Community Sports

Sports Beat | Shipp wins another ‘chip

The Peninsula girls wrestling team finished third at Mat Classic, the state wrestling championships last weekend at the Tacoma Dome, thanks in large part to individual titles from Lindsey Shipp at 170 pounds and Bailey Parker at 155 pounds. Several other podium finishers also contributed for a Seahawks team that finished first, second and third, respectively, the last three years.

We already told you about Parker earlier this week, so two-time state champion Lindsey Shipp will be the focus today. She toughed out intense final match to win 3-2.

Last year, Shipp trailed late but earned a pin with just three seconds left in her state championship match.

This year, Shipp advanced through the first three rounds before getting a late pin in the semifinal, a match she led just 5-4.

Shipp, who compiled a 43-3 season record and earned the No. 1 seed to state, faced No. 2 Makayla Finch from Stanwood in the final.

Lindsey Shipp of Peninsula moments after winning her second consecutive state wrestling championship. Photo courtesy of Gary Griffin

Another tight championship match

Finch led 1-0 after two periods, thanks to a penalty assessed against Shipp.

Shipp took a 2-1 lead with 1:44 to go in the final period, but Finch tied it with an escape 37 seconds later.

Shipp kept attacking. The official called a one-point stalling penalty on Finch with 32 seconds left in the match, and the Seahawk held on to win, 3-2.

Shipp joins Mira Sonnen and Parker as repeat state champions for Peninsula.

“Lindsey’s story is a testament to her wrestling IQ and her deep understanding of what it takes to win,” Peninsula wrestling coach Gary Griffin said. “She possesses perhaps the highest wrestling acumen on our team, which allows her to remain calm and composed in high-pressure moments. While the score may look close to an outsider, Lindsey is always in control and constantly putting her opponents in danger.”

Other Seahawk wrestlers

Peninsula senior Justus Johnson, in just her second year of high school wrestling, finished third at 120 pounds. Griffin said she was “dominant,” only losing a highly competitive semifinal match.

Sophomore Olivia Howell lost in the 155-pound semifinal to her teammate Parker, but steamrolled every non-Seahawk wrestler en route to a third-place finish.

Peninsula finished third at the Class 3A girls state wrestling tournament. Photo courtesy of PHS wrestling

Senior Georgina Johnson placed sixth in the 100-pound division, making her a three-time state placer. Senior Paige Powers (135 pounds) and Lila Klingler (140 pounds) both finished eighth.

Nehemiah Grandorff placed fifth in the boys 150 pound division. Griffin said the margin between first and sixth place in Grandorff’s division was razor thin and the Seahawk coaches were proud of how he competed.

Peninsula junior Bryce Tillman brought home a seventh-place medal in the 132 pound division.

Gig Harbor wrestlers

Ellanor Nimrick of Gig Harbor finished third in the girls 110-pound division, with her only loss coming to No. 1 seed Emerson Woods of Mercer Island, who went undefeated on the season.

Nimrick devoured the consolation bracket to cap a successful career as she was probably the second-best wrestler in the state in her class.

Gig Harbor junior Juan Mateo finished fourth at 106 pounds, losing only to a Mount Spokane wrestler in both the quarterfinals and the third-place match.

Ellanor Nimrick on the podium after finishing third in her weight class. Photo by Gig Harbor wrestling

Tide swimmers seventh at state

Gig Harbor finished seventh at the Class 3A Swimming and Diving Championships Feb. 20 and 21 at the King County Aquatics Center in Federal Way.

Gig Harbor’s Travis Scott came agonizingly close to first in the individual 200 freestyle.

Scott is a 6-foot-5 specimen who could also be on the basketball court if the WIAA moved boys swimming into the spring sports season. His long arms glided through the waters in the freestyle event while his big feet churned and burned down an inside lane.

Travis Scott of Gig Harbor finished second in the 200 freestyle at the Class 3A state swimming championships. Photo courtesy of Gig Harbor swimming

Scott came into the state meet ranked 10th in the prelims with a time of 1:45.26, but he hit the turbo button and swam his best when he needed it the most. The senior tore through the first 50 with an eye-popping 22.99, followed by a 25.45, 26.85 and a final burning 50 finish of 26.48.

Those combined times were a lifetime best of 1:41.77, good enough to be the second-fastest Class 3A 200 freestyle swimmer in the state. Scott returned in the very next race, without a lot of time to rest, and finished a respectable sixth in the 100 freestyle.

Out of the shadow

Scott probably deserved more attention for his abilities over the years, but ex-Tide teammate Aiden Hammer dominated headlines and now swims for the best college program in the nation, the University of Texas.

“I was super happy for Travis,” Tides coach Mike Kelly said. “Him doing so well was a result of hard work, dedication and focus. He still has plenty of room for improvement at the next level, but what he has done over the past four years is nothing short of incredible.”

Travis Scott of Gig Harbor celebrates his second-place finish. Photo by Mike Kelly

Relay roundup

A Tides foursome finished fourth in the 200 freestyle relay. Jace Garre (22.46), Joel Carpmail (22.54), Michael Yevstifieiev (21.92) and Scott (21.23) blistered the pool in what Kelly called “definitely one of the fastest all-time swims for a Tides team. It was such an exciting race to watch, our boys were running with the big dogs and held their own.”

Owen Moore joined Garre, Yevstifieiev and Scott on the 400 freestyle relay and the quartet placed fourth in 3:13.71. Scott turned in the fastest split time at 46.81 despite it being his fourth event of the evening.

The Tides earned 111 points for the meet and the seventh-place overall finish. Peninsula finished in 29th place with 11 total points, with diver Zachary Ruckle finishing eighth individually.

Zachary Ruckle of Peninsula finished eigtht in the diving competition. Photo courtesy of Gig Harbor swimming

Highlanders no match for Tides

Gig Harbor (19-5) defeated Kelso (13-10) in a Class 3A girls basketball tournament first-round game 54-21 on Feb. 24 at Gig Harbor.

The Highlanders, from Cowlitz County in Southwest Washington, drove a long way to get beat by 33 points. The Tides’ trapping press helped them jump out to an early lead and created easy shots. Gig Harbor shot 21 of 43 on 2-point field goals.

The Tides wracked up 18 steals against Kelso, but they still have some things to work on. Gig Harbor committed 21 turnovers and made just 2 of 16 3-pointers.

The Gig Harbor girls basketball team huddles during a recent game. Photo by Vincent Starr

Junior Willow Bonicci had 15 points and 13 rebounds, senior Kaliyah Miller contributed 12 points and seven rebounds and freshman Khloe Squance had nine points and five rebounds.

Gig Harbor, fourth in the WIAA’s RPI rankings just two weeks ago but seeded 13th at state, face a loser-out game against No. 12 White River (17-6) at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, at the University of Puget Sound.