Kitsap schools dominate districts; send teams, runners to state

Eight boys and girls teams from Kitsap County willed their way to state qualifying finishes, and all eight major high schools will be represented at state after tough runs on the Chambers Creek course in the 2024 Westside Classic Cross Country meet Nov. 2.

Bainbridge, as expected, continued to dominate the postseason under its 2A reclassification with district championships for its boys and girls teams. Even with notable runners like junior Sabine Hartenstine and senior Mairin O’Brien out for the day, sophomore Evelyn Shutske sought to push for where her team would need her.

“It was definitely a little bit different today without (Mairin and Sabine) out there. It was definitely a tough day out there, but I just wanted to go out there and win,” she said.

Win she did, taking the 2A girls crown in a time of 19 minutes, 42 seconds. Juniors Savai Esarey (20:39) and Kaitlyn Davis (20:42) took fifth and sixth place, senior Cara Brundige secured 13th place at 21:22 and junior Nova Sheppard rounded out the scoring in 15th at 21:36.

While all five girls finished in the Top 15, Bainbridge’s boys were all in the Top 7. Junior Ignacio Llorens took second place at 16:32, junior Ben Crandall was third, senior Marcus Stroman and sophomore Ryan Dodge finished a second apart in fifth and sixth, and senior Keller Diercks took seventh.

Kingston and Bremerton also qualified teams for 2A state. The Buccaneer girls, led by sophomore Emma Grice’s 11th-place finish in 21:13, took fourth place, and Bremerton senior Dallin Anderson claimed the individual 2A crown at 16:19 to help lead the boys team to a third-place finish.

“It was kind of a thug out strength race,” Anderson said. “No major moves could be made. I saw we were going about 5:25 at the first mile pace, and I knew I could do faster than that, so I just had to go.”

Other 2A qualifying runners included freshmen Veda Steward and Faith Lueders from Bremerton, sophomore Kathryn Mixer from North Kitsap, senior Luke Whalen and sophomore Timothy Clark-Johnston from Kingston and Joshua Turner from Olympic.

Central Kitsap, now Kitsap’s sole 3A competitor, would also qualify both its teams for state with relative ease. The girls, led by third-place senior Taylor Palmer (18:35) and sixth-place senior Clare Herring (18:50), took the course just as a stiff wind began to pick up and after a combination of runners and vehicle activity had made the course mushy and slick. Still, junior Audra Palmer, senior Isabella Welk and freshman Addison Abel nabbed key points to finish in second place.

The boys, with sophomore standout Mana Voss resting up for state, fared just fine without him. Senior Michael Vlach rode a tremendous final surge en route to finishing in second place at 16:06, junior David McClain took sixth at 16:34 and senior Gavin Brown took eighth at 16:41. Junior Ethan Huff and sophomore Kyler Atendido rounded out the scoring for the Cougars, who claimed first place in the district.

South Kitsap’s boys found their stride en route to a state berth in the 4A races. Junior Isaac Benjamin finished in second place at 15:20, followed by senior Jefferson Smith in fifth at 16:15. The Wolves finished with 113 points to tie with Tahoma, but the sixth racer tiebreaker allotted SK a third-place team finish. SK seniors Emma Schmutz and Lauren Laws took ninth and 15th places to qualify for state in the girls race.

Klahoywa’s girls outright dominated the 1A race to claim a district championship. Senior Natalie Oathout took first place in 20:12 and junior Thyme Gruber second at 20:55. All five scoring Klahowya racers finished in the Top 8. Senior Tyler Larson, junior Carson Wintch and Sawyer Hermosura-Roark qualified for state in the boys race.