Tia Wurzrainer: three sports, 1000% effort. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
Numbers don’t always tell the full story.
And that’s why, to fully appreciate what Tia Wurzrainer brought to Coupeville High School athletics the past four years, you needed to see her play in person.
From a distance, she didn’t score a staggering amount of goals on the soccer field, and didn’t net a record-busting number of baskets on the hardwood.
But watch Tia play in person, whether it was soccer, basketball, or tennis season, and you would quickly gain an appreciation of why she was so valued by coaches, and so beloved by her teammates.
The young girl who once sat quietly eating her sandwich back in a corner at her family’s restaurant, Christopher’s on Whidbey, emerged as one of the hardest-working, far-tougher-than-expected athletes to ever pull on a Wolf jersey.
Tia did the dirty work, and then asked for more, always with a smile.
On the soccer field, she sacrificed her body game after game, a defender who seemingly feared no scoring ace, and wasn’t gonna take no crap from no one, no matter how fancy the rival school might be.
She protected her side of the field with a burning intensity, slamming into frays, chasing down breakaways, fighting for every 50/50 ball, making life considerably easier for the CHS goalkeepers who camped out behind her.
Give her a chance to score, and she could, but Tia made her name holding down the backline, where she netted All-Conference honors and earned mad respect from anyone foolish enough to challenge her.
As fall faded into winter, she would move from the pitch to the basketball court, but her persona as a quietly tough-as-nails roustabout never changed.
Tia slices to the hoop for a bucket in a big win over arch-rival South Whidbey.
The kind of “glue” player every coach needs, she was that rare teen athlete who not only accepted her role, but openly embraced it.
Need a lock-down defender?
A hustler and a scrapper?
A pass-first player who could help keep her team flowing under big-time pressure?
A staunch supporter of each and every one of her teammates?
Tia was the answer for all those needs, and she always seemed to play with the same intensity and effort regardless of whether she was starting or coming off the bench.
Proving she was a true three-sport star, she never skipped a season, joining Avalon Renninger to form a deadly doubles duo on the tennis court each spring.
Always a deadly assassin on the tennis court.
The pair meshed almost flawlessly, both in playing style, and with the grace and drive they exhibited match after match.
Team leaders, captains, and stellar competitors, the duo were on the fast track to make it to the state tourney, only to see their senior season derailed by COVID-19.
While Tia and Avalon didn’t get the chance to make a run at glory in Eastern Washington, that shouldn’t detract in the slightest from what they accomplished when given a chance to play.
While reflecting on their net careers, CHS tennis guru Ken Stange marveled at what Wurzrainer had brought to his program.
“Tia … calm, cool, and collected.
“She would probably argue with me, but I think Tia is perfect.
“Kind, intelligent, intuitive, and hard working. I don’t think I ever heard a single negative word pass through her lips.
“Her work ethic was second to none. Anyone would be happy to have her as a partner, me included.”
Some athletes get a chance to put up big numbers, making it easy for people in far-off states or other countries to have at least a loose idea of what they accomplished.
But it’s those like Tia, the ones you need to be camped out in the bleachers, or on the bench, or out there on the floor with her, to really appreciate, who make an impact which can’t be matched.
If you know, you know.
And, if you don’t know, you really, truly missed out.
Today, we swing open the doors at the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame and welcome Tia to our hallowed digital hideaway, where she is reunited with Avalon, her tennis doubles partner.
After this, you’ll find them at the top of the blog, hanging out under the Legends tab.
All in all, a very appropriate choice of words to describe two of the best, as athletes and as people, to ever emerge from Coupeville.
Wurzrainer and Renninger? They were kind of a big deal.
That’s my beautiful niece!!! You ROCK Tia♥️👍🏼