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One path complete, another opens

October 17, 2024 by David Svien

Jeann Nitta and CHS cross country are headed down the backstretch of the season. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

It was a nice little tune-up.

With the start of the postseason just around the corner, the Coupeville High School cross country squad ambled off to Bellingham Thursday for the Lake Lap Invite.

The 2.6-mile course at Lake Padden attracted 295 runners overall, with 23 of them wearing the red and black.

Coupeville held up well against a large number of foes, claiming 5th in the team standings for the boys’ JV race, 6th in the varsity boys’, and 7th in the girls’ race, which combined varsity and JV.

Meridian, perhaps benefitting from a hometown advantage, swept all three team titles.

With the Northwest 2B/1B League Championships set for next Thursday, Oct. 24 in Mount Vernon, the Wolves will kick off their postseason journey.

After league comes Tri-Districts at Ft. Steilacoom Oct. 30 and (hopefully) the state meet Nov. 9 in Pasco.

As her harriers make the turn and head down the back stretch, CHS coach Elizabeth Bitting hailed them for their efforts.

“They’ve all worked so hard this past season,” she said. “I am so proud of them all.”

Mikayla Wagner zooms for the finish line. (Laura Callahan photo)

 

Thursday results:

 

GIRLS:

Mikayla Wagner (22nd) 18:56.40
Devon Wyman (28th) 19:31.56
Aleksia Jump (34th) 19:47.72
Aleera Kent (42nd) 20:13.60
Ivy Rudat (46th) 20:26.10
Ari Armstrong (58th) 21:02.58
Reagan Callahan (66th) 22:04.69
Jeann Nitta (74th) 22:45.42
Ava Lucero (81st) 23:38.92
Dahlia Miller (87th) 26:25.61
Mary Western (91st) 27:25.68

 

BOYS:

Varsity:

Kenneth Jacobsen (28th) 14:51.28
Ezekiel Allen (33rd) 15:00.96
Landon Roberts (36th) 15:07.80
Carson Field (40th) 15:14.80
Thomas Strelow (52nd) 15:38.70
George Spear (70th) 16:06.56

 

JV:

Isaiah Allen (4th) 16:01.24
Ethan Walling (13th) 16:31.39
Beckett Green (14th) 16:32.79
Johnathan Jacobsen (88th) 19:48.53
Will Tierney (95th) 20:23.03
Zach Blitch (106th) 24:53.64

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Final run, last pics

October 17, 2024 by David Svien

A fleet-footed Wolf runner heads for the finish line. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

They beat the raindrops one last time.

Running in the season finale Wednesday at the Cascade League Championships, Coupeville Middle School cross country harriers stayed one step ahead of the incoming bad weather.

As they did so, piling up top times, some of the young Wolves were captured on film by wandering photographer John Fisken, as seen in the pics above and below.

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“The kids are much more competitive!”

October 17, 2024 by David Svien

Wolf coach Cris Matochi was a busy man Wednesday afternoon. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

It was a long day, and they’ll do it all again in less than 24 hours.

Playing the first of back-to-back road trips Wednesday, the Coupeville Middle School volleyball squads held their own against feisty Sultan.

Jump forward to Thursday, and the bus wheels will be turning once again, with the Wolves headed off to Granite Falls as the end of the season approaches.

The finale arrives Monday, Oct. 21, when CMS hosts South Whidbey in a clash of next-door neighbors.

How Wednesday unfolded:

 

Level 1:

A loss, but an extremely close one which hinged on a play or two and a ref’s somewhat questionable interpretation of the rules at a key moment.

Sultan escaped with a 25-17, 25-23, 11-15 victory, aided by the official ruling in favor of the hometown Turks on a disputed substitution at 23-23 in the middle set.

That doesn’t take away from the Wolves ability to rally, as CMS nearly closed the gap in the opening set after falling behind by 10 points early.

Set two was a fierce back-and-forth affair, with Coupeville requesting a sub with things knotted late.

While the Wolves tried to swap players, Sultan jumped the gun and served for the go-ahead point, before fast-talking the ref into ruling in their favor.

Instead of stewing, the Wolves rebounded to take the third set, putting a nice punctuation point on the day, coach Cris Matochi said.

“Although we didn’t win that match, that tie break felt like the Olympics – it felt soooo good!” he said.

“And if the players had a chance to replay that match, we had the energy of an entire army!”

 

Level 2 and 3:

With fellow coach Kristina Hooks having the day off so she could welcome her Navy husband home from deployment, Matochi guided all three Wolf squads into Turk territory.

What he saw from the second two units brought a smile to his face.

“This was by far the best that teams two and three have played so far,” Matochi said.

“They were doing so much better with moving their feet to the ball, and some players were able to serve overhand for the first time!”

Level two lost 25-17, 25-12, 15-7, while Level three fell 25-12, 25-21, 15-9, but Matochi is a firm believer that solid improvement often means more than the won/loss record.

“The kids are much more competitive, and it is exciting to see them fight hard,” he said. “We even got to see some players diving today!”

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Powers, Purdue shine at final meet

October 16, 2024 by David Svien

Anna Powers celebrates a strong final performance. (Amber Wyman photos)

They closed with a bang.

Reaching the end of the middle school cross country season Wednesday, Coupeville got third place performances from 7th graders Anna Powers and Henry Purdue at the Cascade League Championships.

Meet host South Whidbey earned both team titles at the seven-team event, with CMS nailing down third place in the boys’ competition and fourth in the girls.

Falcon 7th graders Adeline Stevens and Ash Kline claimed the individual crowns on the 3,000-meter course, with 180 runners competing.

Coupeville, which has steadily been building its numbers, sent 25 harriers to the line.

Henry Purdue (3rd) and Cyrus Sparacio (9th) landed in the top 10 in the boys race.

“It was a great end to the season!” said Wolf coach Amber Wyman.

“This really is an amazing group of athletes! They always push themselves to go the extra mile. Literally. They work hard and it shows when they race.”

While one season ends, Wyman is already looking forward to the future.

“I’m sad to see this season come to an end,” she said. “Especially since they just seem to be hitting their stride.

“I’m already looking forward to seeing what the returning athletes will do next season!”

 

Wednesday results:

 

GIRLS:

Anna Powers (3rd) 13:08.01
Claire Lachnit (17th) 14:48.26
Hazel Goldman (24th) 15:28.67
Allie Powers (37th) 15:59.96
Abby Hunt (42nd) 16:16.76
Hailey Goldman (54th) 17:28.96
Mia Goers (76th) 20:52.93
Sophia Magdolen (80th) 21:49.04

 

BOYS:

Henry Purdue (3rd) 11:28.16
Cyrus Sparacio (9th) 11:39.35
Colton Ashby (13th) 11:58.70
Calvin Kappes (14th) 12:15.18
Archer Schwarz (22nd) 12:35.79
Jonathan Kappes (24th) 12:37.65
Lincoln Wagner (25th) 12:38.02
Ossian Merkel (26th) 12:39.52
Christopher Zenz (30th) 13:05.96
Asher Harris (43rd) 13:53.26
Jonah Meek (47th) 14:06.17
Jesse Kehoe (49th) 14:14.61
Nolan Hunt (62nd) 15:17.15
Jonathyn Driscoll (70th) 16:12.21
Cole Van Dyke (71st) 16:24.59
Magnus Western (72nd) 16:26.33
Hunter Atteberry (73rd) 16:32.85

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Wolf net crew chases history

October 16, 2024 by David Svien

When she’s not clicking away, Wolf spiker Madison McMillan enjoys filling up the stat sheet. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

One step closer to a league title, one step closer to history.

Surviving and thriving Tuesday, the Coupeville High School varsity volleyball squad slipped past host Mount Vernon Christian in three action-packed sets.

Winning 25-20, 25-19, 25-23, the Wolves complete a season sweep of the Hurricanes, while moving to 7-0 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 9-0 overall.

It’s the second-best start in program history, behind just the Toni Crebbin-coached 2004 squad, which began 10-0 on its way to winning 14 matches.

Up next is a Thursday showdown in Cow Town with La Conner (5-1, 7-4) as Coupeville also holds its annual Dig Pink night to honor those fighting cancer.

Beat the Braves for a second time this season and the Wolves essentially clinch a league crown.

Coupeville’s seniors are enjoying their final run.

The tangle with La Conner is also Coupeville’s next-to-last regular season home match.

The Wolves play three straight on the road, with trips to Concrete, Neah Bay, and Orcas Island, before closing at home Nov. 5 against non-conference rival Sultan.

Tuesday’s trip to MVC featured a closer match-up than the first time the two teams tangled, but the ultimate result was the same — a straight-sets sweep for the spikers in red and black.

“It wasn’t always our cleanest gameplay we’ve had this season, but the girls got the job done,” said Coupeville coach Cory Whitmore.

“Hats off to MVC – they are much-improved and really pushed us to earn points and defend their attack a lot more.”

The Wolves were especially ferocious at the service stripe, with six players combining to notch 11 aces.

“We will need to smooth out our attack, but I thought our serving was very clean tonight, as well as tough for them to handle,” Whitmore said.

“That was definitely a takeaway from last Saturday’s tournament, so it was good to see us improve in that category.

“We also blocked pretty well and that was a new thing for us to be able to count on.”

A pack of Wolves make an appearance at an Oak Harbor match on a night off.

 

Tuesday stats:

Taylor Brotemarkle — 2 digs, 1 assist
Teagan Calkins — 5 kills, 5 digs, 1 solo block, 2 block assists, 3 aces
Mia Farris — 4 kills, 4 digs, 1 ace
Jada Heaton — 2 kills, 3 digs, 2 block assists, 1 ace
Katie Marti — 2 kills, 3 digs, 28 assists, 1 block assist, 4 aces
Madison McMillan — 6 kills, 9 digs, 1 assist, 2 block assists, 1 ace
Lyla Stuurmans — 12 kills, 7 digs, 1 assist, 1 solo block, 3 block assists, 1 ace
Tenley Stuurmans — 1 kill, 3 digs

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