Monica Vidoni gives a teammate a lift up. (Photo courtesy Vidoni)
Madeline Roberts hangs out with mom Lisa Edlin. (John Fisken photo)
One season ends, while three others roll on.
Of the four Coupeville High School grads currently playing college softball or baseball, Monica Vidoni was the first to kick her season off, and now she’s the first to reach the finish line.
Vidoni and her Rainy River Community College (Minnesota) teammates wrapped a 28-14 season by playing in the NJCAA Region 13B tourney this past weekend.
The Voyaguers won two games, with their freshman outfielder chipping in with a pair of hits, an RBI and a spectacular, juggling catch.
Vidoni snagged a ball over her head, only to have the ball pop out of her glove. Diving down, she successfully re-snared it.
“It was a scary catch,” Vidoni said with a laugh.
She finished the season with a .310 batting average, 20 hits (including three home runs and two doubles), 12 RBI, 16 runs and seven walks.
The other three Wolf alumni playing college ball — Ben Etzell, Madeline Roberts and Hailey Hammer — started their seasons later than Vidoni and still have games left to play.
Etzell, a sophomore at Saint John’s University in Minnesota, starts the postseason this Thursday.
The Johnnies (25-12) open the MIAC tourney against Hamline University in Cold Spring, Minnesota.
Etzell is 2-1 with 33 strikeouts in 10 games on the mound for Saint John’s, while he has six hits, seven runs, two doubles, four walks and four RBI at the plate.
Hammer, a frosh at Everett Community College (15-17) has four regular season games left in her first campaign.
She has amassed 13 hits (including a dinger), six RBI, eight runs and five walks while fighting through injury trouble.
Roberts, who is closing in on the end of a two-year run at Shoreline Community College, has nine hits, five walks, four stolen bases, four runs and three RBI for a 12-14 squad.
An incredibly small fraction of the moms who make Wolf Nation soar. (John Fisken photos)
There are no sports without moms.
That’s true on many levels, from the fact they gave birth to all the athletes, to the fact that, if it wasn’t for them, day-to-day athletic life would likely collapse into something resembling a stinky pile of forgotten gym clothes crammed in the corner of a locker.
They wash the baseball pants. Even when they’re disgusting.
They make the snacks.
Always remembering who’s lactose intolerant and who really, really, really likes Skittles.
They drive the car pools.
On the ferry, off the ferry, back on the ferry, back off the ferry, in an endless loop.
They cheer through good times and bad.
They are there to congratulate their kids (and all the other mom’s kids who they consider their “other children”) when they win, and comfort them when they don’t.
It’s not the same in every case, and there are certainly a lot of dads out there who do a lot.
But, today, on Mother’s Day, dads get to sit this one out.
Because, as a group, we’re sending all the moms, Wolf moms in particular, into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame.
Yep, the 46th class inducted into these hallowed digital walls is the mother of all classes.
After this, you’ll find them up at the top of the blog, under the Legends tab.
We’re not going to list all their names, because, one, I don’t want to type for the next 247 hours, and because even the internet has space issues some time.
Suffice it to say, if you are now or have ever been a mom of a kid who has played a sport for CHS or CMS, you’re a Hall o’ Famer.
You let me use your photos. You slip me info on the sly. You answer my questions.
Sometimes you’re happy with me, and say nice things. Sometimes you chide me a bit, and most times you’re right.
You gave us the athletes and now you are the support crew that makes everything hum along.
Without Wolf moms, no coach, no athletic program, and certainly no idiot writing a blog, would be able to function the way we do.
Raise a glass to yourself, Wolf moms, past, present and future.
Too often you are the unsung heroes, but know that today, and every day, we all sing your praises.
Lauren Grove (left) and Lindsey Roberts are half of the fastest 4 x 2 girls team in 1A this season. (Sherry Roberts photo)
Dalton Martin (at top of podium) has the third-best discus throw by a 1A hurler. (Deb Smith photo)
Plus one.
The Coupeville High School track and field squad emerged from the first round of the postseason — Saturday’s Olympic League All-Division Championships — in fine fashion.
