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Posts Tagged ‘CHS Wolves’

Camden Glover rumbles on the hardwood. (Julie Wheat photo)

“I would like to continue to be a reliable team player.”

That was Camden Glover’s stated goal as he entered his freshman year at Coupeville High School, coming off a stellar run as a middle school athlete which included several big-game performances on the hardwood.

And it was one he achieved during a four-year run in which he was as solid as they come.

Stevie’s oldest son, who has always been a protective big bro to his younger siblings, had actually already made his high school debut as an 8th grader, playing for the JV baseball squad, where he tore the leather off the ball.

But once he was a full-time high school student Glover really made his impact felt, both as a hitter and a pitcher across four varsity seasons on the diamond.

Numbers wise, he racked up 67 hits, 18 doubles, 49 RBI, 50 runs, 52 walks, and 47 stolen bases — while rarely being thrown out — while leading the squad in batting average over his final two years by nailing the ball at a .380 and .420 clip.

Throwing the high, hard cheese, and daring hitters to try. (Jackie Saia photo)

Put him on the mound, and Glover was equally as imposing, piling up 172 strikeouts in 101 innings of work on the bump.

Not only was the burly prairie native a danger to other teams whether he was flinging heat or taking swings, he was the kind of dude any coach wants at the center of their lineup.

In both good times, such as the Wolves advancing to the state tourney, or tough times, when he helped hold together a very-thin lineup, Glover carried himself the same.

He was a professional through and through, a leader by action and word, and, to those of us on the outside of the fence, seemed to be the glue which held his team together.

That was a mentality which carried over to his other high school sports, as well.

On the football field, Glover prowled the line, going both ways and anchoring things for the Wolves.

Few opponents got past him when he laid down a block, and he could be a menace on defense, often rumbling into the backfield to stuff a runner or pursue the other team’s quarterback.

Sharing a moment with fellow prairie progeny Lyal Viers (1) and Andy Penrod. (Tammy Glover photo)

Put him on a basketball court, and Glover was a truly intriguing player.

He had the size and strength to pound away in the key, muscling his way through defenders for hotly contested buckets.

But take your eye off of him for a second, and he would also pop out behind the three-point line, where he could be a deadly proficient long-range gunner, splashing home treys before the defense had fully registered what was happening.

Glover put in two really solid seasons of work at the varsity level, finishing with 351 points (and a ton of rebounds).

That has him sitting #80 all-time for a CHS boys’ basketball program which launched way back in 1917, which puts him in the top 18% of scorers among the 433 male hoops stars whose scoring exploits I have been able to chart.

With Glover having picked up his diploma this past spring, Wolf sports teams will have a big hole to fill — both in terms of the stats he piled up, and in the leadership, work ethic, and mentorship he displayed.

His younger brothers, and his cousins, are on their way, though all of them still have a few years before they’ll be at the high school level.

When they do, they’ll already have a role model to emulate, having watched Camden rip things up.

For now, we’ll take a moment to swing open the doors of the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame and welcome Tammy’s first grandson into its hallowed digital halls.

After this, you’ll find Camden Glover up at the top of the blog, under the Legends tab, a young man who earned that status by bringing it every day, every play.

A younger Camden with his #1 fan. (Photo courtesy Stevie Glover)

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Sherry Bonacci (left) and Aimee Bishop get runners fired up.

Race the Reserve, the biggest fundraiser for Coupeville High School’s senior class, hits the prairie Saturday, August 8 this year.

The annual event, which raises money for “safe and sober graduation activities,” features a 5K, 10K, and half marathon, with runners rambling through the scenic views of Ebey’s National Historic Reserve.

While parents of students from the CHS Class of 2027 are at the forefront of things, they need a pack of volunteers to help pull things off.

If you’re interested in kicking off a new school year in style, you can sign up by popping over to:

https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/10C0448A9AF2DA0FFC61-62841214-consessions?useFullSite=false

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Volleyball guru Cory Whitmore plots strategy. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

His run was truly stellar.

When Cory Whitmore took the reins of the Coupeville High School volleyball program in 2016, the varsity had won seven matches across the previous two seasons combined.

In his first go-round in the CHS gym, the Wolves promptly went 11-6, kicking off a string of nine consecutive winning seasons under their spiker guru.

Whitmore led Coupeville to the state tourney in 2017, snapping a 12-year dry spell, and got back in both 2023 and 2024, with the last of those teams claiming 4th place for the first state trophy in program history.

