Anna Bailey (left) puts it into overdrive. (Shelli Trumbull photo)
Madison Tisa McPhee and one half of the combo that gave her the “fast genes,” dad Jack Tisa. (Robert Pelant photo)
“One of the best things about this sport is helping young student athletes become good people.”
That kernel of wisdom was passed down to Coupeville High School track coach Randy King at the start of his career, and it’s one he’s carried with him over the past two decades.
As he enters a new season, with 39 athletes at his disposal so far (18 boys, 21 girls), including several with state meet potential stamped all over them (hurdler Madison Tisa McPhee, thrower Nick Streubel, sprinters Jai’Lysa Hoskins and Makana Stone), King is positively aglow.
“I like this team! Our experienced athletes do the greatest job of helping our youngsters learn technique, discipline and responsibility,” King said. “If they keep up what we’ve started this week, it is going to be a fantastic season.”
The strongest groups right now appear to be the female sprinters and the male throwers.
“On the girl’s side, we think that we’re going to have the fastest group of sprinters that we’ve had in the last five years,” King said. “Our fastest athlete appears to be Madison, who is also our best hurdler. She is amongst the premier hurdlers in our league and has come into the season in great shape.”
Already a battle-hardened state meet vet, Tisa McPhee is joined by fellow seniors Anna Bailey, Nicole Becker, Hoskins and Rachel Wenzel. Battling for spots in the sprints and relays are four freshmen “who seem to be able to run step for step with the seniors,” — Courtney Allard, Sylvia Hurlburt, Kirsten Pelroy and the electric Stone.
Two newcomers — junior Emma Sullivan and senior Kelsey Miranda — are also in the mix, with Miranda, a soccer ace, expected to back Tisa McPhee up in the hurdles.
Soccer player Erin Rosenkranz will lead the distance runners, while Marisa Etzell can do everything (sprints, distance) and do it very, very well.
The girls’ throwing program, while not as deep as the boys’ one, still boasts two returnees in Becker (discus) and Dani Rickard (shot) and a promising newcomer in Heni Barnes.
A top-notch student, Barnes is also a leader in the school’s weight-lifting programs and is expected to have an impact in both the shot and discus.
The Wolf boys may be slightly outnumbered this season, but they do have stars.
Streubel hefted some impressive throws in both the shot and discus during his first go-around last season and is aiming for Hunter Hammer’s school records as a junior. Hot on his heels are senior Caleb Valko and junior javelin chucker Nick Weatherford, who had his season cut short last year with an off-field injury.
Sophomore Carson Risner, son of legendary Wolf hurler Jennie (Cross) Prince, who still holds school records 20 years after graduation, has made the jump from baseball while freshmen Dalton Martin and Lathom Kelley have flung themselves into the mix.
The Wolves return most of their distance runners (sophomore Matthew Hampton, junior Jake McCormick and senior Sam Landau), while talented junior Stephen Edwards holds down the long and triple jump posts.
With Mitch Pelroy having graduated, the sprint positions are up for grabs, and a pack of newcomers has been fighting for position. Junior Josiah Campbell and Brandon Kelley are vying with freshmen Jared Helmstadter and Lathom Kelley.
While the small school 1A Wolves don’t have the raw numbers to win regular season meets against big school 2A Cascade Conference teams, who can flood the oval with athletes, they can, and have, made a big impact come postseason time.
The regular season is for fine-tuning.
The postseason, that’s when Tisa McPhee and Co. can blitz the field and live up to the standard set down by former state championship winning Wolf greats like Kyle King, Natasha Bamberger, Tyler King and Amy Mouw.
