Tiger Lily runs wild at Bill Degnan 5K

Lily Noonan, an 11-year-old rising sixth-grader heading to Beacon Middle School, captured the overall female title in 22:42 at the Bill Degnan Friendship 5K June 23 at Cape Henlopen High School in Lewes. Noonan, a cross country runner in the fall with the Seashore Striders, has a unique combination of endurance and focus that is not normally evident at such a young age. Her talent reminds me of two Cape runners, Jen Hicks and Tiffany Melendez, who were running similar times coming out of elementary school years ago. Hicks and Melendez came out of middle school running under 21 minutes for a 5K and made an impact right away on the cross country scene, as both were named to the all-conference team in their freshman year. The future is bright for Tiger Lily, or the Lilanator as she is sometimes called, and if you mention Irish dance around her, you will see a whole different set of talents, as the girl is also one great Irish dancer.

The Bill Degnan Scholarship winners, Ce’yra Middleton and Mackenzie Parker, were introduced and honored at the start of the Bill Degnan 5K, and they assisted with handing out the awards afterward. Middleton will attend Bowie State, just off Route 50 outside Washington, D.C., while Parker will attend Cabrini University, just off Interstate 476, known as the Blue Route, outside Philadelphia. Both athletes competed in track & field at Beacon Middle School and Cape Henlopen High School, and left their mark in the throwing events. Not only did they dominate in athletics, but they are both honor roll students and have bright futures with a road of endless possibilities to travel. Good luck, girls. Coach Bill Degnan would have been proud.

Side note - At the start of the race, I brought two runners out to have a friendly competition against Middleton and Parker, and longtime runner Breck Vanderwende came up a bit short against Middleton in the shot put event. It was then off to Mike Richardson who for the first time threw the discus and kept it in bounds, while Parker launched a bullet, but threw it out of bounds toward a ducking Peter Tracey. Vanderwende and Richardson are currently in PT.

Seashore Striders 6-Pack

The annual Irish Eyes 6-Pack Series finished with the recent Fathers Day 5K, capping off six races beginning with the Seashore Classic in early May. Runners and walkers were required to complete the following races for the series: Seashore Classic Half Marathon/5K, Doug Strong 5K, Economics Point 2 Point Run, DFRC Blue-Gold 5K, Irish Eyes 5K and Fathers Day 5K. A total of 23 participants completed the series. Congratulations to the following: Karen Eller, Cathy Haut, Christina Richter, LeeAnn Waltz, Sheila Young, Tim Young, Amanda Alexander, John Blackford, Pat Brogan, Bennett Brumbley, Marie Kuhlman, Tracey Ledoux, Connie Marshall, Faith Mitchell, Jennifer Murray, Nick O’Cone, Jen Perry, Jackie Quigley, Alan Quillen, Nina Smeltzer, Jack Vassalotti, Jamie Wollard and Jules Woodall.

Dave Reynolds Biathlon

The 29th annual Dave Reynolds Swim/Run Biathlon will be held at 8 a.m., Sunday, June 30, at the Rehoboth Beach Patrol Headquarters in Rehoboth Beach. The half-mile ocean swim will precede the 5K run to North Shores and back, and there will be individual and team divisions in the race. Age-group awards will be given from 13-and-under to 75-and-over, along with overall, masters, team, Clydesdale, Filly, and the Dave Reynolds Spirit Award. There will be no race-day registration, and packet pickup will be Saturday, June 29, from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Grove Park. The event will benefit the Dave Reynolds Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Beach Paper Firecracker 5K

The annual Beach Paper Firecracker 5K will kick off Saturday, June 29, from Grove Park in Rehoboth Beach. Grove Park is located just over the drawbridge heading into the Nation’s Summer Capital, just before you arrive at the circle. Parking should be on Rehoboth Avenue, Henlopen Avenue and Columbia Avenue, as Grove Park will fill up quickly. Registration will be open through Friday at 6 p.m., with race info located at seashorestriders.com. The event is sponsored by the Beach Paper, the Cape Gazette visitors guide to the Delaware Beaches.

DQ Dash 5K raises 5K

Seashore Striders and Dairy Queen of Lewes teamed up in May to raise $5,000 from the DQ Dash 5K with the help of sponsors, donations and 153 runners and walkers who turned out for the event. Enos Benbow of Georgetown led the way in the DQ Dash with the win in 18:41, while Katherine Kulig of Melrose, Mass., ran 22:20 for the female championship. The inaugural Lewes fireworks event was held last year with thousands of residents and visitors enjoying the 20-minute show off Lewes Beach. This year, Lewes will celebrate on the Fourth of July with old-fashioned children's games, a boat parade, the Doo-Dah Parade and, of course, at dusk, fireworks will be shot off from a barge off Lewes Beach.