Padua continued its hold on the Division I girls cross country championship, dominating the Division I girls state championship at Killens Pond State Park in Felton on Nov. 8. Anna Bockius repeated as the individual state champion, and the Pandas had six of the top seven finishers in a convincing victory.
Padua won with a score of 16, far ahead of second-place Wilmington Charter, which had 72. Caesar Rodney came in third with 130. This was the Pandas’ 13th straight state title.
Bockius, a senior from St. Ann Parish, finished the 3.1-mile course in 17:34.40, nearly 52 seconds ahead of her teammate, sophomore Paige Ballinger. It was Bockius’ third individual state championship. Two more Pandas, Teresina DeAscanis and Vera Cincilla, followed Ballinger before Caesar Rodney’s Morgan Thompson prevented a Padua sweep. The next two finishers were Pandas: Mary Drost was sixth, the last of their five scorers, and Leah Campbell.
Anna Scarangella, a freshman, finished in 12th place.
For Padua, this was the program’s 25th overall title and 13th straight.
Tatnall, coached by Salesianum graduate Pat Castagno, won its third consecutive Division II championship. The Hornets, who had three runners among the top six, finished with 52 points, 18 better than Archmere.
The Auks enjoyed a fine day at Killens Pond. Sophomore Riley Horsey (St. Ann Parish) came in third place, and junior Alaina Thomas was fifth. All five of the Auks’ scorers were in the top 25.
The Auks were third in 2024 and second in 2023.
Ursuline and Saint Mark’s also had good days. The Raiders took fourth in the team competition, with Emerson Guerke coming in ninth to lead the team. The Spartans came in fifth place, getting a 12th-place finish from senior Sadie Trumbull.
The Saint Mark’s boys left Killens Pond with a Division II state championship trophy. All five of the Spartans scorers were in the top 17, led by senior Alex Jurgaitis in fourth place, and all seven were in the top 25.
The other Spartans scorers were Connor Wrinn in 10th, Evan Paskevicius (11th), Abner Murillo (15th) and Nathan Plouffe (17th). The other two runners were Landon Baker in 20th and Tanner Ehemann in 25th.
Saint Mark’s finished with 57 points, ahead of Newark Charter, which had 84. Archmere was third with 106.
Owen Parsons, a senior, paced the Auks with a ninth-place finish. Archmere’s five scorers were all in the top 31.
In the Division I boys meet, Cape Henlopen used four top-10 finishes to take the title with 42 points. Salesianum had 73 points for a second-place showing. The Sals’ best runner was junior James Dempsey, who came in fourth. Senior Aiden Levy was eighth.
