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Young gun ready to shoot for the big time!!

July 7, 2018 by David Svien

Cody Roberts (11) muscles in for a bucket during a game last season. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Roberts is a key member of an undefeated Coupeville Babe Ruth squad headed to the state tourney next week.

Cody Roberts has been in the game for a while now.

The youngest of three brothers, he started playing baseball when he was three. Now, like older siblings CJ and Brian, he’s ready to make an impact at the next level.

A three-sport athlete (he suits up for the Wolves in football, basketball, and baseball), Roberts will be a freshman at Coupeville High School in the fall.

Part of a strong group of young Central Whidbey athletes, he has his eyes firmly set on success.

“I plan to stay with all three sports; my goal is to stay fit and hopefully lead a couple teams to some state championships,” Roberts said.

He’s in the running for a title this summer, playing a key role on a Coupeville Babe Ruth baseball team which is rolling along with a 16-0 record.

The Wolves are off to Ephrata next week for the state tournament, another chance for Roberts to take the diamond and play the game he loves most.

“Baseball is my favorite because it’s what I am best at and I have been playing it since I was three,” he said.

Roberts, who enjoys spending time with friends and hails math as his favorite class, works hard to “always have some play money.”

But, around that, he devotes a lot of his time to athletics, and continues to fine-tune his skills set as he matures.

“I like being an athlete because it gives you a goal,” Roberts said. “And also a reason to keep your grades up and it keeps you off the streets.”

When he assesses his own game, he sees areas he likes and areas he wants to strengthen.

“My weakness is going down easily when losing,” Roberts said. “But my strength is helping my team stay up even when we’re tired.”

As he looks backwards at his run through little league, youth sports and middle school, and then turns and gazes at the wide-open possibilities which high school will offer, the young star always goes back to pay tribute to those who believed in him from the start.

“My mom (Heidi), and my dad (Brent), have had very big impacts on my sports life,” Roberts said. “And my grandma, cause she takes me to all my sports and encourages them.

“My mom coached me in baseball for a couple years and my parents put me in sports and kept me in them.”

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Fly, Danny, fly!!

July 7, 2018 by David Svien

   Coupeville High School senior Danny Conlisk is North Carolina-bound after qualifying for the Junior Olympics national meet. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

   Conlisk and Fliers teammate James Dillow finished 3rd and 5th in the 400, respectively, both qualifying for nationals. (Dawnelle Conlisk photo)

Not even an injured groin could slow him down.

Battling through a nagging injury, Coupeville High School senior Danny Conlisk ran strongly Saturday at regionals, clinching a trip to the USATF Hershey National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships.

Conlisk, who is running with the Kitsap Fliers this summer, finished third in his top event, the 400, hitting the line in 50.21 seconds while competing in Bend, Oregon.

That was just off his PR of 49.70, which he set in May while finishing second at the 1A state meet.

The top five finishers Saturday punched their tickets to nationals, which are held in Greensboro, North Carolina.

When he’s in the deep South (nationals run July 23-29), Conlisk could also be competing as a member of a Fliers relay team.

He’ll run in the 4 x 400 Sunday afternoon, seeking to punch a second trip to nationals.

With just five teams entered, all the Fliers have to do is run a clean race to advance.

Conlisk was originally entered in two other races at regionals, the 200 and 4 x 800, but opted out to protect his groin.

In a positive sign, the injury didn’t seem to bother him much in the 400.

“He went out in the first 200 softer, noticed he didn’t hurt so he picked it up in the 300 and still didn’t hurt so he did “The Danny” in the final 100,” said mom Dawnelle Conlisk.

Doing “The Danny” is synonymous with flying down the backstretch and shredding the hearts and souls of foes as they fall beneath his final burst of speed.

Sort of his trademark move.

When Conlisk returns to school this fall, he’ll be gunning for a second-straight trip to state as a cross country runner and a fourth-straight trek as a track supernova.

One difference is, after training and traveling with South Whidbey’s harriers in recent years, he will get to be at the forefront of a cross country revival in Coupeville.

The Wolves have restarted their own in-school program after a two-decade absence, with Natasha Bamberger, the most-accomplished runner in CHS history, hired as coach.

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“I can’t get enough volleyball!!”

July 7, 2018 by David Svien

Noelle Daigneault spends time with her beloved pet duck, Chandler. (Photo courtesy Irene Echenique)

Put Noelle Daigneault on the volleyball court and she never stops smiling.

The busy, talented Coupeville High School freshman is also devoted to heaving the shot put, surfing, listening to the sweet sounds of ABBA, painting, and playing her ukulele, but there’s something special about her time as a spiker.

“Volleyball is my favorite sport; I have played club volleyball these past two years and still can’t get enough volleyball!,” Daigneault said. “I love the sport because it is very exhilarating!

“And the feeling of smacking the ball as hard and quick as you can and getting a point for your team is a feeling of such joy I can’t describe.”

