Week number two of the Metro League cross country season brought runners from both Duwamish Peninsula high schools face-to-face at Upper Woodland on Friday.
In their first competitive encounter, West Seattle's Kyle MacDonald led all the way to win in 17:50, as Chief Sealth's fast-improving Bryce Rainwater finished second in 18:35 on a hilly 3-mile course. West Seattle runners took four of the top 10 places, with Jacob Nauss finishing third, Eli Swedlow ninth, and Lars Stromberg tenth. The teams meet again on October 4th.
In the girls' race, Chief Sealth's Claudia Jacob set the pace for most of the race, before finishing third behind two runners from Ingraham. No West Seattle girls were entered in the race. The team took a bye in order to compete in the Vashon Invitational on Saturday.
West Seattle's next league meet is Wednesday, Sept. 26, Chief Sealth's Thursday, Sept. 27, both at Lincoln Park.
The season-opening Metro League cross-country meet at Lincoln Park answered two pre-season questions for the West Seattle High School girls' and boys' teams. Who would carry the flag for the girls, succeeding the now-graduated Kylen Johnson? And would any of the promising newcomers on the boys' team be fast enough to score points?
The girls raced first, and junior Sarah Austin answered the first question convincingly. Austin was followed, at a considerable interval, by veteran teammates Mel Frey (sophomore), Hannah Sox (junior) and freshmen Vanda Szabo and Mikayla Nichols. Those five scored West Seattle's points as the team finished third behind Bishop Blanchet and Lakeside.
In the boys' competition, junior Kyle MacDonald led West Seattle's scorers in dominating fashion, and freshman Nick Barnecut answered the second question. MacDonald raced to a sterling seventh-place finish, even leading the entire field at the one-mile mark. His attention-getting 17:54.6 for the 3.11-mile course was a personal record.
The rest of the scoring team was far behind, but included newcomer Barnecut in 25th. Among returning lettermen are Cooper Sinai-Yunker (22d), Jacob Nauss (24th) and Jack Hilton (26th). The boys' team finished fourth behind Blanchet, Lakeside, and Eastside Catholic.
