By John Linker
With a break in the heat and even a slight breeze, an exciting cross country race took place last Wednesday at Hoot Owl Vineyards in Alexander Valley. The bucolic vine- and tree-studded setting is undermined by the rugged course, full of steep inclines, sharp turns and some unstable footing. This course challenged both the running Hounds of Healdsburg and their competitors, the Piner Prospectors.
Although the Prospectors won the overall races in both the boys and girls races, the Hounds added drama and highlights to the event. First and foremost was HHS junior, Jake McWilliams, running one of his best races of the season, considering the rugged 3.1-mile course, finishing at 18:27.
Sure, he ran fast and won the pack, but it was the way he did it. After methodically trailing junior Prospector Esteban Gaytan for the entire race, McWilliams pulled ahead with 200 yards left and won the race by three seconds.
“I stayed with him most of the way,” McWilliams said, “and although he had me on the hills, I caught up with him on the flats.” That he did.
Hoot Owl Creek (8197 Hwy 128, one of the oldest vineyards in Alexander Valley) is the best spectator course in the league, where runners can be seen at many crucial spots in the race. Just after the two-mile mark both runners looked strong, but Jake played it smart, purposely holding back.
When asked how he felt during the race, Jake replied, “At times in the race I actually didn’t know if I could go any farther; I wasn’t even sure I could finish. But then I thought of my grandpa, and how he would have wanted me to finish.” That’s a proud grandpa right now.
Also of worthy note and scoring points for the race were freshman Domenico Cornilsen (19:12) finishing in fourth place; freshman Lucas Welty (20:10) finishing in ninth place, sophomore Lukas Brennan (20:31) finishing in 11th place and freshman Jack Beckman (21:06) finishing in 12th place.
These runners were trailed by senior Dash Williams (21:19), senior Ross Fitzpatrick (21:38) and junior Drew Wyatt (22:54). Notice the strong freshman presence and the absence of senior star runner Kaeden Anderson, out with an injury.
Even though the boys lost to Piner in a league match, if Healdsburg beats Ukiah in their next race, it will put the Hounds in a position at league finals to (if they beat Piner at league finals) guarantee a tie for first place, with a claim to the pennant. This is why the next race versus Ukiah, contingent upon a victory over Cardinal Newman and Elsie Allen, is so important.
The Greyhound girls ran a steady, efficient and tight race as a group, but Piner came out at the top with senior Kamila Olvera winning within five seconds of the course record (21:37). Placing for the Hounds in third place was freshman Maddie Herzberg (23:10).
Other girls with respectable times included senior Joie Kozubal (26:21), senior Sierra Anderson (27:13), freshman Justina Domenichelli (28:31) and freshman Savannah Anderson (28:47). At the moment the Hounds are running with only five girls, but that is enough to raise hopes of placing in league finals if they beat Ukiah this week in another Hoot Owl race, which took place on Wednesday, Oct. 23—too late for press time.
