Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Hall o’ Fame’ Category

Class act gets the Hall call

Posted in Baseball, Boys Basketball, Hall o' Fame, tagged , , , , on June 20, 2019| 1 Comment »

From little league through high school ball, Aaron Trumbull was a class act. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Aaron Trumbull was a rock.

When you look back on his athletic career, the word which pops up most often is “consistent.”

He crossed paths with big-time stars like Ben Etzell, Josh Bayne, Aaron Curtin, and Nick Streubel, to name a few, but he not only held his own, his stats can stand with anyone from his time period.

And he did it all in a quiet, classy manner that can’t, and shouldn’t, be overlooked.

Trumbull delivered big hits, threw big pitches, and sank big buckets, but he approached every game in the same manner – as a solid pro.

He was a key player on a little league team which won a state title, finished higher on the CHS boys basketball career scoring chart than you probably think, but also shone brightly in small moments.

That he’s not already in the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame is a surprise and a shame.

I whiffed on this one somehow, but better late than never.

Today we throw open the doors to our lil’ digital wonderland, and welcome Mr. Trumbull to a club which couldn’t be complete without him.

After this, every time you look at the top of the blog, then peek under the Legends tab, you’ll find him strolling by, confident in his own abilities, but never one to scream and holler about how great he was.

Like older sister Alexis, who is also in the Hall o’ Fame, Aaron just went about his day, and let his actions speak for themselves.

He was a star as a young player, part of the 2010 Central Whidbey Little League Juniors baseball team which, under the guidance of coach Chris Tumblin, rumbled to an unexpected state title.

In the championship game, Trumbull came through twice with the pressure on, helping Coupeville upend West Valley 10-9 in 10 innings.

Down three runs entering the seventh, and final, regular inning, Trumbull, Wade Schaef, and Morgan Payne all delivered base-knocks as Central Whidbey rallied to force extra innings.

Then, in the 10th, it was Trumbull who rapped a single to plate Jake Tumblin with the game, and title-winning, run.

Once he hit high school, Trumbull continued to soar, both as a baseball player and basketball star.

His time on the hardwood came at a time when Coupeville’s fortunes were at an all-time low, as losses piled up and the team adapted to a new system after Randy King’s retirement.

Through it all, Trumbull was, as I said before, a rock.

He fought like a devil on the boards, crashed for loose balls, and did what he could to put points in the book for a Wolf team which struggled to generate much offense.

In fact, Trumbull finished with 330 career points, which leaves him sitting as the #77 scorer across 102 years of CHS boys basketball.

On the baseball diamond, whether he was flinging heat from the mound, or holding down first base, he was as steady as they come.

The hardball team had more success during his years at CHS than the basketball team did, and Trumbull was always a big part of that.

But, his impact went beyond wins and losses, or stats.

One of the defining moments of Coupeville athletics is one 99% of people never saw happen, or never heard about.

Late in his career, the Wolves had a number of JV players, but not enough to field a full nine-man lineup.

That meant a different varsity player or two had to fill in each game, to give their teammates a chance to see the field.

It went pretty well, until one Wolf decided they were above it all, and threw a hissy fit at the suggestion they could, for one day, “play down.”

As the JV players milled around, and the other team tried to avoid eye contact with CHS coach Willie Smith as he edged towards going into full-on stroke mode, Trumbull stood up and left the bench.

He had already pulled JV duty in a previous game, and was a much-bigger varsity star than the player throwing the hissy fit, and yet it mattered not to him.

Instead, Trumbull strode over, snatched the ball from his red-faced teammate, turned to the JV players, said “let’s do this,” and led them on the field.

That moment, above all others, above his state title-winning base-knock, or the buckets he hit while being double and triple-teamed, goes to the very core of who Aaron was, is, and will always be.

He didn’t leave teammates behind, didn’t leave them hanging, didn’t embarrass them.

Aaron Trumbull is among the classiest players to ever pull on a Wolf uniform, and he earned his spot in our Hall of Fame every single day he played.

Read Full Post »

Born to be great, lived to be awesome

Posted in Hall o' Fame, tagged , , , , , on June 19, 2019| Leave a Comment »

“So, who’s a brand-new Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame inductee? That’d be me, one Lindsey Roberts.” (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Predicting athletic success for young children is a complicated task.

For every guy with a beard in middle school who never quite becomes a full-fledged star in high school, there’s an undersized little league bench warmer who soars to new heights down the road.

