All-State cross country: Coaches honor top 10 boys, girls runners
Chuck Durante
·3 min read
J.R. Creekmore of Archmere and Mike Tucci of Caesar Rodney were named coaches of the year in high school cross-country at the sport’s annual awards banquet on Dec. 12.
Creekmore, who teaches physics and chemistry, has led the Archmere girls to second place in each of the past two DIAA Division II meets.
The Auks had missed the top three since he graduated from Archmere in 2011. On Nov. 25, Creekmore won the Delaware Open against an all-comers field.
Indian River's Brynn Crandell wins the girls Division II race at the DIAA Cross Country Championships on Nov. 11 at Brandywine Creek State Park.
Tucci, who teaches advanced algebra and dual-enrolment math, led the strongest boys team in Caesar Rodney history.
The Riders won the Lake Forest, Salesianum and Joe O’Neill invitationals and swept the Kent County and Henlopen Conference championships before finishing second in the DIAA Division I state meet.
Brynn Crandell of Indian River and Ethan Walther of Salesianum were named the state’s top runners.
Crandell, who won the award for the third time, is a four-time Henlopen Conference champion who won the Division II individual title.
Her time of 18:20.9 broke the Brandywine Creek State Park girls course record of Tatnall’s Haley Pierce that had stood for 13 years.
A week later, she finished ninth in the Nike Southeast Regionals in 17:37.4 in Cary, N.C., where Tatnall won both the boys and girls team championships.
On Nov. 25, Crandell ran 18:01 at Franklin Park in Boston to finish eighth in the Foot Locker Northeast Regionals.
Salesianum's Ethan Walther wins the boys Division I race at the DIAA Cross Country Championships on Nov. 11 at Brandywine Creek State Park.
Walther, undefeated in Delaware, won the Division I boys title in 16:35 after taking the Division II title last year as a sophomore at Delaware Military Academy.
He was joined on the boys All-State first team by Division II champion Camerin Williams of A.I. du Pont, Independent Conference champion Colby Twyman of Tower Hill, Sussex County champion Jason Baker of Cape Henlopen, Sam Felice of Salesianum, Alec Jurgaitis of Saint Mark’s, Sebastian Bergstrasser of Conrad and Jackson Downin, Gavin Leffler and Ben Pizarro of Tatnall.
Joining Crandell on the girls first team were Division I champion Anna Bockius of Padua, three-time Blue Hen Conference champion Isabelle Walsh of Middletown, Henlopen Conference champion Paige Ballinger of Sussex Academy, an eighth-grader; Leah Horgan of St. Andrew’s, and five runners from Tatnall - Abby Downin, Katie Payne, Carlita Kaliher, Ruby Schwelm and Katie Endres.
The coaches association expanded the All-state teams from seven to 10 runners this year.
All-State cross-country teams
Boys
Jason Baker, so., Cape Henlopen
Jason Baker from Cape Henlopen High School finishes the boys division I race at the DIAA Cross Country Championships Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023; at Brandywine Creek State Park in Wilmington, DE.
Sebastian Bergstrasser, fr., Conrad
Sebastian Bergstrasser from Conrad Schools of Science finishes the boys division II race at the DIAA Cross Country Championships Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023; at Brandywine Creek State Park in Wilmington, DE.
Jackson Downin, jr., Tatnall
Jackson Downin from Tatnall finishes the boys division II race at the DIAA Cross Country Championships Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023; at Brandywine Creek State Park in Wilmington, DE.
Sam Felice, sr., Salesianum
Salesianum School Sam Felice finishes the boys division I race at the DIAA Cross Country Championships Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023; at Brandywine Creek State Park in Wilmington, DE.
Alec Jurgaitis, so., Saint Mark’s
Gavin Leffler, so., Tatnall
Gavin Leffler from Tatnall finishes the boys division II race at the DIAA Cross Country Championships Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023; at Brandywine Creek State Park in Wilmington, DE.
Ben Pizarro, jr., Tatnall
Ben Pizarro from Tatnall finishes the boys division II race at the DIAA Cross Country Championships Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023; at Brandywine Creek State Park in Wilmington, DE.
Colby Twyman, jr., Tower Hill
Colby Twyman from Tower Hill School finishes the boys division II race at the DIAA Cross Country Championships Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023; at Brandywine Creek State Park in Wilmington, DE.
Ethan Walther, jr., Salesianum
Salesianum School Ethan Walther wins the boys division I race at the DIAA Cross Country Championships Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023; at Brandywine Creek State Park in Wilmington, DE.
Camerin Williams, sr., A.I. du Pont
Camerin Williams from Alexis I. DuPont High School wins the boys division II race at the DIAA Cross Country Championships Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023; at Brandywine Creek State Park in Wilmington, DE.
Girls
Paige Ballinger, 8th, Sussex Academy
Paige Ballinger of Sussex Academy finishes the girls division II race at the DIAA Cross Country Championships Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023; at Brandywine Creek State Park in Wilmington, DE.
Anna Bockius, so., Padua
Anna Bockius from Padua Academy wins the girls division I race at the DIAA Cross Country Championships Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023; at Brandywine Creek State Park in Wilmington, DE.
Brynn Crandell, sr., Indian River
Indian River Brynn Crandell wins the girls division II race at the DIAA Cross Country Championships Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023; at Brandywine Creek State Park in Wilmington, DE.
Abby Downin, so., Tatnall
Tatnall Abby Downin finishes the girls division II race at the DIAA Cross Country Championships Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023; at Brandywine Creek State Park in Wilmington, DE.
Katie Endres, sr., Tatnall
Katrina Endres of Tatnall finishes the girls division II race at the DIAA Cross Country Championships Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023; at Brandywine Creek State Park in Wilmington, DE.
Leah Horgan, jr., St. Andrew’s
Leah Horgan of St. Andrews finishes the girls division II race at the DIAA Cross Country Championships Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023; at Brandywine Creek State Park in Wilmington, DE.
Carlita Kaliher, sr., Tatnall
Tatnall Carlita Kaliher finishes the girls division II race at the DIAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023; at Brandywine Creek State Park in Wilmington, DE.
Katie Payne, jr., Tatnall
Tatnall Katie Payne finishes the girls division II race at the DIAA Cross Country Championships Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023; at Brandywine Creek State Park in Wilmington, DE.
Ruby Schwelm, jr., Tatnall
Isabelle Walsh, so., Middletown
Middletown’s Isabelle Walsh wins the Division I girls 1,600-meter run at the DIAA Track & Field Championships at Dover High on Saturday, May 20, 2023.
O'Neill required eight stitches after a violent collision caused his head to snap back and left him and Rafael Devers sprawled on the the outfield turf at Fenway Park.
Fantasy baseball analyst Andy Behrens offers up a series of pickups to assist every manager, starting with a duo of Rockies ahead of a Colorado homestand.
April is the perfect time of the season to buy low, sell low, buy high and sell high on key players — but you need to know who fits in what department. Fred Zinkie helps fantasy baseball managers with an initial batch.
We are just one week away from all the projections, rumors and lies from being put to rest. The Draft is almost there. We put a bow on our 'Draft Deep Dive' series with Yahoo's draft guru Charles McDonald by looking at the top TE and OL prospects in this year's draft.
Scott Pianowski debuts The Fantasy Baseball Buzz, a weekly series analyzing the biggest stories across MLB. This week, the Dodgers' leadoff man's scorching start.
Elly De La Cruz has been scorching to start the fantasy baseball season — but is there an end in sight? Dalton Del Don gives his take on that and more.
