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We Otto say happy birthday!!

April 29, 2016 by David Svien

Melissa Otto (JOhn Fisken photos)

   Melissa Otto will celebrate her birthday playing ball on the prairie today. (John Fisken photos)

Otto

Otto takes a cut during practice.

Melissa Otto is a star.

Now, she hasn’t hit a game-winning home run or pitched a shutout on the softball diamond (yet), so how I can say that?

It’s because Otto, who celebrates her birthday today on the same day her Wolf squad hosts Port Townsend (4 PM), is one of those young women who impress you every day.

She’s fairly new to the game, and playing for a team chock-full of players who are life-long softball vets, which has limited her playing time so far, but Melissa does everything the right way.

Otto is always right in the thick of things on the bench, a loyal, vocal supporter of her teammates.

When her coaches talk to the team, you see her eyes locked on them.

She’s listening, learning, and approaches the game with an eagerness that is nice to see.

I have no doubt she will seize any opportunity given her, and when she does, Otto will more than deserve it.

So, as she celebrates her cake day today, I just want to say two things.

One, happy birthday, Melissa (and PS, your day falls between my mom’s on Apr. 28 and mine on Apr. 30, so you picked your arrival day well).

And two, I hope you know that people on the outside notice how you handle yourself, and that you make fans of your team proud.

I look forward to watching you continue your journey, as an athlete and as a vital part of Wolf Nation.

Posted in Happy birthday, Softball | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Absolutely crushin’ it!!

April 29, 2016 by David Svien

Stella Johnson (Mimi Johnson photos)

   Stella Johnson fires the ball back to Coupeville Crush hurler Izzy Wells. (Mimi Johnson photos)

Abby

   7-0 and it’s all smiles in the Central Whidbey dugout for Kaela Meffert (left) and Abby Mulholland.

Can’t touch ’em.

Central Whidbey Little League’s Majors softball squad continues to rampage across the land, thrashing foes left and right.

Thursday night the opponent was South Whidbey, and once again the Coupeville Crush dropped the boom.

This time out, the score was a more-modest 18-10 in a game called after five innings because of the onset of dusk.

The victory lifts the Crush to a flawless 7-0 on the season.

Sofie Martin, Izzy Wells and Kaela Meffert delivered big hits for CWLL, while Wells was her usual imposing self while stalking the pitcher’s circle.

While the game dragged on a bit, thanks to bad calls inflicted on both teams and some discussion about rules, nothing seems to be able to derail the Crush.

Central Whidbey returns to action with a pair of home games next week against the best teams Oak Harbor can muster.

Posted in Little League, Softball | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Big day, big wins!!

April 29, 2016 by David Svien

Tomi Herrera set a PR in the javelin Thursday at Kingston. (John Fisken photos)

  Tomi Herrera set a PR in the javelin Thursday at Kingston. (John Fisken photos)

Lathom Kelley, practicing the look he gives foes before he rips out their very soul.

  Lathom Kelley, practicing the look he gives foes before he rips out their very soul.

Lathom Kelley is The Natural.

In six years of high school and middle school track, the Coupeville High School senior had never competed in the triple jump before Thursday.

So, how did he do in his debut on the big stage at Kingston High School?

Crushed it.

Soaring six and a half inches further than any of his foes in a 14-man field, Kelley made off with the win, one of two for him on the day.

Toss in his other victory (long jump), plus wins for Dalton Martin (discus), Makana Stone (800) and the girls 4 x 200 relay team, and Coupeville more than held its own on a day in which it faced off with three 2A schools and a pair of 1B teams.

The Wolf boys, who set 15 PRs on the day, finished second in the team standings, while the girls, who notched 14 PRs of their own, claimed third.

2A Olympic ran away with both titles, while Kingston, Port Angeles, Clallam Bay and Neah Bay also participated in the meet.

