BY OLY ARCHIBALD

PORT ANGELES — It was a busy weekend for high school and NWAC teams, and the Port Angeles Roughrider swim team was the big news. The Roughriders participated in the annual Silverdale Swimvitational!

Nine teams were invited, and each team could only have eight athletes.
The Roughriders, in a very tough field, placed 2nd behind 3A state power Gig Harbor and just ahead of Class 3A Peninsula.

The big winners were the Roughrider 200 Medley Relay team, who qualified for state. Finn Thompson, Miles Van Denburg, Nolan Medgin, and Thomas Jones punched their ticket to Federal Way.
The Roughriders’ 200 Freestyle Relay team placed first with Edward Gillespie, Patrick Ross, Miles Van Denburg, and Finn Thompson.
The 400 Freestyle Relay team placed 2nd.
Thomas Jones placed 3rd in the 200 Freestyle.
Finn Thompson placed in the 100 Backstroke, and Miles Van Denburg in the 200 Individual Medley.

The Roughrider 200 Medley Relay team of Finn Thompson, Miles Van Denburg, Nolan Medgin, and Thomas Jones qualified for state in Federal Way.

In NWAC basketball action, the 3rd-ranked Peninsula women’s basketball team, in a great basketball game, grinded out a tough 69-67 win over a strong Olympic Rangers team.
It was a total team effort by the Pirates.
Point guard Shania Moanunu led the Pirates with 18 points before leaving the game early in the 4th quarter with an ankle issue.
Guard Ciera Agasiva was outstanding with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists.
Lexie Mackey, Ryana Moss, and Jelissa Julmist each scored 7 points. Julmist, coming off a foot injury and playing with a bad cold, also pulled down 12 rebounds in a gritty performance.
Carliese O’Brien contributed 6 points and 6 assists.
Makena Patrick added 3 points while pulling down 8 rebounds.

Former Neah Bay Red Devil and Peninsula Pirate Allie Greene was sensational for Olympic, scoring 22 points despite tough Pirate defense.

The Pirate men won a high-scoring game against the Rangers, 103-92.
Akeem Sulaiman, who won two state championships at East High School in Anchorage, led the Pirates with 36 points. Isaiah Lopez contributed 21 points.
Deshawn Rushmeyer scored 18 points, Jaiden Blackmon added 16 points, and Antonio Odum contributed 10 points.

Pirate forward Akeem Sulaiman of Anchorage scored 36 points in the Pirates’ 103-92 win over Olympic.

The Pirates host a big doubleheader tomorrow night against Skagit Valley.

In high school basketball action yesterday, the Roughrider boys beat Eisenhower of Yakima, 50-41.

In high school basketball action tonight:

• The Roughrider boys host Bainbridge.
• The Sequim boys host North Mason.
• The Sequim girls travel to North Mason.

All three games tip off at 7:00 p.m.

The big game is at Bainbridge, where the Roughrider girls, coming off a blowout win over North Mason, still have a solid chance of at least ending the season in 2nd place in the Olympic League. An upset win over Bainbridge would mathematically keep the Roughriders in the league title race, but with the Spartans’ remaining schedule, it would take a couple of major upsets for the Roughriders to catch the Spartans.

Tonight’s game will be broadcast on KONP Newsradio, with the Les Schwab Tires Pre-Game Show starting at 6:45 p.m. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m.

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In bowling action today, Port Angeles is at North Mason, and Sequim is at Klahowya.

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The Stevens Stampeders girls’ basketball team opened the season with a win. The 8th graders defeated Sequim, 30-24, last Friday. Stevens was led by Darcy Ring with 10 points and Mae Benedict with 8 points.
The 7th-grade Stampeders also won, 34-10, over Sequim.