Bainbridge Island junior Sabine Hartenstine secured her third Olympic League win of the cross country season at Battle Point Park Oct. 18, followed by four teammates, while junior Ben Crandall finished sub-16 minutes for the second-consecutive race to highlight an equally dominant showing for the boys.

With six days separating the meet from the Oct. 24 league championships in Port Angeles, it’s hard for the teams to not have their eyes set on state. Both entered the race ranked in the Top 10 in the state.

“We’re ready to fight, and we’ve been beating and staying right up with those other top teams,” senior Kellen Diercks said.

Hartenstine added: “All the people before us, they set us up for success. They showed us what it’s like at state, and a lot of us have been there two years in a row. We know what to expect.”

Hartenstine has emerged as the girls frontrunner, crossing the finish line in this latest race in 19 minutes, 43 seconds. Almost immediately after, still breathing heavily, she was cheering on her teammates. It’s part of embodying what she calls her TV Ted Lasso character’s “goldfish memory,” her heightened focus on the present rather than lingering on the past.

Juniors Savai Esarey was second in 20:22, Kaitlyn Davis third in 20:30, Nova Sheppard fourth in 20:38 and senior Cara Brundige fifth in 20:52. Senior Mairin O’Brien crossed right behind Brundige to take sixth place.

Crandall picked up his second league win by crossing the line at 15:47, five seconds ahead of Bremerton’s top runner Dallin Anderson. Junior Ignacio Llorens (15:59) and sophomore Ryan Dodge (16:16) took third and fourth place for the Spartans, while senior Marcus Stroman (16:53) and sophomore Miles Fuss (17:33) rounded out the team’s score at sixth and eighth place.

Kingston freshman Coen Van Vliet took fifth place with a time of 16:48, and sophomore Timothy Clark-Johnston took ninth at 17:33. The Bucs’ top girls runner senior Sophia Brown took 11th at 22:41.

North Kitsap’s top girls finished together for 16th and 17th place. Senior Katelyn Bearden’s time was 22:56, and sophomore Kathryn Mixer crossed at 23 minutes flat. The Vikings’ top boys runner freshman Luke Atchley took 23rd.

For Bremerton, junior Joshua Lueders took seventh and Asher Steward 10th. Freshman Veda Stewart took eighth in the girls race at 21:34.

For Olympic, sophomore Brynn Fulton took ninth at 21:47, and sophomore Justin Jaramillo took 11th for the boys.

Sophia Brown of Kingston tries to stay ahead of a pair of Bainbridge runners in the final sprint of her 5K race.

Kingston’s Micah Richards leads his group of runners around the corner in the middle of a race.