PHS Girls Swim Team Wins Puget Sound League Title

Peninsula High School won nine of 12 events to capture the Puget Sound League girls swimming and diving championship with 380 points Oct. 24 at Silas High School in Tacoma.

The Seahawks dominated the meet, sweeping the top three spots in the 200-yard freestyle and winning all three relays. Silas took second with 294 points, and Gig Harbor finished third with 242.

“They earned every bit of this championship,” said second-year coach Hunter Hobbs. “They’re humble, and what I admire most is how they carry it. You can’t coach that.”

Senior Lee Gjertson led Peninsula with four titles, winning the 200 freestyle in 2 minutes, 0.42 seconds and the 100-yard freestyle in 55.46 seconds, more than four seconds ahead of teammate Sydney Gardner (59.65). Gjertson also anchored the winning 400-yard freestyle relay and led off the 200 freestyle relay.

Sophomore Boe Ballard also won four titles, taking the 50-yard freestyle in 25.67 and the 100-yard backstroke in 1:02.73, along with two relay victories.

Ballard led off the winning 200-yard medley relay, joining seniors Jewel Gullum, sophomore Sophia Evers and junior Reese Miller for a time of 1:57.95. She also anchored the 200 freestyle relay, which won in 1:43.51 with Gjertson, freshman Leila Roddy and sophomore Bianca Henderson.

Roddy won the 500-yard freestyle in 5:31.21 and placed second in the 200 freestyle (2:03.40), behind Gjertson. Miller completed Peninsula’s sweep of the 200 freestyle with a third-place finish (2:06.56) and took second in the 500 freestyle (5:44.75).

Henderson won the 100-yard butterfly in 1:02.84 and finished third in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:17.02). She also swam on both winning freestyle relays.

Peninsula’s 400-yard freestyle relay team of Miller, Roddy, Henderson and Gjertson won in 3:49.31, more than 20 seconds ahead of Silas (4:09.60).

Freshman Steffi Delacruz placed second in the 200-yard individual medley (2:27.97) and fourth in the 100 backstroke (1:07.30). Evers was second in the 50-yard freestyle (27.04) and fifth in the 100 butterfly.

Silas senior Izzy Rider won the 200 individual medley (2:11.14) and 100 breaststroke (1:05.80), the only two swimming events Peninsula didn’t win.

In diving, freshman Alston Gjertson placed fourth and senior Annie Stafki was seventh. Gig Harbor sophomore Jane Jackman won the event.

“It took a lot of trust between the girls and the coaching staff,” Hobbs said about the championship. “They trust us to make them better, and they believe that if we ask them to do something, there’s a reason for it. We take that seriously, and we’re going to keep earning it.”

That trust will be put to the test Oct. 30-31 when Peninsula competes at the West Central District 3 AAA girls swim and dive championships at Mount Tahoma High School. The state meet is two weeks later at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.

Harding and Lascheck named Nisqually Division Runners of the Year

Peninsula juniors Wyatt Harding and Ascher Lascheck were named the boys and girls Nisqually Division Runners of the Year as both Seahawks cross country teams finished third at the Puget Sound League championships Oct. 24 at Fort Steilacoom Park.

The Peninsula boys placed six runners in the top 25, led by Harding’s eighth-place finish in 15 minutes, 58.8 seconds. Sophomore Nolan Winderl followed in ninth (16:03.8), while junior Wilson Shipp was 11th (16:08.1).

Juniors Baxter Balogh (20th, 16:36.7) and Palmer Schumacher (22nd, 16:44.4) and senior Ethan Ericson (24th, 16:50.3) rounded out Peninsula’s top finishers.

The Seahawks girls placed five runners in the top 25, led by Lascheck, who finished third in 19:23.1. Freshman Gisela Macsalka took 10th (20:11.1), followed by junior Megan Dyer (18th, 21:02.2), senior Isabella Easley (20th, 21:13.3) and junior Sofie Babbitt (24th, 21:20.3).

Gig Harbor swept the boys and girls team championships. Mana Voss, who committed to the University of Oregon earlier this month, won the boys individual title, while Gig Harbor’s Ella Savage won the girls race.

Both Peninsula teams next compete at the Westside Classic at Chambers Bay in University Place, where runners will vie for spots at the Nov. 7 state championships in Pasco.

Seahawks Football Loses to Lakes 

The Lakes Lancers (7-1; 5-0 Nisqually Division) beat Peninsula (5-3; 4-1) 21-18 on Oct. 23 to win the Nisqually division title.

The loss snapped Peninsula’s five-game winning streak. The Seahawks now await their opponent for “Week 10,” a single-elimination playoff round where 32 teams compete for 16 spots in the state tournament.

That will help determine the official first round of the AAA state bracket. Peninsula is currently ranked No. 19 in the latest Washington Interscholastic Activities Association rating percentage index, one of several factors to determine playoff matchups. Week 10 games will be played Nov. 6-7.

Editor’s note: Peninsula Freshman Gisela Macsalka, who took 10th place at the Puget Sound League championships Oct. 24, is reporter Eddie Macsalka’s daughter.