MIDDLETOWN — Fourteen Middletown High School cross country runners will be looking to extend their season by another week Saturday when they travel to Hayward High School for the North Coast Section Championships.
In order to qualify for the CIF State Championships on Nov. 30 at Woodward Park in Fresno, the Middletown girls team of Nicole Pyzer, Erica Kinsel, Maya Leonard, Giana Tyrrell, Alyssa Terry, Ximena Ramirez and Mariela Martin del Campo needs to place sixth or higher in the Division 5 field. It’s even tougher for the Middletown boys team of Isaac Rascon, Isaiah Diaz, Tyler Cobb, Jordan Rego, Hagan Cadwallader, Parker Boden and Javier Perez, which needs a top-five finish in Division 5.
The five highest individual placers who are not members of the six girls and five boys teams advancing to state also qualify for Fresno just as long as they place in the top 18 (boys) or top 20 (girls).
Middletown won’t be the only Lake County team taking part in the North Coast Section Championships, but the Mustangs certainly have the best chance to qualify for state either as a team or individually. A year ago Middletown’s Brooklyn Huffman, then a freshman, reached the state meet as an at-large runner. Huffman left the team a few weeks ago for personal reasons.
Even minus the talented Huffman, the Middletown girls have a good chance to reach state.
“I’ve been looking at it and it looks like the girls have a strong chance,” Middletown head coach Annie Schneider said.
Pyzer, a freshman, has quietly taken on the No. 1 role for the Mustangs as her times have greatly improved from the start of the season. If Middletown doesn’t reach Fresno as a team, Schneider said Pyzer still has a good shot at becoming the second Middletown freshman in as many years to reach Woodward Park. As often happens at the North Coast Section Championships, the fifth and final scoring member of a team can make all the difference and that’s likely to be Terry, a first-year runner who played soccer as a freshman and sophomore.
Boys
While picking a top seven for the sectional girls team was relatively easy for Schneider, there was considerably more competition to make the sectional boys team.
“We had a lot of boys and some of those boys were neck and neck all through the season,” Schneider said. “I looked at who placed in the top seven the most consecutive times and who posted the best times.”
While Rascon is the clear No. 1 among the Middletown boys, the wild card for the Mustangs in terms of qualifying as a team for the state championships may be the sophomore Perez, a first-year cross country runner who was recruited after his freshman year in track and field.
“He’s running faster and faster every week,” Schneider said. “He’s up there with Isaac in practices.”
Diaz and Cobb have been consistently high placers for Middletown all season and should also help lead the charge at a Hayward course where the team ran on Oct. 19 during the Mariner Invitational.
Overview
“I’m hoping they’re feeling fresh and ready to fly,” Schneider said of the Mustangs, who will leave for Hayward on Friday afternoon and spend the night there.
“This has gone from being one of the craziest seasons to an amazing season,” said Schneider, who replaced Don Cobb as the head coach just a couple of weeks into the 2019 season. “We have good kids and the parents have rallied to support the team.”
Schedule
The Division 5 boys race, which includes Lake County teams Middletown, Kelseyville and Clear Lake, begins at 11 a.m. The Division 5 girls race starts at 12:30 p.m. Lower Lake runners compete in Division 4 (girls 10:30 a.m. and boys 12 p.m.).
There are a total of 10 races with the first (Division 2 girls) starting at 8:30 a.m. The last is Division 1 boys at 1 p.m. Among the awards that will be presented include medals to the top seven finishers in each race.
