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Archive for February, 2019

Support peace, love, and Maia Sparkman

Posted in Fundraisers, tagged , , , , , on February 28, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Maia Sparkman, seen during her high school track days, sets off for Zambia in April to join the Peace Corps. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Maia Sparkman is one of the great ones.

She was a phenomenal athlete, both at South Whidbey High School and then at Seattle University.

As a Falcon, she was a standout on the soccer pitch and a state meet medal-winning supernova in track and field, the sport she continued to pursue in college.

Now, during her prep days, I was much more combative with those who lived on the South end of the Island.

There was a moment, though, after finally listening to people wiser than myself, that I started reaching out to Falcon Nation with an olive branch, instead of swinging my computer keyboard wildly to and fro.

During that time, I wrote several feature stories on South Whidbey athletes, and Maia, showing her grace, agreed to be the first Falcon I wrote about.

In her answers to my questions, she showed herself to be highly-intelligent, very-focused, and a young woman with immense potential.

Maia didn’t have to talk to me, but she did, and I greatly appreciated it, both then and now.

Thursday night, one of my favorite former Coupeville athletes, Haley Sherman, posted a link to a GoFundMe for Maia, and, being curious, I popped over to check it out.

Once there, I discovered Ms. Sparkman has joined the Peace Corps and is off to Zambia in April to kick off a two-year adventure.

I also found that, after working two jobs after college to build up savings, she unfortunately fell prey to a scam which gutted those savings.

Her family and friends have come together to try and help Maia get back on her feet financially, and I hope the mission blossoms.

This young woman is one of the best and brightest Whidbey Island has produced during my time running Coupeville Sports, and how can you not want her to succeed when her goal in life is simply to help others?

So, take a moment, pop over to the link below to get more facts, and, if you can, hopefully help Maia, with financial aid, positive messages, or both.

 

https://www.gofundme.com/support-maia

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CHS sports head outside, find cameraman already there

Posted in Baseball, Boys Soccer, Girls Tennis, Softball, Volleyball, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 28, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Wolf senior Emma Smith visualizes capping her prep career at the state track and field championships. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

James Wood sacrifices his noggin for the good of the team.

Sarah Wright comes up firing, mere seconds from destroying the mitt about to receive her laser.

Gavin Knoblich and his bat Shaniqua (yes, that’s really her name) perfect the art of the bunt.

Lola Jimenez gets the blood flowing during tennis warm-ups.

Daniel Olson stretches out, denying the wily baseball’s bid to get past him.

Coral Caveness turns two.

Andrew Aparicio takes control of the ball during a soccer scrimmage.

Mary Milnes feels the burn.

If only one Wolf can save the world, I choose Chris Ruck. Zombies, killer androids, or renegade asteroids, all will fall to his steely gaze.

Spring has sprung, luring the paparazzi outside from their winter hideaways.

With all five Coupeville High School sports teams wending their way through the first week of practice, top-notch camera clicker John Fisken was out and about, and the pics seen above are courtesy him.

It’s a quick taste of track and field, soccer, tennis, softball, and baseball, with much more to come over the next three months.

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Droppin’ shots, countin’ buckets

Posted in Girls Basketball, Middle School, tagged , , , , on February 28, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Alita Blouin (10) is out in front of the pack, on her way to slapping home yet another layup. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

294 points.

Well, at least that’s my best guess.

As the Coupeville Middle School girls basketball squads make the turn at the halfway point of the season, that’s what the three units have combined to score across 14 games.

Both the 7th grade varsity and the 8th grade JV team have played five times, and have another five tilts left on the schedule.

The 8th grade varsity, stung by King’s and Northshore Christian not fielding teams, sits with four in the books and five to play.

Now, if I was super-productive, I would have tracked all the rebounds, assists, personal fouls, and other stats as the season has unfolded.

Yeah, didn’t happen…

But, while I might not have achieved statistical nirvana, I have managed to track the gaudiest of all stats – who scored.

At home games, I had my own numbers, and compared them to the official score-books.

When the Wolves were on the road, I went off of the books, which fluctuated in quality depending on whether a Coupeville person was doing them, or whether a local scrawled a pencil across the page.

So, it may not be 100% correct, but I feel pretty confident that it’s at least 97.24% dead-on.

 

The points race:

 

8th varsity (four games):

Nezi Keiper – 32
Carolyn Lhamon – 31
Maddie Georges – 30
Alita Blouin – 15
Gwen Gustafson – 8
Ryanne Knoblich – 7
Jill Prince – 4
Hayley Fiedler – 2
Trinity McGee – 2
Jordyn Rogers – 2

 

7th varsity (five games):

Brionna Blouin – 59
Lauren Marrs – 27
Reese Wilkinson – 8
Desi Ramirez – 7
Erica McGrath – 4
Kayla Arnold – 2
Allison Nastali – 2
Skylar Parker – 2

 

8th JV (five games):

Trinity McGee – 10
Jessenia Camarena – 6
Mercedes Kalwies-Anderson – 6
Ryanne Knoblich – 6
Cristina McGrath – 6
Adrian Burrows – 4
Karyme Castro – 4
Claire Mayne – 4
Melanie Navarro – 2
Jordyn Rogers – 2

 

**There is no 7th grade JV.**

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“Torpedo” launches, snags hoops MVP honors

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , , on February 27, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Junior Sean Toomey-Stout earned team MVP honors Wednesday as Coupeville High School boys basketball held its season-ending awards banquet. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Immediate impact.

From the moment they made their varsity basketball debuts this season, junior Sean Toomey-Stout and freshman Hawthorne Wolfe were at the core of everything the Coupeville High School boys basketball squad accomplished.

