Coupeville Sports

Sunny skies, sizzlin’ performances

April 17, 2025 by David Svien

Aleksia Jump prepares to fly into the wild blue yonder. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

It was a day for winners.

Hosting its first home meet of the season Wednesday, the Coupeville High School track and field team went wild in the sun, racking up 12 wins, 62 PRs, and a ton of positive memories.

Toss in a team title for the Wolf boys, and the fact that an athlete accidentally left behind by Orcas Island eventually got retrieved, and things were fairly peachy all around.

“Thanks to our all-star crew, it ran smoother than a sprinter on a tailwind,” said CHS coach Bob Martin.

“Christi Messner, Jen Marzocca, Aimee Bishop, and Barbi Ford worked their magic on the timing system, Jerry Helm fired the gun like a pro, and Neil Rixe caught every finish with eagle-eyed precision.

“Huge thanks to the incredible coaches who jumped in to help run events, so every athlete had a chance to shine.

“And let’s not forget our legendary team parents — fueling the crew with hot chili, soup, and enough snacks to power a relay team. It truly takes a village to run a meet, and Coupeville showed up in style.”

The Wolf boys topped the 13-team field with a 219-point explosion, putting them way ahead of runner-up La Conner (103), while the Wolf girls (98) were third, behind Mount Vernon Christian (185) and La Conner (111.5).

Axel Marshall (left) and Cael Wilson discuss strategy.

Cael Wilson led the way, picking up three individual wins (high jump, pole vault, long jump), while also running a leg on a triumphant 4 x 400 relay squad.

Carson Field (800, 1600, 3200), Katie Marti (discus, javelin), Lyla Stuurmans (800), and Matthew Ward (triple jump) also came out on top, as did the boys 4 x 100 unit.

The Wolves get back at it this Saturday, but with a change in their game plan.

Originally slated to travel to Cashmere, they are instead trekking off to the Forks Lion Club Invitational.

Wednesday’s results:

GIRLS:

100 — Laken Simpson (13th) 14.61; Willow Leedy-Bonifas (27th) 15.43

200 — Isa Mc Fetridge (10th) 30.88

400 — Olivia Hall (5th) 1:10.63 *PR*; Marin Winger (8th) 1:16.61; Ivy Rudat (9th) 1:16.64

800 — Lyla Stuurmans (1st) 2:41.43; Mikayla Wagner (5th) 3:02.90 *PR*; I. Rudat (8th) 3:15.39; Lexis Drake (9th) 3:26.80

1600 — Stuurmans (3rd) 5:55.39 *PR*; Wagner (7th) 6:31.13 *PR*; Aleksia Jump (11th) 6:36.43; Lillian Ketterling (12th) 6:58.63 *PR*; Devon Wyman (13th) 7:58.17

100 Hurdles — Myra McDonald (8th) 20.51; Ari Cunningham (10th) 21.74; Frankie Tenore (12th) 24.57

300 Hurdles — McDonald (9th) 1:02.2; A. Cunningham (12th) 1:06.14; Tenore (13th) 1:08.00 *PR*

4 x 100 Relay — A. Cunningham, Mc Fetridge, Ayden Wyman, Leedy-Bonifas (5th) 58.43

4 x 400 Relay — Hall, Winger, Drake, Simpson (2nd) 5:02.04

Shot Put — Katie Marti (2nd) 31-02; Emma McFadden (14th) 20-05 *PR*

Discus — Marti (1st) 100-06 *PR*; Ketterling (6th) 75-02 *PR*; McFadden (23rd) 49-08.50 *PR*

Javelin — Marti (1st) 99-02

High Jump — A. Wyman (6th) 4-06; Tenore (7th) 4-04

Pole Vault — A. Jump (2nd) 7-00; Ketterling (3rd) 6-00 *PR*; I. Rudat (4th) 6-00 *PR*

Long Jump — Leedy-Bonifas (7th) 13-06 *PR*; A. Cunningham (10th) 13-05 *PR*; Mc Fetridge (13th) 12-10 *PR*

