Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Ready to tear up the diamond.

Another weekend, another tournament.

The Island Vipers 14U softball squad, which brings together players from all three Whidbey high schools, has been busy this summer.

Last weekend, the diamond dandies competed at the NSA state tourney in the Tri-Cities, while this weekend the sluggers are off to Kent for Fun in the Sun.

The Vipers open pool play Saturday.

At the state tourney, which drew 30 teams, Whidbey went 1-2.

“Good play throughout the weekend with a lot of positives,” said assistant coach Aaron Lucero. “The team did a great job of manufacturing runs when we needed and being aggressive — we call it create chaos on the basepaths.

“We continued to focus on the little things, such as situational awareness, two strike hitting, and getting the ball in play to advance runners.

“They’re developing and continuing to learn, which will benefit all the high schools on the island as we have players attending all three.

“We played some talented teams that pushed us hard which only makes us better.”

 

State tourney stats:

Shea Allison — One double, two walks
Capri Anter 
— Two singles
Haylee Armstrong 
— One single, one double
Jolene Coleman
— One walk
Lena Heggenes 
— One single, one double
Ava Lucero
— Two walks
Kennedy Strevel 
— One single, one walk
Cameron Van Dyke 
— One walk
Abby Whitney — Two singles
Sophie Ziegler
— One single, one triple

The guy on the right, Davis Fogle, a skinny 8th grader in 2021, is now a 6-7 powerhouse who just committed to Gonzaga. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Gonzaga’s next big basketball star once went toe-to-toe with Coupeville.

Davis Fogle, who announced his commitment to the Zags Thursday, is now a rising senior at Arizona Compass Prep — one who happens to be six-foot-seven and capable of throwing down dunks from multiple angles while elevating over opponents.

In his final high school test in Washington state, he torched the nets for a game-high 39 points in March while playing in the Futures Game at the All-State weekend.

Before the recent move to Arizona, Fogle played his sophomore and junior seasons at Anacortes High School.

But during the pandemic days, the future star got his prep hoops start at Mount Vernon Christian.

As a much-skinnier 8th grader, he was a key part of one of the best games to go down in the CHS gym’s history.

Played in June — because of the pandemic throwing everything off — the game featured Fogle scoring 21 points and coming within an inch of throwing in a game-winning bucket at the buzzer.

To the delight of Wolf fans, however, the ball refused to drop, and Coupeville held on for a wild 66-65 victory and a season sweep of the Hurricanes.

CHS rallied from six points down in the final seconds, with sophomore Alex Murdy draining the tying and eventual winning free throws with just 11 ticks to play.

Fogle was injured for much of his freshman campaign, preventing a rematch with the Wolves, then departed for Anacortes.

As he has grown in height and lit up the select basketball circuit in addition to his play for the Seahawks, he’s risen up the ranking charts.

Jumping nearly 40 slots in a short period of time, Fogle is ranked as the #38 player nationally in the Class of 2025. In Washington state, he was at #1 on most charts.

After cutting his list to national powers Gonzaga, Creighton, and Kansas, his decision to sign with Mark Few’s program breaks a recent trend for the Bulldogs.

Gonzaga, which has advanced to the Sweet 16 nine consecutive years, added four transfers and Senegal native Ismaila Diagne in its 2024 class, not signing any high school players.

Samuel Wolfe

Samuel Wolfe is a winner.

From twirling no-no’s as a little league pitcher to earning awards for his films as an adult, the Northwest native is lighting up the world.

He blazed a trail of success as a young man, setting the bar for younger siblings Hawthorne, Melanie, and Camilla, who have all found their own triumphs in Coupeville.

Jump back 20 years, to mid-July 2004, and Samuel Wolfe was unhittable.

Chucking the ball for the North Whidbey Little League 11-12 All-Stars, he set down all 18 Central Whidbey hitters he faced in a playoff game.

Employing a four-seam fastball and a nasty curve, Wolfe whiffed 13 of those batters, with most of his rivals being unable to even get the bat on the ball.

After a fly ball to start the game, the young hurler simply overpowered his opponent, with Central Whidbey having no answers for the flame thrower.

Wolfe continued to excel in sports growing up, playing baseball and football, before finding a new passion as a filmmaker.

He currently works as part of a three-man Fishboat Media team based out of Port Townsend, which recently won its first Emmy award.

The honor, bestowed by the Northwest Chapter of the National Academy for Television Arts & Sciences, was for a video campaign called “This is Maritime Washington.”

Wolfe and associates Tyler Rowe and Jeremy Johnson documented the experiences of those living and visiting Washington state’s saltwater shores, and the campaign claimed top honors in the PSA – Single Spot or Campaign category.

Navigating the 3,000+ miles of coastline which make up the Maritime Washington National Heritage area, the trio put together a seven-story series.

Numerous interviews were conducted, with Fishboat Media working with the Swinomish Tribe, Washington State Parks, the ferry system, and Haven Boatworks among others.

With one Emmy in hand (and a previous nomination for his commercial campaign work for the city of North Bend), Wolfe is off to new adventures.

Fishboat Media was tabbed to create a five-part short-form docuseries for the Cascade PBS Origins series which will tell the tale of the last reef netters working the Salish Sea.

Wolfe was chosen from a pack of filmmakers, with the announcement coming during the closing ceremony of this year’s Seattle International Film Festival.

The plan is to focus on the Kinley family, who are the last Native permit holders from the Lummi Nation.

Cascade PBS will cover production costs, through a $40,000 grant, while providing technical and editing support, with the plan for the series to release on its platforms in March 2025.

This will be the third go-round for the series, which helps regional filmmakers document communities which they belong to.

Previous seasons have focused on Vietnamese and Afghan refugees and their experiences after resettling in Washington state and growing up Black in Seattle.

 

For more info on Samuel Wolfe and a chance to watch his Emmy-winning series, check out Fishboat Media at:

Home

 

Or listen in on a podcast at:

http://thetrialreporter.com/podcast-meet-samuel-wolfe-origins-season-three-filmmaker.html

The CHS gym was alive with the sound of basketball lessons being taught. (Photos courtesy Megan Richter)

The next generation is building for a bright future.

Twenty Coupeville Middle School girls showed up for three days, three hours each time, for a recent basketball skills camp.

The hoops event was run by CHS head coach Megan Richter, with help from middle school net guru Brooke Crowder and a group of former Wolf players.

“They worked so hard and improved so much,” Richter said of her future stars. “It was such a great experience for everyone.”

Coupeville’s Chayse Van Velkinburgh (right) is playing soccer around the world. (Photos courtesy Dustin Van Velkinburgh)

Chayse Van Velkinburgh is following the bouncing soccer ball around the world.

The Coupeville 8th grader recently spent a month in Spain, pursuing the beautiful game.

Van Velkinburgh put in two weeks of intensive training with the Madrid Euro Soccer Academy, then played in Mad Cup 2024.

That tourney, now in its fourth year, boasts 809 teams, with 14,000+ kids from 34 countries playing games at 32 venues in Madrid.

Van Velkinburgh’s squad, which squared off with teams from Brazil, Mexico, and Venezuela among others, made it all the way to the Elite 8 in the silver bracket.

Off to dominate on the pitch.

The young Wolf ace then hopped on a plane and headed back home, finding himself back on the soccer pitch in America mere hours later.

Suiting up with Northwest United this time, Van Velkinburgh helped his team finish second at the Skagit Firecracker Tournament.

Back in America, Dustin and Jessica’s son will continue to play with NW United, while also joining the Coupeville High School boys’ soccer program this fall.

After playing a final season of middle school basketball, he’s slated to return to Spain in January for another three-month stay at the Madrid Academy.

Chasing that ball and chasing that dream.