Sequim’s cross country squads got their first taste of league dual meet competition last week, with 1A host Klahowya showing their racing prowess against the visiting teams from Sequim and Port Angeles.

Sequim’s Murray Bingham (16:55) out-paced Klahowya sophomore Alex Oathout by 17 seconds to win the 5,000-meter race on Sept. 19, but the Eagles — led by four underclassmen — won the boys meet with 29 team points, out-dueling Port Angeles (44 points) and Sequim (57).

Sequim’s Liam Byrne (17:53) was eighth overall, with teammates Alec Shingleton (14th, 18:20), Koda Robinson (16th, 18:54), Fischer Jensen (21st, 19:34) and Jazen Bartee (22nd, 19:36) rounding out the Wolves’ top six.

On the girls’ side, Klahowya sophomore Rachel Newhard (19:31) out-raced Port Angeles sophomore Lauren Larson and Sequim freshman Riley Pyeatt for an individual win and helped the Eagles’ girls win the meet with 29 team points; Port Angeles was second with 35 points and Sequim a distant third with 73.

Larson, fresh off a Salt Creek Invite title clocked in at 19:47 and Pyeatt, who was second at Salt Creek, finished in 20:21.

Sequim sophomore Eleanor Byrne and Jessica German earned top-20 finishes at Klahowya; Byrne was 18th in 23:57, while German was 20th at 24:07.

Striding at Seaside

Sequim High’s runners held their own in one of the biggest prep meets of the season, vying for top spots as one of the smaller schools at the Three-Course Challenge in Seaside, Ore.

Bingham raced to a second place finish among Division 3 runners and sixth overall on Seaside’s hard course, traversing the 5,000 meters in 19:40.

Sequim’s boys, who took third place among all Division 3 schools, saw Shingleton take seventh among Division 3 runners on the hard course, Byrne place third on the easy course and Robinson run to 10th place on the moderate course.

On the girls’ side, Pyeatt was the fastest Division 3 runner and fifth-fastest overall on the moderate course with a 22:50 finish. Teammates Byrne (ninth among Division 3 runners on moderate course) and German (10th on easy course) also earned medals for top-10 finishes within their division.

Looking ahead

The Wolves host the Kingston Buccaneers and North Kitsap Vikings on Sept. 27 before challenging some of the region’s top runners at the Curtis Invite in University place on Sept. 29.

Sequim hosts Olympic and Port Townsend on Oct. 3. Sequim sees its final regular league meet on Oct. 10 at Bremerton, with the Olympic League championships set for Oct. 18 in Port Townsend.