MIDDLETOWN >> If you wanted to locate senior Wyatt Jones on the Middletown sidelines during a football game in 2015, chances are you had to wait until halftime or after the game. This is one guy who almost never took a break.
“Wyatt was the key to any success we’ve had in the past two years,” said Middletown head coach Bill Foltmer, a 31-year coaching veteran at the high school. “He is a tough, dedicated athlete who deserves any praise he gets because he has worked hard for it. Wyatt played every down of every game as he was a two-way starter and played on every special team.”
Jones, who recently graduated from Middletown, is a candidate for the Lake County Record-Bee’s male Athlete of the Year award based on his performances on the gridiron and on the wrestling mats during the 2015-16 season.
While the Mustangs struggled through an injury-marred 2015 season that will be forever remembered for reasons not football related as the team and the entire Middletown, Hidden Valley Lake and Cobb communities suffered through the devastating Valley Fire, the effects of which are still being keenly felt almost a year later, Jones proved to be a stalwart for a program that overcame any and all obstacles. He not only helped the Mustangs finish a solid third place in the North Central League I standings at 5-2, but go 6-5 overall, including a 47-0 playoff win over Willits and a 25-14 playoff loss to St. Bernard of Eureka, the team that went on to win the state championship.
Jones not only earned All-League first-team honors as an offensive lineman, but also first-team honors as a linebacker. Only one other player in the league – Fort Bragg’s Lucas Triplett – earned similar two-way honors.
“His toughness, work ethic and leadership made him an easy choice for captain,” Foltmer said.
All of those traits served Jones well on the wrestling mat during the winter sports season. He anchored a Middletown squad that was competitive in the Coastal Mountain Conference standings and he finished second in the 172-pound weight division, placing behind another very tough customer and multi-sports star in Willits’ Justin Thom.
During his wrestling career at Middletown, he became one of the school’s all-time best in terms of total victories.
The Record-Bee will profile female and male candidates for the Athlete of the Year award leading up to the naming of the 2015-16 winners. Coach of the Year winners in boys’ and girls’ sports also will be honored.
Athlete of the Year candidates must be junior or seniors who play at least two varsity sports and are in good academic standing at their respective schools.
