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Archive for the ‘Cross Country’ Category

Harriers dash to awards night

Posted in Cross Country, tagged , , , , on May 13, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Mitchell Hall had the fastest time of any CHS boy during a pandemic-altered cross country season. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Nozomi Hagihara was one of 13 Wolves to letter/

First in the clubhouse.

Cross country outsprinted four other Coupeville High School programs to become the first fall sport to honor its athletes for their performance during a pandemic-altered season.

Wolf coach Elizabeth Bitting handed out varsity letters to 13 of her runners Thursday, after first praising them for their refusal to quit, no matter how hard things may have gotten at times.

“Some of you began this crazy season last June and here we are, just about a year later, finally finishing up,” she said.

“I first want to thank those runners for sticking around for that long,” Bitting added. “You could have gotten frustrated and thrown in the towel but you stuck with it.

“Thank you!”

One of the highlights of a four-race season was the chance to host two of those meets at Coupeville’s new home course at Fort Casey State Park.

The second of those two home tilts was the Northwest 2B/1B League Championships, where Wolf senior Catherine Lhamon capped an undefeated season by winning a title by a solid minute-and-a-half.

Lhamon’s best time of 23 minutes, 43 seconds stands as a course record, along with sophomore Mitchell Hall, who zipped to the finish line in 19:23.

Bitting tallied up all of Coupeville’s times from that first home meet, the season opener, then compared them to the finale.

The Wolves as a team went from a combined 5:45.40 to 5:15.29.

“That’s a 30-minute improvement. Impressive!!!,” Bitting said. “There were six of you that PR’d from a very flat course to our gently rolling hilled course!

“Who does that? Who PR’s from a flat course! Great job!!!”

The biggest improvement from opener to finale belonged to Alex Merino-Martinez, who dropped 5:34, and Lhamon, who chopped off 3:17.

With a shortened season, Bitting opted for two ways a Wolf could letter.

They could finish in the top half of a race, which Lhamon, Helen Strelow, Cristina McGrath, Hall, Hank Milnes, and Reiley Aracely did.

Or they could improve their time from their first race to their last race, which seven other Wolves did.

 

Varsity letter winners:

Reiley Araceley
Alex Bowder
Josh Guay
Nozomi Hagihara
Mitchell Hall
Catherine Lhamon
Cristina McGrath
Alex Merino-Martinez
Hank Milnes
Grant Steller
Helen Strelow
Alex Wasik
Tate Wyman

 

Certificates of Participation:

Erica McGrath
TJ Rickner

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WIAA honors Catherine the Great

Posted in Cross Country, tagged , , , , on May 13, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Catherine Lhamon zips through the flowers on her way to another cross country win. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Lhamon, here with family, was named a WIAA Athlete of the Week.

They appreciate her. They really appreciate her.

Coupeville High School senior Catherine Lhamon, who won all four of her cross country races, including the Northwest 2B/1B League Championships, was named an Athlete of the Week Thursday by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.

The WIAA honors one male and one female athlete from each classification (4A-1B).

Lhamon, who is the lone senior on the CHS cross country squad, has been at the forefront of the sport since the Wolves returned to the harrier life in 2018.

She advanced to the state meet as a junior, and was dominant during a pandemic-altered final campaign.

Three of Lhamon’s four victories this season were by more than a minute, with her win in the league championship meet by a full minute-and-a-half.

 

To read about Lhamon and the other winners, pop over to:

WIAA | Washington Interscholastic Activities Association

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“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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