The Wolves were the top 1A team in both the girls and boys team battles, while getting one of the state’s best performances from senior pole vaulter Jordan Ford.
He soared 12-6, shattering his own school record, while putting himself back up among the best 1A vaulters in 2016.
That means Coupeville has athletes in the top 10 in eight different categories heading into next week’s sub-district meet.
Makana Stone jumped four spots in the 400, Jacob Smith edged up two slots in the 200 and the girls 4 x 200 remained #1 in 1A, while dropping its time slightly.
Wolves who have one of this year’s 10 best performances in 1A:
Girls:
400 — Makana Stone (2nd in 1A) 58.55
800 — Stone (7th in 1A) 2:21.89
4 x 100 — Lauren Grove, Lindsey Roberts, Stone, Sylvia Hurlburt (5th in 1A) 51.10
4 x 200 — Grove, Roberts, Hurlburt, Stone (1st in 1A) 1:46.90
Boys:
200 — Jacob Smith (7th in 1A) 23.01
300 hurdles — Lathom Kelley (4th in 1A) 41.48
Discus — Dalton Martin (3rd in 1A) 158-05
Pole Vault — Jordan Ford (9th in 1A) 12-6
To see how Coupeville compares to the rest of the track world, hop over to:
Cole Payne and fellow Wolf veterans will get a chance for revenge in their playoff opener. (Sylvia Hurlburt photo)
One year and one day.
That will be the gap between playoff baseball games waged by Coupeville and Cascade Christian.
May 9, 2015, the Cougars brought an end to Willie Smith’s coaching career, sending the longtime CHS hardball guru into retirement after beating the Wolves 1-0 on Whidbey.
Now, the two teams meet again this Tuesday, May 10, only this time on a neutral field, and without the specter of a loss ending a season hanging over things.
Coupeville (10-10 on the season) is the #1 seed from the 1A Olympic League, having won its first baseball league title in 25 years.
Because of that, the Wolves skipped the one-and-done round this year and start districts off in the double-elimination portion.
Cascade Christian (10-6) survived a loser-out game Saturday, when it nipped Chimacum 2-0.
The Cougars and Wolves tangle at 4 PM Tuesday at Curtis High School in University Place.
The winner advances to the district championship May 12 against either Nisqually League champ Vashon Island (13-4) or Seattle Christian (11-8), which eliminated Klahowya 10-1 Saturday.
To take a gander at the district playoff bracket and ponder the different ways Coupeville could win two games and advance to state, pop over to:
Cascade Christian and Coupeville are fairly similar, at least stat-wise.
The Cougars (ranked #25 by ScoreCzar) have outscored foes 84-58 (5.25-3.63 per game), while the Wolves (#26 in the latest computer tally) sit at 109-94 (5.50-4.70).
Coupeville will be down a man, though, as sophomore lead-off hitter Hunter Smith has to serve a one-game suspension for being ejected in the season finale for arguing balls and strikes.
Wolf baseball moms are planning a send-off for the team Tuesday. Tentative plans have it set for 11:30 AM in front of the CHS gym.
L to r, Payton Aparicio, McKenzie Bailey, Tiffany Briscoe, Jordan Ford, Lauren Grove, Wiley Hesselgrave, Lathom Kelly, Kailey Kellner, Mia Littlejohn, Hope Lodell, Katrina McGranahan, Clay Reilly, Sage Renninger, Lindsey Roberts, Lauren Rose, CJ Smith, Hunter Smith, Makana Stone, Valen Trujillo, Julian Welling.
Who’s willing to go a bit crazy, while pounding their fingers into submission for a totally mythical award?
Yep, it’s that time again, when we launch the madness that is the 4th annual Coupeville Sports Athlete Supreme.
First I take all the CHS athletes and chop them down into a manageable amount.
In previous years we topped out at 12-16 nomines, but this year we’re making it 20, and no longer trying to hold the number of male and female athletes even.
Not counting track (which is its own weirdly-scored beast) the five varsity CHS girls sports teams won 24 league games this school year, to a combined 18 from the boys five teams.
