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Archive for the ‘Cheer’ Category

Wolf cheerleaders stop for a photo op during a team camp. (Cheridan Eck photos)

Wolf cheerleaders stop for a photo op during a team camp. (Cheridan Eck photos)

Team members bond.

Team members bond.

Former CHS cheer captain Courtney Boyd (back row, left) stopped by to pass on lessons.

Former CHS cheer captain Courtney Arnold (back row, left) stopped by to pass on lessons to the new crew.

It’s 33 days until opening night.

Friday, Sept. 5, Coupeville High School kicks off a new fall sports season when it hosts Island rival South Whidbey in a football battle for The Bucket.

While the Wolf gridiron warriors are getting ready, so are the CHS cheerleaders.

Under the guidance of Cheridan Eck, who has taken over full-time with the retirement of Sylvia Arnold, Coupeville’s squad (the loudest ‘n proudest in all the land) has been hard at work.

Giving up a chunk of their summer vacation, the Wolves, led by team captains Destiny Bitting and Kylie Marie, are fine-tuning their skill-set.

They even welcomed a living legend into their midst.

Former CHS cheer captain Courtney Arnold, who paced Coupeville the last time it had a competition cheer squad, swung by to work with the new crew and impart some of her hard-earned cheer wisdom.

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Sydney Aparicio

Sydney Aparicio, an athlete who had fun in every season.

Sydney Aparicio knows a few people.

During her Senior Night festivities for volleyball, family of all shapes, sizes and ages crowded into the Coupeville High School gym. Each one wore home-made t-shirts that identified what their relationship was to the Wolf spiker.

Sydney’s mom. Sydney’s sister. Sydney’s cousin.

There were a lot.

Which is not a surprise, since her parents, Mitch and Tami (Stuurmans) Aparicio united two of Coupeville’s top sports families when they got married.

Sydney, who celebrates her birthday today, played tennis, softball and volleyball, as well as following in her mom’s footsteps as one of the leading CHS cheerleaders.

She did it all well, and always with a huge smile.

I don’t know that I’ve ever seen Miss Aparicio frown. Ever.

I’m sure she has at some point in her life, but her smile was always front and center during her athletic days, win or loss.

Sydney always had fun, regardless of the sport, and it was infectious.

Following in the footsteps of her parents, and a billion aunts and uncles, she set the path for equally bubbly little sister Payton, who will be a Wolf freshman this fall.

She kept the family tradition of excellence alive and seemed to genuinely enjoy herself through every season, every game.

That’s a rare quality, and one shown by a rare young woman.

Happy birthday, Miss Aparicio, and may your days ahead be as smile-inducing as the ones you lived out as a Wolf.

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Madeline Roberts

Madeline Roberts

Madeline Roberts was deceptive.

A lead-off hitter who liked to spray slap hits to every field for the Coupeville High School softball field, she could also pull the bat back and let pop with surprising power.

I still remember the look of horror on a rival player’s face after the girl had inched in closer and closer, waiting to spring on the bunt she was dead-sure was coming, only to have Mad Dog take off her head with a wicked shot that ripped down the line like a laser.

The consummate softball junkie, Roberts, who celebrates her birthday today, just weeks after graduating from CHS, will take her game to the college level next.

It’s not a surprise.

She has great family genes, with dad Jay Roberts and aunt and uncle Sherry (Bonacci) and Jon Roberts all superb former Wolf athletes.

Lil’ sis Ally is no slouch herself, whether it be volleyball, cheer or horse riding.

Toss in a strong work ethic — if you needed to find Madeline after a game, she was generally at home plate, taking extra batting practice — and it has paid off.

She was quick on the base paths, terrorizing catchers with her zippy moves.

She was electric in the field, spearing liners, backhanding bad hops and hurtling out of nowhere to snag balls she shouldn’t have even thought about going after, yet did so without fear.

And, at the plate, she was dynamic, a pint-sized nuclear missile waiting to explode in 10,000 different ways. Slap hit or moon ball launcher, she wielded her bat like an artist.

Of course, there’s a ton more to Roberts than just softball. She was a key part of the CHS cheer squad and one of the student leaders in the Class of 2014.

As she moves on to the next stop in her diamond trek, we wish her the best and thank her for being so entertaining during her time in the red and black.

