Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Coupeville senior Frankie Tenore receives a cord for academic excellence. (Photos by Dakota Strong and Jackie Saia)

Wednesday night was all about posing with your accomplishments.

Coupeville High School Class of 2026 students hauled in numerous scholarships and mementos at the annual spring awards ceremony, while intrepid photographers like Dakota Strong and Jackie Saia clicked away capturing the moment.

Teagan Calkins, ready to bring the hammer down. (Marquette Cunningham photo)

It’s not exactly a surprise.

After each delivered four years of big moments across multiple sports, the announcement that Teagan Calkins and Chase Anderson are the 2026 Coupeville High School Athlete of the Year winners was correctly predicted by every pundit from Cow Town to Bangladesh.

Likely.

Honored Wednesday at the school’s annual spring awards night, the Wolf seniors will join previous winners such as Brad Sherman, Makana Stone, and Sherry Bonacci in getting their framed photos installed on the wall leading into the CHS gym.

Chase Anderson, out in support of his fellow athletes. (Marquette Cunningham photo)

Calkins has been the heart and soul of Coupeville’s volleyball, basketball, and softball programs, helping guide the spikers and sluggers to state tournament glory.

As a senior she paced the Wolves volleyball team with 185 kills and 176 digs, while also racking up 12 assists, 37 service aces, and three block assists.

On the hardwood, the three-ball assassin rattled the rims for 160 points, while being a wild woman on the boards and in battles for loose balls.

When Calkins walked off the floor for the final time, she finished a three-year varsity run with 402 points, leaving her #26 all-time for a hoops program which debuted in 1974.

“The Red Dragon” capped her prep days with another standout season as the catcher and most-lethal hitter for a Wolf softball squad which finished 19-4, won league and district titles, and returned to state for the second straight season.

Coupeville played in three games at the big dance, winning one, a year after going 2-2.

In her final moment as a Wolf athlete, Calkins delivered once again, crunching a two-run double into the fading sunlight off of River View.

Calkins gets her props on Senior Night. (Jackie Saia photo)

Anderson dominated on the gridiron, where he flung touchdown strikes as the CHS quarterback, picked off passes while on defense, and handled the kicking duties, nailing long field goals and longer punts.

In June he’ll travel to Yakima to rep the Wolves in the Earl Barden All-Star Classic, which brings together the best senior football players from the 1B, 2B, and 1A classifications on one field.

Put him on the hardwood and Anderson, a hyper-intense defender, hunted baskets.

He led Coupeville in scoring as a junior and senior, finishing his run with 943 points across four seasons, placing him #7 all-time for a Wolf boys’ program which launched way back in 1917.

When spring arrived this year, Anderson returned to the baseball diamond after earning a pair of state meet medals in track as a junior.

He paced Coupeville with a team-high 19 runs, 26 stolen bases, six doubles, and a home run, while also piling up a .362 batting average, 17 hits, nine RBI, and 10 walks.

Mixing his time between multiple positions, Anderson went to the pitcher’s mound eight times, whiffing 46 batters across 25 innings of work.

Anderson flings heat. (Jackie Saia photo)

Jeann Nitta abides. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

A trio of Wolves were honored Wednesday for “excelling in scholarship, citizenship, and participation.”

Coupeville High School seniors Jeann Nitta, Aiden O’Neill, and George Spear each received the Cliff Gillies Award at the school’s awards night, putting a cap on their time as hard-working prep athletes.

The honor, handed out by schools across the state, is named for a former longtime Executive Director of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.

Previous CHS winners include Teagan Calkins, Cole White, Alita Blouin, Hailey Hammer, and Noelle Daigneault.

George Spear slashes through the rain. (Julie Wheat photo)

This year’s honorees played key roles for multiple Wolf athletic teams.

Nitta was manager for both the CHS cross country and track squads, while also competing as a harrier and basketball player during her time at the school.

Spear, who is set to compete at the state track meet in two events this weekend, has been a stellar distance runner for the Wolves. He is a three-time qualifier for the state cross country championships.

Battling through injuries, O’Neill has been a standout three-sport athlete when his body has held up.

On the football field, the basketball hardwood, and the baseball diamond, he has delivered numerous big plays while always being noted for his strong work ethic by Wolf coaches.

Aiden O’Neill, the quiet assassin. (Davin Houston photo)

Wolf hoops hotshot Danica Strong scored big on scholarship night. (Photo courtesy Danette Beckley)

They earned.

Capping four years of hard work, Coupeville High School Class of 2026 grads raked in $180,000+ in scholarship money, which should make their transition to post-Cow Town life easier to navigate.

The Wolves were honored Wednesday night at the school’s annual spring awards night, and here are some of the highlights.

Topping the Class of 2026 are valedictorian Teagan Calkins and salutatorian George Spear.

Noelle Western, Dahlia Miller, Lucas Habeck, Jeann Nitta, Sydney Wallace, Killian Shaw, Finn Price, and Easton Green round out the top 10 career GPAs.

 

Scholarships:

 

Allen-Phipps ($1000)

Jennifer Camarena-Herrera
Riverwind DeArmond
Aiden O’Neill
Killian Shaw
Danica Strong
Avery Williams-Buchanan

 

AOC Whidbey Roost – STEM Scholarship ($1500):

Teagan Calkins

 

AOC Whidbey Roost – CEA Future Educators Scholarship ($1500):

Jeann Nitta

 

Bud Madsen Masonic Lodge ($1000):

Aiden O’Neill

 

Central Whidbey Sportsman’s Association ($1000):

Jennifer Camerena-Herrera

 

Chamber Foundation, Crows Nest, and Chris Watson Insurance ($1000):

Killian Shaw

 

CHS Class of ‘74 Jim & Linda Hosek Community Leadership ($2000):

Danica Strong

 

Coupeville Arts and Crafts Festival ($2,000):

Jacob Schooley
Sydney Wallace
Avery Williams-Buchanan

 

Coupeville Booster Club ($1000):

Teagan Calkins
Aiden O’Neill
Finn Price
Killian Shaw
Danica Strong
Noelle Western

 

Coupeville Chamber ($1000):

Dylan Burrow

 

Coupeville Lions:

Finn Price ($5000)
George Spear ($5000)
Sydney Wallace ($4000)
Peyton Lucero ($3000)
Frankie Tenore ($3000)
Riverwind DeArmond ($2000)

 

Coupeville Lions – John Kohlmann LEO’s ($5000):

Dahlia Miller

 

Coupeville Lions – Parker Medical ($5000):

Teagan Calkins

 

Coupeville Lions – Pat Kolman Memorial Nursing ($4000):

Noelle Western

 

Coupeville School Foundation ($1000):

Dylan Burrow
Jennifer Camarena-Herrera
Jeann Nitta
Killian Shaw

Killian Shaw (9) excelled in the classroom and on the baseball diamond. (Jackie Saia photo)

 

Earlene Beckley Memorial ($2000):

Danica Strong

 

Edward L. “Gomer” Jones ($2500):

Killian Shaw

 

Endeavor Scholarship ($1000):

Jennifer Camarena-Herrera

 

Family of John Rodriguey ($1000):

Noelle Western

 

Friends of the Coupeville Library — Herb and Evelyn Strasler ($2000):

George Spear

 

Friends of the Coupeville Library — Evelyn Day ($2000):

Jennifer Camarena-Herrera

 

Friends of the Coupeville Library — Darrell and Carol Dyer ($2000):

Killian Shaw

 

Friends of the Coupeville Library — Leslie Franzen ($2000):

Sydney Wallace

 

Front Street Grill ($1500):

Hayden Kendall

 

Harada Family ($1000):

Danica Strong

 

Harvey-Pickard:

Regan Callahan ($2500/4 years)
Hayden Kendall ($2500/4 years)
Danica Strong ($5000/4 years)

 

John and Vivian Moon Scholarship ($1000):

Jennifer Camarena-Herrera

 

Ken Hofkamp ($1000/2 years):

Danica Strong

 

Leganieds ($1000):

Dylan Burrow
Jennifer Camerena-Herrera
Danica Strong

 

Living Like Lathom ($4000):

Killian Shaw

 

New Leaf Jo Balda Trade School ($2000):

Aleera Kent
Jacob Schooley
Killian Shaw

 

Patrick Brown Class of 1970 ($1000):

Jacob Schooley
Dylan Burrow

 

Penn Cove Shellfish ($2500/4 yrs):

Danica Strong

 

Prairie Center Market ($1500):

Killian Shaw
Danica Strong

 

Riley Sampson Foundation ($5000):

Finn Price
Teagan Calkins

Finn Price, a winner in the swimming pool, and with a book in his hand. (Rachel Price-Rayner photo)

 

Soroptimists — Aspire Award ($1000):

Riverwind DeArmond

 

Soroptimists — Empowerment Through Education Award ($1000):

Teagan Calkins
Dahlia Miller

 

Spirit of Cheer Booster Club ($1500):

Jacob Schooley
Avery Williams-Buchanan

 

Toby’s Exceptional Student Athlete ($1000):

Easton Green

 

Tom and Donna Chan Memorial ($5000):

Danica Strong

 

Tom Roehl Memorial Scholarship ($3000):

Aiden O’Neill

 

A Touch of Dutch ($500):

Sydney Wallace

 

Welch-Rixie Family ($1000):

Teagan Calkins

 

West Family Foundation ($1500):

Dahlia Miller
Noelle Western
Avery Williams-Buchanan

 

Whidbey Island Center for the Arts Bridge Scholarship ($1500):

Sydney Wallace

 

Windermere ($2000):

Killian Shaw

Milana Light blasts a winner. (Jackie Saia photo)

The last ace has been served, the last racket put away.

Wrapping up a successful season, the Coupeville High School girls’ tennis team was the first Wolf spring sports team to hold an awards banquet.

The occasion also marked the end of the run for CHS coach Tim Stelling, who has stepped down after three seasons of guiding Cow Town netters.

This spring the Wolves captured the Bi-District team title and sent three girls — sophomore Tenley Stuurmans and seniors Aleksia Jump and Dahlia Miller — to the state tourney in Yakima.

 

Varsity letter winners:

Savannah Coxsey
Annabelle Cundiff
Natylie Driscoll
Lakshmi Erickson
Miles Gerber
Hailey Goldman
Hazel Goldman
Joanna Hagen
Kauri Hamilton
Aleksia Jump
Milana Light
Dahlia Miller
Jade Peabody
Sophia Phay
(Manager)
Rowan Stoner
Tenley Stuurmans
Jovanah Villagomez

 

Participation certificate:

Brinsley Bergman

Dahlia Miller (left) and Aleksia Jump reunite with Wolf net guru Starla Seal (and her young associate). (Photo courtesy Seal)