LAKE COUNTY >> Ty Chorjel excelled in football and baseball for the Middletown Mustangs during the 2016-17 sports season while Clear Lake’s Kiana Richardson had a sport for every season.
Chorjel, a senior, and Richardson, a junior, are finalists for the Lake County Record-Bee Athlete of the Year award, which honors the top male and female athletes from the recently completed sports season. There are five finalists in each category. Athlete winners and Coach of the Year winners in boys and girls sports will be honored at a later date.
Chorjel helped power the Middletown High School football team to yet another successful season as the Mustangs finished 7-4. His contributions came on both sides of the football as he was named the North Central League I most valuable player on defense as a linebacker and a first-team selection as a running back on offense.
Later during the spring sports season, Chorjel’s bat took over in baseball where his legs left off in football. Although the Mustangs lost their first nine games to start the season, they ended up winning 13 of their final 17, including a 11-3 league record that earned them a second-place finish in the NCL I standings. Advancing to the North Coast Section Division IV playoffs as an at-large team, they rallied from a 5-1 deficit to beat Swett High School 7-6 in an opening-round game before falling 12-2 to St. Patrick/St. Vincent of Vallejo, which went on to lose to St. Joseph Notre Dame in the championship game..
Chorjel was a dynamo at the plate for Middletown, leading the team in most offensive categories. He batted a team-high .446 and also led the Mustangs in hits (41), runs (25), doubles (6) and RBIs (32). He tied for the team lead in triples (4).
Chorjel was named to the All-League first team by a vote of the league’s coaches.
Richardson played on title-contending clubs in volleyball (outside hitter) and basketball (post) and earned All-League first-team honors in both. In volleyball, the Cardinals went 22-12 overall, including a second-place mark of 12-2 in league play. They made it as far as the sectional quarterfinals in Division V. In basketball, Clear Lake posted one of its better records in years, going 20-11, and finishing third in the NCL I standings at 11-3 (one game behind co-champions Kelseyville and Lower Lake). The Cardinals advanced to the Division V semifinals with playoff wins over Holy Names and Upper Lake before losing to Urban. Clear Lake also earned an at-large berth in the NorCal Division V tournament, falling 63-42 to Capital Christian in a first-round game.
Richardson also was a member of Clear Lake’s track team during the regular season, her top events being the high jump and long jump. She opted not to participate in the track postseason.
Richardson is the third finalist to be named for female Athlete of the Year honors so far. She joins Upper Lake junior Christina Wilson (volleyball, wrestling) and Upper Lake senior Natalie Karlsson (volleyball, basketball).
Chorjel, Kelseyville senior Logan Barrick (football, basketball, baseball) and Lower Lake junior Hokulani Wickard (football, basketball) are the three male finalists to be named so far.
