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“I’ve never been more proud!!”

December 16, 2018 by David Svien

Senior Julie Bucio is part of the rebirth of Coupeville High School’s competition cheer squad. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

The Wolves celebrate their 2nd place finish Saturday at “Battle at the Border” in Vancouver. (Erika Hoffmire photos)

Enjoying the moment are: back row (left to right): Mica Shipley, Ashleigh Battaglia, coach BreAnna Boon, Bella Velasco, and Coral Caveness. Front: Kim Castro, Emily Fiedler, Ja’Tarya Hoskins, Bucio, and Marenna Rebischke-Smith.

Leaps and bounds.

The Coupeville High School cheer squad, which recently returned to competition after a seven-year absence, has caught the attention of the judges.

The Wolves have been to three meets now, winning awards each time, but it’s been their improvement on the score cards which has been the biggest bonus.

Saturday, CHS headed back to the bus with a 2nd place trophy for their work in the Small Game Day division at the “Battle at the Border” in Vancouver.

That gives the Wolves two 2nds and a 3rd during their brief rebirth.

Even bigger, they scored a 60, which is just five points shy of earning them a trip to state, and is a whopping 19 points up from what they posted at their first competition.

“That’s when they really started screaming and jumping up and down!,” said CHS coach BreAnna Boon. “Knowing that they got that close (to state) was more exciting for them than the trophy!

“This weekend I watched them bloom into a completely different squad,” she added. “They finally saw what I have always seen in them!”

It’s a feeling shared by her cheerleaders.

“I could not be prouder of my team,” said captain Ja’Tarya Hoskins. “This year is our year, to show all the kids at our school that we aren’t just dumb cheerleaders who cheer for just football and basketball.”

While they’re still very involved as a sideline squad, the core of the Wolf cheer team has doubled up in recent weeks, putting in tremendous effort to get ready for their competitions.

“Every week we have to change our routine, based on the judges critiques,” Boon said. “This week we only had two days to completely change everything. They learned a whole new dance, put a new song to their routine, and learned a new cheer.

“As a coach my job is to look at those score sheets and critiques, and apply that to our routine so we can meet the ultimate goal of competing at state,” she added. “I wish I could put into words how hard these cheerleaders have been working.

“There is nothing that can describe their level of intensity when they get to practice.”

Nine Wolves took the mats Saturday, with a tenth, Melia Welling, there in spirit if not in body.

“We have bonded and became family and it showed on that blue mat!,” said captain Mica Shipley. “I’ve never been more proud of those beautiful ladies.”

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On to the next challenge!!

December 16, 2018 by David Svien

Coupeville junior Hannah Davidson soars high to snatch a rebound. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Things are really starting to click.

Both Coupeville High School basketball squads are on the rise, though the circumstances are a bit different.

The Wolf boys broke into the win column Friday, edging Concrete thanks to big play from big man Ulrik Wells.

Meanwhile, the CHS girls have won three of four, including running away from arch-rival South Whidbey in their North Sound Conference opener.

That puts the Wolves in a tie atop the (very) early league standings, with a second conference clash coming up fast – Tuesday at home against Sultan.

The key for David King’s squad of recent? An offense that has suddenly been turbo-charged.

Coupeville tossed in 50 points against South Whidbey, then topped that with 53 two nights later vs. Concrete.

It’s the first time a Wolf varsity girls team has topped 50 points since Feb. 6, 2016, and the back-to-back net-burners is an even rarer occurrence.

CHS put together four consecutive 50+ point games between Jan. 30 and Feb. 9, 2015, smashing its way through Olympic League rivals Klahowya (twice), Chimacum and Port Townsend.

That 2014-2015 Wolf team, which won the first of three consecutive OL titles, while going undefeated each season, scored 50 or more in nine games, doing the deed six times in seven games at one point.

Whether this year’s squad can match that is an unknown, but for now, Coupeville is content to bask in the moment.

Next week brings two games for the Wolf boys (road trips to face non-conference foes Port Townsend and Nooksack Valley), while the CHS girls play three times.

