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CHS seniors Landon Roberts (left) and Jesus Madrigal take one final bow. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

The dynamic duo called it a career.

Coupeville High School baseball honored seniors Jesus Madrigal and Landon Roberts Thursday before the Wolves played their season finale on the prairie.

Along for the ride was semi-retired photo whiz kid John Fisken, who snapped the pics seen above and below.

“Who’s gonna cry more, mom or dad?”

Coop Cooper got aboard twice Thursday in Coupeville’s finale. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

They endured until the end.

Coming off back-to-back trips to the state tourney, the 2025 season didn’t go as planned for the Coupeville High School baseball squad.

The Wolves lost players to graduation, others to family moves or injury rehabs, and still more to a simple failure to turn out.

That left Steve Hilborn’s crew scrambling to field a roster, but they did, making do with 11 players, some of whom had never played before.

And, after a rough start, the Wolves showed promise, winning six of eight in the middle part of the campaign.

The end came Thursday, with the CHS diamond squad falling 12-0 to Northwest 2B/1B League champ Mount Vernon Christian, capping a 6-13 season.

But, in their play Thursday, where they stretched the Hurricanes out to the full seven innings on Senior Night, and in their resilience all spring, the Wolves are not defined entirely by their record.

They endured, and they continued to build for the future.

Seniors Landon Roberts, who played all four years, and Jesus Madrigal will depart, but the core of the squad can return next spring.

Hopefully with more reinforcements.

Thursday, after honoring their veterans, the Wolves handed the ball one last time to Roberts, and he gave them four innings on the mound, whiffing seven.

His final moment as a CHS pitcher was a called third strike, as Lindsey’s lil’ bro painted the corner one final time.

MVC pushed two runs across in the first, another in the second, and a game-busting five in the top of the third, taking advantage of a couple of errors.

Carson Grove has three more seasons to chuck heat.

After that, Roberts and freshman Carson Grove, who came on in relief in the fifth, shut down the ‘Canes, tossing three consecutive scoreless innings.

While Mount Vernon tossed four runs on the board in the seventh to stretch out the final margin, the game felt closer than the score.

Coupeville had its chances, getting runners aboard in five of the seven frames, but came up just short of that one big base knock that would of have potentially launched a comeback.

Twice the Wolves had two runners on the basepath at the same time, but both times MVC escaped unscathed thanks to solid work on defense.

With the win, the Hurricanes will carry the top seed into the District 1 tourney next week and are a win away from punching their ticket to state.

Coupeville is done for this season, but at 5-7 in league play, finish fourth in the seven-team NWL.

Better yet, the Wolves endured, and the future of the program is brighter for that.

Camden Glover (17) and Cooper should be back on the diamond next spring.

 

Thursday stats:

Coop Cooper — One single, one walk
Riley Lawless — One single
Landon Roberts — One walk
Leo Rodriguez — One walk
Trent Thule — One single

Work on your game while young and one day you can hit like this. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Build the present, build the future.

Softball success is booming on the prairie, and a big part of that is the older girl’s willingness to work with their younger counterparts.

Current Coupeville High School players, who are flying high with a 17-1 record this spring, took time Wednesday to mentor the sluggers who will follow in their footsteps.

The Central Whidbey Little League Minors team — 14 players and four coaches — trekked over to the CHS fields, where they worked with the Wolves on a typically breezy “spring” day in Coupeville.

CHS and CWLL players unite on the prairie. (Aaron Lucero photo)

“The varsity players did a fantastic job running the show,” said CHS coach Aaron Lucero.

“Windy and cold, but nobody complained.

Bethany Hopkins and her (CWLL) coaches have done a great job instilling passion for the game in their team.”

Tomorrow’s stars swing for success. (Lucero photo)

Aaron DiDonna launches his shot put. (Photos courtesy Brooke Crowder, Jon Gabelein, and Kelly Powers)

The first road trip was a huge success.

After competing at home in its opener, the Coupeville Middle School track and field team hit the road Wednesday, traveling to Sultan for a three-team meet.

