From purple and gold to a variety of collegiate colors, a number of former Sequim High sports stars are taking to the fields, pitches and links in college.
Linked success
Golfer Alexandria McMenamin, a redshirt junior at George Fox University, helped the Bruins’ women’s golf team take third place at the NCAA National Championship May 11-14 in East Lansing, Mich.
McMenamin played one of her best postseason tournaments to finish tied for 21st after a final round of 78 (+6). She carded a 318 (+30) through four rounds after playing 38 holes to par and notching four birdies.
George Fox teammate Makensie Toole won the individual title, as George Fox will finish the year ranked in the top 10 nationally for the 12th consecutive season.
McMenamin helped the Bruins take first place at the Northwest Conference championship tourney in Spokane, April 17-18. She shot a pair of 77s for a 10-over 154 as all five Bruins edged their opponents to sweep the top individual spots in the standings. McMenamin placed third overall, behind teammates Alison Takamiya (145) and Allie Slingsby (153).
McMenamin, a 2017 Sequim High grad, recorded eight top 10 finishes for George Fox in 2018-2019, and played in four tournaments in last year’s COVID-shortened season. She was named a WGCA All-American Scholar the past two seasons.
At Sequim High, McMenamin placed third as a freshman, ninth (tied) as a sophomore, fifth as a junior and sixth as a senior at the class 2A state golf tourneys. She was named Olympic League MVP all four years.
Viking in goal
Soccer stand-out Claire Henninger tends goal for Western Washington University, one of the top Division II programs in the nation.
A 5-foot-10-inch keeper who earned a varsity letter all four years during her prep career and was a team captain her junior and senior seasons at Sequim High, Henninger started the Vikings’ opener and recorded a clean sheet in the first half against Pacific Lutheran on April 3; the teams played to a scoreless tie.
Sequim native Claire Henninger and Western Washington University’s women’s soccer squad takes on Pacific Lutheran University in Bellingham on April 3. Henninger played the first half of the scoreless tie, the season-opener for both squads. Photo courtesy of Western Washington University
Henninger played more than a half in a 3-0 win over Western Oregon on April 28, recording three saves in 60-plus minutes of play, and played a half in the Vikings’ 4-1 loss at Seattle Pacific on May 12.
Western finished the spring season with a 4-1-2 record. The Vikings open the 2021 fall schedule with a home match against Peninsula College on Aug. 19.
In 2019 as a redshirt freshman at WWU, Henninger appeared in four games and did not allow a goal in 169 minutes, recording four saves. She made her first career start and recorded shutout versus Saint Martin’s on Oct. 15, 2019.
Henninger, who also played club for Peninsula Soccer Academy in the North Puget Sound League, recorded 28 shutouts during her prep career, including eight in 12 games during her senior season (2017). She was named to the All-Olympic League First Team three times and twice earned 2A Honorable Mention All-State honors.
Glasser for the Pirates
Sequim High 2020 grad Hope Glasser is hitting the hardwood not far from home, for the Peninsula College Pirates’ women’s basketball squad.
Glasser paced the Pirates with a season-high 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting and added 11 rebounds in PC’s 60-38 rout of Skagit Valley on May 5. She had a big all-around game in a 60-55 home loss to Bellevue on May 15, with nine points, 13 rebounds and five assists.
Peninsula’s Hope Glasser, a graduate of Sequim High School, right, fends of the defense of Bellevue’s Mo Bungay, front, and Mckayla Rodriguez on May 15 in Port Angeles. Photo by Keith Thorpe/Olympic Peninsula News Group
Glasser also paced the Pirates to a win on May 29, scoring a game-high 16 points to go with her eight rebounds, five assists and five steals. She had 18 points in a loss to Bellevue on May 31.
In 15 games played, Glasser is averaging 10.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, two steals and two assists per game.
In her senior year at Sequim High, she was named to the first-team all-Olympic League squad after averaging 10.8 points per game and finishing second on the team in rebounds.
Aiming for greens in WWU blue
A former Olympic League MVP, Sequim High 2018 grad Sarah Shea aims for fairways with the Western Washington University Vikings’ women’s golf team.
Sequim native Sarah Shea, now golfing for Western Washington University, was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women’s Golfer of the week in early April. Photo courtesy of Western Washington University
Shea was selected the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women’s Golfer of the Week in early April following her top-15 finish at the Palm Valley Classic. Shea tied for 14th place in the 107-player field at the Palm Valley Classic played April 2-3 at Palm Valley Golf Club in Goodyear, Ariz. The Sequim native finished the 36-hole tournament at 4-over-par 148, turning in a collegiate low round of even-par 72 in the opening round and a 4-over-par 76 in the final round.
Shea and the Vikings won the GNAC title on April 19-20 in Dupont, topping the four-team field by 11 shots.
Shea tied for third with a two-day total of 156 (79-77) with teammate Danielle Bailey.
Western’s top golfers finished ninth out of nine teams at the NCAA West/South Central Regional tourney in Denton, Texas, May 3-5. Shea shot a three-day, 240 (24-over-par) to tie for 41st overall.
As a Wolf, Shea tied for fifth place at the state 2A tournament as a senior. She placed 22nd as a junior and 15th as a sophomore at state.
Softball with the Saints
Nicole Anders tees up pitches with the College of St. Scholastica’s softball squad in Duluth, Minn.
In a double-header sweep of Northwestern (Minn.) on April 10, Anders went 4-for-8 with her first home run of the season, an RBI and three runs scored. In a double-header against Minnesota Morris on May 1, Anders went a combined 5-for-8 with three RBIs and two steals.
Sequim High grad Nicole Anders plays for the College of St. Scholastica’s softball squad in Duluth, Minn. Photo courtesy of College of St. Scholastica
Anders finished the season hitting .388 — third on the team — with 26 RBIs and a team-high 19 steals (in 22 attempts) in 38 games played.
The 2017 Sequim High graduate, now patrolling right field for College of St. Scholastica, helped the Saints rack up a 32-8 mark this season.
Anders started all 13 games in last season’s COVID-shortened campaign, finishing second on the team with 17 hits and five RBIs. She was also named to the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference’s All-Academic team.
Batting, pitching for the Hawks
Sequim High grad Silas Thomas hits the diamond for the Becker College (Leicester, Mass.) baseball squad, playing outfield and pitching for the Hawks.
SHS 2020 graduate Silas Thomas played baseball for the Becker College Hawks, as an outfielder and pitcher. Photo courtesy of Becker College
Thomas earned a spot on the placed on the All-Conference Second Team in the New England Collegiate Conference, racking up a .343 batting average (12 hits in 35 at-bats) in 18 games. He also appeared in three games on the mound, two of them starts, giving up eight earned runs in six and two-thirds on an inning.
In a double-header against Elms on April 19, Thomas went a combined 6-for-7 with an RBI and a walk.
The Hawks finished 6-18 overall.
Thomas was Sequim High’s lone senior on a squad that saw its 2020 season canceled with the COVID-19 pandemic. He was an all-Olympic League second team player in 2019 as a junior.
Playing for the Panthers
Sequim High 2017 graduate Kaylee Gumm is an infielder with the Middlebury College (Vermont) softball squad.
She has 10 hits in 37 at-bats (.270) at the Panthers completed a shortened season with a 6-10 record, sweeping a pair from Hamilton College on May 8.
College senior Kaylee Gumm plays for the Middlebury College (Vermont) Panthers’ softball squad. Photo courtesy of Middlebury College
Gumm hit .282 in 15 games in 2019, and in 2018 hit .210 with three home runs and five doubles for the Panthers.
A senior at Middlebury, Gumm— primarily a first baseman in college and for the Wolves in high school — was an all-Olympic League first team infielder in 2015.
Sequim native Sarah Shea, now golfing for Western Washington University, was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women’s Golfer of the week in early April. Photo courtesy of Western Washington University
