The 1998 CHS volleyball squad is joined by (bottom, l to r) Dr. Jim Copenhaver, Bob Rea and Brian Fakkema.
High achievers, one and all.
Whether it’s sports, academics or life in the outside world, those who form the 50th class inducted into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame have had a huge impact, in town and far away.
So today we want to welcome two superb Wolf athletes whose prep careers were separated by 35 years, a contributor who helped spark a soccer revolution in Central Whidbey and one of the most brilliant teams to ever wear the red and black.
Say hello to Bob Rea, Brian Fakkema, Dr. Jim Copenhaver and the 1998 CHS volleyball squad.
After this, you will find them at the top of the blog, with their brethren under the Legends tab.
Our first inductee is Rea, the one true Strikeout King.
A three-sport star during his time at CHS in the mid-’60s, the pride of Snakelum Point was a star football and basketball player.
But it was on the diamond where his impact has lingered the longest.
Rea tossed a no-hitter against Tolt, but it was his ability to send batters down swinging which sets him apart 50 years after he last wore Coupeville’s uniform.
A lefty with a nasty curve, he made his name in 1964 on a dusty field in Darrington. Throwing 16 innings (or nine more than a normal high school game), he whiffed 27 Loggers en route to a 2-1 win.
Records which will likely never be touched in the modern era, where everyone monitors pitch counts and freaks out at the slightest twinge in a shoulder, they, like the man who set them, endure.
The impact made by our second inductee, Copenhaver, is also likely to be felt for a very long time.
While he and his family no longer live on Whidbey, having departed for the East Coast a few years back, the good doctor left behind an impressive body of work.
A soccer fiend, he did as much as anyone to kick Central Whidbey into the modern era, tirelessly working as a coach and administrator as the Central Whidbey Soccer Club went from nonentity to a booming, vibrant force.
Under his leadership, local youth booters made the first move to play outside of Coupeville, which had a huge impact on building interest and keeping athletes in the program.
Whether as a coach (it was estimated he led 40+ teams) or the league commissioner after helping start an Island-wide youth soccer league in 2006, he had an impact on hundreds of young athletes and their families.
A guy who always put the “beauty of the game” and the growth of Coupeville’s children, on and off the field, ahead of wins and losses, Copenhaver’s impact will continue for generations.
Our third inductee, Fakkema, is the nephew of the first person I ever put in this lil’ Hall, the late CHS volleyball coach Kim Meche, who is going back in today with her ’98 spikers.
During his time at CHS, Fakkema, a 2003 grad, was a beast on the hardwood and gridiron.
Hauling in passes from Wolf QB Brad Sherman, busting off huge chunks of yardage on kickoff returns or patrolling the defensive backfield, he could do it all as a football player.
Put him on the basketball court, and he was just as explosive, if not more so, draining three-balls like an early version of Klay Thompson, while Sherman held the Steph Curry role.
When you look at the records for the 20 years Randy King coached the CHS boys’ basketball program (1991-2011), Fakkema holds the mark for most treys in a single game.
He dropped six of them on Mount Vernon Christian Dec. 6, 2002, part of the 46 he had in his senior season. That season total stands as the fourth-best put up by a Wolf in the King years.
Brian’s aunt was a hugely-successful player and coach during her time at Oak Harbor and Coupeville, and today we’re reaching back 18 years to highlight one of her unsung achievements.
Working with assistant coach Toni Crebbin and a truly talented 10-pack of athletes, Meche won a state title in 1998.
Not an athletic one, no, but an academic one, as the Wolves combined to pull down the best GPA of any 1A program in the state.
That earned them a trip to the big dance, where they accepted their honors, and lit the spark on a program which has returned to state four times and was ranked #1 in 2004.
“This was our first-ever experience at state,” Crebbin said. “Really was inspiring for the girls to go experience state. Raised the bar for us to be there as players.
“Was a super smart group of girls, too!”
So, as we wrap things up today, we want to take a moment to honor a group of young women who excelled on the court and in the classroom, which is why they’ve gone on to great success in their post-high school days.
Inducted, as a team, led by their much-missed coach.
Kim Meche (Head Coach)
Toni Crebbin (Assistant Coach)
April Ellsworth-Bagby
Ashley Ellsworth-Bagby
Yashmeen Knox
Amahra Leaman
Tina Lyness
Michelle Martin
Jess Roundy
Rachelle Solomon
Joanna Thome
Emily Young