While there, the Wolves collected 19 wins and about a million PRs, while the 8th grade girls and 6th/7th grade boys claimed team titles.

For the 8th grade girls, it was a show of complete dominance, as those Wolves won all six events they competed in.

Tamsin Ward paced CMS with three individual wins, claiming crowns in the 100, shot put, and high jump.

That gives her six victories through the first two meets of the season, and 29 for her middle school career.

Tamsin Ward sails to victory.

Also winning multiple individual titles were Ward’s fellow 8th grader, Cyrus Sparacio (800, 1600), and 7th grade thrower Diesel Eck (shot put, discus).

Whether they won or not, everyone in a Wolf uniform excelled Wednesday, said their coaches.

“Great meet today – Coupeville athletes brought their A-game,” said Brooke Crowder.

“Athletes are challenging themselves, trying new events and pushing themselves to set new personal bests.”

Jon Gabelein agreed, pointing to the fact “their stronger efforts during practice are getting good results.”

Gabelein noted the performance of Wolves such as 7th grader Zariyah Allen, who “has been working especially hard.”

She won the discus, narrowly missing 80 feet in competition after breaking that mark in her warmups.

“Launching it that far during just the second meet brought lots of positive comments from her competitors,” Gabelein said. “I look forward to helping our students continue to improve.”

Transporting a large group of young athletes across the backroads of America is also an experience.

“Traveling as a team of 60 middle school students provides all of us with a whole other dimension to our track season,” Gabelein said. “Especially when it involves a visit to McDonalds without their parents.”

The Wolves help set up the hurdles.

 

Wednesday’s results:

 

GIRLS:

8th grade:

100 — Tamsin Ward (1st) 13.84

100 Hurdles — Kennedy O’Neill (1st) 21.00; Elizabeth Marshall (2nd) 21.04; Cassandra Powers (3rd) 25.17 *PR*

4 x 200 Relay — O’Neill, Sage Stavros, C. Powers, Marshall (1st) 2:18.52

Shot Put — Ward (1st) 38-01.50 *PR*; C. Powers (2nd) 25-08 *PR*

High Jump — Ward (1st) 4-08 *PR*

Long Jump — Stavros (1st) 11-08 *PR*; Marshall (2nd) 11-06; O’Neill (3rd) 10-09

 

6th/7th grade:

100 — Andrea Gonzalez (3rd) 14.85; Laurel Crowder (6th) 15.25 *PR*; Bella Sandlin (7th) 15.32 *PR*; Ava Alford (9th) 15.35; Abbie Moss (10th) 15.61 *PR*; Miah Patterson (13th) 15.97 *PR*; Ella Holm (17th) 16.12; Sophia Burley (18th) 16.19 *PR*; Mia Goers (19th) 16.39; Claire Lachnit (21st) 16.41; Finley Helm (22nd) 16.54; Amira Anunciado (24th) 16.93 *PR*; Sabrina Judnich (26th) 17.13; Evelyn Merino-Martinez (27th) 17.51 *PR*; Victoria Quiroga Rivera (30th) 17.58 *PR*; Sophia Magdolen (33rd) 18.63; Reagan Green (34th) 18.72 *PR*

200 — Sandlin (1st) 33,53 *PR*; Goers (4th); Patterson (6th) 36.30; Merino-Martinez (7th) 37,87 *PR*; Quiroga Rivera (9th) 38.48; Arianna Vinson (10th) 38.52 *PR*

1600 — Annaliese Powers (2nd) 6:29.23 *PR*; Autumn Hunt (5th) 7:02.50 *PR*; Sarai Dangerfield (7th) 7:10.31

100 Hurdles — A. Powers (3rd) 21.65 *PR*; Emma Green (4th) 21.93 *PR*; Patterson (5th) 22.03 *PR*; A. Hunt (6th) 22.24; Kaleigha Millison (7th) 22.32; Alford (10th) 22.95; Helm (11th) 23.58; Dangerfield (15th) 33.44 *PR*

