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Wolves nibbled, bite right back!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged Basketball, CHS Wolves, fall ball, Granite Falls, Kailey Kellner, Mikayla Elfrank on October 2, 2016| Leave a Comment »

The CHS fall ball coaching brain trust is (l to r) Sherry Roberts, Aimee Bishop and Kyla Briscoe. (Amy King photos)

Watch your digits around Granite Falls. Maddy Hilkey got bit in game two.

A little bit of sadness, then a whole lot of happiness.

That’s what Coupeville High School’s fall ball girls’ basketball squad experienced Sunday in Skagit County, as they split a pair of games with bigger schools.

After absorbing a 32-12 loss to 4A Mount Vernon, the Wolves rebounded with a fury in the nightcap, drilling 2A Granite Falls 36-14.

The split left Coupeville, one of the smallest 1A schools in the state, at 2-2 at the midway point of the fall ball season.

After a two-week break, the Wolves wrap things up with doubleheaders on Oct. 23 and 30.

CHS clicked in every aspect in game two Sunday, cutting down its turnovers, sharing the ball on offense and hitting the boards with a vengeance.

The Wolves roared out to a 17-5 lead at the half, then continued to stretch things out in the second half, with eight of 10 players scoring in the game.

Kailey Kellner popped for 12 to lead Coupeville, while Mikayla Elfrank and Mia Littlejohn chipped in with six apiece.

One big highlight was seeing freshman Avalon Renninger knock down her first fall ball bucket in the second half, getting a strong roar of approval from her older teammates.

The opening game wasn’t quite as thrilling, as difficulty breaking the press in the early going, and a cold shooting touch after the half conspired to hurt the Wolves.

While the halftime margin was just 12-5, Mt. Vernon got hot from the field after the break and refused to let Coupeville back in the game.

Littlejohn paced the Wolves with four points, five rebounds and four steals, while Kellner snared a team-high seven boards.

Tiffany Briscoe, Maddy Hilkey, Ema Smith, Lindsey Roberts, Lauren Grove and Kalia Littlejohn join Kellner, Elfrank, Renninger and Mia Littlejohn on the CHS squad, which is coached by Sherry Roberts, Aimee Bishop and Kyla Briscoe.

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No off days for hoops stars!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged Basketball, CHS Wolves, fall ball, Kailey Kellner, Lakewood on September 18, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Kailey Kellner, seen here in last year’s state playoff game, snared 11 rebounds Sunday in a win over Lakewood. (John Fisken photo)

Two very, very different games.

Coupeville High School’s girls’ basketball squad kicked off fall ball action Sunday, and the two halves of its doubleheader couldn’t have had more diverse results.

After being run off the court 41-13 by Burlington-Edison in their opener at Skagit Valley College, the Wolves stormed back to upend former Cascade Conference rival Lakewood 27-25 in the nightcap.

The split, coming against a pair of 2A schools, tips off an eight-game schedule for Coupeville.

The Wolves play doubleheaders Oct. 2, 23 and 30, which gives them a chance to prepare for their regular season.

With high school coaches restricted from coaching teams in the off-season, Sherry Roberts, Aimee Bishop and Kyla Briscoe are calling the shots for CHS, while David and Amy King can only be interested bystanders.

What they witnessed Sunday was an opening game played at a road runners pace, and a finale played at a snails pace.

While they can’t comment, they probably appreciated how the second game played out more than the first.

Burlington, which went 19-4 during last year’s high school campaign, used a full court press and stellar on-ball defense to disrupt the young Wolves offense.

Up 20-4 at the half, the Tigers kept the pressure up in the second half.

While Coupeville was able to put together a solid 10-minute stretch coming out of the break, it wasn’t enough to turn the tide.

Things took a big change for the positive in game two, however.

Settled down and playing much more under control, the Wolves used crisp ball movement and strong defense to thwart Lakewood at every step.

The Cougars had the three-ball going for them — they dropped in four treys in the first half — but Coupeville withstood the barrage, getting scoring from six of the nine players on its roster.

Up 21-15 at the break, the Wolves held off Lakewood down the stretch thanks to their strong work on the boards.

Kailey Kellner paced CHS with 11 rebounds (while also taking two charges), with Lauren Grove and Mikayla Elfrank snagging six caroms apiece.

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Battlin’ Briscoe blows out some more candles!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, Happy birthday, Volleyball, tagged Basketball, CHS Wolves, Happy birthday, Kyla Briscoe, volleyball on September 12, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Kyla Briscoe may be on crutches as she recovers from a ripped-up ankle, but she’s still a vital part of the Wolf volleyball program. (John Fisken photos)

Briscoe cheers on her classmates during the season-opening football game.

“Really? You’re gonna take my picture … again?” (Valen Trujillo photo)

Kyla Briscoe is a walking, talking ray of sunshine.

The Coupeville High School junior, who celebrates a birthday today, is the same now as when she was, say, five years old.

She’s taller, certainly, and a far more polished athlete now than she was as a kindergartner, that’s true.

But she remains as friendly, warm, and irrepressible as she has always been, a genuinely kind and caring young woman who is fiercely loyal to her family and friends.

Kyla has a backbone of steel, which you can see as she deals with the disappointment of missing volleyball season.

Having shredded her ankle during a summer camp in Bellingham, she’s on crutches and missing out on a final chance to play alongside big sis Tiffany.

