“Just like most races this season, Scott Sebens was in the lead heading down the home stretch.Just like most races, Sebens won.But this wasn’t like most races.Sebens, Oak Harbor’s stellar junior harrier, cemented his claim as the top runner in the 4A Western Conference with a first place finish at Thursday’s League Meet at Lake Padden in Bellingham.He held off the competition, particularly second-place finisher Colin Zener of Kamiak, on a day when he was experiencing fatigue and cramping. Sebens won with a time of 16:02. Zener was right behind at 16:04.“It’s nice to know that even when yo don’t think it’s there, it’s still there,” said Oak Harbor coach Seth Hodges.Sebens, who finished second behind Ian McKisseck on the same course last year, said he wanted to break down the competition by setting a quick pace.“My strategy was to go out fast and see who could stay with me,” he said. As a result, the first mile of the 3.1 mile course was extremely quick, with the lead pack posting a time of 4:53.“From that point on it was a challenge to see who could stay in the lead pack,” said Hodges.Sebens noticed that Zener hung back until the final stretch, when the Kamiak runner made a move. That’s when Sebens dug deep for the final kick.Sebens’ time was 10 seconds better than his run on the same course last year, and just three seconds off the course record held by McKisseck.In other boys varsity action, Joe Donnellon finished eighth overall for Oak Harbor, with a time of 16:16.“Joe ran his best race of the year,” Hodges said.Overall, the Oak Harbor boys couldn’t quite crack the Snohomish domination, as the Panthers, currently ranked third in the state, won with 22 points. The Wildcats were second with 71 points, and Shorecrest was third at 107.On the girls side, the top-to-bottom talent of the 4A WesCo was on full display. Camille Connelly of Marysville-Pilchuck easily won. Her time of 18:50 was a full 30 seconds ahead of the competition.Despite that, Snohomish won the team race, with 34 points to 38 points for Marysville-Pilchuck. Snohomish is currently ranked number two in the state, while Marysville-Pilchuck is ranked eighth.Beth Cullen was the top runner for Oak Harbor, finishing 14th in a time of 20:15. Christina Collier and Shelly McIntyre placed 28th and 43rd, respectively.In junior varsity competition, Oak Harbor’s Matt Bezold finished ninth in the boys race.Boy’s Varsity1. Snohomish 22, 2. Oak Harbor 71, 3. Shorecrest 107, 4. Marysville-Pilchuck 127, 5. Edmonds-Woodway 132, 6. Kamiak 137, 7. Sehome 202 (6th place runner: 61), 8. Mountlake Terrace 202 (6th place runner: 65), 9. Mariner 203, 10. Cascade 215, 11. Shorewood 281. Top Ten (87 runners): 1. Scott Sebens, Oak Harbor, 16:02; 2. Colin Zener, Kamiak, 16:04; 3. Jimmie Poier, Snohomish, 16:09; 4. AJ White, Snohomish, 16:10; 5. Michael Koenigs, Marysville-Pilchuck, 16:11; 6. Andy Fader, Cascade, 16:13; 7. Andrew Robinson, Edmonds-Woodway, 16:14; 8. Joe Donnellon, Oak Harbor, 16:16; 9. Casey Kellogg, Snohomish, 16:19; 10. Pat Searing, Edmonds-Woodway, 16:26; Rest of Oak Harbor: 11. Eric Rooney, 16:36; 16. Christ Pulliam, 16:48; 37. Mike Frost, Oak Harbor, 17:26; 60. Wes Hartman, 17:54; 67. Matt Frost, 18:06; 71. Billy Darling, 18:13; 77. Adam Shelly, 18:31; 78. Kevin Reyes, 18:32. Girls Varsity: 1. Snohomish 34, 2. Marysville-Pilchuck 38, 3. Shorewood 118, 4. Edmonds-Woodway 154, 5. Sehome 164, 6. Kamiak 169, 7. Shorecrest 185, 8. Cascade 190, 9. Oak Harbor 194, 10. Mountlake Terrace 216, 11. Mariner 340.Top Ten: 1. Camille Connelly, Marysville-Pilchuck, 18:50. 2. Culnane, Snohomish, 3. Hutchinson, Snohomish, 4. Sadler, Cascade, 5. Campbell, Snohomish, 6. Hayman, Marysville-Pilchuck, 7. Simkins, Marysville-Pilchuck, 8. Decker, Marysville-Pilchuck, 9. Ardissono, Shorewood, 10. Thomsen, Shorewood. Oak Harbor finishers (87 runners): 14. Beth Cullen, 20:15; 28. Christina Collier, 21:03; 43. Shelly McIntyre, 21:29; 57. Beth Stella, 22:00; 58. Kristine Petersen, 22:00; 71. Jami Garcia, 23:06; 74. Lora Eelkema, 23:14; 77. Jenna Wehrell, 23:52; 78. Karissa Gavigan, 23:54; 80. Crystal Bronnes, 24:47. Boy’s JV: 1. Snohomish 22, 2. Cascade 57, 3. Marysville-Pilchuck 99, 4. Oak Harbor 108, 5. Sehome 165, 6. Mountlake Terrace 185, 7. Shorecrest 210, 8. Kamiak 234, 9. Shorewood 253, 10. Mariner 287, 11. Edmonds-Woodway 301. Oak Harbor finishers (167 runners): 9. Matt Bezold, 18:14; 24. Sean Dowling, 18:46; 29. Scott Evans 18:51; 33. Tim Riney, 18:58; 36. Travis Frakes, 19:05, 37. Greg Dillard, 19:05; 43. David Farmer, 19:17; 47. Brandon Hill, 19:30; 63. Adam LeMieux, 20:00; 69. Jacob Ovalle, 20:11; 73. Steve Marriott, 20:34; 77. Alex Denny 20:43; 79. Michael Brabner, 20:46; 96. Michael Skiff, 21:21; 101. Willie Thomas, 21:30; 104. Stefan Kulpa, 21:33; 106. Ray Avalos, 21:38; 127. Terry Harris 22:31; 133. Dan VanDyke, 22:49; 139. Rory Magana, 23:07; 142. Tyler Eelkema, 23:16; 147. Chris Vrbas, 23:40; 148. Erik Lokkins, 23:44. Girl’s JV: 1. Marysville-Pilchuck 26, 2. Snohomish 40, 3. Sehome 79, 4. Shorewood 122, 5. Shorecrest 145, 6. Oak Harbor 147, 7. Kamiak 167, Cascade & Mountlake Terrace, Incomplete. Edmonds-Woodway & Mariner, no teams. Oak Harbor finishers (70 runners): 27. Kristi Marrs, 23:52; 29. Meredith Schulte, 23:55, 30. Yuki Norton, 24:07; 41. Emily Shelly, 25:37; 45. Rachel Cichowski, 25:47; 48. Dana Mansfield, 26:10; 49. Jessica Jewell, 26:13; 61. Heather Veldman, 28:31; 62. Sara Jackets, 28:43; 66. Emily Hilberdink, 29:13.”