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Archive for the ‘Happy birthday’ Category

Haley Marx (left)

Haley Marx (left), still smilin’ at Wazzu.

With dad Steve.

With dad Steve.

Haley Marx puts sunshine in the world.

The former Coupeville High School athlete (a team captain in both soccer and basketball), Homecoming royalty and Senior Class President was rarely without her smile.

Through big wins and tough losses Marx remained as upbeat as they come. The smile never flickered and it always seemed very genuine.

Her teammates gravitated to her and she never shied away from being a leader, on or off the court.

Supremely sweet to all around her, yet tough as steel in the heat of athletic battle, she remains one of my favorites of recent years.

Haley was always easy to root for during her time in the red and black, and I doubt anything has changed.

These days she’s repping Wazzu colors and turns the big 2-0 today.

Marx may be gone from Cow Town, at least for the moment, but she’s never forgotten.

Happy birthday, Haley! May your special day be as awesome as you are.

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It's raining birthdays for Amy King (top, second from right)

   It’s raining birthdays for Wolf superstars Amy King (top, second from right), Kirsten Pelroy (bottom, far left) and Drew Chan.

Birthday cake will be eaten today at some point. That much is for sure.

Three of Coupeville’s finest — coach extraordinaire Amy King, track speedster/soccer booter/cheerleader Kirsten Pelroy and former basketball/baseball spark-plug Drew Chan — are hitting joint milestones.

All have made positive impacts, both on the field of play and off, and we send best wishes out to them all.

Chan was a team leader during his days in the red and black, whether patrolling second base or running the point.

A fiery, never-say-die guy, he had memorable moments as a Wolf, but none showed his willpower more than the time he overcame severe food poisoning.

A day prior to the season opener of his senior year, many of the Wolf hoops players ate at a burger joint.

The next afternoon was a horror show, as those who could stand spent more time throwing up on the sidelines than I want to remember.

The Wolf JV only had five players that day and during that game, Chan, a team captain for the varsity, lay under the bench, bright green and possibly dead.

And yet, when the opening buzzer sounded, he was on the floor and played almost the entire game, staying upright as most of his teammates weaved and dropped like zombies.

Kid had no quit. Ever.

Pelroy, much like older brother Mitch, has natural speed to burn, something she’s used to her advantage both as a track star — where she teamed with Makana Stone to anchor successful relay teams — and on the soccer pitch.

She’s also dabbled in cheer, where her megawatt smile lights up the field by itself. Blessed with talent and a serene spirit, Kirsten has no limits.

If a talent scout doesn’t snatch the genetically-gifted Pelroy up first and get her work as a model, she should continue to excel for years, regardless of which sport she chooses at the moment.

And then we arrive at King, a star athlete in her day (not that long ago) who has teamed with husband David to form a rock-solid coaching unit.

Bouncing from solo work in volleyball to team work in basketball and softball with her other half, she is a rock star.

Coaches vary wildly on how much effort they go to when they report facts, figures and statty info to the unwashed media hordes.

Some will give you two words and (maybe) a score, while others will practically do your work for you.

King is firmly entrenched in the latter camp, waging a friendly war with CHS tennis coach Ken Stange to be the ultimate in telling a story with their beautiful, extensive post-game emails.

But King has also hand-delivered fresh-baked goodies to me at work after her team’s season-ending banquet. Your move, Stange.

Whether they’re coaching, playing or cheering, the birthday trio represent the finest of Wolf Nation. Here’s to a happy day, today, and every day.

P.S. — If you have leftover cake, you know where I work…

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Joel Walstad

Joel Walstad

Kyle King

Kyle King

They are old school (well, not that old…) and new school, united by a love of athletics, an alma mater and a birthday.

Kyle King is the grizzled vet, a former state champ track star at Coupeville High School who went on to run, very successfully, at two D-1 colleges.

Joel Walstad is the current leader of the pack, a heat-flingin’ quarterback who’s currently putting up sweet numbers for the Wolf football squad. After that, basketball and soccer seasons beckon.

Both are part of successful athletic families, with King’s siblings Brianne and Tyler and Joel’s bro and sis Tim and Bessie forming potent trios in CHS sports history.

The two guys celebrating a joint birthday today also share a laid-back attitude (the dudes abide) and a penchant for being at the forefront of cheering on their fellow athletes.

If there’s a student section rocking the house, King is smack dab in the middle of it, a trait shared by Walstad, who’s quite fond of the face paint and screaming like a banshee.

While they’ve followed different athletic paths (though Kyle did suit up as a gridiron warrior for a bit), and only one of them has sported a spectacular porn star-style ‘stache for a bit (spoiler: it was the college guy), the duo both deserve big props.

Strong athletes and students who happen to be quality people, they give Coupeville a good name.

Let’s return the favor and wish them well on their big day.

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Brittani Wil;kinson (John Fisken photo)

Brittani Wilkinson (John Fisken photo)

Cheer

Born to cheer.

Wilkinson (center, middle row) during Senior Night for football. (Cheridan Eck photo)

Wilkinson (center, middle row) during Senior Night for Wolf football players and cheerleaders. (Cheridan Eck photo)

Like a bright, blazing light bulb, forever lighting up the world around her.

That’s Coupeville High School senior Brittani Wilkinson, who celebrates her 18th birthday today.

Her smile is huge, her heart even bigger, and she has excelled as a Wolf cheerleader and part of a large, loving family.

I remember the early days, when she used to toddle along behind older sister Courtney Boyd when she and her siblings would come in to Videoville and later, David’s DVD Den.

Now, she’s all grown up (well, mostly grown up) and headed towards graduation.

The smile has never dimmed, the sense of joy she exudes in everything she does, especially cheer, where she has made her name, never faded.

She is as bright, personable, friendly and outgoing as anyone, which I credit a great deal to her mom, Carrie Wilkinson, who is also all of those things.

The mom is a marvel and her daughters (and sons) have lived up to her example.

Happy birthday, Brittani. I hope it is as wonderful as you are.

Which would be pretty dang wonderful.

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Morgan Payne 4 President.

Morgan Payne 4 President

Morgan Payne played his butt off.

Dude hustled every second of every day, every moment of every play.

Whether he was on the baseball diamond or the basketball court, the 2014 Coupeville High School grad, now a baseball player at Skagit Valley College, never backed down, never gave up on a play.

He let his actions speak for themselves as he was, at least in public, a young man of few words.

That didn’t stop the Bad-ass Party from stumping for him as their choice as President.

Waving signs and chanting his name for days, Brian Norris, Colin Belliveau and Co. made sure the whole world knew of their undying support for Morgan.

As he celebrates a birthday today, we also wish Mr. Payne the best.

He played the game the way it should be played, one mud-stained pair of baseball pants at a time, even if his heroic, game-saving dives sometimes made mom Joan cry when she remembered she’d have to wash those pants.

Morgan Payne for president? He has my vote.

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