TACOMA — The Sequim boys won the district championship at the Westside Classic cross country meet at American Lake Golf Course.
The Wolves will be joined at this weekend’s state meet at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco by Port Angeles’ boys and girls team and Port Townsend’s Ryan Clarke.
Port Angeles’ Peter Butler was the highest area placer in the boys 2A race, finishing fourth with a time of 17:04.53, but as has become typical, Sequim had a bunch of runners record high finishes.
Peter Ohnstad was the highest at 10th place (17:23.49), followed by Brendon Despain (11th, 17:25.02), Mikey Cobb (17th, 17:31.9), Chris Jeffko (21st, 17:33.98), C.J. Daniels (22nd, 17:38.88), Christian Ash (28th, 17:44.09) and Jackson Oliver (29th, 17:47.03).
Sequim’s top five placers finished within 15 seconds of each other, and their seven were within 24 seconds.
Each of those runners is either a junior or a sophomore, so the future is as bright as the present for the Wolves.
Riders finish fourth
Sequim won with 77 points, followed by Lindbergh with 80 and Renton with 113.
Port Angeles took fourth place with 135 points.
The Rider boys made it to state for the
“The boys pulled out an epic effort and took fourth place . . . covering the 5K course in 40 mph gusts, driving rain and piercing cold,” Port Angeles coach Pat Durr said.
Along with Butler, junior Simon Shindler took 13th with a time of 17:27 and senior Evan Herbert was 23rd with a 17:39.
Those three qualified for state as individuals based on their top 25 place finish.
Joining them will be freshman Tristan Butler (48th, 18:30), senior Tony Dalgardno (55th, 18:47), sophomore Hunter Dempsey (74th, 19:17) and freshman Cody Anderson (80th, 19:33).
“I’m so happy for my seniors; they’ve been working for four years to make it to state,” Durr said.
“Tony [Dalgardno] and Evan [Herbert] provided the leadership, held that team together, helped everyone focus.
“Everybody had the race they needed to qualify the team for state.”
In the 1A race, Port Townsend’s Clarke continued his standout season with a fifth-place finish, recording a Peninsula-best district time of 16:58.43.
Girls Race
With 107 points, the Port Angeles girls finished third behind Lindbergh (61 points) and North Kitsap (107).
“This was an extremely close race, and the PA girls still fought the terrible, blustery conditions and qualified for the state race,” Durr said.
Sophomore Willow Suess led the Riders with an 11th-place finish in 21:01. Right behind her was senior Elizabeth Stevenson, who was 13th with a time of 21:11.
Junior Annika Pederson was 21st at 21:38.
These three girls qualified as individuals for the state meet based on the top 25 finish.
Other Port Angeles runners: senior Taylor Young (34th, 22:20), junior Dove Lucas (41st, 22:39); sophomore Lily Morlan (42nd, 22:44) and senior Jolene Millsap (49th, 23:07).
This is the second year in a row for the Riders have qualified for state.
“It’s one thing when an athlete qualifies for the state meet, quite another when the entire team qualifies,” Durr said.
“It’s a lot more fun when the kids can share this memorable event with their teammates and friends. Everybody’s pretty excited to make the trip next week.”
Sequim’s Erin Vig missed qualifying for state by 3.07 seconds, finishing 27th with a time of 21:53.16.
