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Volleyball star to super mom, Riddle does it all!!

Posted in Volleyball, Where are they now? on April 18, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Former Wolf volleyball star Michelle Riddle and daughter Bria.

The irrepressible one.

When it comes to volleyball, the name Riddle is big. And it may stay that way for years to come.

Michelle Riddle played three years for Coupeville High School, while lil’ sis Jessica played two, then starred for Anacortes her junior and senior seasons after a family move off-Island.

Now, there’s a new Riddle net star on the way, though it will be a while before she gets there.

Michelle, a 2010 CHS grad, has an adorable one-year-old daughter, Bria, who may follow in the spike-happy footsteps of her mom and aunt some day. But only if she wants it for herself.

“My entire family is big on volleyball, so of course I hope that she follows in our footsteps,” Riddle said. “But I also want her to be her own person, and do what makes her happy.”

Sports always made Michelle happy and she played a ton of them for the Wolves. In addition to her time on the volleyball court with Toni Crebbin, Riddle also played a season each of soccer, softball and basketball.

Away from school, both of the Riddle sisters played club and beach volleyball, as well.

Of all her experiences as an athlete, the ones that will stay with her forever are the ones she got to share with Jessica, she said. They played one season together in the red and black, when Michelle was a senior and Jessica a hard-hitting freshman.

“My best memories I’d have to say we’re during my senior year,” Riddle said. “Not only did I get to play my absolutely favorite sport, volleyball, but I also got to play alongside my sister.”

After transferring to Anacortes, Jessica, who had also starred for the Wolves as a tennis player, made a huge impact for the Seahawks. She led them to back-to-back 5th place finishes at the 2A state tournament while being selected as the Northwest Conference MVP and Skagit Valley Herald player of the year as a senior.

“She’s turned into an outstanding volleyball player, and will be playing at the next level in college,” Riddle said. “I couldn’t be more proud of her.”

While she’s traded in digs and sets for diapers and bottles, it’s a swap Riddle couldn’t be happier about.

“I have a beautiful little girl,” she said. “She has changed my life completely, but definitely for the better.”

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The legend never fades!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, Happy birthday, Softball, Volleyball, Where are they now?, Whidbey's Best on April 11, 2013| 3 Comments »

“I played a little ball. Why? You feelin’ lucky, punk? Well, do you?”

The greatest basketball player in Coupeville High School history turns 29 today.

She wasn’t the tallest, or the biggest, didn’t have the greatest hops and wasn’t the best pure shooter this school has seen. But she didn’t need any of that.

She was a killer, cold-blooded, slice you off at the knees and leave you crying while she smiled the smallest of smiles. Off the court, she was among the nicest people to ever walk the face of the Earth, but on the hardwood she never stopped coming.

People looked at her, with her baggy shorts, slight build and (occasional) pigtails poking up skywards and thought she was a ballgirl, or, at best, a freshman they could easily steamroll.

Then the ball got tipped and she went after them like a wild dog let loose. She was relentless and that attitude carried to her teammates throughout her hoops career.

The greatest run of any sport in Wolf history was put together by girls’ basketball starting in the late ’90s, from Tina Lyness and Brianne King to the Black ‘n Blue sisters (Lexie and Brittany), which put up just about all of the banners that are in the CHS gym.

And at the heart of that run was lil’ Ashley Bagby-Ellsworth, tending counter at Videoville and charming customers by day and ripping out and feasting (metaphorically) on the hearts of her b-ball opponents by night.

She was something to see.

There were talented players before her (Marlene Grasser, Emily Vracin, Misty Sellgren) and there have been talented players in the red and black since she graduated.

There is even one coming (Coupeville Middle School 7th grader Mia Littlejohn, who attacks like she just stepped off a playground in Jersey) who so closely resembles Bagby-Ellsworth, it’s scary and enthralling, all at the same time.

But, no matter what they did in the past, or what Littlejohn and others will do in the future, the words Magic Johnson spoke to Larry Bird on his retirement night still linger, just with a name change.

“Ashley, you only told me one lie. You said there will be another Ashley Ellsworth-Bagby. Ashley, there will never, ever be another Ashley Ellsworth-Bagby.”

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Take a moment for Kim Meche!!

Posted in Volleyball, Where are they now?, Whidbey's Best on April 7, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Kim Meche (left) at her niece’s high school graduation in 2010.

When the end comes for those we love, those who matter to us, we all handle it in a different way.

Some of us are loud about it. Others are quiet and draw the pain inside.

We all grieve in our own way, and who is to say one way is better than another?

But what we shouldn’t miss is the chance to let those people know how we feel while we still have the chance.

Death comes in many ways, some quick, some slow. We don’t always have a chance to express our feelings before departure.

In the case of former Wolf volleyball coach Kim Meche, there is still a chance. A chance for those who played for her, those who had her as a teacher or principal, those who covered her teams, or those who merely bumped into her and thought, “There goes a really nice person,” to say so.

The news is not good right now in Kim’s battle with cancer. While there is always hope, it is dimmer than before.

But she can still hear the well-wishes of those she knew for a lifetime or met for a moment.

Take the time, a moment of your day, and leave a message for her on the blog that is documenting her fight. When she is awake, the messages are being read to her.

Reach out and let her know she is now, and forever, a huge part of Wolf Nation.

Let her know she is loved.

https://www.mylifeline.org/mechek/default.cfm?page=welcome.cfm

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You could say you don’t like Emma Puharic … but you’d be lying!!

Posted in Softball, Where are they now?, Wolves in college on March 11, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Emma Puharic, being awesome.

Puharic, ?, during her senior season as a Wolf.

Puharic, back row, fourth from left, during her senior season as a Wolf.

Emma Puharic radiates warmth.

