ST. HELENA — Running on St. Helena”s new home course, a 3.15-mile trek in the hills of Angwin, the Middletown High School cross country team battled Fort Bragg in Coastal Mountain Conference cross country action Wednesday afternoon.
St. Helena, Roseland Prep, Kelseyville and Calistoga all took part in the meet.
“It”s a great course with some elevation change, a true cross country course,” Middletown coach Eric Olson said of the home course of the Pacific Union College men”s and women”s cross country teams, which run a longer distance at their home meets.
Fort Bragg defeated Middletown 26-29 in the varsity boys” division and 22-33 in the varsity girls” division. Middletown”s junior varsity boys beat an incomplete Fort Bragg squad.
n Varsity boys
St. Helena”s Rafael Rios won the varsity boys” race, holding off Mendocino”s Nathan Van Horn for a half-second victory. Rios finished in 20 minutes, 2 seconds to Van Horn”s 20:02.5.
“That was a great race,” Olson said. “You come down a hill to the finish line and they were coming down like mountain goats.”
Middletown freshman Ian Bright was fifth overall in 20:44 and teammate Gerardo Vargas was eighth in 21:21.
Varsity girls
Alexandra Sciocchetti of Fort Bragg breezed to an easy win in the varsity girls” race, finishing in 22:49. Erin Thomas of Mendocino was second in 24:03.
Freshman Tori Roderick led Middletown with a fifth-place time of 26:24.
“I was really proud of her,” Olson said. “She had a great run and paced herself well.”
Runners who start to fast at the St. Helena course soon run into a hill that features a 13-percent grade.
“It”s about a quarter-mile up the hill, so if you”re going all out and hit that thing, you could be in trouble,” Olson said. “Tori paced herself just right.”
JV boys
Max Hantsche of Point Arena beat out Middletown”s Jake Tangerman in the JV boys” race. Hantsche finished in 22:24 to Tangerman”s 22:30.
Also for Middletown, Tanner Kelly was seventh in 25:28 and Madax McDowell was ninth in 25:44.
