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All your ribbons belong to us

June 1, 2019 by David Svien

Coupeville 7th graders Brionna Blouin (left) and Allison Nastali both earned ribbons at the Cascade League Track and Field Championships. (Elizabeth Bitting photos)

The Wolves closed their season Friday at home with a Class vs. Class meet, won by the 8th graders.

Powered by Prairie Center snacks, the Wolves went out with a burst of excitement.

Before leaving town Thursday for the Cascade League Championships, Coupeville Middle School track and field athletes hit up their local grocery store for a wide range of food products.

Whatever they bought seemed to do the trick, as the Wolves went off in Lakewood, throwing down 20 PR’s and breaking a school record.

CMS 8th grader Alex Murdy closed his middle school career by ripping off a run of 24.94 seconds in the 200, erasing Gabe Eck (25.82 in 2015) from the record book.

It was actually the second-straight time Murdy had shattered the mark, as he ran a 25.25 Tuesday in the prelims.

A second school record also fell Tuesday, and was officially recognized Thursday.

8th grader Carolyn Lhamon, competing in the shot put on day one, threw the orb 32 feet, 11.50 inches, more than five feet past her previous PR of 27-09.

Turns out that tops the previous CMS mark of 29-02.25, set by Morgan Pease in 2016.

What makes it even more remarkable is Lhamon has only been tossing the shot for about a month, picking it up while resting shin splints.

The record-busters drew the headlines, but Coupeville was strong across the board in Thursday’s regular season finale.

“Our athletes’ top-notch efforts, mixed with a season full of improvements earned through hard work, made our first trip to the Cascade League finals one that was full of PRs, great rankings, and even a couple of broken records,” said CMS coach Jon Gabelein.

“Even in the hot sun, nearly all runners found a way to earn a PR today.”

 

(Hopefully) complete Thursday results:

 

GIRLS:

1600 (8th grade) — Carolyn Lhamon (5th) 7:02.12

100 Hurdles (8th grade) — Claire Mayne (6th) 19.86 *PR*

4 x 100 Relay (7th grade) — Allison Nastali, Desi Ramirez, Brionna Blouin, Brielle Armstrong (5th) 1:00.55

4 x 100 Relay (8th grade) — Mayne, Abigail Ramirez, Cristina McGrath, Ryanne Knoblich (4th) 59.50

4 x 200 Relay (8th grade) — Mayne, Lhamon, A. Ramirez, Knoblich (2nd) 2:10.22

Discus (7th grade) — Blouin (2nd) 61-11.50 *PR*; D. Ramirez (4th) 59-04.50 *PR*; Armstrong (7th) 49-10.50 *PR*; Nastali (8th) 48-08 *PR*; Erica McGrath (12th) 46-03.50 *PR*; Isabella Schooley (17th) 36-09.50

Discus (8th grade) — C. McGrath (7th) 56-07; Helen Strelow (10th) 51-05; Taygin Jump (15th) 45-00 *PR*; Camryn Clark (20th) 38-11 *PR*

Long Jump (7th grade) — E. McGrath (5th) 11-10.50; Nastali (10th) 10-11 *PR*; D. Ramirez (15th) 9-11

Long Jump (8th grade) — Knoblich (7th) 12-10; Strelow (8th) 12-08 *PR*; Mayne (11th) 12-05; C. McGrath (22nd) 11-00

 

BOYS:

100 (8th grade) — Reiley Araceley (7th) 12.74 *PR*

200 (7th grade) — Nick Guay (4th) 28.65 *PR*

200 (8th grade) — Alex Murdy (3rd) 24.94 *PR* *SCHOOL RECORD*

400 (8th grade) — Joven Light (6th) 1:05.02

800 (7th grade) — Cole White (6th) 2:36.57 *PR*; Hank Milnes (8th) 2:41.73 *PR*

800 (8th grade) — Aiden Anderson (3rd) 2:35.50 *PR*; Tate Wyman (12th) 3:08.43 *PR*

