Maeve Griffin
Peninsula High School
Senior Maeve Griffin, is someone who gives 100 percent effort, no matter what. This is evident from both her efforts on the volleyball court and in the classroom. Maeve carries a 4.0 GPA while taking a challenging schedule of advanced placement classes. She was selected to the National Honor Society both her junior and senior years.
“One of the biggest challenges in the sport of volleyball for me has been finding the right balance of time between school and sports,” she said.
As far as volleyball players go, Maeve is an area standout. Her leadership skills earned her the title of captain while only a sophomore, a distinction she’s carried through her junior and senior seasons. Maeve was named 1st Team All-League (2017), Peninsula’s Offensive Player of the Year (2017), Peninsula’s Defensive Player of the Year (2018), League MVP (2018) and All-State Team (2018). 2019 awards will be handed out once the state tournament is completed, and we’ll most likely see Maeve honored again.
She says she enjoys volleyball for the camaraderie and competition. “My favorite thing about volleyball is the people and friendships that it has brought me and the intense competition that each game brings,” said Maeve.
When her time at Peninsula High School comes to a close this spring, Maeve will be traveling quite a way for the next chapter in her life. She will be attending the University of Alabama at Birmingham to play for the school’s beach volleyball team. She plans to study biomedical engineering. Focus, drive and maximum effort in everything she does have lead to many accomplishments for this high school senior. Maeve’s efforts will most certainly make her successful at the next level both in the classroom and on the beach!
Zachary Toglia
Gig Harbor High School
For junior Zachary Toglia, juggling sports and academics can be a real challenge, but Zachary puts forth the same effort whether in practice, competition, the classroom or homework. “I want to do the best I can in everything that I do, and sports takes a lot of time out of my day to get to work on my classroom assignments. But, I make sure that I get everything done well and on time, because I believe how you perform in the classroom reflects how you play on the field/court,” he explained.
Zachary’s commitment to hard work is evident in what he’s already accomplished. His GPA is just a couple ticks under a 4.0 while taking Advanced Placement classes. He is now in his third year playing on the varsity basketball team and earned 2nd Team All-League in the SSC Conference at the end of his sophomore year. Zachary suited up for the varsity baseball team his sophomore year, earning 1st Team All-League, a third-place finish in the State Tournament and the Silver Slugger award. He plans on honing his baseball skills again this spring as well.
In the future he plans on attending a four-year university and will be working hard to impress schools enough to offer him a baseball scholarship. Future careers might be something either in the business world or engineering. “I have always been interested in the math and science involved in order to become an engineer, as well as the concepts in the business field,” he explained. But there is still plenty of this season left, an upcoming baseball season on the horizon and his entire senior year yet to play out. For now, Zachary says he is continuing to enjoy each moment. “I just love the chance to compete at a high level with all of my closest friends and really grow closer together into a family.”
While competing against some of the best athletes in the region, Zachary says he’s learned to focus on what he can control and to not get caught up in the things he can’t. “A bad call from a ref or the outcome of a game cannot be controlled, but the things that you can control such as your work ethic, time management and sportsmanship is what can help you progress into a better player and a better person,” he said.