Coupeville Sports

Cheers fill the summer air

July 10, 2024 by David Svien

CHS cheerleaders, award-worthy as always. (Photos courtesy Jennifer Morrell)

They’re loud ‘n proud in every season.

School’s out for summer right now, but Coupeville High School cheerleaders are still putting in the work.

The Wolves recently held a four-day camp at CHS, with 21 squad members, three coaches, and two instructors from the Universal Cheerleaders Association in attendance.

Led by head coach Jennifer Morrell and assistants Tara Crouch and Anthony Ford, the Wolves received a Superior trophy, and the squad earned a credentialing certificate after performing two routines for friends and families.

Ribbons were awarded to daily winners while eight Wolves earned a UCA All-American award, which goes to the top 10% of high school cheerleaders.

Pamela Morrell, Alysia Burdge, Tirsit Cannon, Mila Light, Ember Light, Abbigail Bond, Miles Gerber, and Bella Karr get a patch for their lettermen jackets and are now eligible to participate in All-American performances around the world.

Daily winners:

Sunday:

Alysia Burdge
Elizabeth Lo (Rookie of the Day)
Kayla Moch
Laken Simpson

Monday:

Garrett Bevill
Denali Kalwies (Rookie of the Day)
Bella Karr
Kassidy Upchurch

Tuesday:

Tirsit Cannon
Olivia Hall
Nick Shelly (Rookie of the Day)
Hailey Smith (Jump Off Winner)

Wednesday:

Pamela Morrell
Lina Shelly
Avery Williams-Buchanan

Wolves in attendance at the camp:

Cheyanne Atteberry
Garrett Bevill
Abbigail Bond
Alysia Burdge
Tirsit Cannon
Cora Fix
Miles Gerber
Olivia Hall
Denali Kalwies
Bella Karr
Ember Light
Mila Light
Elizabeth Lo
Kayla Moch
Pamela Morrell
Lina Shelly
Nick Shelly
Laken Simpson
Hailey Smith
Kassidy Upchurch
Avery Williams-Buchanan

Posted in Cheer | Tagged Alysia Burdge, Cheer, CHS Wolves, Pamela Morrell, UCA All-American | Leave a Comment »

Wolf frosh embraces faith, hard work

July 10, 2024 by David Svien

Three-sport athlete Liam Blas is part of Coupeville’s incoming freshman class. (Photos courtesy Stephanie Blas)

Same family, new star.

Following in some big footsteps, talented Coupeville High School freshman Liam Blas arrives this fall ready to have an immediate impact on the sports scene.

The oldest son of former Miriam’s Espresso supernova Stephanie (Bonacci) Blas and husband Kevin, Liam hails from a family which features CHS Athlete of the Year winners in Aunt Sherry Bonacci and Cousin Lindsey Roberts.

But the three-sport athlete, who plays football, basketball, and track and field, is ready to make his own mark.

“My goals are to work hard, have fun, and glorify God while doing so,” Blas said.

A diligent worker and gifted student/athlete, the young Wolf doles out praise to many who have helped shape him.

“Jesus has made me the person I am through his holy spirit living inside me,” Blas said.

“My parents have made me who I am because of their care for my physical and spiritual health.”

Oak Harbor Youth Football League guru Junior Scroggins also gets a shout-out.

“Coach Junior coached me to be a strong running back and a physical defensive man,” Blas added.

While he enjoys all of his sports, the gridiron calls to him.

“Football is my favorite sport because I bond stronger with my fellow players more than basketball or track,” Blas said.

“I enjoy being an athlete because all the hard work I put in pays off on game day.”

When he’s not busy on the field, court, or oval, Blas “loves going to church and youth group, playing basketball in my neighborhood, playing video games, hanging with my family, and hanging out with friends.”

Liam is joined by younger brother Luke.

He picks bible and history as his favorite classes, with a shout-out to lunch, and enjoys listening to Christian rap. Some of his favorite musical artists include KB, Lecrae, Hulvey, NF, and Forrest Frank.

With the start of his high school career coming up this fall, Blas is ready for the transition.

“My strengths as an athlete are hustle, speed, and focus,” he said. “I’d like to work on the basics of sports such as dribbling, passing and agility, and sports IQ.”

As he makes his Wolf debut, Blas will also hold to the words of Philippians 4:13.

“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

Posted in Boys Basketball, Football | Tagged Boys Basketball, CHS Wolves, football, freshman, Liam Blas, track and field | Leave a Comment »

Spikers put in summer work

July 10, 2024 by David Svien

Coupeville spikers shine brightly at a summer camp. (Photo courtesy Cory Whitmore)

Compete today, build for tomorrow.

Coupeville High School volleyball coach Cory Whitmore took a group of 11 spikers to summer camp at Western Washington University recently and came away thrilled with the results.

“As usual, Western puts on a great camp, full of opportunities to grow and learn in a short amount of time,” he said. “I’m really proud of this team taking advantage of those opportunities.”

The Wolf roster was headlined by a group of varsity veterans, with Katie Marti, Mia Farris, Jada Heaton, Madison McMillan, Taylor Brotemarkle, Teagan Calkins, and Lyla Stuurmans on hand.

Joining them were players hoping to make the jump from JV to varsity (Carly Burt, Dakota Strong, Lexis Drake) and incoming freshmen (Adeline Maynes, Tenley Stuurmans).

“It was really rewarding to see the veterans elevate their game and leadership, and it was exciting to see the players without previous varsity experience elevate their play as well,” Whitmore said.

“In addition to both groups accelerating their rate of growth, it was fun to watch them blend as a single unit.”

With WWU players and coaches running things, Whitmore had a chance to largely step back, allowing his athletes the chance to claim leadership roles.

“I was so proud to see them problem-solve together,” he said. “More than in years past, this group was able to recognize what needed to be done and make quick changes.

“I’m hoping they can recognize that that kind of ownership and self-sufficiency is going to pay dividends in the upcoming season.”

Skills picked up and refined at camp will be second nature once the high school season begins this fall, or at least that’s the plan.

“In addition to the experience they gained, I think an additional lesson learned early and carried out through the rest of camp would be to treat everything — every rep, every scrimmage, every interpersonal interaction, etc. — as a chance to get better, and a chance to train how it will be done with a game,” Whitmore said.

“They learned that if they can do that throughout camp (and practices) that it won’t be something that needs to be “turned on” when it comes time to play,” he added.

Every Wolf player at the camp made an impact, with Whitmore praising the group.

“I really could point out some really strong moments by each of the players that attended camp,” he said.

“Each one went into camp with a role for the team and a personal focus on how to improve their own game and I can confidently say each one of them took big strides toward those goals.”

A couple of the Wolves got an extra shout-out, however.

“Both Madison and Katie have never played better than what I saw at team camp – I can’t describe it better than they were just fun to watch,” Whitmore said.

“Adeline learned rotations and made adjustments faster than I have ever seen an incoming freshmen make,” he added.

“Tenley did whatever we asked of her, whenever the team needed it – I think she willingly played four different positions throughout camp.

“And poor Mia and Lyla – those two took the vast majority of swings, a huge amount of passes and digs, and that is because they never left the court.

They carried so much for the team, and I was so impressed with their endurance and leadership throughout.”

Coupeville was one of just two “B” schools at the camp, along with state powerhouse Manson, and the Wolves held their own when facing off with squads from bigger towns.

CHS finished second in pool play, earning its way into the top-half bracket.

Once there, the Wolves beat 1A Nooksack Valley, while dropping close matches to 4A Lake Stevens and 1A Meridian.

“All this points to a very exciting upcoming season this fall,” Whitmore said. “Go Wolves!”

Posted in Volleyball | Tagged CHS Wolves, Katie Marti, Madison McMillan, summer camp, volleyball, Western Washington University | Leave a Comment »

Vipers enjoy Fun in the Sun

July 8, 2024 by David Svien

Coupeville softball sluggers (l to r) Capri Anter, Ava Lucero, and Sydney Van Dyke celebrate their awesomeness. (Photos courtesy Grant Van Dyke)

They lit off some fireworks.

Closing with three straight wins this weekend, the Island Vipers 14U softball squad captured a title at the Fun in the Sun tournament in Kent.

The sluggers, who boast players from all three Whidbey high schools, swept both games they played Sunday in bracket play to clinch the crown.

A 7-1 win over a squad from Sammamish sent the Vipers to the championship game, where they nipped the Washington Rage from Moses Lake 8-7.

The hot finish came on the heels of a third-place finish in pool play, as Whidbey held its own with top-ranked rivals.

After opening losses to squads from Woodinville and Seattle, the Vipers drilled a team from Puyallup 8-0 to start its turnaround.

Sunday’s title tilt started off with a bit of a clang, as Whidbey fell behind 4-0.

But the Vipers never faltered, rallying time and again.

“The players did a great job of embracing never being out of the fight and kept chipping away and playing aggressive softball,” said assistant coach Aaron Lucero.

“Chaos on the base paths mixed with timely hitting and effective small ball.”

With two outs and the potential winning run at third, Jolene Coleman came up huge, lacing a hard-hit shot past the shortstop to plate her teammate and capture the crown.

The Vipers awarded three game balls, one to Coleman for her timely base knock and one each to the pitching and catching duo of Adeline Maynes and Ava Lucero, who survived the heat and thrived.

“All my players know my rock and marshmallow speech and they were all rocks,” Aaron Lucero said.

“To come from behind from a pretty good hole in the championship game to winning on a walk off speaks volume of this team and the character that they have.

“I’m extremely proud of them. It was truly an entire team effort.”

Weekend stats:

Shea Allison — Three singles, one double, two walks
Capri Anter — One double, one triple, five walks
Haylee Armstrong — Four singles, three doubles, two walks
Jolene Coleman — Six singles, one triple
Emma Cushman — One walk
Lena Heggenes — One single, one triple, two walks
Ava Lucero — One single, two walks
Adeline Maynes — Three singles, one walk
Chelsi Stevens — One single
Cameron Van Dyke — One double
Sydney Van Dyke — One double, one home run, two walks
Abby Whitney — One single
Sophie Ziegler — Three singles, two doubles, one triple, one walk

Tryouts this Saturday:

The Vipers are looking to “round out their roster and add a second team to the club.”

Tryouts for both 14U and 16U teams will be this Saturday, July 13 at 10 AM at Rhododendron Park in Coupeville.

All girls ages 12-16 are welcome, though they can’t be older than 16 as of Dec. 31, 2024.

If your player can’t be at Saturday’s tryouts, you can set up a private tryout by contacting coach Grant Van Dyke at Islandvipers@yahoo.com.

Posted in Softball | Tagged Capri Anter, Fun in the Sun, Island Vipers, Softball, Sydney Van Dyke | Leave a Comment »

Silky smooth Guay always delivered

July 8, 2024 by David Svien

Nick Guay, having fun every step of the way. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

So, one night, Nick Guay swung by the duplex and dropped off chocolate chip cookies sent my way from his mom.

Was that, in itself, enough to earn him induction into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame?

Well, it didn’t hurt…

Still, cookies or no cookies (and always choose cookies), Guay more than earned HoF status with his year-round play across the last four years.

The lanky one suited up for Coupeville High School in soccer, basketball, and track and field, and made sizable contributions in all three.

On the pitch, Guay rattled home 14 goals, the sixth-most in program history.

And he did so even with his freshman season reduced to just a handful of games thanks to the pandemic.

Guay scored in all four of his campaigns, jumping from one score as a frosh to five as a sophomore, punching in two as a junior, then closing with a six-goal burst in his final go-round.

Carried off the pitch by his teammates after a playoff thriller. (Morgan White photo)

But he was more than a goal scorer, as he was also a goal denier, often playing in the net for Coupeville, with maybe his biggest day coming in the playoffs as a junior.

Squaring off with Lopez Island and Providence Classical Christian in a three-team tiebreaker on the turf at Oak Harbor Stadium, the Wolves won both games to earn the lone bi-district playoff slot up for grabs.

Guay blanked the Lobos 1-0, then came up big on both sides of the ball during a penalty kick shootout to break a scoreless regulation tie with PCC.

Stepping out of the net, he joined Preston Epp and Aidan Wilson in popping balls into the corner of the net to stake CHS to a 3-2 lead.

Down to its final shooter, PCC needed a miracle, and its prayers went unanswered under cloudy skies as Guay caused his rival to shank the ball to the left on the final shot of the day.

Taking his silky-smooth style of play to the hardwood, he saw varsity action in three seasons, racking up 213 points with a mix of three-balls and swooping layups.

That puts him 136th all-time for a program which has played since 1917, right between fellow all-timers Ryan Keefe and Jordan Ford.

But again, Guay’s contributions were about far more than just scoring.

He was a crafty rebounder — using his long reach to snag key boards — a smart defender, and a guy who always brought a big burst of energy with him to the floor.

Along the way, Guay was part of two squads which won league and bi-district titles while advancing to state.

Making it to the big dance was something he also accomplished in track, where he closed out his CHS career by earning 5th place at the state meet in the high jump.

Stretching for that elusive extra inch. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

That senior season saw Guay also compete at state in the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relays.

Overall, he racked up 27 wins across three seasons of track and field, competing in sprints, relays, the high jump, the long jump, and, for one moment, the shot put.

A talented athlete who could do it all, and look smooth at every moment, Guay was also one of Coupeville’s top 10 seniors in terms of GPA and received his fair share of honors for his off-field accomplishments.

From the stands, it always looked like he greatly enjoyed his time wearing a Wolf uniform, bringing a sense of style and an upbeat attitude, whether he was in the middle of the action, or cheering on his teammates.

So, yes, even if he hadn’t delivered chocolate chip cookies to Coupeville Sports world headquarters, we’d most likely still be doing this.

Nick Guay will be remembered by Wolf fans, young and old, and hailed for what he accomplished and how he accomplished it long after his graduation.

Today, we swing open the doors to the Hall o’ Fame, adding him to our roster.

After this you’ll find him up at the top of the blog, under the Legends tab, making the joint a whole lot cooler for his presence.