Wood’s Sickler wins section cross country championship

FOLSOM — It couldn’t have been much better of a day for local runners at the Sac-Joaquin Section Cross Country Championships at Willow Hill.

Led by section champion Tyler Sickler of Wood in the boys Division III race, a second-place finish by the Vacaville girls in Division II, and Fairfield junior Eric Marlette grabbing fifth in boys Division III, Solano County’s presence will be felt at Woodward Park in Fresno in two weeks.

And to top things off, Vacaville’s Jordan Kurtz also moves on with an 11th-place individual finish. Vacaville Christian’s Payton Spering also moved on in Division V girls.

There was no one happier than Sickler, his season-long work paying off, even in less than desirable conditions.

“It feels good,” Sickler said. “I felt like I deserved it with all my hard work. It was pretty cold as the race started. It had a little bit of rain, but that’s my favorite weather. I always do good in it.

“My goal is to be in the top 10 at state. I’m hoping to be closest to (the top) as I can. I want to be in top 10 to get that medal.”

Needless to say, Wildcats coach Cheyne Inman was more than proud of Sickler’s section-winning performance.

“He’s been working hard,” Inman said. “He’s been running outstanding all year long, putting in the workload since the beginning of summer. It’s all coming together. It’s a huge accomplishment to be a section champion. He was well prepared for it.”

Sickler topped the field of 80 runners, covering the 5k-course in 16 minutes, 9 seconds, holding off Del Oro’s Trevor Stephens (16:14).

Likewise, Vacaville coach Kay Nekota was also pleased with her girls’ team finishing second with 60 points to champion Woodcreek’s 48.

“I’m so proud of them,” Nekota said. “They are an amazing group of girls this year. They have really embodied being a team. They set it pretty early (in the season) to make it to state. They are pretty excited.”

The Bulldogs girls were led by Elizabeth Bokum’s sixth-place finish in the team event, running the course in 19:56. She was followed by teammates Paige Maynard (ninth, 20:09), Jessica Cummins (13th, 20:19), Breanna Sewell (15th, 20:23) and Sierra Kennedy (17th, 20:25).

As for Fairfield’s Marlette making the state field, coach Dave Monk was happy to keep alive what’s become a tradition in the last few years of getting someone to Fresno.

“He did a good job,” said Monk, pointing out that Marlette’s still only a junior. “That stacks up as an impressive run (on not a very fast course). It’s the second fastest 5k of his life. It was impressive.”

One runner that was oh-so-close to advancing but didn’t was Vanden’s Aiden Schraer, who finished eighth out of individuals not running for a team title, missing out on a state berth by a mere 9 seconds.

“Him and Alex (Jenks) ran good races,” Vikings coach Sherman Martinez said. “It was really tough in Division III this year. (Schraer) was running eighth (the last qualiftying spot) after the first mile and a half. He ran the strategy we wanted him to.”

Jenks wound up 30th.

The runners will get a break from competition for a couple of weeks before the state championships are held at Woodward Park in Fresno on Nov. 26.

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Posted by Daily Republic staff on Nov 11 2011.

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