PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles boys tennis team earned its first win of the season by beating Klahowya 4-3 in its first home match of the season.
“The fellows played with enthusiasm and intensity while focused on their goal of improving each and every match,” Roughriders coach Gil Stockton said following Wednesday’s match.
“It was a delight to see the guys having fun and fighting hard each and every point.
“The players are learning this season is a journey that requires time and effort to earn their rewards. This was a good step forward.”
Stockton awarded the game ball to Kyler Mabrey, who won the No. 3 singles match 6-1, 6-2.
The Riders (0-2, 1-2) host Bremerton (1-1, 2-1) today.
Port Angeles 4, Klahowya 3
Singles
No. 1: Fite (Kla) def. Pederson (PA) 6-4, 6-1.
No. 2: Haga (Kla) def. Nickerson (PA) 6-3, 5-7, 6-2.
No. 3: Mabrey (PA) def. Swanney (Kla) 6-1, 6-2.
Doubles
No. 1: Soule/Leslie (PA) def. Short/Short (Kla) 6-2, 6-4.
No. 2: Trask/Schnoening (Kla) def. Walhsten/Duncan (PA) 7-5, 0-6, 7-5.
No. 3: Woods/Jackson (PA) def. Cook/Watland (Kla) 6-0, 6-2.
No. 4: Soelter/Seibel (PA) def. Brunson/Hytinen (Kla) 6-1, 6-2.
Cross Country
Sequim sweeps league dual
SEQUIM — Waverly Shreffler and Brendon Despain both placed first to lead the Sequim boys and girls to wins over North Mason and Bremerton at the Olympic League dual at Robin Hill Farm County Park.
Despain won the tight boys race Wednesday, finishing less than a second ahead of teammates Ash Francis an Jackson Oliver.
Despain finished the 5-kilometer race in 16 minutes, 45.16 seconds. Francis was second with a time of 16:45.46 and Oliver was third, finishing in 16:45.74.
Another Sequim runner, Chris Jeffko, took fourth with a time of 15:58.59.
Wendall Lorenzen (sixth), C.J. Daniels (eighth) and Ash Christian (ninth) also placed in the top 10 for the Wolves.
The Sequim boys finished with 16 points, ahead of Bremerton’s 58 and North Mason’s 62.
Shreffler, a returning state-qualifier, won the girls race by nearly two minutes with a time of 19:55.44.
As with the boys race, the Wolves earned the top four placings.
Audrey Shingleton came in second (21:48.31), Kiara Pierson was third (22:13.37) and Elizabeth Rosales took fourth (22:39.49).
Other top-10 places for Sequim were Emily Webb (sixth) and Alexis Cromer (seventh) and Noelle Bittner (ninth).
The Wolves defeated North Mason 16-46. Bremerton did not have enough runners to earn a team score.
Sequim’s teams next compete at the Three Course Challenge in Seaside, Ore., on Saturday.
Port Angeles’ Butler, Long win league meet
BAINBRIDGE ISLAND — Port Angeles runners Gracie Long and Cameron Butler won the varsity races at an Olympic League dual with North Kitsap and Klahowya at Battle Point Park.
The Roughriders claimed the top two spots in both the boys and girls races Wednesday.
The Port Angeles girls also claimed third place. Long led the way with a time of 18 minutes, 33 seconds. Madelyn Dougherty (19:23) was second and Lael Butler (20:04) came in third.
“The girls really liked the wide-open, flat course, were able to focus on their stride and really go for it today,” Port Angeles girls coach Cheryl Gerardi said.
The Riders beat North Kitsap 23-33. Klahowya didn’t have enough runners for a team score.
Butler and Lukas Mobius finished first and second, respectively, but the Port Angeles (44 points) boys were edged by North Kitsap (36) and Klahowya (43) at Wednesday’s meet.
Butler finished the 5-kilometer race in 16:05.
“Butler took an early lead, and I was afraid he would run out of gas in the second mile,” Port Angeles boys coach Rodger Johnson said, “but he just kept that great form and pace going.”
With Butler far ahead of the field, the real race was for second place, and Mobius (16:27) used a final-kick sprint to edge Klahowya’s Kyle Daykin by one second.
Riders returners Hunter Dempsey and Forrest Clark and newcomers A.J. Fischer, Gabe Long and Josh Hendry all finished in the top half of the 46-person race.
“It was the first real race for a majority of the [boys] team, but they ran like seasoned veterans,” Johnson said.
