WILLITS — Middletown High School’s varsity boys beat Cloverdale in team scoring while the Mustangs’ Nicole Pyzer won the girls race Wednesday during a North Central League I cross country tri-meet on the 2.87-mile Brooktrails course near Willits.
Middletown and Cloverdale had the only two complete boys teams, and the Mustangs easily won, 21-44. There were no complete girls teams (at least five runners) in the field as Middletown had only four healthy runners. Maya Leonard (illness) and Issy Barriga (injury) were not available.
“We’re just trying to get everyone healthy for the conference championships,” Middletown head coach Taylor Tiraterra said of the Coastal Mountain Conference Championships on Nov. 9 at Spring Lake in Santa Rosa.
Boys
Harley Lukenbill of Willits won the varsity boys race in 18 minutes, 44 seconds and Logan Glasson of Cloverdale ran second in 18:55, but Middletown otherwise dominated by placing its five fastest runners in the top 10, led by third-place finisher Dean McComas in 19:17.
Middletown’s Baron Chang (19:55) and Bryton Caviness (20:17) rounded out the top five. Also for the Mustangs, Aiden Cadwallader placed seventh in 20:52 and Caden Gotz was 10th in 22:45.
“We’re a really strong middle-of-the-pack team,” Tiraterra said. “Dean and Baron both ran well and finished under 20 minutes.”
Girls
Pyzer crossed the finish line first in the girls race at 21:58, well ahead of runner-up and teammate Cat Barriga (23:29) and third-place finisher Nicole Keough (24:14) of Willits.
“Nicole ran a strong race,” Tiraterra said of Pyzer.
Middletown freshman Holly McComas finished fourth in 24:36 and just missed setting a personal-best time, according to Tiraterra.
Schedule
Middletown joins Fort Bragg in a tri-meet next Wednesday at Highland Springs, the home course of the Clear Lake Cardinals. It’s the final race of the regular season.
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