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CMS athletic programs return to competition

Posted in Boys Soccer, Cross Country, Middle School, Volleyball, tagged boys soccer, CMS Wolves, cross country, fall schedules, volleyball on August 16, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Cris Matochi leads the Coupeville Middle School volleyball program.

Rivalries revived.

After a pandemic-altered school year in which Coupeville Middle School athletes were restricted to intramurals, the Wolves are returning to games against other teams.

CMS competes in three sports in the fall, and all three have full schedules as the conference it plays in, the Cascade League, fires back up.

Elizabeth Bitting returns to lead the Wolf cross country program, with Cris Matochi running volleyball.

With Reese Cernick staying with the high school program as an assistant coach, CMS is in the market for a boys soccer guru, and also expects to add a second spiker coach in the coming days.

Where things sit with each middle school sport as we head towards fall:

BOYS SOCCER:

Wolf booters start practice September 13, with a potential wrinkle.

With Coupeville High School fighting to field a full roster for boys soccer, the call has been put out for 8th graders who want to jump up and play an extra, early season at the higher level.

Will that make it hard for CMS to also pull together a team, or are there enough 7th graders to make it a moot point?

Only time will tell.

If CMS does have a full team, that squad will no longer play games at Mickey Clark Field, instead moving over to the practice field on Terry Road for home games.

Mon-Sept. 27 — @ Northshore Christian — (3:20)
Wed-Sept. 29 — Lakewood — (4:00)
Mon-Oct. 4 — @ Granite Falls — (3:30)
Wed-Oct. 6 — Northshore Christian — (4:00)
Mon-Oct. 11 — @Lakewood — (3:30)
Wed-Oct. 13 — Granite Falls — (4:00)
Mon-Oct. 18 — @Northshore Christian — (3:20)
Wed-Oct. 20 — Lakewood — (4:00)

CROSS COUNTRY:

While the CHS squad has two home meets, the CMS harriers, who start practice Aug. 28, settle for two events in nearby Langley.

Sat-Sept. 18 — @ Westling Invite (South Whidbey) — (10:00)
Wed-Sept. 22 — @ Lakewood — (3:30)
Sat-Sept. 25 — @ King’s Invite — (12:00)
Thur-Sept. 30 — @ Granite Falls — (3:30)
Fri-Oct. 8 — @ Hole in the Wall (Lakewood) — (3:30)
Thur-Oct. 14 — @ Sultan — (3:30)
Wed-Oct. 20 — Cascade League Championships (South Whidbey) — (3:30)

VOLLEYBALL:

Instead of separating players into 7th and 8th grade teams, Cascade League spiker squads, who start practice Sept. 13, split rosters into three units, sort of like JV, varsity, and C-Team.

Even if they won’t call them that.

Monday matches are played 3-2-1, while Wednesday tilts go 1-2-3. So, varsity plays last early in the week, and first mid-week.

Wed-Sept. 29 — Langley — (3:15)
Mon-Oct. 4 — @ Lakewood — (3:15)
Wed-Oct. 6 — @ Sultan — (3:30)
Mon-Oct. 11 — @ King’s — (3:30)
Wed-Oct. 13 — Granite Falls — (3:15)
Mon-Oct. 18 — Northshore Christian — (3:15)
Wed-Oct. 20 — Sultan — (3:15)
Mon-Oct. 25 — @ Langley — (3:30)

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Clear eyes, full schedules, can’t lose

Posted in Boys Soccer, Boys Tennis, Cross Country, Football, Girls Soccer, Volleyball, tagged Boys Tennis, CHS Wolves, cross country, fall schedules, football, Soccer, volleyball on August 16, 2021| 2 Comments »

Gwen Gustafson and Co. have full schedules this year. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

The Wolf booters jump from a six-game schedule to a 16-game one.

The schedules are back to normal.

Or, at least a lot closer than they were a year ago.

While some restrictions — like spectators needing to wear masks — are still in place, high school sports schedules have largely reverted to pre-pandemic normalcy.

After playing out of order during the 2020-2021 school year, fall sports are back to the front of the pack, with winter, then spring competitions planned to follow.

Non-conference bouts are back in vogue, which means Coupeville returns to playing next-door rival South Whidbey.

Also, both the Bucket Game and Homecoming live again for football, and almost all CHS teams will play a double-digit number of games.

Hopefully.

As everyone who has lived through the Age of Coronavirus knows, nothing is set in stone. Things can, and may, still change.

But for now, here’s where we sit, sport by sport.

PS — An * indicates a league contest.

BOYS SOCCER:

It’s a 16-game schedule, eight at home, eight on the road, with every tilt a conference showdown.

While just five of seven Northwest 2B/1B League schools play boys soccer — Coupeville, La Conner, Orcas Island, Mount Vernon Christian, and Friday Harbor — they’re joined for this one sport by four other squads.

While Concrete and Darrington avoid the pitch, Grace Academy, Providence Classical Christian, Cedar Park Christian-Lynnwood, and Lopez Island take their places.

Tues-Sept. 7 — @ Mount Vernon Christian — (4:00) *
Fri-Sept. 10 — Cedar Park Christian-Lynnwood — (6:00) *
Fri-Sept. 17 — Orcas Island — (4:00) *
Tues-Sept. 21 — Grace Academy — (6:00) *
Fri-Sept. 24 — @ Friday Harbor — (4:30) *
Tues-Sept. 28 — @ La Conner — (TBA) *
Fri-Oct. 1 — @ Grace Academy — (3:30) *
Tues-Oct. 5 — La Conner — (6:00) *
Thur-Oct. 7 — Mount Vernon Christian — (6:00) *
Sat-Oct. 9 — Providence Classical Christian — (1:00) *
Fri-Oct. 15 — @ Lopez Island — (TBA) *
Tues-Oct. 19 — Friday Harbor — (4:00) *
Thur-Oct. 21 — @ Cedar Park Christian-Lynnwood — (4:00) *
Sat-Oct. 23 — Lopez Island — (12:30) * — SENIOR NIGHT
Tues-Oct. 26 — @ Orcas Island — (TBA) *
Thur-Oct. 28 — @ Providence Classical Christian — (TBA) *

BOYS TENNIS:

Only two NWL schools play boys tennis, which is why there was no season last year.

While Coupeville was ready and rarin’, Friday Harbor shut down all fall sports after Covid cases spiked in the San Juans.

Now, the Wolverines are back in action, and the two schools will link up, in some fashion, to play tennis against South Whidbey and its (mostly private school) rivals in the Emerald Sound League.

A schedule is still being worked out.

CROSS COUNTRY:

Coupeville, Orcas Island, and Mount Vernon Christian once again vie for NWL harrier supremacy, but this season schools also return to competing at invitationals.

The Wolves host one of three league meets, as well as the league championship races.

Sat-Sept. 11 — @ Sehome Invitational — (TBD)
Sat-Sept. 18 — @ Westling Invitational (South Whidbey) — (10:00)
Fri-Sept. 24 — HOME meet (Fort Casey) — (3:30) *
Sat-Sept. 25 — @ King’s Invite — (12:00)
Fri-Oct. 1 — @ Mount Vernon Christian — (3:30) *
Fri-Oct. 8 — @ Orcas Island — (TBD) *
Sat-Oct. 9 — @ Hole in the Wall (Lakewood) — (9:00)
Thur-Oct. 21 — Northwest 2B/1B League Championships (Fort Casey) — (3:30)

FOOTBALL:

Homecoming is back, with the Eastern Washington opponent traveling 142 miles to face off with CHS, while the Bucket Game against South Whidbey goes down in Langley.

Other non-conference games, featuring Klahowya and East Jefferson, are against familiar foes from Coupeville’s time in the Olympic League.

And what is an East Jefferson, you ask?

It’s the name being used by Port Townsend and Chimacum, which combined for all sports after both schools struggled to field teams due to declining student counts.

With Friday Harbor football back in action, Coupeville plays four league games — two each against the Wolverines and La Conner, the only other 2B schools in the NWL.

Currently, there are eight games on the schedule, but the Wolves continue to look for a week six opponent.

Sat-Aug. 28 — @ Sultan Jamboree — (11:00)
Fri-Sept. 3 — Klahowya — (5:00)
Fri-Sept. 10 — @ South Whidbey — (7:00) — BUCKET GAME
Fri-Sept. 17 — @ East Jefferson — (6:00)
Fri-Sept. 24 — La Conner — (7:00) *
Fri-Oct. 1 — @ Friday Harbor — (6:00) *
Fri-Oct. 8 — ?
Fri-Oct. 15 — @ La Conner — (7:00) *
Fri-Oct. 22 — Cascade Leavenworth — (7:00) — HOMECOMING
Fri-Oct. 29 — Friday Harbor — (6:00) * — SENIOR NIGHT

GIRLS SOCCER:

Last year, Mount Vernon Christian, La Conner, and Coupeville played this sport, and now Friday Harbor rejoins the battle.

Unlike other sports, where CHS plays two league games against other schools, here it will play three.

