Community Sports

Sports Beat | Gig Harbor boys golf third, girls golf fourth at state

Posted on May 23rd, 2024 By: Dennis Browne

The Gig Harbor boys finished third and the girls fourth at the state golf tournament on Wednesday and Thursday, May 21 and 22.

Those strong state showings came on the heels of impressive finishes at the West Central District meet, where the Tides won the girls team championship behind individual medalist Carly Ikei. Gig Harbor sophomore Theo Snyder won the individual boys district title.

Gig Harbor’s boys golf team finished third at the state tournament. Photo courtesy of Gig Harbor golf

District golf

At the district championship at Auburn Golf Course on May 15 and 16, Snyder shot a 2-under-par 70 in round one and followed that up with a 73 in round two. His two-day total of 143 won the district title by one stroke.

Ikei was just as impressive, as she opened with a sizzling 2-under par 70 and added an efficient 75 for a two-day total of 145.

Ikei 11th as individual

The district crown was a great confidence booster for the girls team going into state on May 21 and 22 at Eagles Pride Golf course at DuPont. The Tides tied with Mercer Island for fourth place as both teams finished with 695 strokes played.

Ikei, a junior, shot 80 on both days, good enough for 11th in the individual standings. Sophomore Sophia Skogen shot 88 and 83, senior Hailey Gray tallied 90s in both rounds and and sophomore Laila Douglas shot a pair of 92s.

The girls team graduates only two seniors from this year’s state team, Gray and Ella Gardner.

Snyder third

The boys team finished state play with a 613 stroke total, only three strokes behind Class 3A champion Mountain View, at Hawks Prairie Golf Course.

The Tides turned in the lowest combined round of the tournament on Day 2 with a 303, but will probably look back at their Day 1 score of 310 as the reason they lost a state tournament they were capable of winning. Still, a third place finish in this highly competitive field is something to be proud of for this talented group.

Theo Snyder of Gig Harbor finished third at the state Class 3A golf tournament. Photo by Dennis Browne.

Snyder, a sophomore who will attempt to qualify for an amateur spot in the U.S. Open later this month, finished third at state as an individual with rounds of 73 and 72 for a 145 total. Senior Rylan Coovert shot an 80 on day one and a clean 75 on day two. Senior Chet West (77-80-157), sophomore Liam Dalbec (85-76-161) and junior Timmy Quirk (80-82-162) rounded out the Tides’ state squad.

The Peninsula Seahawks boys golf team got a clutch performance from senior Luke Lipsey, who earned a ticket to the state tournament in a one-hole playoff in districts. Tied with a Bainbridge Island golfer after 18 holes, it was back to the tee box to decide who went to state.

Lipsey hit a beauty approach shot and parred out to win the hole and become the lone Seahawk to qualify for state. He unfortunately missed the day two cut at state in soggy conditions.

Peninsula baseball loses state opener, 2-1

The Peninsula (15-10) baseball team lost a heartbreaker in their Class 3A state tournament opener, falling to West Seattle 2-1 on May 18 in Edmonds.

The Seahawks were flying high after their West Central District championship but were grounded by a pair of Wildcat pitchers who only allowed one run on five hits while striking out seven Seahawks.

Peninsula led 1-0 in the second inning thanks to Isaac Schultz-Tait’s RBI single to drive in Kaleb Copeland. But the Wildcats tied the game in the fourth inning.

West Seattle won on a sacrifice fly off Peninsula starter John Browand in the sixth inning.

The Seahawks will graduate only graduate five seniors — Grayson Ford, Tristan Miller, Austin Adams, Thomas Cardinal and Aden Deschenes — from this year’s talented team.

“The seniors, whether they played or not were such a huge part of what we’re building,” coach Matt Thomas said. “Their maturity and willingness to sacrifice allowed us to grow for this season and the future. All five of them will be missed.”

The district champion Peninsula High baseball team. Photo courtesy of Michael Johnson

Tides fastpitch qualifies for state

The seventh-seeded Gig Harbor fastpitch team (14-9) knocked off top-ranked Bonney Lake and won three of four games to qualify for state during district tournament play May 15 through 18 in Lacey.

The Tides needed just nine innings to win two games, thanks to the 10-run rule. That included a 16-1 win over Thomas Jefferson in four innings and, even more surprisingly, a 13-3 win over No. 1 Bonney Lake in five.

The Lions were 19-1 on the year and defeated the Tides at state in 2023. Gig Harbor got some payback behind a grand slam by Gracie Carey and excellent defense by a tenacious infield.

It was the second time this year that a local team beat a foe ranked No. 1. The Peninsula baseball team defeated top-ranked Kelso earlier this month.

