9 for 9 | Coupeville Sports

Posts Tagged ‘9 for 9’

9 for 9: Cheer loud ‘n proud

Posted in Cheer, tagged 9 for 9, Cheer, CHS Wolves, Emilee Crichton, Mica Shipley on August 5, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Maddy Neitzel, a high-flying Wolf cheer hero. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

This blog turns nine years old August 15, and to mark the occasion, I’m picking what I view as the best nine Wolf athletes from each active CHS sport.

To be eligible, you had to play for the Wolves between Aug. 2012-Aug. 2021, AKA the “Coupeville Sports” years.

So here we go. Each day between Aug. 2-15, a different sport and (probably) a different argument.

Cheer is a sport.

So, now that we’ve ended that discussion, who are the best nine athletes to wear the uniform during my blogging years?

That’s a really tough one, as how do you grade a sport where, most times at least, no one is scoring points?

I guess, in the end, you (with you being me) flip a coin and pick those young women who stood out for being truly loud ‘n proud, the ones whose work on the sidelines lingers the longest in the memory.

You could make a case for a lot of Wolves who aren’t on this list, but in this brief moment, here’s nine who I think could bring as much spirit as need be, regardless if Coupeville was ahead or behind.

Mica Shipley, forever chasin’ that cheer life, from little girl to college superstar.

Nicole Becker — My former co-worker at Christopher’s, a bright, personable ball o’ fire who devotes countless hours to working with Special Olympics athletes in honor of her sister.

Kiara Burdge — The first freshman cheerleader ever awarded the Wolf award, and a team leader from day one.

Kylie Burdge — Big sis could light up a stadium like few others, a brilliant young woman who soared in the classroom and on the field.

Emilee Crichton — My next-door neighbor for many years, as bright and personable as anyone you’re likely to meet.

Sylvia Hurlburt — She was born to be a star, and never let her fervent fan club down. Always front and center. Always.

Breeanna Messner — A four-sport sensation, she played volleyball and cheered during the same season, and was awesome at both.

McKenzie Meyer — So much energy and excitement crackling through every atom in her body, plus she’s a true-blue Videoville alum, which gets her extra props.

Maddy Neitzel — She touched the heavens as a flier, and brought grace and style to her sideline work, a perennially-positive cheerleader if there ever was.

Mica Shipley — A high flyer who led CHS cheer back to competition (and a 3rd place finish at state). Now she’s an NCAA D-1 cheerleader, possibly a first for Wolf alums.

Look up spirit in the dictionary and you’ll see a photo of McKenzie Meyer.

Next up: We head to the pitch to honor the best male booters.

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9 for 9: Harriers rule the trail

Posted in Cross Country, tagged 9 for 9, Catherine Lhamon, CHS Wolves, cross country, Danny Conlisk on August 4, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Alana Mihill is ready to rumble. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

This blog turns nine years old August 15, and to mark the occasion, I’m picking what I view as the best nine Wolf athletes from each active CHS sport.

To be eligible, you had to play for the Wolves between Aug. 2012-Aug. 2021, AKA the “Coupeville Sports” years.

So here we go. Each day between Aug. 2-15, a different sport and (probably) a different argument.

They’re building back.

After a two-decades absence, during which time a handful of runners trained and traveled with either Oak Harbor or South Whidbey, Coupeville High School cross country roared back to life in 2018.

Guided by coaches Natasha Bamberger, Luke Samford, and Elizabeth Bitting, the Wolf harriers have spent three seasons building their numbers, while establishing a home course, and sending two runners to state.

While other CHS programs have six more seasons in the books during the Coupeville Sports days, cross country still offered me more than enough athletic stars to form a mythical nine.

Danny Conlisk zips for the finish line.

Danny Conlisk — A two-time state champ in track, he’s one of two Wolves to make it to the big dance in cross country during the rebirth of the CHS harrier program.

Mitchell Hall — Speedy front-runner who is Coupeville’s fastest active boy.

Catherine Lhamon — Arguably the most-accomplished Wolf harrier in the modern era, she went to state as a junior, then went undefeated during a pandemic-altered senior season.

Claire Mayne — Plucky and determined, and never afraid of running in the middle of the pack, elbows swinging to fend off larger competitors.

Alana Mihill — Running with Lhamon, or by herself, a hard-working competitor who attacked the trail with a quiet fieriness.

Helen Strelow — Rock-solid running ace, one of the most-reliable runners Coupeville cross country coaches have had on their rosters.

Aidan Wilson — One of Coupeville’s quickest on the trails, until soccer’s move to the fall pulled him away from cross country.

Henry Wynn — Never got the chance to be part of the new CHS program, graduating mere months before its rebirth, but joined Conlisk in training and traveling with South Whidbey in the years beforehand.

Sam Wynn — The younger brother followed in big bro’s footsteps, pounding away to great success on the trails.

Catherine Lhamon, the face of Coupeville’s cross country rebirth.

Next up: We head to the sidelines to honor Wolf cheerleaders.