4 x 100 Relay (7th grade) — Milnes, Mikey Robinett, N. Guay, Logan Downes (2nd) 55.91

4 x 100 Relay (8th grade) — Araceley, Dominic Coffman, Light, Murdy (2nd) 50.81

4 x 200 Relay (7th grade) — Timothy Nitta, Robinett, N. Guay, Downes (2nd) 1:58.73

4 x 200 Relay (8th grade) — Josh Guay, Araceley, Jacob Mathusek, Wyman (4th) 2:02.89

Shot Put (7th grade) — William Davidson (7th) 24-07; Ryan Blouin (11th) 23-05 *PR*

Shot Put (8th grade) — Josh Upchurch (7th) 29-04 *PR*; Killian Coen (12th) 25-10; J. Guay (23rd) 17-07 *PR*

High Jump (8th grade) — Murdy (2nd) 5-05; Coffman (7th) 4-10

 

**And, if you’re wondering why the fanatic who stays up until 3 AM to publish stories the day the event happens is just now getting this story up two days later … it’s a long story.

Suffice it to say, results seemingly weren’t posted, then they were finally found posted in the wrong place, and, even now, we’re not 100% sure everything got posted by the folks in Lakewood.

Peachy…

Posted in Middle School, Track | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Mama said knock you out

June 1, 2019 by David Svien

“We score, score, and score some more!!” (Jackie Saia photo)

Bring on all-stars!

The Central Whidbey Little League Majors softball squad ended the regular season Saturday with an avalanche of runs, destroying host Sedro-Woolley 22-2.

And it was actually even more of a rout that that.

While the mercy rule ended the game after three innings, the two teams played an unofficial extra inning in which Central Whidbey tuned up their rivals 9-0.

With the win, the Hammerheads closed the regular season at 15-2, having outscored foes 270-81.

Or 279-81, if we count the unofficial inning … which we probably won’t.

Next up for Central Whidbey is the district all-star tournament, which will be played at Coupeville’s Rhododendron Park starting June 14.

Saturday afternoon, the Hammerheads mixed and matched pitchers, getting Chloe Marzocca and Savina Wells two innings of work apiece, then sitting back and admiring the view as their hurlers got nasty.

The dynamic duo each recorded three strikeouts, while also pulling off eye-popping defensive gems.

Marzocca snagged a hard shot up the middle which took a wild hop and shot up, smacking her just below the knee.

Ignoring the sting, she stayed in the play, plucking the offending ball off the turf and gunning down the Sedro-Woolley hitter crashing for first base.

Not to be outdone, Wells sprawled out while on the fly, yanking a ball out of air seconds before it hit the diamond while close to foul territory down the third base side.

“Ball probably never got more then four feet off the ground, but Savina made it look easy,” said visibly-impressed Central Whidbey coach Fred Farris.

It was that kind of day for everyone in a Hammerhead uniform.

“Girls came to play, and were in all-star form,” Farris said. “Great pitching by both Savina and Chloe, and Savina and Teagan (Calkins) both were near perfect behind the plate.

“Allison Nastali showed great range at second making two outstanding plays, and Mia (Farris) squeezed everything at first. Great team win!”

The game was virtually over before it began, as Central Whidbey dumped a fast 14 runs on the scoreboard in the top of the first.

Seven more in the second, then a single, solitary score in the top of the third pushed the lead all the way out to 22-0, before Sedro scratched out its only runs in the bottom half of the final official frame.

The Hammerheads racked up 17 hits, with Wells bashing five, including a double, while Brionna Blouin smoked four base-knocks of her own.

Blouin loves extra-base hits, and two of her lasers were two-baggers, with one clearing the bases.

Madison McMillan, Mayleen Weatherford, and Mia Farris added two hits apiece, with Weatherford cranking out a triple, while Aleksia Jump and Calkins chipped in with singles.

The five Hammerheads who didn’t have a hit combined to pick up 11 walks and score 13 times.

Taylor Brotemarkle earned four free passes, while Nastali (3), Marzocca (2), Jada Heaton (1), and Katie Marti (1) all showed off eagle eyes.

Posted in Little League, Softball | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Launch it to the heavens

May 31, 2019 by David Svien

Coupeville sophomore Mikaela Labrador improved her javelin throw by 14+ feet as the 2019 season progressed. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

They are often the unsung heroes of track and field.

The runners zipping around the track oval do so right in front of the stands, but the team’s throwers are usually stuck off in various corners, often far away from the main hub of action.

But today we’re here to shine a spotlight on Coupeville’s throwing crew, thanks to stats from coach Bob Martin.

This season, 20 of the 32 Wolves in the CHS program tried at least one of the three throwing events (shot put, discus, javelin), with seven competing in all three exercises.

Megan Behan, Aurora Cernick, Emma Smith, Chris Battaglia, Brian Casey, Elijah Okaruru, and Raven Vick were the ultimate throwing warriors, picking up (and flinging) each of the implements.

Overall, the javelin was the most popular, with 16 Wolves trying it, while shot put apparently was the scariest, with just 10 hefting the orb.

Discus fell somewhere in the middle, with 13 giving it a go.

The chart below tracks all 20 of the Wolves who threw, detailing their first attempt during a live meet, and the best distance they landed in competition.

And before you start using all your fingers and toes to add, the two Coupeville throwers who had the biggest in-season improvement were Logan Martin and Smith.

Logan, a freshman, is the younger brother of Dalton Martin, who holds the CHS record in the discus at 161 feet, seven inches, set in his senior season in 2016.

But, way back when Dalton was a freshman, his PR was 107-02.

Logan already has him there, improving from 80-04 in his first high school meet, to 121-11 by the district meet.

That’s an in-season jump of 41 feet, seven inches, and now he has three more full seasons left to pick up the additional 39 feet, nine inches he needs to topple big bro from the school record board.

Smith didn’t jump quite as far as her younger teammate, but she did still have a heck of a senior season.

She made it to state in both the shot put and discus, and improved 20 feet, five inches during the season in the second event.

Smith whipped it 72-03 in the season-opening Island Jamboree in mid-March, then came around to hit 92-08 at districts two months later.

And now, on to a look at how all 20 of the Wolf throwers improved during the course of the 2019 season:

 

Thrower Shot-First Shot-Best Discus-First Discus-Best Javelin-First Javelin-Best
C. Battaglia 38-00.5 41-00 110-00 112-06 127-06 134-01
Js. Baumann 76-09.5 92-06
M. Behan 19-02 24-01 55-02 60-02 55-02 65-04
K. Burnett 91-03 102-07
B. Casey 31-06 32-06 77-02 78-11 64-09 77-03
A. Cernick 19-09.5 21-00.5 51-02 66-05 57-11 63-09
K. Davison 82-03 100-02
L. Halstead 106-02 106-02
Jat. Hoskins 52-06 52-06
M. Labrador 38-03 52-05
R. Labrador 39-06 44-10.5 93-11 109-10
L. Martin 34-10 34-10 80-04 121-11
A. Mihill 43-08 47-09 57-11 63-09
E. Okaruru 26-05.5 27-09 77-07 77-07 68-06 71-04
T. Peterson 86-04 99-10
E. Smith 30-10 34-05 72-03 92-08 72-10 72-10
K. Sorrows 37-05 39-10.5 90-04 108-01
S. T-Stout 140-09 140-09
R. Vick 17-04 21-05.5 56-05 61-02 82-03 88-02
W. Vick 60-09 71-01 43-00 61-08

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Twice the talent, twice the opportunities

May 31, 2019 by David Svien

Coupeville twins Skyy and Joey Lippo are off to new adventures. She’s got a dance scholarship, he’s rejoining high school teammates on the college baseball diamond. (Teresa Besaw photo)

They’ve spent much of their life together, but now the diamond and the stage will separate them for a bit.

Twins Skyy and Joey Lippo, who graduated from Coupeville High School in 2018, have recently pledged themselves to different colleges.

Skyy is headed off to the Midwest, where she will attend The University of Missouri-Kansas City on a dance scholarship, while her brother has signed to play baseball at Green River College in Auburn.

That move reunites Joey with former CHS teammates CJ and Hunter Smith, who will be sophomores on next year’s Gator diamond squad.

Lippo, who bounced between the infield and outfield in his Coupeville days (with some stints at catcher and pitcher as well) figures to be a full-time outfielder at Green River.

He’s studying criminal justice.

“I hope to play center field, but anywhere in the outfield would be great,” Joey Lippo said. “I plan to transfer to UMKC after two years to join Skyy and finish my degree and maybe play tennis there, since they don’t have a baseball team.”

During his time at CHS, Joey was an All-League baseball player and teamed up with William Nelson to form the #1 doubles duo for the Wolf netters.

His sister, who performed with the Whidbey Island Dance Theatre, will study modern dance and ballet at UMKC, with a minor in business.

Skyy, who was a regular in productions of The Nutcracker, will also perform outside the school as she pursues her dance dream.

“If I get the opportunity to dance professional, I will,” she said. “If not, I will teach at a dance studio and hope to manage a studio of my own.”

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Wolves enjoy baseball swan song

May 31, 2019 by David Svien

CHS baseball coach Chris Smith poses with some of the Wolf seniors who played Thursday at the All-State feeder games in Bellingham. L to r are Matt Hilborn, Shane Losey, and Dane Lucero, while Jake Pease was AWOL at the moment. (Wendi Hilborn photo)

Coupeville’s diamond men got one more night under the lights.

Four Wolf seniors — Dane Lucero, Shane Losey, Jake Pease, and Matt Hilborn — traveled to Bellingham Thursday to participate in the A/B All-State Baseball Feeder games.

While none of the pack made the cut for the big games, held June 8-9 in Yakima, Coupeville made a positive impression.

“They all played really well,” said CHS head baseball coach Chris Smith, who was in the stands at Joe Martin Stadium for the games. “Coupeville was well represented.”

After playing their entire prep careers as teammates, the four Wolves found themselves split up at times Thursday night.

In the opening game, the Nationals, which featured Lucero, Losey, and Hilborn topped Pease’s Americans squad 14-13 in a slug-fest.

Pease anchored third base for the entire game.

“He didn’t have a ton of opportunities, but did make some diving attempts at a couple smoked grounders,” said CHS assistant coach Aaron Lucero.

Hilborn got some work on the mound in the first game, tossing two innings, then moved to shortstop in the nightcap, where the Americans won 7-1 in a game called after six innings due to pitch counts.

“He was lights out at shortstop and had several outs to Dane at first,” Aaron Lucero said. “Lot of tough balls and threw lasers.”

Dane Lucero, who made a sensational full-body extension grab on a hard liner just inside the line at first, also pulled double duty.

After getting loosened up with his work on the bag, where he put in eight innings across the two games, the younger Lucero strolled over to pitch the fifth inning in game two.

Making sure every Wolf had some highlights, Losey was a beast in the outfield.

“Shane almost had a ridiculous awesome diving play in right that just missed by an inch or two,” Aaron Lucero said. “Was ecstatic he got to the ball, not to mention the dive.

“Next hitter hit another shot to right that Shane sprinted to, twisted, hit the ball with his glove, ball popped, and he caught the pop one-handed,” he added.

“The best part was his back was turned to the line ump, ump indicating fair and safe until Shane shows the ball with his back turned for the ump to reverse to an out.”

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