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Camden Glover slings heat. (Morgan White photos)

Scott Hilborn had a pretty sweet swan song.

The Coupeville High School senior led Wolf baseball to a 17-6 record, league and district titles, and the program’s first state tourney win since 1987.

Hilborn tossed a complete-game shutout in that big dance victory, blanking Toledo 3-0 and capping a stellar run of filling up the stat sheet.

When everything is totaled up, four Wolves appear in a top slot, with senior Jonathan Valenzuela #1 in RBI, walks, and on-base percentage, while being tied for the most triples.

That guy he’s tied with for the most three-baggers?

It’s Hilborn, who tops or is tied for the lead in a staggering 16 of 21 stat categories.

Though he’s not the only Wolf to post strong numbers while playing through rain, wind, and chilly temps for much of the “spring” season.

Jack Porter, ready to run free.

 

CHS varsity baseball season stats, as documented on GameChanger:

 

HITTING:

 

Plate Appearances:

Scott Hilborn — 88
Chase Anderson — 81
Jonathan Valenzuela — 79
Jack Porter — 73
Camden Glover — 66
Peyton Caveness — 65
Coop Cooper — 64
Cole White — 64
Aiden O’Neill — 48
Johnny Porter — 27
Landon Roberts — 23
Yohannon Sandles — 7
Seth Woollet — 7
Piotr Bieda — 5
Jaje Drake — 5

 

At-Bats:

Hilborn – 74
Anderson – 69
Ja. Porter
– 67
Valenzuela
– 59
Caveness
— 56
Cooper
– 56
White
– 54
Glover
– 51
O’Neill
– 41
Roberts
– 22
Jo. Porter
– 21
Woollet
– 7
Bieda
– 5
Sandles – 5
Drake – 3

 

Hits:

Hilborn — 39
Valenzuela — 30
Anderson — 27
Ja. Porter — 24
Caveness — 19
Cooper — 16
Glover — 15
White — 14
O’Neill — 7
Jo. Porter — 5
Roberts — 4
Drake — 1
Woollet — 1

 

Runs:

Hilborn — 39
Valenzuela — 27
Anderson — 21
Caveness — 13
Glover – 13
Ja. Porter – 13
O’Neill — 11
Cooper — 10
White — 10
Jo. Porter — 4
Roberts — 3
Drake — 2
Bieda — 1

 

2B’s:

Hilborn — 10
Valenzuela — 7
Ja. Porter — 4
Anderson — 3
Glover — 3
Caveness — 2
O’Neill — 1
White — 1

 

3B’s:

Hilborn — 3
Valenzuela — 3
Ja. Porter — 1

 

RBI:

Valenzuela — 28
Anderson — 19
Ja. Porter — 17
Hilborn — 16
White — 14
Caveness — 12
Cooper — 12
Glover — 10
Jo. Porter — 3
O’Neill — 2

 

Walks:

Valenzuela — 18
Hilborn — 14
Glover – 12
White – 10
Caveness — 8
Cooper — 8
O’Neill – 7
Anderson – 6
Ja. Porter – 6
Jo. Porter – 6
Drake – 2
Sandles – 2
Roberts – 1

 

Stolen Bases:

Hilborn — 41
Anderson — 27
Valenzuela — 27
White – 15
Ja. Porter — 10
Glover — 8
O’Neill — 7
Caveness — 5
Cooper — 4
Jo. Porter — 4

 

Batting Average:

Hilborn — .527
Valenzuela — .508
Anderson — .391
Ja. Porter — .358
Caveness — .339
Drake — .333
Glover — .294
Cooper — .286
White — .259
Jo. Porter — .238
Roberts — .182
O’Neill — .171
Woollet — .143

 

On-Base Percentage:

Valenzuela — .608
Hilborn — .602
Drake — .600
Anderson — .434
Glover — .422
Caveness — .415
Ja. Porter — .411
Jo. Porter — .407
Cooper — .375
White — .375
O’Neill — .292
Sandles — .286
Roberts — .217
Woollet — .143

 

PITCHING:

 

Earned Run Average:

Cooper — 1.61
Hilborn — 1.64
Glover – 3.50
Valenzuela – 3.50
Anderson – 3.74

 

Games:

Hilborn — 12
Anderson – 8
Valenzuela – 8
Glover — 6
Cooper – 5

 

Starts:

Hilborn — 11
Cooper — 3
Glover — 3
Valenzuela — 3
Anderson — 2

 

Hits:

Hilborn — 45
Anderson — 23
Valenzuela – 10
Glover – 8
Cooper – 4

 

Earned Runs:

Hilborn — 15
Anderson – 13
Valenzuela – 10
Glover — 6
Cooper – 3

 

Walks:

Anderson – 23
Hilborn – 21
Cooper – 17
Valenzuela — 17
Glover – 9

 

Hit by Pitch:

Anderson — 8
Hilborn – 8
Valenzuela – 6
Cooper — 2
Glover – 2

 

Strikeouts:

Hilborn – 81
Anderson – 27
Cooper – 20
Valenzuela — 19
Glover – 15

 

Innings Pitched:

Hilborn – 64.0
Anderson – 24.1
Valenzuela — 20.0
Cooper – 13.0
Glover – 12.0

 

Batters Faced:

Hilborn – 269
Anderson — 129
Valenzuela – 98
Cooper – 60
Glover – 54

 

PS — Wondering why the pitching stats add up to 22 games, while Coupeville was 17-6?

