Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘CHS Wolves’

9 for 9: Diamond dandies delight

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on August 3, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Aaron Curtin brings the heat. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

This blog turns nine years old August 15, and to mark the occasion, I’m picking what I view as the best nine Wolf athletes from each active CHS sport.

To be eligible, you had to play for the Wolves between Aug. 2012-Aug. 2021, AKA the “Coupeville Sports” years.

So here we go. Each day between Aug. 2-15, a different sport and (probably) a different argument.

 

The little league champs still rule.

Central Whidbey’s juniors hardball team won a state title in 2010, when I was still writing for the Coupeville Examiner.

Jump forward into the blog years, and the guys from that title team stayed in the news, with many of them playing a full four years of high school ball.

Five of my nine picks from the diamond were part of that group, and they headline a mythical nine which includes two sets of brothers.

Hunter Smith is just here for the strikeouts.

Josh Bayne — A beast. The only Wolf player I’ve seen jack an out-of-the-park home run on Coupeville’s field, and that ball is still going up and far, far away, years later.

Aaron Curtin — He had a wicked touch as a hurler, a lively bat, and could stare down anyone.

Ben Etzell — Coupeville’s only league MVP, in any sport, during the 1A/2A Cascade Conference years, when ATM was the big baddie. Big bat, bigger arm, a strikeout machine who went on to a strong four-year college career as a pitching ace.

Cole Payne — From younger brother to team leader, he rose through the ranks to leave a large impact on the program, then tipped his hat and walked away, a winner to the end.

Morgan Payne — Big bro patrolled short and provided a dangerous bat; a quiet, very-effective player from little league through Senior Night.

CJ Smith — Captain Cool, he pitched Coupeville to its first baseball league title in 25 years, while seemingly never breaking a sweat.

Hunter Smith — Maybe the most-talented player to ever take the CHS diamond — a force on the mound, at short, and at the plate, where he had pop, speed, and an uncanny knack for big-game heroics.

Aaron Trumbull — Severely underrated, he was a steadying force for the Wolves wherever he played, whether taking the mound or hovering at first base. Also a class act who always put team first, a stand-up guy who never left a teammate hanging.

Jake Tumblin — Rock-solid behind the plate, he was the rare catcher who was also the quickest player on the team, hurtling around the base-paths to create perfectly-orchestrated havoc.

Aaron Trumbull, firing BB’s.

 

Next up: We head to the cross country trail.

Read Full Post »

“No, I don’t think this was a good idea…”

Posted in Running, tagged , , , , on August 2, 2021| 2 Comments »

The Dude abides.

If you know Kyle King, you know he had to wear a crop-top.

A five-time state track and field champion back in his Coupeville High School days, the middle of Randy and Laurie King’s three kids has always enjoyed being, um, we’ll call it fashion-forward.

And also really fast and always raring for a new challenge.

Though this time, all but the hardiest of folks might have blanched.

While he competed at the 2020 US Olympic Team Trials in the marathon, King has never been an ultra-runner.

Until, in his final days before being transferred from Colorado to Virginia, the Marine Corps captain decided to team up with running pal Charles Remillard and go for a leisurely run.

As in, the duo ran all 485 miles of the Colorado Trail … in 10 days.

And lived to tell the tale!

Check out the video below, which captures the highs and lows, the pain and the glory, and all the crop-tops and suspicious meat products.

 

Read Full Post »

9 for 9: Spikers own the court

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , on August 2, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Maya Toomey-Stout opens a can of whup-ass. (Brian Vick photo)

This blog turns nine years old August 15, and to mark the occasion, I’m picking what I view as the best nine Wolf athletes from each active CHS sport.

To be eligible, you had to play for the Wolves between Aug. 2012-Aug. 2021, AKA the “Coupeville Sports” years.

So here we go. Each day between Aug. 2-15, a different sport and (probably) a different argument.

 

And this is already harder than I expected.

My first list had 33 volleyball players on it, and the cut-downs got increasingly brutal.

