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Wolves Ivy Rudat (left) and Anna Powers are state meet qualifiers. (Photos courtesy Elizabeth Bitting, Kelly Powers, Dan McCutcheon, and Matt Lachnit.)

Make reservations for nine heading off to Eastern Washington.

The Coupeville High School cross country team won a boys team title at the district meet Saturday, while finishing third in a brutal girls’ battle.

Led by a one-two finish from sophomore Cyrus Sparacio and freshman Henry Purdue, the Wolf boys held off Northwest 2B/1B League rival Friday Harbor 19-39 to claim the crown and earn a fourth-straight trip to state as a full unit.

The final run of the season is set for next Saturday, November 7 at the Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.

Coupeville’s boys finished 10th at state in 2023, 9th in 2024, and 11th in 2025.

Senior Kenneth Jacobsen is the only CHS runner to be a member of all four teams, while Sparacio, Ossian Merkel, and Beckett Green advance to state for a second time.

Ready to rumble on Halloween morning.

While the Wolf boys competed against 2B schools from District 1 and 2 at Saturday’s Westside Classic meet at University Place, the girls faced a steeper uphill battle.

Their race also included runners from District 3, and mashed together 1B and 2B teams, while still retaining the same number of qualifiers for state — the top two teams and top 14 runners.

Pope John Paul II out of Lacey, a juggernaut in the harrier biz, ran away with the team title, placing all seven of its runners in the top 10 led by winner Isla Valpiani to notch a paltry 15 points.

The public school champs.

Covenant from Tacoma nipped Coupeville 68-81 to nab the other team berth to state, with Evangel Classical (114), Summit Classical Christian (125), and Mount Vernon Christian (138) also pushing a full seven runners across the line.

As the only public school to field a full team on the 5,000-meter course — Orcas Island, Friday Harbor, Lummi Nation and others had limited rosters — the Wolves did nab two slots to state.

Freshman Anna Powers hit the tape in 11th place, while senior Ivy Rudat claimed the very last golden ticket in 14th, earning her second trip to Pasco.

While the Wolf girls got tripped up a bit by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association being stingy with its allocations, CHS coach Elizabeth Bitting came away pleased with how her runners approached the royale rumble.

“They fought hard!” she said.

“They ran amazing and did SO WELL! I am proud of them and their season.”

Ivy Rudat perfects the art of the run.

 

Saturday results:

 

GIRLS:

Anna Powers (11th) 21:58.0 — *STATE QUALIFIER*
Ivy Rudat (14th) 22:19.7 — *STATE QUALIFIER*
Mikayla Wagner (18th) 23:09.3
Devon Wyman (26th) 24:12.9
Claire Lachnit (31st) 24:58.0
Laken Simpson (36th) 25:34.7
Allie Powers (37th) 25:37.1

 

Henry Purdue comes roaring up on the outside.

 

BOYS:

Cyrus Sparacio (1st) 17:10.2 — *STATE QUALIFIER*
Henry Purdue (2nd) 17:52.6 — *STATE QUALIFIER*
Kenneth Jacobsen (6th) 18:31.1 — *STATE QUALIFIER*
Ossian Merkel (10th) 19:15.9 — *STATE QUALIFIER*
Archer Schwarz (14th) 19:23.1 — *STATE QUALIFIER*
Leo Davis (15th) 19:43.6 — *STATE QUALIFIER*
Beckett Green (17th) 20:05.9 — *STATE QUALIFIER*

 

Ossian Merkel stands tall on the awards stand.

Anna Powers eyeballs the paparazzi as she glides on by.

Archer Schwarz shows ’em how it’s done.

Plotting their strategy.

The fastest 2B squad in the region.

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Fast on the trail, agreeable on photo day. (Julie Wheat photo)

The coaches approve.

Mere days before the district meet, which goes down Saturday at University Place, the Coupeville High School boys’ cross country runners find themselves ranked #8 among all 2B schools.

Unlike RPI rankings, which are done by Washington Interscholastic Activities Association computers, the harrier tabulations come directly from humans.

In this case, the Washington State Cross Country Coaches Association.

It’s the third straight week the Wolf boys have shown up in the poll, having made their debut October 12.

Elizabeth Bitting’s squad finished second at the Northwest 2B/1B League meet to Evangel Classical, which is ranked #2 among 1B schools.

Now at districts, which is the qualifier for the state meet in Pasco, the Wolves won’t have to see their private school rivals as 2B and 1B boys compete in different races.

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Kenneth Jacobsen flies across the prairie. (Julie Wheat photo)

The goal is Pasco.

That’s where the state cross country meet is held each year, and it’s a target Coupeville High School runners have hit more often than not.

Since the school-wide harrier program was relaunched in 2018, after being shut down for 20+ years, the Wolves have reached the big dance in six of eight seasons.

Toss out 2020, when the pandemic erased state for everyone, and it’s actually six of seven, with the only other season-ending meet missing the red and black being 2018.

That includes five trips for an entire team, with the Wolf boys qualifying for state as a group in 2023, 2024, and 2025, while the girls advanced as a unit in 2022 and 2025.

