Coupeville Sports

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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Kirsten Pelroy

Lil’ sis and big bro.

The faces change, but the names remain the same.

Without missing a beat, the Coupeville High School football program had a new Pelroy on the sidelines this season.

While fleet-footed touchdown scorer supreme Mitch Pelroy ambled off to Montana to play college ball with Dalton Engle and Tim Walstad, little sister Kirsten stepped up to high school and became a cheerleader.

The Wolf freshman, who had never been a cheerleader before, obviously enjoyed herself, as she’s continued on to be a member of the winter cheer squad, as well.

“I wanted to try something new,” Pelroy said. “My favorite part of being with all the girls is they’re all so nice and they help me when ever I need them.”

And, even though she’s only been a cheerleader for a short time, she’s already come to appreciate the hard work and training that goes in to making a performance seem effortless from the outside.

“Cheer is most definitely a sport,” Pelroy said. “There is a lot of moving around. A lot of dancing. A lot to learn and there’s so much to do.”

Pelroy will follow in the footsteps of her big brother in the spring, as well, when she plans to turn out for the Wolf track team. While she may not be a state meet qualifier right off the bat like Mitch, she will use his example, both in sports and in real life, as an example to follow.

“My parents have taught me so much that has made me who I am today,” Pelroy said. “My brother also has a big part in my life.

“I look up to him, he is my role model,” she added. “He always makes me push my self to do the best I can do and I thank him for that.”

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