In between, his teams posted double-digit win totals eight times, with the only outlier being the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, when the Wolves were only allowed to play nine matches total.

When he stepped down after the 2024 season, Whitmore carried a .702 winning percentage with him, having gone 106-45 while on the CHS sideline.

How does that compare to other Wolf coaches? Pretty dang good.

While records are incomplete, the other highest winning percentages I can attest to are owned by the last two CHS softball coaches, Aaron Lucero and Kevin McGranahan.

Lucero is top dog right now, off to a 39-7 start (.848) across his first two seasons, while McGranahan went 111-49 (.694) while matching Whitmore’s nine-year run.

Here’s how Whitmore’s time at Coupeville played out:

2016: 11-6
2017: 13-5 (State)
2018: 11-5
2019: 14-5
2020: 6-3 (Partial season – Covid)
2021: 11-6
2022: 10-6
2023: 12-7 (State)
2024: 18-2 (State – 4th)

That final campaign was truly one for the ages, with Coupeville winning league and district titles, remaining undefeated until the final day of the season, advancing to the state semifinals, and smashing the program’s single season win mark en route to bringing home hardware.

Under Whitmore’s guidance, the Wolves also did the previously unthinkable, toppling La Conner from its perch atop the Northwest 2B/1B League volleyball standings, handing the Braves their first conference losses in more than a decade-plus.

Still kickin’ butt and takin’ names on the court. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

But while the wins and the trophies are huge, what I will remember most about the former Wolf coach is how he got there.

From the first practice to the last banquet, Whitmore was a dream to deal with.

He was friendly, personable, able to take complicated volleyball info and break it down to where even a relative idiot such as myself could (mostly) understand the game in a different way than before.

After crowd-pleasing wins or gut-punch losses, Whitmore never shied away from taking the time to send me emails from the road as the bus bumped back home or camping out in the CHS bleachers to answer my questions.

I found him to be one of the straightest shooters to ever hold a coaching job in Cow Town, and one of the most entertaining.

During his time running the Wolf program, he immersed himself fully in it, building a very-successful youth program which brought his high school players and elementary school students together.

Whitmore made volleyball fun and exciting for the next generation, and it will pay off for years to come.

Filling the gym with smiles. (Phoenix Da Costa-Ford photo)

He also set up a coaching tree which continues to branch out, with former Wolf players such as Ashley Menges, Scout Smith, Alita Blouin, and Hope Lodell having followed in the footsteps of the man who guided them during their own playing years.

While we all would have loved for him to coach for decades, his “retirement” was well earned.

Teaching at one school (Oak Harbor) while coaching at another, while putting in the 24/7/365 level of commitment to the volleyball program he did, takes its toll.

So, seeing Whitmore looking all hale and hearty and maybe able to have a moment or two to himself these days (or be able to spend some quality time with husband Cris), makes it easier to accept.

But while he’s stepped back from the spotlight a bit, that doesn’t mean we can’t pull him back to center stage one more time — at least online.

Today we swing open the doors to the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame, inducting him for his coaching prowess, his work ethic, and his sunny personality. The pride of Ritzville is the complete package.

After this you’ll find him up at the top of the blog under the Legends tab — the coolest cat in the joint.

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Through rain or shine, cousins Capri Anter (left) and Haylee Armstrong excel across multiple sports. (Michelle Armstrong photo)

A new high school athletic year beckons, ripe with possibilities.

We sit 28 days away from the first practice for Coupeville High School football, 33 away from the start of volleyball, soccer, cheer, girls swim, and cross country.

How will the 2026-2027 school year play out?

No one knows, really, something we were reminded of several years back when a pandemic appeared seemingly out of nowhere to disrupt the established way of life.

Barring any major disruptions, like if an alien spacecraft lands on the prairie and the lil’ green buggers start zapping random cows, you can make some guesses however, based on past performance.

The seniors, that group which forms the CHS Class of 2027, include a number of athletes who I would expect to be front and center as things play out.

From Davin Houston to Lexis Drake, from Riley Lawless to Bella Karr, the elder statesmen should anchor things, even while young guns like Tamsin Ward, Lillian Ketterling, and Wyatt Fitch-Marron likely make their presence felt.

But seeing as how I am fond of making bold, often irrational statements, I hereby proclaim that we are headed into the “Year of the Cousins.”