Overall, 26 Coupeville runners — 13 girls and 13 boys — have competed at state in this new era, with Carson Field, Kenneth Jacobsen, George Spear, and Ezekiel Allen reaching the big race three times.

Jacobsen, a senior this year, can make it four-for-four if things break correctly this weekend.

Coupeville will be back at it this Saturday, running on Halloween morning at the Westside Classic district meet at University Place, with Elizabeth Bitting’s squad trying to add to its rapidly-building legacy.

The following breakdown covers the seasons of CHS having its own full program during the rebirth years of 2018-2026.

That means it doesn’t include, say, Danny Conlisk, who made it to state for Coupeville in 2017 while training and traveling with South Whidbey.

Or Tyler King, who won an individual state title in 2010 while doing the same with Oak Harbor.

And certainly not the earlier decades when CHS had its own full program before being shut down in the ’90s.

That time frame includes the boys finishing fifth as a team in 1976 and 1977, while the girls earned a program-best 4th in 1982, before Natasha Bamberger cruised to a state title in 1985.

Mikayla Wagner is a two-time state meet participant. (Jackie Saia photo)

 

CHS cross country at state meet in the modern era:

 

Team results:

Girls: 8th in 2022, 13th in 2025
Boys: 10th in 2023, 9th in 2024, 11th in 2025

 

Top finishers:

Girls: Mikayla Wagner (36th) in 2024
Boys: Mitchell Hall (19th) in 2022

 

Participants:

2019:

Catherine Lhamon

 

2021:

Helen Strelow
Claire Mayne

Mitchell Hall

 

2022:

Claire Mayne
Helen Strelow
Cristina McGrath
Reagan Callahan
Erica McGrath

Mitchell Hall
Carson Field

 

2023:

Noelle Western

Carson Field
Landon Roberts
Ezekiel Allen
George Spear
Thomas Strelow
Kenneth Jacobsen
Axel Marshall

 

2024:

Mikayla Wagner
Aleera Kent
Aleksia Jump
Devon Wyman

Carson Field
George Spear
Landon Roberts
Ezekiel Allen
Kenneth Jacobsen
Thomas Strelow
Ethan Walling

 

2025:

Mikayla Wagner
Ivy Rudat
Aleksia Jump
Devon Wyman
Allie Powers

George Spear
Ezekiel Allen
Cyrus Sparacio
Kenneth Jacobsen
Ossian Merkel
Beckett Green
Isaiah Allen

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Laken Simpson (left) and Ava Lucero make their picks. (Amber Wyman photos)

Cross country runners don’t always head down the trail. Sometimes they trek out to the field.

Especially when it’s creeping up on Halloween and the gourds are sprouting.

With that in mind, the Coupeville High School and Middle School harriers united this week for a pumpkin decorating contest.

Want to see the winners? Work your way to the end of the article.

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Jesse Kehoe gets airborne. (Photos by Kelly Powers and Amber Wyman)

They reached the end of the trail. Quickly.

The Coupeville Middle School cross country team capped its season Wednesday with an appearance at the Cascade League Championships in Langley, and the Wolves held up well on the 3,000-meter course.

Sparked by top five performances from Juniper Dotson and Sarai Dangerfield, the CMS girls finished second in the team standings behind host South Whidbey, while Granite Falls rounded out the top three.

Juniper Dotson and Sarai Dangerfield lead the way for the Wolf girls.

Meanwhile on the boys’ side of things, Coupeville claimed third place, with South Whidbey and King’s going one-two.

In addition to the team titles, the host Cougars also earned both individual crowns, with 7th grader Kaylin Gutzmer and 8th grader Rowan Doonan hitting the tape first.

Overall, there were 169 runners on the course, repping six different schools.

 

Wednesday results:

 

GIRLS:

Juniper Dotson (4th) 12:50.5
Sarai Dangerfield (5th) 12:52.7
Ava Clark (9th) 13:23.4
Abi Dangerfield (16th) 14:21.9
Luna Strong (26th) 15:32.2
Alayla Schwarz (28th) 15:41.5
Dresden Rusch (45th) 17:04.1
Lillian Lachnit (50th) 17:33.8
Gracie Gonzalez (57th) 18:37.6

The Wolf girls attack as a pack.

 

BOYS:

Jesse Kehoe (6th) 11:15.2
Nicholas Strong (14th) 11:50.6
Cole Van Dyke (18th) 12:03.4
John Davis (19th) 12:05.7
Mica McCloskey (25th) 12:36.7
Antonio Echeverria Bryant (31st) 13:05.4
Brody Griffith (40th) 13:54.8
Hayden Maynes (50th) 14:52.2
Gavin Goldman (51st) 14:52.4
Stone Simpson (62nd) 16:01.6
Quinton Freeman (75th) 17:55.5
Danny Powers (85th) 21:17.3
Henry Engel (94th) 25:18.4

Coupeville’s boys get limbered up.

Abi Dangerfield streaks for the finish line.

The Wolves celebrate the end of the season with ice cream and awards.

Team leaders (l to r) Ava Clark, Juniper Dotson, Cole Van Dyke, and Jesse Kehoe.

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