4 x 100 Relay — Millison, Crowder, Moss, Goers (2nd) 1:01.98; Gonzalez, Vinson, Quiroga Rivera, Patterson (5th) 1:04.79; Addison Jacobsen, Judnich, Sandlin, E. Green (6th) 1:05.22; Maja Govorcin, Holm, R. Green, Burley (7th) 1:07.43; Lachnit, Zariyah Allen, A. Hunt, Magdolen (8th) 1:07.45

Shot Put — Jacobsen (4th) 22-07.50; Helm (5th) 21-10 *PR*; Holm (6th) 21-00; Alford (7th) 20-07.50 *PR*; Moss (10th) 18-10.50

Discus — Allen (1st) 79-10 *PR*; Millison (3rd) 54-02 *PR*; E. Green (7th) 42-11.75; Lachnit (9th) 40-10; Crowder (10th) 40-06 *PR*; A. Powers (11th) 40-04.50 *PR*; Judnich (15th) 34-03.25; Vinson (19th) 32-00

High Jump — Crowder (1st) 3-11 *PR*

Long Jump — Millison (5th) 12-00; Moss (7th) 11-02 *PR*; A. Hunt (11th) 10-06 *PR*; E. Green (13th) 10-05; Merino-Martinez (17th) 9-05 *PR*; Allen (18th) 9-03; Burley (20th) 9-00; Jacobsen (21st) 8-08 *PR*; Dangerfield (22nd) 8-07 *PR*; Anunciado (24th) 8-05; Vinson (26th) 7-05; Magdolen (28th) 7-04 *PR*

Cyrus Sparacio is way out in front.

 

BOYS:

8th grade:

100 — Brian Thompson (2nd) 13.33 *PR*; Kion Tellery (14th) 14.96

400 — Hunter Atteberry (5th) 1:15.44

800 — Cyrus Sparacio (1st) 2:27.27 *PR*

1600 — Sparacio (1st) 5:25.60; Ossian Merkel (3rd) 5:44.89 *PR*; Atteberry (5th) 7:00.93; Nolan Hunt (6th) 7:07.73

110 Hurdles — Frank Morrell (4th) 25.50 *PR*

Shot Put — Aaron DiDonna (5th) 28-06 *PR*; Tellery (6th) 28-04 *PR*; N. Hunt (12th) 20-08 *PR*

Discus — Sparacio (7th) 66-10.50; DiDonna (8th) 64-08 *PR*; Merkel (9th) 63-04 *PR*; N. Hunt (15th) 45-05.25; Zaydyn Dees (16th) 44-05 *PR*

Long Jump — Henry Bailey (1st) 15-03; Thompson (2nd) 15-02

 

6th/7th grade:

100 — Les Queen (4th) 14.64 *PR*; Liam Stoner (6th) 14.98 *PR*; Diesel Eck (7th) 15.05 *PR*; Maverick Walling (9th) 15.42; Brenden Tumulty (19th) 19.50 *PR*

200 — River Simpson (2nd) 29.21; Jacob Lujan (5th) 30.53

400 — Simpson (1st) 1:07.07 *PR*; Lincoln Wagner (3rd) 1:12.96 *PR*; Ceiba Rusch (5th) 1:31.03

800 — Walling (1st) 2:41.22 *PR*

1600 — Archer Schwarz (1st) 6:12.60; Tanner Kempton (4th) 7:27.39; Rusch (5th) 7:44.39

110 Hurdles — Lujan (3rd) 21.04; Malachi Chapa (5th) 21.97; Stoner (6th) 22.06 *PR*; Wagner (7th) 22.41 *PR*; Asher Harris (9th) 23.90 *PR*; Kempton (13th) 25.00

4 x 100 Relay — Chapa, Xander Beaman, Eck, Simpson (1st) 54.38; Rusch, Kempton, Stoner, Lujan (3rd) 1:03.85

Shot Put — Eck (1st) 26-04.50; Harris (6th) 19-08 *PR*

Discus — Eck (1st) 92-00 *PR*; Tumulty (6th) 44-10 *PR*

High Jump — Chapa (1st) 4-08 *PR*; Beaman (2nd) 4-06; Stoner (3rd) 4-02

Long Jump — Queen (3rd) 13-06 *PR*; Chapa (4th) 13-04 *PR*; Wagner (6th) 12-09 *PR*; Lujan (7th) 12-08 *PR*; Schwarz (8th) 12-07 *PR*; Kempton (13th) 11-03 *PR*; Tumulty (19th) 8-00

Chase Anderson feels the burn. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

The postseason is off to a roaring start.

