CHS grad Makana Stone will study and play basketball in England this year. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Makana Stone is taking her talents to the land of tea and crumpets.
Having graduated this spring from Whitman College, the former Coupeville High School hoops star headed to England in mid-September, where she’ll continue her classroom studies and hardcourt schoolings.
Stone, who earned a B.A. in Biology during her time in Walla Walla, will attend Loughborough University, located in Leicestershire county in the East Midlands.
While there she’ll work towards a Master’s in Exercise Physiology.
Stone used up her American college sports eligibility, playing four seasons at Whitman, where she finished as the #5 scorer and #2 rebounder in program history.
But while in England, she can play for her new school, which competes in a semi-professional league.
Games are currently planned to begin in January.
Loughborough, founded in 1909, boasts one of the more famous chancellors among English schools, with four-time Olympic medal winner Sebastian Coe leading the school since 2017.
Lord Coe, as he’s known these days, was a top middle-distance runner who claimed gold medals in the 1500 meters at both the 1980 and 1984 Olympics.
He set nine outdoor and three indoor world records, including a run of three new world records in 41 days back in 1979, then moved into politics as a member of Parliament.
Stone is no slouch herself, however.
One of the most dominant athletes to ever wear the red and black in Coupeville, and also one of the most kind and caring teammates I’ve ever written about, she was a standout soccer, basketball, and track and field star.
She won the first 28 races of her high school track career, a mark no other Wolf has approached, and finished her prep career with 84 wins and seven state meet medals.
And yet, the happiest I’ve ever seen her in an athletic moment involved someone else.
It came during her senior season, when she led teammates in collectively screaming their heads off as CHS freshman Danny Conlisk pulled off a stunning come-from-behind win in a major relay race.
Stone led the CHS basketball team to three-straight Olympic League titles and a trip to state, is the program’s #3 career scorer and (likely) #1 rebounder, and finally let Kacie Kiel get that career-ending locker room hug she so badly wanted and needed.
Klahowya’s basketball players, without telling their coach, brought Makana a Senior Night present, watched her go off for a super-efficient 20 and 20 in a huge Wolf win, and still exited with huge smiles on their face.
After high school, Stone tore up the hardwood at Whitman, making the most starts (92) in program history, helping the Blues go 94-20 and advance to the NCAA tourney three times between 2016-2020.
Whitman was hours away from playing in the Sweet 16 at this year’s tourney when COVID-19 shut down collegiate athletics.
Finishing her American college career with 1,337 points and 837 rebounds, Stone was the Northwest Conference MVP, was selected for the Beyond Sports Women’s Collegiate All-Star Game, and received All-Region and All-American honors.
She was also a nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year, a member of the NWC First Team All-Academic squad, and copped Whitman’s Mignon Borleske Award — the school’s highest athletic honor for a female athlete.
When she wasn’t torching the net, Stone participated in the Whitman College mentor program, was an ACE representative, and served as a member of the Whitman Elementary School Science Night Committee.
Using her time well, Coupeville’s progeny was also a presenter at the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, while obtaining multiple internships.
Now, she’s off to England, after using her final Whitman interviews to rave about the skills of Blues teammates, praising the three-ball artistry of Mady Burdett with the same sparkle in her eye she always had when talking up fellow Wolves like Sylvia Hurlburt or Lindsey Roberts.
I’m calling it now. Give her two years and she’s the new Queen.
Look me in the eye. Am I lying?
