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Logan Martin strikes a pose. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Hard work never scared Logan Martin.

Few Coupeville athletes put in as much time and effort as the Class of 2022 grad did.

Following in the footsteps of older brother Dalton, lil’ Logan became big Logan, achieving his own athletic and academic success, and he did so thanks to outworking everyone.

As a little kid, he and Mollie Bailey would seize every chance they had to shoot during down time at high school hoops games.

Before tipoff, at halftime, after games, the duo would be out there, putting up shots, shagging rebounds, and building their skill set.

Rumble, young man, rumble. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

That drive and commitment carried over to high school for Logan, especially when he began to pursue excellence as a track and field thrower.

No matter the weather conditions, the time of day, or the state of the world, he’d be out there with dad Bob, honing his discus and shotput skills.

Logan would whirl, the implement would explode free from his hand, arcing high into the heavens, and then he’d nod, say a word or two to pops, and get right back at it.

“Fly far away, my lil’ discus!” (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

So, it didn’t come as much of a surprise to see him soar the way he did, even in the Age of Coronavirus.

The pandemic stole away Logan’s entire sophomore season and eliminated any postseason opportunities as a junior.

But, like his fellow Wolf athletes, he endured and prospered.

Logan won 22 times in his high school career, tacking on a combined 13 victories as a senior after going undefeated in both discus (5-0) and shot put (4-0) during his shortened junior campaign.

He never stopped working, and with the annual trek to Cheney restored this spring, he capped his senior season by claiming 2nd place in both of his events at the WIAA championships.

Not content to stop there, Logan added a third runner-up finish — all to Jeremiah Nubbe, a once-in-a-lifetime chucker from Rainier — at the non-WIAA state hammer throw meet.

Medals and plaques in hand, memories carved out, hard work paid off, the road continues with Logan slated to throw for Central Washington University next year.

Signing on the dotted line to be a college athlete. (Eileen Stone photo)

While his track performance marked a personal high, spring was the cherry on an amazing senior campaign for the youngest of Abbie Martin’s two sons.

The Wolf boys basketball team, anchored by a group of seniors who grew up together on the hardwood, reached heights not seen in decades.

The program’s first league title since 2002.

Its first district crown since 1970, with the clincher coming against perennial power La Conner.

And, finally, the first trip to the state tourney since 1988, with Coupeville the only unbeaten team in the 2B field at 16-0.

Celebrating hardwood success with Dominic Coffman. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Through it all Logan was a “glue” guy for a Wolf squad which bought in to coach Brad Sherman’s team-first concept.

Everyone wants to be The Dude, hitting the game-winning shot, and Logan could score inside and outside, putting back offensive boards or pulling up to splash a three-ball.

But on a team where six to seven guys could pace the squad in scoring on any night, he accepted his role, and made the Wolves better for it.

Logan was the guy who fought for every loose ball, ripped rebounds free even while being pummeled, set his teammates up for success — and cheered their achievements — and never backed down on defense.

From day one to the final moments of his prep hoops career, he worked — relentlessly and with pride in what he was doing.

And that carried over to other sports Logan picked up along the way, whether it was wielding a tennis racket or protecting the goal on the soccer pitch.

Different sport, same work ethic. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Through six years of school sports — middle and high school — he grew in height, in strength, in maturity.

Logan has been, in everything I’ve witnessed and heard, a good guy, and he showed great resiliency in challenging times.

Today we give him some payback, welcoming the rock-solid Mr. Martin to the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame, where he joins his brother.

After this, you’ll be able to find him hanging out at the top of the blog, under the Legends tab.

How’d he punch his entry ticket to that hallowed digital destination, you ask?

He worked for it, every day, and he earned it, on every play.

Izzy Wells? A lovely human being, and a pretty darn good athlete, too. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

She was the serene superstar.

Now, I don’t live inside the brain of Izzy Wells, so it’s possible there were fireworks going off in there every single game.

Her stomach might have been dive-bombed by butterflies, and non-stop cold sweats may have been the rule.

If so, she hides it really, really well.

Throughout her athletic career in Coupeville — from little league exploits to middle school success on to high school excellence, Izzy projected such utter calmness in everything she did.

When she was in the pitcher’s circle on the softball diamond, she could be up by 10 runs or down by five, and she had an uncanny knack to look peaceful, yet determined every time.

It’s a rare trait, one which Wells displayed both as a newbie and as a grizzled vet, and it makes for a highly successful pitcher.

“I’m gonna throw it … but you’re not gonna hit it.”

Now, the Izzinator could break off a nasty fastball which drilled a hole through a rival’s bat as it finished its journey into a waiting catcher’s mitt.

She could chuck BBs with the best of them.

But it was that calmness which flowed out of her, and around her, which centered her team and was — in my opinion at least — her greatest weapon.

Izzy never seemed to get too high or too low, with just a small smile peeking out in rare moments when her sheer awesomeness overwhelmed even her.

Even with a pandemic making the middle part of her high school days a royal pain, she had a run of success which matches up with any Wolf hurler who ever stepped into the circle.

As a freshman, she was the staff ace for a team which got stronger as the season went on, roaring from behind to smack big, bad Granite Falls en route to earning a ticket to the state tourney.

Izzy, chucking liquid heat on her home field, stared down the most-feared hitter in the league, senior slugger Samantha Vanderwel, with a crucial game on the line late in the regular season.

The first time Coupeville faced the homer-happy Tigers, it lost badly. The second time, the Wolves were nipped.

Meeting #3 ended with Izzy firing a laser, Vanderwel swinging with every ounce of her strength and hitting nothing but air, and Wolf catcher Sarah Wright screaming like a banshee in celebration.