Gig Harbor lost its district semifinal game to Auburn Riverside, 8-1. That put them into a third-place game against South Sound Conference rival Central Kitsap.

The game was tied at 5 in the bottom of the seventh inning before Maddy DeClements hit a walk-off, three-run home run.

Carey, a junior, hit .714 in district tournament play with three home runs, four doubles and 10 RBIs in four games.

The Tides open state play at 3 p.m. Thursday, May 23, in a loser-out game against Cascade (13-11) at the Regional Athletic Complex in Lacey.

Gracie Carey of Gig Harbor hit .714 with three home runs at the district tournament. Photo by Bryce Carithers

Peninsula fastpitch closes on a high note

The reigning state fastpitch champion Peninsula Seahawk had a difficult season, finishing with a 4-16 record. But it ended on a high note with a 16-1 victory over Capital.

The Seahawks scored 8.3 runs per game in conference play but had to rely on a young pitching staff that lacked experience because Alli Kimble and Glory Eastabrook were so dominant for the title-winning 2023 team.

Peninsula graduates three seniors who played major roles in bringing a state title to town: center fielder Malia Coit, left fielder Sophia Hooper and infielder Sofia Wood.

Star Track is this weekend

Gig Harbor won the boys West Central District 3/Southwest District track and field championship May 15 through 17, while the girls finished a close second. Star Track, the state track championships, are Thursday through Saturday (May 23, 24 and 25) at Mount Tahoma High School.

Local district champions include:

Jonathon Miles of Gig Harbor in the 1,600 meters, by 1/10ths of a second over teammate Preston Fradet
Fradet in the 3,200 meters
The Gig Harbor boys 4×400 relay team of Matthew Ehler, Christian Keck, Miles and Ben Stevens
The Gig Harbor girls 4×400 relay team of Danica Olsen, Sofia Simmons, Kate Jones and Maura Lenzi
Lydia Ward of Gig Harbor won the district javelin title with a throw of 116 feet, 2 inches. Peninsula’s Grace Holtzclaw was second with a throw of 113 feet, 3 inches.
Peninsula sophomore Emma Young won the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 2 inches.

Star Track qualifiers

Peninsula Seahawks

Joseph Carlson in the javelin
Josh Cashion in the 400 and 800 meters
Elektra Higgins in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters
Grace Holtzclaw in the javelin
Anne Shipp in the high jump and triple jump
Emma Young in the high jump and triple jump
Suri Sardinia in the discus.

Seven Peninsula Seahawks will compete at Star Track this weekend. Photo courtesy Peninsula High track

Gig Harbor Tides

Joey Campbell in the 3,200 meters
Lejla Carlsson in three events
DJ Darling in two events
Matt Ehler in two events
Ayden Fink in three events
Preston Fradet in two events
Karin Heikkila in three events
Eisley Hering in two events
Aujenae Humphrey as part of the 4×100 relay team
Kate Jones in two events
Christian Keck in two events
Maura Lenzi as part of the 4×400 relay team
Johnathon Miles in two events
Danica Olsen as part of the 4×400 relay team
Kealani Omega in two events
Sophia Simmonds as part of the 4×400 relay team
Taylor Sletner in three events
Ben Stevens in four events
Lydia Ward in the javelin

Gig Harbor soccer eliminated

The Tides (12-5) boys soccer team’s season ended in a nail-biting 2-1 state tournament loss to Lake Washington on May 17 at Memorial Stadium under the Space Needle in Seattle.

The 11th-seeded Tides got a penalty kick goal from forward Tyler Dull, but their high-octane offense stalled against a quick Kangaroos defense. Lake Washington subsequently advanced to the Class 3A semifinals with a 2-1 win over third-ranked Lincoln of Seattle.

Gig Harbor waves goodbye to 10 seniors, including scoring standouts Dull, Lucas Maharry and Caleb Gilbert; talented midfielders Landen Hughes and Lucas Muens; plus contributors Ian Stewart, Jayden Chambers, Josiah Kinley, and Ethan Schuette.

Girls tennis season comes to a close

The girls tennis season ended without a local representative advancing through the difficult draw of the West Central District.

However, the Gig Harbor boys doubles team of Hugh Vicente and Rylan Coovert won a state tourney berth back in the fall. They open state play with a loser-out match against a team from Seattle Prep on Friday, May 24, in Vancouver.

Vicente, a junior, and Coovert, a senior, led the Tides to a South Sound Conference title playing in the singles divisions as Gig Harbor finished in the top spot with a 10-1 record. The duo is making their second straight Class 3A state appearance after winning their SSC doubles title in October.

Rylan Coovert (left) and Hugh Vicente of Gig Harbor won the South Sound Conference doubles tennis championship last fall and compete at the Class 3A state tournament this spring. Photo courtesy of Oliver Vicente