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An inch from perfection!!

June 7, 2017 by David Svien

   Even with a final-inning loss Tuesday, Central Whidbey is flying high at 14-1 on the season. (Stephanie Pulliam photo)

Live by the walk-off, die by the walk-off.

For a moment, it looked like the Central Whidbey Little League Minors baseball squad had pulled off its second burst of final-inning magic in three days.

A lead-off home-run in the top of the sixth Tuesday staked the squad to a one-run lead.

As Peyton Caveness stamped on home, remaining undefeated and cruising into the championship game of the Henry Pope Memorial Tournament looked all but certain.

But it wasn’t to be.

Unlike Sunday, when Central Whidbey was playing as the home team, and a home-run ended the game on the spot, Tuesday the Coupeville kids had to shut down their foes in the bottom of the sixth to notch another win.

And this time, for the first time all season, they couldn’t get the outs.

South Whidbey #2 sent three hitters to the plate in the bottom of the sixth, plated the first two, and sprinted off with a 3-2 win.

The loss put the first ding in a 14-1 record for Central Whidbey and drops it into the loser bracket of the double-elimination tourney.

The hardball warriors, who have won two of three at the tourney, return to the South End Wednesday for a loser-out game.

Win and they get a rematch with South Whidbey #2 Thursday. Win that one, and the two squads play a rubber game for the tourney title Friday.

Tuesday’s game was a pitcher’s duel most of the way.

The teams exchanged zeroes on the scoreboard until the fourth, when Central Whidbey finally broke through.

Levi Pulliam smacked a one-out single to get things started, followed by a two-out RBI triple off the bat of Jack Porter.

Unfortunately for Central, Porter was stranded at third, a fate suffered earlier in the game by his brother Johnny, who also crunched a two-out triple, only to watch as the next CW hitter also went down on strikes.

South Whidbey scraped out its own run in the bottom of the fourth, the teams exchanged goose eggs in the fifth, then the game went on its emotional see-saw in the final inning.

Central Whidbey collected seven hits, with Caveness (bunt single, inside the park home run) and Johnny Porter (single, triple) accounting for four.

Jack Porter’s triple and singles from Pulliam and Landon Roberts rounded out the attack.

The three-headed pitching beast of Chase Anderson, Pulliam and Jordan Bradford whiffed 11 South Whidbey hitters across the six-inning game.

Mike Robinett, John Rachal, Alex Smith and Kyrese Simpson also saw action for Central Whidbey.

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Three for the win!!

June 6, 2017 by David Svien

   Coupeville High School Athlete of the Year winners (clockwise from left) Hunter Smith, Katrina McGranahan and Valen Trujillo. (John Fisken photos)

Many competed, and three rose to the top.

Coupeville High School coaches honored a trio Tuesday night, naming juniors Hunter Smith and Katrina McGranahan and senior Valen Trujillo as CHS Athlete of the Year winners.

It’s the first time any of them have received the school’s highest athletic honor.

All three will see their photos go up in the hallway of the CHS gym, joining previous winners such as Corey Cross, Sherry (Bonacci) Roberts, Brad Sherman and Makana Stone.

A look at what earned them the award, in alphabetic order:

McGranahan — She started and ended the year as an MVP.

In the fall, she teamed with Trujillo to lead the CHS volleyball squad to its first league title since 2002.

The Wolves went 8-1 in Olympic League play and made a run at the program single-season record for wins (13), finishing 11-6 after two down-to-the-wire losses at districts.

Among the state leaders in kills and service aces, McGranahan was tabbed as league MVP, then took the winter “off” to get ready for her #1 sport, softball.

The spring was the season of the Kat, as she used her electric pitching arm and ferocious bat to lead the Wolves to a 19-5 record (second-best in program history) and within an out of advancing to state.

Throwing every pitch at districts, she hurled 33 innings in less than 26 hours as Coupeville split four games, two of which went to extra innings.

McGranahan, who led the Wolves in almost every offensive category and went 18-5 in the pitcher’s circle, shared Olympic League MVP honors with Shanya Nisbet of Chimacum.

Smith — A First-Team All-Conference pick in all three of his sports (football, basketball, baseball), with football coaches honoring him on both sides of the ball.

He opened the year by setting new CHS single-season records for receiving yards (916) and touchdowns (11) and sits on the threshold of owning Coupeville’s career records in both those categories, as well as interceptions.

As a defensive back who teams rarely dared to test, he recorded 49 tackles and three picks.

During the winter, Smith led the Wolf boys basketball team in scoring, dropping 332 points in 20 games, including 29 in a playoff loss to Bellevue Christian.

When the spring came, he worked both as a pitcher and infielder, while holding down lead-off duty in the lineup for a CHS squad which finished second in league play behind Klahowya.

In a quirky side note, Smith beat the odds, twice named a WIAA Athlete of the Week winner, despite the award’s rules stating an athlete can only receive it once a school year.

Trujillo — The anchor to two league-title winning teams, as she helped pace the volleyball and girls tennis teams to triumphant seasons.

On the court, she exits as the school record holder for digs in a game, season and career.

A three-year starter, the Wolf libero was a constant tumbling ball of fire, racking up more floor burns than any player in the league.

Needless to say, she was a First-Team All-Conference player three years running.

