Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘CHS Wolves’

It’s 95 days until kickoff

Posted in Football, tagged , , , , on June 3, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Gavin Knoblich and Coupeville football face several new opponents this fall. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

First things first.

There is one way, and one way only, that Coupeville High School football can make the playoffs this fall.

The Wolves go 9-0 for the first time since 1990, or it’s regular season and done.

When CHS opted to bounce from the North Sound Conference for a season and play an independent schedule, school officials made the decision fully aware it closed off most avenues to the postseason.

That being said, Coupeville football hasn’t posted a winning record since going 6-5 in 2005.

Since then, there’s been a 5-5 finish in 2014 and 12 losing seasons.

So, maybe we won’t worry about the playoffs right now.

The biggest stumbling blocks for the Wolf gridiron program have been a lack of numbers, a lack of big bodies among those players actually on the field, and a whole lot of churn on the coaching staff.

Current CHS head man Marcus Carr is starting his second season and seems deeply committed, with a strong staff working at his side. That’s a definite positive.

Still, Coupeville has had five head coaches in the last decade, since Ron Bagby retired after 26 years at the helm of the program.

Part of the rebuilding process for Carr and school Athletic Director Willie Smith is trying to get the Wolves back on a semi-level playing field, allowing the program to grow.

All indications are that CHS will step down to 2B starting with the 2020-2021 school year, which is when new classification counts take effect.

Until then, taking a year off from league play, skipping King’s and Cedar Park Christian and company while allowing Smith to craft a (hopefully) more-favorable schedule, should help.

Looking at what awaits the Wolves this fall, it’s a schedule with four home games and five on the road.

Four games are against 2B schools, and three versus 1A institutions, plus one game apiece against 2A and 3A foes.

Five of the opponents, including the first four, are against schools Coupeville is familiar with. Then are four match-ups which will offer the Wolves a chance to experience new things.

To get you ready, we offer up a little breakdown of the schedule, game by game:

 

Friday-Sept. 6 — Port Townsend

Kickoff: 6 PM

Miles to travel: None

Classification: 1A

Coach: Patrick Gaffney

Mascot: RedHawks

2018 record: 4-6

Players on preseason roster: 20

Past history: Coupeville won 28-18 in last year’s season opener in Port Townsend. The teams have played numerous times, most notably when they were both in the Olympic League between 2014-2017.

Fun fact: Port Townsend and Chimacum combined for 130 points in a FOOTBALL game last season, with the RedHawks winning 79-51.

 

Friday-Sept. 13 — @ Vashon Island

Kickoff: 6 PM

Miles to travel: 73.6 miles

Classification: 1A

Coach: Clay Eastly

Mascot: Pirates

2018 record: 1-9

Players on preseason roster: 21

Past history: Coupeville won 13-0 last year on Whidbey. Wolves have beaten Pirates three straight seasons.

“Fun” fact: Last time Vashon beat CHS came in 2015 … when Pirate running back Bryce Hoisington went off for a state single-game record 573 rushing yards against the Wolves. He also broke the state single-season rushing mark, and, thankfully, has since graduated.

 

Friday-Sept. 20 — @ Friday Harbor

Kickoff: 6:30 PM

Miles to travel: 48.4

Classification: 2B

Coach: Brock Hauck

Mascot: Wolverines

2018 record: 6-3

Players on preseason roster: 19

Past history: Coupeville lost 17-0 last year on Whidbey. First time the schools clashed in several years, but they have been on and off again rivals over the decades.

Fun fact: Friday Harbor finished in a tie with Concrete for the Northwest League title last season, but lost a mini-playoff game 7-6. With a state playoff berth on the line, the difference turned out to be a heavily-disputed two-point conversion run, with the refs ruling Friday Harbor failed to break the goal line.

 

Friday-Sept. 27 — La Conner

Kickoff: 7 PM

Miles to travel: None

Classification: 2B

Coach: Peter Voorhees

Mascot: Braves

2018 record: 1-8

Players on preseason roster: 37

Past history: Coupeville won 33-12 at La Conner last year. Wolves have won two straight against one of their oldest rivals.

Fun fact: Has one of the best home-field National Anthem traditions in Washington state. As the singer finishes with “and the home of the brave,” La Conner football players raise their helmets and scream “Braves” in place of the final word.

 

Saturday-Oct. 5 — @ Kittitas

Kickoff: 3 PM

Miles to travel: 165.3

Classification: 2B

Coach: Dusty Hutchinson

Mascot: Coyotes

2018 record: 1-7

Players on preseason roster: Not available; no roster for last season listed, either.

