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Posts Tagged ‘CHS Wolves’

“I hope to inspire them!!”

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , , on September 30, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Ashley Herndon (right), seen last year with fellow coaches Heidi Wyman (left) and Breanne Smedley. (John Fisken photo)

   Ashley Herndon (right), seen last year with fellow CHS coaches Heidi Wyman (left) and Breanne Smedley. (John Fisken photo)

Joy flows out of Ashley Herndon when she’s in a gym.

Whether she’s pulling duty as an assistant coach with the Coupeville High School volleyball squad or doing her own intense CrossFit workouts, her smile is unmistakable.

It’s the grin of a woman who seizes the day, every day.

Now in her second year of working with the Wolf spikers — she has the program’s longest current tenure, with head coach Cory Whitmore and JV Coach Kristin Bridges in their first season at CHS — Herndon leads by example.

“I think I’m still finding out about who I am and what my strengths are as a coach,” she said. “Most of the time I don’t really feel like I’m doing or saying all the right things but when I see the smiles on their faces when I walk in the gym then I know I’m doing something right.

“I hope to bring more than just improving their skills in the sport; I hope to inspire them, guide them and be a good mentor.”

Her best moment just happened, when she was a part of Coupeville knocking off Klahowya in Silverdale, ending the Eagles 14-match unbeaten streak in 1A Olympic League play.

“The highlight of coaching came Tuesday night, watching them battle their way to a victory over Klahowya,” Herndon said. “Their growth individually and as a team was inspiring to watch.

“I had a very proud momma bear moment.”

A former college player herself, Herndon, who’s currently in the Navy, has had a long-term love affair with the sport.

“I love volleyball! Love watching it, love playing it,” she said.

“The thing I love most about the sport is that you bring your own talent to the floor but you need the five other players around you to be successful,” Herndon added. “It’s never about an individual, it’s about the team as a unit, a family.”

Away from the court, she’s a “huge music lover; it moves my soul to dance,” swears by Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing and is always ready to get her workout on.

“When I’m not coaching I can be found in the gym trying to lift all the weights,” Herndon said. “A couple of years ago I tried out CrossFit and fell in love.

“Every workout just absolutely destroys me, but it makes me want to work harder everyday.”

When she needs inspiration and support, it’s never far away, as Herndon’s family has done a strong job crafting their winner of a daughter.

“My mom and my dad are the culprits responsible for the woman known as Ashley!! They have always and continue to be my biggest fans,” she said. “They support me unconditionally and have taught me how to be a strong independent woman that can take on the world.”

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A day for record-bustin’ and cake-eatin’!!

Posted in Happy birthday, tagged , , , , , on September 30, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Hunter Downes: The hero we need now. (John Fisken photos)

Hunter Downes: The hero we need now. (John Fisken photos)

He is the chosen one, the savior.

Flinging balls from all angles, racking up yards in big bursts, his impish grin shining from beneath his helmet, Hunter Downes is ready to lead Wolf football back to a golden age.

Last Friday, the Coupeville High School junior picked apart Charles Wright’s secondary for 323 yards — a career-high — and with 599 yards through four games he’s on target for a 1,500-yard season.

If that holds, Downes would land in the upper echelon of CHS quarterbacks, not that far off of Ian Smith’s school single-season mark of 1,848 yards.

Which is impressive, certainly.

But as Downes celebrates his birthday today by leading the Wolves onto the gridiron to face Vashon Island (6 PM) in a league clash, the bigger deal is the dude is healthy.

An injury knocked him down early last season, costing him most of his sophomore campaign after he opened the year as Coupeville’s starting QB.

You always hate to see young stars lose chunks of their very-short prep careers to troubles of the body, and then boom, another injury dinged Downes during the early days of basketball season.

He managed to stay on his feet for an entire track season in the spring, which allowed mom Angie to take the bubble wrap off her oldest son (for a bit, at least) and, this year, so far, nothing but the perfect image of health.

Which is great, not only because Hunter is one of the more talented athletes in the red and black, but because he’s a great guy who deserves to be out there building his legend.

An easy-going dude who saunters through many of his off-the-field photos, he’s super-friendly, a positive role model for young athletes coming up behind him, and a hard-working ball of fire who will wreck people when competing.

