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Archive for the ‘Cross Country’ Category

“I am beyond proud of each athlete!”

Posted in Cross Country, tagged , , , , , on May 6, 2021| 1 Comment »

Nozomi Hagihara competes at the Northwest 2B/1B League Cross Country Championships. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

“What a phenomenal finish to what’s been a crazy sports year!”

Coupeville High School cross country coach Elizabeth Bitting was all smiles Thursday, after the Wolves hosted, and competed strongly in, the Northwest 2B/1B League Championships.

The event went down at Fort Casey State Park, with 35 runners from CHS, Orcas Island, and Mount Vernon Christian tearing up the 3.1 mile course.

Coupeville senior Catherine Lhamon completed a flawless final campaign on the trails, earning the league title to cap a season in which she won all four of her races.

Catherine Lhamon hangs out with CHS coach Elizabeth Bitting.

The state meet veteran was joined at the top of the chart by teammates Helen Strelow and Mitchell Hall, who finished second and third in their races, respectively.

Mount Vernon Christian sophomore Devin Van Zanten matched Lhamon, completing a 4-0 season of his own and winning the boys individual title.

MVC, which had five of the top six male runners on the day, cruised to the boys team title, with Coupeville nipping Orcas for second.

There were no team scores on the girls side, as none of the three schools had a full five-woman roster.

While Lhamon’s stellar prep cross country career ends, Coupeville loses only two of its 13 runners, with foreign exchange student Nozomi Hagihara also exiting.

Of the other 11 Wolves who ran this season, eight were sophomores and three were freshmen.

Sophomore Mitchell Hall is part of a bright future for the Wolf harrier program.

Add a strong group of middle school harriers ready to make the jump to high school, and the Wolf program, which has been back in action three seasons now after a 20+ year absence, is in a good place.

A lot of the credit for that goes to Bitting, who coaches at CMS and CHS and is the ultimate promoter of the sport.

Though, as she always does, the sage of the trail loves to put the spotlight not on herself, but on her young runners.

“I am beyond proud of each athlete on this years cross country team,” Bitting said. “All their hard work, determination, and grit all came together in perfect harmony today on their home course!

“You know they are doing something right when five runners improve their time from a very flat course a week ago to a pretty hilly course today!

“Every runner has a reason to smile when they look at their finish time from their first race on the home course to today! Improvements galore!!!”

The backdrop Thursday at Fort Casey State Park.

Bitting loves to see her harriers claim PR’s and top finishes, but also takes great delight in the small grace notes.

“There were so many moments from today,” she said. “Celebrating Catherine on her last high school race ever; seeing everybody give it their all.

“Our wonderful foreign exchange student putting aside an injury to get one more race in; to seeing every athlete cheer on others and congratulations by athletes to athletes.”

Jackie Saia, shooting photos for the CHS yearbook, becomes one with nature.

While this wasn’t the easiest season, with the ongoing pandemic affecting how people trained, how they competed, even the time of year when they ran, Bitting will still look back on the adventure with fondness.

“It’s been a crazy sports season, but athletes like these make it so worthwhile!,” she said.

“Thank you for the memories! I hope you all have some great memories too!

“You are a great group of runners and I see some exceptional years ahead of you! But for now … take a day off, you earned it!!!!”

Pandemic or not, this year’s team endured and triumphed.

 

Complete Friday results:

 

GIRLS:

Catherine Lhamon (1st) 23:43
Helen Strelow (2nd) 25:09
Cristina McGrath (4th) 25:24
Nozomi Hagihara (10th) 33:58

 

BOYS:

Mitchell Hall (3rd) 19:23
Hank Milnes (8th) 21:43
Reiley Araceley (11th) 22:00
Alex Merino-Martinez (15th) 23:04
Alex Wasik (16th) 23:21
Grant Steller (17th) 23:21
Tate Wyman (19th) 23:24
Josh Guay (21st) 25:01
Alex Bowder (22nd) 25:23

 

To see everything John Fisken shot (and possibly purchase some glossies for Grandma), pop over to:

XC 2021-05-06 at Ft. Casey – John’s Photos (johnsphotos.net)

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There’s some zip in their step

Posted in Cross Country, tagged , , , , on April 30, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville senior Catherine Lhamon has won all three of her cross country races this season. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Runners await the start of the race Friday. (Photos courtesy Elizabeth Bitting)

Grant Steller pounds down the trail.

Everybody had a really strong day.

Or, as Coupeville High School cross country coach Elizabeth Bitting put it, “A PR for you, a PR for you, a PR for you, a PR ALL AROUND!!!”

Competing in the third of four races during this pandemic-shortened season, the Wolf harriers were in full stride Friday afternoon.

Running in the first-ever race on the new home course set up around the Mount Vernon Christian campus, Coupeville’s athletes took advantage of the sweet set-up.

“It was beautiful and flat, which resulted in a fast race and lots of PR’s!,” Bitting said. “We knew a flat course was going to result in some PR’s but everybody???!!! I was so happy to see all their hard work reward them today!”

