Athletes of the Year | Coupeville Sports

Posts Tagged ‘Athletes of the Year’

Trio joins the pantheon

Posted in awards, tagged Athletes of the Year, awards, CHS Wolves, Ryanne Knoblich, Scott Hilborn, Tim Ursu on June 5, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Ryanne Knoblich excelled in three sports as a senior. (Karen Carlson photo)

They’re going up on the wall.

The display in the Coupeville High School gym hailing the school’s Athlete of the Year winners is growing by three.

That was the official word Monday, as CHS Athletic Director Willie Smith inducted seniors Ryanne Knoblich, Tim Ursu, and Scott Hilborn into the club.

All three are first-time honorees, and join past winners such as Corey Cross, Makana Stone, and Valen Trujillo.

Knoblich was a busy bee during her final year, playing key roles for Wolf volleyball, basketball, and track and field teams.

She did a bit of everything for the spikers, compiling 108 kills, 109 digs, 29 service aces, two solo blocks, and two block assists.

A Second-Team All-Conference pick, Knoblich tied for the team lead in solo blocks, was #2 in kills, and #3 in digs and aces.

On the basketball court, she was a scrappy, rebound-snatching defensive presence who also landed #3 on the team in scoring.

Knoblich capped the year by soaring to her second-straight 2nd place performance in the high jump at the state track and field championships.

In doing so, she cleared the bar at five feet, two inches, tying a school record set by Yashmeen Knox back in 1999.

Tim Ursu lays down the law. (Photo courtesy Kathy Ursu)

Tim Ursu kicked off the year by tearing up the football field, where he was a two-way terror for the first Wolf gridiron squad to win a league title and advance to state since 1990.

He scored 12 touchdowns, was Coupeville’s leading receiver and punt returner, and finished #1 in passes defensed and #2 in tackles and interceptions.

Jump forward to the spring, and Ursu competed in seven different events for the Wolf track team.

He was part of a 4 x 100 relay team which finished 2nd at state, and was among the fastest sprinters in 2B for much of the season.

Scott Hilborn swings into action. (Morgan White photo)

Scott Hilborn was tabbed as Northwest 2B/1B League MVP in both football and baseball, helping lead both teams to state.

On the gridiron, he took the ball to the end zone 13 times, while leading the Wolf defense in tackles, sacks, and tackles for loss.

In the spring, Hilborn led CHS in virtually every offensive category, while also anchoring the team’s pitching staff.

He capped his high school days by tossing a complete game shutout against Toledo at the state tourney, lifting the Wolves to a 3-0 upset and the program’s first state playoff win since 1987.

Read Full Post »

Lhamon, Murdy top CHS athletes

Posted in awards, tagged Athletes of the Year, Carolyn Lhamon, CHS Wolves, repeat winner, Xavier Murdy on June 7, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Three-sport star Carolyn Lhamon is your Coupeville High School female Athlete of the Year for 2021-2022. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Senior Xavier Murdy repeats as the male Athlete of the Year.

A return to glory and a debut in the spotlight.

Senior three-sport star Xavier Murdy became a two-time winner Tuesday when Coupeville High School announced its Athlete of the Year honorees for the 2021-2022 school year.

Joining him was Wolf junior Carolyn Lhamon, who earned her first year-ending honor and will see her photo eventually go up in the CHS gym hallway.

Like Murdy, Lhamon played three sports for Coupeville, anchoring soccer, basketball, and track and field teams.

On the pitch, she was a First-Team All-Conference pick for her play as a midfielder, combining a booming, big-play leg with a rough-and-tumble defensive mentality.

Moving into winter, Lhamon patrolled the paint for Coupeville’s hoops squad, crashing the glass hard in her third varsity season.

Lhamon powers to the hoop.

This spring, she put a cap on things by qualifying for the state track meet in two vastly different events, earning a trip to Cheney to compete in both the 4 x 100 relay and shot put.

Murdy, who was an Athlete of the Year winner as a junior, when he shared the honor with Chelsea Prescott, put together a strong swan song.

He opened the school year by matching Lhamon’s performance, also being tabbed as a First-Team All-Conference player for his work as a midfielder on the Wolf soccer squad.

Spring brought Murdy more honors, when he was acknowledged as a Second-Team All-League pick for his work behind the plate for CHS baseball.

But winter put the exclamation point on his bid to join the relatively short list of Wolves who have won their school’s biggest athletic award more than once.

Murdy makes the net pop.

Murdy paced Coupeville basketball in almost every stat category, copping Northwest 2B/1B League MVP as he played a key role for a program which enjoyed its best performance in decades.

The Wolf hoops squad finished 16-2, winning its first league title since 2002.

Murdy and Co. also claimed the program’s first district title since 1970 and advanced to state for the first time since 1988, where they pushed hoops heavyweights Kalama and Lake Roosevelt to the final buzzer.

Based on his hardwood play, Murdy became the first Wolf boy in at least a decade-and-a-half to be invited to participate in the All-State basketball game, where he scored 10 points in a 115-95 win.

Read Full Post »

Murdy, Prescott top CHS athletes

Posted in awards, tagged 2020-2021 school year, Athletes of the Year, Chelsea Prescott, CHS Wolves, Xavier Murdy on June 7, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Chelsea Prescott is the 2020-2021 Coupeville High School Female Athlete of the Year. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Xavier Murdy is the Male Athlete of the Year.

There’s two more names to add to the ring of honor.

Senior Chelsea Prescott and junior Xavier Murdy were tabbed as Coupeville High School’s Athletes of the Year Monday in a virtual ceremony.

Prescott, a four-year star for the Wolves, had very-strong seasons in softball and volleyball during her final year at CHS.

Opening on the diamond, with the pandemic flipping things around, she led CHS softball to a flawless 12-0 record as it returned to the Northwest 2B/1B League after a long absence.

Playing shortstop for the Wolves, Prescott brought a booming bat, quick wheels, and a laser arm to the lineup, plus a low-key, infectious spirit.

After she moved inside for volleyball, she remained on point, lashing winners left and right for a squad which finished second behind two-time defending state champ La Conner.

Prescott peppers a winner.

Tabbed as a First-Team All-Conference pick, Prescott capped her run on the CHS volleyball court by signing to play at Medaille College in New York.

During her days as a Wolf, the young woman who could hit a homerun, then rip out and replace a toilet with one hand, while repairing a car with the other, was a rare athlete.

She came up playing baseball in little league, often pitching, then played volleyball, basketball, and softball at CHS.

Murdy, currently leading a first-place Wolf basketball team in rebounds, assists, and steals, is that rarity — a star who seems to delight in other’s success even more than his own.

His junior year started on the baseball diamond, where he helped Coupeville finish second behind Friday Harbor, moved to the soccer pitch, where he helped restart the program, and is finishing on the hardwood.

Working with teammates such as Hawthorne Wolfe and his own brother, sophomore Alex Murdy, X-Man has been indispensable for a red-hot Wolf team which sits at 6-3 heading into the final week of the season.

Need a big bucket? He can get it.

Need 27 rebounds? He’s on it.

He’s the glue which holds everything together.

And now, like Prescott, and his own basketball coach, Brad Sherman, Murdy will be immortalized on the wall outside the CHS gym – one of the best of the best to ever wear a Wolf uniform.