Salesianum edges Middletown, defends DIAA cross country Division I title

Salesianum and Middletown went toe-to-toe at the DIAA boys Division I cross country championship on Nov. 12, with the Sals doing just enough to defend their state title, The Sals defeated the Cavaliers, 37-41, on a wet course at Killens Pond State Park in Felton.

Middletown’s Jonathan Drew continued his outstanding campaign with the individual title, crossing the finish line in 16:06.20, just over four seconds better than Matt Miller of Salesianum. The fourth and sixth spots belonged to Jonas Rush and Walter Samuels, respectively, of Middletown, while the Sals’ Colin Small and James Kennedy crossed in fifth and seventh.

That left two finishers remaining for both teams, and the Sals got a 10^th-place result from Matthew Bradley, then Sam Felice in 13^th. Their total points were 37, which under normal circumstances is good enough for a comfortable win.

The Cavaliers, however, were right there. After their first three, Eamon Rush scored with a 12th-place result, for a total of 23 with one runner left to go. If they were able to capture 14^th place, they would win, and 15^th would mean a shared title. Three straight Cape Henlopen runners, however, took 14^th through 16^th, and Middletown’s final runner was about 14 seconds too late.

Cape’s strong showing helped them to third place with 68 points.

For Salesianum, it was the school’s 45^th championship overall dating back to 1969. They won last year at Brandywine Creek State Park in Wilmington after a two-year absence from the top spot.

In the Division II race, Archmere had one top-10 finisher on the way to third place. The Auks finished with 113 points, trailing only Tatnall, which had 51, and St. Andrew’s with 98.

Richie Angiullo was the fastest Auk, crossing the line in eighth place. The Auks also had Camilo Alvarez in 14^th and Julian Facciolo in 20^th. The other Catholic school that placed was Saint Mark’s, which came in sixth. Connor Stockton earned 10^th place.

Sophomore Ethan Walther of Delaware Military Academy was the Division II individual champion with a time of 16:18.30.