Coupeville Sports

Wolf senior cheerleaders Darian Emerick (back seat) and Nicole Becker.

Co-captains Becker and Emily Clay.

Belgium’s #1 cheerleader, Iris Ryckaert. (John Fisken photo)

Legends leave the gym Tuesday night.

Co-captains and four year veterans of the Wolf cheer squad, Nicole Becker and Emily Clay have been there every step of the way for Coupeville High School basketball. Through illness, through birthdays, if there is a game in the CHS gym, the duo are front and center and leading the way.

Hollering from the sidelines, leading their squad in half-time dance performances or monitoring the madness that is the half-court shot contest, they are unparalleled at what they do.

They, along with fellow seniors Darian Emerick and Iris Ryckaert, will be acknowledged Tuesday night along with the six senior basketball players on the Wolf girls’ basketball squad.

Of course, the only way to appropriately cap the evening would be if Clay finally hit one of her half court shot attempts — which she always takes with her back to the hoop, followed by her heaving the ball skyward over her head without looking.

If the basketball gods have a sense of perfection, Clay will swish her trademark trick shot and then she and Becker will be carried out of the gym on the shoulders of their teammates.

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Kylie Marie, never without her smile.

Kylie Marie has always wanted to be like her mom.

The irrepressible Coupeville High School cheerleader is the daughter of a cheer vet, and it’s a sport which has a proud tradition in her family.

“My mom was a cheerleader when she was in high school, so I guess it started there,” Kylie Marie said. “When we came to Whidbey and I started kindergarten, she signed me up for junior cheer. Ever since then I have aspired to be a high school varsity cheerleader.”

One of the dedicated Wolves who stay with the cheer squad through both fall and winter seasons, she can currently be seen on the sidelines during home basketball games. Simply look for the young woman with the biggest grin on her face.

“My favorite parts about cheer are stunting — it’s fun for me because there is always a new challenge and that moment when I feel pure joy as we are all dancing together as a team and having a great time!,” Kylie Marie said. “I just smile because of how much fun I am having!”

Making it seem effortless requires a lot of hard work behind the scenes, a commitment she takes seriously.

“Like other athletes in other sports, we put a lot of mental and physical energy as well as time into our activity, but in the end it’s all about the pride we have in supporting the athletes of our school,” Kylie Marie said.

Apart from her cheer duties, she is a well-rounded student/athlete, participating in ASB as well as being the co-organizer of the Constitutionalists Club. She’s also planning to start rec soccer with her little sister in the spring.

In the classroom, she excels in multiple fields, as well.

“One class that I would say is my favorite is music productions with Mr. Jenkins because of my love of music,” Kyle Marie said. “I also enjoy Pre-Calculus with Mr. Nelson. Call me crazy but I have always kind of enjoyed math.”

A large part of her enjoyment of life stems from a close family and their deep belief in their Mormon faith, she said.

“My parents and family teachers, like my grandparents and siblings, along with the teachings and standards of my church, have had the most influence in shaping who I am today,” Kylie Marie said. “I am very blessed to have such a great church family. They are like a big extended family, watching out for me and setting an example for me.

“I love my music, spending time with my family, my church and just being happy,” she added. “I love to sing and dance for fun. My family is the best in the whole world!”

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Elena Jimenez Guerra

 Jimenez Guerra (bottom row right), Ryckaert (bottom row left) and their Wolf cheer teammates. (Shelli Trumbull photo)

The Coupeville High School cheer squad has a distinct foreign flavor this winter.

Key members hail from Belgium (Iris Ryckaert) and Spain (Elena Jimenez Guerra), giving the Wolves several cheerleaders who had never had any previous contact with cheerleading outside of watching movies.

The transition seems to have gone well, however, with both young women having quickly stepped up, matching their American counterparts in dance moves and sunny personalities.

“I became a cheerleader because I wanted to try new things this year,” Jimenez Guerra said. “In Spain, we don’t have any cheerleaders. It has always been an ‘American thing’.”

Jimenez Guerra, who hails from Madrid (“No, it is not Mexico”), is the middle child of three. She has an older brother and a younger sister, and it was actually her older sibling’s experiences that sparked her interest in visiting another country.

“I started thinking about being an exchange student because of my brother, who had an awesome experience before, and I really wanted to try too!,” Jimenez Guerra said.

A skier and scuba diver in her native country, she had no clue where she would end up when she entered the exchange program. A self-proclaimed “city girl,” she didn’t quite know what to expect when she first found herself in small town, USA.

“Well, I am from a big city, but I have totally adjusted to this Island and this town,” Jimenez Guerra said. “It’s better than I expected, honestly. I expected just a little town where there is no one or anything, but the background of it, with all these trees, is amazing! I really like it in here.

“Coupeville is really different from Madrid,” she added. “Every one is super nice with each other — those are the advantages of living in a small town.”

Adjusting to a new town, a new country and a different style of school have all taken time, but she has found much in common with her new classmates.

“I enjoy listening to music, hanging out with my friends, usually watching horror movies, and just having fun,” Jimenez Guerra said.

When she wraps up her year abroad, she will be headed back to Madrid, where she will have two years of high school studies remaining. She plans to eventually study medicine at a university and wants to spend a year either in France or Switzerland learning French.

That’s the future, though. For now, she’s simply enjoying her American odyssey.

“Schools here are pretty different,” Jimenez Guerra said. “But everyone here is amazing and kind with me, and all the teachers, they help me a lot with everything, so I am pretty happy in Coupeville.”

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