The home match-up with Sultan is the big one, before a home game against PT and their own trip to Nooksack.

As we head towards those games, a look at where we are, through Dec. 16:

 

North Sound Conference girls basketball:

School League Overall
Coupeville 1-0 3-4
Granite Falls 1-0 2-4
King’s 1-0 2-3
CPC-Bothell 0-1 3-4
South Whidbey 0-1 0-6
Sultan 0-1 3-6

 

North Sound Conference boys basketball:

School League Overall
King’s 1-0 2-3
South Whidbey 1-0 4-3
Sultan 1-0 1-7
Coupeville 0-1 1-6
CPC-Bothell 0-1 1-6
Granite Falls 0-1 2-4

 

CHS girls basketball varsity scoring:

Lindsey Roberts – 77
Chelsea Prescott – 38
Ema Smith – 35
Avalon Renninger – 29
Scout Smith – 28
Nicole Laxton – 10
Tia Wurzrainer – 10
Hannah Davidson – 9
Izzy Wells – 5
Mollie Bailey – 4
Anya Leavell – 2
Ja’Kenya Hoskins

 

CHS boys basketball varsity scoring:

Hawthorne Wolfe – 72
Sean Toomey-Stout – 46
Ulrik Wells – 42
Jered Brown – 36
Mason Grove – 30
Gavin Knoblich -16
Koa Davison – 11
Jacobi Pilgrim – 6
Dane Lucero – 2
Jean Lund-Olsen

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King of the mat!!

December 15, 2018 by David Svien

Alex Turner, seen here during football’s Senior Night, is now ripping up the wrestling mat. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Fear the Wolves on the mat.

Coupeville High School may only have one active wrestler, and no program of its own, but that lone Wolf is doing OK on his own.

CHS senior Alex Turner was fairly flawless Saturday, sweeping through three matches to claim a title in the 182-pound class at the Everett Gold Medal Classic.

He opened with a win on points (12-4), the pinned his second and third foes. The first pin came in a sizzlin’ 30 seconds.

Turner, who returned to Coupeville this year after spending several seasons at South Whidbey High School, was an alternate to state last year as a Falcon junior.

Unfortunately, his current school has never had a wrestling program, so he and dad Joseph arranged for him to train and travel with 3A Oak Harbor High School.

Turner competes as a Wolf, though, and will return to 1A for the postseason.

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A final win, a final grin!!

December 15, 2018 by David Svien

Though only a 6th grader, Savina Wells played a major role for a Coupeville 8th grade SWISH team which finished 7-3 this season. (Katy Wells photo)

Wolf hoops coach Lark Gustafson poses with his favorite player, daughter Gwen. (Irene Gustafson photos)

Back (l to r) Brionna Blouin, Ryan Georges, Ryanne Knoblich, Savina Wells, Carolyn Lhamon, Lauren Marrs, Lark Gustafson. Front: Nezi Keiper, Gwen Gustafson, Hayley Fiedler, Alita Blouin, Maddie Georges.

They walked in the gym door as winners, and walked out as winners.

The Coupeville 8th grade SWISH girls basketball team opened its season Nov. 3 with a big victory, and officially closed its season Saturday with another huge triumph.

Bouncing back from a one-play loss to Mount Vernon in the morning, the Wolves shredded Orcas Island in the afternoon finale, earning a split and 4th place at their league tourney.

That capped a 7-3 season for Coupeville, which will now send most of its players on to the middle school hoops season which begins in late Jan.

The team’s leading rebounder, Savina Wells, is the lone Wolf among a roster of 10 who can’t play for CMS this season.

That’s because, unlike her teammates, she’s still in 6th grade, and has a year before she’s eligible for middle school sports.

 

Saturday’s results:

 

Tough loss:

Coupeville led Mount Vernon Judd and Black for much of the game, but watched things slip away in the 4th and fell 24-22.

The Wolves jumped out to a 6-4 lead after one quarter, fueled by four points from Maddie Georges, then (slightly) stretched things out to 10-7 at the half.