Kicking off the final three meets of the season, the Coupeville High School track and field team put on an impressive show Wednesday at the Northwest 2B/1B League Championships.

Competing in La Conner, the Wolves racked up 13 wins and 25 PRs, with the boys romping to a team title.

Led by senior Carson Field, who swept to titles in the 800, 1600, and 3200, Coupeville’s male athletes piled up 208 points.

That put them way ahead of runner-up Mount Vernon Christian, which finished with an even 100.

Orcas Island (80), La Conner (71), Friday Harbor (53), and Concrete (11) rounded out the field.

On the girl’s side of things, MVC (211) held off La Conner (135) and Coupeville (100), with Friday Harbor (65), Orcas Island (24), and Concrete (9) bringing up the rear.

Gone with the wind. (Photo courtesy Bob Martin)

The stellar team-wide performance brought a smile to the faces of Wolf coaches Bob Martin and Elizabeth Bitting on a wild ‘n woolly day.

“They made a statement!” the coaches said.

“Throw in some wind, a couple of flying canopies, a bit of blood, and unwavering grit – Coupeville tough, through and through.”

The next hurdle for the Wolves is the District 1 meet May 17, which they host.

After that is the state meet May 29-31 in Yakima for those who qualify.

Lillian Ketterling soars into the skies. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

 

Wednesday’s results:

 

GIRLS:

100 — Laken Simpson (8th) 14.44; Isa Mc Fetridge (9th) 14.57 *PR*

200 — Mc Fetridge (7th) 31.18

400 — Olivia Hall (6th) 1:09.25; Marin Winger (7th) 1:21.60

800 — Lyla Stuurmans (1st) 2:38.13; Lillian Ketterling (8th) 3:08.86; Ivy Rudat (9th) 3:09.78

1600 — Stuurmans (1st) 5:54.23; Mikayla Wagner (5th) 6:37.21; I. Rudat (7th) 6:58.41 *PR*; Devon Wyman (9th) 7:13.79 *PR*

3200 — Wagner (2nd) 13:43.29 *PR*; Aleksia Jump (4th) 14:15.56 *PR*; D. Wyman (5th) 16:00.48 *PR*

100 Hurdles — Myra McDonald (8th) 21.71; Ari Cunningham (9th) 21.82; Frankie Tenore (11th) 24.19

300 Hurdles — McDonald (11th) 1:11.14; Tenore (12th) 1:13.93

4 x 100 Relay — A. Cunningham, McFetridge, Ayden Wyman, Willow Leedy-Bonifas (3rd) 59.17

4 x 200 Relay — Simpson, Leedy-Bonifas, Lexis Drake, Mc Fetridge (4th) 2:05.19

4 x 400 Relay — Hall, Ketterling, Winger, Simpson (3rd) 5:09.21

Shot Put — Katie Marti (1st) 31-05

Discus — Marti (1st) 105-02 *PR*; Ketterling (3rd) 83-07 *PR*

Javelin — Marti (2nd) 93-05

High Jump — Tenore (4th) 4-04; A. Wyman (6th) 4-02

Pole Vault — Ketterling (3rd) 6-06; A. Jump (5th) 6-0; I. Rudat (5th) 6-0

Long Jump — A. Cunningham (8th) 10-09

Triple Jump — A. Cunningham (8th) 24-05

Myra McDonald glides over the hurdles. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

 

BOYS:

