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CHS singles aces Tenley Stuurmans (left) and Dahlia Miller were both undefeated this season until districts. (Starla Seal photo)

The stakes were high, the competition was top-tier, and the city was big.

Coupeville High School girls’ tennis players wrapped their season Thursday in Seattle with a strong team-wide performance at the District 1/2 tourney.

And while the Wolves came up just short of sending anyone to state, the small-town net aces impressed their coaches.

“We had some great competition today,” Starla Seal said. “Played their hearts out until the very end. Proud coach moment over here.”

When Coupeville arrived at the Amy Yee Tennis Center, it joined rivals from fellow Northwest 2B/1B League schools Friday Harbor and La Conner, as well as three programs from District 2’s SeaTac League.

Puget Sound Adventist, Forest Ridge, and Summit Classical Christian rounded out the field, with Forest Ridge winning both the singles and doubles titles.

This year that meant more than normal, with Districts 1 and 2 only getting a single slot to state.

The D1/2 tourney reverts back to having two singles players and two doubles teams advance to the big dance again next spring.

This time around, Forest Ridge freshman Julia Mielke thwarted Coupeville’s Tenley Stuurmans in the singles finale, preventing the Wolf netter from making a return trip to Yakima after qualifying for state as an 8th grader.

Stuurmans claimed second in a 10-woman field, with Wolf teammate Dahlia Miller beating her #5 seed to earn 4th place.

In the doubles competition, the title went to Julia Hofler and Yazhen Qui of Forest Ridge, who held off Friday Harbor duo Megan Mellinger and Kira Clark in the title match.

Districts marked not only the end of the season for the Wolves, but the end of the road for CHS seniors Ember Light and Delanie Lewis.

Light, teaming with younger sister Mila, played one of the most-intense matches of the day, with the sisters pushing a Summit Classical duo to tiebreakers in both of their sets.

The Wolves invade Seattle. (Starla Seal photo)

 

Thursday results:

 

Singles:

 

Tenley Stuurmans:

Beat Aubrey Mathewson (Summit Classical) 6-0, 6-1
Beat Dahlia Miller (Coupeville) 6-0, 6-1
Lost to Julia Mielke (Forest Ridge) 6-1, 6-1

 

Dahlia Miller:

Beat Jacklin Liu (Forest Ridge) 6-2, 6-0
Lost to Tenley Stuurmans (Coupeville) 6-0, 6-1
Lost to Kendall Lee (La Conner) 5-7, 6-3, 9-1(tiebreaker)

 

Doubles:

 

Brynn Parker/Delanie Lewis:

Lost to Julia Hofler/Yazhen Qui (Forest Ridge) 6-2, 6-1

 

Ember Light/Mila Light:

Beat Abril Aguilar/Valaria Nizovtsev (Puget Sound) 6-1
Lost to Kelsey Milojevich/Abby Gilbert (Summit Classical) 7-6(7-5), 7-6(7-4)

With their second season in the books, CHS coaches Tim Stelling and Starla Seal head home. (Delanie Lewis photo)

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Sprinting for the finish line. (Photos courtesy Jon Gabelein, Kelly Powers, and Leslie Stoner)

Every point counts.

Pulling out one of the closest wins of the spring, the Coupeville Middle School boys’ track and field team edged visiting South Whidbey 95-94 Wednesday afternoon.

Competing under cloudy prairie skies, the Wolves nabbed the victory thanks to their 6th and 7th graders, who came out on top 57-38.

That made up for the CMS 8th grade boys being on the short end of a 56-38 count.

Meanwhile, the South Whidbey girls were just a little too much for Coupeville, holding on for a 97-80 win.

The Wolf 6th/7th graders came super close in a 48-46 bout, while the CMS 8th graders fell 49-34.

That was despite Coupeville 8th grade ace Tamsin Ward making it a perfect 10-for-10 this spring, sweeping to first place finishes in the 100, 200, shot put, and high jump.

Tamsin Ward soars to new heights.

Following on the heels of 11 wins as a 6th grader, and 12 as a 7th grader, she sits with 33 career wins and counting at the middle school level.