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9 for 9: Diamond dandies delight

Posted in Baseball, tagged 9 for 9, baseball, Ben Etzell, CHS Wolves, Jake Tumblin on August 3, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Aaron Curtin brings the heat. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

This blog turns nine years old August 15, and to mark the occasion, I’m picking what I view as the best nine Wolf athletes from each active CHS sport.

To be eligible, you had to play for the Wolves between Aug. 2012-Aug. 2021, AKA the “Coupeville Sports” years.

So here we go. Each day between Aug. 2-15, a different sport and (probably) a different argument.

The little league champs still rule.

Central Whidbey’s juniors hardball team won a state title in 2010, when I was still writing for the Coupeville Examiner.

Jump forward into the blog years, and the guys from that title team stayed in the news, with many of them playing a full four years of high school ball.

Five of my nine picks from the diamond were part of that group, and they headline a mythical nine which includes two sets of brothers.

Hunter Smith is just here for the strikeouts.

Josh Bayne — A beast. The only Wolf player I’ve seen jack an out-of-the-park home run on Coupeville’s field, and that ball is still going up and far, far away, years later.

Aaron Curtin — He had a wicked touch as a hurler, a lively bat, and could stare down anyone.

Ben Etzell — Coupeville’s only league MVP, in any sport, during the 1A/2A Cascade Conference years, when ATM was the big baddie. Big bat, bigger arm, a strikeout machine who went on to a strong four-year college career as a pitching ace.

Cole Payne — From younger brother to team leader, he rose through the ranks to leave a large impact on the program, then tipped his hat and walked away, a winner to the end.

Morgan Payne — Big bro patrolled short and provided a dangerous bat; a quiet, very-effective player from little league through Senior Night.

CJ Smith — Captain Cool, he pitched Coupeville to its first baseball league title in 25 years, while seemingly never breaking a sweat.

Hunter Smith — Maybe the most-talented player to ever take the CHS diamond — a force on the mound, at short, and at the plate, where he had pop, speed, and an uncanny knack for big-game heroics.

Aaron Trumbull — Severely underrated, he was a steadying force for the Wolves wherever he played, whether taking the mound or hovering at first base. Also a class act who always put team first, a stand-up guy who never left a teammate hanging.

Jake Tumblin — Rock-solid behind the plate, he was the rare catcher who was also the quickest player on the team, hurtling around the base-paths to create perfectly-orchestrated havoc.

Aaron Trumbull, firing BB’s.

Next up: We head to the cross country trail.

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9 for 9: Spikers own the court

Posted in Volleyball, tagged 9 for 9, CHS Wolves, Emma Smith, Maya Toomey-Stout, volleyball on August 2, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Maya Toomey-Stout opens a can of whup-ass. (Brian Vick photo)

This blog turns nine years old August 15, and to mark the occasion, I’m picking what I view as the best nine Wolf athletes from each active CHS sport.

To be eligible, you had to play for the Wolves between Aug. 2012-Aug. 2021, AKA the “Coupeville Sports” years.

So here we go. Each day between Aug. 2-15, a different sport and (probably) a different argument.

And this is already harder than I expected.

My first list had 33 volleyball players on it, and the cut-downs got increasingly brutal.

How do you decide between a young woman with superior skills, and one who played her heart out every step of the way? Both are valuable in their own way.

But cuts had to be made, and cuts were made.

Who was the last to fall, as I went from 10 to nine? I’m not saying, but I already want to say “sorry” to the player who fell last.

But I won’t, because then you start apologizing to #11 and #12 and on and on.

So, with that in mind, here are the nine girls I want on the floor, regardless of whether their positions fit together into a normal scheme.

One man’s opinion, and liable to change down the road, as younger players continue to develop. Never know.

And, yes, these lists are going to be in alphabetic order, and not ranked #1-#9, as I need to make at least one thing (slightly) easier on myself.

Payton Aparicio — a bright, shining star. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Payton Aparicio — A quiet assassin who could strike from any place on the floor, she morphed from a role player to a star, breaking records and winning MVP on a state-bound team.

Allie Hanigan — The epitome of grace, a tall (and lethal) weapon, who unleashed sizzling darts while stalking the net.

Hope Lodell — Perhaps the most-explosive server of the last decade, she bounded across the gym, firing off aces and ripping up chunks of the floor.

Katrina McGranahan — Big power, on her spikes and serves, and a leader by example. She was here to win, and she showed it on every point.

Chelsea Prescott — A prodigy, she was a star from day one, capable of controlling a match, or being the perfect complementary weapon.

Emma Smith — A big-hitting, big-game star who came up epic in crunch time, never more so than when she slayed the South Whidbey beast on her birthday.

Scout Smith — She had a feathery touch with her sets, and was one of the toughest athletes to wear the red and black, even playing through slamming her head off the floor, resulting in a black eye which covered half her face.

Maya Toomey-Stout — Seemingly everywhere at once, “The Gazelle” never met a volleyball she couldn’t mash the air out of, hanging in the air for an eternity before unleashing sweet Hell on her foes.

Valen Trujillo — No one sacrificed life and limb like she did, throwing her body in all directions and bouncing off the floor every other play, assuring no volleyball would get away from her.