For Gig Harbor and Peninsula high school athletes, coaches and fans, 2011 was a memorable year for many different reasons.

At Gig Harbor, there were several outstanding accomplishments. The Tides boys basketball team upset Mount Tahoma to advance to the Class 4A state playoffs for the first time in five seasons. The baseball team rode the arm of Mike McCall and the bats of Spencer Manjarrez and Parker Guinn to a state berth. And the football team wound up heartbreakingly close to a playoff victory, falling in overtime to Kentwood in a state preliminary-round game.

There also were great storylines from former Tides athletes. Austin Seferian-Jenkins made good on his reputation as one of the best high-school football players in the nation, helping the Washington Huskies to a bowl berth as a freshman. And Tally Hall, who became the Houston Dynamo’s starting goalkeeper at the start of the season, blossomed into a Major League Soccer all-star and helped his team reach the MLS Cup final.

Peninsula’s teams weren’t quite as consistent in their excellence, but they had plenty of highlights.

Seahawks wrestlers Michael Sly and Casey Larson won medals last February at the Mat Classic state championships in Tacoma. The baseball squad got a reprieve after state officials overruled a sub-district playoff loss, and it nearly reached the state playoffs. The football team was in the state rankings for most of the season and finished with an 8-2 record.

Here are the top 10 sports stories from 2011:

10. Senior trio powers Tides swim team to eighth place at state
With seniors Will Frame, Dakota Moist and Devon McMenimen leading the way, Gig Harbor scored 119 points and placed eighth at February’s Class 4A state boys swimming and diving championships.

Moist swam to a pair of third-place times in the 100-yard butterfly (53.61 seconds) and 100 backstroke (53.31). Frame was seventh in the 100 freestyle (49.36), while McMenimen posted a good time for the 200 free relay team that finished eighth in 1 minute, 31.67 seconds.

Sophomore Evan Indahl added strong contributions throughout the season, and he placed seventh at state in the 500 free (4:52.85).

9. Peninsula rides Welstad to Fish Bowl rout of Gig Harbor
Peninsula football fans saw a glimpse of greatness from Danny Welstad in 2010 when he backed up Matt Hensley, but nobody saw what was coming when Welstad took over as the starting tailback this fall.

In September’s Week 1 contest, Welstad put up one of the greatest performances in the 33-year history of the Fish Bowl when he ran for 297 yards and six touchdowns, and the Seahawks earned a 48-9 win over rival Gig Harbor.

Welstad rushed for 2,254 yards and 30 touchdowns in 10 games, and he secured a spot on the all-state team in the process.

8. Seahawks girls run their way onto the podium in Pasco
With sophomore McKenzi Bravo completing a breakout season, the Peninsula girls cross-country squad scored 116 points and earned a third-place trophy at the Class 3A state championships in November.

Bravo finished the race at Pasco’s Sun Willows Golf Course in 18:58.9, good for 14th place on the 3.1-mile course. Senior Rebecca Paradis and junior Katie Lynch both finished inside the top 25, and freshman Sarah Manning and senior Addi Johnson rounded out the scoring.

Bravo got some extra attention after state when she raced in the prestigious Nike Border Clash 13, an all-star event for Washington and Oregon high-school athletes.

7. Young, talented  fastpitch squad enjoys history-making season
The Peninsula fastpitch team knew 2011 could be a special year with a star-studded list of underclassmen like pitcher Aspen Ison, shortstop Anne Binschus and outfielder Kaitlyn McKinney returning to the lineup.

Peninsula hadn’t been to the Class 3A state tournament since 2003, but it won the district title over league rival Bonney Lake, the Seahawks’ first win in four tries over the Panthers last season.

At May’s state tourney, the Seahawks lost to Bainbridge and Kamiakin, but they earned the program’s first victory on the big stage, a 9-4 triumph over Capital. They finished the year 20-6.

