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Heart of a lion!!

Posted in Basketball, Track, tagged Basketball, CHS Wolves, Kiara Contreras, math class, track and field on July 8, 2018| 2 Comments »

Kiara Contreras, a scrappy ball-hawk for the Wolves, makes her high school debut this fall. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Contreras flies in a relay this spring.

Kiara Contreras is a scrapper.

The fast-rising young athlete, who will be a freshman at Coupeville High School this fall, always played with a wild abandon during her middle school days.

Whether jousting on the volleyball or basketball court, or zipping around a track oval, Contreras never gave less than her best.

And her best usually involved things like diving between rival players to snare a loose ball on the hardwood, then spinning away and leading a mad charge to the net for a breakaway layup.

She might not be the biggest player on the floor, but Contreras always has one of the biggest hearts on display.

It’s a trait she shares with her cousins, CHS juniors Willow and Raven Vick, who Contreras hails as role models, along with mom Angella.

“I’m very competitive,” Contreras said, though she admits, “I need to work on being confident in myself.”

The young warrior, who enjoys math class, hanging out with family and friends and “practicing to get better,” plans to stick with basketball and track as she enters high school.

While she enjoys both sports, it’s hoops which claims her greatest devotion.

“Basketball is my favorite sport because of the adrenaline and meeting new people,” Contreras said. “(I like) the work you put into it and the competition.”

Regardless of what she’s doing, she will approach every day, every practice, every game, filled with a desire to make sure people remember her name, and her dedication, long after the final whistle.

“My goals are to work hard and hopefully make it to state before I graduate,” Contreras said.

Don’t doubt her.

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Fly, Danny, fly!!

Posted in Track, tagged CHS Wolves, Danny Conlisk, Kitsap Fliers, regionals, track and field on July 7, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville High School senior Danny Conlisk is North Carolina-bound after qualifying for the Junior Olympics national meet. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Conlisk and Fliers teammate James Dillow finished 3rd and 5th in the 400, respectively, both qualifying for nationals. (Dawnelle Conlisk photo)

Not even an injured groin could slow him down.

Battling through a nagging injury, Coupeville High School senior Danny Conlisk ran strongly Saturday at regionals, clinching a trip to the USATF Hershey National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships.

Conlisk, who is running with the Kitsap Fliers this summer, finished third in his top event, the 400, hitting the line in 50.21 seconds while competing in Bend, Oregon.

That was just off his PR of 49.70, which he set in May while finishing second at the 1A state meet.

The top five finishers Saturday punched their tickets to nationals, which are held in Greensboro, North Carolina.

When he’s in the deep South (nationals run July 23-29), Conlisk could also be competing as a member of a Fliers relay team.

He’ll run in the 4 x 400 Sunday afternoon, seeking to punch a second trip to nationals.

With just five teams entered, all the Fliers have to do is run a clean race to advance.

Conlisk was originally entered in two other races at regionals, the 200 and 4 x 800, but opted out to protect his groin.

In a positive sign, the injury didn’t seem to bother him much in the 400.

“He went out in the first 200 softer, noticed he didn’t hurt so he picked it up in the 300 and still didn’t hurt so he did “The Danny” in the final 100,” said mom Dawnelle Conlisk.

Doing “The Danny” is synonymous with flying down the backstretch and shredding the hearts and souls of foes as they fall beneath his final burst of speed.

Sort of his trademark move.

When Conlisk returns to school this fall, he’ll be gunning for a second-straight trip to state as a cross country runner and a fourth-straight trek as a track supernova.

One difference is, after training and traveling with South Whidbey’s harriers in recent years, he will get to be at the forefront of a cross country revival in Coupeville.

The Wolves have restarted their own in-school program after a two-decade absence, with Natasha Bamberger, the most-accomplished runner in CHS history, hired as coach.

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“I can’t get enough volleyball!!”

Posted in Track, Volleyball, tagged ABBA, CHS Wolves, Noelle Daigneault, surfing, track and field, ukulele, volleyball on July 7, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Noelle Daigneault spends time with her beloved pet duck, Chandler. (Photo courtesy Irene Echenique)

Put Noelle Daigneault on the volleyball court and she never stops smiling.

