It wasn’t perfect, but new Oak Harbor cross country coach Eric Peterson liked what he saw from his teams in their first races of the season Thursday afternoon at Oak Harbor’s Wirth Farm.

“The Oak Harbor teams did really well,” he said. “They all worked hard on a tough course.”

The OHHS boys grabbed a second out of three teams, scoring 49 team points. Lake Stevens (23) won the meet, while Shorewood (68) took third.

Coupeville sophomore Kyle King had the highest Wildcat finish of the day in fifth place. His 3-mile time of 17 minutes, 15 seconds was a personal best.

Senior David Marriott finished sixth at 17:21 and senior Josh Dix took eighth at 17:30.

“Our guys ran as a pack for the first two miles,” Peterson said. “They were able to work as a team to teach and push each to run a good race.”

With two of the top five Oak Harbor runners still learning how to run a 3-mile course, the coach sees nothing but room for improvement.

“As the season goes on they should all be able to work together and improve as a team,” Peterson said.

The Oak Harbor girls finished in third place with 70 points. Shorewood ran a perfect race, taking first through fifth places and scoring a 15, while Lake Stevens scored 64.

High finishers for OHHS were Megan Hall in sixth at 21:56 and Jessica Brundidge in seventh, less than a second behind Hall.

“Megan and Jessica ran a smart race and worked together throughout the course to push each other,” Peterson said.

Oak Harbor runs its next meet Thursday, Sept. 22 at Shorecrest’s Hamlin Park.

The team then hosts the second ever race at Wirth Farm, the Oak Harbor Invitational, at 10 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 24.