Hit the tape, ring up the wins

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Hit the tape, ring up the wins

June 14, 2023 by David Svien

Wolf 6th grader Tamsin Ward made a splash in her first middle school track season. (Photo courtesy Jandellyn Ward)

She’s off to an impressive start.

Coupeville Middle School 6th grader Tamsin Ward won 11 times, across four different events, in the just-concluded track and field season.

While middle school stats are notoriously hard to document (more on that in a second), her 2023 campaign ranks as the third-best put up by a Wolf athlete in the last 15 years.

Only Lindsey Roberts, with 18 wins, and state champ Alex Murdy, with 12, had more in a single spring, and both accomplished that feat as 8th graders.

Danny Conlisk (10), who went on to win two state titles as a high school runner, is fourth, while Nick Laska notched nine victories as a 7th grader this spring, tying him with Makana Stone at #5 on the CMS single-season list.

Now, here’s where we talk about why it’s nearly impossible to fully document what may have happened in the past.

While athletic.net makes modern life much easier, compiling track and field activity from across the country, it’s only been with us since 2004.

Originally released just in Oregon (not a state we live in), its Coupeville Middle School-related data doesn’t go back any further than 2008.

So, while I can document 87 Wolves who have earned a medal at the high school state track and field championships — dating back to 1963 — only 39 of those competitors have readily available middle school results.

But wait, CMS might have something in its own records … ha ha, just kidding. No one held on to anything.

So, while Tyler and Kyle King have 11 and 10 state meet medals, respectively, and Natasha Bamberger won five state titles, they and other “early” contenders such as Jeff Fielding and Joy Hack aren’t part of this project.

Unless someone has some handwritten notes stashed in a box out in a barn.

Until then, the best seasons by a CMS track and field athlete between 2008-2023 are listed below.

The list goes 12 deep, and not 10, because of a three-way tie at #10.