Coupeville track stars Jacob Smith (left) and Danny Conlisk made sure the whole state learned their names. (Dawnelle Conlisk photo)
Sometimes, I can be a real idiot.
But, sometimes, my being a real idiot actually works out in the end. Hopefully.
As I induct people into the Coupeville Sports Hall of Fame, the biggest stumbling block is I’m a one-man crew, in charge of nominating, voting (there are some fierce battles…), and writing the stories.
Which is my way of sort of explaining why sometimes a slam-dunk inductee doesn’t go in as quickly as they should.
Cause I’m an idiot, I get busy with other stuff, and I completely space on things.
A year ago, when he graduated from Coupeville High School after compiling one of the best track and field careers in school history, Jacob Smith should have been added to my lil’ digital hall o’ wonders.
Like immediately, don’t pass Go, don’t collect $200.
So, imagine my surprise this morning when I was scanning the list of inductees, and realized, to my growing horror, that he wasn’t there.
But, my complete and utter failure sort of works out, because now, when I induct him today, he can go in along with his running mate, Danny Conlisk, in a two-for-one special.
After this, you’ll find both of them at the top of the blog, under the Legends tab.
It’s appropriate they go in together, because the duo pushed each other on the oval, and exhibited many of the same qualities during their times in a Wolf uniform.
They were both fast to begin, but worked relentlessly, together and apart, to rise to new heights.
Calm, easy-going, low-key, quiet leaders, they let their fleet feet do the talking for them, and made the world at large stand up and notice.
Coupeville, a cow town on a rock in the middle of the water up in the middle of nowhere, doesn’t always get the same respect as King’s or Lynden Christian or a million other “legacy” schools do.
The Wolves have to earn it, and from Kyle and Tyler King to Makana Stone and on to Smith and Conlisk, track and field has been the one arena where other schools and fan bases have had to accept that CHS can get all up in their business.
And man, did Jacob and Danny make them sit up and take notice.
The duo combined to win 12 state meet medals – six apiece – shattered school records left and right, and were as dynamic on the oval as any pair in Wolf track history.
Smith is one of just two CHS athletes to win four medals at the same state meet, doing so during his senior season.
Finishing 2nd in both the 100 and 200, he also added a leg on 4 x 100 (7th) and 4 x 400 (5th) relay teams which battled down to the wire.
Toss in a 4th in the 200 as a sophomore, and a 3rd in the same event as a junior, and, despite having the most-common last name in America, everyone knew his name down in Cheney by the time he was finished.
An explosive runner who chased down rivals as mom Deb out-shouted the rooting sections of entire schools by herself, Jacob made every race a must-see moment.
His fellow inductee, to be honest, was not someone I originally would have seen going into the Hall o’ Fame.
I have vague memories of Conlisk competing in middle school – a quiet, skinny kid loping around the track.
Did I think he would one day be a two-time state champion, hold school records in the 100, 200, and 400, and qualify for the national Junior Olympics twice?
Not a chance.
Cause I’m an idiot. Or at least a really-bad talent scout.
Once Danny found his groove, though, he became the ultimate make-good story.
What we couldn’t see, at least at first, was how powerful his work ethic was going to be, and how huge his heart was.
Whether running cross country or track, Conlisk just kept getting better and better, ending his prep career by breaking an eight-year state title dry spell for CHS.
This spring, he roared to wins in the 200 and 400 at the 1A state meet, and finished half a step from making it three titles in three races, finishing 2nd in the 100.
It was the first time since 2010 that a Wolf had stood atop the podium, with Conlisk becoming just the ninth individual CHS athlete in 119 years to earn the title of state champ.
Toss in two medals from his junior season — a 2nd in the 400 and a 5th in the 4 x 400 — and one more from his sophomore campaign (5th in the 400), and he and Smith finish tied with Natasha Bamberger and Chad Gale for the fifth-most state meet medals in school history.
But while the medals stand as a testament to their achievement, both Jacob and Danny will be remembered for far more than their hardware.
They are proof, to every current and future Wolf, that hard work and utter commitment can carry you to the mountain top, and that once there, you don’t have to back down just because someone else has a fancy uniform from a “name” school.
You can rep Coupeville and be the best, and Smith and Conlisk are living proof of that.
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