Allison Wenzel is the only CHS athlete in at least a decade-plus to make it to state in three separate sports. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
A master of many instruments, she also went to the state championships in music.
“Let the bodies (and the braids) hit the floor!!”
Allison Wenzel can do everything.
And, if not, give her a day or two and she’ll master whatever new task you try and throw her way.
A Japanese-born American bad ass, Allison combines blistering talent with a serene spirit.
She’s one of the most genuinely kind people you will meet.
Unless you’re trying to take a basketball away from her, then she will get all up in your business and leave you to bleed out in an alleyway.
Metaphorically.
Or, possibly for real…
During her days at Coupeville High School, Wenzel, a 2018 grad, was a non-stop whirlwind.
She was one of four students in her class to play a sport in every season of her prep career, putting in four campaigns apiece in volleyball, basketball, and track and field.
A role player who sacrificed for the team, she had her greatest achievement at the very end of her high school career.
Standing alone after so many years of playing for others, Wenzel advanced to the state track and field championships in the discus.
Once in Cheney, she let fly with the best throw of her career in her swan song, ripping off a PR and claiming 9th place in all of 1A.
That solo run in the spotlight allowed Wenzel to achieve something very few Wolves have, reaching the state tourney in three separate sports.
She’s the only Coupeville athlete to pull off the trifecta in the last decade-plus.
You’d have to go back to the early 2000’s, when Wolf girls basketball and volleyball squads went to state on a regular basis, to find a time when there might possibly be another three-timer.
In recent years there have been a number of talented Coupeville female athletes who made it to state in two sports.
Makana Stone. Skyler Lawrence. Emma Smith. Maya Toomey-Stout. Lindsey Roberts. Sarah Wright. Kyla Briscoe. Emma Mathusek. Payton Aparicio. Chelsea Prescott. Lauren Rose. Scout Smith. Lauren Grove.
Ferociously successful, one and all, but the needle stopped at two, and hasn’t made it to three for any of them.
Yet…
Four of those Wolf girls still have at least a school year left in their careers, so hope lives.
Coupeville boys? Yeah … there’s been a bit of a dry spell.
We’re talking the late ’80s as the last time there’s the possibility of finding a male Wolf who went to state in three sports.
Chad Gale, certainly, and, after that, we’d need to do some more research.
Today, though, we know Wenzel stands at the top of the peak for recent athletes, alone and untouched.
Chalk it up to talent, commitment, and drive.
Others skipped seasons, took time off, stayed on the sidelines.
Not Wenzel.
As a sophomore, she was on the girls basketball team which squared off with perennial powerhouse Cashmere, falling just short of making it to the final eight.
Then, as a senior, she went East with the volleyball squad, where the Wolves tangled with heavy hitters Castle Rock and Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls), before capping things during track season.
Actually, Wenzel made it to state four times, as she also was the queen of the music set.
A master of many instruments, she went to the big dance as a musician, qualifying both as a solo artist (interpreting Mozart on the French Horn) and as part of a duo with Jakobi Baumann.
So, it comes as little surprise that the effortlessly-talented Wenzel is currently pursuing studies in musical education at Central Washington University, wowing a whole new crowd.
For her hustle on the court, her displays of power in the throwing arena, and her artful musical noodlings, plus her kindness, her huge heart, and her love of Star Wars (bonus points!), it’s time to acknowledge all she accomplished, and all that is yet to come.
Allison Wenzel is a bright star streaking across the night sky, one who lights up everything in her path and inspires all of us down here on planet Earth.
Putting her in the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame, which we do today, is something she richly deserves.
After this, you’ll find her up at the top of the blog, under the Legends tab.
Out in the real world?
She’ll be winning real awards left and right, quietly being awesome, cause she couldn’t be anything else.
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