2018 Diamond State Athletic Conference Championships

October 25 marked the first of three championship races this season, the Diamond State Athletic Conference (DSAC) Championship. Red Lion hosted the meet on our home course at Lums Pond State Park. The cool, sunny weather made for wonderful racing conditions. There were four separate races: varsity girls, varsity boys, junior varsity girls, and junior varsity boys. Red Lion participated in the two varsity races.

The varsity boys' race was first, going off at 3:30 p.m. Andrew Avila, of the Charter School of Wilmington, won the race in 16:40. Spencer Armstrong ('19) came in first for Red Lion, running 20:21 and placing 45th overall. Despite being tripped early on in the race, Joshua Deitrich ('19) finished just one second behind him. Dennis Nicholson ('19) finished in 20:50, and in 53rd place overall. Andrew Tanyous ('22) and Marc Sherman ('20) ran times of 21:21 and 21:30, respectively. Michael Gasorek ('22), Captain Micah Pope ('19), Richard Turley ('22), Ryan Cooper ('21), and Seyram Gafrey ('21) followed, rounding out the ten Red Lion boys. Full race results can be found here.

The varsity girls' race started twenty-five minutes after the boys' race. The race was won by Newark Charter's Madi McWatters, who finished in 19:49. Red Lion's Hannah Ye ('21) finished in 26th place overall with a time of 22:53. She was followed by Faith Hollister ('22), who finished in 23:10 and placed 31st overall. Captain Katelyn Walker ('19) finished in 24:41, placing 44th overall, and Abi Phillips ('21) finished just fourteen seconds behind her in 46th place. Fiona Fawcett ('22) finished in 52nd place with a time of 25:45 in her first race back from a few weeks off due to a hip injury, and Katie Rippon ('20) finished in 63rd place overall, running 28:19. Full race results can be found here.

I can't believe we are so close to the end of the season. Our runners did their best today, even though we faced some tough competition. We have two more races left, which are the New Castle County Championship and the DIAA State Championship. We are starting to taper our workouts as we anticipate our final races, but we are also still putting our work in at practice. I have been very happy to see the improvements we've made as a team this season, and I hope that we stay strong and persevere through the end.

RLCA vs. Wilmington Christian School vs. First State Military Academy and Senior Night

This past Tuesday, October 16th, we hosted a tri-meet against Wilmington Christian School and First State Military Academy at Lums Pond. Cooler temperatures (and the fact that the course was only slightly muddy) made for excellent racing conditions.

For the Red Lion boys, Joshua Deitrich ('19) finished in 18:26, putting him in second place overall. Spencer Armstrong ('19) and Dennis Nicholson ('19) ran times of 21:24 and 21:25, respectively, to finish in eighth and ninth places overall. Michael Gasorek ('22), Andrew Tanyous ('22), Marc Sherman ('20), and Ryan Cooper ('21) rounded out Red Lion's top seven boys. Richard Turley ('22), Captain Micah Pope ('19), and Adam Rao ('20) all had strong performances, and Seyram Gaffrey ('21) ran a new personal best of 34:42.
Full results for the boys' race can be found here.

The girls' race was won by Hannah Ye ('21), who finished in 22:59. Faith Hollister ('22) placed second overall, running 23:33, and Captain Katelyn Walker ('19) finished fourth overall and third for Red Lion with a time of 24:54. Abi Phillips ('21) followed two places behind her in 25:58. Katie Rippon ('20) finished in 29:50, scoring as the fifth Red Lion girl. Fiona Fawcett ('22) and Cathy Nicholson ('21) were not able to run due to injury. Red Lion won the girls' race because they were the only complete team, with five girls running in this race. Full results can be found here.

As this was our last home meet of the season, we also recognized our seniors both on the line and in a team meeting following the race. Joshua Deitrich, Spencer Armstrong, Dennis Nicholson, Boys' Captain Micah Pope, and Girls' Captain Katelyn Walker were recognized for their contributions to the team through the years they have run with us. (I will add photos of the seniors as soon as I can.)

We are quickly approaching the end of the season. We only have a few more "hard workouts" and then we will begin to taper our training in preparation for the final races. Our next meet will be the Diamond State Athletic Conference Championship on October 25, which we will be hosting at Lums Pond. We are looking forward to the competition we will have there. Until then, we will continue working hard at practice in preparation for our final meets. 

Red Lion vs. Delaware Military Academy vs. Conrad Schools of Science

This past Wednesday, October 10, we had a tri-meet against Delaware Military Academy and Conrad Schools of Science, held at Banning Park. The unexpected heat and humidity made for tough racing conditions, but our runners did as well as they could given the extra "cross-country weather" we had that day.

The boys' race was first. Joshua Deitrich ('19) finished in fifth place overall in 19:36. Spencer Armstrong ('19) and Dennis Nicholson ('19) finished in 19th and 21st places respectively, running respective times of 21:20 and 21:49. Andrew Tanyous ('22) and Michael Gasorek ('22) rounded out Red Lion's top five male runners. Here is the full finishing order for the boys' race: 

1. Joshua Deitrich ('19) -- 19:36 (5th place)
2. Spencer Armstrong ('19) -- 21:20
3. Dennis Nicholson ('19) -- 21:49
4. Andrew Tanyous ('22) -- 22:36
5. Michael Gasorek ('22) -- 22:42
6. Marc Sherman ('20) -- 22:48
7. Ryan Cooper ('21) -- 24:15
8. Richard Turley ('22) -- 25:10
9. Adam Rao ('20) -- 27:05
10. John Cusatis ('22) -- 33:29
11. Seyram Gaffrey ('21) -- 45:33

DNS -- Captain Micah Pope ('19) [broken wrist]

Sophomore Ryan Cooper finished seventh for the Red Lion boys, with a time of 24:15 (Photo: Katie Rippon)

The girls' race started five minutes after the boys' race. Hannah Ye ('21) placed fifth overall for the girls' race and first for Red Lion, running the course in 24:31. Faith Hollister ('22) and Captain Katelyn Walker ('19) finished in 25:10 and 26:41, respectively. Abi Phillips ('21) finished just fifteen seconds behind her. Cathy Nicholson ('21) finished in 28:13 and rounded out Red Lion's five girls. Fiona Fawcett ('22) could not run due to a hip injury, but she hopes to be back into running soon.