When spring rolled around, she returned to the court for another season as Coupeville’s #1 singles player and went on to win a second-straight individual league title.

She followed that up by placing third at districts, winning the final three matches of her prep career.

Led by her play, and her quiet but very effective leadership (Trujillo never left a match until all of her teammates had finished playing), the Wolves won their third consecutive regular season team title, remaining unbeaten in Olympic League action.

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Lawrence, Rische nab photo money!!

June 6, 2017 by David Svien

   CHS seniors Grey Rische and Skyler Lawrence both had successful four-year runs as athletes. (John Fisken photos)

Dependable. Always.

Coupeville High School seniors Skyler Lawrence and Grey Rische have been rock-solid, as athletes and people, the past four years, and Tuesday night they got some sweet payback.

The duo were honored by photographer John Fisken, each taking home $500 thanks to money raised by sales of pics shot by John’s Photos this school year.

This is the fourth year Coupeville athletes have received the honor, with Lawrence and Rische joining past winners Jared Helmstadter, Sebastian Davis, Julia Myers, Aaron Trumbull, Breeanna Messner and Brandon Kelley.

To be eligible, Wolves had to play at least two sports for four years, carry a 3.0 GPA and not be receiving financial assistance from a college for athletics.

By pure luck, this year’s winners share the exact same birthday — Oct. 1, 1998.

Lawrence played basketball and was a track and field thrower her entire CHS career.

As a junior, she was part of a girls basketball squad which went to state, the first time the Wolf hoops program had made it to the big dance in a decade.

She also made it to state twice in the shot put, advancing as a sophomore and junior, while winning the sub-district title in the event three years running.

Lawrence advanced to districts or further in all three of her events — shot put, javelin and discus — during her prep career.

Rische, who follows in the footsteps of his brother (Helmstadter) by winning the photo scholarship, played tennis and was a track athlete.

During his time hanging around the oval, he proved a quick learner, competing in eight different events, running the gamut from hurdles to throws to relays to races.

As a sophomore he won a javelin title at the Olympic League JV Championships, an event in which Rische made it to sub-districts three times in his career.

He also made it to sub-districts in the discus, and was a huge supporter of his Wolf teammates every moment he was wearing the red and black.

On the tennis court, Rische was a strong double player, teaming up most notably with his brother.

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Coupeville’s best balance academic, athletic worlds!!

June 6, 2017 by David Svien

Jae LeVine nimbly balanced books and sports. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Academics and athletics can, and should be, a perfect union.

That’s proven when you look at the top graduating seniors by GPA at Coupeville High School.

Of the 71 Wolves who are invited to walk across the gym Friday, the top 10 are all united by one aspect — they all participated in the world of CHS sports while also notching stellar grades.

It’s not always easy to keep up with classroom work when you’re an athlete, especially at a far-flung school like Coupeville, where sports participation requires long trips and plenty of time spent on buses and ferries.

But it can, and should be done, as one doesn’t have to take away from the other.

When you play sports in high school, it forces you to keep your grades up to remain eligible, and it teaches you how to manage your time.

At the same time, athletics, like other extracurricular pastimes such as Science Olympiad or band or drama, show you a different side of the world than what you will get just in the classroom.

By doing both, you obtain a much more varied skill-set, and I absolutely believe those who combine athletics and academics emerge from their high school days stronger.

But don’t take my word for it, look at the list, which speaks for itself.

CHS Class of 2017 Top 10 Academic Students:

Lainey Dickson – 3.99 – cheer
Nick Dion – 3.97 – tennis, soccer
Valen Trujillo – 3.91 – volleyball, tennis
Delaney Armstrong – 3.90 – track
Mitchell Carroll – 3.90 – football, track
Kiara Burdge – 3.89 – cheer, track
Grey Rische – 3.88 – tennis, basketball, track
Bree Daigneault – 3.82 – soccer, tennis
Jae LeVine – 3.75 – volleyball, softball
Rubi Melendrez – 3.73 – tennis

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Mihill favors actions over words!!

June 5, 2017 by David Svien

Alana Mihill has it made in the shade. (Susan Hulst photo)

Alana Mihill is a quiet assassin.

The Coupeville 7th grader doesn’t waste her time chattering away but simply goes out and gets the job done.

The younger sister of CHS soccer star Laurence Boado, she played basketball and competed in track and field during her first year of middle school sports.

Mihill, who was born in Hawaii but moved to Coupeville when she was two, competed in a number of events this spring.

She ran the 200 and 800, threw the javelin and carried the baton as a member of the Wolves 4 x 400 relay unit.

A fan of her science and gym classes (“My favorite is gym because we don’t have to sit the whole time”), she enjoys spending time taking her dog for walks.

Mihill hails CMS track coaches Elizabeth Bitting and Jon Gabelein for their inspiration, and enjoys both of her sports for allowing her to “be active and have fun.”

Whether playing hoops or competing on the oval, she keeps chugging away like the Energizer Rabbit.

“My strength is endurance,” Mihill said. “And I would like to work on my speed.”

The team aspect of basketball gives it a slight edge over the often solo lifestyle of a track athlete when she picks her favorite sport.

“Basketball, because there is less individual pressure,” Mihill said. “I would like to continue in basketball and work on shooting baskets.”

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