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Push hard for the finish line!

August 18, 2023 by David Svien

Jessica Caselden (right), and her fellow daughters of the prairie. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Two weeks from today should be cause for celebration.

The Coupeville High School football team steps onto the gridiron at Mickey Clark Field that night, hosting Klahowya in the first athletic contest of the 2023-2024 school year.

When the Wolves make their debut, the cheers will be even louder if CHS Athletic Trainer Jessica Caselden joins them on the sidelines.

If that happens, it will mean that we, Wolf Nation, rose up as one and righted a potential wrong.

That while we understand budget cuts are part of the new reality for many schools, that cutting the athletic trainer position, especially when it’s filled by a daughter of the prairie, is a step in the wrong direction.

Coupeville administrators decided they couldn’t fund the $8,600 necessary to provide protection for our town’s student/athletes, so we did.

We saved the position for a year and are sending a clear message something has to change before the next budget is crafted.

Having an athletic trainer in place, especially one as talented and committed as Caselden, who returned to The Rock and bought her childhood home, shouldn’t even be a question.

The position is too important to be reduced to a line item on a piece of paper.

It is your sons and daughters’ health and well-being.

It is having a trained pro on scene when the unthinkable happens, it is preventing and lessening injuries, it is a woman inspiring a new generation with her words and actions.

It is everything this school district says it wants in its core principals.

And we’re almost there.

The community has raised $6,420 as of Friday morning, leaving us $2,180 shy of saving the position.

There’s a car wash this Sunday, Aug. 20 from 10-2 at Ebey Academy, which sits on NE Terry, right across from the high school.

Suggested donation is $10, and you are certainly welcome to add tips.

 

Our GoFundMe, which has attracted 65 supporters, can be found here:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/protect-inspire-wolf-athletes

 

You can also contact me at davidsvien@hotmail.com if you would like to donate in some other manner.

 

This is the weekend to make this a reality.

Whether you can donate $5 or $500, every dollar pushes us closer to sending a positive message across the prairie and out into the world.

We are Wolf Nation, hear us roar!

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Rising star meets living legend

August 17, 2023 by David Svien

Hammer throw legend Martin Bingisser (left) meets up with Coupeville chucker Logan Martin. (Bob Martin photo)

Call it the Martin and Martin Show.

Coupeville grad Logan Martin, now a track and field star at Central Washington University, recently got a chance to meet and throw with Martin Bingisser, Switzerland’s national hammer throw coach.

A former All-American at the University of Washington, he’s an 11-time national champion in the sport who is also a lawyer and founder of HMMR Media – a leading online resource for throwers.

Bingisser is a busy man but has family in Bellingham and makes the trek from Switzerland every two years.

Enter the ever-resourceful Martin, who used email and Instagram to convince the legendary thrower he should meet up with his #1 fan when in Washington state.

“I was quite the pest, but it paid off!” Martin said with a laugh.

The duo, along with Logan’s dad, Coupeville High School track and field coach Bob Martin, met up at Western Washington University.

“It was very surreal when I was able to shake his hand and hang out with him for the day,” Logan Martin said.

“I see him as a living legend and quite literally everything he said was gold.”

While achieving his own success, Bingisser was coached by Anatoliy Bondarchuk, an Olympic gold medalist in 1972 who has gone on to mentor an incredible string of world record holders.

During his own rise in the sport, adding the hammer throw to the shotput and discus as a high school athlete, Logan Martin has been a relentless worker, both in the practice circle and reading about the sport.

A lot of that research came directly from Bingisser’s writing.

“After digging a little bit, I found that 90% of the hundreds of pages that I’ve printed out and filed, were written by Martin, which was really cool,” Logan Martin said.

During his time at CHS, Dalton’s younger brother played soccer, tennis, basketball, and track, claiming 2nd place at state in all three of his throwing events.

Logan Martin then made the jump to college track and field, earning All-West Region honors in the hammer throw as a CWU freshman this spring.

