Last summer was the biggie, as we raised the Wall of Fame in the Coupeville High School gym, honoring titles across every sport from 1900-2017.
A couple of weeks ago, the football record board in the entrance way to the gym was updated, filled in and brought to full reality, and now it can stand with pride next to the volleyball and track boards.
But now I have some empty hours to fill, so my brain wanders and wonders — which sport deserves to be next as we try and get every sport at CHS its own glossy record board?
There are five active sports (baseball, softball, basketball, tennis and soccer, with the last three having both girls and boys programs) which do not have record boards.
You could make solid arguments for all of them, so I’m turning that part of the process over to you, the readers.
There’s a poll below and you have 48 hours to make your feelings felt.
Voting is open now (no restrictions, vote as many times as your heart desires) and closes 9 AM Friday.
This is the people’s project, so you choose — which sport do I research, obsess over and agitate for, next?
Our first-ever Coupeville Sports Coach Supreme winner, Ryan King, passes on some of the wisdom he picked up playing in the trenches. (John Fisken photo)
Well, it’s a nice (imaginary) parting gift.
Ryan King, who recently stepped down after stints as a football and basketball coach at CHS and CMS, is the first-ever recipient of the title of Coupeville Sports Coach Supreme.
He held off Wolf JV volleyball coach Kristin Bridges and jack-of-all-trades Bob Martin to win our 48-hour poll, pulling in 4,883 votes.
Bridges (3,797), Martin (1,429) and CHS softball gurus Kevin (1,090) and Justine McGranahan (919) round out the top five.
The contest pitted 35 coaches against each other in an internet battle royale created mainly to give me tons of extra page hits (it worked) and is a companion to our annual Coupeville Sports Athlete Supreme.
That contest has run for five years now, with Nick Streubel, Amanda Fabrizi, CJ Smith, Hunter Smith and Joey Lippo taking home top honors from 2013-2017.
Like those five, King wins nothing concrete, as I’m too cheap to have an actual trophy.
But he does get a brief moment of fame, maybe a few glares from those he vanquished, and a warm feeling in his chest from knowing the internet is on his side … today.
L to r, Aparicio, Atkins, Bridges, Lucero, Manker, B. Martin, Cowan, Eck, Etzell, J. Martin, K. McGranahan, J. McGranahan, Felgar, J. Ford, L. Ford, Nelson, Rixe, Sherman, Henning, Herndon, Hilborn, Shulock, A. Smith, C. Smith, Kelley, A. King, Stange, Van Velkinburgh, D. King, Ra. King, Ry. King, Welshans, Whitmore, Wright.
There can only be one.
Many coaches enter the arena, and, 48 hours from now, one will exit with the title of 2016-2017 CHSCoach Supreme.
We’ve been running the CHS Athlete Supreme award for five years now — an annual slug-fest at the polls to determine which Wolf sports star wants to be crowned winner of an imaginary (yet strangely prestigious) honor.
This year it was Joey Lippo, following on the heels of Nick Streubel, Amanda Fabrizi, CJ Smith and Hunter Smith.
Now, after getting several recent requests to expand the battle royal to include coaches, we’re doing just that.
The rules for year one? No rules.
You can vote as many times as you like, with no restrictions.
Voting starts at 3:15 PM Monday, May 15, and closes 3:15 PM Wednesday, May 17, at which point we’ll crown a mythical champion, who can then quote Sally Field, “You like me. You really like me!”
Dyllan Harris flies up-field, ripping off chunks of yardage for Oak Harbor. (John Fisken photos)
AnnaBelle Whitefoot gets ready to tattoo the tennis ball.
Not our fight.
That was my first thought when the Everett Herald posted their polls for voters to help pick their prep athletes of the year.
They don’t care about us, why should we care about them?
From the moment Coupeville High School left the 1A/2A Cascade Conference and joined the all-new 1A Olympic League two years ago, Cow Town has been dead to the Herald.
They still report on two-thirds of Whidbey Island, running scores and such for Oak Harbor and South Whidbey.
But, in their minds, you might as well set the middle of the Island, the county seat, the heart of government and farming, on fire, and let it burn to the ground.
