Lauren Grove (left) and Lindsey Roberts are half of the fastest 4 x 2 girls team in 1A this season. (Sherry Roberts photo)
Dalton Martin (at top of podium) has the third-best discus throw by a 1A hurler. (Deb Smith photo)
Plus one.
The Coupeville High School track and field squad emerged from the first round of the postseason — Saturday’s Olympic League All-Division Championships — in fine fashion.
The Wolves were the top 1A team in both the girls and boys team battles, while getting one of the state’s best performances from senior pole vaulter Jordan Ford.
He soared 12-6, shattering his own school record, while putting himself back up among the best 1A vaulters in 2016.
That means Coupeville has athletes in the top 10 in eight different categories heading into next week’s sub-district meet.
Makana Stone jumped four spots in the 400, Jacob Smith edged up two slots in the 200 and the girls 4 x 200 remained #1 in 1A, while dropping its time slightly.
Wolves who have one of this year’s 10 best performances in 1A:
Girls:
400 — Makana Stone (2nd in 1A) 58.55
800 — Stone (7th in 1A) 2:21.89
4 x 100 — Lauren Grove, Lindsey Roberts, Stone, Sylvia Hurlburt (5th in 1A) 51.10
4 x 200 — Grove, Roberts, Hurlburt, Stone (1st in 1A) 1:46.90
Boys:
200 — Jacob Smith (7th in 1A) 23.01
300 hurdles — Lathom Kelley (4th in 1A) 41.48
Discus — Dalton Martin (3rd in 1A) 158-05
Pole Vault — Jordan Ford (9th in 1A) 12-6
To see how Coupeville compares to the rest of the track world, hop over to:
Cole Payne and fellow Wolf veterans will get a chance for revenge in their playoff opener. (Sylvia Hurlburt photo)
One year and one day.
That will be the gap between playoff baseball games waged by Coupeville and Cascade Christian.
May 9, 2015, the Cougars brought an end to Willie Smith’s coaching career, sending the longtime CHS hardball guru into retirement after beating the Wolves 1-0 on Whidbey.
Now, the two teams meet again this Tuesday, May 10, only this time on a neutral field, and without the specter of a loss ending a season hanging over things.
Coupeville (10-10 on the season) is the #1 seed from the 1A Olympic League, having won its first baseball league title in 25 years.
Because of that, the Wolves skipped the one-and-done round this year and start districts off in the double-elimination portion.
Cascade Christian (10-6) survived a loser-out game Saturday, when it nipped Chimacum 2-0.
The Cougars and Wolves tangle at 4 PM Tuesday at Curtis High School in University Place.
The winner advances to the district championship May 12 against either Nisqually League champ Vashon Island (13-4) or Seattle Christian (11-8), which eliminated Klahowya 10-1 Saturday.
To take a gander at the district playoff bracket and ponder the different ways Coupeville could win two games and advance to state, pop over to:
Cascade Christian and Coupeville are fairly similar, at least stat-wise.
The Cougars (ranked #25 by ScoreCzar) have outscored foes 84-58 (5.25-3.63 per game), while the Wolves (#26 in the latest computer tally) sit at 109-94 (5.50-4.70).
Coupeville will be down a man, though, as sophomore lead-off hitter Hunter Smith has to serve a one-game suspension for being ejected in the season finale for arguing balls and strikes.
Wolf baseball moms are planning a send-off for the team Tuesday. Tentative plans have it set for 11:30 AM in front of the CHS gym.
Jordan Ford, seen here with mom Barbi, shattered his school record in the pole vault at the Olympic League Championships Saturday. (Sherry Roberts photos)
The fastest 4 x 200 team in 1A is (l to r) Sylvia Hurlburt, Lindsey Roberts, Lauren Grove and Makana Stone.
Roberts (right) gives teammate Lauren Bayne a lift.
Maybe they should order some more title banners?
By the time the Olympic League All-Division Championships were done Saturday, both of the Coupeville High School track and field teams exited Poulsbo as top dogs.
The Wolves finished 6th out of 11 teams in the boys team battle and 8th on the girls side.
More importantly, both squads finished ahead of 1A rivals Port Townsend, Chimacum and Klahowya, while the boys also beat 2A schools Bremerton and North Mason.
Large 2A schools North Kitsap (boys) and Olympic (girls) topped the standings, which featured a full-tilt battle between the seven 2A schools and four 1A schools which currently call the league home.
Coupeville will send different athletes to the league’s JV Championships Monday in Silverdale, in an event which is considered a “last chance qualifier” before the full postseason run starts next weekend.
The Wolves travel to Bremerton Saturday, May 14 for sub-districts.
After that come districts May 20 and the state meet May 26-28 for athletes who qualify.
Saturday was topped by a school record, two wins, the fastest time recorded by a 1A relay team this year and 12 PRs.
Wolf senior Jordan Ford shattered his own school mark in the pole vault, soaring 12-6, a full six inches higher than his previous best.
Meanwhile, Makana Stone (400) and Dalton Martin (discus) ended up at the top of the awards stands, while the girls 4 x 200 relay unit burnt up the oval.
Ripping off a season-best time of 1:46.90, the quartet of Lauren Grove, Lindsey Roberts, Sylvia Hurlburt and Stone sit more than two seconds ahead of every other 1A team as they continue their quest for the promised land.
The only relay team in school history to win a state title is the boys 4 x 400 in 2006.
The strong work in the 4 x 2 made up for a rare snafu in the 4 x 1, where a juggled baton hand-off left the Wolf girls bringing up the rear for the first time this season.
Almost everywhere you looked Saturday, someone was doing something spectacular, with 10 Wolves nabbing PRs.
Leading the pack were senior Lathom Kelley (triple jump, long jump) and freshman Danny Conlisk (800, 1600) who nailed personal bests in both of their events.
Complete CHS results:
GIRLS:
400 — Makana Stone (1st) 58.55
800 — Stone (3rd) 2:31.23
100 hurdles — Lindsey Roberts (7th) 17.75
300 Hurdles — Mckenzie Meyer (11th) 55.69 *PR*
4 x 100 — Lauren Grove, Roberts, Sylvia Hurlburt, Stone (9th) 54.57
4 x 200 — Grove, Roberts, Hurlburt, Stone (2nd) 1:46.90
L to r, Payton Aparicio, McKenzie Bailey, Tiffany Briscoe, Jordan Ford, Lauren Grove, Wiley Hesselgrave, Lathom Kelly, Kailey Kellner, Mia Littlejohn, Hope Lodell, Katrina McGranahan, Clay Reilly, Sage Renninger, Lindsey Roberts, Lauren Rose, CJ Smith, Hunter Smith, Makana Stone, Valen Trujillo, Julian Welling.
Who’s willing to go a bit crazy, while pounding their fingers into submission for a totally mythical award?
Yep, it’s that time again, when we launch the madness that is the 4th annual Coupeville Sports Athlete Supreme.
First I take all the CHS athletes and chop them down into a manageable amount.
In previous years we topped out at 12-16 nomines, but this year we’re making it 20, and no longer trying to hold the number of male and female athletes even.
Not counting track (which is its own weirdly-scored beast) the five varsity CHS girls sports teams won 24 league games this school year, to a combined 18 from the boys five teams.
So, if there are more girls than boys nominated this year (which there are) they earned it.
And yes, as soon as people look at the list, the butt-hurt will begin. As it does every year.
There are some names you would expect to be there which simply are not.
First and foremost, to be eligible you have to had a noticeable impact on at least TWO VARSITY teams in 2015-2016.
There are a lot of very talented Wolves who only played one sport this school year, for whatever reason. Injuries, specialization, what have you.
