Sophomore CJ Smith transferred to CHS early in the season and was a bright spot for the Wolf JV squad. (John Fisken photos)
Only a freshman, Gabe Wynn saw varsity playing time early in the year.
Nick Streubel is one of four seniors who will take to the court for a final time tonight.
One more game and then on to spring sports.
The Coupeville High School boys’ basketball teams wrap their 2013-2014 campaign tonight with a road game at Granite Falls. With no playoff hopes for the Wolves, that will do it for season three under coach Anthony Smith.
Win or lose tonight, CHS has continued to show growth, jumping from no wins in 2011-2012 to one non-conference victory over Mount Vernon Christian in 2012-2013 to three wins this year.
Coupeville’s 3-16 mark includes the school’s first Cascade Conference win in three seasons (a thriller at Lakewood) and home non-conference victories over MVC and Orcas Island.
Next year will bring changes.
Seniors Gavin O’Keefe, Nick Streubel, Morgan Payne and Anthony Bergeron will be gone and younger players such as Jared Helmstadter, Gabe Wynn and CJ Smith might be expected to move up and join returning varsity players such as Aaron Trumbull, Wiley Hesselgrave and Joel Walstad.
Aaron Curtin, who sat out his junior season to prepare for baseball, is a possibility to return, as is Carson Risner, who was sidelined after surgery for a football injury.
Which ever group of players returns, Anthony Smith expects them to get plenty of off-season playing in (“We’re going to play a lot of games”).
And, once they do return next year, they will no longer be lining up against 2A schools like Cedarcrest and Archbishop Thomas Murphy.
Coupeville, the smallest 1A school in the state, will leave the eight-team 1A/2A league they have called home and join a new 1A-only division in the Olympic League starting in the fall.
That will put them together with fellow 1A schools Port Townsend, Chimacum and Klahowya.
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