Cape cross country sweeps Sussex Academy, Worcester Prep

Greg Boyce in 17:58 and Olivia Brozefsky in 22:53 each won their respective races Sept. 20 on a hot afternoon at the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment. The Cape tri meet with Sussex Academy and Worcester Prep brought out more than 100 young high school runners for the 3.1-mile course. The Vikings boys swept both teams with 15-47 and 15-50 scores, while a close meet of 24-31 went to Sussex Academy over Worcester Prep. On the girls’ side, it was the Vikings again with an easy win of 17-44 over Sussex Academy and 15-50 over Worcester. Sussex Academy girls easily beat Worcester 17-46 led by Lindsey Guida in fifth at 26:01.

Dogfish Dash invades Milton

The 12th annual Dogfish Dash in Milton will take off at 9 a.m., Sunday, Sept. 24, with a field of just under 3,200 runners entered in the event. The course loops through historic Milton for a distance of 8K, just under five miles. Milton Fire Police, Milton Police, Sussex County EMS, DelDOT, and a few other private agencies all come together to make this a fun and safe event for the Town of Milton. Many of the participants dress up in homemade costumes showing their support for the event and for the beneficiary, the Delaware Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. It's an awesome chip-timed race with a post-run gathering that includes tasty food, live entertainment and delicious Dogfish Head beer. Participants are encouraged to carpool with friends, walk or bike to the start to put fewer cars on the road and cause fewer traffic backups. Runners are also encouraged to pick up their bib and shirt Saturday and not wait until race morning, and to arrive at least one hour before the scheduled start. 

MacElrevey wins second race 

The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy men's cross country team opened the 2017 season Sept. 9 at the Trinity College Invitational at Wickham Park in Connecticut, not far from the Trinity campus. The Mariners men finished in third place at the event with 98 points, just behind archrival Coast Guard, which came in second with 50 points, and host Trinity, which won the event with 25 points. 

Senior Austin MacElrevey, a Cape graduate and former Seashore Striders runner, finished in first place in the 5K race with a time of 16:51.0 for his first individual win in a college race.

This past weekend, the Mariners men won the Queensborough Invitational on a tough 5-mile course at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, N.Y. MacElrevey won the race in a time of 27:45, which is impressive on one of the toughest 5-mile courses on the East Coast. The team scored 84 points, a full 64 points ahead of second-place Monroe College (148). Suffolk Community College came in third with 152 points, and Merchant Marine's fellow Skyline Conference opponent SUNY Maritime was the second place DIII team, as they placed fourth overall with 202 points. 

MacElrevey crossed the finish line just under a minute ahead of second-place Clive Griffiths of Purchase College. For MacElrevey’s performance, he was honored as the Skyline Conference and ECAC Runner of the Week. 

College Wrap

Austin’s sister Madison MacElrevey is a junior at Otterbein in Ohio. She also competed last weekend where her team finished third out of 11 teams with 57 points. MacElrevey was 52nd in 27:22 on the wet and muddy 6K home course, averaging just over 7 minutes a mile.

Junior Ryan Wilson was 137th last weekend, running for Roanoke College, finishing the 5-mile course in 30:29 at the Virginia Tech Invitational in Blacksburg, Va.

Freshman Ben Bamforth ran his very first 8K college race last weekend as well, racing for Winthrop University at the 34th annual Adidas Invitational. The team finished fourth overall, as Duke University won the team title. Bamforth finished 50th in 31:13 in the race.

Sophomore Roxanne Ramirez, competing for the Delaware Blue Hens, raced at White Clay Creek in Newark last weekend, where she finished second overall and second on the team in the 6K in 24:03.

Sam Hete, running for the Delaware Track Club, also was second overall, racing to a time of 27:20 for the hilly 8K course. A former teammate at Sussex Tech, Victor Rueda, was 18th in 29:27 and is racing as a senior for Goldey-Beacom College. Finishing 36th in 31:28 was another Tech runner, Jay Hinds, also running for the Delaware Track Club.

Inaugural Mooo-Run 5K

This Saturday morning, Sept. 23, will be the inaugural Udderly Fun Mooo-Run The Ultimate Farm 5K that will be held at 9 a.m. from Hopkins Farm Creamery in Lewes. The out-and-back course will zig and zag through the farm for just over 3 miles. An expected field of 150 will participate, with custom awards presented to the overall, masters, and top three finishers in 10-year age groups. Pick up your number and T-shirt early Friday evening and then go straight to the starting line on race morning. Packet pickup will be at Hopkins Farm Creamery from 6 to 8 p.m. and the creamery will be open if you have an after-dinner ice cream craving.

Dress up, have fun, and have a cow of a time at the Udderly Fun Mooo-Run at Hopkins Farm.

Seashore Striders XC

The Holy Cross Invitational was held this past Saturday in Camden, and the youth Seashore Striders competed in JV third and fourth, JV fifth and sixth, and varsity seventh- and eighth-grade races. The JV course was 1.2 miles, while the varsity was 2.2 miles. Top 10 finishers for the purple and yellow were the following: Lily Noonan finished fourth in the girls’ 3-4 race in 8:59, Katie Kuhlman was seventh in 16:50 in the varsity race and Mia Nuebling was 10th overall in 17:13. In the boys’ 3-4 race, Bennett Brumbley ran 8:04 for second place and Gage Hall was seventh in 8:37. Luke Burton was fourth in the boys’ varsity in 13:51, while Brexton Carter was ninth in 14:29.  

Betty Gooch 5K

The 10th Betty Gooch 5K, also known as the Dolphin Dash, will be held Friday, Sept. 29, at 5:30 p.m. In cooperation with the Seashore Striders, proceeds benefit the Betty Gooch Scholarship, which is presented each spring to a Sussex County senior to be used for future educational needs. The traditional youth dashes will take off at the track at 5 p.m. For more information, go to www.seashorestriders.com.