Leading a young team building for the future, the duo impressed North Sound Conference coaches, picking up votes in postseason voting and earning Honorable Mention status when the league recently named its All-Conference teams.

Toomey-Stout, bouncing back after missing his sophomore basketball season thanks to a football injury, added the team varsity MVP award Wednesday, when CHS held its season-ending banquet.

“The Torpedo” led the Wolves in steals, assists, points in the paint, and offensive rebounds, while finishing second in defensive boards and scoring.

The night’s other big awards went to the team’s two seniors, post player Dane Lucero and team manager Ryan Labrador.

Lucero capped a two-year run on the hardwood by nabbing the varsity Wolf Pack Award, which honors a player who showcases “leadership, character, attitude, effort, and commitment.”

“Dane exemplifies all of these and more,” said CHS coach Brad Sherman. “Very deserving of being recognized for his level of leadership and class in everything he does.”

Labrador received the Program Distinguished Service Award.

“Ryan works extremely hard to support those around him, never asks for anything in return, and does it with a smile on his face,” Sherman said. “That’s just who he is and we were very lucky to have him this year.”

As a program, Coupeville also received a pair of awards from the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, with both the varsity and JV earning Distinguished Scholastic Awards.

The JV put together a cumulative GPA of 3.292, while the Wolf varsity finished at 3.185.

 

Other awards:

 

Varsity statistical recognition:

 

Leading Scorer:

Hawthorne Wolfe

 

Steals Leader:

Sean Toomey-Stout

 

Leading Rebounder:

Gavin Knoblich

 

Blocks Leader:

Ulrik Wells

 

JV co-MVPs:

Xavier Murdy
Daniel Olsen

 

JV Wolf Award:

Grady Rickner

 

C-Team MVP:

Jaylen Nitta

 

C-Team Most Improved Player:

Chris Cernick 

 

Varsity letter winners:

Jered Brown
Mason Grove
Gavin Knoblich
Dane Lucero
Jean Lund-Olsen
Jacobi Pilgrim
Sean Toomey-Stout
Ulrik Wells
Hawthorne Wolfe

 

Participation certificates:

Andrew Aparicio
Chris Cernick
Brayden Coatney
Miles Davidson
Koa Davison
Sage Downes
Tony Garcia
Tucker Hall 
Alex Jimenez
Logan Martin
Xavier Murdy
Jaylen Nitta
Daniel Olson 
Jonathan Partida
Grady Rickner
TJ Rickner
Cody Roberts
Chris Ruck
Ben Smith
Damon Stadler

 

Manager:

Ryan Labrador 

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Wolves chomp Cougars, stay unbeaten

Posted in Girls Basketball, Middle School, tagged , , , , , on February 27, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Ryanne Knoblich, pulling down a rebound in an earlier game, was one of six 8th grade varsity players to score Wednesday in a Coupeville win. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

The offense was hot. The defense was impeccable. The result was magical.

Shutting down rival Langley in style Wednesday, the Coupeville Middle School 8th grade varsity girls basketball team rolled to a 30-20 win on the road, improving to a flawless 4-0 on the season.

Unlike the first time these Island rivals met, when the Wolves had to storm from behind to net the victory, Wednesday’s match-up was much more of a blowout.

Up 16-9 after the first quarter, Coupeville clamped down and shut-out Langley in both the second and third quarters.

The Cougars missed all six of their free throw attempts across the 14-minute span of play, and every single, stinkin’ field goal attempt they lofted skyward refused to drop.

While Coupeville’s own offense slowed a bit in the middle of the game, it still used mirror-image 6-0 runs in the second and third to stretch the lead out to 28-9.

Langley eked out a measure of redemption in the fourth, using an 11-2 surge to make the final result on the scoreboard seem a bit more palatable.

But just a bit.

With King’s and Northshore Christian not playing 8th grade basketball this season, Coupeville is scrambling to fill out its schedule, and will face Langley a third time Mar. 5.

The older Wolves still won’t get a full schedule, playing nine games to the 10 that the CMS 7th grade varsity has planned, but the drive for a perfect season continues.

A huge part of the success that Wolf coach Alex Evans and his squad are enjoying comes from his team’s ability to hit you a million different ways.

Nezi Keiper and Carolyn Lhamon worked the paint like pros Wednesday, both tossing in a game-high eight points, while Wolf guards Maddie Georges (6) and Alita Blouin (4) scorched Langley from outside.

On the season, Keiper (32), Lhamon (31), and Georges (30) form a wicked three-pronged scoring attack.

Ryanne Knoblich and Gwen Gustafson each knocked down a bucket Wednesday, while Hayley Fielder and Jill Prince chipped in with defense and hustle.

 

8th grade JV falls:

Claire Mayne netted all of Coupeville’s points, but the Wolves went down 14-4 in a two-quarter game.

The loss snaps a two-game winning streak for the JV, leaving them at 2-3 on the season.

Things stayed fairly close in a 6-2 first quarter, but Langley pulled away for the win with a solid second quarter.

Trinity McGee, Cristina McGrath, Mercedes Kalwies-Anderson, Abigail Ramirez, Jessenia Camarena, Karyme Castro, Adrian Burrows, Melanie Navarro, and Prince also saw floor time.

 

No 7th grade game:

Coupeville’s youngest players had the day off, as Wednesday’s games were added to bolster a depleted 8th grade schedule.

The 7th graders, who sit at 2-3, kick off the second half of the season Mar. 5, when all of Coupeville’s teams return to Langley.

After that comes a road trip to Lakewood (Mar. 6), home games against Lakewood (Mar. 12) and Sultan (Mar. 14), and, finally, a visit to Granite Falls (Mar. 19).

All three CMS squads will play in the final five match-ups.

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