Wolf senior Catherine Lhamon romped to a win in the girls race, beating her nearest competitor by almost two-and-a-half minutes, while sophomore Mitchell Hall was the top CHS boy, claiming fourth-place.

MVC had five of the first six runners across the line in the boys race, with sophomore Devin Van Zanten claiming individual honors.

While Bitting was pleased with her big guns, she also gave some love to their support crew.

“The most-impressive PR’s came from Tate Wyman and Alex Merino-Martinez,” she said. “They each shaved significant time off their previous times.”

Coupeville wraps its season next Thursday, May 6, when it hosts the Northwest 2B/1B League Championships at Fort Casey State Park.

 

Complete Friday results:

 

GIRLS:

Catherine Lhamon  (1st) 22:29.13
Cristina McGrath (4th) 26:17.55
Helen Strelow (6th) 26:50:13
Nozomi Hagihara (10th) 30:27.09

 

BOYS:

Mitchell Hall (4th) 19:12.05
Hank Milnes (7th) 21:27:97
Reiley Araceley (9th) 21:29:91
Alex Wasik (15th) 22:18.35
Tate Wyman  (17th) 22:21.49
Grant Steller (18th) 23:15.47
Alex Merino-Martinez (19th) 23:22.98
Josh Guay (22nd) 25:39.08
Alex Bowder (23rd) 26:17.23

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Wolf harriers run strong on road

Posted in Cross Country, tagged , , , , on April 23, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Helen Strelow, seen here in 2019, was the second-fastest Coupeville cross country girl Friday afternoon. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

The (speedy) Wolves invade Orcas Island. (Elizabeth Bitting photos)

Ready for the starting gun.

They’re right in stride.

Reaching the halfway point of their pandemic-shortened season Friday, the Coupeville High School cross country team represented well in a three-team meet on Orcas Island.

Paced by Catherine Lhamon and Mitchell Hall, the Wolves sent 13 runners to the line at Camp Orkila, with all of them zipping across the 5,000-meter course.

Next up for Coupeville is a trip to Mount Vernon Christian April 30, before the Wolves host the Northwest 2B/1B League Championships May 6 at Fort Casey State Park.

 

Complete Thursday results:

 

GIRLS:

Catherine Lhamon 24:49
Helen Strelow 27:58
Cristina McGrath 28:15
Nozomi Hagihara 32:01

 

BOYS:

Mitchell Hall 20:21
Reiley Araceley 22:10
Hank Milnes 22:28
Alex Wasik 24:50
Tate Wyman 25:12
Alex Merino-Martinez 26:50
Grant Steller 27:04
Josh Guay 27:14
Alex Bowder 28:15

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“We wanted it to be perfect … it was!”

Posted in Cross Country, tagged , , , , , on April 15, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Catherine Lhamon claimed the title Thursday as Coupeville High School cross country hosted its first home meet in 30+ years. (Helene Lhamon photo)

Young and ready to run.

Featuring its deepest lineup in the three years since the program was restarted, the Coupeville High School cross country squad kicked off a new season Thursday, running in the sun at Fort Casey State Park.

Wolf coach Elizabeth Bitting sent 13 harriers to the line, with Catherine Lhamon, her lone senior, winning the girls race by almost a minute-and-a-half.

The speedy veteran covered the 3.2-mile course, which was making its debut as the new home for CHS cross country, in 25 minutes, 21 seconds.

While the Wolves returned to trail-running in 2018 after a long absence, Thursday was the first time the school has hosted a cross country meet in three-plus decades.

Afterwards, Bitting was floating on air.

“We wanted it to be perfect … IT WAS!!!!,” she said. “It truly takes a village!! And Coupeville is full of wonderful, caring and helpful people who want to be part of that village!

“Many hands and minds make a lot of work that much easier!”

Bitting praised her helpers, giving props to folks like Nicole Strelow, Amber Wyman, Holley Steller, Wendy Wasik, Helene Lhamon, Jennifer McGrath, Laurie and Randy King and CHS Athletic Director Willie Smith.

Also earning kudos was the course itself, especially with spectacular views of the water and wildlife set off by a genuinely sunny early-spring day.

Cristina McGrath (left) and Helen Strelow outrace a ferry. (Pete Milnes photo)

“The course had high praise from all, the scenery was breathtaking and EVERYBODY PR’d,” Bitting said. “The only thing that could have topped the day off was an appearance of a whale out in the waters … it happened, it actually happened!!!!

“The boys went first and it was such an awesome sight to see them running down the grass field of Fort Casey heading towards the light house,” she added.

“The course is very spectator-friendly and we didn’t have to go far to see the runners moving from point to point.

“All the Wolves pushed themselves and gave it their all. What a great day!”

The CHS girls attack as a pack. (Pete Milnes photo)

While Coupeville’s last home cross country meet came long before any current CHS runner was born, it’s also been a relatively long stretch of time since any of these Wolves got to compete against other schools.

Lhamon capped her junior season by competing at the state meet in Eastern Washington in November, 2019, then … nada.

