MacDonald, Dennison in double win

The rare spectator who could focus on team results even as the individual runners crossed the finish line, witnessed one of the season's most competitive Metro League cross country races last Thursday at Lincoln Park.

As if they had drawn straws for even or odd, West Seattle High runners (odd) and Chief Sealth High runners (even), finished in alternating order through the first six places. Ingraham High runners answered by finishing seventh, eighth, and ninth.

In this low-score-wins sport, the early scoring was thus thinly in West Seattle's favor, but with two scoring runners from each school yet to cross the finish line, the outcome of the meet would obviously depend on the relative strength of the teams' number four and five runners.

"Wick" Wickham, a surging Lars Stromberg, Ian Keithly, and Hassan Warfa carried the day for West Seattle as the rest of the school's seven-man varsity swept 10th through 13th. The team scores were West Seattle 30, Ingraham 53, Chief Sealth 54, and Cleveland 104.

Team ace Kyle MacDonald ran uncontested from the start to win his first race of the season in commanding manner in 17:28.6. Teammate Cooper Sinai-Yunker, however, had to battle Chief Sealth's Bryce Rainwater and Alex Sampson the whole 5,000 meters. Sinai-Yunker eventually split the Sealth pair, finishing in 18:10.8 behind Rainwater's 18:07.2 (2d place) and Sampson's 18:30.9 (4th). West Seattle's Eli Swedlow won the duel for fifth in 19:13.1, ahead of Sealth's Daniel Perrine in 19:24.5.

In the girls' race, which was run simultaneously with the delayed boys' race owing to tardy bus transportation from the north end for the Ingraham team, West Seattle's Chandler Dennison won her third race of the season. Her delight at winning was offset only by learning afterward that she had missed breaking 20 minutes by a mere 4.6 seconds.

Ingraham won the meet with 25 points, followed by West Seattle (56) and Cleveland (69). Scoring points for the "home" team were Sam Mashburn (7th), Vanda Szabo (12th), Marielle Reeves (15th), and Cailey Dullum.

Leading the incomplete Chief Sealth team were Courtney Moore (8th) and Yasenia Barajas (13th).

Last meet of the regular season is Thursday, Oct. 16 for West Seattle; Wednesday, Oct. 15 for Chief Sealth. Both are at Lower Woodland.

John Leonard may be reached via wseditor@robinsonnews.com