Madeline, you’re a class act, on the field and off.

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Tori Wellman was one of 50 CHS students to play soccer in 2013-2014. (John Fisken photos)

  Tori Wellman was one of 50 CHS students to play soccer in 2013-2014. (John Fisken photos)

The Wolf cheer squad, which included Robin Cedillo

  Cheer drew in 51 girls over two seasons, including Robin Cedillo, who would also go on to play softball for the Wolves.

Soccer was the most popular sport at Coupeville High School during the 2013-2014 school year.

At least in terms of how many students played the sport, and, if we don’t consider cheer a sport — which school officials don’t.

If cheer was given a little more respect, the 51 girls who participated over the course of the fall and winter seasons would top the list.

But, since cheer is considered an activity, soccer, with 50 players (30 boys, 20 girls), rules the roost.

The numbers for the eight sports CHS offers:

Soccer (50) — 30 boys, 20 girls
Tennis (45) — 29 boys, 16 girls
Basketball (44) — 21 boys, 23 girls
Track (40) — 22 boys, 18 girls
Football (39)
Volleyball (21)
Baseball (19)
Softball (13)

Coupeville also had one golfer, junior Christine Fields, who finished 5th at the 1A state tourney. CHS doesn’t offer golf, but Fields trains and travels with South Whidbey while competing as a Wolf.

At the middle school level, Coupeville offers four sports, with hoops drawing the most participants.

CMS sports numbers:

Basketball (45) — 23 boys, 22 girls
Track (42) — 24 boys, 18 girls
Volleyball (33)
Football (15) — 14 boys, 1 girl

Among non-sports activities, drama was one of the biggest draws.

CHS:

Cheer (51)
National Honor Society (43) — 18 boys, 25 girls
Drama (38) — 10 boys, 28 girls
Science Olympiad (14) — 11 boys, 3 girls
ASB Executive Board (8) — 3 boys, 5 girls
History Day (4) — 3 boys, 1 girl
Jazz Band (3) — 3 boys

CMS:

Drama (65) — 18 boys, 47 girls
Natural Helpers (33) — 13 boys, 20 girls
History Day (6) — 2 boys, 4 girls
Jazz Band (5) — 4 boys, 1 girl

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Megan Meyer, all grown up and super classy.

Megan Meyer, all grown up and super classy.

You know, it’s not always about sports.

Megan Meyer, who celebrates her 24th birthday today, was an athlete during her time at Coupeville High School. A cheerleader — during the time when the Wolves were a competition squad — and a tennis player.

So, there’s a sports connection there.

But Meggie Moo is more than that. Much more.

She is the little girl who I saw grow up into an amazing young woman. Sweet-natured, generous, a wonderful person in every way.

Her first day of preschool was my first day working for her mom, Miriam, at Videoville, back when it was still a little shack sitting in the parking lot of what is now an Oriental food store.

A year later, the little shack was torn down and replaced with what seemed to be a colossus of a store that combined Videoville with the newly-created Miriam’s Espresso.

I rented videos, haphazardly stood in as a backup barista on occasion and got paid to goof off there for nearly the entire length of Megan’s school career in Coupeville.

The little girl with the curly hair who we sometimes jammed into the rolling box we used under the video drop slot — so she could reach up and freak people out by grabbing their hands through the slot — was who I saw “George of the Jungle” with in theaters.

Then, one day, she was working behind the counter with me.

She stayed on video for awhile, until she overcame her fear of being burned by a splatter of hot milk on the espresso side of the business, before becoming a talented barista.

Now, she’s a college grad, off saving the small villages of the world and dispensing kindness wherever she goes.

At one point or another, I butted heads with every one of Miriam’s multiple children — because I can be an ass and they’re all feisty in nature … yeah, mainly the former — but never Meggie.

She is one of the most genuinely lovable people I have ever known. Her mere presence causes the heavens to open, the sun to shine and small animals to dance with little children.

You are incredibly special, Miss Meyer. I hope you know how much everyone thinks of you, how much joy you have brought into all of our lives.

I want nothing less than the absolute best for you, no matter where you go or what miracles you work in your life.

You will always be that little girl with the huge smile.

The package may have gotten bigger, but you were awesome from day one, Megster.

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