Clockwise from bottom left, it’s Mike, Ben and Marisa Etzell.
It’s a reunion.
As we convene today to induct our 74th class into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame, we’re making a concentrated effort to make Kristi Etzell get a little teary-eyed.
How are we doing that?
By serving up a family special, inducting her husband, daughter and one of her three sons all at the same time.
After this, you’ll find Mike, Marisa and Ben Etzell hanging out together up at the top of the blog, under the Legends tab.
And probably at family dinners, but that’s beside the point.
At the moment, it’s all about their taking up residence in these hallowed digital hallways we call the Hall o’ Fame.
Up first on the dais is big poppa, since, if it weren’t for him, the other two inductees wouldn’t be around to be honored.
Mike Etzell goes in for a lot of reasons — he’s a key part of the best-in-the-biz CHS football chain gang, he’s a stellar member of the community, and he’s the perfect assistant coach.
Whether working under Willie Smith or Marc Aparicio, the senior Etzell brings knowledge and a subtle touch to his work on the diamond.
Stalking the first base box, needling the players in the dugout, offering sage advice to his head coaches or bringing a fresh take on strategy, he’s indispensable (and underrated).
A fair amount of that knowledge worked its way down to Ben, who was a fireball-throwing star on the diamond.
The only Wolf to be named an MVP in the 1A/2A Cascade Conference in any sport during Coupeville’s decade-plus battles with King’s, ATM and Co., Ben killed foes with his arm, his bat and his brain.
On the mound, he was a strikeout king, routinely buckling the knees of opposing hitters. Then he would pick up a bat himself and lead the offensive charge.
It’s a sport he was seemingly born to play, and one he has continued to excel in, playing the past two years for Saint John’s in Minnesota, his dad’s alma mater.
Away from the diamond, Ben poured in points on the basketball court (and slammed repeatedly into walls while in pursuit of loose balls), while also advancing to state as a tennis player.
That he (willingly) shredded his knees on the cement tennis courts by sliding face-first to pull off a miracle shot is both a testament to his competitive fire and his willingness to freak out his coach and family.
Our third inductee, Marisa, is the quiet warrior, a superb soccer and track star who always looked like she was gliding, even in the heat of battle.
She didn’t get as many bumps, bruises and contusions as her brother, though don’t think that’s because she wasn’t battling just as hard as he did. She just knew where to pick her spots.
On the pitch, she out-ran, out-hustled and out-fought everyone in sight, scoring goals and setting her teammates up en route to earning All-Conference honors as a forward.
Put her on the track oval and Marisa really took off, however.
She owns part of a school record, having joined with Makana Stone, Jai’Lysa Hoskins and Kirsten Pelroy to set a 4 x 400 mark (4:14.98) which has withstood all challengers for three seasons now.
During her stellar four-year prep career, Marisa was a winner 26 times as either an individual or relay runner, while advancing to state three separate times.
Her best showing at the big dance came during her senior season, when she teamed with Lauren Grove, Sylvia Hurlburt and Stone to claim third-place medals in the 4 x 200.
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