So, if there are more girls than boys nominated this year (which there are) they earned it.
And yes, as soon as people look at the list, the butt-hurt will begin. As it does every year.
There are some names you would expect to be there which simply are not.
First and foremost, to be eligible you have to had a noticeable impact on at least TWO VARSITY teams in 2015-2016.
There are a lot of very talented Wolves who only played one sport this school year, for whatever reason. Injuries, specialization, what have you.
Whether it’s Abraham Leyva and Kalia Littlejohn in soccer, Dalton Martin and Sylvia Hurlburt in track, Risen Johnson in basketball or countless others, you are noticed, appreciated and honored.
But you’re not eligible for this silly lil’ “award.”
I have to make the first cut somewhere, and the easiest (and I think fairest) way is to limit nominees to those who played multiple sports.
If you can, and do, make the commitment at a small school which desperately needs bodies in every sport, you should get some extra credit.
If and when we have a one-sport athlete who is Olympic or professional level in their field, I’ll reevaluate that stance. Until then, diversification deserves to be noted.
For those who don’t know, the Athlete Supreme is a popularity contest, a Wild West voting war and psychological warfare all wrapped in one.
The previous three winners are:
2013 — Nick Streubel (football, basketball, track)
2014 — Amanda Fabrizi (volleyball, basketball)
2015 — CJ Smith (football, basketball, baseball)
The first year, I limited voters to one vote apiece and there were 433 votes cast.
Year two I started with the one vote rule, then opened up the voting to Wild West rules the last day and we topped 4,820 votes.
Year three it was full-tilt war from the opening bell and CJ emerged after 15,385 votes were cast.
Year four will be the same as year three — no rules.
You can vote as many times as you want, no limits, for 100 hours, from the moment this poll goes live until 3 PM Wednesday.
The only thing that stands between you and a brief moment of internet immortality is the willingness to bang your thumbs into oblivion via your phone or computer.
Your nominees (in alphabetic order):
Payton Aparicio — Among team leaders in 10 of 11 stat categories during volleyball, half of #1 doubles team in tennis.
McKenzie Bailey — Big hitter in volleyball, nearly-undefeated doubles ace in tennis.
Tiffany Briscoe — Starter and big contributor in volleyball, basketball and softball.
Jordan Ford — Key starter in football and basketball, new school record holder in pole vault.
Lauren Grove — Starter in soccer and basketball, member of fastest 4 x 200 girls relay squad in 1A.
Wiley Hesselgrave — All-League selection in football and basketball and led boys hoops team in scoring.
Lathom Kelley — Two-way terror in football and track wunderkind.
Kailey Kellner — Deadly three-ball shooter and co-captain on basketball team that went to state and a starter in softball.
Mia Littlejohn — All-league in soccer, co-captain and point guard for basketball squad.
Hope Lodell — Impact player in volleyball and softball, where she blasted Wolves only true home run this season.
Katrina McGranahan — Key volleyball and softball player, winner of the WIAA Athlete of the Week.
Clay Reilly — Top punter in 1A Olympic League during football, key player on baseball team which won first league title in 25 years.
Sage Renninger — Rock-solid team leader in both soccer and tennis.
Lindsey Roberts — Soccer starter, explosive sixth-man on state basketball squad, one-fourth of possible state title-bound relay squad in track.
Lauren Rose — Superb across the board in volleyball (#1 in five stat categories), basketball and softball.
CJ Smith — Quiet team leader in football and baseball. Staff pitching ace on diamond, tossed shutout in title-clinching game.
Hunter Smith — Shattered school record for interceptions in football, while also starring in basketball and baseball.
Makana Stone — League MVP for second straight year in basketball and selected to All-State game after finishing career with 1,000+ points, 800+ rebounds and 200+ steals. On her way to making fourth straight appearance at state track meet.
Valen Trujillo — Broke school career record for digs during volleyball season, #1 singles player on tennis squad.
Julian Welling — Big hitter in football, rising star on baseball squad.
