LAKE COUNTY >> The Upper Lake High School girls returned to prominence in basketball, Clear Lake dominated in baseball, Middletown experienced a track first, and two county teams collected undisputed league crowns in soccer — the Kelseyville boys their first ever and the Middletown girls their seventh straight — during the calendar year in Lake County sports, 2014.
Following is a look back at some of the special moments in county sports, high school and otherwise, during the past 12 months:
JANUARY
— Clear Lake 162-pounder Nathan Powers breaks his nose during the second annual Michael Kroppmann Invitational in Lakeport but battles back to win 10-8 in sudden-death overtime in the semifinals before losing 5-4 in a double-overtime thriller to the top seed in the finals.
— In a showdown of North Central League I powers, Willits beats Middletown 55-52 at Middletown to take control of the league race.
FEBRUARY
— Middletown High School’s Jessie Flynn wins the 189-pound title at the North Coast Section Girls’ Wrestling Championships while Evelyn Santiago of Kelseyville is second at 170 pounds.
— Lower Lake wrestlers win five weight divisions at the Coastal Mountain Conference Championships.
— Middletown’s junior varsity girls’ basketball team completes a perfect 25-0 season, including 14-0 in league play.
— Upper Lake High School’s varsity girls end more than a decade of losing basketball by going 16-12, the Cougars’ best mark since the late 1990s.
— Lower Lake High School’s wrestling team sets a school record for most points scored at the North Coast Section Championships (63) and wins a school-record three medals at the same competition. One of those wrestlers, third-place heavyweight William Isaacs, qualifies for the state championship meet.
MARCH
— Lower Lake’s Shelbie Harris and Ashylnn Mock combined on a no-hitter in 18-0 win over Upper Lake.
— Robert Thornton and Ryan Harbernich set the Clear Lake record for a three-day bass tournament, weighing in 90.34 pounds to win the Future Pro Classic.
— Gary Collins and Tony Mihalenko of Upper Lake win the 27th annual Clear Lake Team Bass Tournament with 59.78 pounds. They collect $6,000 for their victory.
— Nate Snodgrass of Middletown and Zobee Miller of Lower Lake are the MVPs on the All-Lake County basketball team. Kelseyville’s Scott Conrad and Upper Lake’s Mike Smith are the coaches of the year.
— Middletown’s Renee Edwards tosses a no-hitter in a 10-0 league win over Willits. She finishes with nine strikeouts and retires 18 of the final 19 batters.
APRIL
— Clear Lake’s Rachel Winger throws a perfect game — retiring all 15 batters she faces — in a 10-0 league win over St. Helena at Lakeport. She runs the count to three balls on just two batters and strikes out nine.
— Clear Lake’s Jordan Chapin smacks two home runs and just misses a third while driving in four runs as the Cardinals beat Calistoga 11-0.
— With a chance to move into first place in the league standings, Lower Lake’s softball team falls 7-5 to Cloverdale as the Eagles score four times in a dramatic top of the seventh to erase the Trojans’ 5-3 lead.
— Dan Janakes of San Jose catches a 33.18-pound catfish on Clear Lake, just missing the lake record of 33.33.
— Middletown’s Cassidy Parker and Robert Amante win the Coasteal Mountain Conference boys’ doubles championship.
— Middletown’s varsity baseball team scores 10 runs in the top of the first inning while pounding Kelseyville 18-4 in league play at Kelseyville. Cody Chorjel leads the rout, going 5-for-5.
MAY
— Kelseyville, Middletown and St. Helena take turns beating each other and tie for the Coastal Mountain Conference tennis championship.
— Lake County’s premier pony prognosticator, The Dawg, correctly predicts the winner (California Chrome) in the Kentucky Derby.
— Middletown’s Jessie Flynn signs a letter of intent to attend Lyon College in Batesville, Arkansas, on a wrestling scholarship.
— Clear Lake’s varsity baseball team rallies from an early 4-0 deficit to beat Fort Bragg 14-4 and clinch the North Central League I championship. The Cards qualify for the sectional playoffs and finish 20-6 under coach Zane Jensen.
— Raymond Johnson of Santa Rosa wins the annual Clearlake Oaks/Glenhaven Catfish Derby with a 24.87-pound fish.
— Fourteen-year-old Ayvree Smith of Lower Lake wins the barrel racing title at the California Junior High School Rodeo Association finals in Plymouth.
— Nick Santos of Middletown becomes that high school’s first event winner at the North Coast Section Class A Meet by capturing the 400-meter run in 50.32 seconds. A short time later teammate Barrett Southern wins the 300 hurdles in 42.07.
