Recreation
“Our players worked extremely hard all season and we were competitive in nearly every conference match – I was very pleased with that,” Polkinghorne said. “We ended up in the middle of the pack, but we let a few matches slip away that I think we should have won.”
An example of that was Mendocino’s final match versus Los Medanos College last week. The Eagles lost in three sets to the fourth place Mustangs: 30-27, 30-18 and 30-27.
Mendocino finished with a Bay Valley Conference record of 6-8, which landed them in fifth place out of eight teams. The Eagles finished with an overall record of 9-14.
Top performers for Mendocino against Los Medanos College were Freshmen Shana Hiatt (Clearlake) who scored 14 points on 11 kills, had two aces and a block.
Freshman Passion Allen-LeNard (Lower Lake) contributed five kills, three blocks and two aces.
According to Polkinghorne, the elevated play of the Eagles’ Freshmen struck a positive note for next year's team.
Polkinghorne said he and Assistant Coach Jeff Whitby agree that they have a good foundation to build on for next year. “We hope that our Freshmen will return and that we’ll be able to recruit some strong players to join them.”
When asked about recruiting needs, Polkinghorne replied, “A setter and some height would be a great start!”
Mendocino College sophomore middle hitter Jamie Brown (Potter Valley) was selected to the All-Conference Team for her standout season. Brown was ranked in three of the six Bay Valley Conference statistical categories: seventh in blocks per game, 10th in kills per game and 12th in hitting average (.246).
“Jamie was our co-captain and our go-to hitter. She did a great job for us this year and deserves this recognition,” Polkinghorne added.
Other Eagles making the Bay Valley Conference stats list were sophomore Sarah Luetke (Yreka), who finished second in the conference in digs per game with 4.17. Sophomore Jenny Stark (Clearlake) finished sixth in setting assists per game. Hiatt finished in seventh place in aces per game.
“We had solid contributions from all 10 of our players this year. We were fortunate to be able to work with such a great group,” Polkinghorne said.
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LAKE COUNTY – While birdwatching at Borax Lake on Country Club Drive near Clearlake Thursday afternoon I saw American Coots in great numbers, some Mallards, a few Buffleheads, maybe some grebes mixed in, but predominantly Northern Shovelers.
Shown above is a photo of Northern Shovelers. I couldn't get very close as the birds would then fly.
We We hadn't taken our scope with us so it was hard to make sure of what was in the large groups. The lake is low so the shoreline was not close to the road.
This is the first time we had seen so many Northern Shovelers. Many hundreds of shovelers were feeding and displaying their unusual feeding habits as explained in tidbit below.
If you have not seen this, you may want to drive out to Borax Lake. The road is rough, but it is worth the drive. There were several much larger groups than what are shown in the photo feeding in the pinwheel fashion. The rotation was very apparent and you could watch birds from a distance swim to the pin-wheel and join in.
NORTHERN SHOVELER PROFILE
Wing spread: 31 inches
Body length: 19 inches
Weight: 1.5 pounds
Description: Shovelers are a medium-sized duck with a distinctive large bill. From late fall through spring,males have a glossy green head, white chest and chestnut sides. Females are a drab brownish gray. Both sexes have a blue wing patch, and glossy green speculum with white bars. Its wings are identical to blue-winged teal, except larger.
Nesting habitat: Typically nests in tall undisturbed grass cover.
Clutch size: 10 eggs
Incubation period: 24 days
Status in North Dakota: The northern shoveler is common during migration and nesting seasons in North Dakota.
Food habits: Shovelers feed on plankton, fingernail clams and aquatic insects.
Tidbit: Shovelers have the most unusual feeding habits of any duck. At times, tight groups of several dozen birds will rotate in a pinwheel fashion, stirring up the surface water.
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
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