On the court, she’s the player always firing on all cylinders, chasing down every last ball with an expression of pure happiness gracing her face on every play.

“One of my bigger strengths in volleyball is, I always want the ball,” Daigneault said. “I will try my hardest to not let the ball drop.

“An area I need to work on is technique,” she admitted with a laugh. “Sometimes I’ll make up my own form, and it more often than not does not help me…”

Daigneault, who follows on the heels of older sister Bree, a standout soccer and tennis player during her time at CHS, attacks each new day with vigor.

“I enjoy being an athlete because I don’t like not doing anything,” Noelle said. “And when you’re on the court there is always something we need to be doing and you’re never standing still.

“One of my goals for my high school career is to always do more, meaning SST, or open gym,” she added. “Sometimes spending an extra half-hour on the court or track, practicing, can make all the difference.”

Daigneault can’t go wrong emulating her older sibling, as Bree was a fireball on the field, while also being one of the most genuinely kind athletes to ever rep CHS.

“My sister has had a very big impact on who I am as a person and a player,” Noelle said.

But there’s also another athlete, a fellow freshman-to-be, who plays a big role in Daigneault’s life, on and off the court.

“My best friend, Jaelyn Crebbin, has always inspired me as a volleyball and track player,” Daigneault said. “I always thought, if she could do it, I could too!

“Considering she has one arm, that does not stop her, and that’s always inspired me to do my best on the court.”

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“I always wanted to coach!!”

July 5, 2018 by David Svien

   Natasha Bamberger, a five-time state champ at Coupeville High School in the ’80s, has returned to revive the school’s cross country program. (Photo courtesy Bamberger)

Bamberger with Craig Pedlar, her high school cross country coach, and current Wolf supernova Lindsey Roberts. (Sherry Roberts photo)

She is legend.

Natasha Bamberger isn’t one to toot her own horn, or dwell on her past accomplishments, but I’m here to tell you – there is no bigger name in Coupeville sports history.

The new coach of the CHS cross country team, who is tasked along with CMS harrier coach Elizabeth Bitting to revive a program which has lain largely dormant for two decades, is the real deal.

During her days at Coupeville High School, Bamberger won five state titles, four in track (1600 and 3200 in ’84, 3200 in ’85 and ’86) and became the first Wolf to win a cross country championship when she topped the field in ’85.

Now, after a lifetime of wandering the country, pursuing her passions and raising two highly-accomplished children, she’s back home, ready to inspire the current generation of Wolf runners.

As she prepares for her new job (first day of practice is Aug. 22), Bamberger took time to talk about why running and coaching mean so much to her.

The minute that my life allowed me to be able to coach I did. I always wanted to coach and knew I would.

I volunteered with my local high school cross country team in Vermont.

Within a couple weeks, the Athletic Director gave me the team.

I wanted to coach because literally everything I had accomplished and challenges I faced up to this point in my life — flight school, SERE school, even a war — I attribute to the confidence that running gave me, and especially for the love and time my coaches growing up put into me.

I admired my coaches and wanted to give back what they gave me.

I started out with only eight girls and within three years the team grew to 33.

We were competitive; I was thrilled with their success and we always finished at state in the top four individually as well as the team.

But the biggest gift I was given was a freshman on my team told me and the parents at the banquet dinner at the end of the season was that coach gave her the “love” of running.

I feel this is the most important and a gift to carry you life-long.

As you can imagine, that was quite a moment that I still cherish.

I expected to give to the team from my experience and passion for the sport but they actually inspired me, which I did not expect as a coach.

I am so proud of my runners.

This short four years is so important. I truly believe that they can do anything with the right amount of support.

Many went on to very good colleges and universities, several on cross country scholarships. Two went pro mountain biking.

One met me on the road training and she told me she was going pro Nordic skiing and moving to the Sierra Nevada’s.

She said, “You competed when you were older, Natasha, I can too!”

Through the years, my runners would knock on my door when they came home to go for a run and I felt honored to be invited to their families weddings.

The most amazing thing was these girls inspired me.

I was asked to train with a Eco Challenge team that had competed internationally in Borneo.

I accepted, saying, sure guys, if I can keep up, and it was then I fell in love with ultra running. Especially technical mountain running.

In the next five years I was asked to compete on better and better teams, got sponsored, racing in the Pyrenees, Spain, Newfoundland, Brazil, qualified in Oregon and Western Australia to finish at the World Championships in Gstaad, Switzerland in 2004.

I was the only woman on a four-person team.

I always found it interesting that my coaches in Coupeville always had me run with the boys to push me, which sometimes was not always what I wanted to do.

But, as an adult, I raced and worked with them exclusively in my job flying as a part of an aircrew, ultra running and racing.

When I moved back to Coupeville, I was sad to learn we did not have a team.