Past history: Never played (as far as I know).

Fun fact: Won their third-straight boys basketball state title this past winter. Star guard Brock Ravet, who is headed to Gonzaga on a full-ride scholarship, finished his career as the state’s all-time leading scorer.

 

Friday-Oct. 11 — @ Northwest Christian

Kickoff: 7 PM

Miles to travel: 131.9 (School is in Lacey, but game at Tenino)

Classification: 2B

Coach: Mark Smith

Mascot: Wolverines

2018 record: Didn’t play

Players on preseason roster: Not available

Past history: New football program

Fun facts: Private school may not have a football history, but it’s a powerhouse in cross country, with the girls team winning nine straight state titles between 2006-2014.

School was the Navigators (with an alligator mascot known as … Navi the Gator), but are switching to Wolverines. To which I say, why, and, booooooooo.

Football coach Mark Smith is no newbie. He’s in the state hall of fame for track and field coaches, and won 174 games in 23 years as the football coach at Tacoma Baptist, taking that school to the state title game three times.

 

Fri-Oct. 18 — South Whidbey

Kickoff: 7 PM

Miles to travel: None

Classification: 1A

Coach: Mark Hodson

Mascot: Falcons

2018 record: 6-4

Players on preseason roster: Not available. Had 36 last season.

Past history: Coupeville lost 48-20 last year in Langley, allowing Falcons to regain possession of The Bucket. Wolves had won four of previous six clashes against their arch-rivals.

Fun fact: South Whidbey, which won just four games between 2014-2016, went the independent schedule route, and it paid off big time.

Playing 2B and Canadian schools, Falcons rebounded with a 7-2 record, then carried that over into 2018, when they joined the new North Sound Conference.

 

Fri-Oct. 25 — Anacortes

Kickoff: TBA

Miles to travel: None

Classification: 2A

Coach: Chris Hunter

Mascot: Seahawks

2018 record: 0-9

Players on preseason roster: Not available. Had 31 last season.

Past history: Haven’t played football against each other in decades. Used to be a rivalry back when players wore leather helmets.

Fun fact: Anacortes has lost 13 straight games. Seahawks last tasted victory the night of Sept. 29, 2017, when they beat Blaine 36-30.

 

Fri-Nov. 1 — @ Interlake

Kickoff: 7 PM

Miles to travel: 58.6 (Bellevue)

Classification: 3A

Coach: Shawn Hartline

Mascot: Saints

2018 record: 2-7

Players on preseason roster: 45

Past history: Have never played (as far as I know).

Fun fact: Famous alumni included baseball legend John Olerud, as well as musicians Nancy Wilson (Heart), and Chris DeGarmo (Queensrÿche).

Read Full Post »

Launch it to the heavens

Posted in Track, tagged , , , , , , on May 31, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville sophomore Mikaela Labrador improved her javelin throw by 14+ feet as the 2019 season progressed. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

They are often the unsung heroes of track and field.

The runners zipping around the track oval do so right in front of the stands, but the team’s throwers are usually stuck off in various corners, often far away from the main hub of action.

But today we’re here to shine a spotlight on Coupeville’s throwing crew, thanks to stats from coach Bob Martin.

This season, 20 of the 32 Wolves in the CHS program tried at least one of the three throwing events (shot put, discus, javelin), with seven competing in all three exercises.

Megan Behan, Aurora Cernick, Emma Smith, Chris Battaglia, Brian Casey, Elijah Okaruru, and Raven Vick were the ultimate throwing warriors, picking up (and flinging) each of the implements.

Overall, the javelin was the most popular, with 16 Wolves trying it, while shot put apparently was the scariest, with just 10 hefting the orb.

Discus fell somewhere in the middle, with 13 giving it a go.

The chart below tracks all 20 of the Wolves who threw, detailing their first attempt during a live meet, and the best distance they landed in competition.

And before you start using all your fingers and toes to add, the two Coupeville throwers who had the biggest in-season improvement were Logan Martin and Smith.

Logan, a freshman, is the younger brother of Dalton Martin, who holds the CHS record in the discus at 161 feet, seven inches, set in his senior season in 2016.

But, way back when Dalton was a freshman, his PR was 107-02.

Logan already has him there, improving from 80-04 in his first high school meet, to 121-11 by the district meet.

That’s an in-season jump of 41 feet, seven inches, and now he has three more full seasons left to pick up the additional 39 feet, nine inches he needs to topple big bro from the school record board.

Smith didn’t jump quite as far as her younger teammate, but she did still have a heck of a senior season.

