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Archive for the ‘Hall o’ Fame’ Category

Don’t stop till you get to the top!!

Posted in Hall o' Fame, tagged , , , , , , on September 20, 2015| 2 Comments »

The blockers who drove the 1990 CHS football squad are joined by (bottom, l to r) Hunter Hammer, Randy King, Kyra Ilyankoff and Tina (Lyness) Joiner.

   The blocking crew who powered the 1990 CHS football squad are joined by (bottom, left to right) Hunter Hammer, Randy King, Kyra Ilyankoff and Tina (Lyness) Joiner.

Winners, through and through.

That perfectly describes the members of the 13th class to be inducted into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame.

A diverse group with some crossover, they all had high standards and left behind big marks, though one is still adding to his legacy at Coupeville High School.

Joining their brethren under the Legends tab at the top of the blog are Kyra Ilyankoff, Hunter Hammer, Randy King, Tina (Lyness) Joiner and the 1990 CHS football squad.

Our first inductee, Ilyankoff, was a powerhouse on the volleyball court and in the track stadium.

As a spiker, she owns school records for most blocks in a game and a season, while as a thrower, she placed in the top four at state as a javelin hurler three times.

With a second, third and fourth place medal to her name, it was only injuries that kept Ilyankoff from going a flawless four-for-four from 2008-2011.

A serene, sweet-natured young woman who had a fiery, intense drive deep in her soul, she will always stand tall when we talk about Wolf athletes who simply wowed us.

Standing tall came naturally to Hammer, since the camera-lovin’ force of nature eventually grew to a lanky six-foot-seven.

On the basketball court, he was a dominant force on very successful squads (his 2009-2010 team went 16-5, best in a long time for CHS boys’ hoops), before joining track as a thrower his final two seasons, shattering long-held school marks and claiming three medals at state.

Through it all, he broke the mold by refusing to play dour like a lot of male high school athletes do when it came time for photos to be taken.

He loved having his photo snapped, and the camera loved him, thus launching the first in a line of solid gold Photo Bomb champions at CHS.

Others have come for his title in the years since, but Hunter was, is, and will always be, The Man.

Hammer’s coach in both his sports, King, has the longest current tenure of any CHS coach.

After 20+ years on the hardwood as boys’ varsity basketball coach, he stepped away, but then returned to coach middle school hoops in recent years, while continuing to lead the Wolf track program.

A teacher and sometimes football PA announcer, King has done it all and I find it hard to believe there will ever be a day when he’s not at the school, helping to guide a new generation of athletes.

And we’re certainly not going to wait for him to retire to induct him into our Hall.

Our fourth inductee, the hoops artist formerly known as Miss Lyness, was an assassin with a sweet soul.

One of the nicest people to ever trod the earth, Tina completely tamped that down when she strode onto the basketball court.

A standout player with ice in her veins when it came time to put the ball into the hoop, she was a key part of making history.

Her short eight-footer at the buzzer as a senior lifted Coupeville to a stunning 43-42 upset of dastardly ATM, knocking the private school power out of the playoffs and sending the Wolves to state.

That 1999-2000 squad would go on to become the first CHS team, in any sport, to win a game at state, kick-starting a decade’s worth of excellence in the program, but all of that would never have happened if she hadn’t dropped the dagger.

And now Tina has a young son who is showing signs of being a golf/fishing/whatever-sport-he-wants-to-play prodigy, meaning she might have helped to kick-start a new wave of excellence that will pay off for Wolf Nation down the road.

Topping our inductees on this day is a team that, without much argument, can lay claim to being the best in its sport ever produced by Cow Town.

The 1990 gridiron warriors, led by a talented senior class that left school in spring of ’91, went 9-0, winning a Northwest League title while outscoring opponents 258-107.

Led by a power running game and a cerebral, highly-efficient quarterback in senior Jason McFadyen, the Wolves rolled all the way to hosting a state playoff game.

Buffeted by Whidbey wind, Coupeville fell to Rainier in a state quarterfinal game Nov. 10, 1990, but that lone loss can’t mar what came before.

And, cementing their status, no other Wolf football team has stepped up to match their unbeaten mark or make it back to state in the 25 years since they last strode the gridiron at Mickey Clark Field.

