The snowy and icy roads have been taking a toll on the Gateway's sports coverage this week, as every athletic event involving the Peninsula Seahawks and Gig Harbor Tides was either cancelled or postponed.

But I have been catching up with coaches over the phone, and there's one common theme in the conversations: They want to get back to work as quickly as possible.

Below, you can read a story I've filed for the Jan. 25 print issue involving the Peninsula and Gig Harbor boys swimming and diving teams. The situation is the same for basketball and wrestling teams, too, as the extra time away from the gym isn't doing anyone favors. The good news? Everybody in the South Sound is suffering, so no one's at a competitive disadvantage.

Also, here are a couple makeup dates for games that were postponed:

Boys basketball: Bellarmine Prep at Gig Harbor, 7 p.m., Monday, Jan. 30. Peninsula vs. Lakes, 7 p.m., Monday, Jan. 23. Peninsula at Decatur, 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28.

Girls basketball: Gig Harbor at Bellarmine Prep, 7 p.m., Monday, Jan. 30. Peninsula at Lakes, 7 p.m., Monday, Jan. 23. Peninsula vs. Decatur, 7 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 28.

In addition, the Gig Harbor High wrestling team is still competing at this weekend's Pacific Rim Tournament in Seaside, Ore., and Peninsula coach Mark Nickels expected his team to compete Saturday at the South Kitsap Invite in Port Orchard, though that wasn't official as of Friday morning.

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With the state championships a little more than three weeks away, last week was the wrong time for the Gig Harbor Tides and Peninsula Seahawks swimming and diving programs to be out of the pool.

Weather-related school closures and the cancellation of contests across the South Sound put a damper on the Tides, who were scheduled to compete against Curtis, Wilson and Stadium.

“It couldn’t come at a worse time of the season,” said Tides coach Mike Kelly, whose team missed four straight days of practices and competition. “Your typical high-school male, given the opportunity to work out or not work out, probably won’t.”

That doesn’t bode well for Gig Harbor as it tries to send additional athletes to the Class 4A state championships, Feb. 17-18 at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.

The top six finishers at the West Central District meet, regardless of time, will compete at state, but thus far, only junior Evan Indahl (200-yard freestyle, 500 freestyle, 200 individual medley) has an automatic qualifying time for the Tides.

However, sophomore Erik Nielsen is closing in on the magic marks in all four freestyle races. He’ll likely swim at state in two of those, Kelly said, although the choices depend on how many relay teams Gig Harbor qualifies and what Nielsen’s roles with them are.

The Tides are scheduled to race again this week as the Narrows League championships get underway Friday at Foss High School in Tacoma. Swimmers who hadn’t qualified for that race had a final chance during the league divisionals at Mount Tahoma High, held Tuesday after press time.

Sophomore diver Bastian Weyn came up just short of the 300-point threshold for state during a recent competition, and Kelly thinks he'll get there during an upcoming meet. Thomas Liu, Andrew Van Camp and Baylor Stearnes are among the athletes who hope to sew up district spots this week.

Kelly said it’s unfortunate the Tides can’t swim in two extra dual meets.

“As far as I look at it, it’s taking away a training opportunity,” he said. “At this point, it’s probably better to try to get a training day in, rather than a competition day.”

Extra rest could hurt Seahawks’ long-distance performers

Coach Craig Brown’s boys at Peninsula High were in the same boat last week, as meets against Bonney Lake and Auburn Mountainview were cancelled. An early-season competition against South Puget Sound League rival Decatur was also postponed, and likely won’t be rescheduled.

“That’s three opportunities the swimmers and divers don’t have now to qualify for district or state,” Brown said on Friday. “I don’t know what’s going to happen until we get back to school.”

Two Seahawks have cemented their status at the Class 3A state championships. Caleb Riggs, a sophomore, has qualified in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke, while junior Matt Burkey has a spot in the 100 freestyle and is only a few tenths of second short in the 50 free.

Brown expects sophomore Alex Wenman to make state in at least one event, and a couple relay teams should compete there as well. Jaden Stevens, a junior, should return for a chance at a medal in the diving event. But all of the team’s preparations were put on hold last week.

“I told all the boys to stay active and do something,” Brown said. “I know my club boys have been swimming. But the rest of the guys are getting rusty.”

Brown, who’s been coaching the Seahawks for more than three decades, said he’d like the Class 3A teams to return to the 4A schedule in which everyone gets a two-week break between the district and state meets. Right now, 3A schools only have one week to rest between events.

“You think of a rollercoaster … you go up, and you go down, and physically and emotionally, these guys never fully recover from the district meet,” he said. “I’d like to settle things down, get them focused on the state meet.”