Dennis Browne

The Gig Harbor girls 4×100 relay team and Peninsula shot put and discus thrower Suri Sardinia are among the top contenders.

Gig Harbor, seeded fourth, plays No. 1 Mercer Island in a boys state soccer tournament semifinal on Friday, May 29.

Also this week: Peninsula’s Baurichter makes state in tennis, district track begins and fastpitch, baseball and soccer teams open state play.

State tournament play starts this weekend after three local teams won district championships.

Sixth-ranked Gig Harbor (13-2-1) secured a spot in the Class 3A boys soccer state tournament for the 11th straight year with 4-1 win over Timberline on May 12 and a 3-2 win over Auburn Mountainview on May 14. Both games were in the District III tournament. Henry Blake did the heavy lifting against Timberline with

Baurichter won league titles in singles as a sophomore and doubles as a junior. What will her senior season bring?

Tides reliever Max Bergford shut down the Seahawks and senior Hunter Payne again drove in the winning run in the PSL title game.

Michele Hackett, the reigning Narrows Division coach of the year, “should never have been released from her contract in the first place,” the district told parents.

Gig Harbor’s boys and girls 4×100 relay teams both had impressive finishes at a prestigious recent meet.

Snyder, a Tides senior, has his eyes on a state high school championship — and possibly a spot in this summer’s U.S. Open.