6. Gig Harbor Little League softball squad responds in the clutch
Most of the girls on last season’s Gig Harbor Little League 10- and 11-year-old all-star softball squad had tasted success the previous summer when they won the 9-10 state championship.

That experience proved crucial in July’s state tournament in SeaTac.

With the championship contest against Snoqualmie Valley tied 5-5 in the sixth inning, Mickey Binnig made a head’s-up play by reaching base after a strikeout and passed ball, allowing Baily Paul to score the go-ahead run from third.

Gig Harbor went on to score three more times in the inning and won 9-5 as pitcher Maddie Potter went the distance, striking out four and walking two.

5. Freshman phenom helps Tides repeat water polo feat
In 2010, the Gig Harbor girls water polo team broke through the Curtis Vikings’ barrier to win its first state championship in three tries.

The Tides entered May’s state tournament as heavy favorites after they blew out most of their opponents en route to a 20-0 record. They knocked off Auburn Riverside and Wilson to reach their fourth straight title match.

Once there, Julia Ponce scored four goals and Gig Harbor beat Curtis, 8-6, for its second straight title, and Ponce was named the tournament’s Offensive MVP. She finished the year with 94 goals and broke the school’s single-season record for steals.

4. Peninsula’s Jacob Gilman gets his groove back in the hurdles
Peninsula junior Jacob Gilman was an athlete without an event as the 2011 track and field season began.

A lingering knee injury caused him to drop the high jump, an event in which he’d competed at state as a sophomore. He began to train early in the season in the 300-meter hurdles, and he found his calling.

Gilman broke the school record, and he was the top seed entering May’s 3A state championships. He backed up his previous performances with a first-place time of 38.58 seconds, and he led the Seahawks’ boys to a ninth-place team finish.

3. Youth is served as Gig Harbor soccer squad reaches state final four
The Gig Harbor Tides were optimistic as the 2011 girls soccer season began, but with only two seniors on the roster, head coach Dani States knew she’d have to rely heavily on underclassmen.

Gig Harbor started the season slowly but caught fire before the playoffs. The Tides finished second in the Narrows League, then beat Kentridge, Edmonds-Woodway and Beamer to advance to the 4A state semifinals for the first time in 14 seasons.

The year ended in November with one-goal losses to Bellarmine Prep and Tahoma. But the Tides finished with a 15-5-1 record and some high expectations for 2012, as stars like Celia Vaughn, Allie Bohnett and Sammie Burghardt can return.

2. Rachel Lewis touches long-range goal with golf championship
Rachel Lewis was no stranger to the 3A state golf tournament, having placed in the top 10 there as a freshman and a sophomore.

But Lewis had higher aspirations for her junior season at Peninsula, and she achieved a milestone victory in May when she held on for a one-stroke victory at Liberty Lake Golf Course near Spokane.
Lewis struggled on the front nine of her final round, but she sank birdie putts on holes 15 and 17 to complete her rally.

She recently signed a scholarship offer to play golf at Washington State.

1. No coach, no problem for Gig Harbor runners as they capture crown
State cross-country titles usually are won in November because of hard work during the summer, but the Gig Harbor Tides didn’t have a coach for most of their crucial training period.

When coach Mark Wieczorek — a world-class 800-meter runner — arrived in August, he helped the Tides find the elite level they sought.

On the heels of league and district titles, Gig Harbor scored 55 points to edge Eisenhower for the 4A state championship in Pasco.

Wolfgang Beck, Tristan Peloquin and Logan Carroll all won state medals, and the young trio led the way as the Tides clinched a spot at the Nike Cross Nationals a week later.

Gig Harbor finished 15th at the national meet in Portland, Ore., and Beck, a sophomore who finished 31st out of 199 runners, earned national honorable-mention status from DyeStat.

Sports Editor Neil Pierson can be reached at 253-853-9246 or by email at neil.pierson@gateline.com. Follow him on Twitter, @gateway_neil.