Cross country: Pyeatt dominates on home course; Ellefson second

Thanks to a 2021 schedule that has most Olympic League teams competing together weekly leading up to the Oct. 21 league final, there will be little suspense knowing who the league’s top runners will be.

If early results are indicative, Sequim’s lone home meet stayed right on script.

SHS senior Riley Pyeatt sped through the 5,000-meter course at the Dungeness Recreation Area on Sept. 29 in 19 minutes and 32 seconds, nearly 50 seconds better than runner up Salix Wartes-Kahl of North Kitsap.

Pyeatt and fifth-place finisher Kaitlyn Bloomenrader helped the Wolves rack up 56 team points to edge North Mason for second place behind a deep North Kitsap squad.

Sequim soph Colby Ellefson edged out Port Angeles’ Maxwell Baeder for second place behind ace Roughrider Jack Gladfelter for second place. Ellefson finished in 17:24.

A week after squeaking past Bainbridge for the team victory, a strong Port Angeles boys crew topped the field in Sequim with 25 team points, followed by Kingston and North Kitsap. Sequim was fifth in the five-team race.

SHS assistant coach B.J. Schade said Pyeatt wasn’t running at her best, though she improved her time from last year by 22 seconds.

Bloomenrader finished 21:37, just 6.5 second off her personal best from a week previous on a more challenging course.

The Sequim sophomore ran with the lead pack for much of the race, Schade noted.

“She ran really aggressive; I like that,” he said.

By the end of the season she could break the 21-minute mark and possibly 20 minutes, he added.

Schade noted that Aidyn Shingleton had a solid race on the hilly Sequim course; the Sequim senior placed 11th overall in 23:54, improving her personal best 5k time she set last week.

SHS junior Anastasia Updike raced to a 17th place finish in 24:47, while SHS freshmen Nikoline Updike (25:47) and Mia Kirner (25:49) placed 23rd and 24th, respectively.

Ellefson once again led the Wolves’ boys, backed by Calem Klinger in 26th place (20:08), Mirek Skov in 32nd (20:49) and Owen Randall in 33rd (20:50).

Schade said he expects the Sequim boys to trim plenty of time by season’s end.

“It’s just lack of experience; some of the haven’t run before, some haven’t run in a couple of years,” he said.

Coming up

The Wolves race against league foes on Oct. 6 at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds.

Three days later Sequim laces up against some of the top prep teams in the region at the Nike Hole-In-the-Wall Invitational in Lakewood. Runners from 118 schools from Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho and Illinois are scheduled to compete.

Sequim is at another league meet at Bainbridge Island on Oct. 13 before hosting the Olympic League championships on Oct. 21 at The Cedars at Dungeness golf course.

Sequim High sophomore Colby Ellefson races to a second place finish at a Sept. 29 Olympic League meet in Sequim. Ellefson finished in 17:24. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell

Sequim High sophomore Kaitlyn Bloomenrader looks to keep pace with the lead group of runners in an Olympic League cross country meet in Sequim on Sept. 29. She placed fifth overall, helping the Wolves to a second place finish. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell

Sequim’s Calem Klinger was the Wolves’ No. 2 runner at the Sept. 29 Olympic League meet, placing 26th overall in 20:08, about 12 seconds off a personal 5k best. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell

Sequim’s Anastasia Updike competes in a Sept. 29 Olympic League meet in Sequim. She placed 17th overall in 24:47. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell

Sequim’s Riley Pyeatt leads the pack about midway through an Olympic League meet on Sept. 29 at the Dungeness Recreation Area. Pyeatt improved her time on the Sequim course from last year’s race by more than 20 seconds. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell

Sequim’s Colby Ellefson, right, keeps close to Port Angeles’ Maxwell Baeder near the end of the Sept. 29 Olympic League meet at the Dungeness Recreation Area. Ellefson edged Baeder by 1.2 seconds for second place. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell

Sequim sophomore Kaitlyn Bloomenrader finished fifth for Sequim in an Olympic League cross-country meet held at Voice of America at Dungeness Recreation Area on Sept. 29. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell