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Madison McMillan

When she sees the field, she has a big impact.

Playing for a very-deep Edmonds College softball squad, Coupeville grad Madison McMillan has had to be patient during her freshman campaign, sharing duties at third base.

But when the former Wolf is in the lineup, she rakes.

Wednesday night was another example, as McMillan started in the first game of a doubleheader sweep against host Skagit Valley College, collecting two walks, a hit, a run, and an RBI in a 19-4 win mercy-ruled after five innings.

The nightcap went even faster, with the Tritons bouncing SVC 15-3 in just three innings as Coupeville’s progeny cheered on her teammates from the bench.

The sweep pushes Edmonds winning streak to 20 games, with the squad sitting at 20-1.

On the season, McMillan has played in 15 of 21 games, starting nine.

She’s hitting at a .429 clip — fifth-best on the team — with 11 runs, 12 hits, three doubles, two home runs, 15 RBI, and six walks.

McMillan’s stellar play at Edmonds follows on the heels of a superb four-year run at CHS, where she was a key player for Wolf volleyball, basketball, and softball teams, helping both the spikers and diamond women advance to the state tourney.

Adeline Maynes is the point of the spear for an 8-0 Wolf softball squad. (Jackie Saia photo)

The WIAA has entered the chat.

Wednesday marked the first time the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association has released Rating Percentage Index (RPI) numbers for spring sports.

And as soon as they did, Coupeville High School made a nice splash, with its undefeated softball squad landing #7 in the 2B rankings.

Meanwhile, the Wolf baseball squad shows up at #19 (out of 47 schools), with the WIAA crediting Steve Hilborn’s team with being 5-2, even though they’re really 6-2.

That’s not an error, but a quirk, as Coupeville’s season-opening victory against 3A Oak Harbor technically came against the Wildcats JV and the RPI rankings don’t count varsity teams beating JV teams, regardless of classification.

Aaron Lucero’s softball sluggers have no quirks on their own schedule, as they beat Oak Harbor’s varsity and sit at 8-0 as Spring Break unfolds.

The Smash Sisters have won six of those eight by 10+ runs and are one of just two 2B softball teams to still have a spotless record, joining #3 Liberty (Spangle), which is 11-0.

And actually, now there is a second quirk, as when the RPI rankings were first revealed Wednesday, Colfax was also undefeated and ranked #4 as shown in this photo.

Then the Bulldogs fell 8-4 to 2A Pullman in an early afternoon game, and slid from #4 to #8, while Adna, River View, Toutle Lake, and Coupeville all jumped a spot.

In the end, how important is RPI? Depends on who you ask.

The rankings are “one tool utilized by the seeding committees to determine first round bracket pairings into the state tournaments.”

So, there’s that, though first you have to punch your ticket to the dance for it to really matter.

Until then, it’s all about bragging rights.

So, yeah, it’s kinda a big deal for the easily hyped-up such as myself.

CHS softball sluggers (l to r) Haylee Armstrong, Sydney Van Dyke, and Cami Van Dyke played for others Saturday. (Photos courtesy Grant Van Dyke and WhidbeyHealth Foundation)

It was a solid day’s work.

Both the Coupeville High School softball and baseball teams won their home games Saturday, but there was more to the afternoon than just on-field action.

The Wolf sluggers spearheaded a Coupeville vs. Cancer event which raised $2,390.20 for WhidbeyHealth’s MAC Clinic through the sale of t-shirts and food.

Both teams dressed up for the occasion, with softball players sporting different colored socks to reflect different forms of cancer, while the diamond men wore special shirts.

Several players offered impassioned speeches about family members who have been impacted by cancer, and, for the first time this spring, home games were played on the prairie under clear blue skies.

The event required the coordinated efforts of many, led by Wolf Moms Michele Thule and Michelle Armstrong.

Also playing a large role was Rainy Simpson from the WhidbeyHealth Foundation and MAC nurses Sherry Phay, Lisa Toomey-Stout, and Courtney Gray.

The WhidbeyHealth Foundation sponsored the baseball team t-shirts, while the Coupeville Booster Club provided softball’s socks.

Ashley’s Design printed the shirts, and CHS coaches covered the cost of 100 hamburgers and 100 hotdogs.

 

Playing key roles:

Shaloma Allen
Joe and Michelle Armstrong
“Granny” Chris Baker
Mandi Black
Shawn Calkins
Mindy Grove
Lark Gustafson
Steve Hilborn
Rachel King
Leann and Nate Leavitt
Aaron and Jess Lucero
Dane Lucero
Tony Martin
Scott and Lara Maynes
Tamra Patterson
Morgan Payne
Mike Pearson
Jennifer Rains
Jon Roberts
Alix Roos
Dina Shaw
“Auntie” Bettie Sifuentes
Kristi and Brent Stevens
Mariah Stoker
Michele and Doug Thule
Colleen and Grant Van Dyke
Emily Zenz

Wyatt Fitch-Marron heads off to do some work. (Marquette Cunningham photo)

The competition is cutthroat.

Another week of track and field results are in the books, and the race to be the best in 2B continues to heat up.

Numbers that put someone in the top 10 a week ago are no longer enough to make the cut, and the roll call of names shifts once again.

With Spring Break upon them, and no meets on the schedule until April 15, Coupeville High School athletes are still among the best in their classification.

Just not as many as last week.

Here’s where the Wolves land among the best in 2B through April 6:

 

GIRLS:

Shot Put — Tamsin Ward (6th) 30-10

 

BOYS:

1600 — Cyrus Sparacio (8th) 4:46.29

3200 — Sparacio (10th) 10:47.10

High Jump — Wyatt Fitch-Marron (3rd-tie) 5-10; Davin Houston (9th-tie) 5-08

Mikayla Wagner runs towards Spring Break. (Marquette Cunningham photo)

Everyone is taking a break.

Well, maybe not everyone, but a whole lot of people will be out of office next week as Spring Break fever ripples across the land.

There are only three baseball games and two softball rumbles featuring Northwest 2B/1B League teams on the schedule for the week of Apr. 6-11, and none of those feature a Coupeville squad.

The Wolf track stars and tennis players are also sidelined, though everyone will be back in action the following week.

Which likely means it’ll be sunny skies from now through next Sunday, and then Mother Nature will launch a comeback in time to bedevil the schedule makers.

While we wait to see what the weather forecasters have in store for us, here’s where things sit through Apr. 5:

Olivia Martin flies for home. (Julie Wheat photo)

 

Northwest League baseball:

School League Overall
Coupeville 4-0 6-2
MV Christian 4-0 8-1
Friday Harbor 2-2 3-4
Orcas Island 2-2 3-5
La Conner 1-2 2-5
Concrete 0-3 0-3
Darrington 0-4 0-8

 

Northwest League girls’ tennis:

School League Overall
Coupeville 1-0 2-2
Friday Harbor 0-1 0-2

 

Northwest League softball:

School League Overall
Coupeville 4-0 8-0
La Conner 2-0 3-1
Orcas Island 3-2 4-4
Friday Harbor 2-2 3-5
Darrington 0-3 1-3
Concrete 0-4 0-4