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Posts Tagged ‘Arnold Schwarzenegger’

“He’s been loving the game since he was four”

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , , , on August 5, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Oak Harbor grad James Besaw hopes to play baseball in Wisconsin next spring. (Photo courtesy Teresa Besaw)

New state, same game.

Oak Harbor High School grad James Besaw is off to the Midwest to pursue his baseball dreams, while continuing to work on his college education.

The former Wildcat star will be attending the University of Wisconsin-Superior, a liberal arts school where he’ll be pursuing a bachelors in chemistry.

Besaw, who is working as a park aid at Deception Pass State Park this summer, leaves near the end of August to head to a school with some famous alumni.

Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn’t need much of an introduction, but Wisconsin-Superior has also graduated Pixar co-founder David DiFrancesco, several NFL players, and old-school Major League Baseball star Morrie Arnovich.

Arnovich played seven seasons in the bigs, making the All-Star team as a Philadelphia Phillie, before winning a World Series with the 1940 Cincinnati Reds.

Wisconsin-Superior, which plays baseball in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference, is an NCAA D-III school.

After graduating from OHHS, Besaw played his freshman season at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

He then moved back to the Northwest, where he suited up this spring for Green River College alongside Coupeville grads CJ Smith, Joey Lippo, and Hunter Smith.

The season ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the handful of games he played as a Gator don’t count against Besaw’s college eligibility.

Wisconsin-Superior contacted Besaw, and, after a visit to the campus, he decided it was perfect for the next step in his baseball career.

“I don’t look forward to him being so far away, but I am excited for him to play ball again,” mom Teresa Besaw said. “He was off to such a good start before COVID hit.

“It’s just over a bridge from Duluth, Minnesota, so there will be lots to do where he’ll be at,” she added. “I’m glad to see him getting more opportunity to play ball.

“He’s been loving the game since he was four.”

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Fast feet fuel freshman!!

Posted in Track, tagged , , , , , on March 21, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Jacob Smith flies towards the tape. (John Fisken photos)

Jacob Smith flies towards the tape. (John Fisken photos)

Smith and Jesse Hester (right) wait for their events.

Smith and Jesse Hester (right) wait for their events.

Jacob Smith has sprinted onto the sports scene.

Literally.

The CHS freshman kicked off his third track season, and first at the high school level, at the Island Jamboree Thursday, finishing as the second-fastest Wolf boy in the 100 and 200.

The only Coupeville runner faster than him in those events was junior Lathom Kelley, a state meet contender, making for a strong showing for Smith.

Now, he only hopes to keep getting better.

“I enjoy how track gives the opportunity to make each person stronger and faster individually, making the team as a whole that much better when put together,” Smith said. “I also enjoy how track makes your skill set able to apply to other sports because it makes you stronger, faster, and more enduring.

“My main goals for the season are to make my times tied with my teams best runners, and then be in competition with them for the schools records.”

Smith plans to add the 4 x 100 relay to his sprinting, with an eye on eventually working on longer events.

“I believe that my strengths are mostly in sprinting,” he said. “If not my sprinting, then I think that my determination is the strongest part of how I compete.

“I would like to work on my longer distance running and ability to do field events effectively.”

He started running track as a seventh grader at Coupeville Middle School, going on to place third in the 400 at the league finals as an eighth grader.

“I started as soon as I got my opportunity and did it because I love having the chance to compete head on with other athletes as individuals,” Smith said.

A fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger and the “Rocky” films, he enjoys history class and studying comedy writing. He’s also signed up to play football as a sophomore.

Whatever he is doing, Smith finds inspiration from those close to him.

“My family as a whole has contributed majorly to how I am as a person in general and how I am as an athlete,” he said. “My father is the one that I am most like and has molded the way I act more so than anyone else.

“I am very impacted by my fellow players who accomplish major things in their sporting,” Smith added. “They inspire me to do everything I can to compete at the highest level I am capable of.”

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