She made it to state in both the shot put and discus, and improved 20 feet, five inches during the season in the second event.

Smith whipped it 72-03 in the season-opening Island Jamboree in mid-March, then came around to hit 92-08 at districts two months later.

And now, on to a look at how all 20 of the Wolf throwers improved during the course of the 2019 season:

 

Thrower Shot-First Shot-Best Discus-First Discus-Best Javelin-First Javelin-Best
C. Battaglia 38-00.5 41-00 110-00 112-06 127-06 134-01
Js. Baumann 76-09.5 92-06
M. Behan 19-02 24-01 55-02 60-02 55-02 65-04
K. Burnett 91-03 102-07
B. Casey 31-06 32-06 77-02 78-11 64-09 77-03
A. Cernick 19-09.5 21-00.5 51-02 66-05 57-11 63-09
K. Davison 82-03 100-02
L. Halstead 106-02 106-02
Jat. Hoskins 52-06 52-06
M. Labrador 38-03 52-05
R. Labrador 39-06 44-10.5 93-11 109-10
L. Martin 34-10 34-10 80-04 121-11
A. Mihill 43-08 47-09 57-11 63-09
E. Okaruru 26-05.5 27-09 77-07 77-07 68-06 71-04
T. Peterson 86-04 99-10
E. Smith 30-10 34-05 72-03 92-08 72-10 72-10
K. Sorrows 37-05 39-10.5 90-04 108-01
S. T-Stout 140-09 140-09
R. Vick 17-04 21-05.5 56-05 61-02 82-03 88-02
W. Vick 60-09 71-01 43-00 61-08

Read Full Post »

Wolves enjoy baseball swan song

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on May 31, 2019| Leave a Comment »

CHS baseball coach Chris Smith poses with some of the Wolf seniors who played Thursday at the All-State feeder games in Bellingham. L to r are Matt Hilborn, Shane Losey, and Dane Lucero, while Jake Pease was AWOL at the moment. (Wendi Hilborn photo)

Coupeville’s diamond men got one more night under the lights.

Four Wolf seniors — Dane Lucero, Shane Losey, Jake Pease, and Matt Hilborn — traveled to Bellingham Thursday to participate in the A/B All-State Baseball Feeder games.

While none of the pack made the cut for the big games, held June 8-9 in Yakima, Coupeville made a positive impression.

“They all played really well,” said CHS head baseball coach Chris Smith, who was in the stands at Joe Martin Stadium for the games. “Coupeville was well represented.”

After playing their entire prep careers as teammates, the four Wolves found themselves split up at times Thursday night.

In the opening game, the Nationals, which featured Lucero, Losey, and Hilborn topped Pease’s Americans squad 14-13 in a slug-fest.

Pease anchored third base for the entire game.

“He didn’t have a ton of opportunities, but did make some diving attempts at a couple smoked grounders,” said CHS assistant coach Aaron Lucero.

Hilborn got some work on the mound in the first game, tossing two innings, then moved to shortstop in the nightcap, where the Americans won 7-1 in a game called after six innings due to pitch counts.

“He was lights out at shortstop and had several outs to Dane at first,” Aaron Lucero said. “Lot of tough balls and threw lasers.”

Dane Lucero, who made a sensational full-body extension grab on a hard liner just inside the line at first, also pulled double duty.

After getting loosened up with his work on the bag, where he put in eight innings across the two games, the younger Lucero strolled over to pitch the fifth inning in game two.

Making sure every Wolf had some highlights, Losey was a beast in the outfield.

“Shane almost had a ridiculous awesome diving play in right that just missed by an inch or two,” Aaron Lucero said. “Was ecstatic he got to the ball, not to mention the dive.

“Next hitter hit another shot to right that Shane sprinted to, twisted, hit the ball with his glove, ball popped, and he caught the pop one-handed,” he added.

“The best part was his back was turned to the line ump, ump indicating fair and safe until Shane shows the ball with his back turned for the ump to reverse to an out.”

Read Full Post »

Former Wolf spiker lands coaching gig

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , on May 31, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Valen Trujillo, seen in her playing days at Coupeville, is now a coach for a 3A volleyball powerhouse. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

The student has become the master.

Coupeville High School volleyball legend Valen Trujillo is stepping to the other side of the court next year, joining the coaching staff at Seattle’s Lakeside High School.

She’ll be a JV assistant coach for the Lions, whose varsity squad finished 2nd at the 3A state tournament last fall.

The hire is pending final approval, as the school waits for her background check to be completed.

Trujillo, who is a 2017 CHS grad and was a rare solo inductee into the Coupeville Sports Hall of Fame, has been operating Valen Lee Photography.

