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Posts Tagged ‘districts’

Danny Conlisk shocks the world!!

Posted in Cross Country, tagged , , , , on October 28, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   Coupeville’s contingent at the district cross country meet included runners (l to r) Sam Wynn, Henry Wynn, Danny Conlisk and #1 fan Abby Parker. (Dawnelle Conlisk photo)

As Danny Conlisk stepped to the start line Saturday, the odds were stacked against him.

He had been very sick earlier in the week.

He wasn’t ranked high enough for those on the outside to view him as a major contender.

No one from Coupeville High School had qualified for the state meet in cross country since 2010.

It mattered not.

Conlisk, the smooth-running, serene king of the trail, outran the doubters, his ranking and the screams of his own personal fan club to finish 7th at the West Central District 3 meet at University Place, punching his ticket to the big dance.

After competing at state in track as both a freshman and sophomore, the Wolf junior became the first CHS harrier since Tyler King to qualify for the biggest cross country race of the year.

To achieve the feat, Conlisk needed to place in the top 14 Saturday. Since he entered ranked #21 in a 48-man field, it seemed like a bit of a long shot.

Never doubt the heart of a champion.

Conlisk took three seconds off his PR, clocking in at 17:45.50 seconds while covering 5,000 meters.

“I am mighty proud of him,” said mom Dawnelle Conlisk. “I think Abby Parker and I were more nervous than he was.

“So fun to watch. He passed us in 7th on the first go-by, and at mile two he was still in 7th. We screamed like girls!! So thankful I booked a room for state a few weeks ago.”

Jared Donnel of Bellevue Christian won the individual title, while Charles Wright Academy took the team crown.

The state meet is Saturday, Nov. 4 at the Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.

Conlisk will be a lone Wolf at the big meet, as his CHS teammates, Sam and Henry Wynn, didn’t make the cut.

Sam, a freshman, finished 41st in 20:38.50, while Henry, a senior, capped his career by hitting the tape in 45th (21:26.60).

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Close enough to taste it!!

Posted in Boys Tennis, tagged , , , , , on October 26, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   Wolf netters (l to r) William Nelson, Pedro Gamarra and Joey Lippo hang out at the district tourney. (Connie Lippo photo)

For the second straight year, Coupeville High School netters Joey Lippo and William Nelson came within one win of advancing to the state tournament.

But, despite ending the West Central District III boys tennis tourney Thursday with a victory over league rivals, the Wolf duo have reached the end of a remarkable four-year run together.

Maybe.

Having finished third at districts, Lippo and Nelson are the alternates to state, which means they could still get the call if illness, injury or, say, a kidnapping, were to go down and make life miserable for either of the top two duos.

There’s plenty of time for unforeseen circumstances to develop, as boys tennis is played by some schools in the fall and some in the spring.

That means state isn’t held until late May, when Lippo will likely be playing baseball for CHS and Nelson running the soccer pitch for the Wolves.

If that call doesn’t come, though, the duo can look back on a stellar career, where, except for two matches, they played together as an exclusive doubles team for all four seasons.

Coming off a title at the Olympic League tournament, Lippo and Nelson opened districts with a win Wednesday, then lost a titanic three-set battle to a Vashon team Thursday morning.

Coupeville’s best rebounded to drill a duo from Klahowya, which moved them forward into a rematch with the Vashon netters in the second/third place match.

Except…

District tourney rules are clear — “if a rematch occurs during the tournament this match will not occur and the winner from the first match will advance to the next round.”

While it might seem unfair, Coupeville was dinged by the exact opposite rule a couple of years back, when Aaron Curtin was denied a trip to state when he lost a rematch to a Vashon player he had already beaten.

So, basically, no matter which way the rule is written that year, the rich school will ALWAYS come out on top in the hoity-toity world of high school tennis.

End of story.

While Lippo and Nelson finished districts with a 2-1 record, Coupeville’s other four competitors — singles aces Pedro Gamarra and Jakobi Baumann and doubles duo Nick Etzell and Mason Grove — went two and out.

Baumann, a junior, and Grove, a sophomore, are the only Wolves who could return next season.

Etzell, Lippo and Nelson are seniors, while Gamarra is a foreign exchange student.

Complete Thursday results:

Singles:

Pedro Gamarra:

Lost to Zain Mian (Charles Wright) 6-3, 6-0
Lost to Amadeo Gallina (Vashon) 6-1, 6-3

Jakobi Baumann:

Lost to Jacob Kraft (Klahowya) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3

Doubles:

William Nelson/Joey Lippo:

Lost to Wyatt Kepler and JJ Bogaard (Vashon) 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
Beat Morgan Seidel/William Stewart (Klahowya) 7-5(8-6), 6-1

Mason Grove/Nick Etzell:

Lost to Mason Rice/Hank Rogers (Vashon) 7-6, 6-4

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Chasing that state dream!!