Hannah Ye ('21) ran the course in 24:31, finishing first for the Red Lion girls and fifth overall (Photo: Katie Rippon)

This was a tough race for Red Lion, but our runners prevailed despite the heat and humidity. The temperatures next week will be a lot cooler and we are excited to finally see some fall weather. 

2018 Salesianum Invitational

Our sixth meet of the season, the Salesianum Invitational, was held at Brandywine Creek State Park on October 6th. Brandywine Creek is notorious for being one of the more (if not the most) challenging courses in Delaware, because of several hills throughout the course. The biggest hill on the course, right after the first mile, is called Maintenance Hill. But the overcast weather and temperatures in the lower 70s made for wonderful racing weather, and our runners did very well despite a harder course.

There were twelve different races at this invitational. Red Lion runners entered in three of them: the boys' Junior Varsity A race, the girls' Small School Varsity race, and the boys' Small School Varsity race. Full results for all the races can be found here.

The boys' JV A race was the first race in which we participated. Richard Turley ('22) finished in 100th place overall with a time of 26:06, and Adam Rao ('20) finished seven places behind him in 27:16.

The girls' Small School Varsity race followed. Hannah Ye ('21) finished in 24:10 and placed 46th overall. Faith Hollister ('22) was nine places behind her in 24:43. Captain Katelyn Walker ('19) finished 74th overall in 26:11. Abi Phillips ('21) finished 81st overall in 27:05, and Fiona Fawcett ('22) and Cathy Nicholson ('21) followed in 84th and 87th places respectively. The girls' varsity team placed 11th overall.

The boys' Small School Varsity race was the last one in which Red Lion ran. Joshua Deitrich ('19) came in 32nd place overall with a time of 19:40. Dennis Nicholson ('19) and Spencer Armstrong ('19) finished in 82nd and 83rd places respectively; their respective times were 22:09 and 22:14. Andrew Tanyous ('22) ran 22:35 and placed 99th overall. Marc Sherman ('20) and Michael Gasorek ('22) finished within nine seconds of each other in 119th and 120th place respectively, and Ryan Cooper ('21) followed in 130th place, running 25:23. Captain Micah Pope ('19) was unable to run due to a broken wrist, but he will hopefully be back in action soon. The boys' varsity team placed 17th overall.

This was a challenging race for our team, as many of our runners had never run this course before, but we did very well nevertheless. For this race, we were focused less on where we would end up or the times we would run (although those things are important!); we focused more on getting to know the course, since it is where the State Championships will be held next month. We are putting our work in and looking forward to our future races. Our next meet is tomorrow at Banning Park, so stay tuned for more updates!

RLCA vs. MOT Charter

Our fifth meet of the season was a home meet against MOT Charter, and was held on October 2nd at Lums Pond. The weather was warm and humid, and the course was still a little bit muddy, but the nice breeze made for good racing conditions, and many of the runners finished with solid times despite the slightly warmer temperatures.

The team doing some practice sprints to warm up before the race (Photo: Mr. Aaron Hamrick)

On the girls' side, Hannah Ye ('21) of Red Lion finished first with a time of 23:52. Faith Hollister ('22) and Captain Katelyn Walker ('19) followed behind in 24:47 and 25:35 respectively. Abi Phillips ('21) finished fourth for Red Lion and in fifth place overall in 25:52, and Fiona Fawcett ('22) finished in sixth place overall in 26:14, rounding out the five Red Lion girls who ran yesterday. Cathy Nicholson ('21) did not run due to shin splints, but plans to run in our next meet on Saturday. I have now been cleared for a "return to running" program, and I hope to start running in meets by the end of this month.

Captain Katelyn Walker ('19) placed third among the Red Lion girls with a time of 25:35 (Photo: Mr. Aaron Hamrick)

The boys' race was won by Red Lion's Joshua Deitrich ('19) in 19:44. This was Deitrich's first time running a time under twenty minutes for this course. Spencer Armstrong ('19) and Dennis Nicholson ('19) finished neck-in-neck; both of them finished in 21:58, and they placed fourth and fifth overall respectively. Andrew Tanyous ('22) and Michael Gasorek ('22) finished with times of 22:19 and 22:43 respectively, and were in eighth and ninth place overall. Marc Sherman ('20) and Captain Micah Pope ('19) finished in fourteenth and sixteenth place respectively. Richard Turley ('22), Ryan Cooper ('21), Adam Rao ('20), and Seyram Gaffrey ('21) rounded the eleven Red Lion boys running in this race. Gaffrey finished in 39:39, setting a new personal record by just over three minutes.

Joshua Deitrich ('19) won the boys' race in 19:44 (Photo: Mr. Aaron Hamrick) 

Our runners performed very well in this race, and there were many strong finishes. Our next meet will be the Salesianum Invitational, held this coming Saturday at Brandywine Creek State Park. Brandywine Creek in notorious for being a challenging course, but we will approach it just as we do any other race. Until next time, go Lions!