By the time officials were wrapping up the West Central bi-district 2A meet punctuated by jersey-soaking downpours at the boys’ pole vault pit, Sequim had already cleared a number of milestones.

For good measure, the Wolves swept the top three spots in that event.

While the number of qualifiers for Sequim at the district meet, held this spring in Belfair, was down from previous seasons, the Wolves made the most of their opportunities, earning 12 state berths in 16 total entries and coming home with a pair of district champions — one from a senior, the other a freshman.

Ninth-grader Clare Turella shrugged off a torrent of rain to clear 5 feet three inches in the high jump and earn a personal best that she set last season as a middle-schooler.

“I didn’t even know if I’d be in the top six,” Turella said a few moments after her final jump.

“I was really shocked when I jumped 5-2 and then 5-3 … I thought I was pretty close at 5-4.”

SHS senior Ari Skov led a pack of Wolves to seep the top three places in the pole vault, going head-to-head with teammate Brody Anderson in an event marred by rain delays. Skov cleared 12 feet 9 inches to edge Anderson (12-6), a fellow senior, and sophomore Malachi Byrne, who bested his cousin Liam Byrne’s 10th-grade mark with a 12-3 vault.

Sequim’s girls came into the district meet with 10 entries and earned eight state qualifiers, including returnees Ivy Barrett and Kaitlyn Bloomenrader and newcomer Dawn Hulstedt.

In the 800-meter race on May 18, Bloomenrader and Hulstedt finished 2-3 in their heat and third and fourth overall (2:22.55 and 2:24.0). Bloomenrader, now a three-time state meet qualifier, was expected to place high with the fourth-best time coming in, but Hulstedt set a personal best and jumped four places (based on seeding time).

Hulstedt also qualified for state with a fifth-place finish in the 1600, clocking in at a personal best 5:22.42 — a nine-second improvement on her PR.

Hulstedt, a junior, attributed her peaking times on “getting more confidence and going out stronger.”

Bloomenrader, who also helped Sequim’s 4×200 team earn a state berth the day prior, said her strategy this season was to keep plenty in reserves to finish strong.

“Usually I go out way too fast,” she said.

Bloomenrader also decided to not over-book her district events this year, declining to run the 1600 to focus on her relay and 800 races. (Last spring, she competed in four races.)

“I’m trying for quality over quantity,” she said.

At the impending state 800 race, Hulstedt said she is aiming for a 2:20 finish while Bloomenrader said, “I just want to run my race.”

Making a return to state — this time, in three events — is Ivy Barrett, a junior who qualified in the 400 with a fifth-place finish in 61.69 seconds, along with spots in the 4×200 and 4×400 relays.

Earning their first berths to state are SHS freshmen Birdie Pyeatt and Bailey Stein, who with Barrett and Bloomenrader raced to a fifth-place finish in the 4×200 — a near two-second improvement from the league meet a week prior.

“I finally beat girls [in my leg] I hadn’t beaten all season,” said Stein, who also nearly qualified in the high jump and tied for ninth at 4-4.

Sequim’s 4×400 girls relay squad placed fourth in 4:17.37.

Sequim sophomore Ahrya Klinger is making a return trip to state after tying for third place in the pole vault with a 8-6 effort, helping Sequim’s girls place fifth at districts in team scoring with 42.5 points.

White River took the district girls title with 91 points, followed by Foster (75.5), North Kitsap (73.5), Orting (43) and Sequim. Port Angeles’ girls took 13th.

Also earning a state berth is Sequim junior Sean Southard, who set a personal best in the javelin with a 158-foot 6-inch throw, topping his previous personal record by more than 18 feet.

Sequim’s boys placed 11th with 29 team points. Renton took top honors with 69 points, followed by North Kitsap (62) and Enumclaw (61). Port Angeles’ boys placed ninth (40).

Overall, Sequim athletes set seven individual personal records at the district meet.

The class 2A/3A/4A state meet is set for May 23-25 at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma.

Sequim Gazette photos by Michael Dashiell Sequim’s Ari Skov clears the pole vault bar at the West Central Bi-district meet in Belfair on May 18. Skov won the event with a 12-9 mark.

Sequim freshman Clare Turella leaps over the high jump bar en route to a district championship, eventually clearing a personal-best 5-3 in the West Central B-district meet event in Belfair on May 18.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Sequim’s Malachi Byrne clears 12-3 on his way to a third place finish at the West Central Bi-district meet in Belfair and a class 2A state meet berth.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Sequim junior Ivy Barrett helps Sequim’s 4×400 relay team earn a state meet berth at the West Central B-district meet event in Belfair on May 18.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Sequim High freshman Bailey Stein looks to clear 4-6 in the high jump at the West Central B-district meet event in Belfair on May 18. Stein finished tied for ninth in the event with a 4-4 mark.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Sequim High’s girls 4×400 relay team is all smiles after placing fourth at the West Central B-district meet event in Belfair on May 18. Pictured, from left, are Kaitlyn Bloomenrader, Bailey Stein, Dawn Hulstedt and Ivy Barrett.