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Whidbey lands player on All-State hoops squad

April 3, 2019 by David Svien

South Whidbey’s Kody Newman (22) was named Wednesday to the AP All-State boys basketball team.

They noticed us.

When big-city newspaper types pick high school all-star teams, they often hyper-focus on players who made it to the state tourney, or fall back on those who live in large, urban areas.

But someone must have done their research, because Wednesday, when the Associated Press announced its 2018-2019 All-State basketball teams, there was Whidbey Island sitting right on the same line with Seattle and Lynden.

South Whidbey senior guard Kody Newman, who burned down gyms all season while shooting three-balls from the parking lot, not only made the lineup, he was picked for the first team.

Lynden Christian’s hugely-hyped Cole Bajema, who is off to Michigan on a hoops scholarship next year, was tabbed as the 1A boys player of the year.

Joining the Lync star on the First Team were Newman, Antonio Salinas (Zillah), Mason Landdeck (Cashmere) and Hunter Ecklund (La Center).

Newman, who is bringing a stellar four-year prep sports career to a close this spring with one last tour of duty on the baseball field, scored his 1,000th point on the high school hardwood against Coupeville.

It came on a long three-ball, and, just to make things interesting, it’s believed he shot the ball with his eyes closed to up the danger factor.

True story.

Newman wasn’t the only Wolf foe honored Wednesday, just the one to get the biggest props.

Freshman Tyler Linhardt of King’s and junior Irena Korolenko of Cedar Park Christian were tabbed as Honorable Mention selections.

Oumou Toure, a senior at 3A Kamiakin, and Anton Watson, a senior at 4A Gonzaga Prep, were the state players of the year across all classifications (4A-2B).

Posted in Boys Basketball | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Do you like them? Do you really like them??

April 2, 2019 by David Svien

CHS and CMS spring coaches (l to r, top to bottom): Elizabeth Bitting, Mike Etzell, Jon Gabelein, Steve Hilborn, Lincoln Kelley, Randy King, Aaron Lucero, Bob Martin, Kyle Nelson.

Justine McGranahan, Kevin McGranahan, Neil Rixe, Chris Smith, Ken Stange, Greg Thomas, Robert Wood, Ron Wright, Morgan Young.

Time to rally the troops and storm the voting booth.

With school sports in a bit of a slowdown this week, thanks to spring break, the real excitement returns.

Yes, it’s that time when a completely imaginary award throws everyone into a tizzy.

You work at your craft, hone your teaching skills, change lives, bring glory to your school … and then a silly little poll decides your worth as a coach.

Or not.

Ultimately, it’s about getting David plenty of page views. We all know the truth.

Be that as it may, it’s time to send 18 Coupeville spring sports coaches into the arena, and wait and see who’s willing to wear their thumbs down in pursuit of fleeting internet glory.

The rules are simple – there are none.

The poll goes live Tuesday, Apr. 2 at 8 AM and, 48 hours later, 8 AM Thursday, it closes.

Vote as many times as you like. Ballot box stuffing is not only allowed, it’s encouraged.

Shamelessly hustle for support or ignore my poll completely, your choice.

When it’s all over, one coach will emerge with a warm glow in their chest, while others might have a little angina.

Either way, the world will go on.

Posted in Polls | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Hit machine continues to misfire

April 1, 2019 by David Svien

Matt Hilborn pitched strongly Monday, but he and his teammates never had a chance to score, as they were shutout 5-0 by King’s. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

The bats are not responding.

A season-long funk continued Monday for a rebuilding Coupeville High School baseball squad, as the Wolves put only three runners aboard in a 5-0 loss at King’s.

Eight games into the season, CHS, which lost eight players to graduation, has scored eight runs total and absorbed eight losses.

And yet, the Wolves still sit firmly in the middle of a race for a playoff spot, thanks to a wide disparity between the top three and bottom three hardball teams in the North Sound Conference.

Four of six schools advance to bi-districts, and Coupeville (0-4 in league, 0-8 overall) is mired in a tie with Granite Falls (0-4, 2-7) and Sultan (0-4, 0-9) for the #4 slot with 11 conference games left on the schedule for the trio.

