We want to send kudos and our congratulations to the Lake County high school athletic programs for completing their fall sports seasons and for excelling on and off the field.
As reported by this newspaper, the fall season was a resounding success for both Middletown and Kelseyville teams respectively. The Mustangs not only managed league championships in boys and girls cross country, girls soccer and junior varsity football, but the varsity football team claimed the North Coast Section Division V title after posting an 11-3 record (5-2 league) which culminated in a 28-14 win over Salesian on Dec. 8.
Coach Bill Foltmer and his staff should be congratulated for not only keeping the team focused despite delays in postseason play as a result of unhealthy air quality in Lake County following the Camp Fire in Butte County, but also for instilling the skills required for student athletes to succeed in the gridiron and in the classroom.
Kudos also to coaches Don Cobbs, Lamont Kucer, and Airic Guerrero for recording winning seasons and for concurrently impressing upon their students the importance of academics, integrity and the benefits of hard work.
For their part, the student athletes in Kelseyville also had success winning league titles in varsity and junior varsity volleyball and varsity football. It should go without say that coaches Donelle McCallister and Erik Larsen should all be lauded for their respective teams’ accomplishment on the volleyball court and on the football field, but what’s also remarkable is the students’ stellar academic records match their team success..
Middletown recently found out the girls cross country team had the highest grade point average in the North Coast Section Division V at 3.89 as did its varsity football team at 3.45. Additionally, the girls soccer team finished in a tie for first in the section along with McKinleyville, both Division I squads with cumulative GPAs of 3.73.
Kelseyville’s fall sports teams did equally well. The Knights had the third-best GPA among Division IV varsity volleyball teams at 3.71 while the school’s boys soccer team posted the third best GPA among Division I teams at 3.27.
The benefits of participation in high school athletic programs have been well documented by a number of authorities including recent reports authored by the National Federation of State High School Associations and other groups. Among the benefits cited are promoting citizenship and sportsmanship, instilling a sense of community pride and the support of academic missions in schools.
Not to mention health benefits, positive development of youth and life skills and positive results past the high school years, through college and beyond. So, keeping all of this in mind we congratulate the coaches, their hard working staffs and of course, the student athletes who overachieved this fall season despite tangible challenges and in some cases, extraordinary circumstances.
—The Editorial Board, Lake County Record Bee
