Central Kitsap siblings take running to the next level at Washington State, Portland State

While researching this story on the Nichols sisters — Maya and Taylor — the word "success" kept creeping into my mind. Whatever water the girls drink is something we all should seek, because the siblings from Central Kitsap High School keep advancing in athletics and the college experience.

Parents Allan and Amber Nichols are proud because their daughters aren’t just successful runners who've gone from CK to compete at Division I schools. Maya, the oldest and a 2021 CK grad, is now a junior walk-on at Washington State where she runs cross country and track and field. She was a 3.9 GPA student at CK and now has a 3.75 for the Pac-12's Cougars. Taylor, a 2022 CK grad and now a sophomore at Portland State, is on a cross country and track and field scholarship, and is following up on her high-school 4.0 with a 4.0 during her freshman year for the Vikings.

Having siblings compete in D-I college athletics is rare for this area, though running is where we've seen it most recently.

Neal Gaulden, track and field coach at CK, had two daughters head to college on athletics scholarships — Keyera at the University of Montana, where she ran sprints before transferring to Washington State for her undergraduate degree and moving to Seattle Pacific for grad school, and Kymeal, who earned a track scholarship at WSU last year but is now focusing on academics while recovering from hip surgery.

Before them came the Moskowitz kids from Central Kitsap, when Shane (Oklahoma State) and his sister Shannon (Boise State) both earned D-1 scholarships for their running ability. So did a trio of sisters from Kingston High School — Ruby Roberts to Washington State, Marina Roberts to Colorado State and Annie Roberts to Humboldt State, a D-II school.

The Nichols were introduced to sports early. Both played soccer in elementary school while running competitively with the Bremerton Jaguars Track and Field club each spring and the Rain City Flyers out of Seattle in the fall, during cross country season.

“My mother ran track in high school and when we were young it was like our family sport,” says Taylor. ”I always enjoyed it more (than soccer).”

Mom is Amber Johnson Nichols, a Central Kitsap grad who ran a leg of the school’s 4x200-meter relay team that won a 1991 state championship, setting an area record of 1:43.82 that stood until 2013, when a quartet of Destiny Dunbar, Keyera Gaulden, Kendra Fields and Jasmine Leaptrot clocked 1:43.7.

Taylor and Maya earned All-American status in cross county with the Rain City Flyers, finishing in the top 25 at the United States Track and Field Junior Olympics meet. Maya got it twice and Taylor once, and both girls advanced to USATF Junior Olympics meets in track and field as well.

After reaching high school, Maya was a quick success, winning the 2017 district championship her freshman year and leading the Cougars to the state meet. She added the South Sound 3A league crown her sophomore year, a second-place finish at district and a Cougars team title. As a junior Maya again won the league crown, with CK notching another team title, and followed with another second-place finish at the district meet and team title. She ended up racing at the state 3A cross country meet in Pasco three consecutive years, finishing 9th, 11th and 9th, respectively.

Though the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted her junior track season and senior cross country seasons, Maya was named the school's athlete of the year. After pursuing the college athletics experience she is getting better and better at WSU. She finished 20th in the 6K in the Cougar Classic Invitational last month.

“Maya broke 15:00 in the 4K for the first time in her competition career earlier this season, an amazing jump from year two, taking almost a full minute off her time this fall,” says Chris Paige of the WSU sports information staff. “Her first 6K of the season was also an improvement.”

Maya could have gone on scholarship to Santa Clara, but proximity to home and family was too strong a pull.

“They offered her a huge scholarship,” says Amber. “She realized she wanted to stay in Washington. She called WSU and they said to come and walk on. It made her travel easier (from home in Silverdale) and it’s been a better experience.”

“I talked to a lot of coaches and it came down to last second,” Maya says of her decision to become a Cougar. “I love my family and I wanted to be within driving distance. It just made sense. I’m really happy.”

Youth coaches were very high on Taylor for her sprinting ability when she was younger. She won a lot of races with the Jaguars at events around the Puget Sound and beyond, including as an 8-year-old taking first in all 12 100- and 200-meters races she entered, winning three of four 400 meters event and was on two 400-meter relay teams.

But as Taylor got older she began running the longer distances with her older sister, and was good enough to command attention from schools for her ability. Taylor joined some of the district championship teams with Maya and then was a key member of the CK cross country team that took second in state in 2021, her senior year. She finished 39th.

Jonathan Marcus, coach at Portland State, has high hopes for Taylor.

“She is a wonderful person and an excellent runner,” says Marcus. “She is kind of a well all-around athlete. In cross country this fall, she runs the 1000 meters, but she probably will find her home in the 1500. It’s a real treat to have her on the team. We are building up her endurance now and will depend on her later. She is getting better week in and week out. At this point the sky is the limit. It’s fun to watch.”

In track and field, Marcus said Taylor is an 800-meter runner that will eventually run the mile.

“She’ll be a good miler,” says Marcus, who is banking on Taylor to lead the Vikings as the program is being built into a power. Her dedication, commitment and passion are beyond the pale and are an excellent role model for others to follow in the program.

“My goal was to be a good role model in high school," Taylor says. “I have always wanted to be a good person, good friend and a good teammate.”

When the sisters trained locally they usually took the Clear Creek Trail, but they didn’t always run alone. Along came Lola, a miniature Schnauzer. When the girls were younger, so was Lola, who could go the distance.

Not anymore.

“She will run like two miles with us now,” says Maya.

Maya and Taylor’s names are all over the list of top runners at CK. That is to be expected. They were class acts on the track and in cross country, and that’s the way it should be. And their family background definitely deserves some credit.

"It always starts with the parents,” said Tim Lavin, who coached the Bremerton Jaguars for years and was head coach when the Nichols joined the team. “Allan and Amber are great parents. Allan helped coached and Amber would come down occasionally and help with the little kids. Carl Johnson (Amber’s dad) was always at the meets.”

Carl Johnson, the girls' grandfather and a very active Silverdale community member, was an avid runner in his prime years. He died in May.

The road is just ahead for Maya and Taylor, who are running toward a great education. Maya is majoring in marketing and wants to work in the fashion industry, perhaps moving to California to find work. Taylor plans to apply to medical school, most likely at the University of Oregon to study dermatology.

Terry Mosher is a longtime Kitsap sportswriter and writes a regular column for the Kitsap Sun on local sports personalities. Contact him at bigmosher@msn.com.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Maya, Taylor Nichols take on collegiate track, cross country