CMOA HONORS NEW MEMBERS

Three former Clear Lake coaches among four inducted into Hall of Fame Class of 2022

LAKE COUNTY >> The Coastal Mountain Officials Association (CMOA) inducted four new members into its Hall of Fame during a Sunday ceremony in Kelseyville.

Holding its first induction ceremony since 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, CMOA honored longtime Clear Lake High School coaches Gary Pickle and the late Paul Larrea, wrestling coach Ron Campos (Upper Lake, Clear Lake, Kelseyville) and wrestling official Tom Tilton.

CMOA candidates can be coaches, officials or special contributors, including media members.

“They most show excellence as a coach or as an official,” CMOA President Kevin Henderson said of the 2022 honorees.

Pickle retired following the 2015 high school season, his 23rd at the school, after leading the Cardinals to North Central League I and North Coast Section championships. Prior to taking over the softball program in 1993, he was Clear Lake's junior varsity baseball head coach. He also coached the ultra-successful Lange Brothers Little League teams back in the 1980s and one of the Little League fields at the Lake County Fairgrounds facility in Lakeport is named after him.

Larrea, who died in October of 2017, was the longtime varsity girls soccer coach at Clear Lake High School where he also coached baseball. Following his death nearly five years ago, the school named its annual boys basketball tournament held each December after Larrea, a counselor at the school and the head of its drama department.

Campos served coaching stints at Clear Lake, Kelseyville and most recently Upper Lake High School where he helped develop some of the top wrestlers in the county.

Tilton, a longtime educator and coach in the Willits area, is

FILE PHOTO Longtime Clear Lake High School softball head coach Gary Pickle was one of four coaches/officials honored into the Coastal Mountain Officials Association Hall of Fame on Sunday in Kelseyville. Pickle is pictured here in 2015along with one of his former players, Rachel Wingler, during a school ceremony honoring his 23 years as the Cardinals' softball coach. He retired following the 2015 season, which ended with Clear Lake winning a North Coast Section championship.