Posted in Boys Tennis, tagged , , , , on October 25, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   Wolf netters Joey Lippo (left) and William Nelson, chasing a trip to state, won their opening match at districts Wednesday. (Connie Lippo photo)

There was a little something for everyone.

A broken string, a quick racket swap, rain (what a surprise), even some actual tennis being played.

After enduring the trip to Tacoma Wednesday, the Coupeville High School netters opened districts with a win, two losses and a match suspended due to moisture.

The best news came from senior doubles duo William Nelson and Joey Lippo, who overcame a disabled racket to wax Mason Rice and Hank Rogers of Vashon Island 6-4, 6-3.

Nelson borrowed teammate Nick Etzell’s stick to finish the match (his racket has since been restrung), but he might not have needed it, as Lippo promptly went on a run of service aces.

With the win, the duo advance to the semifinals Thursday, chasing their first berth at the state tourney next spring.

The top two finishers at districts, which pits the four best from the Olympic League against the four best of the Nisqually League, earn tickets to the big dance.

It’ll be a harder climb for Coupeville’s other players through the modified double elimination bracket, though.

Jakobi Baumann fell 6-0, 6-0 to Raghav Agrawal of Charles Wright Academy, while Etzell and Mason Grove were tipped 6-2, 6-1 by Wyatt Kepler and JJ Bogaard of Vashon.

While the doubles matches were played indoors, the singles matches were started outside, and rain threw that into havoc.

Coupeville’s other singles ace, Pedro Gamarra, was at 2-2 in the first set of his match with Zain Mian of CWA when liquid sunshine brought an early end to their tussle.

The tourney returns to action at 8 AM Thursday.

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Wolves headin’ East!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , , on June 29, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   Gavin Knoblich will lead the Coupeville Babe Ruth baseball team to state in mid-July. (John Fisken photo)

Pack your bags. We’re off to Ephrata.

OK, well not for two weeks, but you get the point.

After a second-place finish at the District 11 tourney, the Coupeville Babe Ruth baseball squad is state tournament bound and will make the 221-mile trip (one way) to compete at the big dance.

Action gets underway Monday, July 10 under (likely) toasty skies in Eastern Washington.

Coupeville closed districts Tuesday with a 12-1 loss to Sedro-Woolley, which gave the Outlaws a two-game sweep and the tourney crown.

The Wolves hung around through the third, with George Dailey using his arm and bat to stake his squad to a 1-1 tie.

A resident of Oak Harbor who’s playing with Coupeville this summer, he whiffed six and drilled an RBI double that shot down the third-base line, sending Scott Hilborn scampering home.

Sedro countered by inadvertently beaning Dailey in the back on an ensuing pick-off try.

Apparently they hit just the right muscles on the play.

“His pitching wasn’t the same after that, and then the wheels fell off,” said Coupeville coach Steve Hilborn.

Dailey eventually gave way to Gavin Knoblich, but the CHS sophomore-to-be was hampered by a defense which sprung multiple leaks behind him.

Coupeville had six base-runners in the game, with Dailey crunching a pair of doubles to lead the way.

Caleb Meyer added two singles, with Knoblich and Scott Hilborn earning walks.

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Swings in the sun!!

Posted in Softball, tagged , , , , , on May 21, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   Sarah Wright makes it official, stamping on home after blasting a two-run home run at the district tourney. (John Fisken photos)

   CHS football legend Paul Messner (rockin’ the impressive beard) and family made the trip off-Island to watch the Wolves play.

Wolf center-fielder Hope Lodell vacuums up another fly ball.

  In the year of the long ball, Katrina McGranahan crushes yet another moon shot.

CHS assistant coach Ron Wright fears not the sunburn (likely) headed his way.

Lauren Rose, your friendly neighborhood Terminator.

   Head coach Kevin McGranahan enjoys the show (and the knowledge that, unlike Wright, his head is shielded from the sun).

Kyla Briscoe gets the rally caps going.

After a season of rain, rain and more rain, the finale was soaked in sun.

Playing four games (and 33 innings) in 26 hours at the West Central District 3 tourney in Tacoma, the Coupeville High School softball sluggers finally had reason to use sunblock.

They also had plenty of opportunities to get their close-ups, as busy bee paparazzi John Fisken popped in while bouncing from locale to locale Saturday, shooting Whidbey Island athletes competing in postseason action.

The pics above are courtesy him.

To see more (purchases fund college scholarships for CHS student/athletes), pop over to:

http://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/2017-Coupeville-Softball/20170520-Playoff-vs-Bellevue-Christian/

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