Community Sports
State champions, dramatic comebacks and more: Our 2023 top sports stories
With the New Year approaching fast, it’s time to look back on the 2023 sports year and 10 of the most remarkable team and individual performances that stood out from Gig Harbor and Peninsula high schools.
Peninsula’s fastpitch championship
While this list isn’t in any particular order, we must start with the Class 3A fastpitch state championship won by the 2023 Peninsula team coached by Mike Paul. The Seahawks were a complete team, with all of the hitting and fielding components needed to win a championship. Plus they had an ace up their sleeve in senior Alli Kimball, the state’s best pitcher, who had 599 career strikeouts and came up clutch when her team needed her most.
Kimball and the Seahawks (28-2) won the title by defeating the Snohomish Panthers (27-4) on May 27 in Lacey. The game was much closer than the 4-1 final score suggests. Seahawk junior Malia Coit smashed a first-inning home run to open the scoring, but the Panthers tied the game at 1 in the fifth inning, leaving the capacity crowd filled with tension and on the edge of their seats.
That score stood until the sixth inning, when senior catcher Hailey Ruckle and senior shortstop Glory Estabrook both hit singles. Then Kimball hit a dramatic three-run home run over the left-center field fence to push the lead to 4-1 and clinch the title for the Seahawks. Kimball’s beaming smile was on full display as she rounded third base and raced to home plate, where her awaiting teammates were in hysterics.
The state champion Peninsula High fastpitch team. Photo by Peninsula High fastpitch
Kimball, who had pitched a remarkable 28 straight innings in four state tournament victories, didn’t allow a Panther base runner in the seventh inning. For the final out she caught a line drive back to the pitchers mound to secure the state title in a truly emotional scene. Players and coaches mobbed the senior on the mound and the team filled with determined, aggressive and talented young women, wildly celebrated a state title together.
The win brought Peninsula its first state title since 1992. It was the first state title for veteran coach Paul, who was in his eighth year at Peninsula and 24th year of coaching various youth teams. After the game he said: “This is unreal, I have an absolutely unbelievable team. This is a dream come true … hey, we’re the champs!”
Hammer wins two swimming titles
Speaking of state titles, the Gig Harbor Tides had an individual state swimming champion. Aiden Hammer won two events, the 200 and the 500 freestyle races, on Feb. 18 at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way. His 200 time was only two seconds off of the state record owned by Bremerton’s Nathan Adrian, a five-time Olympic gold medalist.
Gig Harbor’s Aiden Hammer won two swimming state championships
What was even more remarkable was that Hammer won his titles as a freshman. Going up against upperclassmen from throughout the state, the freshman surprised pre-race favorites with his blistering speed. Locals rave about his explosive start from the blocks and his flip turn precision.
His freestyle times were fast enough to earn an invitation to the United States Olympic Trials this winter. Hammer will be a favorite to repeat as state champ and could eclipse Adrian’s state records during his three remaining years of high school competition.
The Peninsula Seahawks just barely missed another state title when senior diver Makenna Post finished second at the girls Class 3A state meet Nov. 9 at the King County Aquatics Center. Post attempted difficult dives with aggression as she leaped high off the spring board and sliced her entries to score 345 points and take home the second place medal.
Earlier, Post won her fourth straight South Sound Conference title and a district championship before being narrowly defeated at the state. She will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the best divers in Seahawk school history.
Gig Harbor boys basketball returns to state tournament
The Gig Harbor boys basketball team finished the season in the state tournament after amassing a 21-4 record. The team clinched a spot in the state tournament with a 70-67 overtime win over Mountain View in Vancouver on Feb. 11. The Tides got 22 points from leaping Will Landram and a game-saving three pointer at the buzzer by the sharp shooting Luke Browne, who had 19 points versus the Thunder to get to state.
The team went on to defeat rival Timberline in the district playoffs by a 58-54 score in overtime as Christian Parrish scored 22 points. The Tides barely lost the district final to Class 3A defending state champion Auburn, 60-59, to prove they were among the state’s elite. Gig Harbor was finally defeated 69-60 at state by a Shorecrest team that went on to finish fifth in the 3A tournament.
The Tides’ graduating seniors had a 58-14 record over three seasons. Their 80.5 winning percentage over that span is the highest in program history and included a 21-game home court winning streak.
Luke Browne of Gig Harbor hits a late 3-pointer to clinch a state tournament berth for the Tides. Photo by Bryce Carithers
Wrestlers make mark at Mat Classic
The Peninsula boys and girls wrestling teams had a successful showing at Mat Classic in the Tacoma Dome on Feb. 17-18. Five Seahawks, including four seniors, placed in the top eight of their weight classes in the Class 3A division.
Mira Sonnen, a 140-pounder, won her first match but then lost to the defending state champion before reeling off six straight wins to finish third. Freshman Bailey Parker went on a similar run to finish fourth in the 135-pound class. Gig Harbor’s Eleanor Nimrick finished sixth in the 100-pound division.
On the boys side, three Seahawk senior wrestlers placed in the difficult Class 3A draw. Emmett Casey placed for the second straight year, bringing home sixth in the 160-pound weight division. Marcus Reum finished seventh at 145 pounds and Boden Clark, also a standout on the lacrosse field, placed eighth at 170 pounds.
