Makana Stone signs to play college basketball. (Sylvia Hurlburt photo)
Wiley Hesselgrave spins towards the basket, a second away from another bucket. (John Fisken photos)
The dynamic duo during their junior year.
Makana and Wiley.
Wiley and Makana.
For the entire run of Coupeville Sports, from Aug. 16, 2012, when they were days away from entering CHS as freshmen, until today, when they are days away from graduation, Miss Stone and Mr. Hesselgrave have been the absolute gold standard.
Stars from day one, their exploits have been stellar, and their character, even more so.
The news the duo was tabbed as the 2015-2016 CHS Athlete of the Year winners Thursday was hardly a surprise.
But it is perfectly appropriate.
Stone, a transcendent basketball and track athlete, was honored for the second consecutive year, allowing her to join a relatively short list of Wolves, male or female, who earned the award more than once.
Hesselgrave, a true four-year letter-man on the gridiron and the leading scorer two years running for the Wolf boys’ basketball squad, received the top award for the first time.
While there were several other athletes who were certainly in the conversation, rarely has the award felt more like a slam dunk.
Unlike some other years, when the winners (or non-winners) could be, and were, heavily debated, Stone and Hesselgrave are perfect fits for the honor.
I’ve known Wiley a far less time than Makana — a young woman who I’ve known virtually since birth — and we never had a sit-down interview during his time as a Wolf.
That’s on me.
I’m not the most social person, and I really don’t like butting too far into the athlete’s personal lives. Especially when they seem content having it remain that way.
Wiley always seemed like a really self-contained guy. He showed up, put the work in day after day, then went home.
Rarely on social media, and not one to goof around for the cameraman, he never sought out the spotlight, but he always deserved it.
Whether he knows it or not, I have huge respect for Hesselgrave, and how he conducted himself.
From the freshman who snatched a touchdown pass in a playoff game way down in Blaine to the relentless senior who dropped his head and hurtled time and again into the pack — in both his sports — Wiley left it all on the field.
As he heads off to the next stage in his life, on his way to being a successful businessman, I wish him nothing but the best.
It was a true pleasure to watch you play for the past four seasons, Mr. Hesselgrave.
With Makana, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — she is, without a doubt, the most impressive athlete I have covered in 26 years of writing about high school sports.
She was amazing in soccer, back when she used to play. She is phenomenal in basketball. She is other-worldly on the track oval.
We could list all the awards she’s rightfully won. The league MVP’s. The All-State games.
Or, we could dissect the extraordinary plays she made, plays which I’ve never seen any Coupeville athlete, male or female, pull off.
But, in the end, what has always set Makana apart, at the exact same time it has drawn everyone closer, is her bliss.
She is that true rarity, a stubborn, committed, break-you-in-half winner who brings out the best in her teammates and, even when they’re being thrashed, her foes.
On her Senior Night during basketball season, the entire Klahowya team, without telling their coach in advance, ran over to Stone to hug her goodbye, to wish her the best moments before she decimated them.
It was the most touching moment I have witnessed in high school sports.
As this duo, who have given me so much to write about, prepare to depart CHS, I know there are other athletes eager to move up and take their places.
There will be great performances to come, from great performers.
Some will emulate Makana and Wiley’s skills, others their class and grace.
If we’re lucky, we’ll get some who will combine it all, like this duo did.
But, if we take what Magic Johnson said about Larry Bird on the night of his retirement and tweak the words slightly, we capture my feelings at this moment.
“You only told me one lie. You said there will be another Makana, another Wiley. There will never, ever be another Makana, another Wiley.”
Thank you both, for four years worth of memories.
