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“This was a really cool experience”

July 23, 2024 by David Svien

Coupeville young gun Tenley Stuurmans (24) is a rising star on the volleyball court. (Sarah Stuurmans photos)

Iowa in July? The hub of volleyball.

Coupeville sisters Lyla and Tenley Stuurmans got a taste of high-level spikes and sets this past week, competing with their Puget Sound Region teammates at the USA Volleyball All-Star Championships.

Des Moines was the destination, with Washington’s crews going shot-for-shot with squads from multiple states across eight matches.

Lyla Stuurmans (middle) is in a groove.

Lyla, who will be a senior at CHS this fall, played for the U19 team, which went 3-5, while Tenley, a freshman, was in the thick of things for a U15 unit which finished 4-4.

Both squads earned second-place in the silver division.

Lyla and Tenley, who had to survive intensive tryouts to get the invitation to Iowa, saw plenty of floor time while quickly meshing with other talented players.

Tomorrow’s headliners, making waves today.

As mom Sarah noted, the week-long trip was a unique one, opening up a whole new world of volleyball for her daughters.

“As a parent the most notable thing that’s different from club or school athletics is that we really aren’t supposed to be around the kids,” she said.

“The purpose is to have a “college athlete experience” so they sleep, eat, and travel as a team.”

“Try and return this. I dare you.”

But the parental units did get to see a lot of high-level volleyball, while watching their daughters blossom in the spotlight.

“It’s the first tournament where I can look at any court and watch some awesome volleyball,” Sarah Stuurmans said.

“This was a really cool experience and the girl’s teams coaching staff were awesome.”

Cue the celebration.

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Former Wolf coach convicted of wire fraud

July 23, 2024 by David Svien

Michael Golden

A former short-time Coupeville Middle School football coach has been sentenced to 71 months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud.

Michael Golden worked with the Wolf gridiron program in 2017, before moving back to Alabama.

He was charged with a federal crime in 2023, one which carried a maximum sentence of 20 years.

U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Carlton L. Peeples state that Golden bilked investors out of more than $4.7 million.

Golden pled guilty in April and was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Court Judge R. David Proctor this week.

He faces three years of supervised release after serving his sentence.

Golden was the founder and owner of three companies — Wolf-Tek, LLC, Mountain Top Timber, and DroneTek, Inc.

In the plea agreement, federal authorities state that between January 2018 and October 2023, he duped more than 40 investors.

They say he misrepresented the value of his businesses, telling investors the companies were about to be sold for millions of dollars to Amazon and other large companies.

Golden also stated, falsely, that he had “timber leases and an ability to harvest timber for profit,” and that “he had hundreds of pre-orders for drones that he simply needed capital to fulfill.”

Golden gave some investors Promissory Notes in which he falsely promised lucrative returns on investments within a short period of time.

Federal authorities also state that he is believed to have “defrauded a new victim eight days after originally signing a plea agreement” and had his bond revoked for “contacting victims and making false promises to them regarding payment.”

The FBI led the investigation, with assistance from the Alabama Securities Commission.

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Big bats, big results

July 22, 2024 by David Svien

Spring or summer, Madison McMillan punishes softballs. (Jackie Saia photo)

Swing for the fences and aim for success.

Cranking four home runs and 14 extra-base hits, the Whidbey Island Thunder 18U softball squad won four of five at a 14-team tourney in Kent this past weekend, coming up just a run short of capturing a title.

The hard-hitting squad swept through pool play with a perfect 3-0 record, came out on top in the semifinals, then fell 3-2 in a tightly contested Gold Bracket championship bout.

“I am so extremely impressed with how these girls have come together the last few weeks and just shown everybody that the little Whidbey Thunder organization is something to be reckoned with,” said coach Matt Suto.

“They left their hearts out on the field, and they smiled even after they lost,” he added. “These girls have worked hard all year long and we are eventually going to get that championship win.”

The Thunder came out on fire, with Madison McMillan and EmmaJoy Wise launching longballs to center in a 4-2 win over the Washington Freedom.

McMillan, one of three Coupeville sluggers on the roster along with Teagan Calkins and Taylor Brotemarkle, sent her tater flying 240+ feet, dropping jaws in both dugouts.

With her teammates teeing off, and a strong defense at work behind her, Thunder hurler Grace Swenson got the win in the pitcher’s circle, then handed the ball off to Zoe Abbott for game #2.

Late-game offensive heroics from Anna Friedrichs and Hayden Davies lifted Whidbey to a 4-3 win, before the all-star squad pasted their next foe 12-0 to wrap up a perfect run through pool play.

Ramona Ryder made it three Whidbey pitchers, and three wins, while Layla Suto cracked a three-run homerun to fuel the offensive surge.

“The girls just kept pounding the ball and being aggressive on the bases,” Matt Suto said.

The Whidbey Thunder celebrate a second-place finish at a 14-team tourney. (Photo courtesy Matt Suto)

The Thunder went into Sunday’s semifinals as the #1 team, marking the second weekend in a row they had achieved that feat.

This time out, Whidbey beat the Whatcom Wolverines 6-3 with Swenson dealing from the circle and Layla Suto making a phenomenal snag to rob her rivals of a potential home run.

“This was the championship game in my opinion,” Matt Suto said. “I have personally waited three years to beat this team and the girls came out fired up ready to play ball.

“Swenson pitched an absolute dime of a game in the circle, backed by multiple plays that secured the victory for us.”

While the bats were potent, it was the gloves which carried the day.

“We had killer defense in the infield — nothing got by the girls,” Matt Suto said. “They were putting their bodies and everything in front of the ball and they knocked the ball down and threw everyone out.”

Whatcom had one final chance, cramming the bags full of runners with their top hitter strolling to the plate.

To which Swenson said, “No Ma’am, not today. Not on my watch.”

The duo battled through a nine-pitch at-bat, before Whidbey’s ace “dug deep, got her pitch where she wanted it, and struck her out,”

Swenson then doubled her fun, whiffing the game’s final batter to send her team into the championship tilt.

“The championship game Zoe pitched an amazing game,” Matt Suto said. “Unfortunately, we had one mistake that cost us three runs, and that was it.”

Layla Suto clobbered a two-run homer to keep Whidbey within one run, but that was where things ended.

“We fought to the very end,” Matt Suto said. “We just ran out of steam.”

The Thunder wrap their season with a trip to Kent next weekend, before players head back to their individual schools.

 

Weekend stats:

Zoe Abbott — One single
Teagan Calkins — One single, two doubles, four walks
Hayden Davies — One single, one walk
Anna Friedrichs — Three singles
Madison McMillan — Two singles, one double, one triple, one home run, one walk
Mia Regan — Two singles
Ramona Ryder — One single, one double, two walks
Layla Suto — Two singles, one double, two home runs, two walks
Grace Swenson — One single
Loto Tupu — Three singles, one double
EmmaJoy Wise — Three singles, three doubles, one home run, one walk

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

Race the Reserve needs your support

July 21, 2024 by David Svien

This is your time to join the movement.

Parents of students in the Coupeville High School Class of 2025 are ramping up for next month’s Race the Reserve and are looking for sponsors and people willing to donate for goodie bags.

The event, set for August 10, is the biggest fundraiser for each year’s graduating class.

Organizers are planning 300 goodie bags and are looking for a wide variety of things.

“Goodie bag items can be coupons, advertisements, lip balm, sunscreen, granola bars, anything really,” said Wolf Mom Christi Messner.

Donations need to be made by Aug. 5.

You can also sponsor the race, and the deadline for that is much closer, arriving this coming Wednesday, July 24.

For all the info on that, pop over to:

Click to access Sponsor-form-2024.pdf

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

“I will always be a Wolf!”

July 20, 2024 by David Svien

Kevin McGranahan enjoys his time on the softball field. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

The winningest active coach at Coupeville High School is hitting the road.

Wolf softball guru Kevin McGranahan, who has compiled 111 wins, multiple league titles, and a very successful trip to the state tourney in 2019, has resigned effective August 15.

He and wife Justine, who was indispensable as an assistant coach and Wolf Mom, are moving to Folkston, Georgia.

With their children, CHS grads Wade Schaef and Katrina McGranahan-Rutledge, pursuing life in other areas now, the couple found themselves far away from family, helping prompt the move.

“We have been trying to move for the last few years but one thing or another has not allowed us to,” Kevin McGranahan said.

“We are the only two from either side of our families out on the West coast.

“With both of our kids now grown and building their own lives — one in Virginia and one going to Japan — we decided it’s time to go East, well Southeast.”

McGranahan has some time left to “get new uniforms ordered and clean up the loose ends for whoever the new coach may be” before they depart, then it’s a “3,500-mile trek across this great country.”

A master of in-game strategy at work. (Parker Hammons photo)

McGranahan has led the Wolf softball program for the past nine years, since he was hired in 2016.

That first team went 9-11 and showed tremendous growth. After that, Coupeville has been one of the most-successful softball programs in the region, first in 1A, then later 2B.

Coupeville went 19-5 in 2017, the most wins for the program since the 2002 team went 24-3 and finished third at the state tourney.

The 2019 squad, led by the homer-hitting duo of Veronica Crownover and Sarah Wright and freshman pitcher Izzy Wells, advanced to the 1A state tourney.

While there, the Wolves put up a strong fight against eventual state champ Montesano, destroyed Deer Park to claim the program’s first win at the big dance in nearly two decades, and came within a play of eliminating Cle Elum.

With the core of that team returning, Coupeville was primed for another run in 2020, only to lose its season to the pandemic, which erased all spring sports.

While he wasn’t able to record any wins that season, McGranahan joined with his fellow coaches to provide every opportunity possible for his players while still honoring ever-changing state health guidelines.

When softball returned to the field in 2021, CHS had moved to the 2B classification, and the Wolf sluggers went a pristine 12-0 in a shortened campaign.

The Wolves have followed that up with 16, 14, and 14 wins across the past three seasons, adding two more league crowns and not dodging anyone.

Under McGranahan, Coupeville softball has consistently played as tough a non-conference schedule as possible, with the Wolves often toppling teams from bigger classifications, such as 3A Oak Harbor.

This spring, a team that started three 8th graders, two freshmen, a sophomore, and four juniors (with no seniors on the roster) went 14-5 and was honored as the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association 2B Team of the Month for April.

With the entire roster set to return, and another talented group moving up, McGranahan is confident the Wolves are in a good place.

“The program is poised to win the league again and make a strong run at state,” he said. “If there is a good time to walk away, it is probably now.

“I give the new coach a proven championship roster for their first season.”

Hanging out with Taylor Brotemarkle. (Bailey Thule photo)

While he’ll miss the games, the strategy, and maybe even the occasional disagreement with the umpires, it’s the people involved who have had the biggest impact on him.

“I will miss being on the field come February thru May, and most of all I will miss the young ladies I have treated as my own for the last nine years,” McGranahan said.

“It is never going to be a perfect time to step away,” he added. “The kids keep coming into high school and now even middle school, and then you get attached to them again and the clock starts over.”

But while he won’t be the one calling the shots anymore, McGranahan will still be a part of Wolf Nation.

“I will be watching from South Georgia and will be the proudest coach to see his girls carry on the program,” he said.

“I will always be a WOLF, and their biggest fan.”

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