BOYS:

100 — Chase Anderson (3rd) 11.88; Matthew Ward (8th) 12.20 *PR*; Marquette Cunningham (9th) 12.24; Davin Houston (10th) 12.29; Liam Blas (12th) 12.42 *PR*; Easton Green (21st) 12.70 *PR*; Marcelo Gebhard (23rd) 12.73; Beckett Green (27th) 12.85 *PR*; Nathan Coxsey (37th) 13.02; Will Tierney (51st) 13.67 *PR*; Richmond Bandong (52nd) 13.71; Nikolas Rogers (57th) 14.06 *PR*; Diego Gonzalez (60th) 14.52 *PR*; William Hamm (74th) 17.36 *PR*

200 — Anderson (2nd) 24.33; Houston (4th) 25.09; M. Cunningham (5th) 25.31; Ward (7th) 25.48; Blake Burrows (8th) 25.81; E. Green (9th) 25.85; B. Green (12th) 26.07 *PR*; Coxsey (21st) 27.51; Edmund Wilson (22nd) 27.61; Bandong (24th) 28.20 *PR*; Rogers (26th) 28.98 *PR*; Gonzalez (30th) 30.40 *PR*; Hamm (37th) 35.93 *PR*

400 — Preston Epp (2nd) 52.48 *PR*; Burrows (7th) 56.50 *PR*; Dane Hadsall (15th) 58.80 *PR*; Weyl (21st) 1:02.61 *PR*; Malachi Somes (24th) 1:04.38 *PR*; Tierney (25th) 1:05.14 *PR*; Rogers (27th) 1:10.44

800 — Carson Field (1st) 2:10.76; Kenneth Jacobsen (5th) 2:20.34; Joshua Stockdale (6th) 2:21.32 *PR*; Solomon Rudat (7th) 2:25.35 *PR*; Ethan Walling (8th) 2:33.65 *PR*; Johnathan Jacobsen (12th) 2:55.00; Isaiah Allen (15th) 3:07.45

1600 — Field (1st) 4:52.89; Malachi Somes (2nd) 4:59.01 *PR*; Stockdale (5th) 5:15.96; George Spear (6th) 5:22.29; Walling (18th) 5:55.52; Edmund Kunz (19th) 5:55.61 *PR*; Allen (22nd) 6:26.77

3200 — Field (1st) 10:50.81 *PR*; Spear (4th) 11:15.83; Walling (8th) 12:43.72 *PR*; Kunz (9th) 12:45.31 *PR*; K. Jacobsen (9th) 12:45.31

110 Hurdles — Axel Marshall (4th) 19.20

300 Hurdles — Blas (2nd) 47.32 *PR*; Marshall (5th) 48.29 *PR*

4 x 100 Relay — M. Cunningham, Gebhard, Epp, Anderson (1st) 45.75; Hadsall, E. Green, B. Green, Ward (4th) 48.44; Badong, Coxsey, Tierney, E. Wilson (8th) 51.06

4 x 400 Relay — Anderson, Blas, Cael Wilson, Epp (1st) 3:46.51; Hadsall, Burrows, Badong, Weyl (4th) 4:19.58

Shot Put — Zac Tackett (7th) 34-01.50; Gebhard (8th) 33-09.50; Khanor Jump (12th) 30-06.25; Mason Butler (23rd) 27-00; David Somes (25th) 26-05.50 *PR*; K. Jacobsen (34th) 24-05.25; Zach Blitch (39th) 22-04.50 *PR*

Discus — Butler (4th) 107-03; K. Jacobsen (11th) 92-10.50 *PR*; Blas (14th) 85-07.50; J. Jacobsen (25th) 69-05.50 *PR*; Nicholas Wasik (26th) 67-03.50; D. Somes (32nd) 60-04.50 *PR*; Blitch (37th) 52-11

Javelin — Gebhard (6th) 122-08; M. Somes (14th) 102-05; D. Somes (34th) 75-00 *PR*; Rogers (38th) 68-11; J. Jacobsen (41st) 63-07 *PR*

