Ben Bamforth wins Tidewater Classic title in Salisbury

A large field of 246 boys and 21 teams raced from the starting line Oct. 5 at Winter Place Park in Salisbury, Md., for the annual Tidewater Fall Classic High School Cross Country Invitational. The event attracts teams from all over the region. Two-time defending team champions Northwest, out of D.C., put six runners in the front pack, as the field went through with a 5:01 opening mile. Henlopen Conference runners Bryan Perry, Ben Bamforth and Greg Boyce were just off the front pack with a 5:09 split.

Just past the midway point in the race, Bamforth surged to the front and took the lead for good, emerging from the woods passing two-miles in 10:27 with a 10-yard lead over Perry and the Northwest pack. Bamforth would extend his lead to eight seconds during third mile and cruise to the finish in a time of 16:33 for the individual win. Boyce would finish well in fifth for a new personal best of 16:45, while Perry would end up eighth overall in 16:57.

Northwest would put all five scorers in the top 10 to easily win the team title with 31 points. Kent Island was second in the team race with 69 points, while Sussex Tech was third with 78 points. Polytech was fifth with 163 points, Milford was seventh with 217 points and Cape was ninth with 248 points to round out the conference team scoring.

Finishing behind Boyce for the Vikings were Ryan Shaffer in 45th in 18:39, Tristan Holland 68th in 19:25,  J.P. Heid 76th in 19:34, Everardo Carillo 88th in 19:54, Bryan Ciabattoni 93rd in 20:04 and Owen Allen 97th in 20:09.

Finishing behind Bamforth for the Ravens were Jairus Hinds 12th in 17:11, Graham Spellman 16th in 17:25, Connor Morrow 18th in 17:31, Ryan Morrow 34th in 18:15, Kurt Rushing 38th in 18:28 and Michael Wesolowski 43rd in 18:33.

On the girls’ side of the Tidewater action, De Rodriguez-Santiago of Milford led the Henlopen Conference runners with a third-place finish in 19:41, leading her Milford team to a second-place finish with 62 points. The girls’ race featured 193 runners. Freshman Olivia Brozefsky of Cape was ninth overall in 20:47, her best time of the season so far.

Finishing behind Brozefsky for the Vikings were Zoe Callard 41st in 22:49, Yesena Ramirez-Montano 44th in 22:56, Tabitha Wojciechowski 52nd in 23:26, Lizzie Finnegan 76th in 24:38, Hadley Rhue 95th in 25:33 and Lily Smith 97th in 25:39.

Finishing for Sussex Tech were Lakendra Harpe 36th in 22:31, Alexis Singh 38th in 22:34, Chloe Fisher 42nd in 22:51, Kylie Miliner 48th in 23:05, Rebecca Hitchcock 104th in 25:53, Ansley Morrow 112th in 26:31 and Jenna Bones 117th in 26:49.

Following Milford in the girls’ team race were Cape in seventh with 185 points, Polytech in eighth with 216 points and Sussex Tech in ninth with 220 points.

Full results of the meet and interviews can be found on md.milesplit.com.

Burton, Neubling capture Paradise Grill 5K

Young Striders runners Luke Burton of Lewes and Mia Neubling of Milton won the overall titles at the second annual Paradise Grill Let’s Crush Cancer 5K in Long Neck Oct. 1. Burton, 11, ran the course in 19:44, while John Blackford of Milton was second in 20:01. Colin Kay of Lewes, 12, rounded out the top three in 21:05. Shane Strieby of Cumberland, Md., ran 21:30 for the masters title. On the female side, Neubling, a 2:47 800-meter runner on the Beacon track team as a sixth grader, ran 23:01 to win her first overall title, while 14-year-old Erin Kay of Lewes ran 23:37 for second. Jessica Jackson of Lewes rounded out the top three with a race of 24:03. Kathy Kay won the female masters title in 24:36.  A total of 175 runners entered the event, while 145 crossed the finish in the pouring rain. A first-class brunch buffet was put together by the Paradise Grill team, while Mike Hines & the Look entertained the crowd at the post-race party with many runners warming down on the dance floor. Bring a friend and put this fun event on your schedule for 2017, as the race will be held on Saturday. Sept. 30 at noon. Full results can be found at seashorestriders.com.

Dolphin Dash for Betty held at Shields

Moiber Rivera of Georgetown won the male title in 21:35, while Striders runner Brooke Jones, 12, of Milton won the female title in 25:28 to lead the way at the Dolphin Dash for Betty Sept. 30. Antonio Bowe of Milford won the male masters title in 22:43, while Nina Smeltzer of Rehoboth won the female masters in 27:20. The race is in memory of the late Betty Gooch, a teacher and a friend, who lives on in the many she touched each and every day. A scholarship, spearheaded by the Gooch Family, is presented each spring to a Sussex County student. 

Sussex Academy drops meets

The Lake Forest boys beat the Sussex Academy boys 15-49, while Smyrna won 20-37 in local Henlopen Conference cross country action. Senior Mason Hayes led Sussex with a 10th-place finish in 19:59.

The Lake Forest girls also topped the Sussex Academy girls by a score of 22-37, while Smyrna won 19-40 in girls’ action. Helena Helou of Sussex Academy continues her fine season, as she finished second in 20:05 in the race hosted by Sussex Academy.

Upcoming Events

• Saturday, Oct. 8, sixth Dewey Goes Pink 5K, 11:30 a.m., Dewey Beach, races2run.com

• Saturday, Oct. 15, inaugural Ashley Furio Memorial 5K for the Children's Beach House, 9 a.m., Crooked Hammock, Lewes, races2run.com

• Sunday, Oct. 16th, third Herring Point 5K/10K; 9 a.m., Herring Point, Cape Henlopen State Park, Lewesm seashorestriders.com.