With his sophomore campaign looming ahead of him, the work continues.

Getting to spend valuable time with one of the best the sport has ever seen is invaluable.

“I was able to take away a whole new perspective on myself as an athlete and my throw,” Logan Martin said.

“And also, two notebook pages that are filled with chicken scratch from that session,” he added with a laugh.

Posted in Track, Wolves in college | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Coaches calmly win, I put the hype in hyperventilate

August 17, 2023 by David Svien

“Hey, none of you tell Brad he’s exactly 900 wins away from passing Ed Pepple as the state’s winningest high school boys’ basketball coach!!” (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

I probably care a lot more about the hype than they do.

Coupeville High School’s current coaches, while very competitive and always striving for wins on the playing field, don’t include any divas.

No matter the sport, they are focused on team success over personal accolades, and don’t seem to spend a lot of time tracking personal win/loss records or worrying about where they stand on the all-time ladder.

So, that’s where I come in.

With a lot of extra time on my hands, and an abiding interest in tracking stats of all kinds, I crunch the numbers — even if sometimes it’s just for my own entertainment.

As we head into the 2023-2024 school year, there are 11 active head coaches at CHS, with seven of them having recorded wins.

First-year girls’ soccer guru Kimberly Kisch is set to make her debut in the season opener, while Elizabeth Bitting (cross country/track), Jennifer Morrell (cheer), and Bob Martin (track) run programs which don’t collect conventional wins and losses.

At some point, we’ll pick up a 12th coach, once a replacement for Ken Stange is announced.

He retired this spring after two decades in charge of the Wolf tennis programs, leaving Coupeville AD Willie Smith with big shoes to fill.

So, as we head into 23-24, where do we stand? Whether you asked, or not, here we are:

 

Wins at CHS for active varsity head coaches:

Kevin McGranahan (Softball) — 97
Cory Whitmore (Volleyball) — 76
Brad Sherman (Boys Basketball) — 53
Megan Richter (Girls Basketball) — 19
Steve Hilborn (Baseball) — 17
Robert Wood (Boys Soccer) — 10
Bennett Richter (Football) — 7

 

In a side note, Richter (.777) edges Hilborn (.739) for best winning percentage, though, to be fair, each coach only has one season at the helm.

McGranahan, who has won at a .688 clip, enters his ninth season this spring — counting the Covid campaign of 2020.

The diamond kingpin tops all active Wolf coaches with 141 games, while Whitmore (112 games/.679 winning percentage) and Sherman (110 games) are the only other CHS leaders to crack triple digits.

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Wolf harriers chase trail glory

August 17, 2023 by David Svien

Freshman Kenny Jacobsen has shown great promise in summer running sessions. (Jackie Saia photo)

Introductions should not be required.

Now, technically, Coupeville High School cross country will have a new head coach in place when practice starts Monday.

Only thing is, she’s been around every step of the way.

Elizabeth Bitting, who also doubles as Coupeville’s girls’ track coach, led the CHS harrier program in 2020, filling a gap between coaches as a favor to Wolf AD Willie Smith.

During the other five seasons since cross country relaunched in Coupeville in 2018, the running guru has worked with the town’s middle school athletes, building the foundation of the rebirth.

Now, with Paige Spangler having departed Whidbey after two years, Bitting is stepping up to claim ownership of the high school program, this time for good.

The always-enthusiastic coach is counting down the hours to get officially going.

Bitting welcomed athletes to summer fun runs, with nine of 16 runners currently signed up for the fall season participating.

Now, it’s time to come together as a full team.

“Having coached middle school cross country for the past five years and holding the summer fun runs, I have coached most of these runners at one time or another,” Bitting said.

“There is so much talent returning and moving up, but for the past few years I have had my eyes on the boys’ team.

“There is something there, they have the potential,” she added. “They can truly run as a pack, push each other as a pack, and win as a pack.”

Coupeville sent its entire girls’ team and two boys to the state meet last fall, with the girls also winning an academic state title.

Three of these six Coupeville girls are eligible to return this season. (Nicole Strelow photo)

Graduation has subtracted several runners, including team leaders Helen Strelow and Mitchell Hall, but four state meet vets — Noelle Western, Reagan Callahan, Carson Field, and Erica McGrath — are eligible to return.

While Bitting won’t know for sure what her roster will look like until practice starts, she’s already seen great promise from younger runners who participated in the summer runs.

“I have not seen the whole crew together as one group,” she said. “However there has been one newcomer who stood out during the SFR’s, Kenny Jacobsen.

“Kenny is a freshman and seems to be ready for the challenge,” Bitting added. “He puts everything into practice, he is easy going and ready to be a part of the pack.”

However the roster stacks up, the longtime running coach is excited to see how her charges do on the course.

“My goals for the season are to have each runner push themselves past their comfort level,” Bitting said.

“To have them discover that untapped energy they don’t think they have left in their tank.” she added. “To have them be comfortable giving 110%.”

While she wouldn’t pass up the chance to have a harrier make a run at joining Wolf legends Natasha Bamberger and Tyler King in winning an individual state title, Bitting preaches a team-first style.

“I am truly focusing on the pack mentality,” she said. “If they work as a pack and run as a pack that will be their strength. Both teams have the numbers and capability of doing this.

“The main area I’ll be working hard on is getting each runner to feel confident they have what it takes to finish their races strong.

“To tap into that untapped energy they have stored but might be afraid to use. Yes, they will be tired, but they can do it.” 

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“The light called his spirit home”

August 17, 2023 by David Svien

Bill and Sylvia Grasser

He was an integral part of Wolf Nation.

Bill Grasser’s children and grandchildren are among the most talented athletes to ever suit up for Coupeville High School sports teams, and the man himself exemplified everything positive about prairie life.

He might have been born in Anacortes, but he was Coupeville through and through.

Mr. Grasser lived his life well, and his positive impact on our community will endure.

From his family:

 

On the morning of August 7th, 2023, surrounded by his family, the cloudy sky opened up, the light beamed down directly on Bill, and called his spirit home.

William Joseph Grasser was born August 11, 1938, to Melvin William Grasser and Jeannette Gladys Maylor Grasser, in Anacortes, WA.

He was raised in San De Fuca and attended Coupeville schools.

On November 25th, 1960, Bill married Sylvia Arline Coates, settling in Coupeville and raising their family in Sylvia’s family home on the hill.

After leaving the Coast Guard, he worked for Shell Oil Company on a tugboat as a wiper delivering fuel up and down the West Coast.

He enjoyed his tugboat work, but a few years after having children he began working closer to home.

In his younger days he logged on Whidbey Island, then worked for a time with Libby’s Construction.

Later in life he worked for Lakeside Industries as a heavy equipment operator, until he retired in his mid 50’s.

After retirement he began driving to help out the local farmers and eventually became a part time trucker with Skagit Valley Trucking, hauling produce.

Bill loved spending time with his 10 grandkids and riding his beloved motorcycle.

He also took great interest in staying connected with, and caring for, his childhood friends.

He is survived by his children, Marie (Ron) Bagby, Michele Fournier, and Dean (Sherra) Grasser.

His grandchildren; April Ellsworth, Ashley Heilig, Craig Fournier, Michael Bagby, Crystal Hurley, Jason Bagby, Tyler Grasser, Erika Sather, Emmy Grasser, and Lance Sather.

His five great grandchildren; Mia, Noah, Savannah, Brayden, and Cooper.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife Sylvia, his daughter Marlene Grasser, and his brother Howard Grasser.

Graveside service will be held Sunday, August 20, 11:00 AM, at Sunnyside Cemetery in Coupeville, WA.

A celebration of life will follow, starting at 1:00, and be held at the Grasser Homestead.

Posted in In memory | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment »

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