There were plenty of athletes and teams for Sequim sports fans to root for, from a dynamic pair of cross country teams and a phenom freshman golfer to the emergence of Sequim High’s girls wrestling program and the resurgence of SHS’s football squad.

Despite plenty to cheer about in Sequim’s purple and gold, however, all seem a bit tinged with Seattle Seahawks blue. The frenetic passion for the region’s NFL team spilled over across Western Washington and onto the Olympic Peninsula in January of 2014, driving rabid Sequim-area Hawk fans to put up banners and posters, and to gather at Centennial Place and countless other get-togethers to root on the team to its first Super Bowl title on Feb. 2.

Three days later, there were plenty of peninsula fans among the 250,000-450,000 fans lining Seattle’s streets for the city’s first football title parade. That included Sequim’s Ed Gacek, physician at Olympic Medical Center. Gacek, coming off a 12-hour work shift, went directly to the parade route, joining others in fighting bumper-to-bumper traffic to Bainbridge Island to snag a ferry. He and his sons Matt and Nick Gacek found themselves buried 150-people deep in a kind of amphitheater, but it was all worth it, he told me.

“It was great to be with my two sons,” Gacek said. “We were together in the Kingdome in ‘95 (for the Mariners’ playoff series-clincher against the Yankees). It felt very similar.”

Back on the peninsula, Sequim High’s basketball squads both earned berths in the district tourney but saw their seasons end there in February. Alex Barry took home all-league first team honors for the boys (15-7), while Evan Still was named Coach of the Year for the Sequim girls (10-11).

While Sequim’s boys wrestlers struggled in the postseason, Sequim’s girls proved to be up to the task. Kaylee Ditlefsen and Sophia Cornell each grappled their way to state, with Ditlefsen taking eighth place.

Eric Prosser was the lone Wolf to qualify for the state meet in swimming/diving, earning a pair of top-20 finishes in the 100 backstroke and 200 individual medley.

In the spring, Sequim High freshman Alex McMenamin tore up league golf courses to earn Olympic League MVP honors, then placed third overall at the state 2A tournament in May. SHS teammates Jesse Francis,Travis Priest and Jack Shea on the boys’ team earn state berths but just miss the second-day cut.

Sequim High’s fastpitch squad battled neck-and-neck with rival Port Angeles and clinched the Olympic League title on the season’s final day, topping P.A. 8-2 to finish with a 14-2 league mark. Makayla Bentz earned a league MPV award in the process. Only Fife could keep Sequim from winning the West Central District crown. Ironically, it was Fife that knocked Sequim out of the state tourney after earning one win; the Wolves finished with a 21-5 mark.

Sequim’s baseball squad won seven of their first nine league games before hitting a four-game slide. The Wolves righted themselves for a district berth before Klahowya knocked them out short of state. Seniors Brett Wright and Nick Johnston earned all-league first team honors for the 13-9 team.

In track & field, Sequim’s Barry earned a spot on the state 2A meet’s medal stand, placing third in the javelin. Sequim’s boys took eight participants while the girls’ team took two and a relay squad to state.

On the soccer pitch, Sequim’s boys slugged it out with league foes Kingston and North Kitsap, taking third place at 13-3 — just one game back of the Bucs and Vikings. Sequim took the No. 2 seed to districts but fell in a terse, 3-1 decision to Sumner.

On the tennis courts, Sequim’s finished with a strong 9-3 overall mark as Karen Chan and Melanie Guan took sixth at districts, earning state alternate  berths.

Sequim’s boys saw state 2A tourney entry, the Matthew Richards/Brandon Payne doubles combo, drop both state matches.

In the fall, Sequim’s boys cross country squad made a bit of history, earning second place overall behind Sehome — tied for the best finish for a Sequim boys team in history (boys basketball, 1988). Ranked just behind Sehome for most of the season, the Wolves — led by a strong group of seniors and juniors — were untouchable until the season finale, where the Mariners proved to be too tough in the end. Sequim junior Waverly Shreffler placed 33rd in the girls’ race, capping a season that saw marked improvements for the Wolves. They were second in the Olympic League and seventh at districts, just missing a team state berth.

A trio of outstanding seniors led SHS’s volleyball team. Emma LeBlanc earned Olympic League’s defensive MVP award while teammates Alyse Armstrong and Emily Wallner were named all-league first teamers. The team was second in the league behind North Kitsap and finished 14-5 overall, two wins short of a state berth.

Sequim’s football squad, which had tallied two wins total in the past two seasons, earned a spot in a district postseason tiebreaker and finished 4-5 overall. The Wolves played three consecutive overtime games, winning one.

Sequim’s girls swim/dive squad sent three individuals and a relay team to state, while a number of injuries derailed a promising SHS girls soccer season.