Which is why people with far more restraint and knowledge often remind me not to get too gaga over a 6th grader who can dribble with both hands and start calling them “The Chosen One.”

A lot can change between elementary school and high school, some positive, some negative, and it all impacts young athletes as they flow from 11 or 12 to 18.

Injuries happen. Families move. Young athletes lose their love for a game for any of a thousand different reasons.

Romantic entanglements, drug or alcohol use, academic struggles, it can all pile up.

But then, on the flip side, there are those who blossom, who grow taller, stronger, quicker, or just prove that heart can outweigh physical advantages.

Those who receive crucial support, from family, from coaches, from friends, that piles up too, but in a positive way.

So, when I see an athlete in elementary school, I need to remember all of this. And some days I do.

But there are times when you just know.

Times when you watch a young girl or boy playing in a game and know, 10,000% percent, that, barring a catastrophic change in fortunes, you are seeing someone who is a star now, and someone who will be a star in the future.

Lindsey Roberts was, and is, one of those rarities.

The daughter of two Coupeville High School Athlete of the Year winners, and a niece, granddaughter, sister and cousin to other very-talented athletes, she had a lot going for her from the very start.

But it was obvious, even when she was boppin’ through elementary school, that she wanted success more than most, that she was willing to work for it, and that she would handle it with grace when it arrived.

The past six years, through middle and high school, she has been arguably one of the two or three best athletes wearing a Coupeville uniform.

Makana Stone exists on a different plateau from every Wolf athlete I have ever written about, but Lindsey is firmly in that group right behind her.

You can place Lou with Hunter Smith and Valen Trujillo, with Madeline Strasburg and Josh Bayne, with Wiley Hesselgrave and Maya Toomey-Stout, and know, without a doubt, she belongs in the pantheon.

In middle school, Roberts was a standout volleyball and basketball player, and a fireball who utterly destroyed fools in track and field.

Once she hit the hallways of CHS, she achieved what few do.

There was never a second of her high school career when she was anything less than a varsity star.

Not just a four-year varsity athlete, which, in itself, is something few Wolves have achieved, but a genuine supernova.

Yes, she lettered the maximum 12 times, four each in soccer, basketball, and track, but as she did so, she was more, much more – a starter, a team leader, a go-to warrior, all from day one.

The bench was no place for Roberts, and, if she sat there for more than a few seconds at a time, it was a genuine surprise.

We can list all her accolades.

She’s the #3 scorer in CHS girls soccer history, despite playing much of her career on the defensive side of the ball.

She’s the #18 scorer among Wolf girls basketball players, and that’s a program with decades more history than soccer.

Plus, Roberts sacrificed points to others who were more of a shoot-first type of player, content to snatch rebounds, get out on the break, and do the dirty work, then get her points within the system.

And then there’s track and field, where she’s simply #1.

No other female athlete in the 119-year history of her school, not even Makana, can match the eight competitive medals Roberts won across four state track meets.

She went back to Cheney every year, she brought medals home every time, and she never looked happier than when seen in photos from the often-broiling cauldron at Eastern Washington University.

But, stats only tell part of the story.

Roberts, possibly as much as any CHS athlete I have covered, lived and breathed team, team, team.

Pick a sport, give her a task, and she would excel, making her extremely valuable.

Look, I’m not in the locker room, or on the bus, and I try to stay out of the athlete’s personal lives, to give them at least a moment or two to themselves.

But I have eyes, and I have ears, and, by the end, you have a pretty good idea of what kind a person you’re writing about.

So, I feel very confident when I hail Lindsey, not just as an athlete, but as a person.

She never shied away from the big moment. Never backed down from any foe, regardless of the name on the front of the uniform. Never gave anything less than her best.

A lot of athletes come and go. Some make impacts, others are just here.

A few, a very few, truly impress us.

Lindsey Roberts has impressed me, always, and I have no doubt she will continue to do so.

She was a slam dunk to be inducted into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame years ago, and the only reason it hasn’t happened until today is she had to, you know, actually graduate first.

Now, diploma in hand, Roberts sets out to achieve greatness in other parts of her life.

But, she can always look back home, to her photo, which will soon hang in the CHS gym hallway among other Athlete of the Year winners, and, to the top of this blog, where she’ll live under the Legends tab.

She was one of the greats as a little girl, she is one of the greats now as a young woman, and she’ll always be one of the greats.

