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“I am so proud and excited!”

Posted in Cross Country, tagged , , , , on September 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Landon Roberts is feeling strong as one of Coupeville High School’s cross country captains. (Sherry Bonacci photo)

Whidbey Island was alive with the sound of footsteps Saturday.

The 44th annual Carl Westling Invite in Langley brought out cross country runners, attracting the attention of 29 high schools, including the only one we really care about — Coupeville.

The Wolves had runners in four different races, with harriers pounding across the 3.1-mile course.

“The Westling Invite is always a good one,” said CHS coach Elizabeth Bitting. “It is on island and so many family members and friends are able to attend.”

Several of Coupeville’s runners were making their high school debuts, while virtually everyone nailed PR’s on a sunny, but not too hot day.

On the girl’s side of things, Noelle Western had the best finish, slicing almost two minutes off her time from last year.

Wolf runners (left to right) Aleksia Jump, Erica McGrath, Jasmine Castellanos, Reagan Callahan, Noelle Western, and Ari Armstrong are ready to go. (Elizabeth Bitting photo)

Meanwhile, Coupeville’s top boys — Carson Field, Landon Roberts, and George Spear — all broke 20 minutes and were separated by less than two seconds.

Seeing her runners move as a pack, pushing and supporting each other, warms Bitting’s heart.

“I know it’s still very early on in the season, but I am so proud and excited for each and every athlete that ran today,” she said.

“They are working hard during practice, they are putting in the miles, working in the weight room and their hard work is paying off,” Bitting added.

“Now to keep them healthy!”

Coupeville returns to action next Saturday, Sept. 23 when it travels to Shoreline for the King’s Roller Coaster Trail Run.

The Wolves were supposed to also compete midweek, but a three-team meet on Orcas Island was cancelled “due to an unavoidable event.”

 

Saturday results:

 

GIRLS:

Varsity:

Noelle Western (46th) 24:55.47
Ari Armstrong (72nd) 28:29.04
Aleksia Jump (75th) 29:01.89
Reagan Callahan (78th) 31:31.49
Erica McGrath (79th) 32:48.97

 

BOYS:

Varsity:

Carson Field (61st) 19:53.11
Landon Roberts (62nd) 19:54.21
George Spear (63rd) 19:54.76
Ezekiel Allen (71st) 20:33.41
Thomas Strelow (79th) 21:14.84
Kenneth Jacobsen (82nd) 21:21.15
Nicholas Wasik (91st) 22:26.79

 

JV – Level 1

Preston Howard (144th) 22:46.65
Axel Marshall (146th) 22:52.79

 

JV – Level 2

Zach Blitch (198th) 33:04.22

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Hall still haulin’

Posted in Cross Country, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , on September 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Mitchell Hall pounds the trail during his senior season in Coupeville. (Jackie Saia photo)

Another day, another milestone.

Coupeville grad Mitchell Hall, now a freshman at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Indiana, competed in his second collegiate cross country race early Saturday morning.

After covering 5,000 meters in his debut, the former Wolf ran an 8K as he and the Fightin’ Engineers vied at the 23-team John McNichols Invitational in Terra Haute.

Hall hit the tape in 29 minutes, 10.2 seconds, while Purdue’s Nathan Walker won the race, sparking his squad to a team title as well.

The invitational featured 15 NCAA D-I teams, including Indiana, Kansas State, and Belmont, while Rose-Hulman is a D-III school.

The Fightin’ Engineers return to action in two weeks, hosting the Nike Cross Country Town Twilight meet Sept. 29 as part of Rose-Hulman’s Homecoming weekend.

During his time in Coupeville, Hall was a standout cross country and track runner who advanced to the state championships twice, a top student, and a fast-rising employee at Prairie Center.

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Young, but ready to rule the trails

Posted in Cross Country, tagged , , , , on September 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Ossian Merkel is one of 29 CMS cross country runners. (Elizabeth Bitting photos)

Up the hill they came, one after another.

As I waited to turn out onto Highway 20 from Sherman Road the other day, a wave of Coupeville Middle School cross country runners worked their way past, conquering the somewhat steep rise of the Kettles trail.

Leading into their season opener Saturday at the 44th Carl Westling Invitational in Langley, the Wolves are putting in the miles for new head coach Amber Wyman.

A look at athletic.net confirms CMS has a deep roster, with 29 harriers listed, with 16 of those being girls.

While only time will tell if they all make it through the complete five-meet season, here’s a look at who’s who at the moment.

Coupeville has a talented, deep girls team.

