Not quite half of the 82 athletes on this year’s Bainbridge High School cross country team traveled to Eugene, Oregon last weekend to test themselves against more than 40 Oregon teams in the 2018 Northwest Classic Invitational, on a flat but extremely dusty 5K course at Lane Community College, site of the Oregon state high school championships.

The promising boys varsity squad, returning six seniors from the eighth-place team at last year’s state 3A championship, was led by a new face, sophomore Sean Westerhout, whose 16:56 was more than a minute faster than his 2017 best.

Finishing 11th out of 28 in the challenging large school division, the boys team raced together, with five seniors (Carter Hall, Carlo Ruggiero, Elliott Windrope, Nathan McVay, Sean Lindsey) crossing the line within 30 seconds of Westerhout.

In the huge junior varsity race, with 258 runners from 29 schools stirring up clouds of dust, the Bainbridge boys took seventh place, with senior captain Sawyer Blair (18:30) leading the way.

Racing in the smaller schools division, the girls varsity was fourth thanks to their close pack running.

Juniors Eva Entress (21:39, a personal record by 51 seconds) and Emma Brundige (21:42) led the way, closely followed by Eleanor Collins, Josie Meier, Kari Perry and Liz Messinger.

The girls junior varsity finished 12th of 22 teams, with freshman Mckennah Thompson out front. Her 23:11 was a minute faster than her first competitive 5K at Woodland Park just three days earlier.

This year’s only home meet, Wednesday, Sept. 26 at Battle Point Park, will have the excitement and color of an invitational, BHS officials said, as four Metro teams (Bainbridge, Eastside Catholic, Garfield, Lakeside) join three Olympic League teams (North Kitsap, Kingston, Sequim) on the grassy and spectator-friendly 5K course.

The boys begin at 3:40 p.m., the girls at 4:10.