Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘CHS Wolves’

Skyler LAwrence notched her first-ever varsity points in her team's huge win Tuesday night. (John Fisken photo)

   Skyler Lawrence notched her first-ever varsity points in her team’s huge win Tuesday night. (John Fisken photo)

It is the coach’s lot in life to see greatness, and know there can be more.

So, even though the Coupeville High School girls’ basketball squad thrashed host Chimacum 55-28 Tuesday, David King could appreciate the win, but still hope for improvement.

Especially when the Wolves (9-3 overall, 3-0 in 1A Olympic League play) have to immediately hit the road again in less than 24 hours to play a non-conference game.

That opponent? Bellevue Christian, which sits at 12-1.

“Tomorrow is going to be a test for us,” King said. “To compete with them our defense will have to be better than tonight and we will have to be efficient on offense.”

Facing off with a Cowboy squad that was missing two top players, the Wolves were able to run wild, even when they might not have seemed to be clicking on all cylinders.

Having sat for nine days, and smack-dab in the middle of Finals week, King’s players “came out slow to start the game.”

Not that the scoreboard reflected that, as the Wolves roared out to a 15-4 bulge after one quarter, then stretched that to 29-11 at the half and 43-15 after three quarters.

Coupeville has never lost a varsity girls game in the short history of their current league, and the Wolves seem intent on repeating last year’s flawless 9-0 mark.

Senior Makana Stone, the defending league MVP, continued her torrid pace, throwing down 18 of her game-high 22 in the first half.

The rest of her stat sheet?

17 boards, five steals, four assists, a block and one more opponent that weeps at the sight of her taking the court.

Stone had plenty of help, with all nine Wolves who were healthy enough to play (Lauren Rose was ill and left home) getting their names in the scoring column.

The third quarter was the most well-rounded of the night, with six different CHS players scoring.

Sweet-shooting gunner Kailey Kellner worked the nets for 11, while Mia Littlejohn banged home seven and Lauren Grove and Skyler Lawrence added four apiece.

They were the first varsity points for the always hard-working Lawrence.

Tiffany Briscoe (2), Kyla Briscoe (2), Allison Wenzel (2) and Lindsey Roberts (1) rounded out the scoring attack.

The Wolves hit the boards hard, and, when Stone didn’t snag the carom, Tiffany Briscoe collected seven, while Roberts ripped down six.

Kellner had three steals while Littlejohn handed out three assists.

Read Full Post »

Sarah Wright had team-highs in points (8) and rebounds (11) Tuesday night. (John Fisken photo)

   Sarah Wright had team-highs in points (8) and rebounds (11) Tuesday night. (John Fisken photo)

Some nights, you can’t win no matter what.

Ravaged by illness (Lindsey Laxton, Brisa Herrera and spark-plug Lauren Rose were absent), the Coupeville High School JV girls’ basketball squad still scored more from the field than host Chimacum did Tuesday night.

Unfortunately, the Cowboys were dead-eyes at the free throw line, and that was just enough to spark a fourth quarter rally to carry them to a 29-23 win.

The loss dropped the Wolf young guns to 4-7 overall, 2-1 in conference play.

It was the first time the Coupeville JV lost a game to a 1A Olympic League rival.

After going 9-0 in the league’s debut season in 2014-2015, the Wolves had stretched their win streak to 11 going into Tuesday.

They didn’t go down easy, though.

Led by strong inside play from Sarah Wright (eight points and 11 rebounds) and Skyler Lawrence (six points, six rebounds), Coupeville led by a point coming out of the third quarter.

Up 18-17 with eight minutes to play, the Wolves were stung by foul trouble.

With several key players locked to the bench, Coupeville finally faltered, allowing Chimacum to close on a 12-5 run.

“In the fourth quarter we put up a lot of shots that just didn’t fall,” said Wolf coach Amy King. “We fought till the end though.”

Brittany Powers nailed a “gorgeous three” in the final moments to keep Coupeville close and “did a nice job stealing or getting a hand on the ball” all night.

Chimacum went with a press most of the game, but King was happy with how her team broke it.

