Peninsula’s Higgins Sprints into History with Record-Breaking Finish at State

Peninsula High School Seahawks senior Elektra Higgins became only the second girl ever to break the 17-minute 5K mark when she crossed the finish line at the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association 3A State Cross Country Championships Nov. 9.

Unfortunately for her, the first girl to achieve that feat did it only 10 seconds earlier.

Finishing in 16:58.5, Higgins broke the PHS record, becoming the fastest Seahawks cross-country runner at the state level.

She beat her time from last year’s state meet by 46 seconds and came within one-tenth of a second of her personal best, a 16:58.4 run at the Nike Hole in the Wall XC Invitational in October. That time isn’t recognized as a school record since it was not a WIAA-sanctioned event.

Sophia Rodriguez, Mercer Island’s phenom sophomore, defended her state title with a winning time of 16:48.1, while her older sister, Victoria, clocked in at 17:08.6 to take third. The three racers also finished in the Top 3 at the state championships last year, with Victoria coming in second and Higgins in third.

“I felt like I executed and I gave everything I could,” Higgins told RunnerSpace.com after the race. “Sophia made a really good surge after (the first) 1.5 miles. It was hard to cover. She had a great race and definitely earned it.”

Despite Sophia finishing ahead of her, Peninsula Cross Country Coach Tyler Nugent said Higgins’ time this year would’ve won the state championship in any other year, in any other classification.

“What impresses me most about Elektra is that she isn’t resentful of that fact,” Nugent said. “Instead, she expressed gratitude because she had the opportunity to compete at such a high level and get pushed to her limit by fantastic athletes (like the Rodriguez sisters).”

With this second-place finish, Higgins — who signed Nov. 20 to run for Southern Methodist University — cemented her place among Washington state’s elite, securing Top 10 finishes at every state meet in her high school career: seventh in 2021, ninth in 2022, and third last year. She already owns the school records in the mile run (4:53.17) and two-mile run (10:29.46) and still has an opportunity to break those during the track and field season in the spring. That success brought in a lot of praise from her competitors.

“I always enjoy racing against Elektra,” said Sophia Rodriguez, who is regarded as one of the top high school runners in the country. “She always keeps me accountable, and I can never lose focus or have my form falter, or she will pick up on it.”

“Competing against Elektra this past year has been amazing,” said Victoria Rodriguez, who will run for Wake Forest University next year. “Having competition that keeps you engaged and racing to the best of your ability has made races against her in both track and cross-country extremely fun. She’s improved and I’ve improved; watching that come together when we race against each other is super cool.”

Victoria’s cross-country coach, Susan Empey, who helped guide the Mercer Island boys and girls teams to state titles this year, said Higgins was “amazing” and a “great competitor.”

Gig Harbor cross-country coach Patty Ley went one step further. “(Higgins) is simply one of the best athletes, male or female, to pass through Peninsula School District. She found her place and consistently worked exceptionally hard to be the very best. It has been awesome to watch.”

The Peninsula girls cross-country team took 16th overall at the state championships. Senior Hailey Howard was the only other Seahawk to place in the Top 100 (79th; 20:17.5). The Gig Harbor girls finished in third overall. Senior Taylor Sletner came in fifth (17.36.90) followed by her teammate, junior Lejla Carlsson, in sixth (18.11.50).

This is the fourth straight year Higgins and the Seahawks have qualified for state. Just a week before the state meet, Higgins repeated as WIAA District 3/4 Girls Cross Country champion, crossing the line in 17:48.6.