Course, if that happened, they still wouldn’t write about it, cause we’re dead to them.
So, when they posted their nominee list — with one girl and boy from each of the schools they choose to cover — no Makana Stone, no Wiley Hesselgrave.
Cause Coupeville is dead to the Herald.
Except, we can still be a royal pain in their ass. Just like we were a couple years back when we torpedoed one or two of their other polls.
There’s that.
And we can do it in two ways.
One, by rallying support behind Oak Harbor’s nominated athletes — AnnaBelle Whitefoot and Dyllan Harris — and maybe helping one Whidbey Island school shaft the Herald’s beloved ATM and King’s.
And, secondly, by dropping a hail-storm of emails on Herald prep sports bigwig David Krueger, just to remind him Wolf Nation is still here, no matter how much he tries to pretend we’re not.
Clockwise, from top left, Valen Trujillo, Lauren Rose, Madeline Strasburg, Jacki Ginnings, Kacie Kiel, Julia Myers, Hailey Hammer, Makana Stone.
Clockwise, from top left, Aaron Curtin, Wiley Hesselgrave, CJ Smith, Matt Shank, Josh Bayne, Lathom Kelley, Sebastian Davis, Joel Walstad.
Wild West rules.
That’s what we’re going with as we kick off our 3rd annual Athlete Supreme battle, honoring those who played for Coupeville High School in 2014-2015.
You can vote as many times as your little voting finger can handle. Seriously.
So don’t complain if someone else goes wild.
Either get in there and scrap or take the high road and lose. Up to each of you.
From the moment the poll opens (that’s now) until noon Thursday, it’s open warfare.
Then we’ll declare a victor and someone will get a brief giddy rush of joy in joining former winners Nick Streubel and Amanda Fabrizi in claiming a contest with no real trophy, but some bragging rights.
In the first two years of the contest I went with 12 nominees (six Wolf girls and six boys), but this year I bumped it to 16.
Even so, a lot of very deserving CHS athletes got left off the list, starting with those who only played one sport or were limited by injuries.
But I had to cut somewhere, and even if I chose 61 and not 16, someone would be snubbed.
So remember, it’s a silly contest. But feel free to mentally cuss me out if it makes you feel better.
The nominees (alphabetically):
Josh Bayne — Olympic League MVP in football. All-State pick on both sides of the ball. Star baseball player.
Aaron Curtin — Going to state for second straight year in tennis. Threw a no-hitter in baseball. Star basketball player.
Sebastian Davis — Very strong tennis season. #2 scorer in soccer in his first season in the sport.
Jacki Ginnings — Team leader in soccer. #1 singles player and winner of league tourney in tennis.
Hailey Hammer — Capping 12-letter career (volleyball, basketball, softball) with another strong year. Hit an out-of-the-park grand slam against Klahowya.
Wiley Hesselgrave — All-League in football and basketball. Led basketball team in scoring.
Lathom Kelley — Big hitter/power rusher in football. Team’s fastest (and most versatile) male athlete in track.
Kacie Kiel — Volleyball and basketball star who played every game with a huge smile. Hit an epically clutch three-pointer in wildest game of the season.
Julia Myers — Anchored soccer’s defense in goal, then dropped elbows (and a lot of buckets) for league champs in basketball.
Lauren Rose — Starter at key positions (setter in volleyball, catcher in softball) for two varsity teams — as a freshman. Helped lead JV basketball squad to 9-0 league record.
Matt Shank — Rock-solid football lineman and basketball big man.
CJ Smith — Fast-emerging star in three sports (football, basketball, baseball).
Makana Stone — Olympic League MVP in basketball. Scored 367 points in 22 games (best by a CHS girl since 2003). Busting records every day as she heads towards a third straight trip to state as a track runner.
Madeline Strasburg — Volleyball star, electrifying force of nature on the basketball court.
Valen Trujillo — Queen of the floor burns as a volleyball player, hard-charging singles sensation in tennis.
Joel Walstad — Put up impressive numbers as starting QB in football (and got a college scholarship out of it), team leader in basketball and soccer.
Coupeville Sports 