Klahowya boys win Olympic League championships; PA edges out girls by one point

PORT TOWNSEND — One point made all the difference in the world for Klahowya at the Olympic League championships.

While the boys finished 23 points ahead of Port Townsend, the girls finished one point behind champions Port Angeles for second place, preventing an Eagles sweep. However, the Klahowya boys junior varsity team also took first place.

Jaeden Ellis was the top runner for the Eagles in the boys varsity race, finishing fourth with a time of 16:47. Rounding out the scorers were Alex Oathout (eighth, 17:07), Lucas Becker (13th, 17:28), Kelton Gagnon (16th, 17:48) and Wyatt Vertefeuille (21st, 17:58).

The girls were led by Rachel Newhard, who took third, finishing just three seconds out of first place in an extremely close race, with a time of 19:25. Sophomore Alyssa Becker finished sixth in 20:44 and Alexa Watson took tenth in 21:19. Hannah Nelson and Hannah Meehan took 15th and 16th respectively.

Kingston’s Stefans Lusis was the top local boys finisher, taking second place with a time of 16:33, three seconds behind champion Murray Bingham. Madison Zosa of North Kitsap finished second in the girls race, just two seconds behind Port Angeles’s Lauren Larson with a time of 19:24.

Team scores (boys) — 1. Klahowya, 62; 2. Port Townsend, 85; 3. Kingston, 90; 4. North Kitsap, 91; 5. Port Angeles, 100; 6. Sequim, 113; 7. Bremerton, 179; 8. North Mason, 186; 9. Olympic, 270.

Top local finishers — 2. Stefans Lusis, Kingston, 16:33; 4. Jaeden Ellis, Klahowya, 16:47; 5. Max Metters, North Kitsap, 16:53; 8. Alex Oathout, Klahowya, 17:07; 11. Tor Sather, Kingston, 17:21; 13. Lucas Becker, Klahowya, 17:28; 16. Kelton Gagnon, Klahowya, 17:48; 17. Curtis Upton, Kingston, 17:48; 18. Igmin Martinez, North Kitsap, 17:49; 19. Enrique Brambila, Bremerton, 17:56; 20. Wyatt Murphy, North Kitsap, 17:57.

Team scores (girls) — 1. Port Angeles, 47; 2. Klahowya, 48; 3. North Kitsap, 95; 4. Kingston, 121; 5. Sequim, 140; 6. Port Townsend, 156; 7. North Mason 157; 8. Olympic, 198.

Top local finishers — 2. Madison Zosa, North Kitsap, 19:24; 3. Rachel Newhard, Klahowya, 19:25; 6. Alyssa Becker, Klahowya, 20:44; 10. Alexa Watson, Klahowya, 21:19; 11. Genesi Funston, North Kitsap, 21:34; 14. Hannah Nelson, Klahowya, 21:57; 15. Hannah Meehan, Klahowya, 22:07; 18. Olivia Wildes, Klahowya, 22:31; 22. Claire Larson, Kingston, 22:48; 24. Aleah Schultz, Klahowya, 23:11; 25. Laura Fyrqvist, Kingston, 23:21.

— Mark Krulish is a reporter for Kitsap News Group. He can be reached at mkrulish@soundpublishing.com. Follow him on Twitter @MKrulishKDN.

North Kitsap’s Madison Zosa and Klahowya’s Rachel Newhard pump hard towards the finish line. Zosa finished second, Newhard finished third. (Michael Dashiell/Sequim Gazette)