Student Athlete Spotlight: Sydney Gordon, Senior, Hoquiam High School

Published 1:30 am Friday, April 24, 2026

Editor’s Note: The Daily World has launched a new segment to our sports section highlighting local student-athletes in an informative Q&A format for our readers.

Parent: Laurie Gordon

Sports Participation: Volleyball, Basketball and Track & Field

G.P.A.: 3.95

Sydney Gordon is an accomplished three-sport all-league student-athlete at Hoquiam High School. She helped lead the Grizzlies to state in basketball and is a returning state placer in the shot put. She has a strong physical presence wherever she is and it is surprising to some that her voice is so soft and delicate and her demeanor so gentle for such an imposing athlete. Her loyalty and dedication to teammates made her invaluable to her peers, and Gordon aims to close out her prep career with a stellar finish at the state track meet in Yakima next month. Her mom Laurie is one of her throwing coaches and was also a standout athlete at Hoquiam High School in her prep years. She is the principal at Central Elementary in Hoquiam and her staunchest supporter and critic. Sydney Gordon met with The Daily World before an important weekend of competition with the elite invitation-only Nike Jesuit Twilight Relays meet in Portland, Oregon Friday night and the Beaver Dam Jam Invitational in Woodland Saturday.

The Daily World: This is going to be a tough question right off the bat. You are an accomplished three-sport athlete, which one is your favorite?

Sydney Gordon: Basketball and track … (nervous smile). I know, OK, I love track but I looooove basketball, too.

TDW: I get it, but let’s say you can only choose one.

Gordon: I love them both, but I think track (throwing) can take me farther. I want to throw the shot in college.

TDW: What is the pull to basketball for you? You had a tough time with that question.

Gordon: It’s the team aspect to it, I love our team. We went so far in basketball this year and nobody really thought we could, and we’re pretty proud of that.

TDW: You’re good at all the sports you play, which one was the most difficult for you to get good at and why?

Gordon: Volleyball. I had always played soccer growing up and never tried it until middle school so I had to catch up fast and it did not come naturally to me. I really had to work at it.

TDW: What is your favorite academic subject and why?

Gordon: I love the Foods class because I love to cook and bake but, academically, I would say English because I do like to read. Then the thing that can make it more interesting for me is when we can break it down in depth and it gives it even more meaning.

TDW: What is the hardest thing for you in order to play all these sports and still hold such a high G.P.A.?

Gordon: Time management is the hardest, it’s like trying to juggle all the things at once. I can procrastinate and then I make it harder than it has to be.

TDW: You’re a state track veteran and top eight placer, what is a specific goal you have for state this year?

Gordon: The first is to stay calm and focused and I will put up better marks. I had a kind of panic attack last year and didn’t perform my best. A normal mark for me and I probably would’ve been top three.

TDW: Do you know what caused it, so you know how to fix it if you feel it coming on this year?

Gordon: Yes. Last year I was watching the other girls throw and what they were doing, and thinking about their marks and it totally took me out of my game and into a tailspin. I need to just worry about focusing on myself, my technique, and have confidence in what I’m doing. I feel I’ve learned from it and I have a lot more confidence.

TDW: What is your biggest highlight so far in your student-athlete career at Hoquiam?

Gordon: I’d say our basketball team making it to state because it hadn’t been done in such a long time. Also, coming back from a panic attack and getting eighth in state in the shot showed to myself what I can do when my mind is right.

TDW: Do you have a consistent routine before games or throwing that helps you perform the best?

Gordon: I’m into doing a lot of visualization and focusing on that. I know it helps because when I don’t, I don’t do as well. I wear the same jerseys all the time, the same since my sophomore year, I just think there’s still a little luck left in it.

TDW: If you’re not on the court, in the pit, or doing schoolwork, what are you doing?

Gordon: I’m reading or cooking and baking desserts, any kind of desserts.

TDW: What is your favorite food?

Gordon: Well it changes a lot, but right now I’d have to say pasta. Spaghetti. Spaghetti with traditional marinara and meatballs, actually.

TDW: Where do you see yourself in five years?

Gordon: I should be graduating from college and earning my degree in education and hopefully teaching physical eduction in high school or middle school. Elementary would be OK, too.

TDW: Good luck this weekend.

Gordon: Thank you, Go Grizzlies!