Spring track kicks off March 1 with 300 Cape athletes

Track season is just around the corner, as hundreds of track and field athletes will be lacing up the spikes for some running, jumping and throwing for the next three months for Cape Henlopen. Veteran coach George Pepper will return to lead the Cape girls, where he has 40 signed up. Matt Lindell will lead the Cape boys with 60 signed up.

Kenny Riedel will lead the Mariner team with 85 total signed up - 55 boys and 30 girls. I will lead the Beacon team with 115 signed up - 70 girls and 45 boys. Add them all up, and you have 300 track and field athletes signed up in the district who are ready to roll into spring. Good luck to all athletes. Interested home meet volunteers can contact me at tim@seashorestrider.com.

Burris wins bowling tourney

My Shields Elementary School fourth- and fifth-grade athletes recently completed their annual bowling unit. Each class bowled five frames in round one, with the top three in each class advancing to round two, where they bowled three frames for a shot at the finals. This week I will take a look at the boys' tournament, while next week I will at the girls' tournament.

Leading the way from round one with a nice score of 96 was Lucas Stevenson for the fourth grade, while a perfect score of 100 was turned in by Gannon Burris to lead the fifth grade. Into the semifinals we went with Stevenson again leading the way with a score of 40, followed by Elijah Bush with a 30 and Elias Callard also with a score of 30. Burris again led the fifth grade with a perfect 60, followed by Luke Burton and Owen Daminger.

The competition was narrowed to six bowlers for the finals, with three representing each grade. When the dust had settled, it was Burris showing the school he is “king pin,” taking the title with another perfect score of 60, followed by Burton in second with a 58. Daminger grabbed third with a 48, making it a fifth-grade sweep. Fourth went to Callard with a 40, while fifth place was Bush with a 38. Rounding out the top six finalists was Stevenson with a 24. Congratulations to all the boys in fourth and fifth grade who took part in the tournament.

El Dorado to support Striders

The Seashore Striders Cross Country team will host its first fundraiser of the year Wednesday, March 2, from 3 to 9 p.m. at El Dorado on John J. Williams Highway in Rehoboth Beach. It is being tapped as the Family & Friends Dinner Fundraiser that will benefit the Youth Cross Country Team. El Dorado will generously donate a percentage of the evening’s dinner sales to the program. Take a look at our delicious menu at www.eldoradorehoboth.com. Come out and support the young runners in the Cape community on March 2 at El Dorado.

Running Marvel 5K

Eastern Shore runner Al Kubeluis got in touch with me this week about a run that has been planned in memory of longtime runner Don Marvel, a runner we lost a few years ago who competed in many Seashore Striders events as well as many Trisports Events in the Dover area. The event will be held Saturday, June 4, at Easton High School in Easton, Md. Here is the write-up on the event.

The Running Marvel 5K race was created as a memorial celebration of the life of Don Marvel, and to honor his memory by raising funds in support of cancer research at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.

Donald E. Marvel was a lifelong resident of Talbot County. Born in Easton in 1942, he graduated from Easton High School in 1960, and was revered as a coach and teacher at this alma mater for 32 years. He died of kidney cancer in 2015, leaving behind a wife, Carol, two adult children (Laurie and Chris) and seven grandchildren, all of whom are Easton High School graduates.

Don was widely known as a world-class ultra-marathon runner in the 1970s and 1980s. He specialized in running 100-mile races and 24-hour races, where he would compete with the best runners in the world. He was also well respected in the high school wrestling community for his great coaching ability. Those who knew him never knew a greater competitor.

Don loved to teach, coach and run, and he is missed by all who were touched by his passion and his life.

Registration can be found on www.active.com with all net proceeds being directly donated in support of cancer research at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.

Your $25 registration will include pre-race nutrition and a T-shirt.  Please come out and help us remember our wonderful friend and all that he did in his lifetime for the promotion of sports and fitness in our area.

Upcoming races

• Saturday, March 12, St Patrick’s Day 5K, Denton, Md.
• Sunday, March 13, Get Pumped for Pets 5K, 10K, 15K, Stevensville, Md.
• Sunday, March 13, Lucky Leprechaun 5K, Milton
• Saturday, March 19, Shamrock Shuffle 5K & 15K, Rehoboth Beach.