Boys win North Central League I team championship; Hill places sixth overall in girls race
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SANTA ROSA >> It was a banner day for the Middletown High School boys cross country team as well as Mustangs runner Charlee Hill during the Coastal Mountain Conference Championships at Spring Lake in Santa Rosa.
Contested over a 2.97-mile course, the CMC Championships bring together runners from the North Central League I and I. The next round of postseason competition takes place Nov. 21 at the North Coast Section Championships in Hayward, the qualifier for the CIF State Championships Nov. 28 in Fresno.
While NCL I-II boys and girls team championship were up for grabs during the CMC Championships, so were individual honors as the top 10 runners (boys and girls) in the NCL I and NCL II earn All-League accolades.
Middletown’s varsity boys edged out Fort Bragg and St. Helena for the NCL I championship. The Mustangs finished with 44 points to 53 for the Timberwolves and Saints. Fort Bragg won the sixth-man tiebreaker to claim second place. Willits (83) and Kelseyville (115) also ran complete teams.
For the Middletown girls, Hill, a sophomore, posted the second-best time among NCL I girls and the sixth-best time overall. Since the Mustangs began keeping official records a decade ago, Hill’s time of 19 minutes, 52.3 seconds is the fastest ever at the event. She will represent Middletown along with the Middletown boys team at the NCS Championships later this month.
Boys
NCL II runners posted the five fastest times among the boys on the Spring Lake course, led by race winner Will Engh of Technology (16:04.4). The fastest NCL I time went to Fort Bragg’s Johann Garcia (16:45.4). Another Fort Bragg runner, Walker Aycock, was 11th overall (17:38.5) while Middletown’s Tucker West, a freshman, was 13th (17:58.6).
Other top Lake County times had Middletown senior Isael Haro 17th (18:25.5), Kelseyville freshman Jace Pindell 18th (18:32.4) and Middletown junior Gerardo Rodriguez 29th (19:25.1). Middletown junior Kai Sooy was 30th overall (19:26.4) in the 77-runner field.
Among NCL I runners, earning top-10 honors and All-League status were Fort Bragg’s Garcia, Aycock, Middletown’s West, St. Helena’s Charie Watson (fourth, 18:09.3) and Raul Ramirez (fifth, 18:23.8), Middletown’s Haro (sixth, 18:25.5), Kelseyville’s Pindell (seventh, 18:32.4), Willits’ Nick Cramer (eighth, 19:19.0), St. Helena’s Lucas Zuniga (ninth, 19:20.2) and Middletown’s Rodriguez (10th, 19:25.1). Sooy just missed, taking 11th (19:26.4).
Middletown’s Gabe Aispuro was 14th in 19:38.8, Lower Lake’s Daniel Zamora was 16th in 20:13.3, Kelseyville’s Maverik Watson was 18th in 20:35.8, and Middletown’s Ethan Silva was 26th in 21:59.8.
Sonoma Academy won the NCL II team championship.
Girls
St. Helena edged out Cloverdale 49-50 in NCL I team scoring followed by Willits (74), Middletown (77) and Kelseyville (101).
Corinna Schlatter of St. Helena had the best NCL I girls time at 18:23.4 followed by Middletown’s Hill at 19:52.3 and Cloverdale’s Malia McGrath at 21:59.0.
Also earning All-League honors with top-10 finishes were Willits’ Amara Willner (fourth, 22:51.2); Fort Bragg’s Dottie Palmer (fifth, 23:23.5) and Sadie Sorenson (sixth, 23:25.5); Middletown’s Lupita Cabrera (seventh, 23:32.1); Kelseyville’s Aylin Aguilar (eighth, 23:50.2); Willits’ Frida Friend (ninth, 24:13.7); and Cloverdale’s Alexis Silva (10th, 24:17.6).
Clear Lake’s Madison May placed 21st in the 47-runner field at 27:41.4 and Middletown’s Nick Lopez was 22nd in 27:58.3.
Josie Hill of Sonoma Academy posted the top overall field in the combined NCL I-II field at 17:15.9. The runner-up was Lila Wigton of Mendocino at 17:41.4, and St. Helena’s Schlatter (18:23.4) was third overall.
Sonoma Academy won the NCL II team title.