Mount Vernon hung tough, though, carving off a point in the third, then closing things with a game-busting 9-5 surge in the final frame.

Georges paced Coupeville with seven points, while Alita Blouin and Gwen Gustafson banked home six apiece, and Wells knocked down three.

 

Strong swan song:

The Wolves bounced back in their second game, swatting Orcas 23-12, with seven of 10 Wolves scoring.

The first half was a defensive struggle, with Coupeville clinging to a 6-3 lead.

After the break, things got much spicier, as the Wolves went on a game-ending 17-9 surge across the third and fourth quarters.

Georges continued to have the hottest of hot hands, topping Coupeville with six points, while Wells (5), Gustafson (4), Brionna Blouin (3), Ryanne Knoblich (2), Carolyn Lhamon (2), and Alita Blouin (1) also scored.

Lauren Marrs, Nezi Keiper, and Hayley Fielder all saw floor time, and all made contributions.

That continued a season-long trend, as a hallmark of the team coached by Lark Gustafson was its balance.

Every one of the 10 Wolf girls brought their own special talents to the floor, and they meshed well as a group, putting a positive glow on the future of Coupeville girls basketball.

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“It was fun to watch!!”

December 15, 2018 by David Svien

Alana Mihill banked home five points Friday, her first at the high school level, as Coupeville’s JV thumped host Concrete. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Things started with a jolt, and ended in a sea of smiles.

Playing second Friday night, the Coupeville High School JV girls basketball team found itself down a coach, but never blinked.

With JV guru Amy King at the Concrete hospital, riding shotgun on injured Wolf varsity player Chelsea Prescott, her husband, David, got to pull double duty.

Coupeville’s varsity coach promptly made it 2-for-2 on the night, guiding the Wolf young guns to a 46-20 win.

The JV’s third-straight victory, it evens their record at 3-3.

Just don’t try and add the W to David King’s career record.

“Amy gets the win; I get an assist,” he said with a laugh. “Coach King girl does such a great job with the JV team that it made my job easy tonight.

“Thank goodness she had everything already prepared well in advance.”

Coupeville’s second unit came out just like its first unit, runnin’, gunnin’ and shredding Concrete’s defense.

Sparked by the surprise use of a 1-2-2 press added to the mix by David King, the Wolves forced the Lions into constant mistakes, then took advantage of said turnovers.

“I think I surprised the JV’ers when I drew it up for them to run,” David King said. “They worked at it and at times got some good things out of it.

“Kiara (Contreras) was a master at harassing their ball handlers all game.”

Mollie Bailey, normally the queen of the set-up game while running the point, decided to taste the joy of being a binge scorer Friday.

Playing on mom Donna’s birthday, the youngest of the “Bailey Bombardiers” dropped shots from every angle, scoring six points in the first quarter, another eight in the second and finishing with a game-high 16.

A 13-2 Wolf lead at the first break morphed into a 24-11 margin at the half and then a 31-16 bulge after three.

That set up the fourth quarter, when Coupeville melted the net with a game-closing 15-4 run fueled by hard-working role players who got a chance to shine on the offensive end of the floor.

Kylie Van Velkinburgh, a defensive hustler, knocked in four points, but it was Alana Mihill and Morgan Stevens who earned the biggest cheers.

Both scored their first high school points, with Stevens drilling a jumper from 10 feet out on the left wing.

Mihill broke through with free throws, swishing three of them, before stepping inside the key and draining a sweet lil’ jumper for her first high school field goal.

“The players on the bench, the high school players, and our fans erupted when both players scored,” David King said. “It was fun to watch both Alana and Morgan get big grins when they scored and due to the cheering.

“Their defense got a little more aggressive, as did their offensive game.”

Bailey’s 16 points paced the Wolves, with Audrianna Shaw and Izzy Wells each adding eight to the cause.

Mihill (5), Van Velkinburgh (4), Contreras (3), and Stevens (2) rounded out the scoring, with Ja’Kenya Hoskins and Abby Mulholland helping control the boards.

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