Cedar Park Christian (7-0, 9-1), which has advanced to the state semifinals two years running, is a game up on South Whidbey (6-1, 9-1), while King’s (2-2, 3-6) sits in third.

Coupeville gets two more cracks at King’s, with the teams playing Wednesday on Whidbey, then Friday back in Shoreline.

After that comes a three-game series with arch-rival South Whidbey, before the final six games of the regular season pit the Wolves against Sultan and Granite.

Monday’s game stayed close much of the way, with King’s scratching out a run in the bottom of the first, then carrying that 1-0 lead into the fifth.

The Knights tacked on a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning, then added two more in the sixth, but never really went wild.

Coupeville pitchers Matt Hilborn and Cody Roberts stayed out of major trouble much of the way, combining to whiff nine.

The only problem was the Wolves couldn’t get anything going offensively, with just one hit and two walks stacked up against a season-high 14 K’s at the plate.

Bryce Payne walked in the third, Ulrik Wells stroked a single in the fifth, and Hilborn eked out a free pass in the sixth, but it went nowhere, as none of the Wolves made it successfully to second base.

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Rough road trip for depleted booters

April 1, 2019 by David Svien

Owen Barenburg and his Coupeville High School soccer mates have 10 days off before their next game. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

You go to bat country, sometimes you get bitten.

Missing a substantial number of players, the Coupeville High School boys soccer team got roughed up good Monday, falling 9-0 at Forks.

The non-conference loss drops the Wolves to 4-5 on the season, and they now have a 10-day break between games thanks to spring break.

The lopsided score came thanks to a solid foe, a long road trip, and, most importantly, a severely depleted roster thanks to injuries, illness and vacations.

“I only had 12 players make the trip, about half of them JV,” said Coupeville coach Kyle Nelson. “Not much else to say…”

When CHS returns to action Apr. 12, it jumps back into North Sound Conference play, hopefully with a full roster once again.

The Wolves sit at 2-2 in league play, holding on to third-place in their five-team conference.

With road games against King’s and Sultan, then home clashes with Cedar Park Christian and South Whidbey left to play, the Wolves are chasing a “home” playoff game.

Coupeville can’t host a district playoff game on its own field, as postseason clashes have to go down on turf.

But, if the Wolves hold on to that #3 seed, they would most likely get to host their playoff opener just up the road in Oak Harbor.

When it has been at full power, Coupeville has been competitive in every match.

The Wolves only surrendered 12 goals across their first seven games, but with starting goalie Dewitt Cole out with an injury and the defense comprised by missing players, foes have rung up 14 scores in the last two games.

Posted in Boys Soccer | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Intensity, thy name is Wolf

March 31, 2019 by David Svien

Mikaela Labrador lets her javelin fly free Saturday at the Coupeville Invite. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

In between compiling track stats, Madison Rixe solves errors in Einstein’s theory of relativity. Why? Cause she can.

Chris Battaglia loves his javelin very deeply. He might have given it a name. But some days, you just have to let go, and hope she comes back to you.

“I rake and I rake, and then, just when it’s looking nice, someone comes along and jumps right in the middle. Little punks…”

Helene Lhamon juggles celebrating her birthday with cheering for daughter Catherine.

Elijah Okaruru tries to puncture the skies.

Track super fans (l to r) Sherry Roberts, Lisa Edlin, and Danny Bonacci go all paparazzi during the hurdles competition.

Lucy Sandahl displays the eye of the tiger as she cruises to one of her two wins on the day.

Sun, track and field action galore, and frequent camera clicks.

As the six-team Coupeville Invite played out Saturday at Mickey Clark Field, wanderin’ paparazzi John Fisken captured a wide variety of shots.

The pics seen above are just a small fraction of what came out of his camera(s).

To see everything he snapped, pop over to:

https://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/Coupeville-Track-2018-2019/Track-2019-03-30-at-CHS/

And, if you should purchase any glossies, you’ll be giving back, as a percentage of all sales goes to fund scholarships for CHS senior student/athletes.

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