Ward’s performance last spring tied her with future state champion Alex Murdy, who also netted 12 wins as an 8th grader in 2019.

Lindsey Roberts, who went on to win eight state meet medals as a high schooler, holds the CMS single season record with 19 wins as an 8th grader in 2015.

Seven different Wolves won two or more events Wednesday, with Brian Thompson (100, 400, Long Jump) and Diesel Eck (Shot Put, Discus, 4 x 100 Relay) hot on Ward’s heels.

Annaliese Powers (1600, 100 Hurdles), River Simpson (800, 4 x 100), Kennedy O’Neill (100 Hurdles, 4 x 200), and Malachi Chapa (High Jump, 4 x 100) were also multiple winners.

Wolf warblers (l to r) Brinnley Meek, Halle Black, Josilyn McColl, Audrey Wagner, and Avery Parker brought a musical touch to Wednesday’s meet.

Across the board, the young Wolves embraced the opportunity to compete in front of their hometown fans at a meet which kicked off with the national anthem performed by elementary school students.

“Several of our athletes talked about how they enjoyed today’s meet more than the first two so far this season,” said CMS coach Jon Gabelein.

“While the other meets were fun adventures, many of them noticed how their improvements and confidence were now becoming stronger due to their hard work at practice.”

And it was more than just the wins, as the Wolves racked up a string of PRs in virtually event, such as the 1600.

In that event, Cyrus Sparacio crashed through the five-minute barrier for the first time in the boys’ race, while Arianna Vinson shaved an astonishing minute-plus off her best time when the girls claimed the oval.

Coupeville gets back at it next Wednesday, May 21, when it travels down to Langley for a rematch with South Whidbey.

Private school foe King’s will trek to The Rock to make it a three-team rumble.

Kennedy O’Neill flies to a win in the hurdles.

 

Wednesday’s results:

 

GIRLS:

8th grade:

100 — Tamsin Ward (1st) 13.70 *PR*

200 — Ward (1st) 28.75 *PR*; Isley Garcia Fernandez (8th) 38.79 *PR*

100 Hurdles — Kennedy O’Neill (1st) 20.50; Elizabeth Marshall (2nd) 20.86; Cassandra Powers (6th) 30.51; Garcia Fernandez (7th) 32.15 *PR*

4 x 200 Relay — O’Neill, Sage Stavros, C. Powers, Marshall (1st) 2:13.87

Shot Put — Ward (1st) 36-01.50; C. Powers (4th) 22-06

High Jump — Ward (1st) 4-08

Long Jump — Marshall (3rd) 12-05 *PR*; Stavros (4th) 12-04 *PR*; O’Neill (5th) 11-04; C. Powers (10th) 10-01 *PR*; Garcia Fernandez (12th) 9-04 *PR*

 

6th/7th grade:

100 — Ava Alford (3rd) 14.98 *PR*; Bella Sandlin (4th) 15.13 *PR*; Laurel Crowder (5th) 15.27; Abbie Moss (6th) 15.37 *PR*; Ella Holm (9th) 15.80 *PR*; Finley Helm (10th) 15.84 *PR*; Mia Goers (11th) 16.00 *PR*; Miah Patterson (12th) 16.02; Claire Lachnit (13th) 16.04 *PR*; Amira Anunciado (17th) 16.60 *PR*; Sophia Magdolen (18th) 16.95; Victoria Quiroga Rivera (20th) 17.02 *PR*; Evelyn Merino-Martinez (24th) 17.65; Reagan Green (27th) 18.13 *PR*

200 — Sandlin (2nd) 32.95 *PR*; Emma Green (4th) 34.26 *PR*; Goers (5th) 34.76; Magdolen (8th) 36.83 *PR*; Quiroga Rivera (9th) 37.37 *PR*; Merino-Martinez (10th) 38.86

400 — Sandlin (2nd) 1:14.10 *PR*

800 — Autumn Hunt (1st) 3:18.61 *PR*; Sophia Burley (2nd) 3:20.07 *PR*

1600 — Annaliese Powers (1st) 6:18.90 *PR*; A. Hunt (2nd) 7:09.36; Arianna Vinson (3rd) 9:03.08 *PR*

