Community Sports

State title contenders crowd local cross country courses

Both local cross country teams have passed the midway point of their seasons with impressive results.

Gig Harbor and Peninsula are respected programs that are churning out runners in contention for the South Sound Conference championships at Fort Steilacoom Park on Oct. 19 and the Class 3A state championships in Pasco on Nov. 4.

The accomplished Patty Ley coaches the Gig Harbor boys and girls teams. She returned five of seven female runners from the team that placed second at state last year. The state individual champion, Reese Morkert, graduated.

Two state powers

Returners who ran at state last fall include juniors Taylor Sletner (who finished 13th), Lejla Carlsson (14th) and Alex Ferrier (43rd). Danica Olsen and Mia Morente also were state qualifiers last year and both return this season, along with improving sophomore Ruby Savage.

The Tides boys team finished fourth at state in 2022 and returned five of seven runners. Those are Preston Fradet (ninth at state), Jonathan Miles (36th) and Gavin McKeegan (78th). Joey Campbell and Christian Keck are also both returning state qualifiers from 2022 and the Tides added impressive freshman Jack Greer.

Across town, coach Tyler Nugent’s Peninsula team is carving out a state reputation as well. The Seahawks girls finished sixth in the 3A state meet last year. They return Hailey Howard, Lola Sweet, Cecile Albright and the fastest cross country runner in school history, Elektra Higgins, who finished ninth in the state as a sophomore.

Peninsula’s Elektra Higgins leads a cross country race, with Gig Harbor’s Taylor Sletner close on her heels. Photo courtesy Peninsula High cross country

Now a junior, Higgins has been tearing up the courses this year and will be in contention for conference and state titles. She had a very strong start to this season, winning the Olympia Invite and finishing second at three of the largest invitationals in the Northwest (Ultimook, Fort Steilacoom, and John Payne). She is the first Peninsula girl to run a 5K cross-country race faster than 18 minutes.

‘The race is the reward’

Higgins began running in elementary school for fun and first competed at Harbor Ridge Middle School. She dabbled with basketball and swimming, but gravitated to cross country because of the individual nature of the sport.

“I really love my teammates, they’re all very nice but I enjoy being out there alone, too” Higgins said. “In team sports sometimes you can let others down, but cross country is different.”

Higgins runs 40 to 50 miles a week during the season, rain or shine, shin splints or knee tendinitis, tired or sore. Cross country is definitely one of the toughest high school sports and requires a serious amount of commitment, stamina and will power.

“I think about all the training I put in, all the miles … the race is the reward and you can’t get the reward without facing the difficulties,” Higgins said.

To Higgins, becoming the fastest runner in Peninsula history is nice, but she clearly wants even more.

“It’s pretty good, kind of exciting but I need some training partners to push me even further. I really miss Hannah Lee from last year’s team, but she’s running for the University of Nevada now,” Higgins said.

Looking ahead

A cross country race is usually run over a 3.1-mile course with a series of loops that can take runners through woods, over hills, down valleys or across grassy fields.

High school teams consist of five members with two alternates, who also compete with other sixth and seventh place runners. Races are scored by the place a runner finishes. For example, a first-place runner scores one point for their team while a 35th-place runner scores 35 points. The lowest score wins.

Higgins’ performances put her on several college recruiters’ radars. She plans to speak to the Boise State coach about a possible scholarship. Asked if she had a major in mind, she said: “the biology field, I am fascinated by the human body and how it functions. I’d like to possibly be a naturopathic doctor one day because nutrition has a huge impact on our overall health.”

Gig Harbor cross country coach Patty Ley (right) encourages the Tides’ Mia Morente. Photo courtesy Gig Harbor cross country

Higgins will enter the South Sound Conference championships as a co-favorite with Clare Herring of Central Kitsap, who finished second at state last year. Those two plus Sletner, Carlsson, Ferrier and the Seahawks’ Lola Sweet should all be near the front in a very talented field for the league championship.

Top boys runners

The boys conference race should also be competitive. Tides seniors Fradet and Miles have gone back and forth during the season. Miles won the PLU Invite with Fradet finishing second; a week later, Miles finished third at the Curtis Invitational with Fradet close behind in fourth place.

Peninsula’s top boys runner is Cooper Leavengood, who has dealt with a couple injuries but is already running faster than last year. His goal is to be in the top 20 in the state. Nugent describes Cooper as a stellar leader who provides constant encouragement to fellow senior teammate Gavin Hendrickson and juniors Tesfa Hoff, Jack Clark and Joshua Cashion.

The Seahawks boys and girls teams will be on the track Wednesday, Oct. 11, at Roy Anderson Field for the Hawks Nest Invitational. The two-mile races start at 7:30 p.m. (girls) and 7:50 p.m. (boys).

Gig Harbor’s next race will also be a two-miler on Thursday, Oct. 12, at the Tacoma Twilight Invitational at the University of Puget Sound. The girls varsity teams race at 7 p.m. while the boys teams begin at 7:15 p.m..