Coupeville Sports

   Amy (Mouw) Fasolo, with husband (and former CHS hoops stud) Rob Fasolo and their son, Grady.

They are united.

Both male and female, from different graduation classes and proficient in different track and field events, but bound together by being among an elite group of Coupeville student/athletes.

No matter where their lives take them, Amy (Mouw) Fasolo, Jon Chittim, Steven McDonald and Tyler King will always share one thing — they reached the top of the mountain.

As an institution, Coupeville High School has produced only a handful of state champions.

The one defining trait is they’re virtually all runners.

From Natasha Bamberger, who won four state titles in track, then plopped the cherry on the sundae with a cross country title in 1985, to Kyle King, who blitzed his way to five track titles before heading off to run at Eastern Washington University and the University of Oklahoma, Wolf runners have long been the school’s premier athletes.

But what did it take for them to reach the pinnacle of their sport? And, what does that brief, shining moment in the spotlight mean after the initial rush has faded?

Four of Coupeville’s best looked back, and their answers ran the gamut.

Fasolo broke the tape first in the 800 meter run in 2003, but it’s the moments after the race which stay with her today.

Now married to former Wolf basketball star Rob Fasolo and a mom, she enjoyed the chance to let the competition slide away and be replaced with camaraderie.

“One of my favorite memories from the state track meet is from after the race,” Fasolo said. “The top eight girls had to stay around for the medal ceremony. We had a great time talking and laughing and it was easy to relax because the race was over.

“Plus, they had Popsicles for us since it was really warm,” she added. “We all did our cool down jog around the track together and laughed the whole time. It was a fun way to end the race.”

For Chittim and McDonald, who teamed with Kyle King and Chris Hutchinson to win the 4 x 400 relay in 2006 — Chittim went wild that year, also winning the 200 and 400 — track’s somewhat unique ability to foster team spirit and friendliness among competitors also remains fresh in their memories.

“State was probably the most fun meet of the year,” Chittim said. “Not only because it was the “big show,” but because it was multiple days long.

“Being able to stay in a hotel with my track friends was always the best part,” he added. “The time in between the races was always fun too, because there was plenty of opportunity to meet new friends.”

After attending Vanguard University in California on a track scholarship, Chittim is now a psychical therapy technician in the Army. Married to high school sweetheart Leah Mouw, the couple have a young daughter.

McDonald, who was a sophomore on the winning Wolf relay squad, went on to play football and run track for Pacific Lutheran University, where he majored in computer science, with a minor in math.

“The best memory I have was the feeling after the race, when I handed the baton to Kyle King and realized I did everything I could have done,” McDonald said. “I trained as hard as I could have.

“I put out as much preparation as I could have, and I put everything I had out on the track … well, and into the trash can before and after the race as well.

“That feeling, when hugging Chris Hutchinson and yelling at the top of my lungs at the fellow relay mates as they circled the track to finish the race was better than a million state championship medals,” he added. “That is what being a true champion is about. Doing everything you can to be the best you can and pulling the best out of your teammates as well.

“We all were champions and I’ve not seen a champion more deserving of the name than Chris. I can’t say I never saw him try as hard as I did during the championship, because he was doing it every day in practice.”

That level of commitment is necessary, something Tyler King, who won two track titles and then matched Bamberger by adding a cross country title before landing a scholarship to the University of Washington, knows very well.

“For me personally, it took almost a lifestyle, my life revolving around running. It’s almost lonely, going out on all those runs by myself, but it’s worth it,” King said. “I won’t lie, winning is definitely fun, and it may have been one of the reasons I liked running so much when I started out in middle school.

“Now days the races are only part of it. Winning is still nice, but it’s about more than that,” he added. “But, when you’re gunning down the home stretch, there’s nothing else in your mind other than getting to the line before the guy right next to you.”

Now departed from the CHS hallways, though some of their records still hang on a display in the school’s gym complex, the foursome say they will always remember their glory days — mainly for how it has continued to affect the way they live their lives as young adults.

“Track was an interesting sport for me in comparison to the other sports I played,” Fasolo said. “It was my best sport and I was willing to work hard at it. I was really, really competitive when I ran and I did not like to lose. However, I didn’t really enjoy it because I was so competitive.

“Playing sports can teach you how to work well in a team,” she added. “You get the chance to work with a lot of different people and personalities and it’s important to know how to get along with others.

“It helps prepare you to work with other students in college, for future coworkers or clients in the work place, working in the community, or church activities.”

“Back in high school, winning meant a lot. Not only because it’s something few Coupeville athletes get to experience, but also it meant I would have a much better chance of getting better scholarships,” Chittim said. “I have always had a competitive spirit, so of course winning still means a lot to me, but in a different way.

“Now it is more internal and not for my name to be up on a wall.”

McDonald sums it all up perfectly.

“Being a state champion doesn’t really carry much prestige along with it,” he said. “I always have the medal and the title, but it really was the trip. The day-to-day grind of training and off season preparation which I will remember and hold on to, not the destination of the state track meet.

“Training and being with the relay team and spending time of the track with one another is what I hold dear,” he added. “I’m sure my relay teammates will agree to that one.

“The actual medal only serves as a memory holder for the more important things.”