It would be nice, on this anniversary, if the school would step up and honor the ’90 squad, though it doesn’t seem likely. Coupeville, unlike other schools, often lets its athletic past go to waste, which is a shame.

But whether they get their moment back on the field or not, we here at Coupeville Sports can remember them, and induct them, as a team, into our Hall.

Together, one more time, they are:

Ron Bagby (head coach)
Brian O’Hara (assistant coach)
Jon Prater (assistant coach)
Tom Roehl (assistant coach)

Brian Barr
Ben Biskovich
Troy Blouin
Danny Bonacci
Todd Brown
Ross Buckner
Ted Clifton
Matt Cross
Sean Dillon
Chris Frey
Scott Gadbois
Les Hall
Brad Haslam
Van Kellems
Scott Kirkwood
Eric Lester
Mark Lester
Kit Manzanares
Frank Marti
Jason McFadyen
Craig McGregor
Gerald McIntosh
Jason McManigle
David McMillan
Jerimiah Prater
Virgil Roehl
Ben Russell
Ryan Samplawski
Todd Smith
Joseph Staples
Nate Steele
Kevin Steiner
Aaron Williams
Tracy Wilson

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Stars, then and now!!

Posted in Hall o' Fame, tagged , , , , , on September 13, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Hall o' Fame inductees (clockwise, from bottom left) McKayla Bailey, Emily (Vracin) Kosderka, Dustin Van Velkinburgh and Mitch Aparicio.

   Hall o’ Fame inductees (clockwise, from bottom left) McKayla Bailey, Emily (Vracin) Kosderka, Dustin Van Velkinburgh and Mitch Aparicio.

Impact.

Real, solid, enduring impact.

It’s what the four members of the 12th class to be inducted into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame all delivered.

They were athletes, they had their moments in the sun, but, after they had taken the uniform off for the final time, their legacies, their spirit, their lessons have lived on in the town they once represented.

It’s why they are true legends, and why you’ll now find their names at the top of this blog, enshrined under the tab marked … legends.

I give you, Mitch Aparicio, Emily (Vracin) Kosderka, Dustin Van Velkinburgh and McKayla Bailey.

We’ll kick if off with Coach V, who could have gone in as an athlete, but will get the call as a coach.

Dustin was a superb athlete (still is) who played multiple sports in his younger days, but he is also that rarity, a top-level stud who turned around and came back to coach at the school where he prospered.

He often talks about how much the coaches he had shaped his life, gave him hope and a purpose, and he has retained those lessons and passed them on in his work with CHS football and basketball players.

Young (and skilled) enough to still be able to break his players ankles on the court if necessary, but wise enough to know when to use that power and when to quietly impart wisdom and support, he has helped shape a generation of Wolves.

If they come out the same kind of man he is, what a boon for this community.

Joining him on the stage is Aparicio, an 11-time letter winner who put in work like no other.

A three-time Mr. Hustle award winner in basketball, who later married his coach’s daughter, Mitch was an all-star in football, basketball, baseball and track who could have a trophy room full of All-League honors — if that mattered to him.

Instead, the Class of 1987 alum, who carried his football squad to state three times, has always been content to focus on the small moments instead of the trophies.

“Looking back at it now, I believe the best memories I have are of living in a small town and being close to family,” he once told me. “Living in a small community was a great opportunity to be involved, to play everything and get recognized by your family and community.”

He’s given back, gifting CHS with talented daughters Sydney and Payton, and always being one of the school’s most visible boosters with wife Tami.

And while the high school ‘stache is gone, the huge grin is still there, lighting up the town he loves, which loves him right back.

Our third inductee is the single most cold-blooded killer I have ever covered in person.

Kosderka was Coupeville’s answer to Larry Bird on the basketball court, and I swear I never, ever saw her miss a shot at money time.

The Class of 1992 grad was a standout volleyball and softball star, as well, but it was on the hardwood that she truly excelled.

Need one shot to win? From anywhere on the court? With no time to even think or blink?

Boom. The ball would snap into her hands, fly out with a whisper and the small smile would play at the corner of her mouth as she was backpedaling before the ball hit nothing but the bottom of the net.