How do you decide between a young woman with superior skills, and one who played her heart out every step of the way? Both are valuable in their own way.

But cuts had to be made, and cuts were made.

Who was the last to fall, as I went from 10 to nine? I’m not saying, but I already want to say “sorry” to the player who fell last.

But I won’t, because then you start apologizing to #11 and #12 and on and on.

So, with that in mind, here are the nine girls I want on the floor, regardless of whether their positions fit together into a normal scheme.

One man’s opinion, and liable to change down the road, as younger players continue to develop. Never know.

And, yes, these lists are going to be in alphabetic order, and not ranked #1-#9, as I need to make at least one thing (slightly) easier on myself.

Payton Aparicio — a bright, shining star. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Payton Aparicio — A quiet assassin who could strike from any place on the floor, she morphed from a role player to a star, breaking records and winning MVP on a state-bound team.

Allie Hanigan — The epitome of grace, a tall (and lethal) weapon, who unleashed sizzling darts while stalking the net.

Hope Lodell — Perhaps the most-explosive server of the last decade, she bounded across the gym, firing off aces and ripping up chunks of the floor.

Katrina McGranahan — Big power, on her spikes and serves, and a leader by example. She was here to win, and she showed it on every point.

Chelsea Prescott — A prodigy, she was a star from day one, capable of controlling a match, or being the perfect complementary weapon.

Emma Smith — A big-hitting, big-game star who came up epic in crunch time, never more so than when she slayed the South Whidbey beast on her birthday.

Scout Smith — She had a feathery touch with her sets, and was one of the toughest athletes to wear the red and black, even playing through slamming her head off the floor, resulting in a black eye which covered half her face.

Maya Toomey-Stout — Seemingly everywhere at once, “The Gazelle” never met a volleyball she couldn’t mash the air out of, hanging in the air for an eternity before unleashing sweet Hell on her foes.

Valen Trujillo — No one sacrificed life and limb like she did, throwing her body in all directions and bouncing off the floor every other play, assuring no volleyball would get away from her.

Allie Hanigan, lethal weapon. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

 

Next up: Baseball takes us to the diamond.

Read Full Post »

Man of honor, man of achievement

Posted in In memory, tagged , , , , on August 1, 2021| 3 Comments »

Richard “Speed” Hammons, a true Coupeville legend.

Ready to tear up the turf as a freshman in 1956.

They called him Speed.

Richard Douglass Hammons sprang into the world quickly, arriving April 19, 1941, one mile east of Lyman, in the car, as his dad punched the gas.

Nurses at Sedro-Woolley’s hospital gave the bright-eyed lil’ whippersnapper the nickname and it hung on, following him through life in Coupeville, where he was part of the CHS Class of 1959.

Speed, a Class President, a three-sport athlete, a National Merit Scholar, a man who went on to command Chinook helicopter companies on two tours in Vietnam, passed away Aug. 26, 2019 in Greenville, South Carolina.

Two years later, in a world upended by a pandemic, he will return home, in memory, as friends and family hold a celebration of his life in Coupeville next weekend.

Siblings Gary and Darlene, and Speed’s friends, will remember a man who carved a path of success in everything he did.

During his days strolling the CHS hallways, Speed lettered in football, basketball, and baseball.

Always on the move, he was class president, student body president, on the honor roll every year, and a National Merit Scholar.

But it goes beyond that, as he nailed the highest SAT score of anyone on Whidbey Island, recording a 1,590 out of a possible 1,600.

After a stint at Skagit Valley College, Speed enlisted in the Army, attending Basic Training at Fort Ord, CA, followed by Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, GA.

He studied Korean at the Army Language School, served overseas, added flight school at Fort Rucker, AL, then married Susan, the mother of his children, in 1966.

Speed served with great honor across two tours in Vietnam, receiving the Air Medal for heroism in aerial flight and the Bronze Star with “V” for Valor during his first tour in 1967-68.

After a promotion to Major, he went back in country from 1970-1971, earning a second Bronze Star.

During his time in Vietnam, Speed led Chinook helicopter companies, then went on to become an instructor pilot and Senior Army Aviator.

