The next athlete we want to highlight from last year is Jackson High School’s Allie Thomsen. She was also the KRKO Russell & Hill Female Athlete of the Month for April.  

When Thomsen was a freshman in 2022, Jackson finished fourth at the Class 4A state tournament, and as a sophomore in 2023 and junior in 2024, Thomsen partook in the excitement of the Timberwolves being back-to-back 4A state and district champions. As a senior in 2025, she concluded her high school career with a third-place state finish. Also in her final year, Thomsen compiled a .544 batting average, .651 on-base percentage and .949 slugging percentage, in addition to drilling six home runs and tallying 26 RBI. She was named a WIAA Player of the Week and was honored as the Female Athlete of the Year by Everett Public Schools and the 2025 Softball Hitter of the Year by The Everett Herald. Thomsen graduated with a 3.5 GPA and has accepted a scholarship to continue playing softball at the University of Washington. 

In this interview, Thomsen discussed her Jackson softball journey and her excitement for committing to her dream college.  

SCSC: What’s drawn you to the sport of softball?

Thomsen: Growing up, my older cousin played for the University of Washington, and I always looked up to her. And then being younger than Yanina (Sherwood), I’d always watch her play in little league. I always wanted to be like Yanina. So then when I got to Jackson, there was a team full of talent. There were multiple talented girls, and I think by the time we won our first state championship, everything just came together. And the year after that was basically the same roster, and we just played our game. We all came from different talented teams, and I think that all worked well together.  

SCSC: Was there a specific moment in your softball career that made you want to take this sport seriously and build your body to where you could play multiple games in a weekend? When did this sport click for you?  

Thomsen: I think this sport really clicked for me when we made it to regionals for All-Stars. That was such a fun experience in Mill Creek Little League. And I think after going through that experience, I knew I wanted to go through many more experiences just like that one. I was probably about 12 (years old at the time).  

SCSC: Having played under coach Kyle Peacocke, what did he do when you first joined the program to help build you into the player you are now?  

Thomsen: When I came in as a freshman, I was pretty nervous. But I think just him believing in me really helped me get to where I was. Right when I got there and played in the first few games, I think I struck out like eight times, but he didn’t pull me from the lineup, which I was surprised (because) I probably would have pulled myself. He was like, ‘I believe in you. You know you can do this.’ Seeing him believe in me I think really helped me trust myself and the work I put in prior to the season and during the season to really become a solid hitter and player on the team.  

SCSC: What was the team able to do to win back-to-back state titles and push through skeptical viewpoints that you won one year but maybe wouldn’t win the next?  

Thomsen: As a team, we didn’t let that affect us at all. We heard a lot of backlash from different teams saying how we weren’t that good, and that’s expected as you’re playing. I think that (2024) team was relatively the same team from my sophomore year. Freshman year, we lost I think seven seniors, but there were still a lot of starters that stayed. And then I feel like that team just grew. We lost two seniors my sophomore year, and then we lost seven my junior year. But that team from sophomore and junior year, we just were so strongly connected. Some of us had grown up playing little league together. Some of us had played on the same select teams together. Some of us had done private lessons together. So I just think that team was so strongly bonded. It’s almost like we were a select team. It was just a really good connection on and off the field.  

SCSC: When you placed fourth at state your freshman year and then won it the following year, what was that feeling for you knowing you made it as far as you could at the high school level? 

Thomsen: It was just surreal. My sophomore year, we ended up playing Glacier Peak, funny enough, even though they’re from down here. And that game, there was a weird rain, thunder and lighting delay. But it was the fifth inning by the time the game got called, so we all went to the gym. Both teams were sitting in the gym, and then the officials came out and said, ‘Jackson, you guys just won state.’ So that was an insane feeling because we didn’t know if the game would be suspended. We didn’t know if the game would count. We didn’t know if we’d have to play it again. So when we just go told we won state, that was definitely a weird feeling. Like it was crazy, exciting, but we didn’t get the last moment on the glove. We didn’t get to throw our gloves or celebrate on the field. So then the year after that, we all wanted that experience for real. So I think making it through state and getting the have that final out on the field, the glove through, the hug, I think that was just a surreal moment. 

SCSC: What’s your pre-game routine?  

Thomsen: I listen to my own music. I do my hair the same way. I do the same ribbon, and if I had a bad game, I switch the ribbon color. I put my uniform on the same steps. It’s just very superstitious. And then as a team, I’ll do the majority of the team’s eye black. And then we all do the hokey pokey. And then right before the game, we do a team prayer. And we kind of just settle ourselves to go play a game.  

SCSC: Winning state in 2023 and 2024 while also being district champion both years, how does your team prepare for the district games, since you can still make state without winning districts? Is the goal to win districts or just make it to state?  

Thomsen: My sophomore and junior years, coach Peacocke laid out a huge list of what we can do to get to state, and it was always win districts and then win state. So I think everyone took that personally. We didn’t have to win districts, but saying we were district champs was pretty cool. We just played our game. I don’t think we really put insane amounts of pressure on ourselves. We just played the way the team knows they can play, and we just let that success take us to the district championship and then obviously winning districts.  

SCSC: You were named WIAA Player of the Week and honored as Female Athlete of the Year by Everett Public Schools. When you grow up and have these aspirations, and then you achieve these goals, what does that mean for you as an athlete with what you’ve accomplished and what’s left to come?  

Thomsen: It’s exciting to see all the hard work I’ve put in and the long practices and the weightlifts. Just seeing that kind of come together and seeing people recognize that, because no one sees the work you truly put in. But when you do get these awards, I think it’s really special. More to come, I wish we would’ve won state. And I know I’ll never play for a state championship again. I know what I could’ve done better, and I think I’ll take that to college with me. There’s always so much room to grow. I’m just never satisfied. I always want to get better.  

SCSC: You graduated with a 3.5 GPA. What does the team do to help everyone keep their academics up? 

Thomsen: I always try and shoot high for everything I do. If you’re failing a class, you’re not playing. So I do think that motivated people to at least try and pass. But I think for me, I just want to do the best I can in every class I have.  

SCSC: You’ve accepted a scholarship to pay at the University of Washington. When you had that opportunity to commit, what was going through your mind? 

Thomsen: When I committed, that was probably one of the happiest days of my life. Growing up, the University of Washington had always been a dream school of mine. And then when I was offered and got the opportunity to play for their team, it just felt so surreal. It’s like I was playing for the little girl in me who went to the camps and dreamt of playing there.  

SCSC: How has Jackson and 4A softball prepared you for the Division 1 level?  

Thomsen: When you’re playing on a high school team, you don’t see each other for nine months out of the year. You come together at the end of February, and you just have to grind all together. So many girls that you’ve never played with, it’s just a big group working into one to achieve the same goal of winning state. I think it’s just taught me everyone comes from different places, but how can you come together to win a common goal?  

SCSC: As you reflect on your four years, what advice would you have given yourself as a freshman? 

Thomsen: Believe in myself. I sometimes get in my head a lot. As I’m playing, just play relaxed, play loose, play fun. It’s inevitable to put pressure on yourself and psych yourself out. But I think when I started playing less stressed and less afraid of what was going to happen, that’s when I started to play more comfortably and see more success. … I know everyone says, ‘Just have fun.’ But I think that’s honestly a big deal. If you’re playing stressed, you’re not going to play well, so just play relaxed, play excited (and) put a smile on your face.