Irrepressibly charming, the former Coupeville High School softball star makes friends wherever she goes.

Whether it’s in her current life as a college student and waitress at two local eateries — Christopher’s on Whidbey and Ciao — or back in her days on the diamond, Puharic has always been at the center of what’s going on.

A four-year player for the Wolves, the 2010 grad remembers her softball career fondly for just that reason.

“I enjoyed being around my friends and getting the chance to get off-Island and travel with my teammates,” Puharic said. “I also liked meeting the younger girls each season that I am still friends with today.

“I’ve learned that it’s important to remember the friendships you’ve made through sports and high school,” she added. “I still talk to most of my friends that I had in school and I’m so glad that we are all still close.”

During her seasons in the red and black, Puharic alternated between right and left field, playing along side players such as Megan Smith, Taya Boonstra and Kaylie Kellison. Current Wolf seniors Maria Rockwell and Bessie Walstad were freshmen during her final year at CHS.

While she might not have reached the all-star levels of Smith, Puharic was a valuable role player for the Wolves, and her time as a softball slugger still resonate with her.

In particular, her coaches made an impression on her, both at the time and since.

“I think Jim Wheat made a big impact on us girls, he was a great coach and friend to us all,” Puharic said. “Coach Denny (Zylstra) was a sweetheart and I enjoyed the time I had when I played on his team.”

With the bat and mitt put away, she’s currently working towards an Associates in Art degree at Skagit Valley College, while trying to balance two jobs and “still trying to have somewhat of a life.”

Her future is boundless, but Puharic does have hopes of seeing a bit more of the world than just The Rock.

“I plan to move off-Island after school and take some time for myself,” she said. “I want to travel and take every opportunity that comes my way.”

Looking back, Puharic is happy with how her high school sports career played out and, now that she’s out in the real world, offers a bit of advice to those coming up behind her.

“Do your homework!,” Puharic said with a big laugh. “Just have a good time with it and enjoy it while you can.”

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“I love feeling like I belong!!”

Posted in Cheer, Swim, Where are they now? on March 8, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Amanda Streubel flies through the water.

Her second family.

Streubel (fifth from left, back row) and the Bellingham Bulldog cheer squad.

This is a story that starts in happiness, takes a dark turn, then comes out in an unexpected, and very satisfying place.

Amanda Streubel was a born swimmer, a young girl who lived in the water from age seven on.

She was good — very, very good — swimming the 100 backstroke at the highest level of Washington state high school competition, the 4A state meet.

And that was just the start.

At the peak of her career in the pool, she competed in the Western Zones Championships, which brings together the cream of the crop from 11 states.

“Swimming took me really far in my life,” Streubel said. “I enjoyed learning the skills and being in the water. It was such a big part of my life. I couldn’t live without swimming.”

Until the day she had to.

After years of built-up verbal abuse became too much and begin to strip away the joy she found in the pool, Streubel walked away.

“I was tired of the nastiness of the girls on the team,” she said. “Name-calling, ganging-up on. That’s what girls did.”

Instead of running away for good, however, Streubel took a sudden left-turn that caught many around her by surprise.

Having dropped swimming, she joined the Coupeville High School cheer squad, where every stereotype she might have had going in was promptly blown up.

She had found a second family.

“Everybody kept telling me ‘you’re jumping from the frying pan into the deep-fryer.’ Little did I know, cheerleaders are nicer than swimmers,” Streubel said. “There are nice swimmers and nice cheerleaders. But the ratio of the “nice girls” is astounding.

“From then on, I felt like I was part of something,” she added. “The girls really changed my life, and my outlook on all sports. Not everybody is mean. ”

Welcomed in by CHS cheer coach Sylvia Arnold and her team, Streubel blossomed, becoming a team leader and someone who has continued in the sport after her high school graduation in 2011.

“Cheer filled that part of me that felt empty,” Streubel said. “I love feeling like I belong.”

While attending Skagit Valley Community College and working toward a degree in the Practical Nursing program (after getting her LPN, she plans to become an RN and then go after her BSN), Streubel has been part of the cheer squad for the Bellingham Bulldogs, a semi-pro team that plays in the Pacific Football League.

While increased classwork kept her off the field this season, she doesn’t rule out returning to the sideline in the future.

“I really love the Bulldog ladies, and the friendships I have made,” Streubel said. “Mostly, I love stunting – the adrenaline rush of throwing and catching a person is just unbelievable.”

While her memories of her days as a swimmer are mixed, she has nothing but fondness for the man who helped her excel in the water.

“My swim coach, Neil Romney, is one of the biggest influences of my life,” Streubel said. “Taught me so much about hard work and dedication, perseverance, and being honest with myself.”

She also credits four teachers, three at CHS and one with the Cedar School homeschooling program, as having had a huge impact on her development as a student, and as a person.

“Mrs. Patsi Waller was always there when I felt stuck, and supported me through everything I tried,” Streubel said. “Ms. Barbara Ballard taught me a lot of lessons in class that I’ve been able to use in my nursing classes as well as in life.

“Mr. Ryan Grenz taught me to believe in myself,” she added. “The first thing I said to him when I met him was “I can’t do history.” His response was “we’ll see about that.” For the first time in my life, I liked history.”

And Streubel holds a special place in her heart for Kelly Beech.

“She worked with me when I got myself into a hole so deep,” Streubel said. “I’m convinced I wouldn’t have passed those classes if it wouldn’t have been for her.”

Now well on her way in a nursing career — she works at Summerhill Assisted Living in Oak Harbor while attending college — Streubel is a great example to current Wolf student/athletes. Keep persevering and you can find your place.

“Don’t let your GPA fall and don’t give up on your dreams,” Streubel said. “Just because you are the underdog, doesn’t mean there isn’t something there that shines.”

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