Read Full Post »

Battlin’ Briscoe joins the elite

Posted in Basketball, Hall o' Fame, Softball, Volleyball, tagged , , , , , on March 13, 2019| Leave a Comment »

All the rebounds belonged to Tiffany “The Bruiser” Briscoe. All of them. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Give everything you have and you can walk away head held high.

Every coach wants a Tiffany Briscoe.

The former Coupeville High School three-sport athlete, one of the rare Wolves to play a sport in all 12 seasons of their prep career, was a rock.

Day in, day out, every practice, every game, Briscoe was there, playing her heart out, doing all the little things, always looking to improve, always supportive of her teammates, always an unsung star.

She played alongside some of the most dynamic athletes CHS has seen, and it might be easy to overlook her contributions.

But it would also be a huge injustice.

Which is why today we swing open the doors to the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame and welcome home one of the ultimate blue-collar warriors.

After this, you’ll find Briscoe at the top of the blog, enshrined under the Legends tab.

It’s a fitting place to find her, because she is the kind of athlete, and kind of person, you hope other Wolves emulate.

Tiffany would be the first to tell you she didn’t have world-class, awe-inspiring natural athletic ability.

And then she would shrug her shoulders, smile, take you down in the paint, bust your fanny all game long, collect all the bruises, hug all her teammates, and walk away, proud she had helped her team.

Briscoe was a key contributor in all her sports, from volleyball to basketball to softball, helping take teams in the latter two sports to state.

There’s stats to support her making the Hall of Fame – she’s #91 all-time in scoring in CHS girls basketball history.

There’s big moments to make a case for her, like when Briscoe crushed an over-the-fence home run off of a nasty fastball from a rival pitcher who had already signed a D1 college scholarship.

That round-tripper was huge on a day when Coupeville KO’d Klahowya, its biggest diamond rival.

After three straight losses to the Eagles, Briscoe’s blow fueled a 7-6 home win which launched a sweet, and somewhat unexpected, six-game winning streak against Klahowya.

But the thing which guarantees she was going to land in the Hall is her heart.

Through big wins and tough losses, through good times and emotional heart-breakers, Briscoe NEVER stopped battling.

Never stopped working.

Never stopped living and dying for her sisters, whether they be of the flesh and blood type (lil’ sis Kyla) or of the “sisters from another mother” variety.

I’ve known Tiffany since she was a very little girl, and, as her high school athletic career played out, I was always impressed by how the important things – her drive, her desire, her compassion, her commitment – never wavered.

She grew as a young woman, finding confidence in sports and life, and she has begun the journey to making a name for herself in the big, wide world after graduating from CHS in 2017.

But, no matter where she goes, and what she accomplishes, I will always see her the way she was when she wore a Wolf uniform.

Leaning in close, eyes locked on her coach, taking in every word, totally absorbed in the game and what her mentors had to say, whether they were words of praise or the sounds of a coach in despair.

Working in the off-season with her teammates, and by herself, committed to getting every last bit of improvement out of her skills.

And then, face beaming, enjoying her time off the court with her friends and family, always willing to mug for the camera, but also aware of when it was time to do that, and when it was time to focus.

There have been a handful of athletes who have come through the gym doors at CHS, or spent time on one or more of the far-flung fields, who have operated like Briscoe did.

They are the ones we remember after the games have faded away, after scores have been forgotten, after they depart and are replaced by new stars.

During her days and nights as a Wolf athlete, there were a lot of young kids camped in the bleachers, or hanging out by the fence.

As they did so, I hope they watched Tiffany, and I hope they appreciated what she was doing.

When they pull on that high school uniform for the first time, if they remember the way she conducted herself, if they try and play like she did, they will go far.

Briscoe’s success was told in the bruises she collected.

Diving for volleyballs, even when she knew she couldn’t save all of them.

Fighting for rebounds, taking and dealing out elbows and daring anyone to try and budge her from her assigned chunk of hardwood.

Regularly absorbing wayward pitches like she had magnets in her arms and legs that attracted only softballs, then bouncing down to take her free base while gritting her teeth and smiling at her coach through the pain.

I said it once, I said it twice, I’ll keep saying it time and time again.

Tiffany Briscoe was a warrior.

When she walked away, at the end of her final softball season, she cried, because she knew it was over. But she smiled too, because she had no regrets.

I hope when she looks back, she remembers her time as a Wolf athlete with pride, and with joy.

Heart, above all else, and none with a bigger heart than Tiffany.

