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!!”
