So put another high school sports season in the books, though 2007-08 wasn”t exactly cover-to-cover reading.
Three equal parts ? fall, winter and spring ? make up a sports season, but it was the fall of 2007 that was the best of the three ? by far.
Fall sports
— Lower Lake High School, the doormat of Lake County football for the better part of a decade, went from worst to first under first-year head coach Stan Weiper, who led the Trojans to a 6-4-1 record, a North Central League I North title, and a berth in the North Coast Section Class 2A playoffs. More than that, Weiper led the Trojans back to respectability with a senior-dominated team. Can the Trojans follow that up with another winning season in 2008? Stay tuned.
— Bolstered by an airtight defense, Clear Lake High School”s varsity football team went undefeated during the regular season (9-0-1) and brushed aside the competition to win the NCL I South before losing in the opening round of the Class A playoffs.
— The Middletown High School girls” soccer team reached the playoffs for the second straight year under head coach Louise Owens and won the first postseason game in school history with a 2-1 victory over Mendocino in an opening-round contest.
— A team other than Kelseyville won the NCL I North in volleyball and it was none other than the Lower Lake Trojans and head coach Danessa Udy who helped unseat the Knights as North champions.
Winter sports
While none of Lake County”s 10 varsity basketball teams found their way into the postseason during the winter sports season, which was a first, there were some noteworthy items.
— First-year Kelseyville varsity girls” coach Caitlin Andrus led the Knights to a 20-8 record, best in the county by far, and while Kelseyville could manage only a third-place finish in the NCL I North standings, the Knights beat both of the teams that finished ahead of them — Fort Bragg and Willits — in the NCL I North postseason tournament. The Knights won nine of their final 11.
— Middletown senior Tyler Hunt had one of the greatest single seasons in Lake County history, scoring 618 points (more than half of his three-season career total of 1,230) and averaging 22.9 points a game in the process. The 618 points in one season was the best ever by a Lake County boy and his final career total of 1,230 leaves him 14th on the all-time list of county scorers.
— Clear Lake High School wrestler Tyler Hayes made it to the CIF State Wrestling Championships after finishing third at the North Coast Section Championships, where he was seeded only sixth at 103 pounds. Hayes was the only Lake County wrestler to reach the state meet.
Spring sports
While the spring sports season couldn”t produce a repeat of 2007, when the Clear Lake High School softball team ran the table, going 27-0 and winning the Class A title, the Lady Cardinals did make it back into the postseason, losing in the first round of the sectional playoffs with a team dominated by freshmen, sophomores and juniors, including shortstop Kaila Sterbank, who set a handful of Clear Lake single-season records, including runs scored (49).
— The Clear Lake varsity baseball team fought its way back into the black with a 17-7 record under first-year coach Paul Larrea and just missed the Class A playoffs.
— Kelseyville High School”s tennis team, led by German foreign exchange student Flo Kelder, reclaimed the CMC title after losing it a season earlier to the Middletown Mustangs. Head coach Jeff McLaren guided the Knights to an 8-0 record in conference play, then watched Kelder win the singles title and Stuart Davy and Luke Kriken take the doubles title at the CMC Championships in late April.
— Middletown High School”s fledgling track program under the direction of coach Louise Owens dominated the Lake County scene and qualified three athletes for the Meet of Champions this past Saturday at U.C. Berkeley.
— Kelseyville High School”s golf team, supposedly in a rebuilding mode, pushed St. Vincent to the limit in the race for the CMC South title before settling for second.
— Middletown golfer Doug Quinones lost during a four-way playoff to determine the final berth into the NorCal Championships.
Wrapping it up
So all in all, not a bad sports season, with a fair share of team and individual success sprinkled throughout.
The majority of Lake County”s athletes deserve a nice round of applause for working hard, trying hard and representing the county well during the last nine months. To the graduating seniors, go out and conquer the world and make it a better place than it is now. To those of you returning to high school next season, have a great summer and please stay safe.
A big thank you to all the coaches, junior varsity and varsity, who reported their scores throughout the sports season. Win, lose or draw, most of you took the time out of your hectic schedules to honor your kids with a little recognition, which is just a phone call away. Sometimes it may not be convenient to call and sometimes it may be no fun, especially after a tough loss, but your players do appreciate it.
To those of you who e-mailed me pictures of sporting events during the season, another big thank you. The Record-Bee has no staff photographer these days and my part-time guy, Bob Minenna, is constantly on the run chasing down this team or that in this sport or that. Ginny Craven, Trett Bishop, Dave Fromer, Vince D”Adamo and especially Tina Sanderson provided me with some great photographs throughout the course of the season.
So that”s that for 2007-08. All-County teams will follow in baseball and softball in a week or so, then Athlete of the Year and Coach of the Year awards will be presented next month.
Don”t look now, but 2008-09 is now warming up in The Bullpen.
