin. Jumps include high jump, standing long jump, running long jump and pole vault. Track events include the 50-meter dash, 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, 400-meter dash, 800-meter run and 1,500-meter run. There are also a power walk and race walk in the meet. To register to compete, go to DelawareSeniorOlympics.org. For info, contact Peter Klotz at 302-329-9008. Spectators are also welcome.

Series All-11

Following the amazing Last Blast Prediction awards where 20 runners predicted within 12 seconds and better, I presented some special awards from the 32nd Seashore Strider Summer Racing Series. Eleven runners completed all 11 races in the series. They include Caleb Bradley, John Dowling, Marian Dowling, Karen Eller, Cheryl Justison, Mary Kessler, Eugenija King, John Walters, Jules Woodall, Sheila Young and Tim Young. Runner of the Year honors went to Mary Kessler, who broke several course records and won every age-group title throughout the summer. The Hank Brittingham Volunteer of the Year Award went to Karen Eller, who drove down each week from Wilmington to toe the Striders starting line, then stayed after everyone left and volunteered to pack up and clean up. The Most Improved awards went to Heather Marvin and Richard Tikiob based on percentage improved, while the Most Consistent awards went to Peter Charelli and Mary Kessler for having the closest fastest-to-slowest 5K performances. The runners with streaks beginning at five years and climbing all the way to 30 years were also awarded custom Half Stockley wooden State of Delaware awards. Peter Tracey and Teri Moore were presented their 30-year award, while Cindy Dominik and Peter Chiarelli were presented with their 25-year award. The series results are located at seashorestriders.com.