Home pool advantage? Not exactly.

Sequim’s first meet of the season saw the young “host” Wolves fall to Port Angeles in Port Angeles, 123-34, on Dec. 10.

Despite a significant participant disadvantage — Roughriders outnumbered Sequim’s Wolves two to one — the Wolves managed four second-place swims.

Senior SHS captain Wendall Lorenzen placed second in the 200 individual medley, Mathew Craig was second in diving and the Wolves’ 200 medley and 200 free relay teams each placed second.

“I was impressed by our newest and youngest team members that competed today, as well as some of the veteran swimmers and divers,” Sequim coach Linda Moats said. “They (Port Angeles) continue to have a strong team, while we have a small and young team. Nonetheless, we were able to score a few points and place in the middle of the pack a few times.”

Moats and the Wolves held a mini meet with their own squad a week prior, helping them compare improvement with their first meet.

Sequim’s Christian Goodrich took two seconds off his best backstroke time from last year and bettered his 200 free time by three seconds from last week’s mark.

“He spent a good amount of time conditioning over the summer and I see that it’s paying off,” Moats said of Goodrich.

David Calderon dropped a half second of his best time from last week in the 50 free. He helped both relay teams finish with at least eight-second improvements compared to last week’s efforts.

Alex Barikoff swam a 27.96 for the freestyle leg of Sequim’s 200 medley relay, a personal best by two seconds.

Moats said Liam Payne showed impressive finishes in the first Wolves meet, posting a 1:10.82 finish in the 100 free and a seven-second improvement in the 100 breaststroke. “He has so much potential in swimming,” Moats said. “We’ve been working on the technical aspects of his stroke and it seems to be working.”

Sequim’s Brendon Jack, a newcomer to diving, didn’t receive official marks after diving junior varsity against Port Angeles, but Moats said his dives were articulated well.

“I expect he’ll be diving varsity in no time,” she said.

Sequim travels to take on Olympic (Silverdale) on Dec. 17. The Wolves take off for winter break before returning to action Jan. 7, taking on Kingston and North Kitsap in Poulsbo.

Sequim rounds out the regular season Jan. 14 at Klahowya and a home meet Jan. 28 against in Bremerton.