100 Hurdles — A. Powers (1st) 21.00 *PR*; E. Green (2nd) 21.30 *PR*; Alford (3rd) 22.73 *PR*; Patterson (6th) 29.09; A. Hunt (7th) 29.95; Helm (8th) 30.02; Burley (9th) 33.82 *PR*

4 x 100 Relay — Kaleigha Millison, Crowder, Moss, Goers (2nd) 1:02.12; Addison Jacobson, Sabrina Judnich, A. Powers, E. Green (3rd) 1:05.09; Lachnit, Zariyah Allen, A. Hunt, Magdolen (4th) 1:05.40; Andrea Gonzalez, Vinson, Quiroga Rivera, Patterson (5th) 1:07.79; Merino-Martinez, Holm, R. Green, Burley (6th) 1:08.29

Shot Put — Jacobson (3rd) 24-09 *PR*; Helm (4th) 21-08; Holm (5th) 21-07; Moss (9th) 19-01

Discus — Allen (1st) 74-08; Millison (3rd) 48-09; Lachnit (6th) 44-09; Jacobson (7th) 44-00 *PR*; Crowder (8th) 43-07 *PR*; E. Green (9th) 43-06; Vinson (12th) 37-09 *PR*; Judnich (15th) 32-09; A. Powers (17th) 31-06

High Jump — Crowder (2nd) 4-02 *PR*

Long Jump — Millison (2nd) 11-09; Moss (4th) 11-03.50 *PR*; Holm (6th) 10-11.50 *PR*; Anunciado (7th) 10-09.50 *PR*; Patterson (17th) 9-06; Jacobson (18th) 9-04.50 *PR*; Magdolen (20th) 9-04 *PR*; Merino-Martinez (20th) 9-04; Allen (23rd) 9-03; Burley (24th) 9-02; R. Green (26th) 9-00

Emma Green sets a PR in the 200.

 

BOYS:

8th grade:

100 — Brian Thompson (1st) 13.03 *PR*; Kion Tellery (5th) 14.45 *PR*; Hunter Atteberry (6th) 15.49

200 — Zaydyn Dees (3rd) 32.36 *PR*

400 — Thompson (1st) 1:03.51 *PR*; Henry Bailey (2nd) 1:04.41 *PR*; Dees (4th) 1:13.40 *PR*

800 — Cyrus Sparacio (1st) 2:22.33 *PR*; Dees (3rd) 2:51.52 *PR*

1600 — Sparacio (2nd) 4:58.18 *PR*; Ossian Merkel (3rd) 5:50.33; Atteberry (4th) 6:40.50 *PR*; Nolan Hunt (5th) 6:57.45 *PR*

110 Hurdles — Frank Morrell (3rd) 24.85 *PR*

Shot Put — Aaron DiDonna (2nd) 29-00 *PR*; Tellery (3rd) 28-03 *PR*; N. Hunt (6th) 19-04

Discus — Merkel (2nd) 73-04 *PR*; DiDonna (4th) 72-06 *PR*; Sparacio (5th) 69-09 *PR*; Tellery (6th) 59-09 *PR*; N. Hunt (8th) 48-05 *PR*; Dees (9th) 46-04 *PR*

Long Jump — Thompson (1st) 16-05; Bailey (3rd) 14-03

 

6th/7th grade:

100 — Les Queen (2nd) 14.03 *PR*; Jesse Kehoe (3rd) 14.38 *PR*; Liam Stoner (5th) 14.62 *PR*; Diesel Eck (6th) 14.78 *PR*; Asher Harris (15th) 16.04 *PR*; Brenden Tumulty (23rd) 18.61 *PR*

200 — Queen (1st) 29.25 *PR*; Xander Beaman (2nd) 29.99 *PR*; Jacob Lujan (3rd) 30.61

400 — Ceiba Rusch (9th) 1:30.53

800 — River Simpson (1st) 2:38.64 *PR*; Maverick Walling (3rd) 2:39.41 *PR*; Lincoln Wagner (4th) 2:46.65 *PR*; Archer Schwarz (6th) 2:53.88 *PR*

