Coupeville Sports

Blazing temps, toasty pics

May 14, 2023 by David Svien

Carolyn Lhamon sends her shot put on its way. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

It was warm, at least by Coupeville standards.

Braving blue skies and sizzlin’ sun rays Saturday, Coupeville High School track and field stars put on a show during the District 1/2 championships.

The Wolves captured girls and boys team titles, sparked by 18 wins spread among its many athletes.

Along for the ride was Diet Coke-sipping cameraman John Fisken, who, fueled by caffeine, snapped a metric ton of pics.

He’s responsible for the ones seen above and below, but that’s just the tip of the photographic iceberg.

To see much more, and maybe buy some glossy presents for Grandma Gertie in Grand Rapids, pop over to:

https://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/Coupeville-Track-2022-2023/Track-2023-05-13-District-1-Meet/

Issabel Johnson, ready to attack.

Alex Murdy flies on by.

“Dude caught some air!”

Dominic Coffman gets some sun on the guns.

Wolf relay runners (l to r) Ayden Wyman, Lyla Stuurmans, Ryanne Knoblich, and Carly Burt are a fleet-footed bunch.

“I keep putting them back straight, and they keep knocking everything out of order. Kids…”

Claire Mayne demonstrates the proper form, where you don’t knock the hurdles over.

Posted in Track | Tagged Alex Murdy, CHS Wolves, Claire Mayne, John Fisken photos, track and field | Leave a Comment »

CHS track dominates Bi-Districts

May 14, 2023 by David Svien

Wolf senior Dominic Coffman is headed to state in the high jump and 4 x 100 relay. (Brent Coffman photo)

Win, or go home.

And yes, the Coupeville High School track and field team was already home Saturday, hosting the District 1/2 championships at Mickey Clark Field.

But every race, every field event, was a nailbiter, as the only way athletes earned their ticket to state was by winning.

Finish second Saturday and you got a firm handshake, but that was it.

Which was fine by the Wolves, who went out and won 18 events en route to capturing both girls and boys team titles.

“We are the champions … of the world.” (Bob Martin photo)

Coupeville’s girls had themselves a truly epic day, rolling up more points than the second and third best teams combined.

The Wolves finished with 225 points, with Friday Harbor (109), La Conner (83), and Northwest Christian of Lacey (72) bringing up the rear.

The battle was closer on the boy’s side, with Coupeville (194) pulling away from La Conner (146) and Friday Harbor (131) late.

NWC was well back with just 39 points.

Once they add alternates for the girls 4 x 400 relay and the boys 4 x 100 unit, the Wolves are expecting to pack 22 athletes onto the bus for the trip to Yakima.

After a long run in Cheney, the 2B state meet jumps to Zaepfel Stadium this season, with the royal rumble slated for May 25-27.

Lyla Stuurmans, Aidan Wilson, Monroe Myles, and Carolyn Lhamon all qualified for two individual events, with the first three of those Wolves also part of a state meet-qualifying relay team.

Wilson, Ryanne Knoblich, Reiley Araceley, and Dominic Coffman are the only active CHS track stars to have earned state meet medals in prior years.

Knoblich was 2nd in the high jump last season, while Wilson was 3rd in the 800.

Wilson also teamed up with Coffman, Araceley, and the now graduated Caleb Meyer to finish 2nd in the 4 x 100.

Edie Bittner and Bob Martin keep things under control. (Photo courtesy Bittner)

Saturday’s results:

GIRLS:

100 — Monroe Myles (1st) 13.28 *PR*; Issabel Johnson (5th) 14.38 *PR*

200 — M. Myles (1st) 27.17 *PR*; Anna Annunziato (5th) 31.76 *PR*

400 — Lyla Stuurmans (1st) 1:04.85; Aleera Kent (2nd) 1:13.43

800 — Stuurmans (1st) 2:35.75; Kent (5th) 2:57.29

1600 — Ayden Wyman (4th) 6:46.96; Cristina McGrath (5th) 7:47.50

3200 — Kent (4th) 13:31.60 *PR*; McGrath (5th) 17:38.62

100 Hurdles — Claire Mayne (1st) 17.41 *PR*; Katie Buskala (2nd) 20.82 *PR*

300 Hurdles — Mayne (2nd) 54.20 *PR*; Gwen Crowder (3rd) 1:05.28

4 x 100 Relay — M. Myles, Ryanne Knoblich, Johnson, Mayne (2nd) 53.72

4 x 200 Relay — Carly Burt, Knoblich, A. Wyman, Stuurmans (3rd) 1:56.80

4 x 400 Relay — Mayne, Burt, M. Myles, Stuurmans (1st) 4:30.64

Shot Put — Carolyn Lhamon (1st) 35-00 *PR*; Katie Marti (2nd) 30-09.50 *PR*

Discus — Lhamon (1st) 100-00 *PR*; Reese Wilkinson (3rd) 95-11 *PR*

Javelin — Marti (2nd) 93-08; Taygin Jump (3rd) 89-09

High Jump — Knoblich (1st) 5-00

Pole Vault — Burt (1st) 7-00; Aleksia Jump (2nd) 5-06

Long Jump — Knoblich (2nd) 14-00.75; Burt (3rd) 13-08

Triple Jump — McGrath (2nd) 27-06.25

Carolyn Lhamon set PR’s in the shot put and discus Saturday afternoon. (Photo courtesy Helene Lhamon)

BOYS:

100 — Dominic Coffman (5th) 13.04; Nehemiah Myles (6th) 13.21

200 — Reiley Araceley (4th) 24.95; Alex Murdy (5th) 25.19

400 — Preston Epp (2nd) 55.73; Hank Milnes (4th) 58.88

800 — Aidan Wilson (1st) 2:08.68; Ezra Boilek (2nd) 2:22.81

1600 — Mitchell Hall (2nd) 4:40.16 *PR*; Malachi Somes (4th) 5:07.17

3200 — Cameron Epp (3rd) 10:50.75; Somes (4th) 11:17.90

110 Hurdles — Tate Wyman (4th) 17.77; Araceley (5th) 19.20

300 Hurdles — T. Wyman (3rd) 45.92; Cael Wilson (5th) 50.08

4 x 100 Relay — Araceley, T. Wyman, A. Wilson, Coffman (1st) 45.02

4 x 400 Relay — P. Epp, Hall, T. Wyman, A. Wilson (2nd) 3:39.69

Shot Put — Josh Upchurch (1st) 41-10 *PR*; Zac Tackett (3rd) 35-11.50

Discus — Tackett (1st) 119-03; C. Epp (3rd) 84-04

Javelin — Hall (3rd) 112-04; Boilek (4th) 110-06

High Jump — Coffman (1st) 5-10; C.Wilson (3rd) 5-06

Pole Vault — C. Wilson (1st) 8-00

Long Jump — Murdy (1st) 20-03 *PR*; N. Myles (3rd) 19-02.50

Triple Jump — A. Wilson (1st) 41-05.50; Milnes (6th) 35-10

Josh Upchurch prepares to launch. (Brittany Kolbet photo)

Posted in Track | Tagged Aidan Wilson, bi-districts, Carolyn Lhamon, CHS Wolves, track and field | Leave a Comment »

Wolf baseball punches state ticket

May 14, 2023 by David Svien

Coupeville High School seniors Jonathan Valenzuela (left) and Scott Hilborn were nine-year-olds the last time Wolf baseball went to state. (Morgan White photo)

Party like it’s 2014.

Thrashing Friday Harbor 11-0 Saturday in Arlington in a game mercy-ruled after five innings, the Coupeville High School baseball squad continues to rack up honors.

With the victory, the Wolves, now 16-5 on the season, add the District 1/2 title to their Northwest 2B/1B League crown, while earning a trip to the big dance for the first time in nine seasons.

The last time a CHS hardball squad went to the state tourney, Willie Smith was still head coach, current assistant coach Morgan Payne was in the starting lineup, and Coupeville was nipped 2-1 by Rochester in a first-round loss.

This time around, the Wolves are one of 12 teams still alive in the hunt for the 2B crown.

They will learn their opening opponent and the location of the game Sunday when the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association seeding committee releases its bracket.

First round and quarterfinal games will be played May 20 at various sites, with the semifinals May 26 and the title game and 3rd/4th place game May 27.

The May 26 and 27 games are set for Johnson-O’Brien Stadium at Ephrata High School.

The first two rounds of state are single elimination, with the top four seeds earning a first-round bye.

To see the bracket — without teams in place yet — pop over to:

http://www.nw1a2bathletics.com/m2/tourn.php?act=vt&tid=3930

Wolf coach Steve Hilborn strolls off with the hardware. (Shannon Hamilton photo)

Coupeville baseball had to wait a bit longer than expected to earn its tenth trip to state, with bi-districts delayed thanks to Friday Harbor having issues with the state ferry system.

Once the Wolverines, the #2 seed from District 1, arrived in Arlington, they jumped all over District 2’s Northwest Christian (Lacey), running them off the field 16-0 in a loser-out game.

The day’s second game was also a blowout, but this time Friday Harbor was the one being battered senseless.

Coupeville hit the field hot and never relented, scoring in all four innings in which it sent batters to the plate.

The Wolves slapped three runs on the board in the first, netting all the runs starting pitcher Scott Hilborn would need.

Jonathan Valenzuela lashed a two-run double to center to get CHS going, then came around to score on a Friday Harbor wild pitch.

Hilborn, who struck out eight while limiting the Wolverines to just a pair of hits and a lone walk, was fairly flawless, while his defense removed one brief threat with a slickly turned double play.

From 3-0, Coupeville pushed its lead out to 7-0 through two, then made it 10-0 after three, and 11-0 coming out of the fourth frame.

The Wolves finished with 13 hits in four innings worth of at-bats, with seven different hitters racking up at least one base knock.

Chase Anderson drops a bunt for a hit. (Morgan White photo)

Aiden O’Neill and Peyton Caveness crunched RBI doubles in the second, then both came around later to swat RBI singles.

The last of O’Neill’s run-scoring hits plated courtesy runner Landon Roberts to close the scoring, before Hilborn ended the game with three straight strikeouts.

Coupeville’s stellar season has come courtesy of a young team, as seven of the 11 players sent into Saturday’s game by first-year CHS head coach Steve Hilborn are freshmen or sophomores.

Scott Hilborn and Valenzuela are the only seniors, while starters Chase Anderson, Coop Cooper, Camden Glover, and O’Neill are 9th graders.

Saturday stats:

Chase Anderson — Two singles
Peyton Caveness — Two singles, one double
Camden Glover — One walk
Scott Hilborn — Two singles
Aiden O’Neill — One single, one double
Jack Porter — One single
Johnny Porter — One walk
Jonathan Valenzuela — One single, one double, one walk
Cole White — One single

League champs. Bi-District champs. Ticket to the big dance punched. (Morgan White photo)

Posted in Baseball | Tagged baseball, bi-districts, CHS Wolves, Friday Harbor, Jonathan Valenzuela, state tournament | Leave a Comment »

Logan launches lasers

May 13, 2023 by David Svien

Bob and Logan Martin bask in track glory. (Abbie Martin photo)

He made a strong first impression.

Coupeville grad Logan Martin capped a stellar freshman season of track and field at Central Washington University this weekend, claiming two 6th place finishes at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships in Monmouth, Oregon.

The Wolf alumni opened the two-day event by hucking the hammer 169 feet, four inches Friday, then came back around Saturday to wing the discus 132-07.

Martin was competing in fields of 15 and 16 athletes, respectively.

The CWU men’s team finished 4th out of nine schools in the team title race, with their fab frosh scoring six points across his two events.

Western Washington University claimed both the men’s and women’s team titles, with Martin’s female teammates finishing 5th overall.

During his time at CHS, Bob and Abbie’s youngest son played tennis, soccer, basketball, and track for the Wolves.

Logan won multiple state meet medals in track, and was part of the first Coupeville boys’ basketball team to advance to the state tourney in 30+ years.

Posted in Track, Wolves in college | Tagged Central Washington University, CHS Wolves, Great Northwest Athletic Conference, Logan Martin, track and field | Leave a Comment »

Scan the standings, one final time

May 13, 2023 by David Svien

Brynn Parker becomes one with the tennis ball. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Time for the fireworks.

The regular season is done, league champs are crowned, and it’s nothing but playoff action from here on out.

Three of Coupeville’s four spring sports teams are still alive heading into next week, with two in action.

Girls’ tennis sends two singles players and two doubles teams to Bi-Districts Friday, May 19 in Seattle, where the Wolves will try and punch some tickets to the state championships.

CHS baseball plays the next day, making its first appearance at state since 2014.

The location of that game and opponent will be announced Sunday when the seeding committee reveals its work.

Coupeville’s track and field team is also off to state, but not until the following week, with the last meet of the season set for May 25-27.

Our final look at league standings for spring sports:

Northwest League baseball:

School	League	Overall
Coupeville	13-1	16-5
MV Christian	13-1	17-3
Friday Harbor	8-6	9-9
Orcas Island	7-8	12-9
Darrington	6-9	8-10
La Conner	3-11	5-14
Concrete	0-14	0-15