Whether it’s Abraham Leyva and Kalia Littlejohn in soccer, Dalton Martin and Sylvia Hurlburt in track, Risen Johnson in basketball or countless others, you are noticed, appreciated and honored.
But you’re not eligible for this silly lil’ “award.”
I have to make the first cut somewhere, and the easiest (and I think fairest) way is to limit nominees to those who played multiple sports.
If you can, and do, make the commitment at a small school which desperately needs bodies in every sport, you should get some extra credit.
If and when we have a one-sport athlete who is Olympic or professional level in their field, I’ll reevaluate that stance. Until then, diversification deserves to be noted.
For those who don’t know, the Athlete Supreme is a popularity contest, a Wild West voting war and psychological warfare all wrapped in one.
The previous three winners are:
2013 — Nick Streubel (football, basketball, track)
2014 — Amanda Fabrizi (volleyball, basketball)
2015 — CJ Smith (football, basketball, baseball)
The first year, I limited voters to one vote apiece and there were 433 votes cast.
Year two I started with the one vote rule, then opened up the voting to Wild West rules the last day and we topped 4,820 votes.
Year three it was full-tilt war from the opening bell and CJ emerged after 15,385 votes were cast.
Year four will be the same as year three — no rules.
You can vote as many times as you want, no limits, for 100 hours, from the moment this poll goes live until 3 PM Wednesday.
The only thing that stands between you and a brief moment of internet immortality is the willingness to bang your thumbs into oblivion via your phone or computer.
Your nominees (in alphabetic order):
Payton Aparicio — Among team leaders in 10 of 11 stat categories during volleyball, half of #1 doubles team in tennis.
McKenzie Bailey — Big hitter in volleyball, nearly-undefeated doubles ace in tennis.
Tiffany Briscoe — Starter and big contributor in volleyball, basketball and softball.
Jordan Ford — Key starter in football and basketball, new school record holder in pole vault.
Lauren Grove — Starter in soccer and basketball, member of fastest 4 x 200 girls relay squad in 1A.
Wiley Hesselgrave — All-League selection in football and basketball and led boys hoops team in scoring.
Lathom Kelley — Two-way terror in football and track wunderkind.
Kailey Kellner — Deadly three-ball shooter and co-captain on basketball team that went to state and a starter in softball.
Mia Littlejohn — All-league in soccer, co-captain and point guard for basketball squad.
Hope Lodell — Impact player in volleyball and softball, where she blasted Wolves only true home run this season.
Katrina McGranahan — Key volleyball and softball player, winner of the WIAA Athlete of the Week.
Clay Reilly — Top punter in 1A Olympic League during football, key player on baseball team which won first league title in 25 years.
Sage Renninger — Rock-solid team leader in both soccer and tennis.
Lindsey Roberts — Soccer starter, explosive sixth-man on state basketball squad, one-fourth of possible state title-bound relay squad in track.
Lauren Rose — Superb across the board in volleyball (#1 in five stat categories), basketball and softball.
CJ Smith — Quiet team leader in football and baseball. Staff pitching ace on diamond, tossed shutout in title-clinching game.
Hunter Smith — Shattered school record for interceptions in football, while also starring in basketball and baseball.
Makana Stone — League MVP for second straight year in basketball and selected to All-State game after finishing career with 1,000+ points, 800+ rebounds and 200+ steals. On her way to making fourth straight appearance at state track meet.
Valen Trujillo — Broke school career record for digs during volleyball season, #1 singles player on tennis squad.
Julian Welling — Big hitter in football, rising star on baseball squad.
The Coupeville High School girls’ basketball squad, two-time defending 1A Olympic League champs, are planning a tasty fundraiser for later this month.
The Wolves will be offering spaghetti and meatballs, plus all the appropriate sides, May 15, with the proceeds going to help pay for players to attend hoops camp together.
All the info you need can be found in the handy poster that sits above, so no need for me to retype it and you to re-read it.
Plus, you’re probably already scrolling back up and just staring at the spaghetti anyway by this point…