Post high school, she has devoted countless hours to helping other athletes as a trainer, and has two young children who may one day surpass their athletically-gifted parents (husband Matt is a college baseball Hall of Famer).

If so, one can only hope Emily brings them home to the town in which she scorched so many nets.

Our headliner, and the most recent athlete by far, is Miss Bailey, who departs for college this week.

A top-level softball player who also dazzled as a hoops star, a spiker and a booter, McKayla is going in to the Hall as a contributor, and it’s not meant as a slight on her athletic skills.

Girl could whip a fastball.

But, in McKayla’s case, her impact went so far beyond the diamond and I want to acknowledge her unique position.

It’s impossible to overstate how important The Photo Bomb Queen was to the growth of Coupeville Sports.

When she was a freshman, I called her a Diaper Dandy (after which I had to explain to mom Donna who Dick Vitale was and why the term was a GOOD THING, all while Donna chased me through the town waving the beatin’ stick).

For the final three years of her high school days — the first three years of this blog — McKayla was my absolute go-to gold standard for anything and everything.

She would pose for photos until the cows came home (and then corral the cows into some more photos), she perfected the art of photo-bombing like no other (yes, yes, lil’ sis McKenzie has mad skills too) and she would answer every stupid question I asked with style, wit and zing.

McKayla is a great athlete, but she is so much more.

She is smart, she is kind, she is graceful, a vibrant, good-hearted young woman who it was a genuine honor to write about.

I hope she goes out into the world and kicks an unholy amount of booty, whether on the field, in the classroom or just in every day life.

There have been a lot of talented athletes in Coupeville, past, present, and surely in the future. There are also a lot of very entertaining ones.

But McKayla, there will never, ever be another McKayla Bailey.

I am so glad I get the chance to honor you, even in this small way.

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It just got legendary up in here!!

Posted in Hall o' Fame, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 6, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Hall o' Fame inductees (top to bottom) Aimee Bishop, Jennie Prince, Ron Bagby, Marlene Grasser

  Hall o’ Fame inductees (top to bottom) Aimee (Messner) Bishop, Jennie (Cross) Prince, Ron Bagby and Marlene Grasser stack up next to an old school Sherry (Bonacci) Roberts.

And that's how you play defense. (Photo courtesy Sherry Roberts)

And that’s how you play defense. (Photos courtesy Sherry Roberts)

Three Hall o' Famers in one photo

   Four Hall o’ Famers (so far) in one photo, as Grasser (24), Bishop (32) and Roberts (30) join their already-inducted coach, Phyllis Textor.

Roberts (

   Modern-day Wolf spikers? Roberts (4) and Prince (12) could probably still thump you.

The page hits? They’re never gonna end on this story.

The 11th class inducted into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame manages to incorporate some of the most beloved, reader-friendly legends in the history of this here town.

It’s almost like I planned it that way…

So, without any further ado, rising up to live under the Legends tab at the top of the blog, I give you Marlene Grasser, Jennie (Cross) Prince, Sherry (Bonacci) Roberts, Aimee (Messner) Bishop and Ron Bagby.

And we just broke the internet.

Our first inductee, Bagby, was the CHS football coach for 25+ years and that alone would probably grant him access to these hallowed digital walls.

He produced an unbeaten team in 1990 and shaped generations of gridiron warriors, but there was, of course, much more to the man.

Basketball and track coach, athletic director and, before that, the dude who led the ENTIRE NATION in punt returns during his sophomore year at the University of Puget Sound.

Bagby in a football uniform was all Forks had going for it before they discovered twinkly vampires, and, barring a leg injury, he was slated to be drafted by the United States Football League, the NFL rival that gave us Doug Flutie, Herschel Walker and Donald Trump.

Instead, Coupeville got him and the rest is (Wolf) history.

Joining him are four of the most talented athletes to traverse the hallways at CHS in the late ’80s, all of whom have gone on to spectacular post-high school success.

Grasser (Class of ’87) was a two-time Athlete of the Year who sparkled in four sports (volleyball, basketball, softball and track) before going on to play college volleyball.

Her running mate, Roberts, once said this about her:

“Marlene was my athletic role model. She was such an amazing and gifted athlete and one of the nicest people ever. She always helped me and encouraged me to strive for excellence and become the best I could be.”

