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Posts Tagged ‘BreAnna Boon’

Wolf cheer brings the fire and excitement

Posted in Cheer, tagged , , , , , on September 5, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Senior Ashleigh Battaglia leads a cheer squad that can bring the noise and the funk. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Back, left to right: Lucy Crouch, coach BreAnna Boon, Coral Caveness, Battaglia, Mica Shipley, Emily Fiedler. Front: Kim Castro, Marenna Rebischke-Smith, Ja’Tarya Hoskins, Melia Welling, Karyme Castro.

Fiedler gets a helping hand (or three) from her teammates.

Hoskins was a key part of a Wolf cheer team which claimed 3rd place at state last season.

Fiedler and Shipley go gliding.

Welling has been in the cheer biz most of her life.

Fiedler fires the bow and arrow.

“We’re coming for all your state titles! All of them!!”

They can’t be contained.

Whether working the sidelines or the gym, the Coupeville High School cheer squad is among the best in the state, offering equal parts fire and excitement in their routines.

As they sit a day away from pulling their first sideline duty of the fall — CHS football is home Friday vs. Port Townsend — John Fisken offers up a medley of cheertastic pics to get things kicked off.

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Step up for Coach Carr and his family

Posted in Football, Fundraisers, tagged , , , , , on March 28, 2019| Leave a Comment »

CHS football coach Marcus Carr has had a huge positive effect since his arrival in town. Now, we need to help him and his family. (Photo courtesy Carr)

Coupeville High School coaches have banded together to support the family of Wolf head football coach Marcus Carr, and we can all help.

Carr’s wife, Deborah, was in a bad car accident coming home from work Mar. 23, and has had to have extensive surgeries.

While she is recovering from her injuries, others are stepping up to provide meals for the family of six.

CHS cheer coach BreAnna Boon, using the Meal Train web site, has set up an easy way for people to sign up to provide meals, or purchase gift cards which can be used for food.

Since they joined Wolf Nation a year ago, the Carr family has had a huge impact on the CHS football program and local student/athletes.

If you can help at all, please take a look at:

https://mealtrain.com/y262gk

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CHS cheer punches state ticket

Posted in Cheer, tagged , , , , on January 27, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville High School cheer coach BreAnna Boon and senior Julie Bucio share a moment. (Photos courtesy Boon)

The Wolves are off to the state meet for the first time since 2011.

One team, one dream.

“They have far exceeded any expectations I had for them.”

When first-year Coupeville High School cheer coach BreAnna Boon decided to take the Wolves back into the world of competition events, it was a huge change.

CHS has been a sideline-only cheer squad since 2011, when it finished 4th at state, its third top-four finish in a six-year span.

That followed a state title in 2006 and a 2nd place finish a year later.

But Boon, who was a state and national champion during her cheerleading days at Oak Harbor High School, wanted to revive what longtime Wolf coach Sylvia Arnold once brought to the program.

So, ready or not, it was time to get back on the blue mats.

And the Wolves responded, claiming strong finishes at every meet, and then, Saturday at Curtis High School, punching their ticket to the 2019 state meet.

It’ll be a quick turn-around, with the state championships set for Feb. 1-2 in Battle Ground.

Coupeville’s class, Small Game Day, competes on the second day of the event.

To get to state, the Wolves put in two months of work behind the scenes, then adapted to changing up routines on nearly a weekly basis, while never knowing quite what to expect from judges.

“Judging is so opinionated when it comes to cheerleading routines,” Boon said. “You could have different judges every weekend. What one set of judges like, the others may not.

“It’s about finding that magical combination that makes the routine come to life and makes those judges want to get up out of their seats and cheer with you.”

The meet at Curtis was Coupeville’s final shot at punching a ticket to state, and it came during a week when the Wolf squad performed at two home basketball games, prepped for Senior Night festivities and battled the onslaught of cold and flu season.

“We only had two full practices this week, but man did those kids work,” Boon said. “They basically learned a whole new routine Monday and we didn’t want to leave anything on the mat that the judges could critique us for.”

Giving their all and then being rewarded was huge for Coupeville’s athletes.

“The commitment every single cheerleader put towards this team was shown out there on the mat,” said senior Julie Bucio. “We finally got what this team deserved.”

That was a sentiment echoed by junior Ashleigh Battaglia.

“We worked hard and we finally got to see it take us to where we wanted to go,” she said. “I’m so very proud of our squad, and of course, our coach.”

For her part, Coupeville’s leader didn’t realize how hard the moment might hit.

A veteran of cheer competitions who has gone to the heights of the sport herself, seeing the young women under her charge blossom has been huge for Boon.

“When the announcer said Coupeville cheer qualified, I think we all felt like it was a dream!!,” she said. “I was like, did I just imagine he said that??

“But I looked at the kids and they were all screaming, jumping, and hugging each other … annnnd … that’s when I started crying!!,” Boon added. “Who knew the hard cheer coach has a heart?!”

Coupeville had nine cheerleaders on the mat Saturday — Mica Shipley, Battaglia, Kim Castro, Ja’Tarya Hoskins, Emily Fiedler, Bucio, Melia Welling, Bella Velasco, and Coral Caveness — with two others, Marenna Rebischke-Smith and Jaden Marrs, having competed in earlier events.

For their coach, it’s been a wild thrill ride all the way.

“When I originally started this competition team, it was never a goal to go state. It was just to show these kids what competition cheer was,” Boon said. “I wanted them to hit the mat, have a good time, and show people that Coupeville High School existed. Next year we were planning on taking the competition world by storm.

“This year, we were just supposed to get our feet wet in competition. And now we’re going to state! It’s just so unbelievable!”

As the Wolves celebrated into the night (“It was literally a party that could be heard across the world! OK, maybe the parking lot, but still!”), they also took time to share their moment with Arnold, who led the CHS program for 20 years.

“One of my favorite parts of the day was when we got back on the bus, first person we wanted to inform? Sylvia of course!,” Boon said. “The girls left her a voicemail saying, guess what, we’re going to state!

“Sylvia has inspired me to be a stronger, better coach and person. If I can end up even HALF as good as she is, I will consider that a huge accomplishment,” Boon added. “If you can’t learn from the best, you will never be the best!”

As the CHS bus exited the parking lot Saturday, bound for home and then even bigger things, the Wolves and two generations of coaches celebrated long into the night.

“Even our bus driver Karen (Autio) was so happy for the kids,” Boon said. “Honking, screaming, hugs, happy tears.

“It all happened!!”

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Wolf cheer soars higher and higher!!

Posted in Cheer, tagged , , , , on December 9, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville High School cheer coach BreAnna Boon, captured on film during a rare quiet moment. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

After a seven-year break, the Wolf cheer squad has returned to competition in style. (Photo courtesy Boon)

Week by week, competition by competition, practice by practice, there is one goal.

Improvement, as individuals and as a team.

While Coupeville High School cheer coach BreAnna Boon would love to add some championship plaques to the school’s Wall of Fame, her focus remains crystal clear.

“From the very start, I have told my cheerleaders that their only competition is their score sheets from the previous week,” Boon said. “I don’t care what the other teams put out on the mat, I care that the CHS cheer squad leaves their best performance out there.”

And her cheerleaders are listening, and responding.

After not fielding a competitive cheer squad since 2011, the Wolves are back, and are coming for all the trophies.

Saturday, competing in the Small Game Day division at an event in Auburn, Coupeville claimed 3rd place, but actually bettered its score from its first competition, where it placed 2nd.

And, not only did the Wolves raise their score, but they did so by a staggering amount – 12 points.

“That’s almost unheard of in the cheer world,” Boon said. “Week to week usually teams vary their score three to five points.

The Wolves, who are pulling double duty during winter, working as a sideline team for basketball while also training and competing, face down all comers at their events.

Any school, from 4A down to 1B, can send a squad onto the mat in their class during the regular season, as long as they have 12 or less cheerleaders competing.

If CHS makes it to state, which requires earning 65 points at a regular-season event, it will face off only with fellow 1A schools at the championships.

Through the first two events, the competition roster has included Jaden Marrs, Bella Velasco, Kim Castro, Melia Welling, Marenna Rebischke-Smith, Coral Caveness, Ashleigh Battaglia, Mica Shipley, Ja’Tarya Hoskins, and Emily Fiedler.

Senior Julie Bucio will sub in for Welling next Saturday, Dec. 15, when the Wolves compete at the “Battle at the Border” in Vancouver.

While Boon appreciates the hard work her athletes give her, they return the feeling.

“We haven’t had a coach that has put as much effort into us as Bre has since Sylvia (Arnold)!,” Caveness said. “We appreciate her so much and we are gonna accomplish great things and are excited to make our goals!”

As the Wolves continue to collect awards, the focus never changes.

“When I first talked about going to competition with the team, we were never out to compete against anyone else; we were only out to hit that 65-point goal, because that will qualify us for state,” Boon said.

“You wouldn’t wouldn’t believe the hard work these girls put in at practice,” she added. “The routine basically changes every week based on the critiques from the judges.

“There are ton of teams that have won 1st place, but not qualified for state. It’s great to bring home a 2nd and 3rd placement, but the girls are really striving for that 65, and we are gonna keep working towards that!”

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Back where they belong!!

Posted in Cheer, tagged , , , , on December 2, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Ja’Tarya Hoskins helped lead Coupeville High School back to the world of competitive cheer. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

The Wolves celebrate after performing as a competitive cheer squad for the first time since 2011. (Photos courtesy BreAnna Boon)

Back, l to r: Jaden Marrs, Bella Velasco, Kim Castro, Melia Welling, Marenna Rebischke-Smith. Front: Coral Caveness, Ashleigh Battaglia, Mica Shipley, Ja’Tarya Hoskins, Emily Fiedler.

Back on the blue mats!

The Coupeville High School cheer squad returned to competitive meets for the first time in seven years Saturday, claiming 2nd place in an eight-team division.

The Wolves, led by first-year coach BreAnna Boon, vied in the Small Game Day division in an event held at Bellarmine Prep High School.

There were 32 schools total at the meet, and it was the first time since 2011 that Coupeville has stepped away from being just a sideline cheer squad.

CHS was a competition cheer squad for many years under legendary former coach Sylvia Arnold.

During her 20-year run at the helm of the Wolves program, they won a state title in 2006, while also claiming 2nd at state in 2007 and 4th in 2011.

After making the decision to plunge back into the world of competition cheer, Boon’s squad had just seven practices to get ready.

But the Wolves juggled school, the start of cheering for their school’s basketball teams, holiday breaks, and the increased practices, and never looked back.

Just getting to that first competition was a major step for the cheer program. To do so well once there, is a huge bonus.

“It was a good first time after not competing for so long,” said Wolf captain Ja’Tarya Hoskins. “We will keep working and our second place was only the beginning!”

That’s a sentiment shared by her coach.

“I just have to say the way the kids performed had us all in tears on Saturday,” Boon said. “As a coach, to see your kids being so elated with the work THEY did is such an indescribable feeling.

“We live-streamed it for the parents, and they were crying watching too!,” she added. “The work they have accomplished in seven practices is nothing like I have ever seen before. To say I am proud of them is an understatement.”

Coupeville is set to compete for the second time Dec. 8, and Boon wants to take her team to more events in Jan.

The ultimate goal is to make the state finals, which are Feb. 2 in Battle Ground.

The Wolves will attack that goal, and everything leading up to it, with the same fire and commitment they have shown so far.

“Winners aren’t people who never fail,” said CHS junior Marenna Rebischke-Smith. “But people who never quit.”

For the moment, though, Boon is content to marinate in the moment.

“Most of them have never seen a cheer leading competition before,” she said. “So to go and perform at one, and bring home a second place, really feels like a win for all of us!”

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