Never mind the presence of perennial powerhouse Bishop Blanchet, nor of an unexpectedly strong O'Dea team. As far as West Seattle High School runners were concerned, it was a dual meet, and the duel was with Ingraham. Motivated to re-assert the 2006 team's Metro League Championship meet victory over the Rams, the 2007 team did just that. Wednesday's meet score shows the results: Blanchet 30, O'Dea 32, West Seattle 79, Ingraham 112.

All seven West Seattle varsity runners contributed to the outcome. Team star Kyle MacDonald raced to his fourth top 10 finish in a row, placing eighth in a Lincoln Park personal record of 17:48.0. Senior co-captain Jacob Nauss (13th) punctuated his team's effort with a personal record 18:54.3. Nauss became only the second West Seattle runner in the last seven years to dip under 19 minutes. Cooper Sinai-Yunker (17th) understood the mission and executed it with a will. He, Nauss, and MacDonald each crossed the finish line ahead of the first Ingraham runner.

Newcomer Delano Jordan sparked West Seattle's scoring engine with a 20th place finish, and a determined senior co-captain Jack Hilton completed the scoring in twenty-first. Eli Swedlow (22nd) and Lars Stromberg (23rd), although not scoring points themselves, each displaced three Ingraham scoring runners.

The girls' team, with 102 points, fell to Bishop Blanchet (15), Holy Names (61), and Ingraham (76). The race, however, was not without highlights. Team leader Sarah Austin overtook three runners in the final mile to finish 10th, as she and Mel Frey (20th) both interrupted the Ingraham varsity's placings. Frey set a personal record by an astonishing 57 seconds. West Seattle's other scorers were Sarah Bradley (23d), Vanda Szabo (24th), and Corinne Kleeberger (25th).

Next Thursday's meet is at the new Upper Woodland course and features neighborhood rival Chief Sealth.

John Leonard may be reached via wseditor@robinsonnews.com