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Archive for the ‘Basketball’ Category

Keep playin’, keep clickin’

Posted in Basketball, Football, Softball, Volleyball, tagged , , , , on October 14, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Carolyn Lhamon slices to the hoop during a recent basketball practice. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Wolf freshman Brionna Blouin works on her volleyball skills.

Mano a mano, hardwood-style.

Abby Mulholland hones her shooting touch.

Chelsea Prescott gets down to snag a sizzlin’ grounder.

Brian Casey gets stretched out.

Katie Marti slides in to make the play.

Quinten Simpson-Pilgrim flies up-court.

Kylie Van Velkinburgh snaps a throw across the infield.

No games, but plenty of action.

While the ongoing pandemic prevents Washington state schools from playing competitions, Coupeville High School athletes continue to take part in off-season workouts.

The pics above, shot at a number of practices, come to us courtesy local photo clicker John Fisken.

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New guidelines for return to play

Posted in Basketball, tagged , , , , on October 6, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Chelsea Prescott and her CHS basketball teammates may be the first prep athletes to return to play. Emphasis on “may.” (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

If Coupeville wants to play basketball this winter, Island County’s rate of positive COVID-19 cases needs to drop.

The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, working off direction from the office of Governor Jay Inslee, issued updated guidelines Tuesday for schools returning to competition on the athletic field.

In the release of the info, it was stressed that “the Governor’s office has informed the WIAA that these guidelines must be followed and neither schools nor community sports programs have the authority to implement more lenient policies.”

“These revised guidelines give greater flexibility to school administrators to offer education-based athletics and activities and meet the demand of their students and communities,” said the WIAA in a statement.

“Staff will continue to work with decision-makers to evaluate participation in sports deemed high-risk by reviewing all data and documentation available in hopes it may be appropriate to qualify them as moderate risk.”

The new guidelines divide sports into three tiers based on how many positive cases per 100,000 residents a county has, and the percentage of positive tests.

The tiers:

 

High Risk:

75+ positive cases per 100K in a 14-day period OR more than 5% positivity

 

Moderate Risk:

25-75 cases per 100K AND less than 5% positivity

 

Low Risk:

Less than 25 cases per 100K AND less than 5% positivity

 

As of Tuesday evening, the Washington State Health Department’s risk-assessment dashboard lists Island County at 36.5 cases per 100K, with 2.8% positivity.

In other words, we land squarely under moderate risk.

But, basketball, which is currently set to be the first sport back in action, with practice kicking off the final week of December, and games in January, requires counties to be in the low risk category to play actual games.

As of now, a high risk sport can only start playing games if a county is in the low risk tier for positive cases.

By contrast, low risk sports can begin competition even if a county is in the high risk tier.

Moderate risk sports match up with the moderate risk tier.

Confused yet?

How each sport Coupeville plays is currently classified:

 

High Risk:

Basketball
Cheer (with contact)
Football

 

Moderate Risk:

Baseball
Soccer
Softball
Volleyball

 

Low Risk:

Cheer (sideline/no contact)
Cross Country
Tennis
Track and field

 

Currently, the plan is for basketball to run from Dec. 28-Feb. 27, with volleyball, girls and boys soccer, football, cross country, and boys tennis going from Mar. 1-May 1.

Softball, girls tennis, baseball, and track would close out the school year from Apr. 26-June 26.

All sports will be allowed to play 70% of a normal season (so 14 games instead of 20 for basketball), and postseason play is still being determined.

The chance of other sports being moved ahead of basketball, if the numbers dictate such a move, would be a WIAA decision, and not a league or school one, said Coupeville Athletic Director Willie Smith.

 

To read the complete new WIAA guidelines for yourself, pop over to:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQBoiz1UnhXtci0yuLS5ekxbIUiZiQyu7eHR2RovekTWHvxj-Gvh71hfzZW0ghd19bop3KZxjpy5Kg2/pub#id.9kblnck7fmf

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Have ball, will travel

Posted in Basketball, tagged , , , , on October 2, 2020| Leave a Comment »

CHS grad Makana Stone will study and play basketball in England this year. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Makana Stone is taking her talents to the land of tea and crumpets.

Having graduated this spring from Whitman College, the former Coupeville High School hoops star headed to England in mid-September, where she’ll continue her classroom studies and hardcourt schoolings.

Stone, who earned a B.A. in Biology during her time in Walla Walla, will attend Loughborough University, located in Leicestershire county in the East Midlands.

While there she’ll work towards a Master’s in Exercise Physiology.

Stone used up her American college sports eligibility, playing four seasons at Whitman, where she finished as the #5 scorer and #2 rebounder in program history.

But while in England, she can play for her new school, which competes in a semi-professional league.

Games are currently planned to begin in January.

Loughborough, founded in 1909, boasts one of the more famous chancellors among English schools, with four-time Olympic medal winner Sebastian Coe leading the school since 2017.

Lord Coe, as he’s known these days, was a top middle-distance runner who claimed gold medals in the 1500 meters at both the 1980 and 1984 Olympics.

He set nine outdoor and three indoor world records, including a run of three new world records in 41 days back in 1979, then moved into politics as a member of Parliament.

Stone is no slouch herself, however.

One of the most dominant athletes to ever wear the red and black in Coupeville, and also one of the most kind and caring teammates I’ve ever written about, she was a standout soccer, basketball, and track and field star.

She won the first 28 races of her high school track career, a mark no other Wolf has approached, and finished her prep career with 84 wins and seven state meet medals.

And yet, the happiest I’ve ever seen her in an athletic moment involved someone else.

It came during her senior season, when she led teammates in collectively screaming their heads off as CHS freshman Danny Conlisk pulled off a stunning come-from-behind win in a major relay race.