The busy, talented Coupeville High School freshman is also devoted to heaving the shot put, surfing, listening to the sweet sounds of ABBA, painting, and playing her ukulele, but there’s something special about her time as a spiker.

“Volleyball is my favorite sport; I have played club volleyball these past two years and still can’t get enough volleyball!,” Daigneault said. “I love the sport because it is very exhilarating!

“And the feeling of smacking the ball as hard and quick as you can and getting a point for your team is a feeling of such joy I can’t describe.”

On the court, she’s the player always firing on all cylinders, chasing down every last ball with an expression of pure happiness gracing her face on every play.

“One of my bigger strengths in volleyball is, I always want the ball,” Daigneault said. “I will try my hardest to not let the ball drop.

“An area I need to work on is technique,” she admitted with a laugh. “Sometimes I’ll make up my own form, and it more often than not does not help me…”

Daigneault, who follows on the heels of older sister Bree, a standout soccer and tennis player during her time at CHS, attacks each new day with vigor.

“I enjoy being an athlete because I don’t like not doing anything,” Noelle said. “And when you’re on the court there is always something we need to be doing and you’re never standing still.

“One of my goals for my high school career is to always do more, meaning SST, or open gym,” she added. “Sometimes spending an extra half-hour on the court or track, practicing, can make all the difference.”

Daigneault can’t go wrong emulating her older sibling, as Bree was a fireball on the field, while also being one of the most genuinely kind athletes to ever rep CHS.

“My sister has had a very big impact on who I am as a person and a player,” Noelle said.

But there’s also another athlete, a fellow freshman-to-be, who plays a big role in Daigneault’s life, on and off the court.

“My best friend, Jaelyn Crebbin, has always inspired me as a volleyball and track player,” Daigneault said. “I always thought, if she could do it, I could too!

“Considering she has one arm, that does not stop her, and that’s always inspired me to do my best on the court.”

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Once more around the track!!

Posted in Track, tagged Chris Battaglia, CHS Wolves, Logan Martin, state, track and field on May 29, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Ariah Bepler finds his moment of Zen at the state track and field meet. (Logan Martin photos)

Lauren Bayne visualizes her target.

Chris Battaglia is trapped in a mesh net of emotion.

This ain’t Randy King’s first time at the rodeo.

Bayne and Bepler gaze out at the action.

A Lynden Christian runner moves in to congratulate Danny Conlisk after the Wolf junior busted a PR and claimed 2nd in the 400.

Yes, Battaglia does feel pretty good about the luxuriousness of his hair and how it’s holding up in the Cheney heat. Thanks for asking.

Maya Toomey-Stout (left) celebrates teammate Lindsey Roberts’ success in the hurdles.

The heat of Cheney, the roar of the overflow crowds, the electricity of the races themselves — all done for another year.

But while the state track and field meet ended Saturday, the photos, such as the ones seen above, will linger on for some time.

The pics you’re gazing upon come to us from the camera of Coupeville Middle School camera bug Logan Martin, who took a break from his own athletic pursuits to capture the goings-on in Eastern Washington.

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Sun, fun, and a wild run!!

Posted in Track, tagged Allison Wenzel, CHS Wolves, Jacob Smith, state meet, track and field on May 26, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville junior Lindsey Roberts finished 2nd in the 100 hurdles, capturing the fifth medal of her prep track career. (Dawnelle Conlisk photos)

Jerseys hang waiting for Danny Conlisk and Jacob Smith, who combined to bring home six medals from Cheney.

Allison Wenzel, here throwing the javelin in an earlier meet, smashed her PR in the discus Saturday by almost 10 feet. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Ariah Bepler soared to a fifth-place finish in the high jump.

Wolves (l to r) Danny Conlisk, Randy King and Jacob Smith celebrate Coupeville’s smashing success of a weekend. (Dawnelle Conlisk photo)

Tyler King, the most-decorated track athlete in Coupeville High School history, finished 2nd five times at the state meet.

Those runner-up finishes (and two state titles) were part of an 11-medal haul for the guy who would go on to be an All-American on scholarship at the University of Washington.

So, when I say the 2018 Wolves emulated King Saturday, it’s something for them to be proud about.

