Track & Field: Sequim stars fall just short of medals

For the first time in at least 15 seasons, Sequim High athletes missed out on the medal stand at the state finals.

The Wolves, led by a crew of sophomores and hamstrung by a pair of key injuries, still managed to post five efforts in the top 12 at the Class 2A state meet, held at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma last week.

Sophomore Murray Bingham finished 11th in the 1,600-meter race with a 4:35.56 mark.

A day later, Bingham set a personal best in the 800 meters, clocking in at 1:59.87. Teammate and fellow soph Alec Shingleton took 14th place overall with a 2:01.21 mark in his preliminary heat.

Riley Martin, another sophomore, raced to sixth place in his heat in the 110-high hurdles and 13th overall with a 16.04 finish on May 25.

A day later, Martin narrowly missed the finals after placing sixth in the 300 meter hurdles preliminaries — finishing 12th overall — with a 42.48-second effort.

Riley Cowan, also a sophomore, placed 11th overall with a 160-foot, 5-inch throw in the javelin.

Sequim High senior Clarisse Finman took 11th in the discus with a 98-7 throw, her second-best mark of the season.

Sequim’s girls 4×400 relay team — Juniors Emma Beeson and Kristinna Barnet, freshman Daisy Ryan, and senior Rylee Gray — placed eighth in their preliminary heat, finishing in 4:31.03.

The Wolves were without distance star Morgan Bingham and 2016 state 2A pole vault competitor Elizabeth Sweet, who both missed the meet for health reasons.

Port Angeles’ Gracie Long placed seventh in the 1,600-meter race.

Sequim’s Riley Martin looks to keep pace in a 110-hurdles preliminary heat on May 25. Martin took 13th in the event and 12th in the 300 hurdles a day later.

Sequim’s Riley Martin looks to keep pace in a 110-hurdles preliminary heat on May 25. Martin took 13th in the event and 12th in the 300 hurdles a day later.

Sequim’s Rylee Gray, left, gets a handoff from teammate Daisy Ryan in the anchor leg of the 4x400 relay on May 25. Sequim Gazette photos by Michael Dashiell

Sequim’s Rylee Gray, left, gets a handoff from teammate Daisy Ryan in the anchor leg of the 4×400 relay on May 25. Sequim Gazette photos by Michael Dashiell

Sequim’s Kristinna Barnet and the Wolves vie for a finals-qualifying time in the 4x400 relay at the state 2A track meet on May 25.

Sequim’s Kristinna Barnet and the Wolves vie for a finals-qualifying time in the 4×400 relay at the state 2A track meet on May 25.

Sequim’s Murray Bingham, right, speeds around the track at Mount Tahoma High School as he races to an 11th-place finish at the 2A state meet track and field championships in Tacoma on May 25. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell

Sequim’s Murray Bingham, right, speeds around the track at Mount Tahoma High School as he races to an 11th-place finish at the 2A state meet track and field championships in Tacoma on May 25. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell