KELSEYVILLE >> The annual Lake County Meet offered a bit of something for everyone on Wednesday afternoon on a warm and muggy day at the 3.0-mile Kelseyville High School course, which features an uphill climb that separates the serious runners from all others.
Only three teams were present this year. Upper Lake’s cross country program, which has a new coach for the third year in a row, folded before the season opened because of a lack of runners. Lower Lake was expected to participate on Wednesday but never showed up, leaving Clear Lake, Middletown and host Kelseyville – 59 runners in all between the varsity boys, girls and junior varsity boys divisions – to carry on the tradition of the season-opening meet.
Each of the remaining three schools won a team title. Middletown dominated the varsity boys division although Kelseyville’s Luis Mosqueda won the race, the first of his high school career; the girls title went to Kelseyville as the Knights’ Yareli Lozano posted a course-record time of 21 minutes, 42 seconds, winning by more than three minutes over runner-up Grace Southern of Middletown; and Clear Lake captured the JV boys title, edging out the Middletown Mustangs and race winner Mickey Dusatko of Middletown.
“It’s only my second year of coaching so I was little nervous about hosting a meet to start the season, but all in all it went well,” Kelseyville coach Jeff Weller said.
Asked about Lower Lake’s absence from the meet, Weller said he didn’t know why the Trojans didn’t attend.
Varsity boys
With the area’s top cross country runner no longer at Kelseyville – junior Andre Williams transferred to Sonoma Academy in Santa Rosa and will be running for the Coyotes beginning next month – the varsity boys division was wide open in terms of who would win the race. That person turned out to be freshman Mosqueda, who covered the 3 miles in an efficient 20:06 and won by a healthy 13-second margin over runner-up Tyler Cobb of Middletown (20:19), the first of three straight purple and gold jerseys to cross the finish line. Isaac Rascon was next at 21:03 and teammate Dimitri Imbrunetti placed fourth in 21:24. Clear Lake’s Ethan Wynacht rounded out the top five at 21:24.
Middletown runners dominated the second five as well. Jayston Tostie (21:46) and Jack Farres (21:57) finished sixth and seventh, respectively, Kelseyville’s Beau Marek was eighth in 22:23, Middletown’s Isaiah Diaz was ninth in 22:28, and Kelseyville’s Jeff Amendola came in 10th in 22:58.
“He’s a new runner,” Weller said of Mosqueda. “He’s the type of kid who likes running, it’s something he really enjoys. I think he’ll benefit from being in a more structured program.”
Weller also was pleased with Marek’s eighth-place finish. Like Mosqueda, Marek is a freshman and was competing in his first high school competition.
“They both ran track in middle school,” Weller said of Mosqueda and Marek.
Girls
Lozano started strong and finished the same way for a veteran Kelseyville girls club that features three solid seniors in Lozano, Bailey Couey and Laurel Weller. In fact, four of the first five finishers were Knights.
Only Middletown’s Southern prevented a clean sweep. She finished second in 24:51 and was followed across the finish line by Couey (25:26), Bri Henry of Kelseyville (25:59) and Weller (26:00). Two Middletown freshmen, Mercy Cobb (27:30) and Erica Kinsel (28:11), nailed down the sixth and seventh spots, and veteran Mustangs runner Jessica Zell was eighth in 28:47.
With four runners from Kelseyville and four from Middletown in the books, it came down to which team could its fifth and final scoring member across the finish line first to clinch the team victory. That runner turned out to be Kelseyville’s Bailey Huggins, who was ninth in 29:59. Middletown veteran Abi Murphy rounded out the top 10 at 30:42.
Just as in the varsity boys division where Williams was the defending champion, last year’s girls winner, Aleia Milano of Lower Lake, wasn’t present to defend her 2016 championship. Milano, a three-year veteran and accomplished runner, is bypassing cross country this season to concentrate on basketball.
Weller said he wasn’t surprised by Lozano’s solid season debut. Quite the opposite, in fact.
“She’s always been capable of this,” Weller said. “She always was a strong runner and my most motivated runner.”
Henry’s fourth-place finish also pleased Weller, who said Henry put in the time in the offseason to get better and Wednesday’s race might be the first return on all that hard work.
“We’ve got a strong girls team and they’re looking forward to the season,” Weller said.
JV boys
Dusatko and teammate Forrest Devin of Middletown, both freshmen, finished one-two in the JV boys race. Dusatko won in 22:34 while Devin clocked in a at 23:22. Clear Lake had five of the next six finishers to nail down the team title. First up was Quinn Wynacht, third in 24:27, followed by Jacob Stahr in 24:55 and Brandt Mason in 26:46. Leland Kirkpatrick of Kelseyville claimed sixth place at 28:26 and Clear Lake’s Jaron Mertle (28:58) and Quintin Scott (30:36) finished seventh and eighth, respectively.
Rounding out the top 10 were Middletown runners Carson Schaefer (32:18) and Kevin Nance (32:20).
While the Knights only have two runners competing at the JV level, Weller said Kirkpatrick’s sixth-place finish was a surprise.
“He ran better during the meet than he has in practice,” Weller said. “I’m really proud of him.”
Coming up
Kelseyville scores against Fort Bragg next Wednesday during a Coastal Mountain Conference meet at Highland Springs, the home course of the Clear Lake Cardinals. Clear Lake will score against St. Helena. Middletown goes head to head with Cloverdale next Wednesday at the Diamond D Ranch in Middletown. Lower Lake takes on Willits at the same location.
