LOWER LAKE — Isaac Rascon didn’t need the luck of the Irish to shatter his personal-best time on the 2.95-mile Six Sigma Ranch and Winery cross country course Wednesday during a St. Patrick’s Day conference meet featuring all five Lake County schools.
Come to think of it, Rascon, a Middletown High School senior and one of the Redwood Empire’s best small-school runners, doesn’t need luck to win a race on any day. This guy is flat out fast.
“I felt really good,” Rascon said after crossing the finish line first in the varsity boys race with a blazing time of 15 minutes, 26 seconds, an average of just less than 5:09 per mile. His previous best on the course was 16:00, a mark he nearly matched three weeks ago when the Mustangs opened their 2021 season at Six Sigma. Rascon won that day in 16:01.
“My start was the difference,” Rascon said. “Last time I went out too fast in the first 400 meters. This time I went out with the pack and stayed with them for the first half-mile”
A better-paced race allowed Rascon to finish stronger than he ever has on the Six Sigma course.
“The final half-mile I just let it go and ran,” a smiling Rascon said.
While Middletown hosted the season-opening Feb. 24 race at Six Sigma, the Lower Lake Trojans and new head coach Jenna Krick served as hosts this time around. The Trojans, seven runners strong, were making their season debut.
“It’s a big moment for us this being our first time out,” said Krick, who added that it was the first competitive event for a Lower Lake sports team since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down high school sports in mid-March of 2020.
Krick is coaching cross county for the first time but is quite familiar with the sport having run collegiately at Cornerstone Univeristy in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She has previously coached gymnastics and recently moved to Lake County from Marin County.
Krick, who teaches English, art and physical education at Carle High School in Lower Lake, said she’s excited about the opportunity to coach cross country at Lower Lake.
“I want to be part of this community,” she said.
Lower Lake’s new coach had plenty to cheer about as her runners broke in a new season. Angelo Pelcastre finished second in the varsity boys race at 17:09 while teammate Leo Brown was seventh overall in 18:37. The Trojans also had a top-10 finisher in the girls race as Carmen Aceves, a sophomore and second-year runner, finished in a dead heat with Middletown’s Izzy Barriga for ninth place, the two battling down the stretch for position only to tie in a thrilling finish as a good turnout of fans cheered them on.
Boys
Rascon’s dominating victory in the varsity boys division led a strong effort by the Mustangs as Middletown runners had four of the top five placers and seven of the top 11. Runner-up Pelcastre of Lower Lake (17:09), Donavan Fernandez of Upper Lake (sixth in 18:33), Brown of Lower Lake (seventh in 18:37) and freshman Elliott Mayo of Kelseyville (eighth in 18:57) broke up the Middletown logjam.
For the Mustangs, Parker Boden (16:46), Xander Romero (18:51) and Isaiah Diaz (18:23) finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
Other top-10 finishers from Middletown were Filemon Sanchez (ninth in 19:11) and Shane Guill (10th in 19:29). Kevin Nance of Middletown came in 11th in 19:42.
Clear Lake’s top runner was Luke McQuaid, 14th overal in 21:41. Right behind him was teammate Luis Aguilar, 15th in 21:47.
Carson Mayo of Kelseyville, who won the boys race during a three-team meet a week ago in Kelseyville (Clear Lake and Upper Lake also participated), came in 12th in 20:35.
Middletown had the only complete team (at least five runners).
Girls
Clear Lake freshman Hannah Garrity won her third race in as many starts this season, finishing nearly two minutes ahead of the competition with a time of 18:47. She ran 18:26 on the same course three weeks ago in her high school debut.
Sophomores Nicole Pyzer (20:33) and Maya Leonard (21:36) of Middletown were next across the finish line. In an exciting battle for fourth place that went right down to the wire, Kelseyville freshman Carly Vanderwall (21:53) edged out Middletown senior Erica Kinsel (21:55).
Upper Lake’s Zoey Petrie nailed down sixth place in 22:59, Mariah Ketchum of Middletown was seventh in 23:22, and Upper Lake’s Dena Loans Arrow placed eighth in 24:13.
Lower Lake’s Aceves and Middletown’s Barriga rounded out the top 10 with their dead heat for ninth place.
Clear Lake’s Riana Kniss came in 11th in 25:23 while Summer Anderson of Kelseyville, who finished last week’s meet in Kelseyville with a bloody knee sustained during a fall on the course, celebrated her 16th birthday by placing 12th in 25:44 … and this time around with no fall on the course.
“It still hurts,” Anderson said of the knee following Wednesday’s race.
“But she was at practice the next day,” Kelseyville head coach Nicki Thomas added.
Just as in the varsity boys race, Middletown had the only complete girls team.
Seventeen girls and 21 boys participated during Wednesday’s all-county competition.
Schedule
Lake County is scheduled to host a pair of Coastal Mountain Conference meets next Wednesday when Lower Lake and Calistoga visit Middletown, and Clear Lake, Kelseyville, Cloverdale and Technology travel to Upper Lake. Action at both locations is set to begin at 3:30 p.m.
