Clockwise, from left, Hall o’ Fame inductees Maria Rockwell, Steve Konek, Sr. and Jess Roundy.
We hit a milestone today.
As we gather here, as we do every Sunday, to induct another batch of our athletic best into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame, we mark our 75th ceremony.
That’s 75 consecutive Sundays with out a miss, folks.
Dang, I may need a nap…
Anyways, as we once again open the doorway to these hallowed digital hallways, we welcome a terrific trio to our lil’ on-line shrine.
Joining their brethren today are Maria Rockwell, Steve Konek, Sr. and Jess Roundy.
After this, you’ll find them atop the blog under the Legends tab.
But first, before we send them upstairs, let’s say some nice things about them.
Having won the coin flip, our first inductee is Roundy, a three-sport athlete who was part of the Coupeville High School Class of 2000.
And, while she’s been gone from CHS for nearly half her life now, her mark still lingers, especially when you go in the school’s gym.
Look up on the giant track record board in the entrance to the gym, and Roundy’s name still stands tall, as no one has approached the school record she set in the 100 hurdles back in 1999.
Her mark of 16.06 seconds has stood the test of time (and a lot of would-be record-busters), remaining in place 17 years and counting.
Roundy finished 6th at state in ’99, running a 16.82 as she and fellow long-time record holder/Hall o’ Famer Yashmeen Knox (javelin, high jump) repped the red and black.
This is actually the third time Jess is going into the Hall, having been inducted as a member of two very-successful teams — the 1997-1998 CHS girls’ basketball squad and the ’98 Wolf spikers.
The hoops players were the first CHS girls basketball team to advance to state, while the volleyball crew won a state academic title, while also kicking fanny on the court.
But now Roundy is in the Hall on her own, where she’s joined by our second inductee, Konek.
A long-time baseball coach, at several levels, he’s currently on his third tour with the Everett Merchants semi-pro team. After stints from 1989-1994 and 1998-2002, he returned as a bench coach in 2014.
Before that came stints at the high school level, working with CHS baseball from 1981-1987 and softball in ’97-’98.
Konek’s work in baseball has been impressive, with two runs as President of the Pacific International League (the home of the Merchants) covering 15 years.
Along the way, the National Baseball Congress gave him the prestigious Hap Dumont Award in 1999.
His work between the lines and on the bench is just a small part of the impact Konek has had on the world, however.
He completed two tours of duty in Vietnam, then has spent considerable time helping to raise funds and awareness for the Vietnam Fund for Education, Music and Infrastructure Library Project.
That’s a non-profit organization dedicated to “improving the lives of children in Vietnam through the support of education, mentoring program for orphaned girls, school infrastructure, school library and food programs, and traditional music and musicians.”
Our third inductee, Rockwell, is our youngest, having graduated from CHS in 2013.
A flame-throwing softball sensation, Maria was lights out in the pitcher’s circle, rock solid at shortstop and a dangerous presence at the plate.
Coupeville only had her in uniform for two seasons — she was a freshman phenom, then returned as a seasoned senior after a family move to Florida in the middle — but she was as dynamic a player as any Wolf to ever stride across the softball diamond.
Put a softball in her hand and Rockwell was a strikeout machine, leaving hapless batters swinging at the air as the sound of ball hitting catcher’s mitt echoed across the prairie.
The few times she wasn’t pitching, she anchored the defense from short, gunning down runners from deep in the hole time and again in support of fellow hurlers like Alexis Trumbull or McKayla Bailey.
Place a bat in her hands and Rockwell was an RBI machine, as well, cranking out booming hits to all fields.
A complete player in all facets of the game, she was a scrapper on the field, yet serenely sweet-natured in real life.
A killer between the lines who remained a kind-hearted young woman when not gunnin’ down fools at the plate.
In other words, a true Hall o’ Famer.
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