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One day, tons o’ thrills

Posted in Baseball, Softball, Track, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , , , on February 22, 2020| 1 Comment »

Coupeville grad Danny Conlisk lets it rip in a college track meet. (Photo courtesy Dawnelle Conlisk)

Sarah Wright cracked her first college home run Saturday in Georgia. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Four Whidbey alumni are playing baseball for Green River College this season. Left to right, James Besaw, Joey Lippo, CJ Smith, and Hunter Smith. (Charlotte Young photo)

One day, three sports, three states, a whole ton of former Wolves on the prowl.

Saturday was a busy day for Coupeville grads competing in the world of college sports, with events going down in South Dakota, Georgia, and Washington state.

How the day played out:

 

Sarah goes yard:

Just like the old days.

Playing in her eighth college softball game, Coupeville grad Sarah Wright belted a three-run home run to left field, the highlight on a day when the former Wolf catcher’s new team was swept in a doubleheader.

Sewanee: The University of the South fell 9-1 and 10-6 to Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia, dropping the Tigers record to 2-6.

Wright and associates get a chance for a quick reversal of fortunes, as they play another doubleheader Sunday, this one against Wesleyan College in Macon.

The former Coupeville standout crushed her round tripper in her first at-bat in Saturday’s second game.

Through the first eight games of her freshman season, Wright is hitting .261 with six hits and a team-high six RBI.

She’s also doing it on the defensive side as well, where she tops Sewanee with 25 putouts and absolutely, positively no errors whatsoever.

 

Danny hits the jets:

A two-time state champ for CHS, Danny Conlisk continues to tear up the track as a freshman at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology.

Bouncing back from an illness which kept him out of action last week, the Hardrocker freshman finished 2nd in the 400 at the Stinger Open at Black Hills State University.

Conlisk won his heat and smashed his collegiate PR in the event, hitting the tape in an adjusted time of 51.58 seconds.

That shaved .80 off of his previous best.

The former Wolf is one meet away from reaching the mid point of his season(s), with the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Indoor Championships set for February 28-29 in Colorado Springs.

After that, Conlisk and his teammates take a month off from competition (but not training), returning March 27 for the start of the outdoor season.

 

Strong start for diamond dandies:

It’s a reunion on the next level.

CHS grads, and brothers, CJ and Hunter Smith are back for their sophomore year at Green River College in Auburn.

Joining them on the Gators baseball squad this time around are former Coupeville star Joey Lippo and former Oak Harbor standout James Besaw.

All four Whidbey alumni saw action Saturday, as Green River opened a new season by sweeping a doubleheader from Western Washington University.

The Gators took the opener 11-4, with CJ Smith coming on in relief to earn the win.

Mr. Cool jumped in to the game in the second inning, with his team trailing, and promptly threw 4.1 innings of shutout ball, whiffing three.

His younger brother was a big supporter, as Hunter rapped a single, walked three times, stole a base, and scored twice as the Gators stormed from behind to nail down the victory.

Besaw played a key role, as well, walking and ripping an RBI single.

In the second game of the day, Green River once again rallied, plating two runners in the fourth to tie the game, then sending two more home in the sixth to eke out a 4-3 victory.

Hunter Smith collected another single in the nightcap, and he teamed up with Lippo for the defensive play of the game.

Recreating their high school magic, Lippo fielded a dangerous ball in the outfield which had extra-base hit written all over it, then came up gunning.

Airmailing a wicked throw to his former Wolf teammate, he started a bang-bang play, which nailed the WWU runner when Smith zipped the relay on a bead to Green River’s third-baseman.

“The play between Joey and Hunter was awesome,” said proud papa Joe Lippo. “Had the Green River fans yelling the loudest all day!”

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Big rebounds, bigger win

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , , on February 21, 2020| Leave a Comment »

CHS grad Makana Stone became the #2 rebounder in Whitman College women’s basketball history Friday night. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

It’s as close to a sure thing as possible.

Put Whitman College and Linfield College on the floor for a women’s basketball game, and the squad from Walla Walla is going to triumph.

Friday night was more of a great thing for the Blues, as Whitman got 18 points from Coupeville’s Makana Stone and hit its free throws down the stretch to capture a 74-65 win in its regular-season finale.

The former Wolf also hit a major milestone, moving into 2nd place on her school’s career rebounding chart.

The road victory, coming in front of a raucous crowd in McMinnville, Oregon, marked the 26th consecutive time Whitman has beaten its Northwest Conference foe.

The last time Linfield toppled Whitman came way back in 2007.

While keeping their domination of the Wildcats chugging along, the Blues capped a 15-1 tear through the NWC this season, and head into the playoffs at 23-2 overall, with an active 11-game win streak.

