Downstate runners take on Boston Marathon

A group of 10 downstate Delaware runners made the trip to Beantown to take part in the 26.2-mile journey called the Boston Marathon. The weather was not the greatest, but the memories will never be forgotten for those running in one of the most iconic races in the world. Local Salisbury elite runner Tyler Muse went through the half in 1:12:35 and crossed the line in a nice time of 2:26:39, while Summer Series racer Cindy Conant finished second in the 60-64 age group in 3:13:55. Closer to home, Martin Rodriguez logged a time of 2:57:21, Mike Sewell ran 3:12:54, David Miller clocked 4:28:09 and Gary Thill ran 4:31:38. Barefooted Dave Vezmar ran 4:52:56, while Jane Voorhees clocked 4:58:41. Jennifer Oppel finished in 5:34:00.

Cape track teams victorious 

The Cape boys’ and girls’ track & field teams each moved to 4-0 with two wins April 18 over Sussex Central and Caesar Rodney. 

The girls won three of the four relays, taking the 4-by-800 in 11:57, the 4-by-200 in 1:49.7 and the 4-by-400 in 4:42. Senior thrower Haley Archambault passed 100 feet in the discus with a toss of 101-feet-2-inches and also won the shot in 29-7. Kennedy Johnson won the 400-meter dash in 1:03.5, while Anejah Johnson won the high jump in 4-8.  Alexa Dougherty won the triple jump in 31-7, and Janie Burkley won the 800 in 2:49.2. Addison Bowman won the pole vault in 9-6, while Zoe Miller won the 3,200 in 13:12.

For Sussex Central, Tatiana Kelsic won the long jump in 15-11 and was part of the winning 4-by-100 relay. Essence Briddell won the 100-meter hurdles in 15.9 and the 300-meter hurdles in 48.8. Domonice White won the 100 meters in 12.53 and 200 meters in 26.26. Mary Julienne Vallareal won the 1,600 in 6:02.7.

The Cape boys won three of the four relays. Sussex Central won five of the eight individual track events, riding the talent of their sprinters. Sussex Central had the only double individual winners, as Malik Kelsic won the 100 meters in 11.31 and the 200 meters in 22.46, while P.J. Henry won the 110-meter hurdles in 15.73 and the 300-meter hurdles in 42.49. Will Harrison won the 400-meter dash in 50.43, with Cape sprinter Trey Leggins close behind in 50.8.

Cape’s Liam O’Donnell won the 800 in 2:03.9, while Ryan Baker won the 1,600 in 4:40.6. Jason Baker won the 3,200 in 10:11.2.

Cape won five of the six field events, led by a nice clearance of 13-6 in the pole vault by Bailey Fletcher, while Eddie Houck went 13-0 for the best 1-2 vault combo in the state. Ryan Betins won the discus in 120-0, while Nate Horn won the shot in 45-7. Maurki James won the long jump in 20-8, while Stephen Hart won the high jump in 5-10. Kaylin Hall-Freeman of Central won the triple in 36-2.

The Sussex Academy boys topped Early College School 107-24 and Seaford 79-58 in other track action, while the Sussex Academy girls beat Seaford 96-40. Katya Geyer won four events for the Seahawks, as she took the 1,600 and 3,200, the high jump and the triple jump.

Bamforth takes 10th 

Delaware native Jake Bamforth, a graduate of Sussex Tech and a senior grad student at Colorado State, recently finished 10th in the Olympic Distance Triathlon Championships in Buford, Ga. Jake was scheduled to compete in the draft legal sprint course Friday, but was forced into a cone while making a pass out of transition and damaged his bike, which led to a day one DNF. On Saturday, the Olympic distance comprised a 1,500-meter swim, 24-mile bike ride and 10K run, in which 1,200 college athletes took part. Jake exited the water in 28th place and began the bike in 25th place. One of his all-time best bike splits on a hilly course brought him back to third place, 90 seconds behind the leader out of the University of Colorado. “I biked like there was no run, and my thought was to get back to the front and then see if I can hang on for the run,” said Bamforth. That thought process worked, as he left transition in third place and hung on for 10th overall.

On Sunday, the CSU team was fifth in the short sprint relay championship where each athlete (two male and two female) each completed a 350-meter swim, a three-mile bike and a 1K run as a relay.

Overall, the points from each day placed the CSU Tri Team in fifth out of 90 teams.

Side note - Jake had the fourth-fastest bike of the day, averaging just under 25 mph on the hilly course, while roommate Ben Randall of CSU finished the 10K run with a time of 32:05 and a 15:59 5K split. That is pretty impressive for Randall coming off the swim and bike with legs already tired. Randall will take advantage of his fitness level and race his first marathon Sunday, May 7, with a goal of qualifying for Boston.