Community Sports

Gig Harbor wins two relay titles at Star Track

Two Gig Harbor relay teams displayed speed, timing and teamwork to win Class 3A state titles at the WIAA Star Track championships on May 30 at Mount Tahoma High School.

The 4×100 and 4×200 teams both won championships for the Tides, who finished second as a team in the Class 3A standings. Gig Harbor senior Lejla Carlsson also contributed mightily to the 50 team points, adding a second-place finish in the 1,600 meters and a third place in the 800 meters.

Peninsula finished in 11th place, with Suri Sardinia accumulating 18 of the Seahawks’ 20 team points. Sardinia won the Class 3A discus championship and finished second in the shot put.

Seniors Lejla Carlsson (left) and Karin Heikkila hold Gig Harbor’s Class 3A second-place trophy. Photo courtesy of Russell Moore

4×100

Gig Harbor coach Kevin Eager and relay assistant coach Meghan McClusky have proven their ability to coach a team on how to pass a baton while running at full speed.

The Tides have won four relay state titles in three years, including championships in the 4×400 in 2024 and the 4×100 in 2025 along with this year’s double. The Gig Harbor boys 4×100, meanwhile, surprised many by finishing third this spring.

“We have some real horsepower in the girls sprints.” Eager said. “We are dealing with easily the biggest collection of sprint talent in school history. Honestly, if we didn’t have good short relays, it would be coaching malpractice.”

Karin Heikkila was the only senior on either championship team, so the Tides will have a great chance at more state titles in 2027.

The 4×100 Tides team came in to the meet as defending state champions. Team members included Eisley Hering, Heikkila, Isabelle Harruff and Addison Sullivan-Glennon.

Wire to wire

Lead-off runner Hering — who has finished fourth in the 100-meter hurdles two years in a row and whom Eager calls the “steady voice of calm” — exploded from the blocks and gave the Tides an early lead with her long legs churning.

Hering passed to Heikkila, the athletic soccer star who fought off all competitors down the backstretch.

The Gig Harbor 4×100 relay team celebrates after winning a state championship. Photo courtesy of Russell Moore

“Many teams run their fastest runner on the second leg and Karin has always held her own,” Eager said. “Plus her technique on receiving the handoff from Hering was A+.”

Next up was Sullivan-Glennon, who won state championships running the third leg on both relay teams. She extended the Tides’ lead through the second corner.

“She may be one of my fastest freshmen ever,” Eager said. “Many teams try and hide their weakest leg at No. 3 and if you see these races, it’s obvious that Addison made those teams pay for that.”

She turned a nice lead over to Harruff on the final handoff. Once the baton was securely in Harruff’s grip, the race was all but done.

“There are very few girls that can run with her when she winds it up,” Eager said of Harruff.

Pressure off

Harruff broke the tape in 47.40 to set a new Gig Harbor record in the event and beat second-place Mercer Island by almost a full second.

“When I carried the baton across the line, it felt like I was lighter than air and I could run forever,” Harruff said. “I also felt immensely proud of my team. It’s the best feeling when you know you’ve done it all together.”

Heikkila raced through the infield to get to her teammates as they converged in a group hug at the finish line.

“It feels so good and honestly was a relief of the pressure on us this year,” Heikkila said. “Last year it was a huge shock to win as we weren’t the favorites. It was very different, but we knew we had it in us to repeat if we executed when it mattered.”

4×200

Sullivan-Glennon and Harruff stayed at legs three and four in the 4×200. Freshman Violet Lester, who already has two of the top five all-time marks at Gig Harbor, joined them.

Lead-off runner Kennedy Collins fought to earn her position on the 4×200 team. Eager admits that Collins was not his first choice at the beginning of the season but gave her a chance.

Gig Harbor’s state-champion 4×200 relay team included, from left, Addison Sullivan-Glennon, Violet Lester, Isabelle Harruff and Kennedy Collins. Photo courtesy of Russell Moore

“I told her she may be renting the position but that it was a rent-to-own type of thing. She made the decision easy for me,” he said.

Collins took the the lead early and Lester maintained it. Sullivan-Glennon again stretched the lead before handing to Harruff.

Harruff, who now has three state titles in two seasons, broke the tape in 1:41.40, over a second faster than second-place Silas.

Boys relay

If that wasn’t enough relay success, the Gig Harbor boys 4×100 team finished third.

The team — lead-off runner Justin Morris, Atzel Chavez Avelar, Troy Arnold and anchor Gavin Olson — finished in 42.31 seconds, just a half-second behind state champion Lincoln.

The team has run together for two years and Eager said he is “so proud of (them) because they had to execute at full speed with the risk of failure to finish where they did, but they came through.”

Gig Harbor’s third-place 4×100 relay team included, from left, Atzel Chavez Avelar, Justin Morris, Troy Arnold and Gavin Olson. Photo courtesy of Russell Moore

Lejla Carlsson

Carlsson, who will run for Boise State next season, closed out a spectacular high school track career in heartbreaking fashion. She missed out on a state title in the 1,600 by just three-tenths of a second.

A foot injury earlier in the season may have robbed Carlsson of some of her finishing kick in the 1,600. But her high school track career included a state title (in the 4×400 relay in 2024), five league titles, four district titles and six top-five finishes at state.

“I was proud of my performances at state this year, and was just grateful to run in competitive races again after my foot injury,” Carlsson said. “I didn’t have any expectations and just met it with gratitude. It was so incredible to place second as a team. All of the girls competed their best when it mattered!”

Lejla Carlsson placed second in the 1,600. Photo courtesy of Russell Moore

Suri Sardinia

While the Tides were circling the track, a Seahawk was dominating the infield events.

Sardinia, who is as graceful as she is powerful, ripped off long discus throws that bounced 15 to 20 feet beyond her competitors. She barely missed a second state title in the shot put, placing second by just five inches.

Peninsula track coach Dylan Hall said Sardinia is famous in Purdy for her unmatched work ethic.

“She is an incredibly driven young woman that has always expected greatness,” Hall explained. “That’s why her state title isn’t a surprise to anyone around the program or at this school.”

Suri Sardinia of Peninsula won the Class 3A discus championship. Photo courtesy of Suri Sardinia

Sardinia started throwing the discus with her father in the sixth grade. She perfected her technique in both the discus and the shot put with Seahawk individual coach Mason Hyde.

“I just fell in love with the sport of discus throwing and as a freshman I set my mind on breaking the school discus record,” she said.

Sardinia practiced in the pouring rain, in the cold and on weekends. It was a constant routine of throw-and-retrieve until both school records were hers and a state title was within reach.

“I had to calm myself before my last throw at state,” Sardinia said. “When I first realized that nobody had thrown further and I was a state champion … it was just crazy when it all sunk in.”

Sardinia paid the cost to be the boss and now has a state championship medal around her neck to show for it.

“If you want to be successful at something you have the drive, you’ve got to be able to want to work hard for it,” Sardinia said. “It’s been really great to win state and get this recognition and to have people around school and in our community appreciate how hard I have worked for this.”

Suri Sardinia of Peninsula placed second in the Class 3A state shot put competition. Photo courtesy of Suri Sardinia