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Archive for the ‘awards’ Category

   CHS seniors Grey Rische and Skyler Lawrence both had successful four-year runs as athletes. (John Fisken photos)

Dependable. Always.

Coupeville High School seniors Skyler Lawrence and Grey Rische have been rock-solid, as athletes and people, the past four years, and Tuesday night they got some sweet payback.

The duo were honored by photographer John Fisken, each taking home $500 thanks to money raised by sales of pics shot by John’s Photos this school year.

This is the fourth year Coupeville athletes have received the honor, with Lawrence and Rische joining past winners Jared Helmstadter, Sebastian Davis, Julia Myers, Aaron Trumbull, Breeanna Messner and Brandon Kelley.

To be eligible, Wolves had to play at least two sports for four years, carry a 3.0 GPA and not be receiving financial assistance from a college for athletics.

By pure luck, this year’s winners share the exact same birthday — Oct. 1, 1998.

Lawrence played basketball and was a track and field thrower her entire CHS career.

As a junior, she was part of a girls basketball squad which went to state, the first time the Wolf hoops program had made it to the big dance in a decade.

She also made it to state twice in the shot put, advancing as a sophomore and junior, while winning the sub-district title in the event three years running.

Lawrence advanced to districts or further in all three of her events — shot put, javelin and discus — during her prep career.

Rische, who follows in the footsteps of his brother (Helmstadter) by winning the photo scholarship, played tennis and was a track athlete.

During his time hanging around the oval, he proved a quick learner, competing in eight different events, running the gamut from hurdles to throws to relays to races.

As a sophomore he won a javelin title at the Olympic League JV Championships, an event in which Rische made it to sub-districts three times in his career.

He also made it to sub-districts in the discus, and was a huge supporter of his Wolf teammates every moment he was wearing the red and black.

On the tennis court, Rische was a strong double player, teaming up most notably with his brother.

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Jae LeVine nimbly balanced books and sports. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Academics and athletics can, and should be, a perfect union.

That’s proven when you look at the top graduating seniors by GPA at Coupeville High School.

Of the 71 Wolves who are invited to walk across the gym Friday, the top 10 are all united by one aspect — they all participated in the world of CHS sports while also notching stellar grades.

It’s not always easy to keep up with classroom work when you’re an athlete, especially at a far-flung school like Coupeville, where sports participation requires long trips and plenty of time spent on buses and ferries.

But it can, and should be done, as one doesn’t have to take away from the other.

When you play sports in high school, it forces you to keep your grades up to remain eligible, and it teaches you how to manage your time.

At the same time, athletics, like other extracurricular pastimes such as Science Olympiad or band or drama, show you a different side of the world than what you will get just in the classroom.

By doing both, you obtain a much more varied skill-set, and I absolutely believe those who combine athletics and academics emerge from their high school days stronger.

But don’t take my word for it, look at the list, which speaks for itself.

CHS Class of 2017 Top 10 Academic Students:

Lainey Dickson – 3.99 – cheer
Nick Dion
– 3.97 – tennis, soccer
Valen Trujillo
– 3.91 – volleyball, tennis
Delaney Armstrong
– 3.90 – track
Mitchell Carroll
– 3.90 – football, track
Kiara Burdge
– 3.89 – cheer, track
Grey Rische
– 3.88 – tennis, basketball, track
Bree Daigneault
– 3.82 – soccer, tennis
Jae LeVine
– 3.75 – volleyball, softball
Rubi Melendrez
– 3.73 – tennis

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Hunter Smith

Hunter Smith, starring in “Above the Law.” (John Fisken photo)

Your puny “rules” cannot contain Hunter Smith.

The Coupeville High School junior basketball sensation was named an Athlete of the Week by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association for his stellar play in his team’s recent win over Klahowya.

This, despite the fact Smith was honored four months ago, way back in week one of the 2016-2017 school year, for his play on the gridiron.

If you look at the WIAA “rules” for the award, supposedly you can only win it once in an academic year.

Rules were made to be broken…

To see Smith’s Week 16 honor, pop over to:

http://wiaa.com/subcontent.aspx?SecID=961

While there, check out Week 1 and see if you recognize anyone.

And some final thoughts:

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Jon Roberts (John Fisken photo)

“FREE Seahawk tickets!!!!!!!!!!!!” (John Fisken photo)

This could be a major win-win.

