LAKE COUNTY >> Ashlyn Welton not only dominated the center position among her Lake County peers in 2014-15, but the junior was one of the top post players in the Redwood Empire this past season. A double-digit scorer and rebounder for the Middletown Mustangs, she is the hands-down winner of the most valuable player award on the All-Lake County girls’ basketball team as selected by the Record-Bee.
Welton certainly has the family history to go along with the award. She is the younger sister of Kelsey Welton, a former Middletown star who participated in four varsity sports one year and went on to win back-to-back Record-Bee Athlete of the Year awards, only the third athlete to do so.
During her junior campaign, Ashlyn averaged 15.6 points a game for the Mustangs and nearly as many rebounds. While a double-double is a good night for most athletes, it was her calling card. Welton led the Mustangs to the North Central League I championship and the North Coast Section Division IV playoffs where they nearly beat Marin County powerhouse Marin Catholic in a first-round game.
Named the MVP by the NCL I coaches after Middletown rolled through the league with a 13-1 record, Welton will be among a trio and possibly even a foursome of county players to reach 1,000 career points next season. Only one other Middletown girl (Kat Cardoza) has accomplished that feat.
Joining Welton on the All-County first team are three standout sophomores — Kelseyville’s Riley Goff, the Lake County girls’ scoring champion at 15.9 points a game; Upper Lake’s Natalie Karlsson, who helped the Cougars win a county-best 22 games by averaging a team-best 14.3 points a game; and Middletown’s Makenzi Smith, another up-and-comer for the Mustangs.
The All-County first team also features Middletown senior guard Nicole Corsetti, the Mustangs’ jack of all trades, and Upper Lake junior Autum Martinez, one of the best shut-down defenders in the county ranks.
Honored on the All-County second team are Clear Lake’s top two scorers during the season, senior Aliza Atkins (11.5) and junior Taylor Helms (14.5), who ranked third in scoring in the county; Upper Lake seniors Jojo Augustine (11.8) and LaShaye Taylor (11.1), who provided much of the muscle behind Upper Lake’s big season and runner-up finish in the NCL II; Kelseyville sophomore Alma Perez (9.1), one of the many rising stars in the Knights’ youth movement, and Lower Lake junior Ashlynn Mock (9.5).
While Lake County produced two 20-game winners among its girls’ squads this season — Middletown at 20-7 and Upper Lake at 22-5 — Coach of the Year honors go to Middletown’s Anthony Bazzano, who has won 39 games in his first two seasons at the helm of the Mustangs’ varsity program. Middletown not only won its league title this season but nearly pulled off a first-round victory in the ultra-tough Division IV playoffs, something a Lake County team hasn’t accomplished in more than a decade.
