Katrina McGranahan, a star for all seasons. (Photos by John Fisken and Shelli Trumbull)
We are in a golden age right now.
There is a batch of young female athletes in Coupeville who are talented, confident, at ease during game action and in front of the camera and quite capable of carrying the Wolves back to heights not seen in years.
One of the brightest of these shining stars is CHS freshman (for a few days more) Katrina McGranahan, who celebrates a birthday today.
Following in the successful footsteps of big brother Wade Schaef, himself an accomplished two-sport athlete, Katrina is soaring towards stardom.
Pick a sport and she can carry the day.
In volleyball, McGranahan is a roof-scraping big hitter who delights in rising up and blasting lasers at her hapless foes.
In basketball, when she played, she was a dual threat on the boards and with the ball.
When the season turns to spring is when Kat really comes to the forefront, however.
A softball player who juggles her high school squad with a select team, she was dynamite wherever Coupeville coach Deanna Rafferty played her.
With McKayla Bailey rehabbing from shoulder surgery, the fab frosh stepped into the pitcher’s circle and carried the Wolves for much of the year as their primary hurler.
When Bailey took the ball, McGranahan would shift to shortstop, where she showed off a slick glove and helped anchor the left side of the defense with senior third baseman Hailey Hammer.
Her biggest impact might have been at the plate, though, where she wielded the team’s most consistent bat, spraying hits left and right and running the bases like a woman with places to go.
McGranahan was willing to suffer bruises by going hard into the bag on bang-bang plays and had one of the two biggest hits of the season.
During a wild war with Chimacum, Coupeville went up by nine, then gave up 11 unanswered runs and trailed 21-19 heading into the bottom of the seventh.
Enter Kat, who saved the day with a two-out, walk-off three-run double, causing fellow freshman sensation Lauren Rose to sprint back onto the field and tackle her taller teammate in a fit of joy.
And joy is what really best describes Katrina, and her fellow young female athletes.
They delight in the game, in competing, in pushing themselves and their teammates, and they play with class (and just a hint of sass).
McGranahan, huge smile beaming across the softball diamond, is like a ray of sunshine bursting on the prairie. She’s also pretty darn sunny off the field, too.
As she embarks on her high school sports career, there are no limits on what she, and her fellow young guns, can accomplish.
Katrina may go on to achieve great feats, to star in multiple sports (maybe even come back to basketball … maybe?), win awards and letters, help bring home state banners.
But you know what?
Whether she does or not, we are blessed to have her representing our town, our school.
She is a talented athlete, yes, but, more importantly, she seems like a really incredible young woman.
Bright, outgoing, whip-smart, a solid teammate and maybe just a touch embarrassed by having the spotlight focused on her.
McGranahan, Rose and other fast-risers like Hope Lodell, Abby Parker, Payton Aparicio, Lauren Bayne, Mckenzie Meyer and Kyla Briscoe (to name just a few) are perfect heirs to Breeanna Messner, Bailey and Hammer, young women of great distinction.
Those who came before are passing the torch on, and those coming up are keeping the flame burning brightly.
I hope you have a great birthday, Katrina, and I hope every time you put on the uniform and take the field, or the court, that you realize how proud your family, friends and fans are of you.
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