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Once she gets her shoe on, Madison McMillan is coming for all the kills. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

CHS coach Cory Whitmore plots strategy.

Three teams, one gym, one ticket to state.

Three-time defending 2B state champ La Conner hosts this year’s District 1/2 volleyball tournament, kicking off the final run of coach Suzanne Marble’s 30-year career.

The event is set for Wednesday, Nov. 2 with Coupeville and Northwest Christian of Lacey attempting to play spoiler, while knowing next season our region gets two slots at the state tournament.

This time around, though, there’s just one berth at stake, making a potential path to success much more dangerous.

The set-up is simple — Coupeville and Northwest Christian play at 5 PM in a loser-out match, with the winner advancing to spar with La Conner at approximately 6:45 for a trip to state.

 

Ticket prices:

Adults or students without ASB – $8
Children (5-12) – $6
Senior Citizen (62+) – $6
Students with ASB – $6

 

Tickets can be purchased in person or online at:

https://gofan.co/app/events/762383?schoolId=WA86277

 

Team capsules:

 

Coupeville

Season record: 9-5

Sets W/L: 31-21

League: Northwest 2B/1B

Trips to state: Five (Most recent: 2017)

Coach: Cory Whitmore

Seniors: Alita Blouin, Maddie Georges, Taygin Jump, Ryanne Knoblich, Jill Prince

Mascot: Wolves

 

La Conner

Season record: 13-3

Sets W/L: 39-9

League: Northwest 2B/1B

Trips to state: 30, including six state titles (Most recent: 2021)

Coach: Suzanne Marble

Seniors: Josie Harper, Makayla Herrera, Ellie Marble, Kennedy Miller

Mascot: Braves

 

Northwest Christian

Season record: 12-3

Sets W/L: 38-20

League: Sea-Tac 1B/2B

Trips to state: Two (Most recent: 2011)

Coach: Jack Lizee

Seniors: Erin Boogerd, Alex Ceniza, Katie Mack

Mascot: Wolverines

“We root for everyone!” (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Girls’ soccer, you’re on the clock.

With Coupeville High School boys’ basketball and football teams having broken 34 and 32-year dry spells in 2022, the Wolf female booters now have the longest active run without an appearance at the state tournament.

Founded in 2004, CHS girls’ soccer has never qualified for the big dance, making it 18 years and counting.

Every other active sports program at the school has been to state at least once since 2010 now that boys’ basketball (1988) and football (1990) are off the schneid.

Plus, wrestling and golf, sports where Coupeville doesn’t have its own program, but solo stars have trained and travelled with other schools, fit the criteria.

Grappler Alex Turner made it to Mat Classic in 2019, while duffer Christine Fields capped a four-year run of state tourney appearances in 2015.

But what about swim, you ask?

While Turner and Fields (plus her big brother, Austin) trained and travelled with other schools, they ultimately competed in CHS colors.

Swimmers like Amanda Streubel, Lily Doyle, and Rachel and Cole Weinstein did not, as they attended Coupeville schools but fully repped Oak Harbor High School in the pool.

So, no countee … in this exercise, at least.

 

Most-recent state tourney appearance:

2022 — Boys Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Track and Field
2019 — Softball, Wrestling
2018 — Girls Tennis
2017 — Volleyball
2016 — Girls Basketball
2015 — Boys Tennis, Girls Golf
2014 — Baseball
2013 — Boys Golf
2010 — Boys Soccer
Never — Girls Soccer

 

While tennis, cross country, and track (plus wrestling and golf) often qualify individual athletes to state, basketball, softball, football, volleyball, soccer, and baseball only advance as a full team.

How those programs compare:

 

State tourney appearances:

Baseball — 9
Girls Basketball — 7
Boys Basketball — 6
Football — 5
Volleyball — 5
Softball — 3
Boys Soccer — 2

 

State tourney wins:

Girls Basketball — 7
Softball — 5
Volleyball — 4
Baseball — 2
Boys Basketball — 2

 

And no, I don’t think baseball’s win total is correct, no matter what the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association web site says.

The Wolves hardball squad finished 3rd at state in 1987, but the WIAA’s online records only credit CHS with one win at that year’s tourney.

Something doesn’t add up.

That being said, one other thing to notice is that, at least on the WIAA website, Wolf girls have a 16-4 advantage in state tourney wins over their male counterparts, despite Title IX not kicking in until the 1970’s.

What’s up with that, Coupeville boys of every sport?

Maybe you’re the ones on the clock, after all.

You can eat good in the neighborhood and help Coupeville High School seniors at the same time.

The CHS Class of 2023 is holding a pancake breakfast Saturday, Dec. 10 at Applebee’s in Oak Harbor, with proceeds going towards a drug and alcohol-free graduation night celebration.

The event runs from 9-11 AM and tickets are $10.

They can be bought directly from CHS seniors or purchased online by jumping to:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeNukB2q9uR4d7YOLcdRaddKxAXark0eWPIWQoaIwg7EYfIKw/viewform

Andrew Williams and CHS soccer host a bi-district playoff game Tuesday night in Oak Harbor. (Morgan White photo)

November kicks off with high-stakes action.

Having won a three-team tiebreaker for a playoff berth, the Coupeville High School boys soccer team hosts Seattle-based Summit Atlas Tuesday, Nov. 1 at Oak Harbor’s Wildcat Memorial Stadium.

Game time for the loser-out bi-district playoff game is 6 PM.

Unlike regular season soccer games, the playoffs require fans to pony up hard-earned cash to gain entrance.

Prices are:

Adults or students without ASB – $8
Children (5-12) – $6
Senior Citizen (62+) – $6
Students with ASB – $6

Tickets can be purchased in person or online at:

https://gofan.co/app/events/760340?schoolId=WA86277

The winner of Tuesday’s game advances to play a road rumble against Mount Vernon Christian in a loser-out/winner-to-state game.

Coupeville sits at 5-8 on the season, while Summit Atlas, which has seemingly done its best to hide athletic info from the internet, may be 3-1-1.

At least that’s what it says on the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association site, though past history teaches us to take WIAA standings with a grain of salt.

Summit Atlas, which uses an Orca as its mascot, is listed as beating Rainier Christian 7-0, Sound Christian 9-0, and Crosspoint Academy 7-1.

A 6-2 loss to Auburn Adventist Academy is Summit’s lone listed defeat, while a 1-1 tie with Concordia Christian Academy likely pleased hardcore soccer fans who lust for pitch stalemates.

Kyle King celebrates his victory at Sunday’s Marine Corps Marathon in Virginia. (Photo courtesy Randy King)

Age is not slowing him down.

Running on his 33rd birthday Sunday in Virginia, Coupeville’s Kyle King won the 47th Marine Corps Marathon, besting a field of thousands.

With pandemic restrictions eased, the event returned to a live format for the first time since 2019.

The Marine Corps Marathon, which started in 1976, is the fourth largest in the United States and ninth largest in the world.

A five-time state track and field champion back in his days as a Wolf, King covered the 26.2-mile course in two hours, 19 minutes, and 19 seconds.

A 2008 Coupeville High School grad, he’s currently an active-duty Marine stationed in California.

This is but the latest of King’s many athletic accomplishments, as he previously competed at the US Olympic Team Trials in Atlanta and ran in the CISM Military World Games in China.

While running for dad Randy at CHS, Kyle won state titles in the 3200 three straight years (2006-2008), added the 1600 crown in 2007, and ran a leg on a triumphant 4 x 400 relay unit in 2006.

After graduation, King competed as an NCAA D-I scholarship athlete at two schools – Eastern Washington University and the University of Oklahoma.