100 — Chase Anderson (1st) 11.71; Marquette Cunningham (3rd) 11.90; Matthew Ward (4th) 11.96; Davin Houston (12th) 12.45; Marcelo Gebhard (14th) 12.52; Beckett Green (17th) 12.65; Nathan Coxsey (21st) 12.92; Edmund Wilson (25th), Richmond Bandong (30th) 13.46; Khanor Jump (32nd) 13.58; Will Tierney (36th) 13.76; Diego Gonzalez (38th) 14.12; Nikolas Rogers (39th) 14.24

200 — Houston (3rd) 24.95; M. Cunningham (8th) 25.70; Green (11th) 26.01; Coxsey (19th) 27.64; Dane Hadsall (21st) 27.96; Tierney (22nd) 27.98 *PR*; E. Wilson (23rd) 28.13; Jonah Weyl (24th) 28.15 *PR*; Bandong (25th) 28.42; Rogers (27th) 29.64; Gonzalez (29th) 30.11 *PR*

400 — Preston Epp (2nd) 53.94; Blake Burrows (4th) 56.61; Hadsall (7th) 1:00.76; Weyl (12th) 1:02.88

800 — Carson Field (1st) 2:03.07; Joshua Stockdale (4th) 2:19.85; Solomon Rudat (6th) 2:24.27 *PR*; Ethan Walling (9th) 2:32.40; Finn Price (12th) 2:39.74; Johnathan Jacobsen (13th) 2:39.89; Isaiah Allen (15th) 2:46.95 *PR*

1600 — Field (1st) 4:55.32; George Spear (2nd) 5:03.44; Malachi Somes (3rd) 5:05.31; Stockdale (5th) 5:09.31; Kenneth Jacobsen (6th) 5:19.24; Walling (10th) 5:37.26 *PR*; Edmund Kunz (11th) 5:47.39 *PR*; Allen (13th) 6:06.12; Nicholas Wasik (14th) 6:30.21 *PR*

3200 — Field (1st) 11:09.60; Spear (2nd) 11:26.72; K. Jacobsen (4th) 11:44.66; Kunz (6th) 12:54.74; Walling (7th) 12:54.84

110 Hurdles — Axel Marshall (4th) 18.58; Liam Blas (10th) 20.87

300 Hurdles — Blas (4th) 47.69; Marshall (5th) 47.89 *PR*

4 x 100 Relay — M. Cunningham, Houston, Epp, Anderson (1st) 45.30

4 x 400 Relay — Anderson, Burrows, Cael Wilson, Epp (1st) 3:42.64

Shot Put — Gebhard (2nd) 40-01.50 *PR*; Zac Tackett (8th) 31-02.50; K. Jump (10th) 29-11.50; David Somes (13th) 26-03.25; K. Jacobsen (15th) 25-01; Zach Blitch (19th) 20-04

Discus — Tackett (3rd) 119-04; Blas (7th) 93-06 *PR*; Wasik (15th) 66-06; D. Somes (16th) 66-00; J. Jacobsen (18th) 59-05; Blitch (21st) 50-05

Javelin — Anderson (2nd) 141-11 *PR*; Gebhard (4th) 125-09; Ward (13th) 95-07 *PR*; Rogers (16th) 82-00; M. Somes (23rd) 76-10; D. Somes (27th) 74-02; J. Jacobsen (29th) 63-00; Price (30th) 55-02

High Jump — C. Wilson (1st) 6-00; Wyatt Fitch-Marron (6th) 5-02; J. Jacobsen (11th) 4-10; Tierney (13th) 4-08

Pole Vault — C. Wilson (1st) 12-06 *PR*; Marshall (5th) 10-06; S. Rudat (9th) 7-06; Kunz (11th) 7-0 *PR*

Long Jump — C. Wilson (3rd) 19-04.25; E. Wilson (10th) 16-02.50 *PR*; Fitch-Marron (10th) 16-02.50; Green (18th) 14-06.25; Coxsey (19th) 14-04.25; S. Rudat (20th) 14-03; M. Somes (21st) 14-00.75

Triple Jump — Ward (1st) 39-09.75; M. Cunningham (2nd) 39-09 *PR*; Marshall (5th) 35-06.75

Richmond Bandong hits warp speed. (Duke Kutz photo)