LOWER LAKE — Week-to-week improvement is what most cross country coaches are looking for from their runners and Middletown”s Eric Olson saw enough of that on Wednesday to make him a fairly contented coach as the Mustangs won two out of three races and divisions during a four-team meet hosted by Lower Lake.
“A couple of our runners weren”t happy with their times today, but overall we had a pretty good day,” Olson said.
St. Helena and Willits rounded out the field on the hilly 3.0-mile course located near the end of Dam Road. Breezy conditions also played a factor in the race as the runners were exposed to a stiff breeze when they reached the top of an exposed ridgeline.
“This is a challenging course,” Olson said. “Of all the courses we run on this is probably the toughest.”
Training on hills probably helped his Mustangs, according to Olson, because the challenging terrain didn”t seem to slow down either Cassidy Parker or Parker Spadaro. Parker won the varsity boys” race in 19 minutes, 25 seconds, finishing more than a minute in front of Willits freshman Robert Swoboda (20:29). Jake Tangerman of Middletown was fourth overall in 21:01, one second ahead of Everardo Chavez of Lower Lake (21:02).
Spadaro likewise dominated the junior varsity boys” race, finishing in 21:55, almost a full minute in front of teammate Jacob Riccio (22:46). Peter Sullivan (23:16) and Jonny Nance (24:01), also from Middletown, finished third and fourth, respectively.
“Both Spadaro and Riccio really surprised me today. They ran great,” Olson said.
The varsity girls” race was all about Julia Eyer of St. Helena as she pulled away from the field at the start, putting plenty of distance between herself and the pack in the first half-mile, which is a steady uphill climb.
Eyer cruised to the finish line in 23:43, easily beating out teammate Delaney Creswell (27:29) and Middletown”s Tori Roderick (27:33), who closed the gap on Creswell in the race”s final stages. Middletown”s Carmen Sandoval was fourth in 28:38 and Madison Fletcher of Lower Lake came in fifth in 28:59.
Middletown”s varsity and JV boys posted team wins as well. St. Helena edged out Middletown 25-30 in varsity girls” scoring.
In other cross country action Wednesday:
Clear Lake, K”ville at Cloverdale
In a four-team meet at the 3.0-mile Asti course just south of Cloverdale, the Clear Lake Cardinals, Kelseyville Knights and Fort Bragg Timberwolves joined the host Eagles.
The varsity boys” race was actually two races in one, with hotly contested battles for first and third. Elias Lennhardt of Fort Bragg and Clear Lake”s Owen Lawler traded the lead nearly the entire way and it came down to a sprint in the final 200 yards, one which Lennhardt won. He finished in 18:54, just two seconds ahead of Lawler (18:56).
“He had this real tired, real determined look in his face at the end of the race,” Clear Lake coach Peter Stanley said of Lawler.
“The final sprint was a real good one,” Stanley added.
While Lennhardt and Lawler were battling for first, a similar battle took place for third between Kelseyville”s Tiko Landa and Clear Lake”s Connor Disney, who was coming off a win a week ago at Bald Hill in Fort Bragg.
Landa prevailed, taking third in 19:11 to Disney”s 19:14.
“They”re both good athletes,” Stanley said.
Juan Flores (sixth in 20:12) and Luis Garcia (10th in 20:41), both of Kelseyville, also cracked the top 10.
Clear Lake”s Andres Tejeda (20:43) and Vaughn Ringer (21:01) finished 11th and 13th, respectively. Alex Beare, making his varsity debut for the Cardinals after winning the JV division race last week in Fort Bragg, was 15th overall in 21:26.
“Vaughn was really pushing hard,” Stanley said. “Alex did real well for his first race with the varsity.”
Fort Bragg won in team scoring with 37 points followed by Clear Lake with 45, Kelseyville with 67 and Cloverdale with 76.
In the varsity girls” division, Angela Romero of Cloverdale (22:06) beat out teammate Katie Edwards (22:27). Clear Lake”s Meghan Beare followed in third place at 23:02.
“It wasn”t her day,” Stanley said of Beare, who has been battling sickness all week.
Kimberley English was the next Clear Lake runner across the finish line as she placed 12th in 27:41.
“She is doing well for us,” Stanley said.
Cloverdale won in team scoring with 24 points to Fort Bragg”s 54 and Clear Lake”s 84.
In the JV boys” division, Jake Egger of Clear Lake ran away from the field, winning in 21:13. The next best time was 22:41.
“Jake ran with the varsity the last couple of races,” Stanley said. “He”s a really talented kid.”
Clear Lake”s Nate Falkenberg received a solid challenge from twin brother Cord Falkenberg for the first two miles before pulling away. He finished third in 23:14 while Cord ended up sixth in 23:49.
“They work out equally hard,” Stanley said. “At two miles Cord was right behind his brother. Nate began sprinting to open up some distance. It was good to see Cord bother his brother.”
Diego Tejeda also ran a strong race for Clear Lake, taking 11th place in 27:17.
“He”s a hard worker who improves every week,” Stanley said.
Clear Lake won in team scoring with 28 points to Fort Bragg”s36.
In action on Tuesday:
Upper Lake at Sonoma Academy
In a rare Tuesday meet, the Upper Lake Cougars traveled to Santa Rosa to participate in a run hosted by powerhouse Sonoma Academy. Point Arena and Technology high schools also participated.
Upper Lake”s Zach Sneathen finished second in the varsity boys” race on the 2.65-mile course with a time of 15:21, 50 seconds behind race winner Patrick Loftis of Sonoma Academy (14:31).
Matt Willard had the next best Upper Lake finish with a 17th-place time of 18:06.
Upper Lake beat an incomplete Point Arena team but lost to both Sonoma Academy 19-43 and Tech 20-41.
In the varsity girls” race, Amy Pino, Alyssa Goody and Lily Rinsteih, all of Sonoma Academy, crossed the finish line in 20:44 although Pino was awarded the win.
Yamileth Plata of Upper Lake, the first non-Sonoma Academy runner to finish, placed fifth in 21:31, four seconds ahead of teammate Markie Stifter, who was sixth in 21:35.
Also for the Cougars, Courtney Aceves finished 11th in 23:38.
Upper Lake runners also participated in the Frogtown Invitational on Saturday at Angels Camp. Sneathen won the sophomore boys” race in 12:06. Teammates Willard (12th in 13:20) and Justin Lewis (24th in 14:10) all received medals.
Plata finished 56th in the varsity girls” division in 25:23. Arthur Wilkie led the Cougars in the varsity boys” race, finishing in 21:12.