— Kelseyville’s Megan Touros wins the long jump at the North Coast Section Class A Meet with a jump of 16 feet, 5 ½ inches.
JUNE
— Clear Lake catcher Cole Brodnansky is named the MVP on the All-North Central League I baseball team as selected by the league’s coaches. Clear Lake’s Rachel Winger is named co-MVP on the All-North Central League I softball team.
— Clear Lake High School varsity baseball coach Zane Jensen leads the East All-Stars to a 17-7 win over the West All-Stars in the NCL Senior All-Star Game at Mendocino College.
— Clear Lake’s Cole Brodnansky is named the MVP on the All-Lake County baseball team. Clear Lake teammates Rachel Winger and Kelcie Reynolds are named co-MVPs on the All-Lake County softball team.
— John Miller scores a rare double-eagle-two on Hidden Valley Lake’s par-5 12th hole. He hits a driver before holing out on a 6-iron shot.
JULY
— Mike Smith of Upper Lake varsity girls’ basketball and Ed Fuchs of Lower Lake wrestling are named the Coaches of the Year by the Record-Bee based on their team’s performances during the 2013-14 sports season.
AUGUST
— Josiah Amos of Middletown and Kelcie Reynolds of Clear Lake are named the Record-Bee’s Athletes of the Year based on their performances during the 2013-14 sports season.
— Fourteen-year-old Matt Wotherspoon wins the Buckingham Summer Junior at Buckingham Golf and Country Club, then comes right back to win his second straight Lake County Junior Championship at Adams Springs Golf Course.
— The county breaks in two new varsity football coaches — Frank Gudmundson at Upper Lake and Darin Brodnansky at Clear Lake.
— Kelseyville officially opens the 2014 football season with a rare Thursday game, crushing De Anza 42-14 in El Sobrante. Clear Lake wins the following day, 32-0 over South Fork, giving new coach Darin Brodnansky a victory in his Cardinal coaching debut.
— In a sign of things to come for an Upper Lake team headed for an 0-10 season, the Cougars fall 63-0 to California School for the Deaf in their season opener under new coach Frank Gudmundson.
SEPTEMBER
— Kelseyville running back Robert McLean rushes for 234 yards and four touchdowns against Upper Lake and comes back the following week to run for 202 yards in a win over South Fork.
— Cross country runners Diego Munoz of Middletown and freshman Aleia Milano of Lower Lake win the annual Lake County Meet at Middletown.
— Lower Lake’s Isazah King rushes for 247 yards in a league loss to Fort Bragg while Middletown’s Wyatt Hall rushes for 243 yards in a league win over Willits.
OCTOBER
— Lower Lake beats Clear Lake 40-24 as quarterback Isazah King rushes for three touchdowns, passes for two more, runs for a two-point conversion, recovers a fumble and is among team leaders with nine tackles.
— Brad Pendleton of Lakeport wins a record-setting fifth straight Lake County Amateur Golf Championship at Adams Springs Golf Course.
— Middletown’s girls win their seventh straight North Central League I championship in soccer, clinching the title with a 1-1 tie at Cloverdale. Coach Amy Emerson leads the Mustangs to the title in her first season.
— Kelseyville’s varsity boys and veteran coach Eduardo Ledesma win the school’s first North Central League I soccer title, wrapping it up with a 1-1 tie at Willits.
NOVEMBER
— Lower Lake’s Isazah King finishes the season with 1,629 yards, a Lake County record for quarterbacks. He is named to the first-team offense on the All-North Central League I squad and is also named defensive MVP.
— All three Kelseyville Chiefs teams — pee wee, junior varsity and varsity — complete 10-0 seasons.
— Lower Lake runners shine at the Coastal Mountain Conference Championships. Everardo Chavez finishes eighth overall in the boys’ field while teammate Aleia Milano, just a freshman, places ninth. Middletown’s varsity boys and Lower Lake’s JV boys also win team titles in the North Central League I.
— Middletown junior Kaleigh Alves is named MVP on the All-North Central League I girls’ soccer team.
— Kelseyville senior Omar Rodriguez is named MVP on the All-North Central League I boys’ soccer team.
DECEMBER
— Middletown’s varsity boys and Clear Lake’s junior varsity boys win the 21st annual Record-Bee Hoop Classic at Lower Lake High School. It’s the third Hoop Classic title in four years for Middletown head coach G.J. Rockwell.
— Picking up where they left off in the previous basketball season, Upper Lake’s varsity girls go 9-0 in the month of December.
