Cross Country | Coupeville Sports

Archive for the ‘Cross Country’ Category

Wolf harriers shine at state meet

Posted in Cross Country, tagged CHS Wolves, Claire Mayne, cross country, Pasco, state meet on November 6, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Noelle Western made it to the state cross country meet as a mere freshman. (Kerry Western photo)

They were too fast for the storm.

Eight Coupeville High School cross country runners departed Whidbey Island long before the power went off, and stayed off, at home.

Then, while most people back home stared into the unrelenting, inky darkness, the Wolves hit the course at Saturday’s 2B/1B state meet in Pasco.

Having sent a full team to the big dance for the first time since the ’80s, Coupeville unleashed six girls and two boys on the Sun Willows Golf Course.

Senior Mitchell Hall was the first Wolf to hit the tape, finishing 19th in the boys’ race, while the CHS girls claimed 8th in the team standings.

That’s the third top 10 finish for the program, coming on the heels of 4th in 1982 and 8th in 1981.

None of Saturday’s runners were even close to being alive during the age of Madonna, but they acquitted themselves nicely in Paige Spangler’s final moments as Coupeville’s harrier coach.

The trail guru, who coached two seasons at CHS, heads east after this, with her military husband having received new orders.

Before she left, Spangler also got to witness her girls team receive an academic state championship, with the Wolves having the highest GPA of any 2B team.

Coupeville’s girls, fast and smart. (Nicole Strelow photo)

Four of Coupeville’s eight runners at state depart as well, with Helen Strelow, Cristina McGrath, Hall, and Claire Mayne all seniors.

Noelle Western, Erica McGrath, Carson Field, and Reagan Callahan are all underclassmen.

Pope John Paul II and Chewelah claimed the girls and boys team titles, respectively, at Saturday’s championships, with PJP-II edging Garfield-Palouse by a single point.

Josie McLaughlin of St. George’s and Ciaran St. Hilaire of Tri-Cities Prep won individual crowns.

Saturday results:

GIRLS:

Claire Mayne (42nd) 24:05.30
Helen Strelow (49th) 24:28.20
Cristina McGrath (63rd) 25:57.70
Reagan Callahan (72nd) 28:20.60
Erica McGrath (73rd) 28:21.80

BOYS:

Mitchell Hall (19th) 17:58.80
Carson Field (74th) 19:27.90

Read Full Post »

Fast feet, big brains

Posted in Cross Country, tagged academic honors, CHS Wolves, cross country, Gesa Credit Union, WIAA on October 31, 2022| Leave a Comment »

CHS female harriers excel in the classroom as well as on the course. (Helen Strelow artwork)

Our cross country runners are smarter than your cross country runners.

Coupeville High School’s female harriers qualified as a team for this Saturday’s state meet, and while the Wolves are in Pasco, they’ll receive an extra honor.

That’s because CHS girls’ cross country is an academic state champion, with its runners combining for the best GPA among all 2B schools participating in the sport.

The Wolf team, which includes Helen Strelow, Claire Mayne, Noelle Western, Reagan Callahan, and Erica and Cristine McGrath, compiled a 3.969 GPA.

Coupeville is coached by Paige Spangler.

The state champion honor is bestowed by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association and Gesa Credit Union.

CHS will receive a plaque at the state meet, with runners each earning a special patch and medallion.

Other 2B schools honored for fall sports include Okanogan (boys’ cross country and girls’ soccer), Saint Georges (boys’ soccer), Liberty (football), and Asotin (volleyball).

Read Full Post »

Eight to state!

Posted in Cross Country, tagged CHS Wolves, Claire Mayne, cross country, Duran Duran, Mitchell Hall, Tri-Districts on October 27, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Fab frosh Noelle Western is going to the state cross country meet, and her teammates are coming with her. (Kerry Western photo)

Party like it’s 1982!

That year, British new wave kings Duran Duran released Hungry Like the Wolf, which went on to win the first-ever Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video.

Meanwhile, the Coupeville High School girls cross country team claimed 4th place at the state meet, the best finish in school history for a harrier squad.

Now, 40 years later, a new group of award-hungry Wolves has arrived to stake their own claim to greatness.

Running as a pack Thursday, the Coupeville girls finished 3rd at the Tri-District meet at Fort Steilacoom Park in Lakewood, punching their ticket as a team to the state meet.

That race goes down Saturday, Nov. 5 in Pasco, where CHS boys Mitchell Hall and Carson Field will join their female compatriots, having qualified as individuals.

The top three teams, and best 21 runners in each race advanced.

It’s the second trip to state for Hall, Claire Mayne, and Helen Strelow, as all three qualified as individuals last season.

Field, Noelle Western, Cristina McGrath, Reagan Callahan, and Erica McGrath will be making their state meet debuts.

“Very excited for all of them,” said CHS coach Paige Spangler. “They’ve worked so hard this season!!!”

Coupeville senior Helen Strelow is a two-time state meet qualifier. (Jackie Saia photo)

Getting an entire team through to Pasco marks a major milestone as Coupeville nears the end of year five of the rebirth of its cross country program.

The Wolf boys finished 5th in the team standings at both the 1976 and 1977 state meets, while the CHS girls were 8th in 1981 and 4th in 1982.

Add in individual state titles for Natasha Bamberger (1985) and Tyler King (2010), and the Wolf program has a proud history.

But it also went into hibernation in the ’90s — King won his title as a solo artist training and traveling with Oak Harbor — and stayed dormant until being relaunched in 2018.

Bamberger, Luke Samford, and Elizabeth Bitting each coached a season, while Spangler is in her second, and final year, as she and her husband are moving to the East coast in December.

Under their combined tutelage, Danny Conlisk and Catherine Lhamon made it to state as individuals, then the three-pack last year, and now they’ll cram the van for the trip.

The Wolf girls qualified by notching 104 points Thursday, holding off Mount Vernon Christian (114) and Bellevue-based Summit Classical Christian (116).

Pope John Paul II, which hails from Lacey, was a clear front-runner with just 15 points, with Tacoma’s Covenant (90) claiming second among the seven schools which fielded a full girls team.

On the boys side, it was PJP-II (19), MVC (84), and Covenant (87) qualifying as teams, with Orcas Island (100) and Coupeville (106) just missing out.

Hall had the best performance of any Wolf, finishing 3rd in his race, with Catelin King of PJP-II and Asher Ingram of Northwest Christian (Lacey) earning individual titles on the 5,000-meter course.

Carson Field is state bound for the first time. (Jackie Saia photo)

Thursday’s results:

GIRLS:

Claire Mayne (15th) 23:22.7
Noelle Western (18th) 23:37.9
Helen Strelow (22nd) 24:10.1
Cristina McGrath (29th) 25:07.4
Reagan Callahan (40th) 27:33.0
Erica McGrath (42nd) 27:37.2

BOYS:

Mitchell Hall (3rd) 17:49.2
Carson Field (16th) 19:11.4
Landon Roberts (27th) 20:24.4
Tate Wyman (41st) 21:48.8
Preston Howard (42nd) 21:50.1
George Spear (43rd) 21:50.7
Easton Green (50th) 22:28.8

Read Full Post »

Hall zips, Wolves howl

Posted in Cross Country, tagged CHS Wolves, cross country, Helen Strelow, Mitchell Hall, Northwest League on October 21, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Wolf senior Mitchell Hall was the boys champion at Friday’s Northwest 2B/1B League championships. (Jon Roberts photos)

Coupeville’s runners bask in a top-notch performance.

The rain came, the smoke got at least a bit better, and everyone returned to running.

After postponing the event a day because of bad air quality, Northwest 2B/1B League cross country teams held their league championship meet Friday in Mount Vernon.

And, when they did, Coupeville made its presence felt, in a big way.

Wolf senior Mitchell Hall won an individual title, the pride of Prairie Center Market beating the field by more than a minute across the 5,000-meter course.

But there was more, much more, as the Wolf girls won a team title outright, while the CHS boys shared the crown with Orcas Island.

Coming off a fantastic all-around day, Coupeville gets right back to work getting ready for the rest of the postseason tour.

Next up for the Wolves is the 14-school Tri-District Championships, which goes down Thursday, Oct. 27 at Ft. Steilacoom Park in Lakewood.

That’s the lead-in to the 2B/1B state meet, and the Wolf girls have a much better shot than their male counterparts at qualifying for the big dance.

The top three girls’ teams, and the top 21 individual runners, qualify for state.

On the boy’s side of things, Districts 1, 2, and 3 are getting the short end of the stick for state meet allocations this season, with only the top team and the first seven individual runners advancing.

The state meet is Saturday, Nov. 5 at the Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.

Friday’s results:

GIRLS:

Claire Mayne (3rd) 22:53
Noelle Western (4th) 23:38
Helen Strelow (5th) 24:28
Cristina McGrath (6th) 25:02
Erica McGrath (13th) 28:47
Reagan Callahan (14th) 28:48

BOYS:

Mitchell Hall (1st) 17:57
Carson Field (3rd) 19:04
Landon Roberts (9th) 20:17
George Spear (10th) 20:18
Tate Wyman (20th) 21:40
Preston Howard (23rd) 22:00
Easton Green (24th) 22:02
Ezekiel Allen (25th) 22:03
Nic Wasik (27th) 22:29

Read Full Post »

Wolf harriers honor seniors

Posted in Cross Country, tagged CHS Wolves, Claire Mayne, cross country, Mitchell Hall, Senior Night on October 19, 2022| Leave a Comment »

CHS cross country runner Tate Wyman enjoys Senior Night festivities. (Sherry Bonacci photos)

They got their well-deserved moment in the spotlight.

A day before the Northwest 2B/1B League Championships are scheduled to go down in Mount Vernon, the Coupeville High School cross country squad honored its seniors.

Current CHS coach Paige Spangler, and middle school running guru Elizabeth Bitting — who has worked extensively with all involved — paid tribute to five Wolves.

Seniors Claire Mayne, Mitchell Hall, Tate Wyman, Cristina McGrath, and Helen Strelow have been at the forefront as Coupeville revived and rebuilt its harrier program, and they leave behind a trail of success.

Wolf coaches Elizabeth Bitting (left) and Paige Spangler hang out with seniors (l to r) Mitchell Hall, Helen Strelow, Claire Mayne, and Cristina McGrath.