A pack of Wolves, ready to rumble on the cross country trail. (Photo courtesy Brian Strelow)
Who let the Wolves out?
The Coupeville High School cross country team hit the road Saturday, traveling to Sehome for its season opener on a sunny September day.
The destination was the 13th annual Gear Up Northwest XC Preview, which drew 44 schools to Civic Stadium for a series of races.
Most of the events paired off runners based on their year in school, with sophomores facing sophomores, seniors facing seniors, and so on.
Coupeville, a 2B school, was one of four “small schools” in attendance, with most of the competitors hailing from big-time conferences like Wesco, KingCo, and the Metro League.
All three Whidbey Island schools vied, with 1A South Whidbey and 3A Oak Harbor joining the Wolves.
CHS coach Elizabeth Bitting had 15 runners on opening day and came away pleased with the effort and top times.
It might have been the first race, but the trail guru is already in mid-season form with dropping exclamation points.
“So much fun at Sehome today!!!,” she said.
“LOTS of big schools, so placement wasn’t great, but times!!!! OMG, for the boys!!! Top five boys all under 13 minutes!!!”
Those five male harriers were also separated by just 42 seconds on the two-mile course, which bodes well for their ability to run as a pack in future races.
Getting a chance to go toe to toe, and step for step, with athletes from much-bigger schools can only benefit the Wolves as the season plays out.
“They had so much competition,” Bitting said. “It was truly a great day!”
Coupeville returns to action next Saturday, Sept. 16, when it travels to Langley for the 44th Carl Westling Invite.
Coupeville running coaches Amber Wyman (left) and Elizabeth Bitting are back on the bus for another season. (Photo courtesy Bitting)
Saturday results:
GIRLS:
Sophomores:
Noelle Western (48th) 15:35.39
Aleksia Jump (102nd) 17:45.64
Reagan Callahan (137th) 20:41.28
Juniors:
Ari Armstrong (110th) 17:49.05
Seniors:
Erica McGrath (94th) 20:39.58
BOYS:
Freshmen:
Kenneth Jacobsen (72nd) 12:53.20
Sophomores:
Ezekiel Allen (44th) 12:15.83
George Spear (57th) 12:30.07
Juniors:
Landon Roberts (87th) 12:10.71
Carson Field (103rd) 12:26.15
Thomas Strelow (134th) 13:34.41
Nicholas Wasik (135th) 13:36.09
Preston Howard (141st) 13:48.22
JV-1:
Zach Blitch (139th) 19:29.91
JV-2:
Axel Marshall (37th) 13:48.17
Coupeville Sports 
Leave a comment