High Jump — C. Wilson (1st) 6-01 *PR*; Wyatt Fitch-Marron (5th) 5-04; Houston (9th) 5-04; J. Jacobsen (12th) 5-02 *PR*; Tierney (19th) 4-10 *PR*

Pole Vault — C. Wilson (1st) 12-00; Marshall (3rd) 10-00; S. Rudat (6th) 8-00 *PR*; Kunz (8th) 6-06 *PR*

Long Jump — C. Wilson (1st) 20-00 *PR*; Fitch-Marron (13th) 16-03 *PR*; B. Green (15th) 16-02 *PR*; E. Wilson (18th) 16-00 *PR*; M. Somes (22nd) 15-06; S. Rudat (25th) 15-02; Coxsey (27th) 15-00 *PR*

Triple Jump — Ward (1st) 39-06.25; Marshall (3rd) 36-02 *PR*

“Fly away and pierce the sky!”

Posted in Track | Tagged Cael Wilson, CHS Wolves, home meet, Katie Marti, track and field | Leave a Comment »

Offense quiet in prairie loss

April 17, 2025 by David Svien

Carson Grove ponders life. (David Somes photo)

A hit-fest it was not.

La Conner and Coupeville’s baseball teams only managed to scrape out two hits combined Thursday, but walks and errors gave the visiting Braves extra life and lifted them to a 7-0 win.

That was payback for a Wolf win Tuesday, with the season split dropping CHS to 3-3 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 3-7 overall.

Coupeville’s offense spent much of the afternoon stuck in neutral, with the hometown hardball heroes not getting a base knock until Jesus Madrigal ripped a 7th inning single.

Other than that, the Wolves amassed three walks, with Madrigal, Riley Lawless, and Landon Roberts eking out free passes, while Carson Grove got board on an error.

Overall, Coupeville accounted for 20 of its 21 outs via strikeouts, making it hard to keep rallies alive.

La Conner didn’t have much more going, with a third-inning single being its only base hit.

But, fueled by 12 walks and five Wolf errors, the Braves did scrape out two runs in the top of the second, another three in the third, and a final two in the sixth, to account for its runs.

CHS pitchers Landon Roberts (6) and Camden Glover (9) combined to whiff 15 batters to give the Wolves hope and keep more scoring at bay.

Steve Hilborn’s squad returns to action next week, with a home doubleheader Tuesday, April 22 against league rival Concrete.

Game times are 3:00 and 5:00 PM.

Posted in Baseball | Tagged baseball, CHS Wolves, Jesus Madrigal, La Conner, Northwest League | Leave a Comment »

Sherman stepping down as AD

April 17, 2025 by David Svien

Brad Sherman is stepping down as AD but will remain at his alma mater as head boys’ basketball coach. (Jackie Saia photo)

A spring of change has reached the executive office.

On the heels of Coupeville High School losing its volleyball and boys’ soccer coaches, Athletic Director Brad Sherman has announced he is stepping down at the end of the school year.

The popular leader, who is in his first year on the job, will remain as a teacher and head boys’ basketball coach.

Sherman and wife Abbey have four young sons, and finding a proper family balance is driving the decision to pass on the AD position to someone else.

“When I stepped in, I had seen myself doing this for many years to come,” Sherman said. “But I need to find a better balance for my young family right now.

“We have four boys ages 10 and under who are growing up fast. As we juggle their growing schedules during this season of life, I need to step away to be more present in these years ahead.”

Through the remainder of the year, and in the time after, Sherman will continue to do the upmost to help CHS and its students.

“I remain committed to Coupeville athletics through the boys basketball program entering my ninth season, in addition to working with young athletes through my own kids youth programs,” he said.

“I’m inspired daily by the team of coaches we have in Coupeville and how hard they work for student-athletes.

“I’m inspired by our athletes – who work so hard and represent the Wolf uniform the way they do, so consistently. And I’m grateful for the community we live in that supports our programs at every turn.

