Milford High School Cross Country

Both the boys and the girls ran past Smyrna to claim the Henlopen Conference Southern Division title Wednesday at Ron Powell Memorial Park. The boys won, 26-31, while the girls cruised, 20-43. For the boys, Marcus Matthews, Jon Wyman and Rashad Matthews packed in behind Smyrna's top runner while Jon Luiken and Ben Smith rounded out the MHS scorers. Brent Leitzell, Derek King, Chris Battaglia and Chris Pettyjohn each finished ahead of Smyrna's No. 5 man to close out the win. For the girls, Marissa McDonnell led a pack of 10 Milford girls who each outran Smyrna's No. 2 finisher. They included Kourtney Short, Candice Young with a career-best time, Lindsay Kenton, Jackie Creasey, Tricia Gerken, Deshauna Purnell, Mallory Littleton, Jessica Fitzpatrick and Dana Rathfon. Overall, William Willey, John Gonzalez, Trevor Jefferson and Julee Farley each added career-best times. Click on the above headline for complete MHS times.

MMS 8th-grader Emma Barr ran a 10:50 and 6th-grader James Cetner ran 11:02 to finish as the top female and male on the MMS team at the hilly 1.5-mile Blue Jay Open at Chapel Branch on Saturday. Here's a look at the MMS finishers with time and place in age group: 8th-grade girls Emma Barr (10:50, 3rd) Ali Clendaniel (13:17, 7th) 8th-grade boys Matt Huber (12:21, 7th) Kyle Fitzpatrick (13:17, 8th) Logan Moreau (13:21, 9th) Allan Lane (14:10, 10th) Daniel Wheeler (18:28, 11th) Danny Abel (19:13, 12th) 7th-grade boys Michael Schlegel (14:47, 5th) 6th-grade boys James Cetner (11:02, 7th) In other action, MHSCCers Marcus Matthews and Jon Luiken finished just a few seconds ahead of Coach Bloom in the Open 5K to start the day. Derek King went out hard, but finished right behind Ol' Bloom. All four were in the 20s after a hard day's work at Bellevue Friday, while freshman Trevor Jefferson stayed under the 29 barrier. :)

Sophomore Marissa McDonnell ran a 21:57 to become the 12th MHS girl ever to break 22 minutes in a 5K and sophomore Marcus Matthews just missed the MHS All-time Fastest 5K list by two seconds with a 17:52 to highlight a host of career-best performances at Bellevue State Park on Friday. In all, 24 Bucs set a career mark and two others added season-best times. For the boys, Rashad Matthews, Jon Wyman and Ben Smith each ran in the 18s, while Jon Luiken, Derek King and Brent Leitzell rounded out the varsity. For the girls, Lindsay Kenton, Kourtney Short and Jackie Creasey reached the 23s, while Tricia Gerken, Candice Young and Deshauna Purnell added times in the 24s to complete the varsity. The Bucs travel to Ron Powell Memorial Park in Clayton on Wednesday to face Smyrna for the Henlopen Conference Southern Division championship. Click on the above headline for complete MHS results. Visit www.n5cta.com for complete Bellevue results.

Both the boys and girls blew past Lake Forest and nearly scored a huge upset against Dover on a windy Wednesday at Schutte Park. For the boys, Marcus Matthews, Rashad Matthews and Jon Wyman put together a solid front pack and Jon Luiken followed with his career-best time, but the boys just missed upsetting Dover, 27-30. Matt Holloway, Greg Smith and William Willey scored career-best times, while Chris Battaglia added a season-best. Marissa McDonnell paced the girls and Mallory Littleton and Rosie Seagraves each scored season-best times. Click on the above headline for complete results.

Candice Young ran a career-best time and surged ahead as the team's top finisher to lead the girls at the University of Delaware Invitational at White Clay Creek Friday. Jon Wyman and Marcus Matthews each broke 19 to lead the boys. Freshman Cody Houck put together a career-day as well, running a 22:08, while Greg Smith, William Willey and Trevor Jefferson each added career-best times. For complete results, click on the above headline.