1600 — Wagner (3rd) 5:56.59 *PR*; Schwarz (4th) 6:01.99 *PR*; Tanner Kempton (6th) 7:03.12 *PR*; Rusch (7th) 7:41.45

110 Hurdles — Lujan (1st) 20.15 *PR*; Malachi Chapa (2nd) 21.05; Wagner (3rd) 21.98 *PR*; Rusch (4th) 23.88 *PR*; Kempton (5th) 24.82 *PR*; Stoner (6th) 21:32

4 x 100 Relay — Chapa, Beaman, Eck, Simpson (1st) 55.66; Rusch, Harris, Stoner, Lujan (3rd) 1:04.32

Shot Put — Eck (1st) 34-04 *PR*

Discus — Eck (1st) 89-05; Queen (3rd) 69-04 *PR*; Tumulty (8th) 43-01

High Jump — Chapa (1st) 4-08; Kehoe (2nd) 4-08; Beaman (3rd) 4-06; Stoner (5th) 4-04 *PR*

Long Jump — Kehoe (2nd) 14-03; Chapa (4th) 13-07 *PR*; Queen (5th) 12-11; Schwarz (7th) 12-04; Lujan (9th) 12-02; Wagner (10th) 12-00; Kempton (13th) 11-03; Tumulty (29th) 7-07

On to the next meet!

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Capri Anter unleashes. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Don’t stop until you get to the top.

Continuing their meteoric rise, the Coupeville High School softball squad moves up three slots this week in the final Washington Interscholastic Activities Association RPI rankings.

The Wolves, who are 17-1 heading into Thursday’s District 1 tourney in Mount Vernon, currently sit at #4 among 2B schools.

A week ago, CHS was #7, and before that Aaron Lucero’s sluggers spent back-to-back weeks ranked at #9.

Coupeville, which is one win away from advancing to state for the first time since 2019, is the only 2B softball squad left with just a single loss on its record.

That lone defeat came by a razor-thin 5-4 margin to 3A Oak Harbor way back on March 15.

RPI, or Rating Percentage Index, is a statistical system used to rank teams and is based on a team’s winning percentage, as well as its opponent’s winning percentage and its’s opponent’s opponents winning percentage.

When the state tourney seeding committee meets Sunday to set the bracket, RPI is one of the tools it will use.

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Willow Leedy-Bonifas returns to Earth. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

We’re sweeping out the archives.

The pics seen above and below have two things in common.

One, they feature Coupeville athletes or athletic supporters.

And two, they’re some of the last photos sent my way by John Fisken before he took his Diet Coke and went home, ambling off to semi-retirement.

So, with no games today as we wait for district playoff action to kick into full gear starting Thursday, now is a perfect time to slap ’em on the page and let ’em marinate.

“I’m just saying, it feels like we’re being watched…”

Ember Light fires off a serve.

Megan Richter and her junior associate catch a softball game on a sunny day.

The hunt for missing softballs is a never-ending one.

Paul Messner has his eye(s) on you.

Kickin’ up a dust storm on the way to softball glory.

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Preston Epp flies for the finish line. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

The finish line is within sight, and every second matters.

Every inch, as well.

With the high school track and field season down to just two upcoming meets — districts and state — the battle for the top marks is at its most intense.

A look at which Coupeville athletes appear in the top 10 among 2B competitors statewide confirms that.

A week ago, Carson Field (1600), Matthew Ward (triple jump), and the CHS boys 4 x 400 relay squad were on that list.

This time around, they’ve been bumped off the chart, at least for the moment.

But Cael Wilson added six inches to his PR in the pole vault and moved up from 4th to 3rd, and the Wolves are hanging tough in other areas.

Where things sit statewide through May 11, with the district meet set to go down this Saturday in Coupeville:

 

GIRLS:

Shot Put — Katie Marti (5th) 34-01

 

BOYS:

800 — Carson Field (4th) 2:02.03

4 x 100 Relay — Marquette Cunningham, Davin Houston, Preston Epp, Chase Anderson (8th) 44.47

High Jump — Cael Wilson (4th) 6-01

Pole Vault — Wilson (3rd-tie) 12-06

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