Five Peninsula wrestlers placed at Mat Classic in 2023. Photo courtesy PHS wrestling
Peninsula girls basketball makes state under first-year coach
The Peninsula Seahawk girls basketball team made a state appearance in February. First-year head coach Hannah Lekson guided her team to a South Sound Conference title before losing at state on Feb. 24, 56-51, to Everett. Kaylia Heidelberg, Brooke Zimmerman and Grace Richardson were a tough trio to stop as they combined to score over 80 percent of the Seahawk offensive points and also provided the Seahawks with an intense attacking defense.
The Seahawks won their league crown with an impressive 40-point home win over Gig Harbor and a clutch home win over North Thurston. The Seahawks won their last seven league games by at least 20 points.
Against the Tides, Zimmerman scored 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, Richardson had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Heidelberg hit four three pointers and scored 14 points. Richardson said of Lekson: “All she’s done is cheered us on, and been a great mentor and coach. I couldn’t ask for anybody better.”
Peninsula’s Grace Richardson celebrates her team’s South Sound Conference championship. Bryce Carithers
Cross country runners show out at state
Peninsula’s Elektra Higgins during a cross country meet at Chambers Bay. Photo courtesy of Peninsula High cross country
The local cross country season was full of impressive performances. Elektra Higgins of Peninsula finished third at the state meet on Nov. 4 in the Tri-Cities. Higgins obliterated the field and was a repeat champion in the South Sound Conference and district meets, winning both events without anyone close to her at the end. Higgins had a fine showing at the state meet, finishing third behind a sister duo from Mercer Island.
Equally impressive was the Tides’ team success at the cross country championships. Gig Harbor’s Lejla Carlsson (sixth place) and Taylor Sletner (13th place) led their Gig Harbor girls team to a fourth finish at the state meet. The Tides’ Johnathon Miles (5th place) and Preston Fradet (7th place) helped the Tides finish 9th as a team for head coach Patty Ley, who leads both teams.
Record rebounder
In a remarkable performance of sheer determination, the Tides’ Riley Peschek set a new Gig Harbor girls basketball record with 26 rebounds in a Feb. 17 win over Central Kitsap. The dominant performance on the boards broke her own school record of 25 rebounds, she set earlier in the year against Timberline.
Peschek, a 5-foot-10 power forward, was relentless in her pursuit of the ball. Her timing, leaping ability and will power were too much for opponents who attempted to block her out.
In addition to the single-game record, Peschek broke the Tide season record with a massive total of 328 rebounds. She averaged 14 rebounds per game while leading her team to a state tournament appearance. She would probably own the career rebounding record at Gig Harbor had she not lost 14 games when her sophomore campaign was shortened due to the COVID 19 pandemic.
The Tides Riley Peschek finishes with the left hand as she scored 25 points and pulled down 23 rebounds in a playoff win over Prairie. Photo by Bryce Carithers
Dramatic Fish Bowl
Tides quarterback Benji Park came off the bench to lead his team’s comeback from a 14-point halftime deficit in the 45th Fish Bowl football game on Sept. 15. Park scored the winning touchdown on a QB keeper with exactly a minute to go in Gig Harbor’s 21-20 win. Park completed 9 of 11 passes for 218 yards and a touchdown to a streaking Liam Green.
Not only did Park come up clutch in the Fish Bowl, he went on to torch the South Sound Conference in leading the Tides to a second-place league finish. Gig Harbor’s only league loss came against a Yelm team that played in the Class 3A state championship game. Park went from a back-up quarterback to a first-team all-conference selection in an amazing example of perseverance and determination that won’t soon be forgotten by local sports fans.
Gig Harbor senior quarterback Benji Park looks for a receiver in the Fish Bowl win over Peninsula. Photo by Christi Adams
So close at Star Track
Local runners achieved several second- and third-place finishes at Star Track, the state meet, at Mount Tacoma High School on May 24. The Seahawks’ Emma Young leaped a personal best of five-feet, two-inches to finish only an inch behind the eventual state champion. Young, who stars on the Seahawks volleyball team, used her adrenaline to leap two inches higher than ever before. The sophomore will look for a state title next spring.
Also taking home a second-place finish at state was Gig Harbor’s 1,600-meter relay team of Micah Galeana, Nick Grover, Ayden Fink and Ben Stevens. They efficiently passed the baton and sprinted to the line barely behind the champs in an impressive second place finish.
Third-place medals were awarded to a couple of Tides. Reece Morkert followed up her 2022 state cross country state championship with a third-place finish in the 3,200-meter race at Star Track. Tide volleyball stand out Lydia Ward also had an impressive state meet, unleashing a javelin throw of 127 feet and seven inches. Ward’s throw was only two feet, nine inches shorter than the title-winning throw. Ward has this remaining track season to improve and will be in the hunt again for a state title in the spring.
Obviously there were several other candidates that could have also made our list. Gig Harbor and Peninsula combined to win 16 out of a possible 21 South Sound Conference league championships during the 2022-23 school year. The overall success illustrates what a truly exceptional and dominant year it was for so many of our local teams. Our community should definitely feel proud of the consistent efforts of all of our talented teams, athletes and coaches who continually strive for greatness in their athletic endeavors.