Middletown High School cross country coach Taylor Tiraterra addresses the handful of runners who were present Monday for the first official practice of the 2021 fall season, which opens less than four months after the conclusion of the 2021 late winter/spring season. A total of eight runners were in attendance. Several returning team members were unable to participate for various reasons, and Tiraterra also expects to pick up some new runners by the time school starts in Middletown next Monday. Middletown’s boys and girls teams lost a number of runners, mainly boys, to graduation while at least one other runner is playing a different sport in the upcoming fall season. Tiraterra said the Mustangs will participate in a handful of invitationals, something they couldn’t do earlier this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Middletown’s first Coastal Mountain Conference meet is Sept. 8 against Kelseyville and Lower Lake at Six Sigma Ranch and Winery. (Photos by Brian Sumpter)
