The bright spot? All these young swimmers are improving, says Sequim coach Linda Moats.

The downside? Season’s almost over.

The Wolves capped their regular season with dual meet losses to North Kitsap and Kingston on Oct. 22 in Poulsbo, running their season mark to 0-10.

Rachel Hardy (50 free) and Rachel Hughes (100 fly) each posted individual event victories but Sequim fell to Kingston 83-60 and the 3A North Kitsap Vikings, 115-49.

It’s the first time in the program’s 12-season history without a league or nonleague meet victory.

Despite the loss, several young Sequim swimmers posted all-time bests. Natalie McMurray improved her 200 breaststroke mark by 17 seconds while Serena Okamoto lopped off eight seconds from her previous best.

Anna Mittmann swam the 100 backstroke for the first time in competition and finished in 1:47, a solid first-timer’s time, Moats said.

"She’s really not a backstroker, so it was good for her," the Sequim coach said.

In the 200 freestyle, Mittmann shed 12 seconds, Okamoto cut 25 seconds and teammate Ellie Hubbard swam the event for the first time.

Hubbard, who is not far from a district qualifying time in the 50 free, is becoming a solid swimmer, Moats said.

"She’s really good at all the strokes," Moats noted. "If she dedicates herself, she can be swimming at state (in later years)."

The Wolves didn’t earn any more district meet qualifying swims last week, although they did see their 200 medley relay team (McMurray, Hubbard, Hardy, Autumn Kessinger) was just 0.58 seconds from qualifying for districts.

That may not matter, Moats said, since she expects to use her top swimmers in the 200 free and 400 free relays at districts.

The West Central District meet is set for Nov. 6 at Olympic High School in Silverdale.

Before then, the Wolves have a one more chance to qualify for districts when they take on other area teams at the Olympic League meet, slated for Oct. 29 at William Shore Memorial Pool in Port Angeles.

Even if Sequim’s swimmers and other athletes do not post district-qualifying marks, they may be able to receive "wildcard" berths to help fill out the meet’s heats.

The top two swimmers from each district event plus any automatic qualifiers advance to the state 2A meet, set for Nov. 12 at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.

Reach Michael Dashiell at miked@sequimgazette.com.