Community Sports

Sports Beat | Peninsula wrestlers ready to defend 2024 state championship

The defending state champion Peninsula girls wrestling team put on a dominant display on Jan. 22 in a 42-20 win over River Ridge. Several Seahawks won by fall or major technical decisions to keep their conference record unblemished.

Mira Sonnen

Defending individual state champion Mira Sonnen was first on the mat for the Seahawks. Sonnen was the state’s No. 1-ranked wrestler in the 155 weight class a few weeks ago but dropped to the 145 pound class in preparation for postseason matches.

Sonnen’s reputation preceded herself as her River Ridge opponent looked less than enthused, walking slowly to the center of the mat for their match. Sonnen offered a friendly smile before flipping a switch and absolutely punishing the River Ridge wrestler by a score of 15-0. The referee stopped the contest for a major decision win.

Peninsula wrestlers Bailey Parker (left) and Mira Sonnen. Photo by Peninsula High wrestling

At one point in the second period, Sonnen wrapped her left arm under her opponent’s knee and her right hand around her opponent’s neck and squeezed tightly which demonstrated her physical strength.

Off the mat Sonnen is friendly and refined but don’t let her soft smile fool you. She is an alpha dog who is full of aggression and technical knowledge and is looking to repeat as a state champion.

Braided 64

Bailey Parker won her 155-pound match by forfeit against River Ridge, but she got plenty of work on Jan. 11 and 12 at the Braided 64 Tournament, billed as the biggest prep girls tournament in the country. More than 1,000 female wrestlers competed at Kelso High School.

Peninsula placed second out of 103 teams with 190 team points, finishing behind Kelso and in front of third-place Richland. Sonnen finished third at 145 pounds and Lindsey Shipp finished third in the 170 pound division. Maya Robles finished sixth at 100 pounds.

Parker tore through the field to win the 155-pound title at Braided 64. The reigning 145-pound state champion recovered from an injury earlier this season and has a 10-1 in 2024-25.

Parker started wrestling at the age of four and has used her background to help Sonnen and several other Peninsula wrestlers.

Roping in wins

She is also a nationally ranked calf roper who finished third at last year’s Junior National Rodeo Finals in Las Vegas. A professional career may be on the horizon in that sport but for now Parker is concentrating on the wrestling mat.

Parker wins because she has a major strength and athletic advantage over her opponents. Anybody who has ever ridden a horse for 10 minutes can recall the amount of hip, leg and abdominal strength it takes to properly balance yourself in the saddle. That compounds when the 1,000-pound animal you’re riding is in an all-out sprint.

The athleticism part is apparent when Parker spins a rope around her head a few times while riding her horse and then throws a dart-like lasso onto a moving target. She then jumps off a still-moving horse and maintains her balance before picking up a 250 pound calf and rolling it on to its side.

In last year’s wrestling state tournament, Parker continually picked up competitors 100 pounds lighter than the calves and tossed them to the mat much of the same way.

Back to the River Ridge match

The next winning wrestler for Peninsula against River Ridge was Lindsey Shipp in the 170 pound weight class. Shipp was a big part of the state title team last year and looks to have improved as she bulldogged her Hawk opponent to the ground before pushing her shoulders to the mat for the quick pin. Shipp finished third at the Braided 64 tourney and would like a state championship medal around her neck as well.

I was looking forward to watching Seahawk standouts Georgina Johnson, Olivia Griffin and Maya Robles but each won by forfeit in what must be a frustrating experience after getting all dressed and psyched up for nothing.

Next it was time for the impressive Ava Miranda at the 135 pound weight class. Miranda is a spark plug who is lightning quick as she made light work of a River Ridge opponent.

Miranda contributed at state last year and hit the weight room hard in the offseason. The results showed as she sports a thick bicep-tricep combination. She picked up her opponent and threw her to the mat, then used her considerable quickness to control the Hawk from behind before earning a pin without breaking a sweat.

Overall the Seahawks girls squad looked like a complete team that is starting to peak under the guidance of coach Gary Griffin. Griffin also coached his boys team later that night to a 48-22 win over River Ridge, which was previously in second place of the Nisqually Division of the Puget Sound League.

A one-girl team at Gig Harbor

Across town there is just a lone female wrestler for the Gig Harbor Tides but junior Ella Nimrick is a good one. She finished sixth at state as a 100-pound freshman and won the 2024 Braided 64 championship as a sophomore before losing to Peninsula’s Griffin at state last winter.

She is now as a 110-pound junior who is quickly racking up wins despite an injury that set her back during the early portion of this season.

Nimrick has been impressive under the tutelage of Tides coach Blake Moser and her father, Jeff, an assistant coach. Nimrick said her dad was a four-time state wrestler who placed fourth at state as a senior at Peninsula.