While none of Coupeville’s athletes were able to win a state title during the 1A state track and field meet in Cheney, they did the next best thing, capturing four second-place medals in one day.

Hauling in medals in six events Saturday, including three runner-up finishes, the Wolf boys roared up the team standings, as well.

By the time the day was done, the current squad had claimed 5th, the best showing since the CHS boys took home 4th in 2008.

Coupeville finished with 34 points, just back of Riverside (36), while King’s (58), Lakeside (50) and Stevenson (48) rounded out the top three.

Island rival South Whidbey finished 12th.

The Wolf girls, who had a lot less bodies in action, claimed 24th, while South Whidbey was 10th and Lakeside claimed the team title.

The few Coupeville girls in action Saturday all made an impact, however.

Allison Wenzel (Discus) and Lauren Bayne (Javelin) both set PR’s, with Wenzel smashing her career mark by nearly 10 feet.

The spotlight was brightest on Lindsey Roberts, though, as she stormed past her arch-rival, Aubry Botkin of Port Townsend, beating the RedHawk for the first time this season.

Roberts finished second, a hair off of Chewelah sophomore Lillian Kirry, while claiming the fifth state meet medal of her career.

Botkin, who entered state ranked #1, had held off Roberts at the league and district meets, and Saturday was the final time the two Olympic League stars will likely face.

Though she’s a junior, Botkin is graduating early and joining the military.

While Roberts came out triumphant in her final duel, the CHS boys were on fire all day.

Senior Jacob Smith became just the second Wolf to ever win four medals at one state track meet, joining Jon Chittim, who did so in 2006.

Smith claimed 2nd in the 100 and 200, then sparked his 4 x 4 relay team to an unexpected 5th place finish.

The Wolves had slipped into the final as the eighth and final entry.

Capping off his incredible run, Smith was also part of a 4 x 1 squad which claimed 7th.

With his furious finale, Smith finished his career with six state meet medals, which ties him for the fourth-most in CHS track history.

The fourth 2nd place finish Saturday came courtesy junior Danny Conlisk.

Gliding through the 400 while looking like he didn’t have a care in the world, the lanky, serene Wolf passed a runner in the final steps, set a PR, but was out-leaned by La Salle speed demon Peterson Bohannon.

The defending state champ in the 400, Bohannon picked up two more state titles in his final year, also out-leaning Smith in the 200.

That race was decided by .05 of a second.

Senior Ariah Bepler capped the day, and the weekend, by finishing 5th in the high jump, the final event concluded in boys action.

He tied his PR of 6-02 and actually finished in a three-way for third, just two inches off the 6-4 that won a state title.

Bepler dropped to fifth based on which of the three at 6-02 had the most misses, but his finish was high enough to clinch Coupeville’s spot in the top five for the team standings.

His performance, which came on the same weekend cousin Payton Aparicio teamed with Sage Renninger to claim 4th at the girls tennis state tourney, just missed giving Ariah family bragging rights.

Dad Mark Bepler finished 4th in the discus in 1986, and will remain the king of the house, at least in terms of state track meet finishes.

All total, Coupeville picked up 14 medals in 2018, with nine athletes claiming at least one.

Smith led the way with four, Conlisk and Sean Toomey-Stout nabbed two apiece, and Cassidy Moody, Henry Wynn, Roberts, Jean Lund-Olsen, Cameron Toomey-Stout and Bepler each collected one.

Complete Saturday results:

GIRLS:

100 Hurdles — Lindsey Roberts (2nd) 15.63

Discus — Allison Wenzel (9th) 106-04 *PR*

Javelin — Lauren Bayne (11th) 109-02 *PR*

BOYS:

100 — Jacob Smith (2nd) 11.64

200 — Smith (2nd) 22.75

400 — Danny Conlisk (2nd) 49.70 *PR*

4 x 100 Relay — Cameron Toomey-Stout, Smith, Sean Toomey-Stout, Jean Lund-Olsen (7th) 45.16

4 x 400 Relay — Smith, Henry Wynn, S. Toomey-Stout, Conlisk (5th) 3:31.00

Shot Put — Ryan Labrador (16th) 36-04.75