Sports Beat: Gig Harbor golf teams fourth at state

The Gig Harbor boys and girls golf teams both finished fourth at the Class 3A state tournaments May 23 and 24 in the Olympia area.

For the boys, the result might have been a little bittersweet. The Tides were in second place, just a couple strokes behind eventual champion Mead of Spokane, after the first day of the state tournament at Indian Summer Golf and Country Club.

The day one score of +16 from the Tides’ top five golfers included an exceptional 1-under 71 from junior Chet West, good for second individually. West is a powerful left-hander with a low ball flight trajectory and soft hands around the greens.

Chet West finished seventh individually at the Class 3A state golf tournament, leading Gig Harbor to a fourth-place finish as a team. Photo by Dennis Browne

The Tides also benefited from solid efforts by freshman phenom Theo Snyder, who shot a 3-over 75 on day one, and 79s from smooth swingers Rylan Coovert and Zavier Feasey-Allen. Senior Colin Morkert also chipped in with a respectable 83 to put the Tides within 3 strokes and striking distance of a state title.

Day 2 frustrations

On the following day, the Tides experienced the frustration familiar to so many  golfers. They shot a combined +32.

Bobby Jones once said: “Golf is the closest game to the game we call life. You get bad breaks from good shots. You get good breaks from bad shots. But you have to play the ball where it lies.”

That quote rang true for the team, especially Snyder on the par 4, 462-yard sixth hole.

Players aim for a lone tree near the fairway on that hole. Snyder’s aim was too good — he hit the tree trunk and the ball ricocheted out of bounds, resulting in a penalty and a triple bogey. He would finish with an 84 and tie for 31st overall, impressive for a ninth grader.

Bad breaks

West was plain unlucky on the greens on day two. He had four putts stop within a inch of dropping in the hole and finished with a 78. His two-day total of 149 left him 7th individually in the tournament.

Feasey-Allen had a couple bad breaks with balls landing on fairway side hills and trickling over cart paths. But he remained calm and composed and dropped a difficult putt on the 18th hole to finish out his senior season.

Coovert displayed an excellent short game on his way to a final-round 77 and a two-day total of 156, tied for 23rd place. Morkert shot a final-round 81.

The Tides finished behind champion Mead, MountainView and Bishop Blanchet.

West, Snyder and Coovert will return next season and the Tides have several young golfers like Liam Dalbec and Davis Dansey coming up the ranks. The Tides will say good bye to seniors Feasey-Allen and Morkert.

Ikei leads girls to 4th

The Gig Harbor girls team’s fourth-place effort at Hawks Prairie in Lacey was led by sophomore Carly Ikei, who fired a 79 on day one and an 81 on day two, good for 12th overall.

Ikei has a high ball flight that allows her to stick greens and avoids blow up holes that cost golfers strokes and matches. She has been unflappable this season and remained that way during the pressure-filled state tournament.

The Tides’ Laila Douglas overcame the first round jitters and settled down to shoot a clutch 85 on day two. Her two-day total of 179 was 37th at the tournament.

Also competing at state for Gig Harbor were freshman Sofia Skogen, Hailey Gray, Sara Ehler and Ella Gardner.

The Tides, conference champions and second at districts, will return a largely intact team in 2024.

Peninsula’s Graf 7th

Peninsula’s Hallee Graf closed out a storied high school career with an opening round 78 and a second round 77 to finish with a two-day total of 155, which placed her 7th in the state. Graf a senior, who has won several conference titles and is coached by her mother at Peninsula, is one of the most accomplished golfers in Seahawks history. Mia Sykes of Peninsula also competed at state.

Hallee Graf of Peninsula finished seventh at the Class 3A state tournament. Phot courtesy Peninsula High golf

Gig Harbor, Peninsula fastpitch compete at state

The Peninsula girls fast pitch team earned the No. 1 seed into this weekend’s state tournament at the Regional Athletic Complex in Lacey.

The Seahawks (23-2) beat Bonney Lake 2-0 to earn the district title on May 18 behind two solo home runs by Malia Coit. They then opened state tournament play with a 9-1 win over Juanita on Friday, May 26.

Gig Harbor (18-8) also made state as the No. 9 seed. The Tides defeated No. 8 Cascade (17-6), 17-8, on Friday.

Gig Harbor and Peninsula were slated to face off against each other on Friday afternoon. The winner will advance to the state semifinals at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 27, at RAC in Lacey.

Star Track participants

Star Track, the state track and field meet, happens this week at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma, wrapping up Saturday, May 27.

Local athletes competing include:

Sprinter Ben Stevens of Gig Harbor is among the local athletes competing at Star Track this weekend.

Doubles teams at state tennis tourney

The state tennis championships are May 26 and 27 in Vancouver. Gig Harbor sends experienced doubles teams in both the boys and girls draws that could advance far.

The Tides’ boys doubles team of Hugh Vincente and Rylan Coovert will be a difficult match up for any opponent. Both players have state experience, complimentary styles and can flat out pound the ground strokes.

Vincente is a tennis first athlete who has trained hard during the five month break between their fall season and the state tourney. Coovert just traded in his golf clubs for a tennis racquet yesterday but has been consistently hitting recently.

The girls doubles team of Lindsey Muske and Alexa Lavinder took second at the district tournament and won’t go down without a fight. Muske is a aggressive player who approaches the net and goes for winners while Lavinder has a consistent serve, a snappy two handed backhand and steady nerves.

The girls duo advanced to the state quarterfinals with a second-round win over a Shorewood team in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3. They will play a team from Mercer Island on May 26th for a chance to advance to the state semifinals.

The Gig Harbor doubles team of Rylan Coovert (left) and Hugh Vicente play this weekend at the Class 3A state tennis tournament. Photo courtesy GHHS