by MICHAEL DASHIELL
Sequim Gazette
Both of northern Kitsap County’s high schools have highly respected cross-country squads.
Last week’s Olympic League showdown in Sequim did little to shake that belief.
Kingston’s Marina Roberts cruised to a 50-second win in the girls’ race and North Kitsap took team honors in a battle of top-10 girls prep squads, while Kingston edged North Kitsap on the boys’ side in a three-team meet on Sept. 28 at Robin Hill Park.
Adrian Clifford took first in the boys’ race to lead Sequim, which finished third in both races. Clifford finished the 2.95-mile, hilly course in 16:26 to top North Kitsap’s Ian Christen by 19 seconds.
As a team, the unranked Kingston boys managed to place all five of their runners in the top 10 individual placers in a mild upset of the ranked North Kitsap crew.
Sequim coach Harold Huff said that at full strength North Kitsap should prove too tough to catch, but that Sequim may be able to knock off Kingston for a fourth spot at the league championships (behind Olympic and Port Angeles).
Sequim’s Dylan Chatters was eighth (17:11) while Joel Christopher was 11th (17:32) and freshmen Peter Ohnstad 12th (17:37) and Mikey Cobb (16th, 17:56) rounded out Sequim’s top five.
“Dylan ran a great race,” Huff noted.
The Wolves kept close to their league rivals, with Kingston tallying 35 team points, NK second with 39 and Sequim third with 48 points.
On the girls’ side, it was all Marina Roberts. The 2A state runner-up blitzed the course in 17:34, well ahead of Reagan Coyler of North Kitsap. NK’s Clara Lund was third. Roberts’ sister Annie placed fourth.
The No. 4-ranked Viking girls were simply too deep for the 10th-ranked Bucs, as North put seven runners in the top 11 finishers to take top team honors, 27 points to Kingston’s 36 (lower point-total wins).
Jasmine McMullin was Sequim’s top runner, placing eighth overall at 21:43. Amelia Ohnstad was 14th at 23:12 and Brittany Vereide was 21st (24:24). Emma Barrell (22nd, 24:26), Sydney Hastings (26th, 25:02) and Natalie McMurray (27th, 25:15) rounded out the Wolves’ top finishers.
“We’re racing pretty solid,” Huff said of Sequim’s girls, who finished a distant third behind two of the state’s top teams. “They’re racing better every week.”
Sequim is at Olympic (Silverdale) today, Oct. 5, and Port Angeles on Oct. 12 before hosting the Olympic League meet, slated for Oct. 20.
Reach Michael Dashiell at miked@sequimgazette.com.
