Cross country: Sequim’s girls 1st, boys 2nd in prep season opener

They may go their respective ways in the postseason, but Port Townsend and Sequim took on the look of rivals at the Wolves’ home cross country meet on Sept. 18.

Racing without sophomore star Riley Pyeatt, who would return to action days later (see below), Sequim’s girls got strong performances from its seven runners —five of them underclassmen — in edging out Port Townsend’s 1A Redhawks by a single point, 28-29 (low score wins).

Junior Jessica German and freshman Anastasia Updike raced the 3.1-mile course at Robin Hill County Park in 25:12 and 25:13, respectively, to place third and fourth behind Redhawk seniors Anika Avelino (22:35) and Rachel Matthes (23:53).

SHS freshman Macy Cogburn was sixth (25:53), while senior Emily Silva (eighth, 25:42) and sophomore Aidyn Shingleton (ninth, 28:01) rounded out the Wolves’ scorers.

On the boys’ side, another pair of Port Townsend seniors went 1-2, as Kincaid Gould edged out teammate Nathan Cantrell by 0.6 of a second for first place as the Redhawks (26 team points) topped Sequim (35) and Olympic (75).

Sequim junior Eli Gish placed third in 19:41, while SHS teammates Kaleb Needoba (20:17.5), Koda Robinson (20:17.8) and Jaxon Cogburn (20:44) captured places 5-7.

It was the first league meet for the three schools.

Pyeatt third at Salt Creek

Back from an illness that kept her out of Sequim’s league meet, Pyeatt — a state 2A meet qualifier in 2018 — raced to a third-place finish in the varsity race at the 42nd Salt Creek Invitational just west of Port Angeles on Sept. 21.

Pyeatt finished the 3-mile course in 18:16, behind Port Angeles’ Lauren Larson (17:31) and Klahowya’s Alyssa Becker (17:55).

Updike placed 34th overall out of 77 runners, with a finish of 21:31; Cogburn (22:14) was 41st.

Sequim’s girls placed eighth out of 10 teams. Klahowya (67 points) won the girls’ title, with Nathan Hale (87) second and Interlake (100) third.

On the boys’ side, Gish placed 42nd in 17:34 while Needoba (17:40) was 47th and Robinson (17:46) was 51st as Sequim took 10th place out of 12 teams. Interlake (36 points) won the boys’ title, followed by Shelton (98) and Klahowya (105).

Looking ahead

Sequim runners host the second of their two Olympic League meets this season on Sept. 25, taking on league heavyweights Port Angeles and North Kitsap.

Last season, Port Angeles’ and North Kitsap’s girls went 1-2 in the league final while NK’s boys won league and PA’s boys were third.

Sequim travels to Belfair on Oct. 2 to take on Kingston and host North Mason, and compete at Bremerton on Oct. 9 against the Knights and Klahowya Eagles.

Sequim’s Macy Cogburn climbs Meadow Hill in an Olympic League meet on Sept. 18 in Sequim, trailed by Camryn Hines of Port Townsend. Cogburn placed sixth overall after finishing the course in 25:53. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell

Sequim freshman Anastasia Updike races up Meadow Hill at Robin Hill County Park on Sept. 18. Updike went on to finish fourth overall, completing the hilly, 3.1-mile course in 25:13. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell

Runners from Port Townsend, Olympic and Sequim break from the starting line at an Olympic League meet at Robin Hill County Park on Sept. 18. Sequim’s girls edged Port Townsend by a point in the first league meet of the 2019 prep season. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell

Left, Sequim freshman Anastasia Updike races up Meadow Hill at Robin Hill County Park on Sept. 18. Updike went on to finish fourth overall, completing the hilly, 3.1-mile course in 25:13. Right, Sequim junior Eli Gish finishes the final few hundred meters of the 3.1-mile course at Robin Hill County Park. Gish clocked in at 19:41, tops on the team and third overall. Sequim Gazette photos by Michael Dashiell

Sequim’s Kaleb Needoba, Left, and Koda Robinson race in a league meet against Olympic and Port Townsend on Sept. 18. Needoba placed fifth and Robinson sixth; the pair less than just four-tenths of a second apart. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell

Ayden Humphries, left, and Mikhail Ostrovsky race up Meadow Hill in an Olympic League meet at Robin Hill County Park on Sept. 18. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell

Sequim senior Carson Holt leads a pack up Meadow Hill in an Olympic League meet at Robin Hill County Park on Sept. 18. Holt finished the course in 22:36, 20th overall. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell