Coupeville Sports

“There is always hope”

August 4, 2022 by David Svien

Brandon Graham

They’re turning their pain into positivity.

Friends and family of Brandon Graham want to help others in emotional need, doing everything they can to offer an alternative to suicide.

Graham, a 2007 Coupeville High School grad who died last summer, had a huge impact on those around him.

Fellow CHS grads Debbie Vescovi and Michelle Armstrong launched a foundation in his honor, which will “offer support for Coupeville and Oak Harbor schools, with a focus on mental health awareness, suicide prevention, and anti-bullying efforts.”

Money raised will be used to provide resources for students and training for teachers and parents, with an emphasis on bringing together local law enforcement, chaplains, and motivational speakers.

The foundation now has an active website, and is holding a luau fundraiser this Saturday, Aug. 6.

The dinner, which will feature a silent auction, is at the Nordic Lodge in Coupeville (63 Jacobs Rd.), with things starting at 4 PM.

Tickets, which are $30 for single admission, or $50 for a couple, can be obtained at Polished Studio in Oak Harbor (861 SE Pioneer Way), by emailing thebrandongrahamfoundation@gmail.com, or on the foundation’s website.

The plan is to make the dinner a yearly fundraiser.

If they can help other families avoid the pain of a loved one’s suicide, foundation organizers will have reached their goal.

“Mental health wellness needs to be a number one priority for our children,” they said.

“We, as a community, can provide our youth with tools to be able to work through the problems they have, and know that the community has their back.”

To see the foundation’s website, pop over to:

https://www.thebrandongrahamfoundation.com/

Posted in In memory | Tagged Brandon Graham, CHS Wolf alumni, fundraiser, Nordic Hall, suicide prevention | Leave a Comment »

Golden hair, golden heart

August 4, 2022 by David Svien

Brian Casey and the Golden Locks of Destruction. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Let’s talk about Brian Casey for a moment.

When we do, it’s not all about the gridiron stats — though those were pretty good.

Now certainly, some of our conversation will be about the hair.

Wolf Nation has rarely seen TV commercial-ready flowing golden locks like those which adorn Brian’s head.

Pouring from beneath his football helmet, they were a force of nature onto themselves, capable of making middle-aged men cry tears for the long-lost hair of their own youth.

Doff the helmet, let the man mane tumble loose, and audible gasps echoed throughout the stadium.

So maybe we just induct Brian’s hair into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame and leave it at that…

But no, because then we would be leaving his heart behind, and we can’t have that.

Because that’s what makes him truly special, makes him a player Wolf football fans will remember long after memories of the games he played in fade.

Keeping an eye on the action. (Deb Smith photo)

Those who saw Brian work, saw him fight to overcome injuries, saw him offer up every last little bit of effort, sweat, toil, and love for the game, will nod in agreement.

On the field, he was invariably to be found in the middle of the pile, straining always to move his guys forward.

Part of that was due to Brian living large as a lineman.

But a bigger part of that was his burning desire to always be in the thick of the action, to stand tall in the fiery crucible.

He seemed to treasure every moment he had on the field, likely realizing how the violent nature of football often keeps players from getting as much time as they deserve.

But when his body did betray him, Brian didn’t sulk, didn’t choose to sit far away from his teammates, didn’t act too cool for school.

Instead, he was a whirling dervish on the sideline, pounding on his friend’s shoulder pads, bear hugging them as they came off the field, his words of encouragement — raw and full of emotion — spurring them on regardless of the score.

The son of a coach, a member of a family steeped in football lore, Brian earned his shot at gridiron glory, then marinated in the moment.

Through big wins and heartbreaking losses, he always had the look of a young man who was having the time of his life, a battle-hardened gladiator who NEVER asked to come off the field.

Brian could deliver crushing hits, bodies flying in his wake, but he didn’t prance around after a tackle with his team trailing by 20, didn’t do sack dances, didn’t showboat.

Instead, he pulled his helmet back into place, dropped back into position, and hit the line one more time, relentless and committed.

A coach’s son honoring the example set by his dad Brett — one of quiet intensity and ultimate class.

Celebrating Senior Night with the parental units. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Late in his career, in what would turn out to be the next-to-last game of his senior season, Brian led the charge in a muck-encrusted three-overtime loss to Friday Harbor.

The defeat — coming on its home field in miserable weather conditions in which rain poured down like Noah was one of the refs — ended Coupeville’s playoff hopes.

Not that you would have known it from the way Wolf fans kept hollering from the opening kickoff to the moment when a final-gasp fourth-down-and-everything pass fell short.

At the center of things, Brian stood resolute, mud and grass caked from his shoes to his helmet.

By the end, he and fellow linemen like Isaiah Bittner and William Davidson were limping, ragged breath staining the night.

Yet they kept dropping into position, kept churning, kept surging forward, each small battle won another notch in the gun belt.

Brian always played for the name on the front of his uniform, for his teammates, coaches, family, and friends, and never disappointed.

Welcome to graduation city. (Photo courtesy Brett Casey)

While football was his ultimate calling card, it wasn’t his only outlet, with a season of high school track to his name, where he threw the shot put, discus, and javelin.

He was also a man of the stage, appearing in performances with the school’s drama club.

In simple, Brian was (is) a well-rounded dude, and one with a bright future ahead of him as he heads off to pursue post-high school opportunities.

Before he goes, we want to welcome him, as we hinted above, into our little digital shrine for the best and brightest to come through Cow Town.

Today, for his skill, but even more for his heart, we welcome Brian Casey to the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame.

After this, you’ll find him hanging out with his contemporaries at the top of the blog, under the Legends tab.

He’ll be easy to spot — just look for the guy with the best hair in town.

A man of many talents. (Photo courtesy Stefanie Ask)

Posted in Hall o' Fame | Tagged Brian Casey, CHS Wolves, flowing locks, football, Hall of Fame | Leave a Comment »

Tasty treats for Race the Reserve volunteers

August 3, 2022 by David Svien

Lucy Sandahl dodges raindrops during 2019’s Race the Reserve. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Do it for the thrill of competition.

Do it for the glow of being #1.

Do it for the homemade cookies.

But whatever you do it for, just do it.

With Race the Reserve — the biggest fundraiser for the Coupeville High School Class of 2023 — set for Saturday, Aug. 13, organizers are scrambling to field a full team of volunteers.

They’ve launched a competition between Wolf fall sports teams, with the team with the most volunteers nabbing the Golden Shoe Award and a batch of cookies from acclaimed cook Helene Lhamon.

It’s a royal rumble between volleyball, soccer, tennis, cross country, and football, with a tasty finale.

Volunteers are currently needed for:

Food Team (1)
Parking (3)
Photographer (1)
Race clean-up (9)
Race set-up (2)
Registration (5)
Water at Hill Road (1)
Water at Wanamaker (2)

To sign up, pop over to:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040f48adad2babfd0-race

Posted in Fundraisers, Running | Tagged CHS Wolves, Class of 2023, half marathon, Race the Reserve, volunteers | Leave a Comment »

The first time ever I saw your face

August 3, 2022 by David Svien

Coupeville’s annual arts and crafts festival attracts the photogenic in the early 70’s. (Photos courtesy Sarah Lyngra)

It’s a time machine back to a different Coupeville.

Sarah (Powell) Lyngra, a local music teacher and volleyball coach who was a standout athlete at CHS growing up, is working on a project honoring her parents and the history of the town’s arts and crafts festival.

Lyngra’s mother, Beatrice Powell, had her first booth at Coupeville’s annual fest in 1972, after she and husband David moved to Whidbey a year earlier.

Now, their eldest daughter will have a booth at this year’s event, where she will sell postcard sets of photos snapped at early 70’s festivals, as well as prints of her mom’s artwork.

Beatrice Powell died in Feb. 2021 at age 86, three months after her husband passed at the same age.

Lyngra digitized slide carousels the duo left behind and has been sharing some of the photos on Facebook as we head towards this year’s fest, which is set for Aug. 13-14.

Posted in art, In memory | Tagged artwork, Beatrice Powell, Coupeville Arts and Crafts Festival, Sarah Lyngra | Leave a Comment »

What’s the story, morning glory?

August 2, 2022 by David Svien

Logan Downes has two more years to slap home buckets. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Gaze into our cracked crystal ball.

Looking ahead at the 2022-2023 school year, we can make some educated guesses as to which storylines will dominate conversation in the prep sports world.

Then again, there’s always surprises, whether it’s a worldwide pandemic suddenly surfacing or a team (or athlete) catching fire in an unexpected manner.

You need to stay nimble, remain on your toes, and be ready to have things crash apart in unforeseen ways.

That’s life.

While we wait for those sudden veers, however, here’s some guesses on things which I think will be part of the conversation, stretching from fall out to next spring.

1 — There will be at least one new head coach at Coupeville High School, as Bennett Richter takes the reins of the Wolf football program.

The former CHS Defensive Coordinator, who’s also getting hitched to Wolf girls basketball coach Megan Smith this weekend, replaces Marcus Carr, now calling the shots at Inglemoor.

Richter is the sixth Wolf head gridiron coach in the past 13 seasons, after Ron Bagby retired in 2009 with 26 campaigns in the record book.

2 — Meanwhile Cory Whitmore enters his seventh year as CHS varsity volleyball coach.

He’s posted a winning mark each time out, and his teams have nabbed at least 11 wins in every season except 2020 — when Covid limited the schedule to just nine matches.

Whitmore can post some milestones this time around, as he’s 66-30 at the helm of the Wolves.

His 100th match on the CHS bench is all but guaranteed, a 75th win very likely, and a second trip to state the goal.

3 — Ken Stange is the current dean of Wolf coaches, with long runs with the school’s two tennis programs.

But the pandemic and Coupeville’s move from 1A to 2B, which sent boys soccer from spring to fall, has made it difficult to field a boys tennis team.

After two years of the Wolf male netters being AWOL, will the program return, or will the competition for athletes with cross country, football, and soccer remain a stumbling block?

4 — Helen Strelow, Claire Mayne, and Mitchell Hall will chase a second-straight trip to state once cross country hits the trail, while Strelow also looks to defend her individual Northwest 2B/1B League title.

As year five of the harrier rebirth dawns, what new heights will the Wolves reach?

Alex Murdy (left) and Aidan Wilson sandwich a rival. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

5 — With boys and girls soccer sharing the same field in the same season, I’ll have plenty of opportunities to watch pitch action.

Will I ever stop being a heathen and develop a greater appreciation for the “beautiful game?”

You never know…

6 — Winter means basketball, AKA God’s chosen sport, and the return to the hardwood should have storylines aplenty.

Wolf girls coach Megan Smith will be in season two at the helm of the program she once played for, and the Class of 2023 — which went undefeated as 8th grade hoops stars — get a final run.

It’s a deep, talented, tight-knit group, but point guard Maddie Georges gets an extra bit of hype since she’s got a chance to crack an elite group.

The fiery three-ball ace has tossed in 253 points in three seasons of high school ball and sits at #43 on the all-time scoring chart for a program which launched in 1974.

Depending on how much of the scoring she takes on as a senior, Georges has a solid shot at finishing in the top 20, where Maureen Wetmore (438 points) is currently holding down the final slot.

On the boys side of the court, the Wolves are coming off their best season in decades, opening 16-0, winning league and district titles, and advancing to the state tourney for two games.

Head coach Brad Sherman lost a large senior class, though young(er) gunners Logan Downes and Alex Murdy can return.

Downes (224 career points through his sophomore year) and Murdy (206 through his junior season) are #127 and #134 all-time for a program which began in 1917 and are primed to make large leaps up the scoring chart.

Will either one rise as far as the recently departed Hawthorne Wolfe (800) or Xavier Murdy (482)? Only time will tell.

Sluggers (l to r) Jada Heaton, Mia Farris, and Taylor Brotemarkle are part of a bright future for CHS softball. (Photo courtesy Jennifer Heaton)

7 — Wolf softball is the King Kong of NWL softball, but Kevin McGranahan and Co. are aiming bigger and want a return to the state tourney.

Izzy Wells, who was the team’s #1 pitcher since her freshman season, graduated, and lil’ sis Savina moved to Florida with three years of eligibility left, so the hunt for a new hurler is job #1.

Even with the 2020 season completely erased by the pandemic, McGranahan has six years and 83 wins in the bank at CHS, and a return to state would all but guarantee lighting up the scoreboard for win #100.

8 — Baseball also won a league title this past spring, in coach Will Thayer’s second season, though the Wolves fell a hair short of earning a trip to state.

Coupeville lost a good batch of seniors, but a huge chunk of the core of the team will be back, with Scott Hilborn, Jonathan Valenzuela and friends primed for a sweet swan song.

9 — Girls tennis has the most league titles of any sports program at CHS, and Helen Strelow tops a strong group of potential returnees.

Ken Stange enjoys making trips to Eastern Washington when it sizzles, so another jaunt to state for a Wolf netter or two could put a nice cap on his 237th season as CHS net coach.

10 — Speaking of state championship events, the biggest of them all got back on track after two pandemic-marred springs, with track and field athletes making the wheels on the bus go round and round all the way to Cheney.

Coupeville’s boys claimed 7th in the team standings, while Wolf athletes earned four second-place finishes during the big show.

Several top Wolves graduated, but medal-winners Aidan Wilson (2), Reiley Araceley (1), Ryanne Knoblich (1) and Dominic Coffman (1) all can return, while young phenoms like Lyla Stuurmans are primed to break-through to glory.