It’s why she’s a Hall of Famer.

Read Full Post »

One of us, always and forever!!

Posted in Basketball, Hall o' Fame, Track, tagged , , , , on November 8, 2018| 1 Comment »

The real world has taken Ashlie Shank away from Coupeville, but she will always be a part of Wolf Nation. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Shank, back in the day, hanging with (l to r) Brisa Herrera, Emma Smith and Sarah Wright.

Not everyone gets the finish they deserve.

Ashlie Shank should be four days away from her first basketball practice at Coupeville High School, a season away from bouncing at the line with her relay teammates, stalking track and field glory, months from walking with them at graduation.

It’s the way it should be. But sometimes real life intrudes on the fairy tale.

You can’t fault her father, Dr. Jim Shank, for accepting a promotion and moving on to a far bigger school system. It’s the life of a Superintendent, especially one who truly makes a difference at each landing spot.

But I feel for Ashlie, who arrived in Coupeville as a middle school student and began her high school journey with the CHS Class of 2019.

Over the course of her time here, as two of her older siblings, brothers Matt and Brian, graduated from CHS, the youngest child in the Shank household made remarkable strides.

She found a band of friends, or, more realistically, sisters, and Ashlie grew into a more-confident young woman, in the sports world and outside of it.

On the basketball court, her quiet intensity paid off, as she became a go-to player for the Wolf JV – one who could, and would, step up and drill a game-winning shot at the buzzer.

Take a sec and go relive the moment at https://coupevillesports.com/2015/12/11/klahowya-you-got-shanked/

Her hustle, her work ethic, her commitment, was rewarded with a varsity jersey during her junior season, when she became a swing player.

If the Shanks hadn’t moved across the country, Ashlie would walk through the CHS gym doors this coming Monday intent on winning a full-time varsity slot. And it would have been one she earned.

In the track and field world, she made it to state in the 4 x 100 and 4 x 200, winning respect from her teammates and coaches along the way.

At one point, I polled CHS coaches on the best athletes they had worked with, and this is what one had to say:

I feel that Ashlie Shank is the most underrated athlete that I coached.

This girl was a sleeper and for some reason it seemed that no one expected much from her, but she expected so much from herself and worked so hard to get to where she was before she left.

She was very consistent in her times and she continued to bring them down by working hard, harder than some of the best athletes on the team.

She was essential to her relays and amazing on her own. She knew how to push herself and find new limits every day.

I wish she could have stayed so I could’ve seen her senior season but I wish her the best for her senior year.

Other than writing about her on-field exploits, I had one other interaction with Ashlie during her time in Coupeville.

It came before a soccer playoff game at Oak Harbor’s stadium, when we both ended up in the press box during pre-game warm-ups.

It wasn’t a long conversation, but it reinforced my positive impression of Miss Shank.

She came across as a bright, well-spoken young woman, highly intelligent, fiercely loyal to her friends, with a good sense of humor and a quiet strength at her core.

What I witnessed in person matches what others have said about her, and what I observed from afar at her games.

I have no doubt Ashlie will do well, wherever she is, another winner from a family which has my admiration and respect for how they conduct themselves, and what they accomplish.

Still, a part of me wishes she could have had the chance to end her high school days where she started them. Shoulder-to-shoulder with her sisters from other mothers.

So today, I want to do something, I want to make a small gesture, to let Ashlie know how much of an impact she made while she was on Whidbey Island.

How impressed we were, and are, with the strong, intelligent, highly-motivated young woman who graced Cow Town for a few years.

To remind her that even when life takes you away, you will not be forgotten.

Induction into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame, with a rare few exceptions, isn’t usually granted until after you graduate.

Today, we’re making an exception.

In the end, her diploma will likely come from another school, it’s true.

But, after today, when you scroll to the top of the blog and peek under the Legends tab, you’ll find Ashlie Shank’s name right where it belongs.

One of us. Always and forever.

Read Full Post »

Merely fantastic? Nope! Camtastic!!

Posted in Hall o' Fame, tagged , , , , , , on November 7, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Cameron Toomey-Stout, Hall o’ Famer? One of the easiest calls I’ve made. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

The high-flying Toomey-Stout returns to Earth.

Camtastic being Camtastic.

He was the most unlikely of stars. And yet the most likely.

When Cameron Toomey-Stout was a freshman, he arrived on the football field barely tipping the scales at three digits. So, good thing 87 pounds of that was all heart.