Non-conference games against former league rivals Sultan and Granite Falls, and a home-and-away series with East Jefferson round out the schedule.

Sat-Sept. 4 — @ Oak Harbor Jamboree — (TBD)
Thur-Sept. 16 — La Conner — (6:00) *
Sat-Sept. 18 — @ East Jefferson — (1:00)
Tues-Sept. 21 — @ Mount Vernon Christian — (4:00) *
Thur-Sept. 23 — Granite Falls — (6:00)
Tues-Sept. 28 — @ Friday Harbor — (4:00) *
Thur-Sept. 30 — @ La Conner — (TBA) *
Thur-Oct. 7 — Mount Vernon Christian — (4:00) *
Tues-Oct. 12 — Friday Harbor — (4:00) *
Thur-Oct. 14 — La Conner — (6:00) *
Sat-Oct. 16 — Sultan — (1:00)
Thur-Oct. 21 — @ Mount Vernon Christian — (4:00) *
Sat-Oct. 23 — East Jefferson — (11:00) — SENIOR NIGHT
Tues-Oct 26 — @ Friday Harbor (4:00) *

VOLLEYBALL:

With Friday Harbor’s return, the only fall sport where all seven NWL schools face off.

A couple of tournaments, and a home-and-away with arch-rival South Whidbey highlight a very-full schedule.

Sat-Sept. 4 — @ Oak Harbor Jamboree — (TBD)
Thur-Sept. 9 — @ Concrete — (4:30/6:00) *
Tues-Sept. 14 — Mount Vernon Christian — (4:30/6:00) *
Thur-Sept. 16 — Orcas Island — (3:30/5:00) *
Mon-Sept. 20 — Cedar Park Christian-Bothell — (4:30/6:00)
Tues-Sept. 21 — @ Darrington — (4:30/6:00) *
Thur-Sept. 23 — @ La Conner — (4:30/6:00) *
Sat-Sept. 25 — @ Sultan Tournament (Varsity) — (TBD)
Sat-Sept. 25 — @ Oak Harbor Tournament (JV) — (TBD)
Mon-Sept. 27 — South Whidbey — (4:30/6:00)
Tues-Sept. 28 — @ Friday Harbor — (4:00/5:30) *
Tues-Oct. 5 — Concrete — (4:30/6:00) *
Thur-Oct. 7 — @ Mount Vernon Christian — (4:30/6:00) *
Tues-Oct. 12 — @ Orcas Island — (TBA) *
Thur-Oct. 14 — Darrington — (4:30/6:00) *
Mon-Oct. 18 — @ South Whidbey — (5:15/7:00)
Tue-Oct. 19 — La Conner — (4:30/6:00) *
Thur-Oct. 21 — Friday Harbor — (3:30/5:00) * — SENIOR NIGHT
Sat-Oct. 23 — @ South Whidbey Tournament — (TBD)

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Get your (athletic) papers in order

Posted in Boys Tennis, Cross Country, Football, soccer, Volleyball, tagged CHS Wolves, cross country, football, paperwork, physicals, Soccer, tennis, volleyball on August 12, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Alita Blouin and Co. return to action later this month. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Get ahead of the paperwork curve.

Coupeville High School and Middle School athletes can get all their forms filled out and fees paid before practice begins at an athletic paperwork day Tuesday, August 17.

The event runs from 12-5 PM at the CHS office.

Attendance is not mandatory, as athletes can also obtain paperwork by emailing Lisa Yoder (lyoder@coupeville.k12.wa.us) or Barbi Ford (bford@coupeville.k12.wa.us).

Forms to be completed, with student and parent signatures, include the Athletic/Activities form, Extra-Curricular/Athletic Participant Eligibility form, and the Free/Reduced lunch form.

All athletes need a sports physical as well.

Physicals cover two years, and you can check your status on the school’s Skyward site. It’s under the Health Info button on the left.

ASB and fall athletic fees, which need to be handled prior to the first game, can be paid during this event or online through the eFunds link on Skyward.

CHS plays volleyball, boys tennis, football, co-ed cross country, and boys and girls soccer in the fall, while CMS offers cross country, volleyball, and boys soccer.

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9 for 9: Harriers rule the trail

Posted in Cross Country, tagged 9 for 9, Catherine Lhamon, CHS Wolves, cross country, Danny Conlisk on August 4, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Alana Mihill is ready to rumble. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

This blog turns nine years old August 15, and to mark the occasion, I’m picking what I view as the best nine Wolf athletes from each active CHS sport.

To be eligible, you had to play for the Wolves between Aug. 2012-Aug. 2021, AKA the “Coupeville Sports” years.