“He got me into the sport and knows his stuff,” she said. “I know it takes a toll on him being my coach and dad but it’s really nice to have him to help me.”

Ella Nimrick after a match with Mount Tahoma. Photo by Dennis Browne

Nimrick said it hasn’t always been easy to be a lone girl on all-boys teams growing up. She was usually picked last by training partners during her youth. But she feels she has “earned her keep” at Gig Harbor and the guys have noticed her work ethic and treated her fairly.

“I am the only state placer on this team during the last two years and I think I have earned the guys respect,” she said. “I am hopeful to be a captain next year.”

Hammer breaks longstanding 500 freestyle record

Gig Harbor’s  Aiden Hammer made history by shattering a state 500 freestyle record that had stood for 30 years at the Jan. 19 Swimvitational meeet at Olympic High School near Bremerton.

Sammamish swimmer Wes Oliver set one of the longest-standing records in the state in 1995. His time of 4:23.06 stood until Hammer swam a 4:20.14 in last week’s 500 freestyle finals.

Hammer reeled off a torrid pace after leaping into the pool and traveling almost 20 yards under the water before he rose and started windmilling, with his mouth opening for air only an half inch above the water line. His time of 50.04 seconds in the first 100 yards was not sustainable but immediately put him on record pace.

Hammers splits were more balanced from there as he turned in splits of 52.95, 52.62 and 52.74 in the next 300 yards.

Aiden put the Hammer down over the final 100 yards, turning in a blistering 51.79 to beat the record by almost three full seconds.

Aiden Hammer of Gig Harbor broke a state record in the 500 freestyle race. Photo by Mike Kelly

The time made Hammer an automatic National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association All American.

“It felt great to break it with all my teammates cheering me on alongside the deck,” Hammer said. “I forgot how great it feels to race for the high school team and I really do love training and competing with all the boys. I am super excited to chase all our group postseason goals with them in the coming weeks.”

Tides coach Mike Kelly was impressed as well.

“It was an amazing feat, which wasn’t lost by anyone in the crowd,” Kelly said. “Everyone was amazed at getting to witness a bit of history.”

Gig Harbor won the annual Swimvitational. Peninsula finished third at the meet, which attracts the top swimming teams from around this area.

Gig Harbor sailors third at prestigious meet

Four Gig Harbor sailors placed third at the prestigious Rose Bowl Regatta Race in Long Beach, California, on Jan. 4 and 5.

Gig Harbor High students Finn Deprez, Nate Dietrich, Charlie Yando and Niko Konyk outraced all but two of the field of 28 boats in the top high school division. The event attracted 103 boats and over 400 sailors from across the country during Rose Bowl festivities.

The group are members of the Gig Harbor Junior Sailing and Race Team that is directed by Joan Storkman and coached by Ellie Ungar and Ashley Nelson.

From left, Niko Konyk, Charlie Yando, Finn Deprez and Nate Dietrich celebrate their third-place finish at the Rose Bowl Regatta. Photo Melissa Deprez

“This competition was for top-tier sailing teams from across the country,” Ungar said, adding that her team demonstrated that they are “contenders amongst some of the top high school teams in the United States.”

Deprez, a senior, is the most experienced member of the crew. He started racing at 8 years old and has been offered a scholarship to the Maine Maritime Academy to chase his dreams of becoming a elite collegiate sailor.

Gig Harbor raced with two teams, which alternated in the same sail boat. Deprez and Dietrich formed the A team while Konyk and Yando were the B team in what is similar to a timed relay race.

The course ensures that teams race with both the wind at their back and a head wind, which tests their navigation and speed in all directions. Races are usually in the 45 minute range but that can change drastically depending on wind speeds.

Teams often win by sailing better angles, and therefore less distance than the competition. If sailing in very high wind, winning a race could be about staying upright and not capsizing.

Course times are then recorded for both boats over several races to determine the overall finish.

Deprez likes the variance of the sport. Sailing becomes very different depending on the weather but he feels the unpredictability is alluring.

Finn Deprez sailing in Gig Harbor. Photo Melissa Deprez

“It can be very quiet and relaxing when you are gliding over smooth water or it can be very violent, loud and challenging in high winds,” Deprez said.

The Gig Harbor Sailing Program is in its 14th year and has classifications in all levels from beginner to competitive. The group has several opportunities for donation, volunteering and employment with an overall goal of getting more kids out on the water and sailing.

The organization has optimistic goals in mind for 2025 as they’re looking forward to pursuing a waterfront facility to call home and support more underserved youth in their scholarship program, as well as strengthening their staff and race teams.

Visit the program’s website for more information.