Katie Marti celebrates her excellence with Coupeville High School track and field coach Bob Martin. (Christi Messner photo)
She came in like a wrecking ball.
A pure supernova comprised of equal parts wild energy, good-times cheer, and often remarkable athletic talent, Katie Marti left an impact on Coupeville sports like few others.
Both mom (Christi Messner) and dad (Frank Marti) hail from prairie families with long, rich athletic histories, and Katie added her own glow to those legacies before graduating from CHS this past spring.
During her time as a Wolf, the most irrepressible of irrepressible ones played volleyball, basketball, softball, and track and field — when she wasn’t sliding across the desktop in the press box or cartwheeling across the gym floor, chasing her teammates and tackling them in exuberant bear hugs.
As a spiker, she saw varsity floor time all four seasons, and was a certified star the last two, running the Wolf offense from her position at setter.
Flipping another note-perfect set skyward. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
The stats tell a story, but it’s not the whole story.
Katie, if my numbers add up, compiled 68 kills, 301 digs, two solo blocks, 12 block assists, 1,185 assists, and 143 service aces as a varsity player, leading her squad in assists and aces during both her junior and senior seasons.
Her final campaign was her finest, as she and her fellow seniors carried the Wolves to an 18-2 record and 4th place trophy at the state tourney, remaining undefeated until the last day of the season.
Both the record, and the trophy, are the best ever achieved by a CHS volleyball team, but, like I said, mere stats don’t tell the whole story.
Katie left every last drop of sweat and effort she had out there on the floor, sliding in pursuit of floor burns, refusing to let any ball drop untouched. Cheeks flushed, voice bouncing off the rafters, she pushed herself, and her teammates, to great heights by sheer will power.
She cried, she screamed, she giggled, she screamed some more, she was a freakin’ force of nature, winning a point by punching the ball over the net with the side of her leg and making dang sure every fan, in every gym, would remember her long after she had hung up her uniform.
“Nothing but net, sucker!!” (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
One of the most purely entertaining athletes to ever rep the red and black, Katie carried that roof-raising attitude to basketball, where she tossed in 332 varsity points (good for #32 all-time in CHS girls’ history) and wrecked more than one row of chairs crashing into the bench in pursuit of loose balls.
Capable of raining down pain from three-ball territory or tossing in running one-handed scoop shots while rampaging through the paint, she was once again always worth the price of admission.
An athlete for all seasons, Katie was a stellar softball player as well, before veering off to achieve glory as a track and field thrower.
Over the course of three high school seasons, she piled up 24 wins chucking things, including sweeping shot put, discus, and javelin titles at the district meet her senior year.
A five-time state meet qualifier, Katie brought home a 7th place medal in the shot put during her final campaign, while also competing twice at the state hammer meet, which is its own thing not sanctioned by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.
Through it all, she was utterly unique and always worthy of our praise.
From an early age, Katie loved the spotlight, and she loved pulling her friends into that spotlight along with her.
Today we induct Miss Marti into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame. After this you’ll find her hanging out at the top of the blog, under the Legends tab.
Cause that’s what she is — a one-of-a-kind, living-life-like-she-wants-to, certified Grade-A legend.
“Let’s get this bus movin’. I got places to be, and people to entertain!” (Christi Messner photo)
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