After two top-four finishes at state in the 200, Wolf senior Jacob Smith has his eyes on a state title. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
Juniors Ashlie Shank (left) and Lindsey Roberts are back to tear up the track.
Depth, experience and talent.
The Coupeville High School track team boasts all of that, a strong coaching staff and improved facilities which now include new covered stands, announcing booth and dedicated track storage building.
All of that brings a huge smile to the face of longtime Wolf head coach Randy King, who is partially new himself, after successful hip replacement surgery.
The oval guru will call on returning assistant coaches Bob Martin (throwers, high jumpers), Chad Felgar (sprinters, hurdlers, long jumpers), Neil Rixe (distance runners), Jordan Ford (vaulters) and Lincoln Kelley (javelin) to help with his 40+ athlete roster.
Also joining the crew is Sylvia Hurlburt, a state meet veteran whose name appears several times on the CHS track record board.
The former Wolf star has come home to work with the sprinters and relay teams.
“Our team is really fortunate to have all this help and I really appreciate them,” King said.
Headlining the Coupeville roster are a host of athletes who made the long trek to Cheney last season.
Junior Lindsey Roberts, who has racked up four state meet medals in her first two seasons, leads the returning Wolves.
A school record holder in three events (100 hurdles plus both the 4 x 100 and 4 x 200 relays), she is chasing history.
Only three Wolf girls (Makana Stone with seven, Natasha Bamberger with six and Yashmeen Knox with five) have won more state meet medals than Roberts.
Her counterpart on the male side of the roster is senior Jacob Smith, whose school-record mark in the 200 has him ranked #1 among all returning 1A runners in the state.
After finishing fourth at state during his sophomore campaign, Smith claimed third last year.
As he chases a state title in the 200, the speed demon, who also went to state in the 100 and the 4 x 400, will add the 400 to his to-do list this season.
Maya Toomey-Stout, who became the first Wolf girl in school history to compete in four different events at one state meet (100, 200, 4 x 1, 4 x 2) is back for her sophomore season.
This time around, “The Gazelle” is joined by both of her brothers, senior Cameron and sophomore Sean.
Other state meet vets include junior Danny Conlisk (400, 800, 4 x 4), seniors Lauren Bayne (high jump), Henry Wynn (4 x 4) and Ariah Bepler (high jump) and sophomore Mallory Kortuem (4 x 1, 4 x 2).
Beyond the Wolves who competed at Cheney last year, the squad boasts considerable depth.
Some key returnees include seniors Mckenzie Meyer, Abby Parker and Allison Wenzel, juniors Emma Smith, Chris Battaglia, Ashlie Shank and Jakobi Baumann and sophomores Raven Vick and Lucy Sandahl.
Meyer set a school record in the pole vault last year.
Two promising newcomers are sophomores Zoe Trujillo, who hops over from tennis, and Chris Ruck, who transferred from La Salle.
As the Wolves make their final run through the Olympic League and District 3 — next year they jump to District 1 and the new North Sound Conference — King would like to see his charges make a solid exit.
“As far as team goals are concerned, we aren’t asking too much from our athletes this season,” he said with a smile and wink. “Just to run faster, jump better, and throw farther than they ever have before!
“Together with some work, and attention to technique, we can do this,” King added. “It is really going to be exciting to see what this group accomplishes this season.”