I wanted to coach and give back to the sport that gave so much to me.

I have great memories and feel so fortunate to have grown up running on these beautiful trails and roads. I want to share that.

I also feel that cross country attracts a great group of kids. It is a family.

Cross country teaches great lessons in life. How to work hard and see it through to a goal. This builds on itself life-long.

There are amazing opportunities for runners to get scholarships and entry to very good universities and colleges.

Looks great on their applications. I feel employers like to see it as well.

Whatever I can do to help launch these kids during these most important years I want to help and be a part of that.

Cross country is not an easy sport. It takes heart and your whole soul.

Seeing my runners work together, grow as people, get after those opportunities running and beyond is very rewarding.

We are going to have a great season.

We are starting small, but I have been there before and will build a strong, fun program for Coupeville.

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Bitting runs to embrace new coaching gig!!

July 5, 2018 by David Svien

Coupeville Middle School track and cross country coach Elizabeth Bitting leads by example. (Photos courtesy Bitting)

Bitting flies across the course during her high school days in California.

   Mt. San Antonio College and team captain Bitting (second from right, back row) celebrate the school’s first cross country state title.

This is a dream come true for Elizabeth Bitting.

After spending the last four years as the track and field coach at Coupeville Middle School, the dedicated life-long runner will be at the forefront of the Wolves returning to cross country.

A team captain on a state title-winning harrier team in her college days, Bitting brings a lifetime of experience with her after being named as the new CMS cross country coach.

She’ll team with new CHS coach and local running legend Natasha Bamberger, who returns to the school where she won a cross country state title and four track state titles in the ’80s.

The duo are in charge of resurrecting cross country programs which have lain largely dormant for two decades.

While individual Wolf runners have trained and traveled with first Oak Harbor, then South Whidbey, in recent years, CHS and CMS have not had in-school cross country programs of their own in a long time.

“I started coaching middle school track and field four years ago and to be completely honest this has always been my hope, that cross country would make a comeback,” Bitting said. “There are so many positives in bringing cross country back.

“For middle school, not everybody is a football player or volleyball player,” she added. “This gives our student athletes another choice.”

Cross country mixes aspects of team and individual performance, and, like track, is often about rising up to better your own best.

“Running helps to promote good health and an active lifestyle,” Bitting said. “We train as a team, race as a team, however it could feel like an individual sport.

“The athletes biggest competitor will be themselves and their previous times,” she added. “They will work hard, push themselves harder and hopefully carry this over into their academics and personal life.”

Support for the new program is especially strong at the middle school level, where Bitting has already seen 12 athletes express interest in running this fall. That number could grow before practice begins Aug. 22.

“The reaction at the middle school level has been great!,” she said. “It is due to the students that this is even happening.

“If it wasn’t for their interest I would still be waiting for the day that cross country makes a comeback.”

Bitting’s own trail running days began when she was a middle-school athlete in Southern California, then continued through her days at Walnut High School and Mt. San Antonio College.

Her high school teams won multiple league titles, then the young harrier made a major jump when she moved into college running.

Mt. SAC had the second-hardest cross country course in the U.S. at the time, which toughened the Mounties as they trained.

That paid off when a squad led by Bitting, who was team captain, won the 1988 California State Community College Championships.

The win kicked off a run of four titles in five years, and the school’s female harriers have now piled up nine first-place finishes, with the most-recent in 2017.

Her success on the trail fueled Bitting, and she has continued to embrace the sport throughout the years.

“My love of running has not subsided and I continue to run to this day,” she said. “Nowadays you’ll find me out in the trails.”

Along with her tenure as CMS track coach, Bitting has been a driving force behind the growth of running in Central Whidbey.

She helped bring the half marathon back to Coupeville with Dash for the Bash (later renamed Race the Reserve), which raises money for the senior class at CHS.

Toss in numerous 5K runs, and if someone is competing, Bitting is usually involved, either behind the scenes or out running herself.

While she thoroughly enjoys her own time on the trails, the Wolf coach draws great joy from helping young runners achieve their goals and hopefully launch their own life-long love of running.

“It makes me so happy seeing our middle school athletes move on to high school and continue their participation in track and field,” Bitting said. “I am hoping to do the same for cross country.”

As she works with Bamberger to kick-start the Wolf program, she has high hopes.

“I have multiple goals for the program,” Bitting said. “For the athletes, I want to see them enjoy, embrace, do well, and have fun during the season.

“I would also like to see them continue with cross country in high school, college and beyond,” she added. “For the program, I want to see it flourish. I’d like to see it be around for decades to come.”

If having a committed, enthusiastic coach at the helm is a key to success, and it usually is, the CMS harriers have hit the jackpot.

“I feel privileged to have been given this opportunity to coach the middle school athletes,” Bitting said. “I hope my knowledge and enthusiasm helps the athletes to enjoy the sport as much as I do.”

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