Stone led the CHS basketball team to three-straight Olympic League titles and a trip to state, is the program’s #3 career scorer and (likely) #1 rebounder, and finally let Kacie Kiel get that career-ending locker room hug she so badly wanted and needed.

Klahowya’s basketball players, without telling their coach, brought Makana a Senior Night present, watched her go off for a super-efficient 20 and 20 in a huge Wolf win, and still exited with huge smiles on their face.

After high school, Stone tore up the hardwood at Whitman, making the most starts (92) in program history, helping the Blues go 94-20 and advance to the NCAA tourney three times between 2016-2020.

Whitman was hours away from playing in the Sweet 16 at this year’s tourney when COVID-19 shut down collegiate athletics.

Finishing her American college career with 1,337 points and 837 rebounds, Stone was the Northwest Conference MVP, was selected for the Beyond Sports Women’s Collegiate All-Star Game, and received All-Region and All-American honors.

She was also a nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year, a member of the NWC First Team All-Academic squad, and copped Whitman’s Mignon Borleske Award — the school’s highest athletic honor for a female athlete.

When she wasn’t torching the net, Stone participated in the Whitman College mentor program, was an ACE representative, and served as a member of the Whitman Elementary School Science Night Committee.

Using her time well, Coupeville’s progeny was also a presenter at the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, while obtaining multiple internships.

Now, she’s off to England, after using her final Whitman interviews to rave about the skills of Blues teammates, praising the three-ball artistry of Mady Burdett with the same sparkle in her eye she always had when talking up fellow Wolves like Sylvia Hurlburt or Lindsey Roberts.

I’m calling it now. Give her two years and she’s the new Queen.

Look me in the eye. Am I lying?

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“I love being part of a team”

Posted in Basketball, soccer, tagged , , , , , on August 15, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Lauren Marrs basks in the glow of helping her basketball team win a SWISH championship. (Emili Marrs photo)

Lauren Marrs is the type of player every coach appreciates.

She can control a game by herself, seems to have little fear on the hardwood or pitch, and is already quite-polished for an athlete headed into her freshman year of high school.

But as talented as Marrs has been while playing with middle school and select squads, it is the way she embraces being part of something bigger which truly sets her apart.

She can be a star, if that’s what you need, but she can also be part of an ensemble, if that’s what you require.

All while displaying the same passion and positive attitude, regardless of her role.

For Marrs, that just comes naturally.

“I enjoy everything about being an athlete,” she said. “I love being a part of a team.

“I just want to keep working hard and learning,” Marrs added. “I want to keep improving in all areas of the sports I play.”

In her middle school days, the younger sister of former Wolf standout Jaden Marrs played sports year-round, with volleyball, basketball (school and SWISH), and select soccer on her resume.

As she makes the jump to Coupeville High School, Lauren plans to fine-tune her focus, putting an emphasis on basketball, where she’s a deadly shooter and fluid ballhandler, and soccer, which is her burning passion.

“My favorite sport is soccer,” Marrs said. “I have been playing for 10 years, select for the last six.”

On the pitch, she’s a lock-down enforcer in net, playing goaltender for the SW Reign the past three seasons.

“I love the position I play and I would like to continue on playing it throughout high school and college,” Marrs said.

She plans to play both sports all four years of high school, and pledges, “I want us to work hard and win.”

Off the field, Marrs enjoys her health and PE classes, is a big fan of The Goonies and the Indiana Jones movies, and finds numerous ways to stay busy.

“I like to spend my time playing and watching sports,” she said. “I also like to swim, hike, play b-ball, go to the beach, and spend time with my friends and my family.”

Whether she’s knifing big, bad King’s on the hardwood, nailing a three-ball from somewhere out in the parking lot as mom Emili high-fives everyone within a five-mile radius, or pulling off a sweet shutout on the soccer pitch, Lauren keep things simple.

“I look up to my parents and listen to and respect what my coaches say.”

Sounds like a star to me.

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Rising star has bright future

Posted in Basketball, Cross Country, tagged , , , , on August 11, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Quinten Simpson-Pilgrim played on the first-ever Coupeville Middle School boys soccer team. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Simpson-Pilgrim goes strong to the hoop. (Morgan White photo)

​Quinten Simpson-Pilgrim is ready to mix things up a bit.

As he heads into his freshman year at Coupeville High School, the promising young student/athlete plans to stay with one longtime favorite sport, while trying another for the first time.

Simpson-Pilgrim, following in the footsteps of older brother Jacobi, who graduated this spring, is already a veteran on the basketball court.

“Basketball is my favorite because it’s fun, and I have stuck with it throughout my whole life,” Simpson-Pilgrim said.

​”I think my strengths are stamina and my physical strength,” he added. “I’d like to work on rebounding.”

While he was a member of the first-ever Coupeville Middle School boys soccer squad this past fall, Simpson-Pilgrim has his sights set on a different sport for his high school days.

He plans to turn out for cross country, which has been bumped from September to March along with other fall sports, as the world deals with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Regardless of when he gets to compete, Simpson-Pilgrim plans to be ready to take full advantage of his opportunities.

“I always have something to focus on getting better at and have something to do.” he said. “My goal is to make varsity (in my sports) before my junior year.”

A big fan of his math and PE classes, Simpson-Pilgrim enjoys playing games, listening to music, and hanging out with friends when he’s not pursuing his athletic dreams.

While he strives for success, the young Wolf is quick to give credit to those who are helping him on his journey.

“The people that have the biggest impact on me are my previous (basketball) coach, Greg White, who has been my coach since 2nd grade, and my mom, because she is always a part of my team and helping plan stuff.”

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