ST. HELENA — Without its No. 1 runner on Wednesday, the Middletown High School girls cross country team lost to the St. Helena Saints 27-30 in North Central League i action at the 3.0-mile Bothe State Park course.
Pyzer wasn’t feeling well and couldn’t go, according to Middletown head coach Tayor Tiraterra. Had the senior taken part, the Mustangs would have easily won the race since their top four finishers placed third through sixth, placing behind race winner Eva Williams (23 minutes, 32 seconds) and runner-up Tilly Dodd (23:42), both of St. Helena.
Sisters Cat and Issy Barriga of Middletown waged an all-out sprint to the finish line in the battle for third place, Cat finishing in 23:52 to Issy’s 23:54. Teammates Maya Leonard (25:14) and Holly McComas (26:02) were fifth and sixth, respectively.
Middletown’s newest runner, Belgian foreign exchange student Sara Sintubin, was 18th overall in 35:30 in her first high school race.
“We had some pretty intense competition,” Tiraterra said of the Saints. “We put up a good fight.”
Middletown did beat an incomplete Kelseyville team (fewer than five runners). Top finishers for the Knights were Ashley Hobbs, 13th in 29:26; Summer Anderson, 15th in 33:58; and Ari Fossa, 16th in 34:00.
Varsity boys
Cleo McClain of St. Helena won the varsity boys race in a blistering 17:38 while Scott Boyadjieff of Calistoga was a distant second at 20:01. St. Helena beat Middletown and Kelseyville in team scoring while Middletown defeated Kelseyville.
Middletown’s top finishers were Dean McComas (fifth in 21:08) and Bryton Caviness (sixth in 21″09). They were followed across the finish line by Kelseyville’s Alex Fordham (seventh in 21:46) and Evan Macklin (eighth in 21:48). Middletown’s Aiden Cadwallader was 11th overall in 22:00.
McComas edged out teammate Caviness during a sprint to the finish.
“It was a sprinting contest,” Tiraterra said. “That’s always a fun finish.”
Tiraterra credited McComas, Caviness and Cadwallader with strong races.
JV boys
Liam Joy of St. Helena won the junior varsity boys race in 22:02. Middletown runners Wyatt Chiffoleau (27:27) and Elijah Norris (29:25) finished fifth and sixth, respectively. Norris was competing in his first high school race.
Schedule
Middletown hosts Kelseyville and St. Helena next Wednesday at Six Sigma Ranch near Lower Lake, the Mustangs’ final home meet of the season. The host Mustangs will honor seniors Pyzer and Leonard as part of the day’s festivities.