Complete CHS results:

GIRLS:

100 — Makana Stone (3rd) 13.35; Madison Rixe (12th) 14.75; Ashlie Shank (13th) 14.77 *PR*; Julia Jones (22nd) 18.11 *PR*

200 — Sylvia Hurlburt (3rd) 27.78; Shank (5th) 30.68

400 — Rixe (4th) 1:17.20 *PR*

800 — Stone (1st) 2:25.56; Abby Parker (8th) 2:52.75

3200 — Lauren Bayne (6th) 15:02.35

100 hurdles — Lindsey Roberts (2nd) 17.39 *PR*

300 hurdles — Allison Wenzel (5th) 1:02.21

4 x100 — Lauren Grove, Roberts, Stone, Hurlburt (2nd) 51.70; Wenzel, Parker, Rixe, Shank (5th) 58.57

4 x 200 — Grove, Roberts, Hurlburt, Stone (1st) 1:48.11

Shot put — Skyler Lawrence (3rd) 29-11.50; Alexxis Otto (7th) 25-03.25; Emma Smith (10th) 21-11; Naika Hallam (11th) 21-07.50

Discus — Wenzel (5th) 77-11 *PR*; Lawrence (7th) 75-10; Otto (8th) 73-03; Parker (9th) 70-04 *PR*; E. Smith (12th) 62-02; Tomi Herrera (17th) 43-08 *PR*; Jovanah Foote (19th) 41-09

Javelin — Bayne (2nd) 91-01; Wenzel (3rd) 88-04 *PR*; Hallam (5th) 84-02 *PR*; Parker (8th) 78-10 *PR*; Lawrence (11th) 66-09; Foote (14th) 60-02 *PR*; Otto (16th) 55-03, Herrera (17th) 54-03 *PR*

High Jump — Bayne (3rd) 4-04

Long Jump — Roberts (2nd) 14-11 *PR*; Shank (9th) 11-07.50 *PR*

Triple Jump — Grove (5th) 29-02

BOYS:

100 — Lathom Kelley (6th) 12.07; Gabe Eck (11th) 12.58; Mitchell Losey (17th) 13.15; Kyle Burnett (22nd) 13.58; Hunter Downes (24th) 13.92

200 — Jacob Smith (4th) 23.53; Jared Helmstadter (7th) 24.51; Jacob Martin (10th) 24.92 *PR*; Losey (18th) 27.78; Burnett (20th) 28.48

1600 — Henry Wynn (9th) 5:18.53; Jakobi Baumann (14th) 5:56.62 *PR*

3200 — Wynn (3rd) 12:12.54 *PR*; Baumann (4th) 12:53.55 *PR*

110 hurdles — Ariah Bepler (9th) 22.13

300 Hurdles — Bepler (8th) 52.04 *PR*

4×100 — J. Smith, Eck, Helmstadter, Jordan Ford (3rd) 46.83; Downes, J. Martin, Grey Rische, Connor Thompson (4th) 50.14

Shot Put — Dalton Martin (2nd) 44-04.50 *PR*; Thompson (6th) 35-11.75 *PR*; Ryan Labrador (7th) 34-11.50; Rische (9th) 29-00.75 *PR*; Luke Carlson (11th) 26-02.25 *PR*

Discus — D. Martin (1st) 151-06; Chris Battaglia (6th) 82-04; Labrador (7th) 76-01

Javelin — Rische (3rd) 118-11; Battaglia (4th) 118-09 *PR*; J. Martin (8th) 103-00; Losey (9th) 102-04; Carlson (12th) 88-03 *PR*; Labrador (16th) 79-01

High Jump — Ryan Griggs (2nd) 5-10 *PR*; Battaglia (6th) 5-02; Ford (6th) 5-02

Pole Vault — Ford (2nd) 11-06

Long Jump — Kelley (1st) 19-00 *PR*; J. Martin (4th) 17-11; Eck (5th) 17-10; Griggs (6th) 17-06; Mitchell Carroll (7th) 17-02; Ford (8th) 16-11; Battaglia (10th) 16-00; Bepler (11th) 15-05.50; Downes (13th) 14-05

Triple Jump — Kelley (1st) 38-09 *PR*; Carroll (3rd) 37-11; Griggs (4th) 36-05; Thompson (7th) 35-01.25; Bepler (11th) 32-09.25 *PR*

Posted in Track | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Strong sisters, proud brothers!!

April 28, 2016 by David Svien

Melia Welling (John Fisken photo)

   Melia Welling put a huge smile on big bro Julian’s face Thursday when she belted a two-run double during her little league softball game. (John Fisken photo)

Thursday night was all about making big brothers proud.

Mixing an opportunistic offense with lights-out pitching from star hurler Chelsea Prescott, the Central Whidbey Little League Juniors softball squad pounded visiting South Whidbey 12-4.

The win lifted the Venom to 3-2 on the season.

And while there were plenty of highlights, it was two plays in particular, pulled off by young women whose older, high school baseball-playing brothers were in the stands, that carried the evening.

The first came when Central Whidbey’s #9 hitter, first-year player Melia Welling, socked a two-run double to left field to break the game open in the sixth inning.

Kicking off a four-run rally that doubled the Venom’s lead, Welling’s base knock plated Mollie Bailey and Marenna Rebischke–Smith, while causing big bro Julian Welling to come unglued.

Bouncing up from his seat at the top of the bleachers, the sophomore sensation, who will be playing for a league title Friday with his CHS teammates, pumped his fist in the air while his sister’s smile carried all the way across the diamond.

“That just made my day, Melia!!,” Julian said as he sat back down while wearing a huge grin of his own.

The moment was almost matched an inning later, when Coupeville closed out the win with a sensational snag from second baseman Maya Toomey-Stout.

Slicing backwards, the fastest softball player in all the land reached backwards over her shoulder and snagged the ball out of the air as her feet carried her into the outfield grass, pulling down the ball in one elegant motion.

That set off older brother Cameron, who, along with fellow Wolf diamond men Joey Lippo and Hunter Smith, had been watching the action from the first row.

While Prescott didn’t have an older sibling in the crowd, she more than made her parents proud, giving up just a pair of infield singles while whiffing 11 batters.

Stalking around the pitcher’s circle like a caged lioness, slapping the ball into her glove in between pitches, the 7th grade phenom retired the side in order in four of seven innings.

When she did get base runners, her defense stepped up to help.

Hannah Davidson pulled off the best defensive play — at least until Toomey-Stout made her bid for Sports Center glory — turning a double play in which she snared a grounder, stamped on first for the force and fired to second to gun down a runner.

With the game tied 1-1 heading into the bottom of the third (Central Whidbey’s run came around on an RBI double from Prescott), the Venom exploded for five runs and never looked back.

Scout Smith started things off by cracking a single under the shortstop’s glove, then Central used five walks, three steals, two South Whidbey errors and a pair of passed balls to keep their runners zipping around the bases.

After tacking on a run apiece in the fourth and fifth, the Venom closed strongly in the sixth.

Welling’s blow was a big one, but she also showed some skills on the base paths as well.

When South Whidbey’s catcher dropped a third strike, Davidson beat out the ensuing throw to first.

With the ball headed the other way, Welling, bouncing around at third, took off for home, beating the throw back from first base and sending her relatives into a brief moment of delirium.

Her big brother? He’ll probably still be smiling the rest of the night.

Posted in Little League, Softball | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Former Wolf soccer coach needs an assist!!

April 28, 2016 by David Svien

Mike Thornton

Mike Thornton

Once a Wolf, always a Wolf.

Former Coupeville High School girls’ soccer coach Mike Thornton lives with his family in Texas now, but he is fondly remembered for his time at the helm of the CHS program.

Thornton, a 1990 graduate of Oak Harbor High School, is currently battling stage two Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, which he was diagnosed with in early March.

He and his family have set up a GoFundMe page to help with medical expenses, and he is keeping fans and friends updated on his fight through that page.

I worked with Thornton during my time covering sports for the Whidbey Examiner, and always found him to be a friendly, rock-solid guy, both as a coach and person.

It would be great if as many Coupeville people as possible could pop over and take a look at his page, help out financially and/or send encouragement.

https://www.gofundme.com/9huymw64

Posted in Fundraisers, soccer | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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