Yep, 2026-2027 is set up for Capri Anter and Haylee Armstrong to soar even higher, with three Senior Nights on the calendar to provoke tears from their impassioned fan base.

Queens of the hardwood. (Julie Wheat photo)

The duo, who have grown up together on volleyball and basketball courts and softball diamonds, are strongly positioned to rack up major page hits for me here at blog central.

Both are strong athletes capable of filling up a stat sheet, both are personable and outgoing young women, and both have devoted followers.

Moms, dads, aunts and uncles, and especially grandmas are at all their games, home and away seemingly, but it goes beyond that.

Capri and Haylee are also the kind of teenagers joyfully adopted by other families, who often root for the duo as hard as they do their own daughters.

The cousins lead by example, seem to genuinely enjoy their time in the spotlight, and provide stellar examples for their younger teammates, or the little girls (and boys) who aren’t close to high school yet, but are already crowding the fences and benches to get a glimpse of their heroes.

Now, I don’t know either of them away from sports — maybe they’re secretly serial killers and are burying all the bodies at Rhodey and we’ll watch their real story on Netflix one day — but what I do know, what I have seen, through middle and high school, makes me think they’re the real deal.

From someone observing things while bruising my butt on rock-hard bleachers or leaning against rickety wire fences, what I see is this.

I see Haylee and Capri take time out to make sure their family members and friends know how much they appreciate having them at games.

I see them intently listen to their coaches, time and again. They focus; they don’t drift.

I see them honor their teammates, school, and uniform, competing hard every time out, celebrating achievement, but not rubbing it in the faces of their foes.

I see them keep alive the memory of their late cousin, Adam Garcia, in word and deed, and I know he would be proud of that they are accomplishing.

And I see them support each other, and it’s a beautiful thing.

Smashin’ homers and takin’ names. (Jackie Saia photo)

The games will end at some point. That’s a fact.

You like to hope that Capri and Haylee’s final moment together wearing a Wolf uniform will come on a diamond in Eastern Washington in late May next year, with Coupeville softball hoisting a state tourney trophy.

That they will have made highlights on the volleyball and basketball court, before putting the exclamation point on things as part of the Smash Sisters, playing the sport which really seems to define both.

Maybe it will be so. Maybe it won’t.

Either way, they will be together for life, the latest link in a family deeply ingrained in Wolf Nation.

But before they get those diplomas and head off to the next stage of their lives, here’s to hoping Capri and Haylee see all their athletic dreams come true during their senior campaigns.

I’m calling it — this is going to be “The Year of the Cousins,” and the Vegas odds tell us it’s going to be a special one.

The dynamic duo. (Michelle Armstrong photo)

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Brianna Wells-Watson

Friends and family have launched a GoFundMe to help the daughter of my former landlord after a traumatic health issue.

Brianna Wells-Watson, who attended Coupeville schools, lived right above my Penn Cove-facing duplex for many years, including when her late mom Sandy was my go-to person for paying rent.

Brianna, who has worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant, suffered a heart attack July 16, caused by familial hypercholesterolemia, a genetic condition that causes dangerously high cholesterol and significantly increases the risk of early heart disease.

Emergency surgery to remove a critical blockage in her left anterior descending coronary artery saved her life, but she has lost approximately 10% of her heart function.

Brianna is also dealing with other health challenges, including lupus, Hashimoto’s disease, and adenomyosis, while her husband is epileptic and had major reconstructive surgery just three months ago.

After the heart attack, she “faces a long road of healing that includes cardiology appointments, cardiac rehabilitation, medications, lifestyle changes, and most importantly, reducing stress so her heart has the best chance to recover.”

The GoFundMe was set up in an effort to help the family deal with overwhelming medical costs as well as daily expenses for a family of four.

“Instead of another heartbreaking story, let’s make this one a story of hope, compassion, and neighbors coming together to lift up one of our own just like our wonderful community does!” wrote the creators of the fundraiser.

“For more than 20 years, Brianna has dedicated her life to caring for others. She has spent her career comforting patients, supporting families, and showing up every day with kindness, strength, and compassion.

“Together, we can turn this frightening chapter into a story of hope, love, and a community that refused to let one of its own face this battle alone.”

 

For more info and to help out, pop over to:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/oak-harbor-rallies-for-briannas-healing-journey

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