Sports briefs: Marin riders perform well at MTB Nationals
A contingent of Marin riders competed in the 2023 USA Cycling MTB XC/STXC National Championships this past weekend in Macungie, Penn., with Corte Madera’s Scout Wellmeier securing a second-place finish.
Wellmeier competed in the Girls 15-16 age category and finished second in the short track race with a time of 19 minutes, 22.4 seconds. Wellmeier, a Redwood High staudent, also placed sixth in the cross country race in 44:36.
Another Redwood standout, Charlotte Philkill, placed 17th and 21st, respectively, in the Girls 15-16 short track and cross country races.
Fairfax’s Simon Hewett placed sixth in the Boys 15-16 cross country event and took 30th in the short track. Another Fairfax resident, Aero Fin-Fisher, placed 61st in the Boys 15-16 short track and 77th in the cross country race.
San Anselmo’s Hayley Ballard, a San Domenico standout, placed fifth in both the cross country (1:16:42) and short track races (20:33) in the Girls 17-18 category. Greenbrae’s Izzy Landry placed 18th in the short track and 35th in the cross country race.
Kentfield’s Matthew Marotto (Redwood) also secured a top-10 finish, taking ninth in the Boys 17-18 short track race in a time of 14:42.2. Marotto added a 29th-place finish in the cross country event.
Mill Valley’s Noah Shelton (Tam) placed 12th and 17th, respectively, in the short track and cross country events.
Baseball
The San Rafael Pacifics started fast against the Dublin Leprechauns on Saturday night, scoring five times in the first inning en route to a 12-1 home victory at Albert Park.
Starting pitcher Alex Valasek worked all seven innings, limiting the Leprechauns (3-31) to hits and one earned run while striking out 13. Valasek helped his own cause with a three-hit, two-RBI performance at the plate.
Dan Crosson (two hits, three RBIs, two runs), Nick Smith (two hits, RBI, three runs), and Blake Diggle (two hits, two RBIs, run) also had solid games at the plate for San Rafael (25-7 Pecos League).