Gig Harbor boys, girls sweep 3A team titles at track and field state championships

Gig Harbor High School track coach Kevin Eager figured the boys would likely win the Class 3A state title this year.

But the girls, too? He wasn’t quite as sure.

But in the final day of the 3A track and field state championships at Mount Tahoma High School on Saturday, everything went right for the Tides — the boys and the girls.

Gig Harbor earned a sweep of the team titles, with the boys cruising to the top spot with 72 points. The girls won also, coming in with 55 1/2 points, edging out North Central (49) and Mercer Island (46).

For Gig Harbor, it’s the first time the boys and girls have won titles in the same year since 2007, when Gig Harbor was a 4A school.

Across the board, Gig Harbor delivered win, after win, after win.

“This was like a wildfire,” said longtime Gig Harbor track coach Kevin Eager. “I told them, I’ve been on teams before — going back to when I coached at PLU — that would go to conference or nationals and they would feed off each other.

"It’d just be like this, now it’s my turn, now it’s my turn, now it’s my turn. And instead of getting nervous, and having all those nerves, they start to look at it as opportunity, not pressure.

"That’s what you saw today. It’s hard to do that and have nothing go wrong. It’s remarkable.”

The Gig Harbor boys had several dominant performances during the three-day meet. Junior Jurrian Hering kicked things off on Friday, winning the 110-meter hurdles title, clocking in at 14.21 seconds.

Gig Harbor won the 4x400 relay late in the day on Saturday. The team of Kellen Gregory, Peter Smith, Ian Steuk and Mark Kimball came in at 3:19.24.

“We were nervous for it,” Steuk said. “We wanted to get under 3:20. We were happy with how we did.”

On the girls side, senior Hadassah Ward won her third-straight title in the shot put. She threw a lifetime best 45 feet, 5 1/2 inches — in her final throw of her high school career.

“My coaches just reminded me that it was my final throw of my high school career, so I just went all out on that one,” Ward said.

“I got really amped up and ready to throw and started preparing myself. Once it left my hand, I knew it felt good enough to be PR. It feels amazing.”

The biggest star of the show for the Tides was Hannah Carroll, who won the 400-meters at 55.38; the 200-meters at 25 flat, and was part of Gig Harbor’s 4x100 (first) and 4x400 (fourth) relays.

“It’s been amazing to know that I can contribute to the team,” Carroll said. “It’s individual, but having those girls, they’re my biggest fans.

"If I’m happy, having a great day or sad, having a hard day, they’re just there for me, so knowing I can help them get a team title is just outstanding. It’s indescribable.”

This story was originally published May 27, 2018 at 5:44 AM with the headline "Gig Harbor boys, girls sweep 3A team titles at track and field state championships."