Downes is setting the pace, and younger brothers Sage and Logan, both talented guys themselves, are following in his big footsteps.

Would I love to see him go out there and bust Gabe Eck’s single-game CHS passing record of 403 yards?

Absolutely.

No slight on the former Wolf gunslinger intended.

Just acknowledgement that Hunter has seized the day, put himself into position to excel with the guidance of the original gunslinger, legendary Wolf QB turned offensive coordinator Brad Sherman, and deserves to reap some honors.

But whether Downes notches records or not, my respect level for him will still be sky-high.

In the immortal words of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, “They think he’s a righteous dude.”

I agree.

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Not personal, just business!!

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , on September 29, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Valen Trujillo

   Senior captain Valen Trujillo has helped lead Coupeville to sole possession of first-place in the 1A Olympic League. (John Fisken photos)

Payton Aparicio

   Payton Aparicio was lights out at the service stripe Thursday, sparking the Wolves to a three-set win.

Get in, get out.

Playing quick, brutal, efficient volleyball Thursday night, the Coupeville High School spikers firmly stepped on visiting Port Townsend and never gave the RedHawks the slightest chance to recover.

Coming off a huge emotional win at Klahowya earlier in the week, the Wolves entered play in sole possession of first-place in the 1A Olympic League.

They ended the night having vigorously reinforced that reality.

Rolling the RedHawks 25-11, 25-12, 25-8, Coupeville improves to 3-0 in league play, 5-2 overall.

That leaves the Wolves a game up on Klahowya (2-1), while Chimacum (1-2) and Port Townsend (0-3) are looking up from the basement.

Coupeville dominated every aspect of the match, something coach Cory Whitmore was thrilled to see.

“We got right in our flow and managed the pace of the game,” he said. “We focused on our focus and I was very pleased to see we didn’t peak and valley.

“We got better today.”

The Wolves trailed only twice on the night, very early in the first set, with their final deficit a modest 4-3.

Reclaiming the lead two points later on a nice put-away off the fingertips of sophomore Emma Smith, CHS never looked back.

Their service game was nearly impeccable, led by Hope Lodell’s eight aces (Payton Aparicio added six and Valen Trujillo had four), and their hitting game extra-crisp.

The big spikes and crowd-pleasing kills were nimbly set up by Lauren Rose (13 assists) and Ashley Menges (six).

“We had very balanced numbers hitting,” Whitmore said. “Nearly everyone was in the positive; that’s exciting.”

Katrina McGranahan paced the Wolves with five kills, while Ally Roberts, Smith and Sarah Wright chipped in with four apiece.

Any hopes Port Townsend might have had of rallying in the first set were immediately undone by the Wolf power game, with Tiffany Briscoe slicing a nasty winner that caught the right corner and Lodell pounding the snot out of the ball.

Roberts, soaring high on the right side of the net, then unleashing with her left hand, swatted a huge spike that shredded flesh as it ripped through the porous RedHawk defense.

In the midst of all the explosive hitting, the ever-calm Rose ripped off nine straight points on her serve with a variety of knuckle-balls, proving quiet winners can count just as much as loud ones.

The second set was highlighted by a slicing winner from the left corner from Allison Wenzel, a nice team-up from Wright and McGranahan to stuff a spike and Lodell carving up folks at the service line.

If Port Townsend at least put up some fight in the first two sets, the RedHawks spent much of the final set looking like they wanted to be back on the bus and headed to the ferry.

With Rose and Aparicio rolling off serve winners one after another, Coupeville soared out to a 15-1 lead, then coasted home.

The most exciting moment in the final set came when Port Townsend was penalized for staying too long on the sideline during a time-out, then ended up playing two points with just five players on the floor.

McGranahan put together a complete highlight reel around the RedHawk confusion, climbing an invisible ladder three times in a four-point stretch.

Each time she emphatically put the ball away, skipping winners off of assorted Port Townsend kneecaps as her personal fan section went happily bonkers two seats down from me.

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Right back on track!!