One win came courtesy of a forfeit from Concrete, so no stats for that game.

Aleksia Jump checks to make sure big sis Taygin’s throwing arm still works. (Christina Jump photo)

Go East, young woman.

Coupeville High School senior Taygin Jump is New York-bound after graduation, and she signed a letter of intent Monday to compete in indoor and outdoor track and field at SUNY Plattsburgh.

Founded in 1889, the school is an NCAA D-III school.

Jump is the third member of this year’s CHS track team to sign with a college, with Tate Wyman headed to Oregon Tech and Mitchell Hall off to the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

One for the family photo album. (Amber Wyman photo)

The young woman who currently has the third-best hammer throw among all 2B female athletes was a two-sport star for the Wolves, also playing club and school volleyball.

In the world of track and field, Jump vied in eight different events, running sprints and distance races, carrying the baton in relays, and throwing the discus, javelin, and hammer.

At SUNY Plattsburgh she’ll be a Cardinal, and the school mascot is known as Burghy.

The school has some notable alumni, but I’ll skip past disgraced congressman Anthony Weiner to land on my personal favorite on the list — lanky actor Tim Robbins.

He’s the star of films like The Shawshank Redemption, Bull Durham, and the Coen brothers unsung masterpiece, The Hudsucker Proxy.

Jump’s teammates and friends celebrate her signing day. (Amber Wyman photo)

Tate Wyman signs his college track and field letter of intent. (Willie Smith photo)

Tate Wyman is running off to a different state.

The Coupeville High School senior signed a letter of intent Monday to compete in track and field at Oregon Tech.

He’s the third member of the current CHS oval squad to sign a college letter, with Taygin Jump (SUNY Plattsburgh) joining him at Monday’s ceremony.

Fellow Wolf senior Mitchell Hall previously signed to run cross country at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

Celebrating with teammates and family. (Christina Jump photo)

Before he competes as an NAIA athlete, Wyman has a few more days left as a Coupeville student, with a trip to the state championships on the agenda for this coming weekend.

He’s part of a 4 x 100 relay unit ranked #3 in the state among all 2B schools.

Wyman ran cross country all four years at CHS, and participated in track and field three seasons, with pandemic restrictions erasing spring sports his freshman year.

During his time as a Wolf, he competed in eight events, ranging from sprints to hurdles to relays to the occasional foray into the world of steeplechase.

Wolf coaches Bob Martin and Elizabeth Bitting join the festivities. (Willie Smith photo)

At Oregon Tech, Wyman will find a school founded in 1947 to train and re-educate World War II vets.

The school’s athletic teams, which compete in the Cascade Collegiate Conference, are the Owls.

Or, sometimes, when they’re moving quickly, the Hustlin’ Owls.

Brian Gianello (LinkedIn photo)

The consent agenda for Thursday’s Coupeville School Board meeting includes a recommendation to hire Brian Gianello as the district’s new Director of Finance and Human Resources.

He will replace the retiring Denise Peet, and his hire becomes official if approved by board directors.

The agenda also mentions an “opportunity for meet and greet in June.”

 

 

What the agenda doesn’t say is Gianello, who previously held similar positions with the La Conner School District from June 2021 to Feb. 2023, was placed on administrative leave by that district at the start of 2023.

 

Gianello resigned a month later.

 

While school district officials are always tight-lipped about personnel decisions, the minutes from La Conner School Board meetings leading up to the administrative leave decision show questions about finances being raised.

 

From the Nov. 28, 2022 La Conner School Board meeting:

 

From the Dec. 16 La Conner School Board meeting:

 

Gianello’s LinkedIn page — https://www.linkedin.com/in/gianellobrian/ — shows he has an AA in General Studies and Psychology from Diablo Valley College, and a BA in Psychology from Azusa Pacific University.

He has held several finance-related jobs, with the La Conner position being his first as a Business Manager.

 

The Coupeville School Board meets Thursday, May 25 at 5:30 PM in Annex Room 305 at Coupeville High School.

The consent agenda, which includes personnel decisions, is right at the start of the meeting, after the flag salute and adoption of the meeting agenda.

Jessica Caselden, local girl made good. (Photo courtesy Kassie O’Neil)

Wolf softball players are speaking out and speaking up. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

“The students at Coupeville would be devastated.”

With proposed budget cuts swirling, one calls for the school’s athletic trainer position to be eliminated.

The potential loss of Jessica Caselden, a CHS grad who returned to her hometown to teach and work with athletes, is not being well received by Wolf athletes.

CHS softball players, past, present and future, have fired the first shots across the bow, sending a series of impassioned letters to the school board in support of Caselden.

The young athletes, who range from high school seniors to middle schoolers, speak glowingly of an eternally upbeat, whip-smart young woman who gives them a role model, a fervent supporter, and a reassuring voice of calmness when dealing with injuries.

Caselden, who haunted the aisles of Videoville growing up, hanging out with brother Jack and dad Willie, is part of a tight-knit group of former Wolf student/athletes who have returned to Coupeville in recent years.

Like Kassie (Lawson) O’Neil, Mandi (Murdy) Black, and others from that group, Jessica is first-rate in every way.

As a school, as a community, as Wolf Nation, we are immeasurably better with her being back in Cow Town.

I agree with our softball players, 1000%.

This is not the way.

Jessica Caselden needs to be retained.