Sequim runners got their first taste of the 2019 cross country season, and friendly rivalries were renewed.
Junior Lauren Larson of Port Angeles took top honors with Sequim sophomore Riley Pyeatt in second at the Eagle Jamboree at Klahowya High in Silverdale on Sept. 11, as teams from 10 area high school schools — several of them Olympic League rivals — kicked off their prep seasons on the Eagles’ 2-mile course.
Klahowya’s Kleton Gagnon edged North Kitsap senior Max Metters to win the boys’ race.
Larson clocked in at 11:46, with Pyeatt second (12:02) and Klahowya junior Alyssa Becker third (12:15). Port Angeles senior Kynzie DeLeon was fourth.
Gagnon, a sophomore, finished in 10:19, just ahead of Metters, a senior, in 10:22.
Backing Pyeatt was Sequim freshman Anastasia Updike, whose 14:26 finish placed her 22nd overall (out of 95 runners) and was the second-fastest time for a ninth-grader behind North Mason’s Kezlie Thygesen (10th, 13:11).
SHS junior Jessica German was 31st (14:59) and senior Emily Silva was 39th (15:31).
Sequim’s top boy was Kaleb Needoba, a junior who placed 28th out of 174 runners with an 11:34 mark. Teammate Koda Robinson, a sophomore, was 35th with an 11:42 finish, and Sequim sophomore Theo McMurray (12:23) was 60th.
On the girls’ side, Sequim’s girls placed fifth out of seven teams. The 3A Central Kitsap Cougars, on the strength of five runners placing in the top 11, took top honors with 40 team points, with Klahowya second (50) and Port Angeles third (66).
On the boys’ side, Sequim placed eighth out of 10 teams. Klahowya (44) edged Port Angeles (56) for the top boys team, with North Kitsap third (62).
Looking ahead
Sequim hosts Olympic and Port Townsend on Sept. 18 at Robin Hill County Park.
Three days later the Wolves are at the 42nd Salt Creek Invitational just west of Port Angeles, one of 13 teams that include a number of league rivals plus teams from Forks, Granite Falls, Interlake, Nathan Hale and Shelton.
Sequim hosts its second meet of the season on Sept. 25, taking on Port Angeles and North Kitsap.
