Sussex Academy girls, Cape boys win Henlopen Conference Championships
Seven Sussex Academy cross country runners ran into school history Nov. 5 at Killens Pond State Park by winning the school’s first Henlopen Conference Cross Country Championship. In a low-score-wins format, the Seahawks totaled 51 points, followed by Caesar Rodney with 64 and Cape Henlopen with 81.
The average finishing time for the top five runners was 21:41.
The Seahawks’ times and order of finish were: Katya Geyer in 20:26 (3), Lily Bowe in 20:43( 5), Kasi Showers in 22:06 (10), Makenna Blades in 22:18 (14), Peyton Stanislav in 22:50 (19), Eve Mundok in 23:17 (25) and Brianna Sordi in 23:35 (29).
The top seven runners overall were champion Brynn Crandell of Indian River in 19:02, followed by Katie Kuhlman of Cape in 20:11, Geyer of Sussex Academy, Faith Mitchell of Milford in 20:35, Bowe of Sussex Academy, Arina Varrato of Sussex Tech in 20:56 and Bree Talley of Caesar Rodney in 21:43.
Cape Henlopen won the boys’ championship with 36 points. The Vikings were followed by Caesar Rodney with 40 and Smyrna with 104. The average finishing time for Cape’s top five runners was 17:19.8.
The Vikings’ times and order of finish were: Ryan Baker in 16:26 (1), Maxwell Gillen in 17:07 (5), Liam O’Donnell in 17:22 (7), Joey DeGregory in 17:27( 8), Declan Morrissey in 18:14 (15), Brayden Redd in 18:32 (17) and Eddie Houck in 18:51 (22).
The top seven runners in the boys’ varsity race were Baker of Cape, Chase Simms of IR in 16:58, Connor Wilson of Smyrna in 17:04, Ian Cain of CR in 17:04, Gillen of Cape, Maddox Downs of CR in 17:11 and O’Donnell of Cape.
The top three junior varsity girls’ team results were Caesar Rodney with 15 (took top seven places), followed by Cape with 54 and Sussex Academy with 103.
Katherine Outten of Caesar Rodney was overall champion in 23:12.
The top three junior varsity boys’ teams were Caesar Rodney with 24, followed by Cape with 31 and Polytech with 91.
Caleb Price was the overall winner in the boys’ JV race with a time of 18:19.
Cross country collisions - The New Castle County Cross Country Championships were run Nov. 5 at Winterthur Estate in Greenville. The state championship meet in Division I and II is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 12 at Killens Pond State Park. The top three girls’ teams in the New Castle meet were St. Andrew’s with 55 points, followed by Padua Academy with 67 and Archmere with 153.
St. Andrew’s, a surprise winner, will run in the Division II race and go head-to-head with Sussex Academy. It’s difficult to compare times run on different courses. The weather calls for a 70% chance of rain. The Padua Pandas will be heavily favored in the Division I girls’ race.
Carlita Kaliher of Tatnall, a D2 school, won the New Castle championship in 19:12. She will battle Brynn Crandel of Indian River, who ran 19:02 in the Henlopen Conference meet. Mary Flanagan of Padua was the top D1 runner at NCC Championships in 19:27. She will battle Katie Kuhlman of Cape, who ran 20:11 in the Henlopen Championships.
The New Castle County boys’ champion was Salesianum with 45 points, followed by Middletown with 72, Delaware Military Academy with 119 and Tatnall with 153.
Sallies and Middletown along with Cape will be in the mix for the D1 boys’ team title. DMA and Tatnall will battle it out for the boys’ D2 title.
Jonathan Drew of Middletown ran 16:09 to win the NCC meet. The top four runners broke 17 minutes. Ryan Baker of Cape (16:26) will be in the misty mix on a predicted rainy day over slippery trails.
Race times for the Saturday state meet are girls' D2 at 1 p.m., girls' D1 at 1:40 p.m., boys' D2 at 2:20 p.m., and boys' D1 at 3 p.m.