As he grew, and outworked everyone expect maybe his own siblings, Camtastic went from being a novelty to one of the best athletes to ever wear a Wolf uniform.

So it should come as no surprise as to why we are here today, as we swing open the doors to the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame and welcome our newest addition.

After this, if you pop up to the Legends tab at the top of the blog, you’ll find Toomey-Stout right where he should be, rubbing elbows with the record-busters and name-takers.

On the gridiron, Toomey-Stout earned his playing time the old-fashioned way – he worked for it.

He was the point of the spear on special teams, the first man down the field and the first to light someone up, every dang time.

It wasn’t until younger brother Sean showed up, two years behind him, that Cameron finally had a teammate who could match him in hauling tail down the field on a kick or punt, and then inflicting damage on the would-be returner.

Watching the Toomey-Stout brothers race each other to the ball, two heat-seeking missiles unleashed, was one of the great pleasures of my sports-writing career.

Win or lose, in the lead or trailing by 40, the brothers made every special team play just that – special.

For Cameron, once he got on the field, he refused to come off, turning into a consistently-dangerous player on offense and defense to go with his special teams prowess.

In the backfield, he teamed with fellow Hall o’ Famer Hunter Smith to disrupt and deny the game plans of rival QB’s.

Toomey-Stout used his speed and his hops to pick off his fair share of passes while sharing space with Smith, who retired as the school’s all-time leading interception man.

Working together, they gave QB’s nowhere to throw that was safe, and always seemed on the verge of taking a pick six to the house.

As a receiver, Toomey-Stout was again the perfect complement to Smith, until injuries to both his running mate and his brother left Cameron as the last man standing during his senior season.

During the second half of the 2017 season, Coupeville QB Hunter Downes had one weapon left to deploy, and the elder Toomey-Stout fought valiantly while being double and triple-teamed.

Camtastic endured, fighting to the final play, out-leaping defenders, twisting his body into a pretzel, and pulling in pass after pass while knowing other teams had him in their cross-hairs.

If Toomey-Stout had any fears, he never, ever showed them once he pulled down his helmet and tightened his chin strap.

Throughout the history of CHS football, there are other players who, after their run was done, may have looked back and wondered what could of have been if they had worked harder, played more consistently or just been tougher.

With Cameron, when he walked off the field for the final time and hugged sister Maya, there were no lingering questions.

He truly gave everything he had, from day one to the final whistle.

And while football alone would have likely earned him his induction into the Hall o’ Fame, Toomey-Stout was a true three-sport man, one of just four from his class to play all 12 seasons as a high school athlete.

On the basketball floor, he was the glue that held things together. A hustler, a scrapper, a fight-for-the-ball-on-every play support guy who showed, late in his career, he could singe the nets when he wanted to let the ball fly.

Toomey-Stout could knock down a three-ball with a fluid shot, could zip a pass through a maze of arms and have it land right on the fingertips of a teammate, or out-muscle a rival six inches taller for control of the ball.

And through it all, through the sweat and the wear and tear, his hair remained, uncannily, the best in the biz. Which has to count for some extra credit.

When spring rolled around, Toomey-Stout, also a crack student in his small slice of down time, bounced from baseball to track and field.

On the diamond, he was a speed demon in the outfield and on the base paths, part of the first CHS baseball squad to win a league title in 25 years.

But the track, where he was joined by twin siblings Maya and Sean, offered Cameron the ideal way to flash his often-extraordinary physical skills.

Toomey-Stout closed his prep career with a burst of speed and derring-do, competing at the state track meet in three events – the triple jump, long jump and 4 x 100 relay.

He PR’d in the long jump and claimed a medal in the relay, leading off a unit which also included his brother.

But, as we mentioned at the start of this article, Cameron was always about more than just results.

It’s true, he put up some nice numbers, across all of his sports.

What we will remember him most for, though, is how he did it.

The way he pushed himself, every day, getting quicker, stronger, more efficient. The way he conducted himself, attacking with the same intensity in wins and losses.

Rival players, coaches and fans respected him as much as Wolf Nation did, the ultimate testament to the impact he made in his four years in a Coupeville uniform.

He carried the Toomey-Stout name with pride, always, but he fully earned the nickname Camtastic.

If you have a young son or daughter, a student/athlete with dreams of accomplishing great things, have them study Cameron’s career. Then have them emulate his passion, his will, his drive, his class, his style.

Model yourself after the best, to be the best.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »