Coupeville Sports

Help softball sluggers “strike out” cancer

March 25, 2024 by David Svien

Coupeville’s softball sluggers bring big hearts to the field. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Your donation can help “strike out” cancer.

The Coupeville High School softball squad is holding a gift basket fundraiser this Saturday, Mar. 30 during its home doubleheader with Onalaska.

The non-conference rumbles begin at 1:00 PM.

Coupeville’s sluggers will be selling raffle tickets for 6-7 baskets during the first game and intermission, with winners announced during the second game.

All proceeds benefit WhidbeyHealth and will aid locals who are fighting the battle against cancer.

Last year the Wolves raised almost $700 with their first “Strike Out Cancer” event.

Posted in Softball | Tagged cancer, CHS Wolves, fundraiser, Softball, WhidbeyHealth | Leave a Comment »

“We have a responsibility to guide students towards healthy food”

March 25, 2024 by David Svien

Paige Mueller

Paige Mueller is a local success story.

A Coupeville High School grad who followed in the footsteps of her forefathers by becoming a farmer, she and her husband own Bell’s Farm.

Mueller’s family has been tilling the soil of Whidbey Island since 1946 and are deeply connected to The Rock.

With another round of budget cuts looming on the horizon for the Coupeville School District, much has been said about the Connected Food Program.

Mueller strongly supports what Chef Andreas Wurzrainer and his crew have accomplished, and she lays out her thoughts in a letter to school board members which is included on the agenda for Thursday’s meeting.

In the letter, she talks about her own experiences as a farmer, and a former Coupeville Elementary School librarian.

“We have a responsibility as citizens of this world to guide students towards healthy food choices, away from processed foods, and to show them how food gets on their plate,” Mueller writes.

“For their health, the community’s health, and the health of our planet.”

To read her letter in full, pop over to:

Click to access P%20Muller%20Letter%20to%20the%20Board%20.pdf

Posted in Not sports? Tough! | Tagged Bell's Farm, Coupeville Connected Food Program, Coupeville School District, letters to the editor, Paige Mueller | Leave a Comment »

Alternative school changes name

March 25, 2024 by David Svien

The name is changing, but the mission is not.

The Coupeville School Board is slated to rename the district’s Open Den High School to the Coupeville Open Academy at its meeting this Thursday.

Open Den, which is an alternative school operating under House Bill 1418, was launched in 2014 with a goal “to serve students transitioning out of the juvenile justice system in re-engaging with their education.”

It’s open to students age 16 and older and offers attendees a highly flexible school schedule and a support advocate.

The school also has a partnership with Work Source, allowing students to access employment assistance and paid internships.

The renaming of the school, which was launched in 2014, is to clear up confusion about the mission, and reflect that the student body has changed over time.

“The school has grown to serve a differing population of credit deficient students seeking to complete their diploma,” states the resolution which appears on the school board agenda.

“The current name designation is specific to Coupeville High School, the school mascot, and it does not inform our public of our objective or educational service model, often confusing the public.

“A more authentic identity would help our community conclude we are a school.”

Any costs associated with the name change will be covered by a grant from the Open Doors program through the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Posted in Not sports? Tough! | Tagged Aimee Bishop, Coupeville School District, John Luvera, Open Den, OSPI | Leave a Comment »

Four decades, one champ

March 25, 2024 by David Svien

The most-successful female runner in CHS history came back around to coach in later years. (Dawnelle Conlisk photo)

They’re still chasing her.

Here we are in 2024 and Natasha Bamberger still rules the Coupeville High School track and field record books.

The five-time state champ — four in track, one in cross country — holds the oldest marks on the big board that welcomes you to the CHS gym.

Bamberger’s top times in the 1600 and 3200, set back in 1984, are the only Wolf girl records to survive from the Greed is Good Decade.

On the boys’ side, marks from ’86 and ’88 endure, while Jennie Cross has held the shot put and discus records since 1990.

Other than those, every CHS track record comes from a year starting with a two.

One of those — Ryanne Knoblich tying the record in the high jump last season — is still to be added, but the recent Wolf grad will soon join Yashmeen Knox on the board.

As current Coupeville athletes head down the hallway to the gym and locker rooms, they can gaze up and see the numbers they’re shooting at.

Will someone one day topple Bamberger?

Only time will tell, but for the last four decades, no one has come even close, helping her legend endure.

The big board as it stands today. (Brad Sherman photo)

Posted in Track | Tagged CHS Wolves, Jennie Cross, Natasha Bamberger, record boards, track and field | Leave a Comment »

Wolves among state’s best

March 25, 2024 by David Svien

Nick Guay learns to levitate. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

It’s complicated.

With an entire state recording and posting times and distances, things naturally ebb and flow as the high school track season develops.

A look at the top 10 marks for 2B athletes bears that out, as names appear, vanish, then reappear as meet after meet plays out.

Often things change when something is caught, as when meet officials realize too late the runners in a 3200 only completed seven, and not eight laps.

And sometimes we wait for others to catch up with us, as in the case of Coupeville senior jumper Nick Guay.

The statewide stats list him in a tie for the fourth-best mark in 2B this season in the high jump at five feet, 10 inches, but he actually should be in a tie for #2 as he cleared 6-00 in the Mar. 13 season opener at La Conner.

But while those top 10 lists may be a work in progress, they are a good jumping off point for seeing who’s red-hot at the moment.

And her name is Lyla Stuurmans.

The Wolf junior is currently in the top 10 in four different categories, as she merrily bounces from event to event, trying out (and frequently conquering) each new challenge.

There’s still plenty of season left, and plenty more events for Stuurmans to dominate, but here’s where things sit among all 2B athletes through Mar. 25.

We think.

GIRLS:

800 — Lyla Stuurmans (7th) 2:39.59

1600 — Stuurmans (9th) 6:15.89

3200 —Stuurmans (9th) 14:21.98

300 Hurdles — Stuurmans (7th) 53.35

Discus — Reese Wilkinson (5th) 104-04.50

Pole Vault — Carly Burt (5th-tie) 7-00; Issabel Johnson (10th-tie) 6-06

BOYS:

400 — Preston Epp (9th) 54.97

800 — Carson Field (10th) 2:16.15

High Jump — Nick Guay (2nd-tie) 6-00