2018 Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (DIAA) Championships

This past Saturday, November 10th, was the DIAA Championships, our final race of the season. The race was held at Brandywine Creek State Park. Despite the cold temperatures, winds above 20 miles per hour, and a muddy course, our runners did their best and finished out the season well. Red Lion competed in two races this meet: the Division II Varsity Girls' race and the Division II Varsity Boys' race.

The Varsity Girls' race was first, starting at 1:00 p.m. Faith Hollister ('22) finished the race in 54th place overall, running 24:23. Hannah Ye ('21) finished just over a minute behind in 73rd place. Captain Katelyn Walker ('19) ran a time of 26:27, placing her in 91st, and Fiona Fawcett ('22) followed five places behind her in 26:33. Katie Rippon ('20) finished in 127th place overall in 28:59. Abi Phillips ('21) started the race but fell in the first mile and was unable to finish, and Cathy Nicholson ('21) was unable to compete due to a stress fracture. Full race results can be seen here. The girls team placed 15th overall.

The Varsity Boys' race went off at 3:00 p.m. Joshua Deitrich ('19) finished in 75th place overall with a time of 20:38. Dennis Nicholson ('19) ran the race in just under 22 minutes and in 107th place. Spencer Armstrong ('19) finished in 127th place with a time of 22:58. Marc Sherman ('20), Captain Micah Pope ('19), Ryan Cooper ('21), and Richard Turley ('22) followed behind in 136th, 147th, 160th, and 163rd places respectively. Full race results can be found here. The boys finished in 20th place overall.

Three of the four senior boys before the start of the race (Photo: Mr. Bryan Deitrich) 

The team meeting after the race (Photo: Mr. Bryan Deitrich)

For the last race of the season, we gave it all we had. We worked hard through injury and adversity and did our best. While we were not as fast as we wanted to be and did not end up where we though we would in the final meet, we finished out the season strong. 

2018 New Castle County Championships

Saturday, November 3rd was the New Castle Country Championships. The races were held at the Winterthur Estate. We ran our best despite the challenge of a hilly, two-lap course. The windy weather may have presented even more of a difficulty, but it also made for some cooler temperatures. In this race, the top six boys and girls ran in their respective varsity races, and we entered four boys in the JV boys' race.

The JV boys' race was the first race we in which Red Lion competed. Ryan Cooper ('21) finished in 22:00 and 153rd place overall. This time was only two seconds slower than Cooper's all-time personal best. Richard Turley ('22) finished in 250th place overall with a time of 24:00, and Adam Rao ('20) finished in 24:31 and came in 262nd place. John Cusatis ('22) finished in 28:42, putting him in 336th place. Full results can be found here. Unfortunately, the JV boys' race results are not accurate according to our runners and Coach Shirley, so the actual times and places of our runners may have been different than those that were recorded and published online.

The varsity girls' race was the next. Faith Hollister ('22) finished in 23:15 and 73rd place overall. Hannah Ye ('21) followed in 24:21 and 98th place. Abi Phillips ('21) finished in 25:30 and 120th place overall, and Captain Katelyn Walker ('19) followed six places behind her in 25:44. Fiona Fawcett ('22) ran 26:41 and placed 148th, and Katie Rippon followed in 154th place. Full results can be found here. Red Lion finished in 20th place overall.

The start of the varsity girls' race. (Photo: Mr. Bryan Deitrich)

The varsity boys' race was the last of the meet. Joshua Deitrich ('19) finished 56th overall, running 18:42. Dennis Nicholson ('19) finished in 20:34 and 131st place. Andrew Tanyous ('22) finished in 157th place, and Marc Sherman ('20) followed ten places behind him. Michael Gasorek ('22) and Captain Micah Pope ('19) finished the race in 178th and 193rd places, respectively. Full race results can be found here. The Red Lion boys' team finished in 24th place overall.