Once they got their plays set up, the Wolves let the power twins hold the spotlight.

“Skyler and Sarah really impressed from the start with their shots, intense rebounds and just their sheer strength,” King said.

Kyla Briscoe, Allison Wenzel and Nicole Lester each dropped in a bucket to back Wright (8), Lawrence (6) and Powers (3) in the scoring column, while Ema Smith ripped down seven rebounds.

Briscoe pilfered four steals, Maddy Hilkey snagged two boards and Ashlie Shank collected a rebound and a block to round out the team-wide effort.

Coupeville faces Chimacum twice more this season, and King is ready to attack with a full squad at her disposal.

“We meet them again next week and the girls are already looking forward to that,” she said. “We have some practice to do though, and if we play like I know we can, the outcome will be different.”

Read Full Post »

Football (Photo courtesy Chuck Hardee)

   There’s no way this is the ONLY Coupeville-related sports photo from the ’70s still out there. Time to clean out your closets, folks. (Photo courtesy Chuck Hardee)

OK, now that I’ve got your attention…

Over the last 30 weeks, I’ve been hard at work crafting my own personal Hall o’ Fame (it’s at the top of the blog under the Legends tab), a celebration of the people, teams and moments which, collectively, make up our town’s sports heritage.

The reaction has been far more intense than I ever imagined.

To be honest, the whole thing started as a way to give me something to write about on Sundays, traditionally the slowest day of the week in the world of small-town sports.

Now, it’s become something bigger. Much bigger, at times.

But, for it to truly blossom as greatly as it can, I need your help. Cause, even though I like to pretend otherwise some times, I don’t know everything.

The Hall so far has slanted a bit towards more modern times (though there is one guy in there who would be 100+ if he was still alive), because, having covered sports on Whidbey off and on since 1990, that’s the time period of which I have some first-hand knowledge.

Every day new names and tidbits pop up, especially from the years when I was busy in the video store biz, but a fair amount of the people who have been inducted are people I covered, people I have met, or people whose name still lingers in town.

But we need to stretch out and reach farther into the past.

I know, without a doubt, there were great athletes, coaches and teams in Cow Town in the ’60s and ’70s and well before then.

The tricky part is this — there is no magic room where I can go and get info on all that.

The Whidbey News-Times no longer allows “outsiders” to go through their bound volumes of past newspapers (understandably, as old news print crumbles under repeated use … and I annoy their corporate overlords).

The internet has its uses, but nowhere on it will I find info on how CHS did in football in the ’40s, much less a roster for the 1975-76 Wolf boys’ basketball squad, which is approaching the 40th anniversary of the first win at the state tourney in program history.

Coupeville High School, unlike some other schools, has done a haphazard job of holding on to its sports history, frankly.

All those score-books from years past? Left in the care of individual coaches, with a lot of them largely scattered to the wind.

A while back, the sons of the late coach Tom Roehl brought me a filing cabinet full of his stuff, and it was invaluable.

Going through his paperwork, for instance, I found conclusive proof Ian Barron should hold the school’s career football rushing record, and it’s not even close, regardless of what the school’s own record board currently says.

Then you have the banners in the gym, which would suggest no Wolf team did anything of importance before 1990, which is laughable.

BUT, and this is a big but, there is info out there. I know it, I can feel it.

And that’s where you all come in.

Are you sitting on score-books, rosters, photos, memories? You need to share them.

Nominate a player, a coach, a team, a contributor, a moment and tell me why. Give me info so I can sound half-way convincing when I induct them.

I have my own constantly-changing list of potential inductees, but I guarantee this, you can win me over. It’s not hard to do.

And remember, the only limitation on who and what gets inducted is up to you, the readers.

It’s not all about high school sports. Your great-grandfather was a barnstorming wrestler? Tell me about it.

As long as there is some slight connection to Coupeville, it’s all in play.

Email me (davidsvien@hotmail.com), write to me (165 Sherman, Coupeville, WA 98239), message me on Facebook or Twitter or leave a comment here on Coupeville Sports, talk to me in person at a game or harass me at the grocery store.