In the circle, a slight dip of her head, a half-smile, and then Wells vanished under a dogpile of her teammates.

It was the turning point, as Coupeville roared from behind to tie for a league title, earn a #1 seed to districts — where it beat Granite again — then go on to state for a three-game run which included eliminating highly ranked Deer Park.

The pandemic robbed Izzy of her sophomore season, but she endured, leading CHS to a 12-0 mark in a cut-down junior campaign and a 16-3 record as a senior — when her catcher was often lil’ sis Savina.

Savina (left) and Izzy — how it started…

How it’s going.

Coupeville went a truly impressive 43-13 during Izzy’s time in uniform, with her morphing from a young gunslinger to an all-around weapon as her batting skills boomed in her final two seasons.

She could crank the ball deep into the prairie clouds or slap hits past diving infielders and was always one of the smarter base runners to play for the Wolves.

And yet, as talented on the softball field as she was — and that’s my enduring image of her, Izzy standing motionless in the circle, eyes narrowing ever so slightly behind her face mask as she mentally mapped out her next strikeout — she was successful in everything she did.

A volleyball spiker, a soccer ace, and Miss Dependable on the basketball court, dropping in buckets with her patented super-soft layup.

“Scuse me, pardon me, coming through to score another basket.”

Izzy rang up 204 points across four seasons of varsity ball, finishing as the #3 scorer during both her junior and senior campaigns.

She could give you some of everything on the hardwood, bringing defense, teamwork, and a strong hoops IQ to everything she did.

When I call Izzy a “glue” player, it’s a high compliment.

She helped hold things together, and, again, was always the face of calm in the heat of athletic battle, whether her team was romping to a win or fighting tooth and nail to stay alive.

Hanging out with fellow seniors (l to r) Violette Huegerich, Mckenna Somes, and Audrianna Shaw.

Through it all, the happiest I saw her was when someone close to her, from sister Savina to friends like Ja’Kenya Hoskins and Mckenna Somes, were successful in their endeavors.

Izzy rightfully earned honors of her own — up to and including being named league MVP in softball — but seeing her pride and joy in other’s accomplishments truly highlights her quiet leadership.

In the classroom she was a talented scholar, finishing in the top 10 of all graduates from the CHS Class of 2022, and, in her spare time, she is helping raise what is arguably the town’s most-popular dog.

The Wells clan, featuring a scene-stealing pup.

Looking ahead, I can’t envision any world in which Miss Wells doesn’t go on to accomplish truly amazing things in her future.

Over the course of the 10-year run of this blog, Izzy has been one of my personal favorites, and I am very happy to induct her today into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame.

After this you’ll find her hanging out up at the top of the blog under the Legends tab, a designation she more than earned.

It’s for Izzy’s play on the diamond and the hardwood, the pitch and the court, for her work in the classroom or with a musical instrument in hand, and for the way she remains one of the highest-quality people to ever rep the red and black.

She was ever-more successful as she got older, but the middle of Lyle and Katy Wells three children has been a truly lovely human being every step of the way.

It was always easy to root for you, Izzy, and that will never change.

It takes a village to raise ball players.

With a lot of help from the community, Central Whidbey Little League roared back to life this spring, jumping from 81 participants back up to 118.

That reflects baseball and softball players ranging in age from 4-12 and shows a marked improvement as the world continues to come out of a pandemic.

CWLL President Gordon McMillan offered big thanks to the Island County Parks and Rec Department, which handles maintenance and grooming of Coupeville’s Rhododendron Park.

“We call Rhododendron our ‘field of dreams’,” he said.

McMillan also thanked the league’s many volunteers and paid tribute to local businesses which “so generously contributed to our just concluded and very successful 2022 season.”

 

CWLL sponsors:

Front Street Realty
Heritage Bank
Home Depot
Island Title and Escrow
Iverson Insurance Company
Kapaw’s Iskreme
OLF Storage
Penn Cove Vet
Prairie Center Market
Red’s Roofing and Construction
Salon Blue
Snakelum Point Investments
Sunshine Drip
Terra Firma Wealth Management
Whidbey Natural Pet
Wood Bee Construction

Kathleen Anderson’s legacy will live on at her old stomping grounds.

The Coupeville School District is naming its board room in honor of the late school board president, a decision approved at Monday night’s meeting.

Anderson, who died in September 2021, “was a pillar in the local and state education system for over 40 years,” said Coupeville Superintendent Steve King.

She began her life in education as a teacher, before serving twice on the Coupeville School Board.

Anderson’s first run was from 1980-1989, then she returned to serve from 2004 until her passing.

She was also on the State Board of Education for 15 years, while becoming that board’s first female president.

“As a school district and state board member, Director Anderson was known as someone who always prioritized what was best for students,” King said.

He hailed Anderson’s expertise in capital projects and her advocacy for “educating the whole child through career and technical education, athletics and activities.”

Along with her time on various school boards, Anderson also served on state-level committees and was involved in collective bargaining which “improved working conditions for staff.”

Coupeville School Board Director Nancy Conard, who made the motion on Monday’s vote, was a student in Anderson’s first class as a teacher.

The school district plans to purchase a memorial plaque in Anderson’s honor and will hold a celebration at a later date.

Let ’em spike the dirt from your vehicle.

Coupeville volleyball players will be armed with brushes and hoses this coming weekend, holding a car wash fundraiser.

The event goes down at Ebey Academy starting at 10 AM — just down the street from the annual Lion’s Club garage sale — and helps the spikers pay for volleyball camps and related activities.

Pro tip — keep an eye out this week, as several of the players have been spotted out in front of Prairie Center Market, pre-selling tickets.