From now until Nov. 14, Coupeville High School student/athletes have an opportunity to net a prize package worth $1,500 for themselves and their school.

The Seattle Seahawks and CenturyLink will honor a prep athlete each week during the fall sports season, and nominations can be made by just about anyone.

Each week’s winners will cop:

  • $1,000 donation to their school’s athletic department
  • In-School presentation hosted by sponsor(s)
  • Personalized 2016 Nike Seahawks Jersey
  • Custom Seahawks football
  • Two game tickets and sidelines passes to a Seahawks game of Sponsors’ choosing
  • Recognition on the HawkVision video board
  • Recognition in a Seahawks game day broadcast
  • Recognition on Seahawks.com
  • CenturyLink High School Athlete of the Week letterman jacket patch

Unlike the WIAA Athlete of the Week award, which is aimed at a specific performance, this award will be granted based on three criteria: dedication to academics, community involvement and leadership/reliability as demonstrated in their sport.

It’s simple. Follow the link below and you can nominate any Wolf athlete you want.

Almost.

For some reason, if you look deep into the rules, boys tennis is not listed among the eligible sports.

Wolf coach Ken Stange (and his racket) are on their way to “discuss” the matter with the responsible parties right now.

That leaves volleyball, football, girls soccer and cheer as the Coupeville sports which fit the criteria.

The more time and effort you put into answering the questions, the better chance your athlete has of rising to the top and earning themselves, their team and CHS a well-deserved moment in the spotlight.

To find out more and nominate the Wolf of your choice, pop over to:

http://www.seahawks.com/highschool

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Sebastian Davis celebrates a goal during his junior soccer season. (John Fisken photos)

   Sebastian Davis celebrates a goal during his junior soccer season. (John Fisken photos)

Jared Helmstadter goes strong to the hoop.

Jared Helmstadter goes strong to the hoop.

Davis and teammate Loren Nelson enjoy the fruits of their labors at a tennis banquet. (Wendy McCormick photo)

   Davis and teammate Loren Nelson enjoy the fruits of their labors at a tennis banquet. (Wendy McCormick photo)

Helmstadter leads the cheers for his teammates.

Helmstadter leads the cheers for his teammates. (Fisken photo)

The circle is complete.

All school year John Fisken snapped photos, he was nice enough to send a ton my way, I directed readers to where he sold his pics and, when they bought some, a portion of the money was stashed away.

Tuesday night, as Coupeville High School held its senior awards night, that money came back out, with Fisken handing $250 apiece in scholarship money to two Wolves who appeared in a fair amount of photos.

Walking off with the cold, hard cash, winners of the Olympicleague.com Scholar Athlete Award were CHS seniors Jared Helmstadter and Sebastian Davis.

They join previous honorees Breeanna Messner, Brandon Kelley, Aaron Trumbull and Julia Myers.

The award honors student/athletes who played at least two sports for all four years of high school, while maintaining a 3.0 or better GPA.

To be eligible, athletes couldn’t receive an athletic scholarship from a college, and they needed to submit a 500-word essay, “How Sports Made Me A Better Person,” and take part in 1-on-1 interviews with the prolific camera clicker.

The duo emerged from an especially strong final five this year, making the decision the hardest he’s faced in the three years he’s bestowed money to Coupeville athletes, Fisken said.

Helmstadter, who plans to be an electrician, is the lone member of the CHS Class of 2016 to play a sport in all 12 of his high school seasons.

He was a four-year participant in tennis, basketball and track and capped his final moments as a high school athlete by competing in the 4 x 400 relay at the state track meet.

During his time on the tennis court, Helmstadter often had the chance to play as a doubles team with younger brother Grey Rische.

Davis was also a four-year tennis player, finishing as the Olympic League singles champion as a senior.

Having inherited the mantle from graduated teammate Aaron Curtin, he also put in a considerable amount of time as an unpaid assistant coach, working with younger players on their games.

A veteran of the theatrical stage and a gold medalist in Science Olympiad, Davis split time between track and soccer as well.

During their sophomore track season, Helmstadter and Davis ran on 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relay teams together.

Another teammate on those relay units? Fellow award winner Brandon Kelley, then a senior.

Davis will attend the University of Washington in the fall.

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