Whitman opens the four-team league postseason tourney next Thursday, February 27, when it hosts the #4 school in a loser-out game.

Several teams are still battling for that slot, though Linfield was eliminated from contention with Friday’s loss.

Win in the tourney semifinals, and the Blues host the NWC championship game Feb. 29 against either George Fox or Pacific, with an automatic bid to the NCAA D-III tourney up for grabs.

Wrapping the regular season, Whitman wasn’t flawless, but it was very good when it mattered most.

Stone dropped in eight of her 18 points in the fourth quarter, as the Blues surged to a 12-point lead, before giving a chunk of it back.

Desperate to keep its playoff hopes alive, Linfield carved the lead all the way back to 66-62 with a minute to play, but Whitman never blinked.

Instead, the Blues made the nets jump while all the players were standing still, hitting 8 of 10 free throws across the game’s final 58 seconds to ice the win.

Taylor Chambers (5), Mady Burdett (3), and Kaylie McCracken (2) all converted charity shots to shush the enthusiastic pro-Linfield crowd, capping a fourth quarter in which Whitman hit 14-16 from the line.

The game was close for much of the night, with Whitman clinging to a 17-15 lead after one quarter of play.

With Stone heating up in the second frame, slapping home her team’s first eight points, the Blues stretched the advantage out to 38-29 at the half, before carrying a 52-44 lead into the fourth quarter.

Even saddled with foul trouble, Coupeville’s ace came up big in crunch time, as Stone capped her scoring effort with a dagger of a pull-up jumper.

On the night, the CHS grad finished with 18 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two blocked shots, tying Burdett for team-high scoring honors.

Lily Gustafson chipped in with 11 points, while McCracken banked home 10 as Whitman put four players into double-digits scoring.

As she heads into her final collegiate playoff run, Stone sits with 398 points, 216 rebounds, 36 assists, 25 steals, and 25 blocks on the season.

She’s shooting 163-304 (53.6%) from the floor and 69-87 (79.3%) from the free throw line.

Already the #5 scorer in Whitman women’s basketball history with 1,325 career points (she’s 18 away from moving into 4th place), Stone is now the #2 rebounder for the program.

She passed Katie Rubenser (824) Friday, and, with 828 rebounds to her credit, trails just Jennifer McClure (902) on the all-time list.

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A milestone here, a win there

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , , on February 18, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Makana Stone is just the fifth Whitman College female hoops star to top 1,300 career points. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

They like to live dangerously.

Drawing a rare Tuesday night game on the schedule, the Whitman College women’s basketball team had to go to an extra period, but kept alive its winning streak.

Holding off visiting Whitworth University 77-74 in overtime, thanks to big plays in crunch time by several players, including Coupeville’s Makana Stone, the Blues captured their 10th straight W.

Now 14-1 in North Sound Conference play, 22-2 overall, Whitman wraps its regular season Friday with a trip to McMinnville, Oregon to face Linfield College.

After that comes the NWC post-season tourney February 27-29, then a likely trip to the NCAA D-III national championship tournament in March.

Tuesday’s game pitted two teams in very different situations.

Whitman has already clinched the league title and the #1 seed to the four-team postseason tourney, while Whitworth is involved in a four-team battle for the #4 seed.

The first time the Pirates faced the Blues, they hung tough in an 84-79 loss. Tuesday, they took that a step further.

Trailing 64-60 late in the fourth, Whitworth went on a 7-0 run to claim the lead and push the Blues to the edge of defeat.

Playing in front of its home fans, Whitman answered, however, getting two free throws from Mady Burdett and another freebie from Kaelan Shamseldin to knot the game at 67-67.

With both teams unable to score over the final two-minutes-plus of regulation, that gave the fans free basketball, and overtime was a tense five-minute affair.

Whitworth clung to a 71-70 lead when Stone, playing with four fouls (after some questionable calls by refs missing their seeing-eye dogs), showed why she is a favorite to be named league MVP.

First, Coupeville’s ace rolled hard to the hoop, slipping her defender and slapping home a layup to give Whitman a lead it would not relinquish.

Then, standing strong on the other end of the floor as well, Stone rejected a Pirate shot, collecting her third block of the game and keeping Whitworth at bay.

A Lily Gustafson layup, off a superb entry pass from Burdett, staked Whitman to a 73-70 lead and the two squads traded free throws the rest of the way.

The biggest came from Blues guard Taylor Chambers, who calmly knocked down both of her charity shots with just four seconds to play, pushing the lead out to the final margin of 77-74.

Whitworth would have needed a miracle after that, and didn’t get it, as Whitman pulled off a note-perfect final defensive stand.

The wild win capped a back-and-forth game in which neither team could break free.

Whitman used a 7-2 surge to close the first quarter with a 14-11 lead, only to see Whitworth close the gap to 36-34 at the half.

