The Stenning Woods tradition as strong as ever at 2011 Hockessin Neighborhood Relays

Stenning Woods dominating the Hockessin Neighborhood Relays is comparable – with all due respect – to the aroma caused by fresh mushroom soil wafting through the village on a hot summer day.

Both are guarantees in the village of Hockessin.

Stenning Woods held up its end of the bargain at the 2011 relays held Monday morning in honor of the Fourth of July.

Stenning Woods was named the overall winner with a whopping 220.5 points. Runner up Hockessin Valley Falls finished with 110.5 points.

It was the 15th time in the last 16 years that Stenning Woods took top honors.

The Stenning Woods A team captured gold in all six relay races. And the Stenning Woods B team took second in the 12-14 4x100 meter relay and third in the 12-14 4x300, 6-8 4x50 meter relay and 9-11 4x200 meter relays.

Ladell Bush, 12; Matthew Sengphachanh, 12; John Bouvier, 14 and Chester Burnett, 14, won the 4x300 using a different strategy after Sengphachanh, Bouvier, Burnett and Mike Angeline won the 4x100.

“The first one is a nice little sprint,” Burnett said of the 3x300. “The second lap is a little jog. Coming back is the fastest sprint. It’s just coaching strategies.

“We’re known in Hockessin for running,” he added.

Among the other age groups, Stenning Woods’ Brandon Sengphachanh, 9; Nick Cannon, 10; Andrea Bouvier, 11 and Angelo Padovani, 10, won the 9-11 4x100 meter  relay. Cannon, Bouvier, Sengphachanh and Samantha Barry, 11, teamed up to win the 4x200 meter relay as well.

In addition, Stenning Woods won the 6-8 4x50 meter relay, swept the three long jump age categories and won two of the three softball tosses.

One of the keys to Stenning Woods’ success is that the team takes a no pressure approach, coach Lou Scalia said.

“We practice a couple times a week," Scalia said. "Afterward, we go swimming in my pool and eat Popsicles. Then, we do it again. It’s a fun thing. You don’t have to practice but they enjoy coming to practice to meet the kids. That’s why I do it.

"A lot of the kids these days just go in the house and shut the doors and not come out,” he added. "This brings all the kids out. And they meet kids they didn’t even know were in their neighborhood.”

Plus, 15- and 16-year-olds came back this year to help with the relay squads, Scalia said. That includes assistant coach Alec Hoeschel, who helped with the 12-14 squad.

“They all came back to help out,” Scalia said. “It’s like a big family.”

New Castle County Councilwoman Janet Kilpatrick (R-Hockesssin), the relay announcer and one of the founders of Hockessin’s Fourth of July parade, had a humorous take on Stenning Woods’ success.

“You can’t buy a house there unless you’ve got a kid with [speedy] legs,” Kilpatrick said.

But a few other neighborhoods shined at the Hockessin Neighborhood Relays as well.

The Hockessin All-Stars, representing the close knit cluster of Ramsey Ridge, Tree Top Valley and Bella Vista, won gold in the 6-8 softball. And the All-Stars won silver in both the 6-8 4x50 and 6-8 4x100 meter relays. Orlando Turk, 8, of Bella Vista, Logan Jordan, 8, of Tree Top Valley and Kevin Williams, 8, and Nathan Williams, 6, both of Ramsey Ridge comprised the team. They were coached by the Williams brothers’ grandfather, Joe Williams.

The secret to winning softball?

“We all play baseball [for Piedmont],” Kevin Williams said.

Hockessin Valley Falls was named the winner of Hockessin Neighborhood Relays large neighborhoods after placing second overall.

Fox Meadow took the honor of best small neighborhood after finishing seventh with a total of 29 points.

Hockessin’s Independence Day celebration is presented annually by the Hockessin-Greenville Rotary Club, with the help of several, local businesses that sponsor the event.

State Rep. Deborah Hudson (R-Greenville), a Rotary Club member, said the relays are part of a fine, patriotic event.

“It’s all about America, that hometown feeling,” she said.