After the world went wack-a-doodle, prep sports have largely been sidelined during the Age of Coronavirus, with just some off-season workouts finally being allowed.

But now cross country is back, and the hope is to have one season almost on top of another.

With the pandemic pushing the start of fall sports back almost eight months, Coupeville will run a limited four-meet season over the next several weeks.

Then, hopefully, everyone will return to running in the fall with the start of the 2021-2022 school year.

While the Wolves won’t travel to any huge races during this compressed season, they do get to host two of their four meets.

The other home event, set for May 6, is the season-ending Northwest 2B/1B League Championships.

Josh Guay (left) and Alex Bowder run in the sun. (Pete Milnes photo)

Bitting, who is training a strong group of runners at both the middle and high school levels, continues to expand on what former Wolf coaches Natasha Bamberger and Luke Samford helped build.

It’s a CHS roster made up of primarily freshmen and sophomores, with a big batch of CMS 7th and 8th graders ready to join the crusade soon.

Thursday’s meet brought Mount Vernon Christian and Orcas Island to Whidbey, with MVC, a traditional running power, claiming the boys team title.

The Hurricanes swept the top three individual spots, led by Devin Van Zanten, who hit the tape in a speedy 19:41.

Coupeville put sophomore sensation Mitchell Hall and fab frosh Hank Milnes into fourth and fifth, respectively, helping it hold off Orcas for second-place in the team battle.

Freshman Hank Milnes is a star on the rise. (Pete Milnes photo)

On the girls side, the Wolves had four of the top six finishers, but none of the three squads had the necessary five runners to officially claim a team crown.

As day faded into night, Bitting finally found a moment to unwind and deal with a possible sunburn … well, after first being harassed by the media.

You could feel the power of her smile, though, even through the internet.

“After today’s race I am feeling very accomplished for the sport of cross country!,” Bitting said. “I feel blessed to have been a part of this.”

 

Complete Thursday results:

 

GIRLS:

Catherine Lhamon (1st) 25:21
Helen Strelow (3rd) 28:15
Cristina McGrath (4th) 28:41
Nozomi Hagihara (6th) 33:05

 

BOYS:

Mitchell Hall (4th) 20:48
Hank Milnes (5th) 23:17
Reiley Araceley (10th) 23:39
Alex Wasik (15th) 24:56
Tate Wyman (17th) 26:52
Grant Steller (18th) 26:53
Josh Guay (20th) 27:35
Alex Bowder (21st) 27:40
Alex Merino-Martinez (22nd) 28:38

Mitchell Hall enjoys his afternoon. (Pete Milnes photo)

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Break on through (to the other trail)

Posted in Cross Country, Middle School, tagged , , , , on April 2, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Dylan Robinett was one of 13 Coupeville Middle School athletes to participate in an intramural cross country season. (Jackie Saia photo)

Ayden Wyman slashes through the woods. (Teagan Calkins photo)

Solomon Rudat is ready to run. (Saia photo)

Cross country is booming in Coupeville.

And a large part of that success comes from having a go-get-’em coach running things.

Right before segueing into her new job running the CHS harrier program, Elizabeth Bitting wrapped up an intramural season for Wolf middle school athletes.

While the pandemic is preventing CMS from competing against other rivals this school year, that hasn’t stopped Bitting from preaching the love of getting off your duff and moving those legs.

Under her tutelage, 13 CMS runners participated in part or all of a race series she set up.

The goal was to count the best three times for each athlete over the course of four races.

The race circuit, dubbed “Kemmer’s Course,” started near the CHS baseball field parking lot, then wound its way down the Kettles trail, before finishing its 1.4-mile length over by the football field scoreboard.

Nine of 13 Wolves ran in the final race, with six of them setting PR’s.

Whether they ran in one race, or all four, all 13 Wolves drew praise from their coach.

“Thank you all for participating during this intramural cross-country season,” Bitting said. “It wasn’t ideal, but you sure did make the best of it!

“I am so proud of each and every one of you. The support, encouragement and unity you gave one another showed so much maturity.

“I hope you all continue to participate in sports with the enthusiasm and passion you’ve shown during this time.”

 

Wolves who completed the series:
(First time is for series, second time for final race; * = PR)

GIRLS:

1st – Ayden Wyman – 35:48 (11:36*)
2nd – Gabby Gebhard – 36:02
3rd – Bryley Gilbert – 40:13 (12:43*)
4th – Ivy Rudat – 46:33

BOYS:

1st – Carson Field – 30:04 (9:12*)
2nd – Nic Wasik – 30:59 (10:15)
3rd – Thomas Strelow – 32:47 (10:09*)
4th – Solomon Rudat – 35:57
5th – Dylan Robinett – 40:33 (14:38)

 

Others who ran in the final race:

Jack Porter – 9:56*
Johnny Porter – 10:33*
Matthew Gilbert – 14:48

 

Savina Wells also participated, but due to an injury could not complete the series or final race.

Her best time was 12:50, an improvement of 46 seconds from her first race.

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