Coupeville Sports

Royal rumbles, big buckets

March 3, 2023 by David Svien

Willow Leedy-Bonifas rattled the rims for a season-high 20 points Thursday afternoon. (Alysabeth Leedy photo)

Three games, a tough foe, one win, and several breakout individual performances.

Thursday’s home middle school basketball clash between Coupeville and visiting Sultan had something for everyone, it seems.

How the day played out, while I was far away chasing chickens while my sister hugs penguins in Antarctica for her 50th birthday.

Level 1:

Wolf stars Tenley Stuurmans and Haylee Armstrong blistered the net, but a powerhouse Turks squad pulled away in the second half to notch a 42-24 victory.

Sultan jumped out to a 10-4 lead by the first break, before nudging its lead to 19-12 at the half.

After the break, the visitors continued to pad their lead, using 11-7 and 12-5 runs across the final two quarters to set the final score.

Stuurmans delivered her best shooting performance of the season, rattling the rims for a team-high 12 points while dropping a three-ball and netting three free throws, while Armstrong backed her up with eight points.

Lexis Drake and Tamsin Ward rounded out the Wolf attack, each banking in a bucket, with Adeline Maynes, Capri Anter, Sydney Van Dyke, Chelsi Stevens, and Rhylin Price also seeing floor time for CMS.

Level 2:

A defensive-minded game went to Sultan, which held Coupeville scoreless in both the second and fourth quarters en route to a 20-6 win.

The Wolves returned the favor, blanking the Turks in the third frame, but couldn’t generate enough offense to get back into the game.

Ari Cunningham, Melanie Wolfe, and Isa De Souza Oliveira Mc Fetridge scored a bucket apiece for CMS, with Kennedy O’Neill, Izzy Bowder, Lina Shelly, Lillie Ketterling, Amaiya Curry, Taylor Marrs, and Ava Lucero bringing the heat on the defensive end of the floor.

Level 3:

You can’t stop her, you can’t control her, and you can’t beat her.

CMS 7th grader Willow Leedy-Bonifas went bonkers, knocking down a season-high 20 points, outscoring Sultan by herself and sparking the Wolves to a 25-13 win.

The younger sibling of former Coupeville athletic aces Ivy and Lily Leedy scored in three of four quarters, highlighted by an eight-point run in the second frame, when the Wolves cracked the game open with a 12-0 surge.

Allie Powers and Amelia Crowder both swished a bucket, while Sophia Batterman slipped a free throw through the net to cap Coupeville’s scoring effort.

Emma Cushman, KeeArya Brown, and Sage Stavros rounded out the active roster, with every player contributing to the crowd-pleasing win.

What’s next:

Coupeville closes its season with a pair of rumbles next week.

The Wolves hit the road Tuesday, Mar. 7 to travel to Lakewood for contests which were bumped from this week, then host South Whidbey in the season finale Thursday, Mar. 9.

Tip-off is 3:15 PM.

Posted in Girls Basketball, Middle School | Tagged CMS Wolves, girls basketball, Sultan, Tamsin Ward, Tenley Stuurmans | Leave a Comment »

Sluggers swing for success

March 2, 2023 by David Svien

Sophomore slugger Madison McMillan is back to launch more dingers. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Never back down.

Coming off of back-to-back Northwest 2B/1B League titles — without a loss in league play — the Coupeville High School softball team heads into a new season intent on continuing its strong work.

Facing a tough non-league schedule, and adjusting to life without standout pitcher Izzy Wells, will give Kevin McGranahan’s squad plenty to overcome, but that’s the plan.

“Our goals remain the same as in every season,” McGranahan said. “Have fun, win the league again, earn a trip to state and compete.

“If we continue to play as a team and for one another then we can accomplish all those goals.”

Coupeville lost four players to graduation, led by Izzy Wells and hot-hitting Audrianna Shaw, who were part of a state tourney team as freshmen.

Also gone is sophomore catcher Savina Wells, now in Florida after a family move.

While the Wolves have five seniors atop the roster — Sofia Peters, Gwen Gustafson, Allie Lucero, Melanie Navarro, and Maya Lucero — they have less on-field experience than previous groups thanks to the pandemic.

Covid swept away their freshman season before it began, then limited them to just a handful of league games as sophomores.

Last season was the first time in three years Coupeville, and its foes, were allowed to play a full season.

