Julie Myers (top, right) is joined by fellow inductees (l to r) Brad Haslam, Boom Phomvongkoth and Lexie Black.
Domination.
It’s the common trait when you look at the members of the 39th class to be inducted into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame.
Regardless of the sport, the four athletes, one who is going into the Hall for a second time, towered above their rivals on a regular basis, more than earning them enshrinement in these hallowed digital walls.
After this, when you want to find Julia Myers, Boom Phomvongkoth, Brad Haslam or two-time inductee Lexie Black, who is being honored today for putting together the ultimate block party, all you’ll have to do is look to the top of the blog and find the Legends tab.
We’re kicking things off with the Lexinator, who is already in the joint, one of the first to be inducted.
Today we’re honoring her performance on Mar. 4, 2005, when the six-foot-two enforcer extraordinaire rejected 10 shots by Zillah, helping her CHS girls’ basketball squad capture a 45-41 win at the state tourney.
Coupeville won two games at state that year, finishing 8th and bringing home the third (and so far final) banner in program history.
Black’s ten-spot, and the 14 total blocks by the Wolves in the game, remain the gold standard to this day. No player, and no team, have ever topped those marks in a 1A girls game, more than a decade later.
Now Lex Luthor is counting down the days until she’ll be a mom, and you know the child is gonna pop out and immediately slap the doctor across the room, just like their mom did to so many errant shots.
Our second inductee, Phomvongkoth, was a little lower to the ground than Black, but he was just as much of a scrapper on the hardwood.
One of the first players I covered back in my Whidbey News-Times Sports Editor days, Boom went all-out all the time, slamming to the floor, harassing rival ball-handlers and knocking down big shots of his own.
It took me a bit to get the spelling of his last name down, but I could see his talent, and his love for the game, from the first moment he strode out into the CHS gym.
When the Tom Roehl Roundball Classic brought Wolf alumni back to town in Dec., Boom was among the returning veterans.
He might be down a few hairs on the head these days (who’s not?), but the skill-set and inner fire were still there, and he still looks like he could school some young punks, if necessary.
Our third inductee, Haslam, was one of the most imposing high school athletes I ever covered.
Which is funny, because off the field, he’s a supremely nice guy, easy-going and laid-back.
But put him on the gridiron and he was an animal, de-cleating anyone who tried to get in his way as he led the blocking charge for the undefeated 1990 CHS football squad.
A superb kicker with a cannon for a leg, he knocked down field goals from uncanny range, as well, earning his keep on offense, defense and special teams.
Equally skilled as a hoops player, Haslam’s biggest impact came on the diamond, though.
A four-time All-League selection as a pitcher, the ’92 grad made batters tremble in the box. Seriously. I saw it happen.
Tall, burly and (in the moment) looking like he was going to murder you, Haslam remains the most overpowering high school pitcher I have ever witnessed on a day-to-day basis.
Our final inductee, Myers, shares a lot in common with Haslam.
No, she wasn’t all that tall, and no one would describe her as burly, but, like her compatriot, she was a supremely nice person off the field (and one of the best ever when it came to taking goofy photos) who played like a beast between the lines.
Whether smacking tennis balls, shutting down fools as a soccer goalie, or droppin’ elbows as a rebounding machine on the basketball court, Julia was a stone-cold killer.
Injuries were the only thing that ever slowed her down, but she fought through some horrific ones and still stalked her prey, knee brace glinting under the lights, slight smirk on her face as she watched her rivals souls shrivel up and blow away.
A vital part of the first Wolf girls’ hoops team to win a league title in 13 years during her senior campaign, “Elbows” always had the heart of a champion.
If we have to win one game to save the universe, I want Julia on our team. Cause when the final buzzer sounds, she’ll be the last one standing.
Of that I have no doubt.