Joshua Deitrich ('19) finished the race in a time of 18:42. (Photo: Mr. Bryan Deitrich)

This was a challenging race, but many of our runners posted solid times. After the race, we stopped at Coach Boyd's house for tacos and pie. Before the race, Coach Shirley told the team to "run for the tacos," which is exactly what we did. I have enjoyed seeing the strong relationships our team has formed this season, and many of us agreed that celebrating the second to last race of the season with tacos made the race worth it.

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!

RLCA vs. Delmarva Christian

September 25th marked our fourth meet of the season. We hosted Delmarva Christian School at Lums Pond State Park. The weather was overcast and rainy, and the course was extremely muddy once again, but many of the runners posted solid times despite the "adverse conditions."

The girls' race was won by Hannah Ye ('21) with a time of 24:21. She was followed by Faith Hollister ('22) and Fiona Fawcett ('22), who ran times of 25:07 and 26:13 respectively. Captain Katelyn Walker ('19) finished thirty nine seconds behind her, rounding out the four Red Lion girls participating today. Abi Phillips ('21) was not feeling well enough to run, and Cathy Nicholson ('21) was unable to make it to the race. I am just a week out (I hope!) from being cleared to run again.

On the boys' side, Joshua Deitrich ('19) won the race with a time of 21:47. Spencer Armstrong ('19) followed with a time of 22:33, beating Joshua Desiderio of Delmarva Christian by one second. Dennis Nicholson ('19), Andrew Tanyous ('22), and Michael Gasorek ('22) swept fourth, fifth, and sixth place respectively. Ryan Cooper ('21) and Richard Turley ('21) finished in eighth and ninth place respectively, and Seyram Gaffrey ('21) finished his debut race of the season, rounding out Red Lion's eight boys. Captain Micah Pope ('19) dropped out of the race due to shin splints, and John Cusatis ('22), Adam Rao ('20), and Marc Sherman ('20) were not able to come due to illness.

While some of our team members were unable to participate in the race, those who could raced well. This was a much smaller meet than the invitational race on Friday, and everything went very smoothly. We have a week to recover before our next meet, which will also be at Lums Pond. Until then, we will continue to put our work in at practice. We are running strong despite the "extra cross-country weather" we have had recently, and we will continue to follow our team motto for the season and "embrace the grind."

2018 Middletown Invitational

The Middletown Invitational, held at St. Andrew's School this past Friday, was our third race of the season. The course winds through the fields near the school and ends with a winding, hilly section through the woods. The course combined with the overcast and slightly cooler weather made for pleasant conditions for the runners. Four separate races were held, with two varsity races and two junior varsity races. Red Lion participated in three of them (we did not need to enter the JV girls' race).

The boys' JV race was the second race of the meet, and by far the largest, with over 350 runners. Ryan Cooper ('21) finished first for Red Lion with a time of 25:02, placing 261st overall. Adam Rao ('20) and John Cusatis ('22) followed, earning 277th and 331st place respectively. Adam was only thirty-five seconds behind Ryan, and John ran a time of 28:15 in his debut race.

The varsity girls' race was next. Faith Hollister ('22) finished in 56th place overall and first for Red Lion with a time of 22:49. Fiona Fawcett ('22) finished 83rd overall in 24:15, and Abi Phillips ('21) finished just thirteen seconds behind her in 89th place. Captain Katelyn Walker ('19) finished in 94th place, with Hannah Ye ('21) and Cathy Nicholson ('21) finishing in 99th and 128th places respectively. The girls finished in 14th place overall.

The varsity boys' race was the last of the meet. Joshua Deitrich ('19) finished first for Red Lion and 47th overall, with a time of 18:54. Michael Gasorek ('22) and Andrew Tanyous ('22) finished in 136th and 142nd place respectively. Their respective times were 21:36 and 21:47. They were followed by Dennis Nicholson ('19) in 147th place, Captain Micah Pope ('19) in 150th, Marc Sherman ('20) in 155th, and Richard Turley ('22) in 162nd. The team finished in 23rd place overall.

Here are the links to the full varsity results and full JV results.

