CR sweeps Cape in cross country action

Senior Ryan Baker highlighted the Vikings’ Sept. 28 cross country meet with a blistering 5K time of 15:38 to set a new course record on the three-loop oval at Brecknock Park. But it was Caesar Rodney that won both the boys’ and girls’ meets to take command of the Henlopen North. CR’s boys topped Cape 27-30 and Sussex Central 15-50, while Cape topped Sussex Central 15-50. For the girls, it was Cape’s Katie Kuhlman, then all CR, as the Riders girls defeated Cape 20-43 and Sussex Central 15-49. Cape defeated Sussex Central 19-42.

Cape’s Joey DeGregory ran a personal best of 16:17 to place second, while junior Ian Cain was a close third in 16:18. CR grabbed the next three positions ahead of Cape’s No. 3  and 4, with a sprint in the last 400 meters, but it was another pack of five Riders runners that pushed Cape’s No. 5 scorer back to 14th to seal the deal. CR put nine runners ahead of Cape’s fifth runner.

“Liam [O'Donnell] will be good to go, as he went 17:12, and Max [Gillen] is coming along real well,” said coach Matt Lindell. “CR is a very good team.”

In the girls’ race, Kuhlman went to the front and ran comfortably through the 5K to a time of 19:30. The next six finishers were in CR uniforms, led by junior Bree Talley. Senior Mary Villarreal of Sussex Central was eighth overall in 22:09, followed by two more Riders to wrap up the top 10.

“Katie ran very comfortable at 19:30, and she has a goal of breaking the 19-minute mark, and I feel she is right on target,” Lindell said.

Mariner boys move to 3-0

The Mariner boys’ cross country team moved to 3-0 on its young season by defeating host Sussex Academy 19-44 Sept. 26 at Sandhill Fields, while the girls fell to the Seahawks 20-43. 

Sixth-grade star Bree Terhune provided the highlight of the day for the Vikings, pulling away late to take a tight girls’ race in 13:36 for 2.03 miles. After Sussex Academy’s Makenna Blades shadowed her through a sub-6:30 opening mile, Terhune pushed the pace to open up a bit of daylight, then stormed home over the last 400 meters for a seven-second triumph. Sussex Academy swept the next nine spots, with Blades (second, 13:43), Paige Ballinger (third, 13:48), Jordan Blades (fourth, 14:49), Riley Moriarty (fifth, 15:06), and Teagen Forester (sixth, 15:08) rounding out the Seahawks scoring.

Seventh-grader Asher Woods stayed hot for the Mariner boys, breaking the tape in 12:22 for a comfortable win. Chase Johnson ran a solid 13:01 to take second for Sussex Academy, but the Vikings accounted for the next eight finishers. Jude Bastian (13:29), Bennett Steinmann (14:01), Caleb Olmsted (14:09), Andrew Ockels (14:21), Dylan Harp (14:44), and Trig Joseph (14:54) finished 3-4-5-6-7-8 to earn varsity points for the Vikings.

Mariner will have an off week with Seaford shutting down their season, and will travel to Browns Branch County Park Monday, Oct. 10, to face Milford.

Beacon XC wins over Milford

The Beacon boys and girls both came away victorious Sept. 26 at Cape Henlopen High School, with the girls defeating Milford 20-39 and the boys winning 24-35.

Milford frontrunner Mikala Finazzo opened up an early lead on Beacon seventh-grader Shiloh O’Grady of 40 yards at the mile, and it looked like the race was over. O’Grady caught the leader in the next half-mile and made the race interesting, while Finazzo pulled away with 400 meters to go and raced to the tape in 13:29 to O’Grady’s 13:33.  A much-improved Claudia Stazzone was third in 13:44, while Mia Thompson was fourth in 13:51. Young sixth-grader Lindsay Hassell grabbed the fifth position in a time of 14:03. Emma Thompson in sixth place was Beacon’s No. 5 runner. Beacon’s top four finished within 30 seconds of each other, which is an impressive gap going into the second half of the season. 

On the boys’ side, it was Beacon runner Ethan Thompson overtaking teammate Nicholas Petito in the final 20 yards to get the win in 11:53, while Petito was second in 11:54. Milford took the next three spots with Tristen Willey third in 12:32, Eli Parfitt fourth in 13:06 and Deacon Herring fifth in 13:18, and the meet looked close. Beacon was able to grab the next five finishers, with Cooper Forcucci sixth in 13:24, Theo Hart seventh in 13:29, Jude Peacock eighth in 15:50, Ryder Uszenski ninth in 13:51 and Devin Silva 10th in 14:18. 

Beacon will travel to Sandhill Fields Monday, Oct. 3, to face Sussex Academy.

Rox walks for breast cancer

Local Rox Sordi recently traveled to Chicago to take part in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Walk, where she walked 20 miles a day for three straight days. “This November will mark five years since my breast cancer diagnosis,” said Roxanne. “I chose to participate in this event to celebrate my health as well as to support others battling breast cancer and to raise money to find a cure. Thanks to my family, friends and a generous community, I raised over $5K for this walk. The Susan G. Komen Chicago three-day event raised $3.7 million. There are a total of four walks in different cities in 2022.”