SANTA ROSA — Isaac Rascon is a runner for all seasons.
The Middletown High School cross country star broke the school’s nine-year-old 1,600-meter record on Friday afternoon during the Santa Rosa Twilight Invite on the all-weather Maria Carrillo High School track in Santa Rosa where athletes from Clear Lake, Lower Lake and Upper Lake also were in action.
Maria Carrillo’s all-weather surface came in handy because Rascon, a sophomore, set the new record of 4 minutes, 49.21 seconds in a steady rain.
“I started out faster then I wanted to but I didn’t die out and I felt pretty good the whole race,” Rascon said. “It felt like a solid run.”
Rascon’s splits were remarkably consistent. He ran the first 400 meters in 1:13, the second 400 meters in 1:12, the third 400 meters in 1:12 and the final 400 meters in 1:12.21.
“I almost fell apart during the third lap, but I was able to get it together and run a strong last lap,” he said.
Rascon finished sixth in the open division and had the 10th-fastest time overall for the meet. Middletown’s old 1,600 record belonged to Alejandro Maldanado (4:53.44) and was set in 2010.
Several Middletown track and field records have fallen this season. Besides the two by Rascon, who also broke the 3,200 record earlier this season, Bryson Trask has set boys discus and shotput records, Taelor Roderick has set girls discus and shotput records, and Alyssa Terry, Grace Southern, Zamora Rogers and Kelsey Lemoine teamed up to break the girls 4×100 relay record.
Rascon also competed in the elite 3,200 division on Friday night and just missed breaking his own record (10:19.90) with a 10th-place time of 10:19.99. He added a third-place finish in the 800 open division at 2:13.72.
While Rascon set the only Middletown record on Friday, most of the Mustangs taking part in the running portion of the meet set personal-best times. Among the school’s elite group of throwers, Trask won the boys shotput with a throw of 55 feet, 1 inch, his nearest competitor at 47-0, while Roderick won the girls discus at 111-4. Teammate Hanna Morris was fourth overall at 100-8. In the girls shotput, Roderick (31-10) and Morris (28-9) finished third and fifth, respectively.
Among other Lake County standouts in girls competition were Middletown’s Lemoine, who was second in the 100 at 13.15 and fourth in the 200 (28.81); Middletown’s Terry, fourth in the 400 (1:05.24); Clear Lake’s Tianna Jardstrom, ninth in the 800 elite division (2:39.80) and 10th in the high jump (4-4); Middletown’s Giana Tyrrell, fourth in the 800 open division (2:42.79); Middletown’s Brooklyn Huffman, third in the 1,600 open division (5:49.73); Middletown’s Mariela Martin Del Campo, eighth in the 3,200 open division (14:26.29); Middletown’s Alyssa Hart, third in the 100 high hurdles open division (56.04); Middletown’s Bella Dubois, sixth in the 100 high hurdles open division (58.60); and the Middletown 4×100 relay team of Terry, Lemoine, Grace Southern and Zamora Rogers, fourth in 53.68.
Among other Lake County standouts in boys competition, Lower Lake’s Jared Meek placed fourth in the high jump, clearing 5-8; Middletown’s Casey Chicoine was eighth in the 100 open division (11.99) and seventh in the 200 open division (24.87); Middletown’s Hagan Cadwallader placed second in the 110 high hurdles open division (17:15); Middletown’s Jack Farres (47.03) and Lower Lake’s Larry Russell (48.16) finished ninth and 10th, respectively, in the 300 hurdles open division; Clear Lake’s 4×100 relay team (47.59) was fifth in 47.59 and Middletown was sixth in 47.76; Middletown’s 4×400 relay team came in fifth in 4:17.04; Clear Lake’s Donovan Valadez was 11th in the long jump (18-1); Upper Lake’s Kenny Hodges was 14th in the triple jump (36-7); and Middletown’s Greyson Rockwell was ninth in the discus (101-5).
