Milford High School Cross Country

Despite scorching hot & humid weather, Patrick Helmick and Molly Bliss each won their race to help the boys and girls improve to 2-1 on the season Wednesday at Schutte Park in Dover. The boys defeated Sussex Tech, 21-34, and Dover, 19-39, while the girls knocked off Dover, 20-41, but fell to Tech, 23-35.

For the girls, Alexis Groce, Kacie Jackson, Shaimae Sefiane, Jessica Griffith, Alexis Guzman and Abby Mitchell rounded the varsity 7, while Carl Richardson, Erik Gibbs, Taiwan Savage, Mike Doughty, Nick Albert and Clarence Cartwright filled the boys varsity.

 CLICK ON THE HEADLINE TO LINK TO COMPLETE MEET RESULTS.

 Doughty has quickly taken to the challenge to gain a spot in a deep varsity pack. He opened his second season with a strong 19:10 at CR and then smashed a career-best with an 18:52 at the Lake Inv., reaching the Bloom Top 10 sophomore list with his strong run.

 In her rookie season, Bethany has quietly worked in practice during preseason to improve considerably in her first race week. She dropped into the 27s during her first race and then ran a career-best 27:11 at the Lake Forest Inv.

Senior captains Patrick Helmick and Clarence Cartwright scored Top 10 medals to lead the boys varsity and JV, respectively, to third-place trophies Saturday at the Lake Forest Invitational at Killens Pond State Park. Meanwhile, freshman Alexis Groce ran a stellar 21:33 to move up to 12th on the MHS All-time Fastest 5K list to lead the girls to a 6th-place finish.

 For the boys, seniors Erik Gibbs, Mike Johnson and Nick Albert scored medals, while Steve Eshelman and Mike Doughty each scored his career-best to help put the entire boys varsity under 18:52. Tevin Cartwright, Frank Clendening, Henry Phalen, Jesse McCormick, Derek Munce, Trevor Maloney, Kenny Barlow and Cory Morris also added career times.

For the girls, Alexis Guzman, Alli Henderson, Kim Richardson, Bethany Mitzell, Karrie Herrman, Cat Lallier, Emily Fisher, Morgan Parsley, Emily Marconi and Courtney Dressler scored career-bests.

Visit www.N5CTA.com for complete Lake Inv. results.

Click on the article headline for MHSCC results.

Molly Bliss, Alexis Groce and Sara Kolobielski each broke 22 minutes to score a 1-2-3 sweep, leading the girls to a 27-30 win over Caesar Rodney in Wednesday's 2009 season opener at Brecknock Park. Patrick Helmick and Carl Richardson each broke 18 minutes to pace the boys in a tough 24-32 loss.

Groce (21:56), a freshman, and Richardson (17:49), a sophomore, each made the MHS All-time Fastest 5K list with their stellar performances.

Erik Gibbs, Jordan Lane, Taiwan Savage, Steve Eshelman and Mike Doughty rounded out the boys varsity 7 all under 19:10, while Jessica Griffith, Kacie Jackson, Tori Cox and Steffi Clendaniel each made the girls varsity.

 CLICK ON THE ABOVE HEADLINE TO SEE FULL MEET RESULTS.

 Phalen has steadily improved since day one, working hard in practice and dropping his 5K trial times. Despite breaking a bone in his arm, he has continued to battle at practice, running his three fastest mile times under 7 minutes during repeats last week.

 Groce has quietly made her presence on the preseason varsity, keeping pace with veteran runners. Her confidence has grown with each trial she has run, and after smashing repeat times last week, she appears poised to make a scoring impact for the team in ‘09.