His children Kristie (1971) and Bill (1974) followed their father around the world, as he went from Fort Lewis, WA, to BadKreuznach, Germany, to Fort Meade, MD.

Retiring from the military in 1981, Speed never retired from life.

Still ahead of him was a stint as a stockbroker and opening a marriage and family therapy practice in Seattle — after earning a second Master’s degree.

In his spare time, Speed enjoyed sailing in the Puget Sound, hiking — he climbed Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, and Mount Fuji (with his daughter) — biking, fishing, dancing, and golf.

After marrying Barbara on the beach in Hawaii in 2009, they settled in South Carolina.

As I go through the history of Coupeville athletic achievements, I discover new things every day.

I was born in ’71 — the same year as Speed’s daughter Kristie, and didn’t make it to Whidbey until ’89 — and up until now, he was a name I had heard, but I didn’t know much else.

Tracking down scoring stats for CHS basketball’s 104-year run on the hardwood, both he and his brother Gary popped up often.

It’s only now, however, after Sandy Roberts — Speed’s friend and classmate — sent me down this path, that I realize just how much this man accomplished.

What an impact he had, in so many worlds.

What a life he lived.

What a legacy he leaves behind.

My Hall o’ Fame here on the blog isn’t quite the same as the farewell ceremony Mr. Hammons received at Arlington National Cemetery.

But it is what I have, and today, I am greatly honored to add Richard “Speed” Hammons to my lil’ digital tribute to those who made Cow Town all it is.

After this, if you look under the Legends tab at the top of the blog, that’s where you’ll find him.

Better yet, though, he will live on in the memories of those who shared his life, and those who are now just learning about him.

All of us salute you, sir.

Read Full Post »

“We will be ahead of the game”

Posted in Softball, tagged , , , , on July 29, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville High School softball sensations Izzy (left) and Savina Wells will be a senior and freshman, respectively, this coming school year. (Katy Wells photo)

Wolf juniors Gwen Gustafson (middle) and Sofia Peters hang out with coach Lark Gustafson. (Paula Peters photo)

They exited with a roar.

Handing the previously-undefeated Skagit Bats travel team its first loss of the summer, the Coupeville High School softball squad earned a doubleheader split Wednesday night.

Following up a 5-4 win in the opener with a narrow 6-3 loss to a well-rested Burlington squad in the nightcap, the Wolves finished their off-season run with a strong 6-3 record.

Coupeville nailed down the victory when Gwen Gustafson lifted a sac fly to the heavens in the bottom of the seventh inning, sending Savina Wells scooting for home with the deciding run.

The Bats have spent the summer blowing people out, but Coupeville came close to toppling them the first time around, falling 13-10.

Take that narrow earlier defeat, then flip the script with Wednesday’s win, and CHS coach Kevin McGranahan came away pleased, noting it as “a great measure of development.”

After a tense opening game in the July heat, the 2B Wolves hung tough with 2A Burlington, before running out of gas at the end.

“We were hot and exhausted, and Burlington was fresh with only one game,” McGranahan said. “We lost, but definitely could beat them if fresh.”

With a full roster for summer ball, the Wolves can only benefit from the additional playing time.

“This was a great summer and the team gelled very well,” McGranahan said. “We will be ahead of the game come season start.

“I am so proud of all the girls that practiced and played through the summer; their commitment and work ethic will pay off.”

McGranahan also praised the player’s families, and his coaching staff, which includes Ron Wright, Lark Gustafson, Katrina McGranahan, and Aaron Lucero.

“I want to make sure and thank all the parents; without their support this doesn’t work,” he said. “We had packed stands every Wednesday evening.

“This coaching staff is amazing; these girls are in good hands.”

While he won’t work with his players as a group again until next spring, Kevin McGranahan hopes each diamond warrior takes the initiative to keep improving.

“Well, about six months off now, and the team needs to work on their own through fall and winter to maintain where we are,” he said. “Well done, ladies! See you in about six months.”

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »