Milford High School Cross Country

So after taking a brief respite (as the legs felt a little dead after some intense training, Ol' Bloomie hit the streets again in the Laurel Independence Day 5K on July 4. A not-so-shabby 21:44 in the heat got me a runner-up spot in my age group behind former Cape and Lake CC/track coach Chad Culver who ran in the low 20s. A lot of Lower Sussex folks made the race, including former Henlopen CC champ Matt Enders of Seaford who won the race blazing in the 15s. Another former Seaford CCer Jamie Parks and brief Seaford/MHSCCer David Geyer were not too far from Bloomie. Enos Benbow of S.Central fame looked strong as well, and Seaford CC coach Rob Perciful knocked out the 5K and had plenty of breath left to promote The Survival of the Fittest race in August -- a neat blend of seven track events for seven miles on Aug. 23 in Seaford. Perciful and fellow Seaford coach Vince Morris (who timed on Saturday) look to make the race a doozy. :) Special Sauce Insider saw Seaford CCers Mitch Fryling, Kyle Morgan and Andrew Perciful sweep the teen age bracket and Seaford senior Christina Garmendia also came out and looked solid for some summer mileage.

Hey MHSCCers, Ol' Bloom got to see the Smyrna CC course in Saturday's Summer Fest 5K, and believe me, it's not easy -- hence, my season-worst 22:59. The added difficulty of muddy hills and trails at least made the trail race fun, despite my time. Congrats to the wifey, Shelly for getting third in her age group and dropping some time. . . . MHSCCers -- better get ready -- we wrap up the season up there. Training partner Joltin' Joe Beman poured it in the second half to place about a minute ahead of Bloomie, while Smyrna Coach K finished up there as well before he headed off to England for about a month. Former Smyrna and Wesley CCer Matt Lindell also ran well. Meanwhile, SS mate Bobby Spath competed in the Escape from Fort Delaware Tri (more results on him when he returns from his honeymoon in about a week :). Special Sauce Insider saw Smyrna runners Joe Morman and Aron McKinney up front as well, but Morman got DQed along with Dover CCer Kevin Kemmerle for accidentally cutting the course. Race director Ray Parker gave them a reprieve and let them get in a qualifier for the series, though. Congrats to overall female champ, former St. Thomas More CCer Sheena McIntire who stayed just ahead of Bloom throughout the race. Like a week ago, Bloomie bounced back strong in Sunday's Seashore Strider race -- this time the Citizen's Bank 5K. A 21:02 built some confidence, but I finished just shy of medaling. The regulars showed up, including Sussex Central alum Enos Benbow who nailed a stellar 17:45; plus, Lindell cruised through in the low 19s. Milford res John Yanacek knocked out 19s as did age group winner Breck Vandewende, a Woodbridge alum. Still, Special Sauce Insider picked up the surprise of the day when Dr. Robert Smith, Milford superintendent brought his daughter, Sarah, for her first 5K competition. Without much training, she scored a flashy sub-30 performance. She definitely looks like a future star MHSCCer in a couple years.

June 14 - Strawberry Fever 5K 35:29 (40th overall, 4th in age group) June 21 - Summer Fest 5K 34:19 (? overall, 3rd in age group)

Well, the weekend didn't start so hot -- or, well, it did . . . about 100 degrees hot, according to the heat index at the bank as Ol' Bloom and others about melted in the scorching Strawberry Fever 5K on Saturday. A 22:11 says it all. Congrats go out to Smyrna Coach K who still survived with a runner-up finish overall with a mid-19 and Bloom's wife, Shelly, who decided to relive her Special Sauce days and hit the 5K circuit. SS friends Bobby Spath and wife, Kourtney, Milford res John Yanacek and Lexington Miller Anne Beals also beat the heat. Special Sauce Insider saw Lake's Alison Wilson helping, not running at the event while Dover's Kevin Kemmerle continues to cruise along with a top 5 finish. St. Thomas More runner Sheena McIntire gave Bloom a battle for the first half of the race and, of course, future star Meghan Northshield blazed a speedy trail. Lake's mid-school coach Baxter Smith has his seventh-grade son looking like a future star for the Seaford squad. Former Polytech runner and Milford resident Dianne Jones keeps racking up good finishes for the series, and also, it's now official, Runnin' Ray Parker will be the next Lake CC coach. Sunday's Father's Day 5K made for a pleasant breath of fresh air as Bloomie got back under the 21 mark. A 6:08 mile and 13 flat 2-mile split had me well on my way. -- Gotta work on that last one. Still, a 20:57 made for my fastest Father's Day 5K by nearly a minute. Unfortunately, I had the stacked age group -- finishing 43rd out of 240 runners, but 6th in my bracket -- the top two and three of the top five ran in my age group. Congrats to Lake alum Eric Payne (under 18 and No. 4 overall) and Woodbridge alum Breck Vanderwende (3rd in Bloom's age group). Also glad to see former MHSCC MVP Heather Rudd still going strong. A lot of SS friends, including CR alum and St.THM coach Nick Boggs (mid-18s), scored solid days, but no one could touch Kevin Dannahy and his sub-16 win. :0 Special Sauce Insider saw Seaford CC Coach Perciful and son, Andrew, keeping pace with the pack and upstart Seaford senior Mitch Fryling surge to the low 18s. Word has it that the soccer player's going to be running CC this fall. He looks tough. Next races: Summer Fest 5K Saturday, June 21, 8 a.m. at the Smyrna CC course (Coach Powell Memorial) in Clayton and Citizen's Bank 5K Sunday, June 22, 8 a.m. at the Grove Park in Rehoboth.

A rainy day actually made for good running at the Spring into Motion 5K at the Greenwood Mennonite School Festival Saturday. Ol' Bloom cruised through in 21:10 good enough for second in my 20-29 age group between Coach Kennedy from Smyrna and Brad Dennehy from Milford. Congrats go out to race champ Eric Payne (Lake grad '87) who ran a 18:06 and running friends John Yanacek, Anne Beals and Gwen Guerke for picking up awards. Special Sauce Insider saw Bloom's old middle school coach Baxter Smith racing. He says Lake's got a bunch of middle school gals coming up in a year or two. Let's hope they play field hockey. :) . . . Joltin' Joe Morman, Smyrna CCer stayed about a minute in front Bloom the entire time. Next race: Something next Saturday, maybe a 5K, maybe a tri.