Milford High School Cross Country

Cruising along for his second 22 flat of the season, Bloomie scored a second place trophy at the Bill Degnan 5K Sunday at Cape Henlopen High School. Special thanks to Cape grad Brittany Morris who paced me for the second half of the course to match my 22. :) Uncle Vern stayed consistent, placing in the Top 20 in the race. Special Sauce Insider saw numerous local high schoolers and recent high schoolers including Cape's Matt Jackson and Evan Mock, CR's B.J. Friend, Tech's Mike Mann, Seaford's Andrew Perciful and his pop, Coach P, as well as fellow Henlopen coaches George Pepper and Lou Nicoletti. Woodbridge stars Connie Pleasanton and (1st name?) Hunsberger also ran, getting in shape for field hockey. Cape track grads Shawn Hopkins and Terez Partlow also ran their first 5Ks to celebrate their Degnan scholarships. ;)

Time to check the heat index: After further review, Bloomie added a minute to last weekend's time, running a subpar, but quite acceptable, 23 minutes to score a second place medal at the Laurel Independence Day 5K. At least I got a shot at a medal as Uncle Vern and Sidekick Nick Boggs got DQed for running the wrong course (and they actually ran longer. Tough luck). Special Sauce Insider saw the Seaford CCers (past and present) running strong. Christina Garmendia gave Bloom a battle and Kate LaPrad also scored a medal. Lloyd and Perciful cruised along with ex-stars Jamie Parks and others. Insider also saw a couple Tech runners.

No need for dramatics on Saturday June 22 at the Duck Dash 5K as Bloomie only had 26 other competitors to battle in a small field, making my 22:05 good enough for seventh overall. Meanwhile, Uncle Vern cruised to a runner-up finish behind speedy Lake alum Eric Payne who notched a 17:32. Special Sauce Insider saw just a couple of Seaford girls running and I believe they're grads Kate LaPrad and Colleen Hughes (not sure what grade).

Bloomie couldn't get that extra kick at the end, but still notched a solid 21:52 to get third overall in my age group in Sunday's Father's Day 5K. Unfortunately for Uncle Vern, he was 40 spots ahead with a 19:04, but got edged out for fourth in the Master's bracket. Congrats to Wesley/CR/Smyrna runner/coach Matt Lindell who was under the 18 barrier as well as runner-up Eric Payne who couldn't quite catch frontrunner Leslie Wright. Glad to see Milford's finest Tell Gwen Guerke running well in the pack of 216 finishers. Special Sauce Insider saw Sussex Tech coach Lou Nicoletti finish in the low 21s, but not too many local HS runners. CR's Kyle Luke and Lake's Addison Lukecart posted solid times.

Coach Chris Kenton, an MHSCC alum and coach for the past two seasons with Coach Bloom, has accepted a social studies position with Polytech this second week of June. He most likely will help the Polytech CCers improve this season as well. Good luck, Coach K!