A Broken Pool Didn’t Sink Peninsula Girls Swim and Dive Team’s Season

They were troopers and rose to the occasion.”

The boys team is back in their home water where they will host Silas High School Dec. 3.

A broken pool didn’t dampen the spirits of the Peninsula High School girls swim and dive team.

Despite leaky pipes forcing the Seahawks to bus over to Gig Harbor High School for most of the season, the team exceeded expectations, finishing second in the Puget Sound League, third at the district swim meet, and 15th at the 3A Girls State Swim and Dive Championships.

Peninsula’s second-year head coach, Athena Petterson, acknowledged the challenge of balancing practice schedules with Gig Harbor’s teams and the Peninsula boys water polo squad while keeping her athletes motivated. She said the adversity strengthened the team’s resolve.

“They were troopers and rose to the occasion,” Petterson said. “We didn’t have a lot of passion in our first meet, but by the time our district and state meets came around it was a different story.”

Sophomore sprinter Lee Gjertson emerged as the team’s workhorse at the state meet, qualifying for four final events. She placed 10th in the 100-yard freestyle (54.09) and 14th in the 50-yard freestyle (24.86), just three-tenths of a second shy of cracking the Top 10 in the latter.

Gjertson also competed in the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relay events alongside seniors Kate Henkel and Reis Every and freshman Reese Miller. The team placed ninth in the 200-yard relay (1:44.45) and 12th in the 400-yard relay (3:51.66).

Petterson shared an emotional moment with Gjertson before the finals, reflecting on her progress throughout the season. Although Gjertson aimed to break the school record in the 50-yard freestyle, she fell just short. Still, she shaved nearly two seconds off her personal best time and has two more seasons to chase the record.

Junior diver Jordan Givot capped off her first season by finishing 15th in the 1-meter diving event at the state meet. Givot entered the competition ranked 20th and landed ahead of where she was expected.

“Jordan was all smiles all day after the competition,” Petterson said. “She did better than she expected and that’s a big deal.”

Boys Team Poised for a Strong Season

With just one day to transition from the girls’ season to the boys’, Petterson is already gearing up for what she hopes will be another successful run.

Senior third-year captain Jonah Bergerson, who placed fourth at state last year in the 100-yard backstroke and is the school-record holder in the event (51.31), leads the sprinters and looks to have similar state success in the 50-yard freestyle event this year.

Seniors Henry Moore and Tyler Givot return for the boys, after recently finishing up water polo for the Seahawks. Givot is joined by fellow senior second-year captain Aidan Miller, who spent the fall helping Petterson with the girls swim team. Both Miller and Givot have sisters on the girls team, and Moore will be joined this year by his freshman brother, Owen.

“(Henry) is a strong sprinter and very talented. He’ll be someone to watch,” Petterson said.

Junior diver Zachary Ruckle will aim to build on last season’s success where he earned fourth place at the state 1-meter diving competition. Ruckle, the first Peninsula diver to make the podium since 2018, just wrapped up playing goalie for the Peninsula water polo team.

Petterson praised Ruckle’s adaptability and bravery as a relatively new diver. “He’s a strong and adaptable athlete, willing to learn through some painful mistakes off the diving board,” she said.

The Peninsula pool is back in operation and the boys are back in their home water where they will host Silas High School Dec. 3. They’ll face Shelton High at home Dec. 12. Both meets start at 3:30 p.m.