The teams combined to shoot a red-hot 18-23 from the floor in the second frame, with Stone scoring Whitman’s final six points of the half on a variety of silky-smooth jumpers and quicksilver layups.

From there, the Blues regained a slim advantage at 49-46 exiting the third quarter, before Whitworth rallied in the fourth.

Kaylie McCracken came off the bench to lead Whitman with a game-high 20 points, while Stone snagged a game-high 12 rebounds to go with 14 points, three blocks, and an assist.

Burdett banked in 13 and Gustafson netted 11 as the Blues came with a well-balanced attack.

On the season, Stone sits with 380 points, 210 rebounds, 34 assists, 25 steals, and 23 blocks, while shooting 156-293 (53.2%) from the field and 65-83 (78.3%) at the free throw line.

The CHS grad, who has 1,307 career points and counting, became just the fifth Whitman women to top the 1,300-point barrier.

She reached the magic mark on her final bucket of the second quarter.

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Gimme all the wins! All of them!!

Posted in Softball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , on February 16, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Sarah Wright leads the dugout chatter back in her high school days. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Winner, winner, (Southern fried) chicken dinner.

Powered by Coupeville grad Sarah Wright, the Sewanee: University of the South softball squad rolled to a doubleheader sweep of Johnson University Saturday in Tennessee.

Winning 10-0 and 10-4, the Tigers notched their first victories of the new campaign, and sit at 2-4 on the season.

Sewanee returns to action next weekend, when it travels to Georgia for back-to-back twinbills.

Wright and Co. play a doubleheader at Agnes Scott College Saturday, Feb. 22, then bounce over to Wesleyan College for two more games the next day.

The Tigers play the first 15 games of their 40-game schedule on the road, not making their home debut until March 7.

Facing off with Johnson University Saturday, Sewanee controlled the action from start to finish.

Wright caught both games of the doubleheader, collecting three hits and two RBI while holding down the #5 slot in the lineup.

On the season, the former Coupeville star is hitting .313 with five hits, three RBI, two walks, and an on-base percentage of .389.

That puts her in the top three on the team in all five offensive categories.

A freshman at Sewanee, Wright is studying politics in between softball games and practices.

During her time at CHS, she was class Valedictorian, while playing volleyball, soccer, basketball, and softball.

Wright capped her prep softball career by being tabbed as the 2019 North Sound Conference Defensive Player of the Year, while helping the Wolves advance to the state tourney for the third time in program history.

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Sweet Senior Night for Stone, Blues

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , on February 15, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Eileen and Makana Stone celebrate the good times. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Undisputed, and it feels so good.

Garnering a bit of sweet payback, the Whitman College women’s basketball squad drilled visiting Pacific University 72-46 Saturday afternoon.

The win, coming on Senior Night, is the ninth-straight for the Blues and lifts them to 13-1 in Northwest Conference play, 21-2 overall.

It also gives Whitman sole possession of the league crown, their first since the 2013-2014 season, and the #1 seed for the postseason conference tourney.

The Blues, who were sparked to Saturday’s win by an 18-point, 13-rebound performance from Coupeville’s Makana Stone, have two regular-season games left on the schedule.

They host Whitworth this coming Tuesday, then travel to Linfield Friday, February 21.

Whitman kicks off the four-team NWC tourney Feb. 27, when it hosts the #4 team.

Win there, and it meets the winner of the #2-#3 matchup Feb. 29, also on its home floor at Sherwood Athletic Center in Walla Walla, with the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA D-III championships on the line.

Saturday, Stone was honored along with fellow Blues seniors Lily Gustafson, Katie Stahl, Mady Burdett, and Natalie Whitesel.

Then the five-pack hit the hardwood and raised their record to 89-19 during their time in Walla Walla.

One of the few missteps for Whitman this season came in the first rumble with Pacific back in January, when the Blues squandered a 19-point first-half lead and fell 65-64.

There would be no such shenanigans this time around.

The game was close for a bit, with Pacific hanging around and trailing just 16-10 at the first break and 30-27 at the half.

Then the Blues decided to start mashin’ folks, throwing down a game-busting 22-5 tear in the third, with Stone going for eight points to fuel the explosion.

From there, Whitman coasted home, on its way to another celebration.

While Stone’s 18 and 13 were both game-highs, she got some help from her fellow seniors, with Burdett tossing in 14 points, and Gustafson banking in 12.

On the season, Stone sits with 366 points, 198 rebounds, 33 assists, 25 steals, and 20 blocked shots, while shooting 149-281 (53%) from the field and 65-83 (78.3%) from the free throw line.

The former Wolf ace hit two more career milestones Saturday, as her third rebound of the game was the 800th of her career.

She also played 28 minutes, giving her exactly 2,500 for her collegiate career.

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