Check it out by popping over to: https://www.valenleephoto.com/

Her work behind the camera has taken her on a journey across the United States, with stops from Georgia to an upcoming trip to Utah for a collaboration with another photographer.

While she’s greatly enjoying her business, Trujillo has frequently thought of following in the paths of her own high school volleyball coaches, Breanne Smedley and Cory Whitmore.

“They seriously changed my life,” she said. “I learned more from them in my three years with them than I have in my whole life.”

Along with her photography, Trujillo works in Everett at an athletic club and as a junior tennis assistant coach.

But volleyball has always been her dream gig.

“I have always felt like I’d wanted to be a coach,” Trujillo said. “Since leaving college and having a year of not really knowing what I want or who I was, I started feeling like coaching is what I wanted to pursue.

“I did some tennis coaching but it wasn’t satisfying my desire, so one day I decided to look at volleyball positions, and the rest is history!”

During her days as a Wolf, Trujillo was one of the most-talented athletes to ever walk the hallways of Coupeville High School.

On the volleyball court, she was the ultimate warrior, sprawling out, flipping end over end, vowing to never let a ball evade her grasp.

Trujillo was a three-time All-League player, holds the school record in digs, and, as a senior, led CHS volleyball to its first league title in 15 years.

On the tennis court, she was Coupeville’s #1 singles player, a two-time league champ, and one of the more graceful killers the court has witnessed.

With a flow of compliments and pep talk, Trujillo had an uncanny ability to savage an opponent between the lines, while making sure the girl across the net exited feeling like she had somehow also won.

And on a basketball court?

This is the point where I cry for the 10,000th time, since Trujillo gave up the sport after her middle school days, a time when she made not one, but two, players from King’s run crying from the gym.

She was a beast! A BEAST!!! And it was beautiful…

But I digress.

Suffice it to say, Valen is a rare soul, a truly special athlete, and an even better person.

The first time I met her was when she came up to me and thanked me for attending her middle school game(!!), and, while we’re not supposed to play favorites, I most certainly do.

Miss Trujillo is in the top 1% of those I have written about, and seeing her continue to soar and reach for new challenges makes me smile.

She will transform other girl’s lives, building on what her own coaches started with her. I firmly believe this.

Lakeside got itself a new coach. Its players just won the lottery.

Read Full Post »

Big dreams, big swings

Posted in Cheer, Softball, tagged , , , , , on May 31, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Sofia Peters is part of a pack of very-promising athletes moving up to Coupeville High School this fall. (Photo courtesy Peters)

Sofia Peters is not afraid of new challenges.

Throughout her middle school days, the Coupeville 8th grader has happily tackled a wide range of activities, playing softball and volleyball, along with participating in glee club and theater.

In everything she does, Peters has shown a willingness to embrace the spotlight, whether as a hard-hitting diamond warrior or in the multiple times she’s played a lead role during her six-year theater career.

Now, as she prepares to move up to high school this fall, she’s ready to add yet another accomplishment to her resume, swapping volleyball for cheer.

Peters has set solid goals for her high school career, aiming to make varsity softball by her sophomore year and varsity cheer by her junior season.

While she’s looking forward to both of her sports, her new one and her old one, she can’t deny softball has her heart.

“Softball is my favorite sport because I am a very competitive player and I have been playing with my friends for about four years,” Peters said. “They are my softball family and I would never trade that for anything.”

She credits her dad, Mike, who has been one of her coaches for her entire run on the diamond, with helping her reach her potential.

While playing for the Central Whidbey Little League Juniors team this season, Peters thumped the ball aggressively, helping the Wolves cruise to a 13-1 record.

She was one of the team’s most-productive power hitters, splashing doubles to all fields, while also cracking a home run in one rumble.

“Some things I enjoy about being an athlete would have to be playing games and being the best self I can be,” Peters said. “Playing with my team is like playing with a pack full of wolves.

“We are pumped, fast, and ready to make our way to the top no matter what stands in our way.”

Peters picks her hitting, fielding, and all-around hustle as positives in her game, though, like all athletes, she knows there’s always room to improve.

“One area I would like to work on is (keeping) my head in the game,” she said. “Sometimes I would be 100% focused, but, sometimes I get completely distracted.”

Helping her stay focused and continue to work are her teammates, a band of young women with whom she has grown up playing ball, and her large support crew.

“One other group of people who impacted me would have to be my school and my friends,” Peters said. “A lot of my teachers know about my softball team, and then my friends who are not playing with me come out and see me play.

“It motivates me to do the very best I can.”

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »