LAKEWOOD — In the annual Nike Hole in the Wall Cross-Country Invitational this weekend, several Olympic Peninsula runners had top-10 finishes in races featuring thousands of the top distance runners in the Pacific Northwest.
The 5K races are broken down into several categories pitting runners with similar average times against each other.
The best finish was by Port Angeles’ Easton Dempsey and Andre Campbell, running in the men’s JV gold race.
Dempsey finished fourth among more than 440 runners with a time of 16 minutes, 41.3 seconds and Campbell was right behind in fifth with a time of 16:45.9.
The Roughriders’ Henry Wendel was 30th (17:42.3), Jay Lieberman 101st (18:38.4), Leyton Larson 127th (18:49.6), Justin McLarty 147th (19:02.3) and Mason Cummings 166th (19:16.0).
Sequim was led by Brandon Bair, who came in 212th (19:39.3). Silas Barni of Sequim was 229th (19:49.4).
Both East Jefferson and Sequim did well in the men’s varsity silver race.
The Rivals had three runners finish in under 17 minutes. East Jefferson’s Joshua Yearian led the way, coming in sixth with a time of 16:30.6. His teammate Dustin Hines was 25th (16:59.1) and a third Rival, Nico Errichetti, was 27th (16:59.8).
Sequim had four runners in the top 100. Reid Randall was 66th (17:37.5), Gavin Tupper 78th (17:47.0), Adrian Osborne 84th (17:50.6) and Westley French 96th (17:57.2). A total of 299 runners were in this race.
Finally, in the boys varsity bronze race, East Jefferson’s Zeke Banks was 15th (18:15.7), Louis Sanborn 35th (18:46.2) and John Neville 95th (19:35.5).
Girls results
The top local girl was Port Angeles’ Leia Larson, who came in eighth in the women’s JV gold race in a time of 20:00.5. Teammate Marian Cobb was 47th in 21:24.6 while Storey Schmidt was 161st in 22:57.7. A total of 277 runners were in this race.
Emily Bair had a good showing for Sequim in the women’s varsity silver race. Bair finished 42nd in a time of 20:22.8. East Jefferson’s Leah Ferland was 49th in 20:31.4, Hilina Taylor-Lenz 78th in 21:07.2 and Michael Gregg 92nd in 21:23.0. A total of 258 runners competed in this race.
Girls swimming
Port Angeles 111, Sequim 63
PORT ANGELES — The Roughriders celebrated Senior Night with a gritty 111–63 victory over Sequim on Friday at the Shore Aquatic Center.
“During the season there are always meets that show the team’s character,” head coach Sally Cole said. “Today the girls responded to adversity in a big way.”
Port Angeles trailed after the first two events for the first time this season. The “A” relay team was disqualified, putting the Riders down 12–2 after the opener.
“DQs are learning opportunities for the team,” Cole said. “Despite this early stumble, the girls rallied and swam fast.”
Sequim’s relay of Ava Shinkle, Holland Sol, Emma Rhodes and Annie Ellefson capitalized on the early misstep, taking the points with a 2:19.95 finish.
Amayah Nelson’s victory in the 200 freestyle provided the spark the Riders needed. Sequim senior Ellefson took second, with Port Angeles senior Lizzy Shaw touching third. Mia Francis improved on her personal best from Wednesday, dropping two seconds and earning her district time in the event.
By the end of the 200 individual medley, the Roughriders had retaken the lead and never looked back. Anaya Tejeda, senior Chloe Kay-Sanders, and Ellie Karjalainen swept the podium, with Karjalainen notching a five-second personal best and finishing just 0.16 of a second off another district mark.
“Ellie’s strongest stroke is the breaststroke, and with how well she handles all the others, the 200 IM really plays to her strengths,” Cole said. “She’s been putting in the work at practice, and it showed today. Dropping five seconds is a huge improvement, and I’m confident she’ll hit that district time at the next meet.”
In the 50 freestyle, Sequim’s Shinkle exploded off the block, commanding the field and winning by nearly five seconds over the Riders’ Lucy Townsend and Molly Kussin.
In diving, senior Lynzee Reid claimed first with a score of 153.50.
In the 100 fly, Kay-Sanders won her final individual event with newcomer Tejeda close behind. The 100 freestyle was another 1-2 finish for Port Angeles, as Shaw took first and Jessique Rodriguez cut three seconds off her personal best.
The 500 freestyle echoed the same result. Nelson and Townsend went 1-2 for the Riders, while Sequim’s Holland Sol placed third.
The Riders’ 200 freestyle relay of Tejeda, Karjalainen, Francis and Nelson dug deep to power through for first place, with Sequim’s Ellefson, Rhodes, Sol and Shinkle taking second.
The next two races showcased Sequim standouts Shinkle and Ellefson. Shinkle captured the 100 backstroke by three seconds over PA’s Reid, while Ellefson dominated the 100 breaststroke, winning by seven seconds.
The race for second in the breaststroke was the standout battle of the meet. Rider teammates Francis and Karjalainen battled stroke for stroke. Karjalainen led by a second at the 50-yard mark and still held that edge entering the final turn, but Francis caught her at the wall — out-touching her teammate by just 0.14 of a second for a personal best.
The meet concluded with the Riders’ decisive 1-2 finish in the 400 freestyle relay with Shaw, Tejeda, Nelson and Reid taking top honors. Port Angeles’ Townsend, Kay-Sanders, Rodrigues and Francis finished in second.
Saturday was also a big day for senior diver Reid, who competed at Stadium High School in her first 11-dive meet.
Reid placed 13th out of 30 divers with an impressive score of 257.95. She was the only 2A athlete in a field filled with 3A and 4A competitors.
Her highest-scoring dive was a back one somersault in pike, earning 25.60 points from the judges.