We saw some very solid performances at this meet. This was only our third meet and our first larger meet, and we are already looking strong. I am excited to see what we can accomplish as we continue to work hard in practice. Go Lions!

RLCA vs. MOT Charter

Our second meet of the 2018 season was held against MOT Charter at Lums Pond State Park on September 18th. The sky was overcast with a little bit of rain. Despite the muggy weather and the extremely muddy course, many of our runners posted solid times.

Red Lion's Josh Deitrich ('19) led the boys' race once again, finishing with a time of 20:06. Cooper Unruh ('19) of MOT Charter finished in second place overall with a time of 21:36. He was followed by four more runners from MOT. Spencer Armstrong ('19) finished in 23:20, was Red Lion's second runner who placed seventh overall. Dennis Nicholson ('19), Andrew Tanyous ('22), Captain Micah Pope ('19), Marc Sherman ('20), and Michael Gasorek ('22) all finished within one minute and twenty seconds to round out Red Lion's top seven boys. MOT Charter was the winner of the boys' race.

Joshua Deitrich ('19) won the boys' race (Photo: Katie Rippon)

Marc Sherman ('20) looked strong as he crossed the finish line. He finished sixth for Red Lion and fourteenth overall (Photo: Katie Rippon)

On the girls' side, Faith Hollister ('22) won the race in 24:00. MOT Charter's Georgia Hitchens ('22) finished twelve seconds behind her in second place. Red Lion's Hannah Ye ('21) and Fiona Fawcett ('22) finished third and fourth overall with times of 24:32 and 24:38 respectively. Katelyn Walker ('19), Abi Phillips ('21), and Cathy Nicholson ('21) finished out Red Lion's six girls in fifth, seventh, and tenth place respectively. The Red Lion girls won the race, which means our record is now 2-0.

Faith Hollister ('22) was the winner of the girls's race (Photo: Katie Rippon)

Captain Katelyn Walker finished fourth for the Red Lion girls and fifth overall (Photo: Katie Rippon)

Full race results can be found here.

The course was very muddy, and so were everyone's legs by the end of the race (Photo: Katie Rippon)

Hannah Ye ('22) spotted a double rainbow over the Red Lion Estates after the meet (Photo: Hannah Ye). {Thank you, Hannah, for letting me borrow your phone so I could take pictures!}

Though this was a very challenging race, we are working hard in practice and we are getting stronger and growing closer together as a team. As this was only the second race of the season, we have many more chances to compete and to see the results of the work we are putting in every day. We continue to "embrace the grind" and I cannot wait to see what will happen as the season progresses. Our next meet will be the Middletown Invitational at the end of this week, where we will have a larger field of competition, so stay tuned for a review coming soon!


Katie

RLCA vs. Caravel Academy vs. St. Elizabeth HS

Our first meet of the 2018 season was a tri-meet against Caravel Academy and St. Elizabeth High School and was held yesterday at Lums Pond State Park, our home course. Despite the rainy weather and lots of mud, the flat and winding course and some cooler temperatures outside made for a fine setting for the first race.

Joshua Deitrich ('19) led the Red Lion boys, placing first overall with a time of 20:17, and beating St. Elizabeth's Daniel SteenKramer (second overall) by just over a minute. Marc Sherman ('20) and Dennis Nicholson ('19) followed with times of 23:59 and 24:04 respectively, finishing in 9th and 10th place overall for the boys' race. Michael Gasorek ('22), Captain Micah Pope ('19), Andrew Tanyous ('22), and Ryan Cooper ('21) rounded out the top seven Red Lion boys.

For the girls' team, Caravel's Katy Peyton finished first with a time of 22:39. Red Lion's Faith Hollister ('22) finished first for the Red Lion girls and in third place overall with a time of 24:19. Fiona Fawcett ('22) finished behind her in 25:14, and Hannah Ye ('21) followed close behind with a time of 25:26. Captain Katelyn Walker ('19), Abi Phillips ('21), and Cathy Nicholson ('21) rounded out Red Lion's six girls. I will be out for a few more weeks due to a shin injury but I am looking forward to being able to return to running soon so we can have a full girls' team.