Grasser flipped the switch, revealing she still had, and treasured, letters of encouragement Roberts (Class of 1989) wrote her in their younger days.

“I’m the one who thought of Sherry as my role model. She was always so bright and cheery and made the best of any situation. I admired that and strove to be that way too!”

The one-time Bonacci was a four-year letter winner in basketball and volleyball who also went on to play college ball.

An Athlete of the Year honoree herself, the Mrs. Hustle winner later married a Mr. Hustle Winner (Jon Roberts) and their daughter Lindsey is now a CHS freshman poised to wipe out all of their records while flashing the epic smile inherited from her ever-bubbly mom.

If Roberts was usually smiling, Prince (Class of 1990), living up to the Cross family tradition, was a little more intense when glaring at opponents (and sometimes, teammates).

A supremely nice woman off the court, Carson Risner’s mom made no bones about it — she was gonna break you in half and feel damn fine about doing it.

One of the most committed competitors the Wolves have ever had, she was a 12-time letter winner (four each in basketball and volleyball, three in track and one in softball) and her school records in the shot put and discus have never been touched.

Want to capture Jennie back in the day?

In the words of former teammate Georgie Smith:

“I lived in terror of volleyball practice in high school. Bump – set – spike with Jennie and the evil grin she would get when it was her turn to spike!”

And they were friends…

Rounding out our quartet is Bishop (Class of 1988), a three-sport athlete (volleyball, basketball, track) who has gone on to be a very successful (and frequent) runner.

Along the way she produced an Athlete of the Year winner in daughter (and future Hall o’ Famer) Breeanna Messner, earned huge internet fame as the most dependable photo subject in the history of Coupeville Sports and proven herself indispensable keeping Wolf athletics up and running.

And that’s actually how we’re going to induct her into the Hall, as a contributor.

It’s not meant to diminish her athletic accomplishments, but Bishop has made a huge impact as an athletic coordinator at CHS.

All you have to do is go to a game at a different school (say, football at South Whidbey…) and you realize how efficiently she does her job.

The lights stay on, the programs get printed, ice gets to injured players and everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, gets a smile along the way.

Putting her in as a contributor re-links her with her former running mate behind the scenes, Kim Andrews, who was already inducted.

The Kim ‘n Aimee Show, still playing up in the Hall o’ Fame.

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Legends, one and all!!

Posted in Hall o' Fame, tagged , , , , , , , on August 30, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Ann Pettit (top, left) joins her fellow inductees (bottom, l to r) Tom Roehl, Amy Briscoe, Dalton Engle and Mitch Pelroy.

   Ann Pettit (top, left) joins fellow inductees (bottom, l to r) Tom Roehl (with son Virgil), Amy Briscoe, Dalton Engle (with dad Michael) and Mitch Pelroy.

The 2014-2015 CHS varsity girls' hoops squad. (John Fisken photos)

The 2014-2015 CHS varsity girls’ hoops squad. (John Fisken photos)

The 2014-2015 Wolf JV squad, which went 9-0 in league play to match the varsity.

The 2014-2015 Wolf JV squad, which went 9-0 in league play to match the varsity.

How do you choose who goes in the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame?

Bribes. It’s all about the bribes. So start baking those chocolate chip cookies…

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, it’s time to welcome the 10th class into these hallowed digital walls, forever to live on at the top of the blog under the Legends tab.

Welcome to the stage Dalton Engle, Ann Pettit, Mitch Pelroy, Tom Roehl, Amy Briscoe and (no, it’s not too soon) the 2014-2015 Coupeville High School girls’ basketball team.

Leading us off is the most unsung of the group, the glue who helps hold Wolf athletics together, Mrs. Briscoe.

The ultimate den mother, Amy is the sort of indispensable, take no crap but love ’em all parent every school needs.

That CHS has her is a huge win.

She’s given the Wolves two talented daughters, Tiffany and Kyla, but she goes in to the Hall for the way she takes care of all of her daughters (and sons).

A fierce fighter and protector of every kid who crosses her path, Amy knows when to hug and when to put her foot between someone’s butt cheeks, and she does both with compassion and heart (and fresh baked brownies).

Wolf Nation, and its athletes, could have no finer force ‘o nature watching over them, day and night.

Joining her in entering the hall is another larger than life presence, the late Tom Roehl.

Like Amy, he spent countless hours helping the children of Coupeville.

From his years as Ron Bagby’s right-hand man with the CHS football program to the time he poured into keeping youth basketball hoppin’ in Cow Town, he gave his all.

And, while his passing left a huge hole, his family has kept his memory and his lessons alive over the years, giving out numerous scholarships in his name through their foundation.

Coach Roehl’s impact will filter down through generations to come, and it is an honor to add him to our little club.

The Wolf football program that he dedicated so much time to has produced a long list of stellar players, and two of the best in recent memory go into the Hall with him.

Engle, who followed the path set by his dad Michael, is on the school record board for the most career tackles, but it was his leadership which shone above all else.

A quiet, confident guy who led by example and never backed down on the field, he was a rock for the Wolves.

Pelroy was just as important, a zippy, highlight-reel-producing receiver and defensive back who excelled in the return game, a track star leaving would-be tacklers in his dust.

His speed, and his hard work, carried him to college, where he continues to shine for Montana Western while rockin’ the best hair in the biz.

Our fifth inductee is one of the best basketball players to ever rep the red and black. And it ain’t even close.

A two-time Offensive Player of the Year (1996, 1997) and the team’s MVP in 1998, Pettit scored in bursts and teamed with Zenovia Barron to form arguably the most dangerous one-two attack Wolf hoops has ever had.

How potent was she?

In her varsity debut as a sophomore, she entered the game in the third quarter … then ripped off 18 points.

CHS coach Willie Smith, in one of his many brilliant moves, started Pettit every game for the rest of her career.

Her brightest moment may have come during her senior season, when Coupeville upended Bellevue Christian to reach the state tourney, with Pettit shutting down BC’s Cathrine Kraayeveld (currently in her 11th season in the WNBA).

Shutting people down was the hallmark of our final inductee, last year’s Wolf girls’ basketball team.

Led by league MVP Makana Stone and a six-pack of skilled seniors, Coupeville romped to a title in the inaugural season of the 1A Olympic League, hanging the first new championship banner in the CHS gym in 13 years.

Young women who had not seen their school win a title in any sport since they were kindergartners made an epic statement, and they did it in style, winning all nine league games by 15 or more points.

Even more impressively, the Wolf JV also went 9-0, drilling Klahowya, Port Townsend and Chimacum and we are honoring the entire squad today.

For going 18-0 in league play. For sweeping away the past and kick-starting a new era, an era in which the howl of the Wolves sends shivers down the spines of other teams.

Inducted, together, as a team, the 2014-2015 CHS girls’ basketball squad:

David King (coach)
Amy King (coach)
McKenzie Bailey
Kyla Briscoe
Tiffany Briscoe
Lauren Grove
Hailey Hammer
Brisa Herrera
Kailey Kellner
Kacie Kiel
Skyler Lawrence
Mia Littlejohn
Mattea Miller
Julia Myers
Lauren Rose
Makana Stone
Madeline Strasburg
Wynter Thorne
Monica Vidoni
Allison Wenzel

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And that’s the sound of your butt bein’ beat!!

Posted in Hall o' Fame, tagged , , , , , , on August 23, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Madison Tisa McPhee and Jake Tumblin (top) are joined by fellow inductees (l to r) Megan Smith, Ashley (Ellsworth-Bagby) He

   Madison Tisa McPhee and Jake Tumblin (top) are joined by fellow inductees (l to r) Megan Smith, Ashley Heilig and Brianne King.

As dominant as you can imagine, and then some.

The 9th class inducted into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame features four female athletes who define athletic success in this town, and one guy who was pretty darn good, too.

Making the move to the top of the blog, where they’ll take up residence under the Legends tab, are Megan Smith, Madison Tisa McPhee, Brianne King, Ashley (Ellsworth-Bagby) Heilig and Jake Tumblin.

What connects these five?

Success, success and more success. Oh yeah, and raw talent, too. That’s always nice.

Tisa McPhee is the rare Wolf to have shined brightly as an athlete both in and out of school.

While wearing a CHS uniform, she was a dazzling volleyball and soccer player, one who was willing to sacrifice her nose if necessary to stop the other team from scoring.

Her biggest impact, though, came on the track oval, where she was a fleet-footed sprinter and hurdler, helping to set school relay records and hauling home multiple medals from the state meet.

Put her on a horse and Mad Dawg was just as likely to kick your rear, thundering through obstacles and becoming one with her trusty steed.

Before she exits the stage, we’ll let her deliver a speech for Tumblin, a standout football and baseball star who is now a two-time inductee (he was a key member of the 2010 Central Whidbey state championship little league squad).

Hi Mr. Svien! I just read about your new HOF deal and I have an extremely amazing athlete (I may be biased but I don’t care) for you to consider … Jake Tumblin!

Jake, for some reason I still can’t get my head around, was looked over as Athlete of the Year his senior year, when he was the starting catcher for about three years on the baseball team and starting in whatever position his football coach ever asked of him all through high school as well.

And, as you know he is going to play at Simon Fraser in the fall.

He is not only one of the best athletes Coupeville has and will ever see, they will not get a greater captain on any team or all around student.

Jake is one of the most modest, strong and considerate players/teammates etc. there has ever been on a field.

Why he was not Athlete of the Year when he was all of this and more I couldn’t flipping tell you.

He is the person that the school should idolize and hold a standard of for all the rest of student athletes to come.

And knowing him as well as I do he would make it seem like he could care less about what CHS staff and administration picks him for or not, but he is also deserving of recognition for the time/effort and sportsmanship he put forth during his four years.

JT is most definitely a worthy choice.

And with that, Rumblin’ Tumblin, Jake the Snake, zips into the Hall o’ Fame the same way he used to hurtle into the end zone — like a bat out of Hell.

Hot on his heels is the holy trinity, the three women who were the absolute pinnacle of sports excellence in Coupeville over the past 20 years.

Smith was a three-time Athlete of the Year winner who lettered 12 times (four each in volleyball, basketball and softball), the best athlete in a family that has already seen coach/dad Willie inducted into the Hall o’ Fame and brothers Ian and James dangerously close to joining them.

Megan is that rarity, a highly-accomplished athlete who led by example while rarely displaying any ego.

Her quiet confidence and her will to win were astonishing and if you have one game to win to save the world, in any sport, I want her front and center.

She was/is that good.

King and Heilig also had very successful siblings, a chunk of whom are currently in the Hall as we speak, but you can make a very strong argument Brianne and Ashley, like Megan, are the standard bearers for their families.

When it comes to CHS girls’ hoops, no player has ever scored as much as King did, and it’s not even close.

As far as we’ve been able to figure out, she owns the top three single-season efforts in program history and scored 1,549 points during her splendid career.

Her totals:

(1999-2000) — 275
(2000-2001) — 446
(2001-2002) — 386
(2002-2003) — 442

Without even taking into account her exploits as a track and cross country runner into consideration, Brianne is a slam dunk for the Hall.

Our final inductee is the one who I have the biggest personal connection to.

These days, Ashley is grown up and married, a mom to an adorable little girl who may one day be the next great Wolf superstar, but, to me, she’ll always be the girl with the pigtails and the extra-baggy shorts who also worked behind the counter with me at Videoville.

Off the court, one of those rare people who you just adore. She is as sweet and kind and smart and wonderful a human being as has ever existed.

On the court, be it volleyball or basketball, or on the softball field, Ashley was just as adored by her coaches.

A leader, a feisty lil’ warrior who would slice her foes off at the knees and leave them to bleed out, she was the linchpin of the most successful run of female sports teams CHS has ever known.

The biggest banner in the school’s gym is for a 3rd place finish at state by the 2002 Wolf softball squad, a team that, led by Heilig, won four of five games at the tourney.

Outscoring opponents 28-13, they lost only to eventual champ Adna, beating Cle Elum-Rosalyn, Royal, Okanogan and Napavine.

At some point, if I can track down a complete roster for that team, I will induct them all into the Hall.

For now, their leader goes in, for that moment and the ten million other times she would stride out to play whatever sport was in season, get mistaken for the ball girl, then kick unholy amounts of booty.

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