So here we go. Each day between Aug. 2-15, a different sport and (probably) a different argument.

They’re building back.

After a two-decades absence, during which time a handful of runners trained and traveled with either Oak Harbor or South Whidbey, Coupeville High School cross country roared back to life in 2018.

Guided by coaches Natasha Bamberger, Luke Samford, and Elizabeth Bitting, the Wolf harriers have spent three seasons building their numbers, while establishing a home course, and sending two runners to state.

While other CHS programs have six more seasons in the books during the Coupeville Sports days, cross country still offered me more than enough athletic stars to form a mythical nine.

Danny Conlisk zips for the finish line.

Danny Conlisk — A two-time state champ in track, he’s one of two Wolves to make it to the big dance in cross country during the rebirth of the CHS harrier program.

Mitchell Hall — Speedy front-runner who is Coupeville’s fastest active boy.

Catherine Lhamon — Arguably the most-accomplished Wolf harrier in the modern era, she went to state as a junior, then went undefeated during a pandemic-altered senior season.

Claire Mayne — Plucky and determined, and never afraid of running in the middle of the pack, elbows swinging to fend off larger competitors.

Alana Mihill — Running with Lhamon, or by herself, a hard-working competitor who attacked the trail with a quiet fieriness.

Helen Strelow — Rock-solid running ace, one of the most-reliable runners Coupeville cross country coaches have had on their rosters.

Aidan Wilson — One of Coupeville’s quickest on the trails, until soccer’s move to the fall pulled him away from cross country.

Henry Wynn — Never got the chance to be part of the new CHS program, graduating mere months before its rebirth, but joined Conlisk in training and traveling with South Whidbey in the years beforehand.

Sam Wynn — The younger brother followed in big bro’s footsteps, pounding away to great success on the trails.

Catherine Lhamon, the face of Coupeville’s cross country rebirth.

Next up: We head to the sidelines to honor Wolf cheerleaders.

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Killer Cat, forever a class act

Posted in Cross Country, Track, tagged Catherine Lhamon, CHS Wolves, cross country, Hall of Fame, track and field on June 30, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Catherine Lhamon, #1 time and again. (Helene Lhamon photo)

Killer Cat led the revolution.

Over the past three years, as Coupeville brought its cross country program back to life at both the high school and middle school level, one athlete has been firmly at the forefront.

Catherine Lhamon, who graduated with the Class of 2021, was already an established distance runner with the Wolf track team in 2018.

But when cross country was reinstated after a two-decade pause at CHS and CMS, she quickly became the linchpin of the program.

That first season it was her and Danny Conlisk who immediately went to the front of the line for Coupeville, then Lhamon carried a leadership role the past two seasons.

Running for three coaches in as many seasons, Lhamon attacked the course with great passion, while providing a role model for the rapidly-growing group of younger runners coming up behind her.

As a junior, she made it to the state meet, while as a senior she went undefeated, winning all four races in a pandemic-altered season.

Celebrating a trip to state with coach Luke Samford. (Helene Lhamon photo)

Covid prevented Lhamon from making a bid at returning to state in 2021, but, as Coupeville’s lone senior, she was the quietly-fierce leader of her squad.

She dominated on the trails — including the first home meets CHS has held since the ’90s — winning all of her races by a minute-plus or better.

Lhamon was just as effective during her three seasons on the CHS track and field team.

Well, technically four, as she was primed and ready to rumble when the pandemic wiped out spring sports in 2020.

During her high school days, Lhamon regularly competed in the 800, 1600, and 3200, while also running on two different relay teams.

Showcasing her grit and determination, her best performances came in the longest event, as she won 3200 races every season she competed.

Zipping along in the Age of Coronavirus. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Distance running, whether track or cross country, is often the loneliest of all sports, as you’re out there by yourself, often with the field considerably stretched out.

It seemed to be a world built for Lhamon, however, as she always seemed to be a self-contained athlete — one who went out and demolished people, yet never seemed to need to thump her chest about how impressive she was.

And impressive is a word which truly fits Catherine, both in the world of running, and in the real world.

Like mom Helene and lil’ sis Carolyn, Killer Cat is undeniably brilliant, a highly-intelligent, highly-motivated young woman who is bound to make a huge positive mark on the world as she goes forward.

The long-distance Lhamon carries herself with a quiet grace, a near-flawless example to young Coupeville athletes, boys and girls.

I remember her younger days, when she played volleyball at the middle school level, and Catherine’s demeanor, work ethic, and commitment — to team and self — has never changed.