CHS grad Sarah Wright was off to a strong start as a college softball player.
Their seasons have ended too soon.
Seven Coupeville High School grads (and one Oak Harbor alumni whose mom is my former co-worker) saw spring college sports seasons prematurely end.
With most of the nation shutting down athletic events at every level as part of the fight to curtail the spread of the novel coronavirus, it’s the new reality.
The status of each:
Ally Roberts – Senior
Equestrian – Western Washington University
After winning a regional championship in Advanced Western Horsemanship, she was set to compete in the national semifinals in West Virginia later this month.
A top-two finish there would have sent her on to nationals.
That’s no longer the case, though, with both postseason events now scrubbed from the schedule.
“Really sucks, that’s for sure,” Roberts said. “But just happy with how the season went for my team and I.”
Danny Conlisk – Freshman
Track and Field – South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
After a successful spin around the track during indoor season, the two-time state champ was on his way to the outdoor season, but it’s been cancelled.
A statement released Friday by the NCAA indicates all student/athletes competing in spring sports will be granted an additional season/semester of eligibility.
Sarah Wright – Freshman
Softball – Sewanee: The University of the South
Like Conlisk, the former Wolf star will be granted a do-over, even though she and her diamond teammates had played 40% of their schedule.
Sewanee was 2-14 on the season when the rest of its 40-game season was scrubbed.
Wright was in the top three on her team in eight offensive categories:
.244 batting average (#2)
41 at bats (#3)
10 hits (#2)
2 home runs (#1)
7 RBI (#1)
16 total bases (#2)
.390 slugging percentage (#2)
.311 on base percentage (#3)
She also had a .915 fielding percentage as Sewanee’s catcher, with 39 putouts and four assists.
Makana Stone – Senior
Basketball – Whitman College
The Blues were in Brunswick, Maine preparing to play Friday in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA national championships, but never got the chance when the tourney was cancelled.
Whitman finished a very-successful season at 26-3, with Stone, the Northwest Conference Player of the Year, having also been selected to play in the Beyond Sports Women’s Collegiate All-Star Game.
That game, featuring the best D-III players in the country, was set for March 21, but has also been cancelled.
Stone closed her senior season with 409 points, 225 rebounds, 37 assists, 26 steals, and 26 blocks, while shooting 166-316 (52.5%) from the floor and 74-96 (77.1%) from the free-throw line.
During her four years as a Blue, the former Wolf star played in 110 games, including making a program-record 92 starts.
She finishes as the #5 scorer (1,337 points) and #2 rebounder (837 caroms) in Whitman women’s basketball history.
CJ Smith – Sophomore
Hunter Smith – Sophomore
James Besaw – Freshman
Joey Lippo – Freshman
Baseball – Green River College
The one sport where some hope lingers.
The Northwest Athletic Conference has chosen, so far, to cancel all games through April 13.
Green River, which is 3-4, has had 19 games scrubbed, though 16 remain, for now, on the schedule.
At the time of the shutdown, Hunter Smith was hitting .333 with eight hits (including a pair of doubles), seven walks, five runs, and two RBI.
Besaw is also hitting at a .333 clip, with five hits, while playing error-free ball at first base for the Gators.
CJ Smith is 1-0 in two games as a relief pitcher, having tossed a team-high 7.1 innings while holding opposing batters to a .125 batting average.
The CHS grad has faced 24 batters, and the only other Green River pitcher with a better mark has only squared off with three rivals.
Lippo hasn’t been given much to do at the plate yet, but is playing error-free ball in the outfield, including a strong throw to Hunter Smith to help nail a wayward runner.
