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Archive for the ‘Happy birthday’ Category

She’s a killer and a thriller!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, Happy birthday, Softball, Volleyball, tagged , , , , , on July 29, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Scout Smith: Rampaging force of nature. (John Fisken and Charlotte Young photos)

   Scout Smith: a rampaging force of nature. (John Fisken and Charlotte Young photos)

Scout Smith is the real deal.

As a new pack of Wolves get ready to enter the hallways of Coupeville High School, she is at the forefront of the coming athletic revolution.

A three-sport star (volleyball, basketball, softball), who also played soccer and cheered in her younger days, Smith can do it all, and she can do it all extremely well.

As she celebrates her 14th birthday today, Scout is following in the (very successful) footsteps of older brothers CJ and Hunter, and, frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if she outdoes them.

She’s got the same quiet confidence mixed with raw talent that they possess, and gravitates towards being a team leader.

Not afraid to get down and dirty on the field, Smith is that rarity, an athlete who wants the ball at crunch time and never shies away from the heat of the spotlight.

So, exactly like her brothers.

Whether staring daggers at hitters while pacing in the pitcher’s circle, or draining three-balls over outstretched arms, Scout is a killer.

Who also happens to be an extraordinarily nice person away from the arena, a vital part of a close-knit group of young women who excelled in middle school and little league sports by supporting each other and always focusing on team above all else.

You can go down a checklist with Scout, a very similar one to CJ and Hunter:

Smart, well-spoken, high character, mentally tough, hard workers who reflect extremely well on parents Chris and Charlotte, both as athletes and people.

When the Smith family moved to Whidbey during the 2013-2014 basketball season, Coupeville pulled off a major coup and the benefits to our sports teams and our community grow each day.

So, as she prepares to lay waste to high school competition, we just want to take a moment on her cake day to stop and wish the youngest family member all the best, on and off the field.

You’re a hard-court killer and a diamond thriller, Scout, and a whole lot more. Happy birthday, superstar!

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Master of the universe!!

Posted in Cheer, Girls Soccer, Happy birthday, tagged , , , , , on July 19, 2016| 1 Comment »

Mckenzie Meyer: Master of all she surveys.

  Mckenzie Meyer: Master of all she surveys. (John Fisken and Deb Smith photos)

Meyer and Madison Rixe

   Wolf track and field teammate Madison Rixe approves of Meyer’s electric socks. (Fisken photo)

Where do we start with Mckenzie Meyer?

Probably with the fact she is freakin’ brilliant. That’s always a good kick-off to things.

The Coupeville High School junior, who I have known since the day she was born, which was 16 years ago today, is mega-smart, but in more than just a “read a few books and memorized a couple of facts” way.

As good an athlete as she is (in cheer, soccer and, sometimes, tennis), as talented a musician as she is, as friendly and outgoing and compassionate and kind and strong as she is, it’s Mckenzie’s brain which is truly taking her places.

She showed it from an early age, back when she was running around Videoville as a wee one, and every time you turn around these days, she’s being flat-out brilliant.

There are smart people, there are ones who go beyond that and then there are the rare few where you know, without a doubt, that they are on a rocket trip to success, and their brain is fueling the trip.

At some point we’re going to see her do stuff which revolutionizes the world, and, after we’ve pulled our jaws off the floor and reattached them, you know what we’ll say?

“Yep, knew it was going to happen.”

Cause she’s just that special.

Not that she will tell you that herself, as Mckenzie is Miss Modest when it comes to tooting her own horn.

Which is why I, as her self-appointed PR person, have taken it upon myself to lecture the world how awesome and amazing she truly is.

In the world I cover — sports — Meyer is an ideal teammate, the kind of young woman who screams louder for her friends accomplishments than her own.

She’s fun-loving, she’s funky and she seems to be having a heck of a time boppin’ through life, utterly devoted to her large, sprawling family and her friends.

And by friends I mean anyone who meets her, since she instantly welcomes people into her wide world of wonder.

The people I write about are a diverse bunch, and I readily admit, I play favorites sometimes.

Everyone does, and, as much as I might say I try to balance coverage and give everyone their shot, reality is reality.

But guess what? Some people just deserve to have the spotlight.

They’ve earned it, with their spirit, their actions and the way they approach things.

Mckenzie is on my Mt. Rushmore, and she’s in no danger of ever losing her spot.

She was pretty dang awesome as a little girl and she has merely become a deeper, more wonderful person as she’s worked her way up through the birthday chain.

If you know her, you know I speak the truth.

If you don’t know her, man, you are missing out. Get on that, post haste.

So, happy birthday Miss Meyer.

And just in case you missed the first 33 times I said it — thank you for being truly, wonderfully, amazingly awesome.

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The little sister lights up the joint, too!!

Posted in Happy birthday, Softball, tagged , , , , , on July 18, 2016| Leave a Comment »

The impeccably-dressed Melia Welling. (John Fisken photos)

The impeccably-dressed Melia Welling. (John Fisken photos)

"Is mom working at PC right now, cause I'm parking this ball somewhere around the produce section."

