Fab frosh Noelle Western is going to the state cross country meet, and her teammates are coming with her. (Kerry Western photo)
Party like it’s 1982!
That year, British new wave kings Duran Duran released Hungry Like the Wolf, which went on to win the first-ever Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video.
Meanwhile, the Coupeville High School girls cross country team claimed 4th place at the state meet, the best finish in school history for a harrier squad.
Now, 40 years later, a new group of award-hungry Wolves has arrived to stake their own claim to greatness.
Running as a pack Thursday, the Coupeville girls finished 3rd at the Tri-District meet at Fort Steilacoom Park in Lakewood, punching their ticket as a team to the state meet.
That race goes down Saturday, Nov. 5 in Pasco, where CHS boys Mitchell Hall and Carson Field will join their female compatriots, having qualified as individuals.
The top three teams, and best 21 runners in each race advanced.
It’s the second trip to state for Hall, Claire Mayne, and Helen Strelow, as all three qualified as individuals last season.
Field, Noelle Western, Cristina McGrath, Reagan Callahan, and Erica McGrath will be making their state meet debuts.
“Very excited for all of them,” said CHS coach Paige Spangler. “They’ve worked so hard this season!!!”
Coupeville senior Helen Strelow is a two-time state meet qualifier. (Jackie Saia photo)
Getting an entire team through to Pasco marks a major milestone as Coupeville nears the end of year five of the rebirth of its cross country program.
The Wolf boys finished 5th in the team standings at both the 1976 and 1977 state meets, while the CHS girls were 8th in 1981 and 4th in 1982.
Add in individual state titles for Natasha Bamberger (1985) and Tyler King (2010), and the Wolf program has a proud history.
But it also went into hibernation in the ’90s — King won his title as a solo artist training and traveling with Oak Harbor — and stayed dormant until being relaunched in 2018.
Bamberger, Luke Samford, and Elizabeth Bitting each coached a season, while Spangler is in her second, and final year, as she and her husband are moving to the East coast in December.
Under their combined tutelage, Danny Conlisk and Catherine Lhamon made it to state as individuals, then the three-pack last year, and now they’ll cram the van for the trip.
The Wolf girls qualified by notching 104 points Thursday, holding off Mount Vernon Christian (114) and Bellevue-based Summit Classical Christian (116).
Pope John Paul II, which hails from Lacey, was a clear front-runner with just 15 points, with Tacoma’s Covenant (90) claiming second among the seven schools which fielded a full girls team.
On the boys side, it was PJP-II (19), MVC (84), and Covenant (87) qualifying as teams, with Orcas Island (100) and Coupeville (106) just missing out.
Hall had the best performance of any Wolf, finishing 3rd in his race, with Catelin King of PJP-II and Asher Ingram of Northwest Christian (Lacey) earning individual titles on the 5,000-meter course.
Carson Field is state bound for the first time. (Jackie Saia photo)
Thursday’s results:
GIRLS:
Claire Mayne (15th) 23:22.7
Noelle Western (18th) 23:37.9
Helen Strelow (22nd) 24:10.1
Cristina McGrath (29th) 25:07.4
Reagan Callahan (40th) 27:33.0
Erica McGrath (42nd) 27:37.2
BOYS:
Mitchell Hall (3rd) 17:49.2
Carson Field (16th) 19:11.4
Landon Roberts (27th) 20:24.4
Tate Wyman (41st) 21:48.8
Preston Howard (42nd) 21:50.1
George Spear (43rd) 21:50.7
Easton Green (50th) 22:28.8
Coupeville Sports 