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Posts Tagged ‘Girls Soccer’

“Whirlwind of fun ‘n sun” gets her Hall o’ Fame props

Posted in Girls Soccer, Hall o' Fame, Track, tagged , , , , , on January 4, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Kirsten Pelroy, a talented athlete and better human being.

Kirsten Pelroy is a special human being.

Utterly unique, her soaring spirit eclipsing even her often-amazing athletic talent, the 2016 Coupeville High School grad forever lives large in the memory of Wolf fans.

Kirsten’s name still graces the CHS track record board in the entrance to the school’s gym.

She was just a fab frosh in 2013 when she ran a leg on a 4 x 400 relay team which set a mark which has now stood for more than a decade.

One of the silkiest, deadliest runners to ever step to the line while reppin’ the red and black, Kirsten was a multi-event threat.

She ran on all three relay teams during her high school days, and actually also still holds part of a Coupeville Middle School record for the 4 x 200.

When not perfecting her baton handoff, then coming up big in crunch time moments during the postseason, Kirsten ran in the 100, 200, and 400, while also competing in both the 100 and 300 hurdles events.

Racking up 10 wins, multiple PR’s, and a lot of dropped jaws from rivals, she was a key part of a generation of superb female athletes who held their own against athletes from much-bigger schools as Coupeville proved it didn’t matter how many students a school had, as long as the ones they did possess were kick-ass warriors.

That carried over to the soccer field, where Kirsten used her quicksilver speed to zoom away, or sometimes right over, any fool who tried to make a play for the ball while it was on her toe.

Staring down the best booters the world could send her way, she was a rock-em, sock-em superstar who often sacrificed her own stats for the good of the team.

Kirsten played for the girls on her squad, and her happiest moment as a CHS soccer player seemingly came on Senior Night, when she asked for a group hug and got promptly mobbed by her pitch sisters.

“Can’t catch me, can’t stop me!!” (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Toss in a run as a Wolf cheerleader, and Mitch’s lil’ sis was the real deal as a well-balanced athletic success.

But like all of the truly memorable ones, Kirsten’s impact went far beyond sports.

She was, and is, a bright, shining light piercing a world of greys.

Back in her high school days I described Kirsten thusly:

“A whip-smart, truck-drivin’, multi-hair-colored-rockin’ whirlwind of fun ‘n sun, she has style for days and her epic smile reaches the field a good two feet before she does.”

A radiant star, hanging out with two of her biggest fans. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Nothing has changed since her exit into the adult world, as she remains one of the most-vibrant human beings you will ever meet.

Which is part of why today, after too long a wait, we warmly welcome Kirsten into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame as our newest inductee.

After this you’ll find her hanging out under the Legends tab at the top of the blog, joining big bro.

Entrance to our digital shrine may make it “official” that Kirsten is one of the true big-timers of Wolf Nation, but you don’t need me to tell you how special she is.

If you’ve ever met her, spoken to her, or watched her gracefully navigate the world, you already know.

Look up “transcendent” in the dictionary, and there Kirsten Pelroy will be, rockin’ the joint as always.

Dr. Jim Shank gets to shake the hand of a legend. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

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Former Wolf keys Wildcat playoff run

Posted in Girls Soccer, tagged , , , , on October 28, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Former Wolf ace Lauren Marrs stops by to cheer on the Coupeville High School football team on Senior Night. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

The best soccer goaltender to ever wear a Coupeville uniform is making a final run at pitch glory in Oak Harbor.

Lauren Marrs was a standout multi-sport athlete in Cow Town during her middle school days, then bounced North for high school.

These days she’s a senior at OHHS and anchoring the defense for the Wildcat girls’ soccer squad.

While still popping in to support Coupeville teams on a regular basis, as seen in the top pic.

Marrs is coming off a major win, as Oak Harbor upended Arlington in a penalty kick shootout to kick off the 3A District 1 playoffs.

Saturday she and her team, who sit at 11-5-1 on the season, head to Ferndale to play the Golden Eagles (13-1-2) in another postseason clash.

Win or lose, Marrs and Co. will keep on playing in the double-elimination tourney, as the ‘Cats chase a state berth.

Marrs denies you.

Celebrating a playoff win.

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Varsity girls’ soccer season cancelled

Posted in Girls Soccer, tagged , , , , , on August 28, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Varsity girls’ soccer action rages last fall. This year, things have taken a turn. (Morgan White photo)

Season #20 has been put on hold.

For the first time since 2003, there will not be a varsity girls’ soccer team playing at Coupeville High School.

Citing low turnout, CHS Athletic Director Willie Smith made the painful call Monday, but held out hope for other options.

“With profound disappointment, we are canceling our varsity girls’ soccer schedule for this year due to a lack of players,” he said. “Only 10 are practicing/on the roster currently.”

That’s one less player than the Wolves would need to even put a full 11-woman team on the field, while giving the team no subs or injury replacements.

Earlier, Smith had indicated a need for the program to have 15 players to be viable.

While the program’s 13-game varsity schedule, which was set to start Sept. 7 at Granite Falls, is gone, there are still options available to Wolf girls who have been practicing.

They are eligible to play with Coupeville’s boys’ team, as that is allowed in Washington state when a school does not have an active girls program.

Last year, several Wolf foes, such as Lopez Island, had a co-ed mix.

Smith and first-year head coach Kimberly Kisch, a former Wolf player herself, are also scrambling to pull together a JV-level schedule.

That would likely feature 7 v 7 games, instead of 11 v 11, perhaps using a modified field and game time.

The goal is to keep as many of the players still involved in soccer as possible, as CHS has seen in recent years that when a program goes down, it’s hard to get back up.

The move from 1A to 2B pushed boys’ soccer from the spring to the fall, where it joined football, boys’ tennis, and cross country.

Most 2B schools play 1-2 sports per season, and fielding four boys’ teams at the same time quickly proved to be a no-go, numbers wise.

Tennis lost the battle for bodies and has sat dormant for three seasons now.

Smith and Kisch don’t want to see girls’ soccer, which had played 19 straight seasons since its debut in 2004 — even surviving the pandemic — take a similar hit.

“It’s our hope that our girls that are signed up continue to play this fall or it will be very difficult for us to have a program moving forward,” Smith said.

“I firmly believe that Kim was and is going to lead a resurgence in our girls soccer program, but we need to play with who we have this fall in order to create a first step in the rebuilding process.”

Being more than a week into practice, with the season bearing down, Smith had to be realistic, however, for all involved.

“It is certainly not how we wanted this season to be, and it has not been an easy decision to make,” he said.

“But I also have an obligation to the other schools to allow them an opportunity to fill their schedules with other schools.

“I have reached out to our league schools, and they are all willing to work with us on a JV level game,” Smith added.

“I feel that I will be able to fill out a decent schedule with surrounding school’s programs to give our team a decent amount of games.”

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Wolf booters needed, stat!

Posted in Girls Soccer, tagged , , , , on August 23, 2023| Leave a Comment »

CHS needs more female soccer players, and soon. (Bailey Thule photo)

They’re scrambling to save the season.

Midway through the first week of practice, turnout is not where it needs to be for Coupeville High School to field a full girls’ soccer team.

The Wolves, who have a new coach in former player Kimberly Kisch, lost a chunk of players to graduation and haven’t been able to fully replace them so far.

“We only have 8-9 (players) right now, so short by a bit,” said CHS Athletic Director Willie Smith. “Really need 6-7 more, so it’s in real danger of not going.”

The school is actively recruiting for more players to sign up, and one possible help is that 8th graders are eligible to play since Coupeville is a 2B school.

The Wolf booters are currently slated to kick off their season with a road trip Sept. 7 to face Granite Falls and have a 13-game schedule.

A decision on the season will have to be made well before that opener, however, because of the effect on other schools, especially Coupeville’s fellow Northwest 2B/1B League foes.

CHS, which moved back to 2B from 1A when the state did its last classification counts in 2020, fields more sports programs than most schools at its current level.

The Wolves have a cheer squad, run cross country, and play football, girls’ and boys’ soccer, and volleyball in the fall.

Coupeville’s boys’ tennis program, which also traditionally operates in the fall, has been dormant since roster numbers crashed three seasons ago.

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New coach, young roster set to grow together

Posted in Girls Soccer, tagged , , , , on August 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Brynn Parker is back for another season of kicking the crud out of the soccer ball. (Jackie Saia photo)

It’s the start of a new era.

Former Wolf star Kimberly Kisch returns to the soccer pitch of her teen years starting Monday, making her debut as Coupeville High School’s new girls’ soccer coach.

She replaces Kyle Nelson, who retired after countless road trips to faraway destinations on school buses as his players serenaded him with Disney songs.

As Kisch steps into her new job, she’ll have a strong support staff, with Central Whidbey Soccer Club mainstays Darren Stafford and Bill Sites expected to join her.

“As a new coach I have realistic expectations for our first season together and I am unsure what the strength of our players will be,” Kisch said.

“I do, however, have amazing volunteers to help round out my coaching team,” she added.

“I believe that having a strong coaching team will be our biggest strength this season.”

The Wolves lost a chunk of players to graduation, including All-Conference booters Nezi Keiper and Carolyn Lhamon, but do retain their top offensive weapon in Ayden Wyman.

The Wolf junior has already rattled home 13 goals across her first two seasons, putting her in fifth place on the program’s all-time scoring chart.

Even better, Wyman is showing she is ready to step up and provide leadership to her teammates.

“Ayden has really caught my attention,” Kisch said.

“She took the initiative to hold summer practices all on her own! I am impressed by her passion and love of soccer.”

Wolf sharpshooter Ayden Wyman enjoys a sweet reward after terrorizing rival goaltenders. (Morgan White photo)

While Kisch won’t get a true feel for the strengths and weaknesses of her roster until practices begin, her hope is sparked by a potential influx of younger players.

“For promising newcomers, we have a few 8th graders that have shown interest in joining the high school team,” Kisch said.

“Among them is Devon Wyman, Ayden’s younger sister.

“She signed up as soon as I opened the team to 8th graders and has been attending the summer practices her sister has been organizing.”

The Wolves, along with Friday Harbor and La Conner, will likely be chasing defending Northwest 2B/1B League champs Mount Vernon Christian once league play starts.

“They (MVC) have built a solid foundation and have a fantastic program,” Kisch said.

However the roster sets up, the new CHS coach wants her players to hit the pitch with the same intensity she displayed back in the day.

“My goal is to spark excitement in a team that seems to have lost their fire,” Kisch said. “I love soccer and I want my girls to have a passion for it too.

“I also want them to love Coupeville as much as I do and be proud to represent their school.

“I hope that we can grow together as a team and a soccer family.”

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