KELSEYVILLE >> And he’s just a freshman.
Kelseyville High School’s Andre Williams won his fifth race in as many tries on Wednesday afternoon, covering the 3 miles on his home course — Springer Ranch — in just 18 minutes and 21 seconds during a Coastal Mountain Conference meet in Kelseyville.
“He’s just an outstanding runner who continues to run well,” Kelseyville coach Ernest Woodson said of Williams, who led from the start and continued to pull away from a field that included runners from Clear Lake, St. Helena, Fort Bragg and non-scoring Pacific Union College Prep School of Angwin.
“He’s an outstanding runner, an outstanding student and I really expect some wonderful things from him.”
Kelseyville scored against Fort Bragg while Clear Lake went head to head with St. Helena during Wednesday’s action, which took place in warm conditions with just a slight breeze.
Also winning their respective races by sizable margins were Fort Bragg’s Amelia Wirt in the girls’ division and Clear Lake’s Dylan Bennett in the junior varsity boys’ division.
Former longtime Kelseyville High cross country coach Rico Abordo was on hand to serve as the official starter and a timer for the day’s races, which were dedicated to him. Abordo is retiring early next year (158 days to be exact, not that he’s counting).
“I have gone to Rico for advice,” Woodson said of Abordo. “Why not go to the best? He’s provided me with good tips on training and racing. I really appreciate everything he does for us.”
Varsity boys
Williams is just starting his high school career but already has the look of a seasoned runner.
“He’s on his way,” Woodson said.
Closest to Williams was Jesus Blanco of St. Helena, who finished second in 19:14, and Roberto Lozano of Kelseyville (19:35) and Alex Beare of Clear Lake (19:48), who placed third and fourth, respectively.
“Roberto has come on really strong this year. I’ve had him since he was a sophomore and he’s a senior now. He’s finished third in almost all of his races. He’s a hard worker and a team leader. His time of 19:35 … that was an outstanding race for him.”
Also cracking the top 10 were Clear Lake’s Charlie Adams, sixth in 20:04, and teammate Solano Domginuez, seventh in 20:13, and Kelseyville’s Kevin Sanchez, 10th in 20:26.
Kelseyville edged Fort Bragg 27-30 and Clear Lake beat St. Helena 24-33 in head-to-head scoring.
“We have a tight team this year and our top six runners we’re pretty close to each other,” Clear Lake coach Peter Stanley said. “St. Helena also has a tight team, but we pushed their fifth runner way back. We don’t have one star although Alex has been our best runner the last three weeks. We do well because we run together.”
Girls
Wirt posted a winning time of 22:57 while Blanca Martinez of PUC was second in 23:34. Next across the finish line were Haley Hutchinson of Fort Bragg (24:45), Meghan Beare of Clear Lake (25:27) and Emma Payne of PUC (25:37).
Three other Lake County runners finished in the top 10, led by Kelseyville’s Bailey Couey, who was sixth in 25:38. Clear Lake freshman Rainey Vanoven claimed eighth place in 25:51 and Kelseyville’s Laurel Weller was 10th in 26:07.
“Our girls are a deal in the making,” Woodson said. “It’s a good working group and a young one. They’re almost all sophomores. They continue to improve and I’m hoping for good things in the future.”
“She ran her usual strong race,” Stanley said of Beare. “Rainey is a real hard worker who enjoys running. She’s getting better every week.”
Fort Bragg defeated Kelseyville 20-39 in team scoring. Clear Lake beat St. Helena 21-34.
While PUC didn’t score in the meet, Woodson said the school — which doesn’t belong to a conference — is always welcome at meets in Kelseyville.
“I’m grateful they were able to come here today and participate,” Woodson said. “Their coach (Tanya Duncan) does a great job with them and their girls’ squad is pretty strong. I know they don’t belong to a conference, but they are an outstanding team and I love extending our hand out to them.”
JV boys
Bennett, a first-year runner for the Cardinals, posted a 43-second victory in the JV boys’ division, crossing the finish line in 21:25 to Fort Bragg Nathan Fontanilla’s 22:08. Nate Falkenberg of Clear Lake was third in 22:19.
Clear Lake’s fastest five all finished in the top 10. Sereno Dominguez was sixth in 23:27, Cord Falkenberg placed ninth in 25:40, and Brandt Mason was 10th in 25:59.
Fort Bragg and Clear Lake posted team wins against incomplete (fewer than five runners) squads from Kelseyville and St. Helena.
Clear Lake returns to action next Wednesday in Lower Lake while Kelseyville travels to Willits.
