Community Sports

Sports Beat: Gig Harbor wins league swimming title

Gig Harbor won the South Sound Conference girls swimming title by an impressive 120 points.

“From the 200 medley relay to the 400 free relay the Tides performed amazingly,” coach Mike Kelly said. “We had so many best times.”

Peninsula finished fourth in the conference. Diver Makenna Post won the SSC title and  qualified for state with 352 points, well above the standard of 315.

Peninsula’s Makenna Post won the South Sound Conference diving championship. Peninsula High School

Gig Harbor’s Ashlyn Pepich won SSC championships in the 200 freestyle and the 500 freestyle easily and heads into district action this weekend looking for her shot at state. The Tides’ Kaitlyn La Tendresse won the league 200 intermediate medley and 100 backstroke titles easily as a freshman.

The Tides are a deep and balanced team and several competitors could finish in the top 7 at the District III event. Those who do will advance to the state championships in Federal Way November 10 through 12.

Volleyball: Both local schools have shot at league title

Peninsula (11-2, 10-1 SSC) swept sixth-ranked North Thurston (9-2, 11-2) 3-0 on Oct. 27 in Lacey, giving the Seahawks the inside track on the league title. But coach Katrina Cardinal’s seventh-ranked Seahawks will have to beat Gig Harbor on the road on Nov. 8 to win an outright championship.

Peninsula junior MacKenna Molozink runs the Seahawk offense and sets up hitters with her pinpoint passing. Bryce Carithers

Gig Harbor (11-3, 9-2) is ranked 17th in WIAA’s RPI rankings for Class 3A. They blanked Yelm and Timberline this week by 3-0 scores. When Peninsula beat North Thurston, the Tides quietly slipped into second place in the league. If they can win out in conference play they will earn a share of the SSC title.

Tennis: Tides’ doubles team wins league title

Gig Harbor (13-1) shared the league tennis championship with River Ridge. The Tides’ doubles team of Hugh Vicente and Ryan Coovert also brought home a conference title on Oct. 22 at Canterwood.

“My doubles team plays aggressive and smart. They serve well, dictate play, keep the ball low and pounce at the net,” Gig Harbor coach Lorrie Wood said.

Ryan Coovert and Hugh Vicente won the South Sound Conference doubles championships and will go to state after finishing second at districts. Brian Davis

Vicente and Coovert followed up their league title by finishing second at the district tournament this week at the Boeing Tennis Center in Kent. They advance to the state tournament in May.

Peninsulas ace Elliot Siddall finished eighth at district, one match short of qualifying for state. It’s the second year in a row as a first alternate at state for tough and talented Siddall. The Tides’ Elliott Strachan lost his first match to the eventual district champ, won his next 6-2, 6-2 but lost the next in a 10-5 tiebreak, ending his successful season.

Football: OT field goal wins it for Peninsula

Peninsula (7-2, 6-1 SSC) beat Timberline (6-3, 5-2) 24-21 in overtime on a 22-yard field goal by Frankie Cross.

The Seahawks trailed 21-13 in the fourth quarter but rallied with an 80-yard drive topped off by a 1-yard touchdown run by Isaac Smith. Down 21-19, the Seahawks tied the game on a Payton Knowles pass to tight end Jones Stalker for the 2-point conversion.

Peninsula’s defense stopped Timberline in overtime before soccer star Cross’s field goal gave the 9th-ranked Seahawks a win and a second-place finish in the rugged SSC.

Smith was Peninsula’s main weapon, rushing for 114 yards and three touchdowns. Senior Aiden Lester carried it 11 times for 66 yards and gained 81 important yards on three kickoff returns.

Football: Tides fall to top-ranked Yelm

Gig Harbor (6-3, 4-3) ended the regular season with a 50-14 loss to league champion Yelm (9-0, 7-0).

Senior quarterback Will Landram passed for 225 yards and the Tide offense made 20 first downs against Yelm, the top-ranked team in Class 3A. Gig Harbor’s other two losses on the season came to Peninsula and Timberline by a combined 11 points.

Both local schools advance to the playoffs. They will learn their opening round opponents on Saturday.

Gig Harbor quarterback Will Landram ran for one touchdown and threw for another in the Tides’ 50-14 loss to Yelm at Roy Anderson Field on Oct. 27.

Basketball: Fall league play wraps up

Gig Harbor finished a successful eight-game Fall Ball basketball league at Tacoma Community College last week. The Tides are coming off a 23-5 2021-22 campaign that included a league championship and a state tournament appearance. Shooting guard Luke Browne began where he left off at state last year, as the senior led all scorers in the tough Tacoma league, averaging 27.0 points a game.

Peninsula also performed well in the league and will have a veteran team returning. They will begin their season with a new first-year head coach, as Shawn Muilenburg has been chosen by athletic director Ross Filkins to lead the Seahawk basketball team.

Check out the Sports Beat next week as multiple local teams are heading into the playoffs. We will check in with the cross country and water polo teams, have first round soccer and volleyball results as well as report on who made it to state from the swimming teams and diving teams.