Milford High School Cross Country

Senior captains Carl Richardson (5th, 16:34) and Molly Bliss (3rd, 19:43) closed out their four-year careers with their best state meet performances to help lead their teams to top 5 finishes at the DIAA state championship Saturday at Killens Pond State Park.

Led by Richardson, Taiwan Savage, Josh Johnson, Mike Doughty, James Hagen, Henry Phalen and Victor Rueda-Jimenez, the boys lost the sixth-man tie-breaker to third-place St. Mark's to finish fourth overall. In his final race, Johnson ran a 17:37 to reach the No. 17 ranking on the MHSCC All-time Fastest 5K list, while Hagen ran his best -- a 17:48.

For the girls, Alexis Groce scored an 11th-place medal, while Amy Wilson, Hannah Uebele, Stefanie Clendaniel, Lydia Cole and Shaimae Sefiane ran well together to secure the girls as fifth overall. 

 Click on the above headline for full MHSCC times or visit N5CTA.com for full meet results.

Richardson, a four-year veteran and co-captain, concluded one of the best four-year campaigns for any MHSCCer with a stellar 16:34 at Saturday’s state championship. His Killens Pond best — and second-fastest time ever — earned him the No. 5 spot in DI and the 10th fastest time of the day. He’ll earn All-state recognition for the second-straight season.

Johnson, in just his second season with MHSCC, has had much of his success on the track, but he made his senior CC season pay dividends as he made a strong surge over the season’s final weeks. He ran three-straight career-bests to close out his career, including a 17:37 at Saturday’s state meet which ranked him No. 17 on the MHSCC All-time Fastest 5K list.

Girls 5th (126 points)

3. Molly Bliss 19:43, 11. Alexis Groce 20:22, 25. Amy Wilson 21:42, 39. Hannah Uebele 22:16, 48. Stefanie Clendaniel 22:37, 49. Lydia Cole 22:43, 70. Shaimae Sefiane 23:58.

Boys 4th (116 points)

5. Carl Richardson 16:34, 21. Taiwan Savage 17:30, 23. Josh Johnson 17:37, 33. Mike Doughty 17:47, 34. James Hagen 17:48, 44. Henry Phalen 18:00, 49. Victor Rueda-Jimenez 18:13.

Congratulations to the MHSCC boys and girls who continued their strong postseason performances by sweeping the Henlopen Conference meet championship Saturday at Killens Pond to successfully defend each title from a season ago. Molly Bliss led the way, once again setting a new school record of 19:20 to nail down the girls' first individual Henlopen cross country crown since 2000.

For the boys, who outscored second-place CR, 34-50, Carl Richardson finished a strong runner-up, while Henry Phalen followed with a new best of 17:06 to place him No. 6 on the MHSCC all-time fastest 5K list. Taiwan Savage scored a career-best to finish 5th, while the pack of Mike Doughty, James Hagen, Josh Johnson and Victor Rueda-Jimenez put the entire varsity seven under 18 minutes to earn All-Henlopen status.

For the girls, Alexis Groce and Kelsey Cabrera raced to the All-Henlopen first-team, while Hannah Uebele and Amy Wilson closed out the team's scorers with the 14th & 15th spot overall. Uebele, a freshman, posted her best race, running the 15th fastest 5K time for MHSCC ever. Stef Clendaniel finished 17th, while Lydia Cole closed out the top 7 with a strong race.

The JV boys also claimed the top spot as Andrew Eshelman, Trevor Maloney, Brandon Munce and Evan Becker scored places 2 through 5 with career-best times in the 18s. Shaimae Sefiane (5th) and Kristen Schulze (6th) ran great times to earn JV medals for the girls.

The teams wrap up their season at the DIAA state championship Saturday at Killens Pond State Park.

CLICK ON THE ABOVE HEADLINE FOR FULL MEET RESULTS.

 Doughty, a four-year veteran and co-captain, has been a steady force in the 18s all season, including an 18:17 Tuesday to reach the all-Kent County team again. He came up with his biggest and best race of his career at Saturday’s Henlopen Championship when he busted out a stellar career-best of 17:42 as the team’s No. 4 man — good enough for 11th place overall.

 Groce, a three-year veteran, has had a knack for coming through huge in big postseason meets, and this past week proved no different than the past as she surged through Tuesday’s Kent County race with a Killens best 20:12 to finish runner-up. Then, she followed that with another best of 20:09 — good enough for first-team All-Henlopen as fifth overall on Saturday.