Posted in Girls Soccer, tagged , , , , , , on September 29, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Lauren Bayne, seen here in an earlier game, and the Wolf defense were in lock-down mode Thursday night, sparking a 4-1 win. (John Fisken photo)

   Lauren Bayne and the Wolf defense were in lock-down mode Thursday night, sparking a 4-1 win. (John Fisken photo)

Call it the big beat-down.

Combining an air-tight defense with another spectacular offensive show from state scoring leader Mia Littlejohn, the Coupeville High School girls’ soccer squad romped to a 4-1 win Thursday over visiting Port Townsend.

The win lifts the Wolves to 3-1 in 1A Olympic League play and pulls them within a half-game of first-place Klahowya (3-0).

Coupeville is 5-2-1 overall, with four wins in its last five matches.

The victory, a nice comeback after a loss at Klahowya earlier in the week, left CHS coach Troy Cowan a bit giddy.

When asked if the Wolves had beat Port Townsend, his response:

“Yes sir, like a drum, like a government mule, like they stole from us!!!”

Littlejohn provided all the offense Coupeville needed, putting together her fifth hat trick of the season.

She has 19 goals at the halfway point of the 16-game regular season, one shy of Abraham Leyva’s single-season school scoring record.

Littlejohn carved up the RedHawk defense in three different ways, scoring on a penalty kick, on an unassisted run, and off of a sweet set-up from Sage “The General” Renninger.

The team captain picked up a second assist when she triggered a play on which defender Lindsey Roberts “connected on a Scud missile shot that found pay dirt.”

It was the second goal this season for the sophomore sensation.

When Port Townsend was on the attack, the RedHawk charge was largely blunted by the Wolf ‘d.’

“Defense played incredible,” Cowan said. “Megan DePorter is a master of running our defense.

“The Wonder Twins (Lindsey Roberts and goalie Lauren Grove) played lights out too.”

Cowan also praised the play of freshman Mallory Kortuem, who “drew the toughest assignment tonight, having to shadow one of the most physically gifted players we face.”

Coupeville travels to Chimacum Tuesday for a league game, then plays three straight non-conference tilts before getting its rematch with Klahowya Oct. 18.

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She’s kind of a big deal!!

Posted in Happy birthday, tagged , , , , , on September 29, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Mattea Miller (John Fisken photo)

Mattea Miller: Serene Superstar. (John Fisken photo)

Mattea Miller is serenity and strength intertwined in one remarkable young woman.

The Coupeville High School senior, who celebrates a birthday today, has been one of the best athletes we’ve been blessed to have in our town for the past four years.

Pick a sport, any sport, and Mattea can make a sizable impact, from soccer to basketball to track and field, and everything in between.

She is a hustler, a hard worker, a tenacious, never-say-die coach’s dream.

A deeply-committed, tremendously-supportive, rock-solid anchor for any squad, an ideal teammate.

Of both those things, there is no doubt.

But Mattea has always been about far more than just sports, and to talk about her as only an athlete would do her a great disservice.

Good athletes come and go, and we appreciate what they accomplish.

But, every so often, there is a true rarity such as Miss Miller, someone who in their own quiet way soars far above the crowd.

I can honestly say, in four years of high school sports, and middle school before that, I have never heard a single disparaging word said about her.

Which is rare in the hot house world of constantly roiling teen drama that is prep sports, where even the most likable person usually manages to tick off someone from time to time.

Idiots like myself, well, we’re just lucky not to have fans throw wadded-up hot dog wrappers at us some days…

Not Mattea, who always seems genuinely kind and caring to all around her (or hides her true serial killer nature really, really, extremely well.)

My impression of her has always been that this is a young woman who seems to always look for the good in others and is repaid in kind.

Or, at least I hope she is repaid.

I hope those around her realize what a wonderful human being she seems to be every day, and show her some appreciation.

Mattea is a superb athlete, talent mixed with drive, but she is a far better person, a brilliant, compassionate, strong young woman with a soaring soul, and that is so much more important.

On her cake day, the last one of her high school days, I hope she is surrounded by family and friends, and I hope she realizes how much her town and her fans think of her.

It has been an honor to write about you, Mattea, and I have no doubt there will be many more stories to tell as you head out to captivate the outside world.

Whatever you do, wherever you go after high school, there’s a whole new group of people about to discover what Coupeville already knows — you are the very definition of awesome.

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