Italian guys win Shamrock Shuffle races

Italian stallions - The Shamrock Shuffle 5K and 10-Miler races on St. Patrick’s Day inside Cape Henlopen State Park went to the Italian guys, as 46-year-old Matt Sparacino, the Harrington Harrier, won the 5K in 18:40, while 56-year-old Paul Montini, Crusader Rabbit out of Philly, captured the 10-miler in 1:07.35. The women's champion in the 10-miler was Candace Britt, 37, of Selbyville, in 1:21:21. Candace is a young mom who works as an accountant; she is now training for a marathon this spring under the direction of her coach, Nathalie Lutz. “I’m not accustomed to winning a race," Candace said with a smile while holding her custom trophy. Ruby Leps, 9, was the overall female winner in the 5K, running 23:19. Stephen Leps, 49, was 5K masters champion in 23:11, and Whit Leps, 12, won the 10-13 age group in 26:54. The expanded results can be found at seashorestriders.com. 

Make yourself small - Sideline sports photography requires the limberness of a limbo dancer. Homie ain’t sitting in the lotus position along the baseline of a college basketball game risking becoming a spectacle after some 6-foot-9-inch, 250-pound, adrenaline-gorged, one-and-done protegé lands on my sports lens while chasing a loose ball. I saw it happen Saturday. The one gray-haired guy on the baseline got trucked like a Datsun at a mud hop! Trainers rushed to his aid with a stretcher. The man required some assistance doing the ugly get-up, then he looked for his camera so he could get back to work. 

Screechy and Scratchy - A friendly woman, Julie Regan of Orlando, Fla., after Sunday’s Shamrock Shuffle 5K, asked me where she could find the photos I was taking. Tim Bamforth came up smiling and said, “Tell her why they call you Fredman.” I gave her the skinny and, surprisingly, she seemed interested. We talked about earned nicknames and how mostly there was a cool story behind them. Back when I was in my 20s, I sat down at a table in Mickey's shot and beer bar in the coal mining town of Mahanoy City, Pa. (Susan’s hometown). There were two guys – one fat, one skinny. Fat guy had a high voice, the skinny guy had a raspy delivery. I asked, “Why do they call you fellas Screechy and Scratchy?” “Who the hell wants to know? Are you writing a book?” Sports generate lots of nicknames, but I’ve learned unless you really understand the story behind them, it’s best to just let them lie.     

Drexel delusion - I had an Uncle Harry, married to my father’s sister Rose. Harry was an electrician and proudly claimed he went to Drexel for two years. Why he picked Drexel I have no idea, but through insider family shared knowledge, we reached a consensus that Harry never went to Drexel but had been telling the story for decades, having convinced himself that his own fabrication was the absolute truth. Social media has an Uncle Harry factor – some to many people trip harder than a circuit breaker in a wet crawlspace. I would never call a person out for making up stories (I’ve made up a few thousand in my lifetime), but you can’t make up facts because everyone knows when you are tripping.       

Lacrosse roundup - Mercer beat Detroit Mercy 17-11. Mikey Frederick (Cape) had two goals and three assists for Mercer. Syracuse beat Delaware 14-6. Hank D’Ambrogi (Cape) scored a goal for Delaware. Air Force beat Queens 14-10. Caelan Driggs (Sallies) scored two goals for Air Force. Limestone beat Flagler 24-11. Luke Burton (Cape) had a goal and an assist for Flagler. Florida Tech beat Palm Beach Atlantic 16-6. Joe Coveleski (Cape) scored two goals and one assist for Florida Tech. Women: Duke beat Virginia Tech 9-8. Ella Rishko (Cape) tallied a goal and an assist for Virginia Tech. Notre Dame beat Boston College 15-14. Jackie Wolak of Notre Dame (local connection) recorded three goals and two assists for Notre Dame. Massachusetts Maritime lost to Nicols 16-8. Sarah Naar (Cape) scored four goals for Mass Maritime. Naar has 18 goals and three assists over five games. The Buccaneers of MMA compete in NCAA Division III. 

Snippets - The Christopher Newport baseball team is 10-5 after a 9-3 win over Marymount March 15. Josh Reinhold (Cape), a sophomore, is the starting shortstop for the Captains, batting .306 with 18 RBIs. The worst part of March Madness is the Capital One credit card commercials with Charles Barkley, Samuel Jackson, Spike Lee, Jim Nantz and Jennifer Garner. The lead broadcast team this year for the Final Four is Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and reporter Tracy Wolfson. Raftery, 80, is not hiphop savvy, more like hip replacement, a ball and socket guy. What’s in your wallet? Go on now, git!