Full race results can be found here.

For this first race, we are all still focusing on getting back into shape for the season. This was a challenging race. According to Faith Hollister ('22), the race involved "a lot of elbows," and Hannah Ye ('21) said she was "slipping through the course." Captain Katelyn Walker ('19) summed up the race as "pain, perseverance, and puddles." Despite the challenges, we are already looking strong. Our team posted some solid times for this first meet, and we know we can do even better. We are putting our work in at practice and we have a whole season ahead of us. For now, we are "embracing the grind" (as Coach Shirley keeps reminding us), and I am excited to see what we can accomplish in the meets to come.

2017 Delaware DIAA State Championships

Our last race of the season was the DE State Championship race at Killens Pond (or, as some of the girls termed it, "Kill-it" Pond). It was definitely a welcome change from last year's States race at Brandywine, which involved several enormous hills, as the Killens Pond course is almost entirely flat. Our team was rather well equipped for the temperatures in the upper 30s, showing up wearing about three layers each and bringing gloves, hats, hand warmers, blankets, and even sleeping bags.

Four races were held at this meet, a girls and a boys race each for Division I and Division II schools. Our top seven male and female runners competed in the respective Division II races, with the girls race taking off first at 1pm.

The start of the girls race (Photo: Mrs. Jen Mengel)

Hannah Ye ('21) ran a personal best time of 22:00, placing 44th overall. Faith Hollister ('22) was not far behind in 56th place with her own new PR of 22:13. Fiona Fawcett ('22) finished in 82nd place with a time of 23:43, and Katie Rippon ('20) and Captain Naomi Mengel ('18) ran personal bests of 24:03 and 24:19 respectively to place 91st and 96th. Katelyn Walker ('19) finished in 100th place in 24:40. Cathy Nicholson ('21) crossed the line in 105th place at 25:07, despite twisting her ankle in the latter half of the race.

Weston (and Matteo) around the half-mile mark (Photo: Naomi Mengel)

The Division II boys race started an hour and twenty minutes later at 2:20 pm. Joshua Deitrich ('19) once again led the Red Lion boys, placing 24th overall with a personal best of 17:19. He was followed by Weston Marshall ('20), who set a PR of 18:51 and placed 67th. Matteo D'Andrea ('20) finished in 111th place in 19:53, followed by Spencer Armstrong ('19) in 115th place with a PR of 19:59. Captain Luke Sherman ('18) and Dennis Nicholson ('19) both set PRs of 20:29, finishing 125th and 126th, with Luke just ahead. Marc Sherman also set a PR, coming in 148th with a time of 21:14.

Josh Deitrich leading the Red Lion boys (Photo: Naomi Mengel)

Full results can be found here for both races.

Captain Luke Sherman finishing his final race as a high school XC runner (Photo: Naomi Mengel

)

At practice this past week, Coach Shirley told us he'd set a goal back at the beginning of the season for the girls team and one for the boys team for our States races. The girls' goal was to place in the top ten teams in Division II, and the boys' was to place in the top fifteen. At this meet, our girls team did indeed finish in tenth place, and the boys finished in fifteenth. In addition, ten out of our fourteen runners who competed in this meet set new personal bests today. ("Kill-it" Pond turned out to be a very appropriate name.)

Team pictures after the race (Photo: Mr. Dan Mengel)

After team pictures, we headed out to Chick-fil-a to celebrate as a team. The girls team also revealed their Secret Sisters at the meet. Our season is officially over, but I don't think we could have ended with a better race. We'll celebrate some more at our banquet on Thursday, and after that it's a wrap.

The girls team (Photo: Mr. Dan Mengel)

I'll probably post one more blog entry after our banquet next Thursday and share more of my personal experience from this season, so keep an eye out for that :)

Naomi

2017 New Castle County Championships

Although the Winterthur course for the New Castle County Championship race is not usually a particular favorite among runners, we did our best to rise to the challenge. It's billed as having "gently rolling hills," which is a pretty accurate description of the first mile of each lap, but the larger hill that makes up the last half mile can be rather intimidating. As this is a two-lap course, it tends to be even more mentally challenging. We couldn't have had a better day for the race, though; temperatures in the upper 50s and a bit of November sunshine made for wonderful running weather.

The team post-race (Photo: Mrs. Jen Mengel)

We put a lot into preparing for this race both mentally and physically during the week leading up to it. We put our work in at practice every day, had a course walk-through (more like run-through) on that Wednesday, and some of us even had a bread-eating competition at the pre-meet spaghetti dinner on Friday (hey, they did tell us to load up on the carbs!).

For this race, the top seven runners on each team ran in their respective varsity races, and the rest of the runners competed in the JV races.

The JV girls ran first, with Sophia Spotts ('21) leading the way for Red Lion and finishing in 61st place (out of 193 girls) with a time of 24:58. Abby Phillips ('21) finished in 97th, with Captain Anna Teather ('18) following in 138th. Full results for the race can be found here.

The JV boys race was by far the largest of the meet with a total of 340 runners. Ryan Cooper ('21) finished first among the Red Lion boys and 97th overall, followed by Richard Turley ('22) in 101st, Nick Yu ('18) in 105th, Micah Pope ('19) in 107th, and Ryan Silver ('20) in 110th. Captain Brandan Leauby ('18) and Jesse Ma ('20) followed in 258th and 297th. Cooper, the first runner, and Silver, the fifth runner, finished within thirty seconds of each other (22:30 and 22:58) . For full results, click here.

The varsity girls race, with 165 runners, was the smallest of the meet. Faith Hollister ('22) led the Red Lion girls, finishing in 85th place with a time of 23:11 despite taking a tumble early in the race. Hannah Ye ('21) finished next in 98th place in 23:36. Captain Naomi Mengel ('18) followed in 115th with a time of 24:26 (a PR for me!). Cathy Nicholson ('21) and Katie Rippon ('20) also finished under 25 minutes in 123rd and 125th place respectively. Fiona Fawcett ('22) placed 134th, and Katelyn Walker ('19) finished just behind her in 135th (full results here). The team placed 19th out of 29 teams.

In the varsity boys race, Joshua Deitrich ('19) crossed the line at 17:56, placing 61st out of 203 runners and first for Red Lion. Weston Marshall ('20) finished next in 101st place, followed by Matteo D'Andrea ('20) in 136th and Spencer Armstrong ('19) in 145th place. Captain Luke Sherman ('18) finished in 158th place with a PR of 20:58 to round out the top five. Dennis Nicholson ('19) and Marc Sherman ('20) followed in 167th and 176th place respectively. The team placed 20th out of 32 teams. Full results can be found here.

MileSplit also has video coverage of each race. Check out the beginning of this video to see our girls team featured!

Coach Shirley speaking to the team after the race (Photo: Cathy Nicholson)

We're nearing the end of our season, with only one more race to go. We're gearing up for the States meet on Saturday, where the top seven runners on each team will compete in the Division II races. Coach Shirley has set some specific goals for our teams regarding placing in that meet, and I'm excited to see us finish out the season strong!

Naomi

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

RLCA vs. Archmere vs. Delmarva Christian and Senior Night

Our second and final home meet of the season was a tri-meet against Archmere Academy and Delmarva Christian Academy. Despite the intense heat and a delayed start time due to a mixup involving double-booking of the course with another five-team meet, our runners were prepared to compete, and many posted solid times.

Josh Deitrich ('19) led the way for the boys, finishing second overall in 19:59. Matteo D'Andrea ('20) finished in fourteenth place with a time of 21:58. Spencer Armstrong ('19), Dennis Nicholson ('19), and Nick Yu ('18) followed in 16th, 25th, and 28th place respectively. Marc Sherman ('20) crossed the line in 31st place with a time of 23:39, followed by Captain Luke Sherman ('18) in 34th place. Ryan Silver ('20), Richard Turley ('22), Captain Brandan Leauby ('18), Ryan Cooper ('21), and Jesse Ma ('20) rounded out the Red Lion boys finishers.

Josh Deitrich, pictured earlier in 2017 (Photo: Mr. Aaron Hamrick)

On the girls' side, Fiona Fawcett ('22) placed first among the Red Lion girls and fourth overall with a time of 24:37. Hannah Ye ('21) also finished in the top ten for the girls (7th place). Despite taking not one but two tumbles during the last mile that resulted in a bloodied knee and dirt all over her, Katie Rippon ('20) placed 14th, crossing the finish line at 26:25. Because of her perseverance, she was honored as the recipient of the 2x4 for the day*. Cathy Nicholson ('21) finished in 15th with a time of 26:38. Captain Naomi Mengel ('18) was narrowly beaten in the final sprint by an Archmere runner and placed 17th. Faith Hollister ('22), battling a broken wrist, finished 23rd among the girls, followed by Abby Phillips ('21) in 25th, Sophia Spotts ('21) in 30th, and Captain Anna Teather ('18) in 33rd place. Both the boys and girls teams lost to Archmere but won against Delmarva Christian in the overall score.

Coach Shirley, the seniors, and their posters (Photo: Mr. Dan Mengel)

Because this was our final home meet of the season, senior recognition was held after the race. Brandan Leauby, Naomi Mengel, Luke Sherman, Anna Teather, and Nick Yu were recognized for their contributions to the team over the course of their cross country careers. (Special thank you to all the Tall Oaks students who helped to make the posters and the friends and family who came out to support us!)

*For an explanation of this honor, see previous post "Golf Tees & Two-by-Fours"

Naomi

2017 Middletown Invitational

The Middletown Invitational, held at St. Andrew's School on September 22, was our second race of the season. The course, beautiful on the warm but overcast day, winds through the fields that surround the school and ends with a twisting, hilly path through the woods. Four separate races were held, with the top seven runners of each gender competing in the respective varsity races while the remaining runners competed in the JV races.

The girls team and manager Sarah Zhu (Photo: Mrs. Jen Mengel)

The girls' JV race was the first of the meet. Abby Philips ('21) led the Red Lion girls, finishing 48th overall with a time of 27:34. Sophia Spotts ('21) placed 50th overall, followed closely by Captain Anna Teather ('18).

The boys' JV race, which was by far the largest of the meet in terms of numbers, began fairly uneventfully. At around the two-mile mark, however, the runners encountered a swarm of ground hornets, and many were stung, including several runners from Red Lion. Nevertheless, the boys persisted and were able to finish the race. Marc Sherman ('21) led the team with a time of 23:03, placing 118th overall. Coach declared him the day's winner of the 2x4 in honor of his crossing the finish line while puking. Ryan Silver ('21) finished next in 139th place with Ryan Cooper ('21), Jesse Ma ('21), Adam Rao ('20), and Captain Brandan Leauby ('18) following.

The girls' varsity race, slightly rerouted due to the hornet problem, took off just afterwards. Fiona Fawcett ('22) ran an outstanding time of 22:05, placing 32nd overall. Faith Hollister ('22), sporting a cast on her broken wrist, followed with another amazing time of 22:10 and placed 33rd. Hannah Ye ('21) finished in 52nd place, followed by Cathy Nicholson ('21) in 62nd, Katelyn Walker ('19) in 68th, Katie Rippon ('20) in 71st, and Captain Naomi Mengel ('18) in 72nd place. The team placed 9th overall.

Josh Deitrich ('19) led the boys' varsity race for Red Lion with an impressive time of 17:37 and placed 28th overall. Matteo D'Andrea ('20) also broke the 20-minute mark, crossing the line at 19:09 in 65th place. Spencer Armstrong ('19) finished at 20:03 in 75th, followed by Dennis Nicholson ('19) in 92nd, Captain Luke Sherman ('18) in 97th, and Nick Yu ('18) in 102nd place. Micah Pope ('19) was unable to complete the race due to severe pain from shin splints. The team placed 15th overall.

Naomi

RLCA vs. Caravel Academy vs. St. Elizabeth HS

Our opening meet of the season was a tri-meet against Caravel Academy and St. Elizabeth High School at our home course in Lums Pond State Park. The course, which winds through the woods at the back of the park, and the beautiful (if slightly warm) September weather made for a picturesque setting for our first race.

Joshua Deitrich ('19) led the boys' race for Red Lion with a time of 20:23, placing second overall to Caravel's Joe Schaefer. Weston Marshall ('20) followed in third place, finishing in 20:39. Spencer Armstrong ('19), Matteo D'Andrea ('20), Dennis Nicholson ('19), Captain Luke Sherman ('18), and Micah Pope ('19) rounded out the top seven for Red Lion. Richard Turley ('22) finished with a time of 23:56 for his first varsity race, followed by Nick Yu ('18), Marc Sherman ('20), Captain Brandan Leauby ('18), Jesse Ma ('20), and Adam Rao ('20).

On the girls' side, Faith Hollister ('22) led the Red Lion girls in her debut varsity race, finishing second to Katy Peyton of Caravel with a time of 23:58. Hannah Ye ('21) finished third overall in 25:23. Fiona Fawcett ('22) and Cathy Nicholson ('21) had a photo finish as Cathy pulled just ahead in the final sprint. Katelyn Walker ('19), still battling shin splints, nevertheless ran a solid race to finish in 26:27. Katie Rippon ('20) and Captain Naomi Mengel ('18) finished sixth and seventh respectively for the Red Lion girls team, with two of our new runners, Sophia Spotts ('21) and Abby Philips ('21), and Captain Anna Teather ('18) following.

Full race results (Photo: Mrs. Jen Mengel)

It should be noted that even though this was our first race, we've already had two runners compete for the annual "First to Puke" award, won in past years primarily by former Captain David Walczak ('16) and this year (rather sheepishly) by me, who narrowly beat out Adam Rao ('22) for the somewhat dubious honor.

For the first race of the season, all of our runners looked strong out on the course. Some of us (including me) admittedly started the race a little too fast, and many of us did not run the time we were hoping for, but with the rest of the season ahead of us, I have high hopes for our performance as a team in the meets to come.

Naomi

Notes and Updates...Again

Wow, have I seriously managed only one blog post since October 1?

First of all, I want to sincerely apologize for the lack of production recently at OnTheLineXC. I haven't done as much as I've wanted to do, mainly because I've been busy with schoolwork and college applications, both of which take priority over the blog, as they should.

In terms of what has gone on since the last post, our team ran a tri-meet (against Caravel Academy and St. Elizabeth High School) at Lums Pond last Wednesday, October 26. While it was not technically a home meet for us, it was great to have an opportunity to run at a course we had already been to earlier in the season to compare our times and see how much we have improved as a team. I had been waiting to write a race review in case any pictures from the meet became available on social media, but I have not found any yet. With that, I'll go ahead and post the full results and give a short summary here.

Joshua ('19) just missed out on the win, finishing second to Caravel's Jacob Puharic, three seconds behind. Noah ('17) ended up third, while I placed fifth. I was aiming for a sub-20, so to miss out on that by five seconds is a bit disappointing. Still, ending up in P5 in a tri-meet we won easily is hard to be unhappy with. On the Girls' side, Hannah ('21) and Mae ('20) finished second and third respectively, while Red Lion as a team placed six girls in the top ten.

Full results from the tri-meet.
(Photo: Nikki Pizzulli/Paul Shirley)

Tomorrow, we travel to Winterthur for a county-wide meet in preparation for State Championships one week later. I will try to get results and a race review up for both meets as soon as possible.

Thanks,
Benjamin Schneider