Howard M. Laws Summer Cross Country 5K Series: Race 1 (Review)

Joshua Deitrich (pictured in 2014)
believes he finished the 5K course in
around 20 minutes and 50 seconds.
(Photo: TOCS Facebook)

The first of six Howard M. Laws Summer Cross Country 5K Series is in the books. Brendan Malone of Wilmington Christian School placed second overall and won the male high school division. Joshua Deitrich ('19) delivered the fastest run of the Tall Oaks team members, finishing fourth overall and second in the male high school division. Other TOCS representatives, Benjamin Schneider ('17), Brandan Leauby ('18), and Joshua's father, Bryan Deitrich, finished tenth, 17th, and 18th overall respectively. The runners were all generally satisfied with their performances given the humid weather and difficult conditions; Leauby added that the course felt "slow."

J. Deitrich: "I guess I would say it was a great first race. It was really good for me to be able to run with other people. The course is a great training course and is something I look forward to running on and seeing my progress throughout the rest of the summer."

Howard M. Laws Summer Cross Country 5K Series: Race 1 (Preview)

Reminder to all that the first race in the Laws 5K Series is tonight at 6:30 pm at Bellevue State Park. The series got some attention last year from Delaware Online and has been praised by many as a great way for experienced cross-country runners in particular to maintain their base in the offseason.

Registration opens at 5:30 and will remain open until 6:15. Keep in mind that there are $4 and $8 park entry fees for in-state and out-of-state vehicles respectively (more information can be found here), as well as a $5 race registration fee. Those wishing to register for the entire six-race series can save $5 by paying $25 for all six races.

In other news, it appears there will be a cross-country interest meeting at Red Lion on Monday, June 13 at 6:00 pm. I personally will be at a college camp at Waynesburg University; however, I highly encourage all of you to at least find one family member who can attend if you cannot do so yourself.

As for tonight, I hope to see many of you at the race!

Shirley: "I am the coach of the boys team"

For months, it has been "all but official."

Now, it actually is official.

Rev. Paul Shirley confirmed today that he will continue his role as varsity cross-country coach as Tall Oaks joins Red Lion's cross-country team. Shirley joined Tall Oaks' cross country team in 2012 with then-head coach Jeff Silver and has been head coach over all four divisions of the team (Middle School Girls and Boys and Varsity Girls and Boys) since 2013. His trademark command "On the Line!" has become popular among his runners and is also the inspiration for the name of this blog.

Shirley with his wife, Elyse
(Photo: Grace Community Church at Wilmington)

"It is official as of this week; I am the coach of the boys team," Shirley wrote in an email around 3:00 pm this afternoon. "Nicki Pizzulli [current RLCA XC coach] will be coaching the girls team; however, there will be a lot of overlap between teams.

"Nicki and I are working to blend the programs as much as possible and that is a question we have not addressed quite yet (there's a bunch to do!). I'll get you info as I have it. Please feel free to disseminate any info you receive from me."

Shirley has lifted the performance of Tall Oaks' cross-country program immensely over the past few seasons. Under Shirley, runners Benjamin Schneider ('17), Jessica Silver ('18), Joshua Deitrich ('19), Matteo D'Andrea ('20), and Faith Hollister ('22) have all won meets in their respective divisions. The Varsity Boys team has also finished second in the MIL behind Tome School each of the past four seasons, while the Varsity Girls came within a single point of winning the championship in 2015.

Welcome

Hey guys, it's me, Benjamin Schneider. Sports fan, cross-country runner, and a young man full of random, useless, trivial information that nobody cares about.

You may know me from my first blog, Schneider Speaks, which has not taken off like I thought it would. (I'd say I'm still at least as active as our former upper school principal, but with two new posts the last two days, I'm not sure that's true anymore.) I'm still going to keep that blog up and running and may post something about my upcoming camp at Waynesburg University, but time has gotten away from me and I've found other things to keep me occupied than writing there.

This blog, however, will be different (at least I hope). I'm going to limit this blog to the topic of running, and running only. I will keep you updated on my training this offseason and, eventually, the XC season itself as we prepare to join forces with Red Lion Christian Academy.

Although it's only early June, there is already some exiting news, which I hope to share later today. I'll also share why I've chosen to call this thing "On the Line." (Actually, "http://ontheline.blogspot.com" was already taken by another runner who hasn't written a single post since 2002. With that, I have to settle for http://onthelinexc.blogspot.com. Whatever. You all know what "XC" means...)

So, unlike my first blog, this one may be worth adding to your watchlist. Stay tuned.