Sofia Peters is one of five Wolf seniors.

The current group of seniors is joined by a strong group of younger players, many of whom were starters or key contributors last season.

Current sophomores Madison McMillan, Mia Farris, Chloe Marzocca, Jada Heaton, and Taylor Brotemarkle and freshman Teagan Calkins — who saw varsity action as an 8th grader — form a strong core.

Add in current 8th graders Haylee Armstrong and Capri Anter, as well as 7th grader Rhylin Price — who can practice, but not play in games this season — and the Wolves continue to build for the future while remaining competitive today.

“They are going to be an integral piece for this program the next few seasons as our numbers are ebbing and not flowing at the moment,” McGranahan said.

However the lineup breaks down, the Wolves will retain their normal scrappiness, while finetuning their collective skill sets.

“This team will need to be able to lean on one another and play as a team and play for each other in order to succeed,” McGranahan said. “I think from what I am seeing so far at practice we are taking the right strides and will be very competitive again this year in our league.

“Our strengths will be our never say die attitude and competitiveness.

“We are never going to be out of a game and will compete to the last pitch; that is something these players take pride in.”

Melanie Navarro anchors a hard-hitting lineup.

Six of seven schools in the Northwest 2B/1B League play softball, with Mount Vernon Christian sitting out the season.

Ultimately, though, it’s the games against fellow 2B teams La Conner and Friday Harbor which will dictate Coupeville’s playoff seeding.

“As it goes every year the league title will come down to how we do against Friday Harbor,” McGranahan said.

“The gap has narrowed somewhat but I still feel we have the edge and would take our athletes over theirs all day, every day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

“These young ladies never cease to amaze me with how they attack practices and games,” he added.

“We have a huge bullseye on our back — we have to be ready for everyone’s “A” game every time we play.”

To prepare, the Wolves will put in time and effort every day.

“We will be working on our softball IQ this season and creating a standard for this program going forward,” McGranahan said.

“We are always working on the offense and defense in practice but this season we will also focus on the little things and the more technical aspects of the game.

“We chose to schedule a VERY tough out of conference schedule so we can get ourselves ready for the post season and state should we earn a spot,” he added.

“I am challenging these players to answer the call and show us what they have.”

Posted in Softball | Tagged Allie Lucero, CHS Wolves, Melanie Navarro, Softball, Spring Sports Preview | Leave a Comment »

Hoops queen dominates Norwegian hardwood

March 1, 2023 by David Svien

Makana Stone commands the basketball to get back in her hand. (Photo property Marianne Maja Stenerud)

Onward and upward.

Sparked by the play of American assassin Makana Stone, Baerum basketball cruised to its fourth-straight hardwood win, polishing off Ullern 63-51 Wednesday in Norway.

With the victory, Baerum gets to 14-5 on the season, moving back into sole possession of second place in the seven-team Kvinneligaen.

Ulriken (19-0) sits atop the league standings, while Asker (14-6) slides a half-game back of Baerum.

Stone put together a well-balanced effort Wednesday, pumping in 19 points, snatching eight boards, and handing out six assists.

Fellow American Abbey Hoff led Baerum with 23 points and nine rebounds.

Stone and Co. jumped out to a 24-11 lead after one quarter of play, before Ullern (8-11) closed the gap to 32-25 by the half.

The second half was a taut, back-and-forth affair, with Baerum holding on to its lead until the final buzzer sounded.

The squad has three days off, returning to action Mar. 5 with a rumble against Bergen, which is 4-14 on the season.

With her stellar performance Wednesday Stone improves her season numbers to 359 points, 228 rebounds, 47 assists, 51 steals, and 11 blocked shots.

The Coupeville grad is in her second season as a pro baller, having played in England during her rookie year.

Posted in Basketball | Tagged Baerum, Basketball, CHS Wolves, Kvinneligaen, Makana Stone, Norway | Leave a Comment »

Little League signups underway

March 1, 2023 by David Svien

Spring, and little league action are just around the corner. (Allison Scarpo photo)

Pretend it’s spring.

Registration for Central Whidbey Little League wraps next Friday, Mar. 10, with baseball and softball seasons kicking off Apr. 1.

CWLL action is open to players ages 5-14, with multiple teams offered for both sports.

For more info and to get your child signed up, pop over to:

https://www.centralwhidbeylittleleague.com/Default.aspx?tabid=958723&fbclid=IwAR3NYQV4MM5Jj4pzlGpqGYshfpT-3yvqg7wUEHBoBcQP6RXz5QMd4zP1Q64

Posted in Little League | Tagged baseball, Central Whidbey Little League, registration, Softball, spring | Leave a Comment »

“We want to be the team of details”

February 28, 2023 by David Svien

Wolf junior Peyton Caveness is a key returning player for CHS baseball. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

They’re chasing that state tourney dream.

The Coupeville High School baseball team came within a play here, a play there of earning the 10th trip to the big dance in program history last spring.

But it wasn’t to be, as the Wolves, coming off of a regular-season Northwest 2B/1B League title, fell 3-2 to Friday Harbor in a winner-to-state, loser-out playoff game.

Jump forward a year, flip out coaches, with former assistant Steve Hilborn taking the reins after Will Thayer’s move to Vegas, and Coupeville is back on the chase.

The Wolves lost five players to graduation, including league MVP Hawthorne Wolfe and All-League picks Xavier Murdy and Cody Roberts.

But Steve Hilborn can still put together a rock-solid lineup which is anchored by All-League players Scott Hilborn and Jonathan Valenzuela and features a wealth of talented young stars.

Some of the names may be different, but the job remains the same.

“Simple, sweep Friday Harbor, win league, go to state,” was Steve Hilborn’s reply when asked about goals.

The schools, which split two regular-season games last spring, are set to play three times this year.

Game #1, on Friday Harbor, is Mar. 28, while the Wolverines travel to Coupeville Apr. 18. Things wrap up May 4 back on Friday Harbor for the regular-season finale.

While that three-game series will likely dictate who wins the league title, Steve Hilborn is not looking past anyone in the seven-team NWL.

“Friday Harbor is the obvious one – I don’t believe they lost too many seniors from last year,” he said.

“But also Mount Vernon Christian, and Orcas had some good young talent and might surprise some teams this year.”

Steve Hilborn expects pitching to be his team’s biggest strength, with seniors Scott Hilborn and Valenzuela teaming up with freshman Chase Anderson to form the core of the staff.

While Anderson is only a fab frosh, he already has extensive varsity experience, having been a starting infielder and pitching for the Wolves as an 8th grader.

“The Magic Man” was the backup QB for the Wolf varsity football team as a freshman, leading the team in the second half of its state playoff game, and was a key member of the CHS varsity boys’ basketball squad.

“I think our pitching will be solid with our three main starters,” Steve Hilborn said. “I don’t think it’s just nepotism, but Scott was a huge part of all aspects of our game last year and we’ll need him to anchor the pitching staff this year.

“I expect Jon and Chase to be our other two main starters, with a few other players carrying the remaining load.”

First-Team All-Conference player Scott Hilborn is back for his senior season.

The team’s biggest question mark is likely behind the plate, with the team having lost the always-steady Murdy.

“Catcher is going to be a huge void to fill with Xavier gone,” Steve Hilborn said.

“We are looking at Peyton (Caveness) and Jon for that spot with Johnny (Porter) in there as well.”

The Wolves would love to see their offense kick things into gear, taking some of the pressure off of their pitching staff. Not every game has to be a low-run thriller.

“When it comes to offense you never know who might surprise you,” Steve Hilborn said. “Cole (White) and Peyton came through with some clutch hits last year and we expect more of that this year.

“Little too early to tell, but historically we haven’t hit that consistently and we want to change that,” he added. “We want every at-bat to have a plan and an approach.

“We might still strike out in a good battle, but, if we follow our approach and don’t flail away at three bad pitches, it can still be a win.”

The first day of practice attracted a solid group of young players, though the Wolves are still interested in adding bodies. At the 2B level, that can include 8th graders.

“We have quite a few freshmen, several of which played as 8th graders last year,” Steve Hilborn said. “At the first practice we had three new faces — Jayme Carranza, Parker Fuller-Hewitt, and David Dominici.

“We would like a few more players to fill out two teams, and we would love some 8th graders if any are interested.”

However the roster breaks down, the Wolves and their new head coach aim to bring a smile to the faces of old-school fans.

“We want to be the team of details,” Steve Hilborn said. “To do the little things right that add up to runs at the plate, outs on defense, and eventually wins.”