Only a virus could keep Sequim’s Wolves from finishing closer to the top.
The No. 2-ranked Sequim boys cross country squad placed fifth at the Curtis Invite on Oct. 4, easily outpacing other competing class 2A schools and topping 39 other varsity teams.
Bellarmine Prep (73 points) took the varsity boys’ race, followed by Medial Lake (116), Bishop Blanchet (119), Ballard (221) and Sequim (230).
C.J. Daniels led Sequim runners with a 24th-place finish among 305 competitors, racing the 5,000-meter course in 16:20. Mikey Cobb was close behind with a 27th-place, 16:22 mark, and Brendon Despain was 37th at 16:34. All three were season-best marks. Jackson Oliver was 53rd overall at 16:47.
Peter Ohnstad and Chris Jeffko, both recovering from bad colds, were 91st and 133rd, respectively.
“They both ran the race and did the best they could under the circumstances,” assistant coach Michael Cobb said.
On the girls side, Waverly Shreffler led the Wolves with a 20:21 mark that placed 41st overall out of 248 girls as Sequim was 25th out of 34 teams.
Audrey Shingleton placed 131st with a 22:15 finish, Erin Vig was 165th with a 22:45, followed closely by Noelle Bittner at 167th and 22:49. Sequim’s girls were without two varsity starters — Emily Webb and Siana Turner — who were unable to attend the meet.
Sequim’s junior varsity boys were 18th of 35 teams. Wendall Lorenzen led the way by finishing in 17:57 for the 5K, 21st overall, despite running the last half of the race with one shoe.
“He was spiked in a crowd during the early part of the race,” Michael Cobb said.
“The incident pulled his shoe off his heel and he was trying to run and keep the shoe on for a good part of the race. He finally kicked the shoe off and finished the race in one shoe – slipping a fair amount on the wet grass surface.
“It probably cost him close to 30 seconds but he managed to lead the Sequim JV team over the finish line.”
Dominating league foes
Sequim’s cross country squad was hardly challenged in a double-dual, Olympic League meet in Kingston on Oct. 1.
In fact, Sequim’s first five runners — Daniels, Cobb, Despain, Jeffko and Oliver — held hands as they finished in a virtual tie for first place at 16 minutes, 41, seconds. Sequim (4-0) swept Kingston and Klahowya with 15 points; Kingston (60 points) was second and Klahowya (62) was third.
On the girls’ side, the Wolves’ Waverly Shreffler (19:52) was first and Emily Webb (21:08) second as Sequim (4-0) scored 26 team points, topping both Kingston (46) and Klahowya (53). Vig was sixth, Bittner was eighth and Shingleton was ninth.
In boys junior varsity action, Sequim edged Kingston by three points thanks to sweeping the top three spots. Freshman Andrew Hansted took first at 18:36, followed by junior Bryce Dryke and sophomore Evan Chatters.
Looking ahead
Sequim hosts its only league meet today, Oct. 8, with Port Angeles’ Roughriders and Port Townsend’s Red Hawks visiting the Wolves’ home course at Robin Hill Park.
Sequim is at the Hole in the Wall Invitational in Lakewood on Oct. 11 and take on North Mason and host Bremerton on oct. 15 before the postseason begins.
The Olympic League meet is set for Oct. 23 at The Cedars at Dungeness in Sequim. Top individuals and teams from the league meet advance to the Westside Classic district meet at Tacoma’s American Lake Golf Course on Nov. 1, with hopes of advancing to the 2A state meet in Pasco on Nov. 8.
