2017 Diamond State Athletic Conference Championships

The spectators may have been freezing, but the breeze and afternoon sunshine made for perfect running weather for the Diamond State Athletic Conference Championships on Oct. 26. (Of course, as Coach Shirley says, all weather is cross country weather, but this was particularly beautiful cross country weather.)

Because this is Red Lion's first year in the DSAC, this is a new meet for us. We ran this course earlier this season in a much smaller meet against Howard and Design Lab, however, and it was great to see our times improve with heightened competition from the seven other teams in the DSAC.

The meet was divided into four races, with the top ten boys and top ten girls from each team running the respective varsity races and all other runners participating in the JV races. Full results for each race can be found here, so I won't go into too much detail with regard to times, but this was a very fast meet. When Coach asked afterwards how many of us set new PRs, lots of hands went up. At least six of the ten girls ran their fastest times ever at this race (Hannah, Faith, myself, Katie, Sophia, and Abby). Several of the boys also ran PRs, and Seyram Gafrey ('21) finished his first full race, in honor of which Coach presented him with the team 2x4 for the day.

The girls team also celebrated their PRs and the arrival of our new spirit wear sweatshirts with a full-on post-race photo shoot involving a brave attempt at a pyramid, among other things. 

Our pyramid...we tried (Photo: Kiersten Mengel)

We're coming to the end of our season at a rapid pace (pun not entirely intended) with only two weeks left. We've started backing off on difficulty in practice in order to rest our legs for our final two meets: counties and states. I'm looking forward to seeing our team finish out the season strong!

The girls team after the race (Photo: Kiersten Mengel)

Naomi

RLCA vs. Conrad vs. DMA

After being delayed a week due to a tragic event involving one of the other schools, our meet against Conrad and Delaware Military Academy was held on Oct. 17. The Banning Park course was a little confusing because sections of it cross open fields or areas with no clear landmarks, but a number of spotters placed around the park ensured that everyone was able to stay on course.

The girls race was held first and was won by Heather McClure of Conrad, who finished in 20:38. Of the Red Lion girls, Hannah Ye ('21) and Faith Hollister ('22) finished in the top ten, placing seventh and ninth respectively. Katelyn Walker ('19) finished in 13th place with a time of 24:17, followed closely by Fiona Fawcett ('22) three seconds behind in 15th place. Cathy Nicholson ('21), Captain Naomi Mengel ('18), and Katie Rippon ('20) finished in 17th, 19th, and 20th place respectively. Abby Phillips ('21) and Captain Anna Teather ('21) finished in 23rd and 26th.

Zach Martinez of DMA won the boys race with a time of 18:04. Josh Deitrich ('19) was not far behind, finishing in fourth place in 18:26. Matteo D'Andrea ('20) finished next in 17th place with a time of 20:55. Spencer Armstrong ('19) finished just behind in 21:11, followed by Captain Luke Sherman ('18) in 24th, Dennis Nicholson ('19) in 27th, Nick Yu ('18) in 31st, and Marc Sherman ('20) in 32nd. Ryan Silver ('20) and Richard Turley ('22) finished within a second of each other at 23:17 and 23:18 respectively. Ryan Cooper ('21), Captain Brandan Leauby ('18), Micah Pope ('19), and Jesse Ma ('20) rounded out the boys finishers.

Although we didn't win this meet, we ran well and posted solid times. As this was our last "regular" meet of the season, we're excited to prepare for the next item on the agenda: our conference championship race. From there, it's on to county and state championships!

Naomi

RLCA vs. Howard vs. Delaware Design-Lab

Not all those who wander are lost. . . or maybe they are. More on that later.

Our October 2nd tri-meet against Howard High School and Design-Lab High School was held at Bellevue State Park, on the same course where many of us ran the Joe O'Neill Invitational last year. After starting on the gravel track that circles the main park area, the course winds through the grassy areas of the grounds, includes some sections of trail in the woods, sunny open spaces in the meadow, and paved roads, and finishes back in the field in the middle of the park.

Josh Deitrich ('19) again placed first among the Red Lion boys, this time finishing first overall as well with a time of 19:12. Weston Marshall ('20) placed second in 19:53. Spencer Armstrong ('19), Dennis Nicholson ('19), and Nick Yu ('18) rounded out the top five for the Red Lion boys, followed by Richard Turley ('22) and Captain Brandan Leauby ('18). The "Ryans," Ryan Silver ('20) and Ryan Cooper ('21), both ran times of 24:57, with Silver finishing just ahead.

The girls team swept the top five places for a perfect 15, led by Hannah Ye ('21) with a time of 23:26 and a new PR. Fiona Fawcett ('22) finished in 24:16 with Faith Hollister ('22) four seconds behind, followed by Katie Rippon ('20), Cathy Nicholson ('21), and Captain Anna Teather ('18). Coincidentally, Katie finished in 25:08, the exact same time as her finish last year on this course at the Joe O'Neill Invitational.

Hannah Ye, pictured earlier in 2017, won the girls race and set a new PR (Photo: Mr. Aaron Hamrick)

Katelyn Walker ('19) is still recovering from shin splints, and Micah Pope ('19) started the race but was unable to finish due to injury. Abby Phillips ('21) is battling sickness and did not start.

Here are the full results for RLCA (the home team did not use a board or similarly accessible system to track places/points, so I don't have full results to post).

GIRLS RESULTS (RLCA)
1. Hannah Ye - 23:26
2. Fiona Fawcett - 24:16
3. Faith Hollister - 24:20
4. Katie Rippon - 25:08
5. Cathy Nicholson - 25:47
6. Anna Teather - 30:28
*DNF-Naomi Mengel
*DNF-Sophia Spotts
DNS-Abby Phillips
DNS-Katelyn Walker

BOYS RESULTS (RLCA)
1. Josh Deitrich - 19:12
2. Weston Marshall - 19:53
3. Spencer Armstrong - 22:00
4. Dennis Nicholson - 22:34
5. Nick Yu - 23:16
6. Richard Turley - 24:22
7. Brandan Leauby - 24:34
8. Ryan Silver - 24:57
9. Ryan Cooper - 24:57
*DNF-Matteo D'Andrea
*DNF-Adam Rao
*DNF-Jesse Ma
DNF-Micah Pope
DNF-Seyram Gafrey

*Back to the whole wandering vs. lost thing, several runners (including myself) made a wrong turn about a quarter mile before the finish line that resulted in our running about an extra half mile before we arrived back at the finish line. We ended up on the gravel track again and so weren't really lost per se, but because we did not finish on the correct course, our times could not be counted.

We'll be back at Bellevue for the Diamond State Athletic Conference Championship race later this season. This course is generally known as a fast one, and hopefully we'll set some new PRs with the heightened competition at that meet.

And of course, hopefully none of us will get lost.

Naomi