   “Is mom working at PC right now, cause I’m parking this ball somewhere around the produce section.”

I like Melia Welling.

Regardless of whether or not she continues to become a big athletic star and ends up giving me plenty to write about over the next four years (and I think she will), she’s just a great young woman.

Like older brother Julian, she projects a friendliness that is infectious, and you can’t help but root for her.

Melia is on her way to becoming a freshman at Coupeville High School, with a pit stop in Birthday Land today, and she’s already made an impression as an athlete.

Volleyball, basketball, and, most recently, as a softball slugger for Central Whidbey Little League’s high-flying Juniors squad, the Venom, Welling has jumped in feet first.

She hails from an athletic family, which includes big bro and her cousins, Mitchell and Shane Losey, and she’s upholding tradition well.

Her biggest moment so far probably came when she thumped a two-run double in a Venom game.

The blow made Julian come dangerously close to flipping off the top row of the bleachers at the CHS softball diamond, as he screamed like a banshee while Melia beamed from ear to ear at second base.

Whether crunching big hits or giggling away with Cassidy Moody as the duo kept score at middle school boys’ basketball games, Welling is a talented, hard-working young woman who has made a very good impression on those of us in the cheap seats.

From all of us, happy birthday Melia. May the best be yet to come.

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One of the best and brightest!!

Posted in Football, Happy birthday, Track, tagged , , , , , on July 17, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Mitchell Carroll rumbles for yardage on the gridiron. (John Fisken photos)

Mitchell Carroll rumbles for yardage on the gridiron. (John Fisken photos)

Carroll, trying to contain the excitement of advancing to state.

Carroll, trying to contain the excitement of advancing to state.

Great things are ahead for Mitchell Carroll.

As he heads into his senior year at Coupeville High School, the two-sport (football, track) star seems primed to have a breakout year.

Always among the hardest workers in a Wolf uniform, Carroll, who celebrates a birthday today, brings dedication, talent and commitment to the table every day.

At a time when others are taking the easy way out, he remains front and center for Coupeville, proud of his school and his own talents and ready to put a cap on his career where it started.

Carroll is one of the top Wolf defensive players slated to return to the gridiron as new CHS coach John Atkins kicks off his first year.

He snagged 29 tackles last year, while also picking up a sack and a fumble recovery.

Part of a group of tackle-happy returning Wolves with Chris Battaglia, Uriel Liquidano, Julian Welling and Jacob Martin, Carroll should send his numbers even higher as a senior.

Then, when spring rolls around, and CHS debuts its new track and field layout, local fans will get to see him compete at home for the first time.

As a junior, Carroll threw the shot put and flew in all three jumping events (high, long and triple), making it all the way to state in the final event.

We can praise his work ethic. His commitment to his teammates and school. His big brain (he’s an Honor Roll alumni who competes in Science Olympiad).

Keep on going and we’ll be here all day.

So, let’s wrap this up and let him get to the cake by simply saying this — Mitchell Carroll is one of the best and brightest, in every way, that we are blessed to have here in Wolf Nation.

Guy is a winner, on and off the field, and, from all of us up in the cheap seats, happy birthday.

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The dynamic duo arrives!!

Posted in Happy birthday, tagged , , , , on July 16, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Birthday girls Mollie Bailey (top) and Avalon Renninger. (John Fisken and Sherry Roberts photos)

   Birthday girls Mollie Bailey (top) and Avalon Renninger. (John Fisken and Sherry Roberts photos)

They are the sparkling future of Wolf sports.

The duo of Mollie Bailey and Avalon Renninger share a lot in common, starting with having birthdays just a few hours apart.

Bailey’s was Friday (I just found out) while Renninger’s is today.

Both are younger sisters of highly-successful Coupeville athletes (McKayla and McKenzie Bailey, Sage Renninger) who are already on their way to being just as big stars, if not bigger, themselves.

Bailey, who will be an eighth grader at CMS in the fall, is a scrappy point guard on the basketball court and an even scrappier catcher on the softball diamond, a hard-hitting, fast-talking whirlwind.

Meanwhile, Renninger, who will be a freshman at CHS, is a ball of energy blazing across the soccer pitch, basketball court and (so far) track oval (though she may swap that for tennis).

Described by CHS hoops coach David King as a bulldog, for her willingness to get down and scrap with foes for every loose ball, every rebound, Avalon has a motor which never stops running.

Both young women share a lot of similar traits, being outgoing and friendly off the field, and then being more than willing to slice you off at the kneecaps in the heat of battle.

Like their sisters before them, the duo also have a love for the camera and are willing to play the PR game.

Bailey, in particular, is gunning for her sister’s Photo Bomb Queen status and she’s got the chops to make it happen.

As they both make the move upwards this year, with bright careers ahead of them, sports-wise and as smart, tough-nosed young women of the prairie, we want to wish them happy birthday.

Your future is wide-open, ladies. Go claim your destiny.

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