As hard as the ordeal has to be, Kyla has remained front and center with the spikers, showing up for practices and games, staying a vital part of a team for which she lettered her first two years.

The hope is she will be able to return for basketball season, rejoining a squad she helped take to state last year.

If not, if the rehab stretches on longer than anticipated, Wolf b-ball coaches David and Amy King plan to keep Briscoe just as involved as volleyball coach Cory Whitmore has done.

And why not?

Having Kyla’s energy, good humor and quiet wit around to brighten up her team’s day is huge.

Whether she’s playing or helping out, she is invaluable.

That carries over off the court, as well.

I’ve known Kyla most of her life, and she and Tiffany are as rock-solid a duo as they come.

You mess with one, you better be ready to mess with the other, as on-court foes have discovered, because they don’t back down when defending their sister.

Highly-intelligent, well-spoken (though generally soft-spoken … in public, at least), Kyla should make parents Amy and Rich very proud.

She is one of the best and brightest we have in Wolf Nation, and, as much as she’s probably blushing right now and dismissively waving away the praise, she truly deserves it.

So, from all of us, happy birthday Kyla, and may you have a speedy recovery.

There are a lot of stars, but you, Miss Briscoe, are a true superstar.

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Stars since day one!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged 1992-1993, Basketball, CMS Wolves, flashback, Jennifer Meyer, Ron Bagby on August 27, 2016| Leave a Comment »

You never know what you’re going to find when you start cleaning out the Athletic Director’s office. (Photo courtesy Willie Smith’s spring cleaning)

Sure, it’s Saturday, but you don’t always have to wait until Thursday for throwback photos.

This one comes to us from the “olden days” of 1992-1993, and gives us a glimpse into the early days of some of the best athletes to spring from Coupeville High School.

If you had to play a game of “pick the superstar before they were a superstar” it would probably come down between Jen Canfield and Marnie Bartelson.

Canfield, who is in the back row, far right, next to coach Ron Bagby, went on to be a two-time All-League hoops player in the Cascade Conference, easily one of the best to wear a Wolf uniform.

Her high school coach back in the day, Willie Smith, is now the CHS Athletic Director and the man who unearthed this pic for me.

Looking back, this is how he remembers Canfield:

“She was a complete joy to coach and completely personified what it means to be an athlete: competitive, hard working, coachable, leader, great all-around personality on and off the court.”

Bartelson was a solid hoops player herself, but soccer is where she made her name.

Playing with Oak Harbor (Coupeville didn’t have a team in the mid-’90s), she and fellow Wolf Amanda Allmer led the Wildcats to a league title and 4th place finish in 3A at state.

After winning league MVP honors in high school, Bartelson rewrote the record books at Utah State as a college player

But, while those two made the biggest post-middle school splash, at least athletically, all 12 girls featured here went on to shine, both in sports and off the court.

One, in fact, Emrie McCauslin (bottom row, far right) is the mom of a current Wolf hoops star — Maddy Hilkey.

The lineup (using maiden names):

Back row (l to r) — Jennifer Meyer, Bonnie Engle, Emily Wodjenski, Melanie Frost, Kristina Clark, Jen Canfield, Ron Bagby

Front row (l to r) — Sarah Miller, Marnie Bartelson, Rachel McIntyre, Nicole Monteleone, Jenny Christensen, Emrie McCauslin

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Briscoe down, but not out!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, Volleyball, tagged Basketball, CHS Wolves, injuries, Kyla Briscoe, volleyball on August 22, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Kyla Briscoe was a key player as a sophomore on last year’s girls’ hoops squad which went to state. (John Fisken photos)

Briscoe, seen here last year with Sarah Wright (left) and Katrina McGranahan, is a two-year letter winner in volleyball.

Briscoe models her new cast Monday. (Amy Briscoe photo)

One bad step during the off-season will put the Coupeville High School volleyball squad down a player this year.

Junior Kyla Briscoe, a two-time letter winner for the Wolf spikers, ripped seven ligaments and two tendons in her left ankle during a summer volleyball camp.

Coming down after a block, she landed on another player’s foot and rolled her own ankle, hard.

A small smidgen of good news was delivered Monday, however, as Briscoe learned she wouldn’t need surgery.

Instead, she will wear a cast for the next three weeks.

After that, Briscoe is expected to move into a boot and begin rehab.

While it’s expected she’ll miss the entire volleyball season, and the chance to play a final season alongside older sister Tiffany, the lack of surgery might put her back in play for basketball season.

Kyla Briscoe saw her playing time steadily increase as her sophomore hoops season played out.

A scrappy player on both sides of the ball, she helped lead the Wolf basketball squad to its first state tourney berth in a decade.

CHS hoops coach David King was planning on keeping Briscoe actively involved in the program, regardless of her playing status.

She is currently slated to assist Sherry Roberts with Coupeville’s fall ball team.

“One thing she knows is the plays and how we as a team want to play,” King said. “That insight is invaluable.”

A few days back, when it appeared Briscoe might be out for a substantial period of time, her coach expressed regret.

“Not having Kyla is going to leave a huge hole within our team,” King said. “The growth towards the end of last season and this summer really allowed her to gain confidence in herself and her game.

“We were looking forward to having her full time on varsity and being a contributor in all facets of the game.”

Monday’s prognosis may brighten the outlook for King, however, depending on how fast Briscoe’s ankle mends itself.

For now, it’s a waiting game, though one with more of a silver lining than it might have seemed at first.

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