“I will continue to help our programs however I can – I just need to do it in a different capacity than I did this year.”

Sherman, who recently celebrated his 40th birthday, is the oldest of Don and Deb’s three sons.

He was part of the CHS Class of 2003 and put together a stellar prep career as a basketball, football, and baseball player.

His 874 points on the hardwood still ranks #9 all-time for a Wolf hoops program which began in 1917.

That’s a program Sherman has led since 2017, with Coupeville advancing to the state tourney in both 2022 and 2024.

Posted in Everything changes | Tagged Athletic Director, Boys Basketball, Brad Sherman, CHS Wolves, resignation | Leave a Comment »

“We will be implementing a new leadership structure”

April 17, 2025 by David Svien

Shannon Leatherwood is reshaping the administration in the Coupeville School District.

Or at least that’s the plan as detailed in a letter sent out Tuesday by the first-year superintendent.

In the wake of Middle School/High School Principal Geoff Kappes resigning, Leatherwood announced plans to replace both him and former Assistant Principal Allyson Cundiff with employees who will fill multiple positions.

Her letter:

Dear Coupeville School District Families, Students, and Community Members,

I am writing to share important information regarding leadership changes at our middle and high schools.

Yesterday, Geoff Kappes resigned from his position as middle/high school principal.

We sincerely appreciate his many years of dedicated service and the positive impact he has made on students and our school community during his tenure.

We wish him the very best in his future endeavors.

As we move forward, we are taking this opportunity to carefully evaluate how our administrative structure can best support student success.

Our focus remains on creating the most positive, engaging, and effective learning environment possible for all Coupeville students.

We are excited to announce that we will be implementing a new leadership structure that will provide more focused attention to both our middle and high schools while strengthening key programs:

Middle School Principal/Athletic Director: We will be hiring a dedicated Middle School Principal who will also serve as the Athletic Director for our 6-12 athletic programs.

This position will ensure strong leadership for our middle school students during these critical developmental years while building a cohesive athletic program across all grade levels.

High School Principal/CTE Director: We will be hiring a High School Principal who will also serve as the Career & Technical Education (CTE) Director for grades 6-12.

This position will provide focused leadership for our high school while strengthening career pathways and real-world learning opportunities for all students.

This restructured approach will allow us to provide enhanced leadership in key areas while remaining fiscally responsible.

In fact, these changes have been designed to generate cost savings for the district while improving services to students.

Community input is essential as we select our new school leaders.

This week, we will be distributing surveys to families, students, and community members to gather your perspectives on the qualities and characteristics you believe are most important in our next school leaders.

We will also be forming interview teams that include parent and community representatives to participate in the selection process.

Information about how to express interest in serving on these teams will be coming soon.

Throughout this transition, our commitment to providing an excellent education for every student remains unchanged.

Our dedicated teachers and staff continue to focus on creating engaging learning experiences and supporting student growth.

We are confident that this transition will continue to strengthen our schools and enhance the educational experience for all students.

We appreciate your continued support of Coupeville schools and look forward to partnering with you as we move forward together.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Shannon Leatherwood
Superintendent
Coupeville School District

Posted in Administration | Tagged administrators, Coupeville schools, Geoff Kappes, job change, Shannon Leatherwood | Leave a Comment »

Softball sluggers crack top rankings

April 16, 2025 by David Svien

Danica Strong and associates are on a hot streak. (David Somes photo)

They’re on a rocket ship.

Jumping seven spots, the Coupeville High School softball squad has cracked the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Top 10 RPI rankings for the first time this season.

Coming off a 20-0 win at La Conner Tuesday, the Wolves sit at 8-1 on the season and are ranked #10 among 2B schools.

That includes wins over two 1A rivals (East Jefferson and Meridian) and a 2A squad (Lakewood), with their only loss a one-run defeat to 3A Oak Harbor.

Aaron Lucero’s sluggers play their next six games at home on the prairie, starting with a Thursday rematch with La Conner.