Can’t call me, cause I don’t have a phone, but you can work around that.

I am doing what I can, but the only way this continues to work, the only way it becomes something truly magical, is if we all chip in.

Bury me in history, baby.

Read Full Post »

Lauren Grove (John Fisken photos)

   Lauren Grove and the Wolf girls sit atop the 1A Olympic League standings. (John Fisken photos)

boys team

Seven games left, one goal for the CHS boys — win a league banner.

There are titles to be won.

And let’s put an emphasis on that S, as both the Coupeville High School girls’ and boys’ hoops squads are in prime position to take the crown in the 1A Olympic League this season.

The Wolf girls are the defending league champs, and remain undefeated as a program in the short history of the league, with both their varsity and JV squads being 11-0 in league play (9-0 last season).

As they prepare for the final seven games of regular season league play — they also have a non-conference tilt left against 12-1 Bellevue Christian — the focus will be on staying the course.

Doing that thing coaches love. Taking one game at a time and not mentally hanging another banner on the gym wall until it’s real.

For the boys, this is fairly new territory.

Coupeville has worked itself back uphill after bottoming out with a win-less season in coach Anthony Smith’s first go-around in 2011-2012 and sits snugly in a tie for second-place in the current standings.

Just a game-and-a-half out of first with seven to play, and two of those against current front-runner Port Townsend, the Wolves will have a large say in their final fate.

Standings through Jan. 18 (league record followed by overall record):

GIRLS

Coupeville 2-0, 8-3
Klahowya 2-1, 3-10
Port Townsend 1-2, 3-9
Chimacum 0-2, 3-10

BOYS

Port Townsend 3-0, 5-8
Coupeville 1-1, 6-6
Chimacum 1-1, 3-10
Klahowya 0-3, 1-13

Read Full Post »

Wolf cheerleader Claire Mietus.

   Wolf cheerleader Claire Mietus, repping the red and white. (Photos courtesy Mietus)

Mietus (left) and

Mietus (left) and Julie Bucio prep for game day.

Mietus and McKenzie Meyer (John Fisken photo)

   Mietus and fellow cheerleader/band mate Mckenzie Meyer hang out before the start of a Wolf basketball game. (John Fisken photo)

“Helping people is my main goal.”

Just a couple of words and it becomes crystal clear Coupeville High School sophomore Claire Mietus has big plans for her life.

The Wolf cheerleader, who has been a key part of the squad through both football and basketball season this year, is going places, and her brain is mapping the route.

“I really love science, such as chemistry and physics,” Mietus said. “My main goal in life is to become a cardiovascular surgeon and I would love to join the service organization Doctors Without Borders.”

When she’s not in class, Mietus, a big fan of Mulan and Star Wars, is almost constantly on the move.

The president of Coupeville’s Leo Club, a high school community service organization affiliated with the Lion’s, she also plays in the CHS jazz band and is a part of the school’s Science Olympiad team.

Somewhere in there she’s found the time to reignite her passion for cheer, as well.

After taking part in middle school cheer when she was living in Japan, she joined the Wolves at the prompting of two CHS cheerleaders who graduated last spring, Ciera St Onge and Camilla Rische.

“I started because I really love being part of a team and it’s something that I enjoy putting my effort into,” Mietus said.

While the school officially labels cheer as an activity, those who take part, putting in all the behind-the-scenes work, know better.

“Cheer is absolutely a sport. What other activity throws girls into the air?,” Mietus asked. “I would tell them that we put just as much time and effort into cheer as any sports team would.

“We practice all summer long and almost everyday,” she added. “It’s tough but totally worth it in the end.”

No matter what she’s doing, whether it’s working the sidelines in support of her classmates or sharpening her skill-set for her future, Mietus can always turn to those close to her for encouragement.

“My dad has definitely been my inspiration,” she said. “Being a member of the Navy he has always pushed me and helped me reach my goals.

“Also my team is a big part of my life,” Mietus added. “We really become sisters and without them we are nothing.”

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »