Community Sports

Sports Beat | Gig Harbor’s Hammer third at U.S. Nationals

Aiden Hammer of Gig Harbor finished third in the 1,500-meter freestyle race at the U.S. National Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana, on June 3.

Hammer, a four-time state champion for the Tides, dropped 10 seconds off his previous best time to finish the race in 15:05.13. This wasn’t the youth nationals — the 17-year-old Hammer competed against grown men.

“Crazy to think the only people I’m slower than now are the two guys that made the Olympics in the event last year and one of them (Bobby Finke, two-time Olympic gold medalist in the event) is the current world record holder,” Hammer said.

Former Tide Aiden Hammer takes a breath before finishing third at the U.S. swimming national championships. Photo courtesy U.S. swimming.

Hammer’s showing at nationals put him squarely in the conversation for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, especially as his body continues to mature and his technique refines.

The top two swimmers in the event will represent the U.S. at the Olympics and Finke is a lock as a returning gold medalist. Another top contender is David Johnston, who finished second at nationals.

“I’ve got to just keep putting my head down and working towards bigger things in the future,” Hammer said.

It was not that long ago that Hammer finished so far ahead of Peninsula swimmers in a duel event that he had to patiently wait by the wall for the other competitors to finish. It was apparent that Hammer needed competition that would push him to greater heights.

To that end, Hammer reclassified from the high school class of 2026 to 2025. He graduated this spring and will attend the University of Texas this fall.

In Austin, he will swim for legendary coach Bob Bowman. Bowman is the dean of college coaches and was the personal coach of Michael Phelps.

GH water polo fifth in D-I

The Gig Harbor girls water polo team (12-7) placed fifth at the Division I state tournament in Tacoma in early June following a 7-5 win over the Bellevue Wolverines.

The Tides shook off the loss of several seniors from last year’s team, which finished third in the state, and created their own success while playing team water polo that emphasized sharing the ball on offense and playing physical defense.

Gig Harbor relied on outstanding senior goalie Kiah Sawyer. Sawyer has been a steady influence as a leader and a tremendous goalie in the cage. She is widely considered one of the best goalies in the state and was honorable mention all-state.

The Tides’ offense was led by Jenna Nelson and Zoey Nichols, both honorable mention all-state selections, as well as Eva Dahlin and Delaney Moyer.

The Gig Harbor water polo team. Photo courtesy of Mike Kelly

Peninsula water polo fourth in D-II

The Peninsula girls water polo team finished fourth in the Division II state tournament under new head coach Hannah Walker, who was voted the Division II coach of the year.

Walker played at Gig Harbor under longtime coach Mike Kelly and was a four year starter at Fresno Pacific University.

Peninsula lost its first-round game by a lopsided score to Rogers, then knocked off Stadium, 13-10, before losing to West Seattle, 13-5.

Reis Every, Jewel Gullum and Kate Henkel were first-team all-league selections for Peninsula.

Peninsula grad Kimball joins defending champs

Former Peninsula fastpitch state champion Alli Kimball is transferring from Western Washington University to the University of Texas at Tyler. The Patriots have won the last two NCAA Division II national championships.

In both of those years, Tyler ended WWU’s season in the Division II World Series — including in the finals in 2024.

Kimball said it was “time for a change … I really wanted to find a place that was a better fit for me as a person and as a player.”

Former Peninsula pitching star Alli Kimball tries on four national title rings from the University of Texas at Tyler during a recent visit. Photo courtesy of Alli Kimball

Kimball was instrumental in Western’s run to the championship series as a freshman in 2024, when she had a 24-4 record with a 1.41 earned run average. Her 24 wins were the third-most ever by a Vikings pitcher.

Western went 47-13 in 2025. Kimball compiled a 16-4 record and a 2.10 earned run average that was second in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

Kimball got a big win with a four-inning performance against Central Oklahoma in the D-II World Series on May 24. She didn’t see action the next day, when UT Tyler eliminated the Vikings.

But Tyler coach Mike Reed knew of Kimball’s talent and lunged for his phone as fast as a Texas rattlesnake when Kimball’s name popped up in the transfer portal.

Kimball had a stellar prep pitching career for the Seahawks, winning a Class 3A state title and a state MVP award.

“I knew right away after visiting Tyler that it was a place I could call home, it was so nice. Southern hospitality is a real thing and I’m beyond excited to try and win the natty,” Kimball said.

EWU hires Maxwell as assistant coach

Former Gig Harbor basketball star Brynna Maxwell accepted a job as an assistant women’s basketball coach at Eastern Washington, an NCAA Division I school that competes in the Big Sky Conference.

Maxwell led the Tides to a state championship in 2017 and was MVP of the Class 3A state tournament. She played two years at Utah and two at Gonzaga, earning all-league honors all four years in college.

Maxwell averaged 14.2 points a game as a senior and shot 42.7 percent from 3-point range to help the Zags to two straight NCAA tournament appearances.

The Chicago Sky selected Maxwell in the second round of the 2024 WNBA draft, but cut her due to a knee injury. She played last season in Vigo, Spain, for the professional team Celta Zorka Recalvi.

Gig Harbor resident to hoop at ISU

Martin Kaupanger, a Gig Harbor resident who led Annie Wright of Tacoma to a Class 1A state championship in March, signed a letter of intent to play college basketball at Indiana State University, Larry Bird’s alma mater.

The 6-foot-5 guard transferred to Wright as a ninth-grader, breaking the hearts of hoop fans who dreamed of him playing for the Tides. Kaupanger cited the strong academic reputation of Annie Wright as the major reason for his transfer. He graduated with a 3.7 GPA.

First-year Indiana State coach Matthew Graves recruited Kaupanger after seeing him play on the Puma circuit at AAU summer events. Now Kaupanger will get to test his skills against the country’s best players. That includes a chance to play a Final Four team from last season — Indiana State plays Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium in a 2025 nonconference game.

Gig Harbor resident Martin Kaupanger has signed to play for Indiana State University. Photo courtesy of Martin Kaupanger