 

GIRLS:

Amelia Crowder
Hailey Goldman
Hazel Goldman
Lillian Ketterling
Claire Lachnit
Ava Lucero
Elizabeth Marshall
Savannah Niewald
Allie Powers
Anna Powers
Autumn Rubin
Laken Simpson
Mikayla Wagner
Mary Western
Marin Winger
Devon Wyman

 

BOYS:

Isaiah Allen
Avery Eelkema
Beckett Green
Johnathan Jacobsen
Edmund Kunz
Ossian Merkel
Henry Purdue
Shiloh Sandlin
Archer Schwarz
River Simpson
Cyrus Sparacio
Andre Volanos-Gerber
Christopher Zenz

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Trail warriors earn first closeup

Posted in Cross Country, tagged , , , , on September 11, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Ari Armstrong leads off a series of pics featuring CHS harriers at their season opener. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Footstep, camera click, repeat over and over.

Saturday’s season opener in Sehome attracted the Coupeville High School cross country team, plenty of rivals, and a swarm of photographers.

Getting his camera clicking finger in mid-season form, wanderin’ paparazzi John Fisken snapped the pics seen above and below.

They feature all 15 Wolves in action.

 

To see more pics, pop over to:

https://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/CHS-Cross-Country-2023-2024/XC-2023-09-09-at-Sehome-Invite/

 

Ezekiel Allen (left) and George Spear.

Kenneth Jacobsen

L to r: Aleksia Jump, Reagan Callahan, and Noelle Western.

Coupeville coaches Elizabeth Bitting (left) and Amber Wyman.

Zach Blitch

Coupeville juniors form a potent pack — Preston Howard (275), Landon Roberts (278), Thomas Strelow (280), Carson Field (274), and Nicholas Wasik (281).

Erica McGrath

Axel Marshall

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“It was truly a great day!”

Posted in Cross Country, tagged , , , , , on September 9, 2023| Leave a Comment »

A pack of Wolves, ready to rumble on the cross country trail. (Photo courtesy Brian Strelow)

Who let the Wolves out?

The Coupeville High School cross country team hit the road Saturday, traveling to Sehome for its season opener on a sunny September day.

The destination was the 13th annual Gear Up Northwest XC Preview, which drew 44 schools to Civic Stadium for a series of races.

Most of the events paired off runners based on their year in school, with sophomores facing sophomores, seniors facing seniors, and so on.

Coupeville, a 2B school, was one of four “small schools” in attendance, with most of the competitors hailing from big-time conferences like Wesco, KingCo, and the Metro League.

All three Whidbey Island schools vied, with 1A South Whidbey and 3A Oak Harbor joining the Wolves.

CHS coach Elizabeth Bitting had 15 runners on opening day and came away pleased with the effort and top times.

It might have been the first race, but the trail guru is already in mid-season form with dropping exclamation points.

“So much fun at Sehome today!!!,” she said.

“LOTS of big schools, so placement wasn’t great, but times!!!! OMG, for the boys!!! Top five boys all under 13 minutes!!!”

Those five male harriers were also separated by just 42 seconds on the two-mile course, which bodes well for their ability to run as a pack in future races.

Getting a chance to go toe to toe, and step for step, with athletes from much-bigger schools can only benefit the Wolves as the season plays out.

“They had so much competition,” Bitting said. “It was truly a great day!”

Coupeville returns to action next Saturday, Sept. 16, when it travels to Langley for the 44th Carl Westling Invite.

Coupeville running coaches Amber Wyman (left) and Elizabeth Bitting are back on the bus for another season. (Photo courtesy Bitting)

 

Saturday results:

 

GIRLS:

Sophomores:

Noelle Western (48th) 15:35.39
Aleksia Jump (102nd) 17:45.64
Reagan Callahan (137th) 20:41.28

 

Juniors:

Ari Armstrong (110th) 17:49.05

 

Seniors:

Erica McGrath (94th) 20:39.58

 

BOYS:

Freshmen:

Kenneth Jacobsen (72nd) 12:53.20

 

Sophomores:

Ezekiel Allen (44th) 12:15.83
George Spear (57th) 12:30.07

 

Juniors:

Landon Roberts (87th) 12:10.71
Carson Field (103rd) 12:26.15
Thomas Strelow (134th) 13:34.41
Nicholas Wasik (135th) 13:36.09
Preston Howard (141st) 13:48.22

 

JV-1:

Zach Blitch (139th) 19:29.91

 

JV-2:

Axel Marshall (37th) 13:48.17

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