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Posts Tagged ‘Hall of Fame’

She’s a killer, a three-ball thriller!!

Posted in Basketball, Hall o' Fame, tagged , , , , on February 26, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Kailey Kellner busts through the defense, on her way to rattling home another bucket. (John Fisken photos)

   Kailey Kellner busts through the defense, on her way to rattling home another bucket. (John Fisken photos)

It must be the intitials. Kellner, hanging out with fellow Hall o' Famer Kacie Kiel.

It must be the initials. Kellner, hanging out with fellow Hall o’ Famer Kacie Kiel.

Over the past three-plus years, I have had a front row seat to a transformation.

When Kailey Kellner first walked into the Coupeville High School gym midway through her freshman year, none of us knew much about her.

She was a mystery, a total unknown, a shy young woman who had been plucked from England and transported to a rock in the middle of the water in the Pacific Northwest by a family move.

Today, as we sit just a couple months away from her graduation, we all know Kailey much better, and we know this as simple truth — she is now, and has always been, a Hall of Famer.

From a tentative freshman to a sweet-shooting senior, from a girl who didn’t know a play to a rampaging force of nature ripping rebounds out of rival’s hands, she has grown before our eyes.

And so it is, with deep appreciation for how she conducts herself, on and off the court, that we, her fans, welcome her into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame.

After this, you’ll find her up at the top of the blog, abiding under the Legends tab that so aptly describes her.

Kailey could rain with the best of them, and her long, arcing three-balls from the corners, which would ripple the nets with a gentle splash as they hit pay dirt, were often a thing of beauty.

But she was a player who worked on her game throughout her career, adding new wrinkles to it, and could never be defined for just one small facet.

Kellner made her varsity debut as a sophomore, and was a key player as a junior and senior, a member of three teams which won Olympic League titles.

She exits having never lost a conference game as a varsity player, and Kailey is a big part of why those teams were so successful.

Scoring punch can never be underestimated, but over time, her quiet leadership skills and a willingness to sacrifice for her teammates was just as important.

When I look back at her career, the game which I feel best defines her was a district playoff game against Seattle Christian during her junior season.

The Wolves, playing on the road, had been rocked the game before by Charles Wright Academy.

Not so much on the scoreboard, where a late CHS rally almost stole a win, but down in the pits.

The much-rougher Tarriers socked the Wolves in the face (often literally) and if the Coupeville players were expecting the big city refs to save them, it was never going to happen.

Returning to the court in a game where the stakes were plain — win and you go to state, lose and you go home — CHS stepped onto the court a different team.

This time, they were the aggressors. The beasts on the boards. The ballers who weren’t takin’ no crud off of no one.

Makana Stone was transcendent, flying above the fray for 24 points and 20 rebounds. Mia Littlejohn was sparking the offense and Lauren Grove was lights-out on defense.

Every Wolf who touched the hardwood that night, all eight of them, fired as one and made the big city girls take several steps back.

It was the pinnacle of modern Coupeville basketball, a night which will stay with all of those who played, coached or lost their voice screaming in support.

And Kellner?

The three-ball-lovin’ sharpshooter who normally played most of the game on the outside, crashed into the paint with a vengeance that I have rarely seen in 25 years of high school sports coverage.

Her mere stats — 12 points, 10 boards and five assists as Coupeville roared to a 49-33 win and its first trip to state in a decade — only tell part of the story.

It was the look in Kellner’s eyes that night. The stride in her step. The pride in her work.

The soft-spoken young girl who tentatively stepped into an American gym two years before was replaced by a strong, confident young woman, and it was beautiful to behold.

On that night, for 32 minutes, no one wanted it more than Kailey did.

I hope, as she goes forward, she always remembers that night.

What it took to get there. What she accomplished. And how it felt afterwards.

Kailey is going to achieve big things in her life, and whether they come on the court or off, her large fan club is going to be thrilled for her.

But, before she leaves us and heads out to conquer new worlds, let’s take a moment to say a simple, heartfelt thank you.

Thank you, Kailey, for showing up in Cow Town, for playing with honor and fire, and for being a truly remarkable young woman.

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Run to glory, again!!

Posted in Cross Country, Hall o' Fame, tagged , , , , on February 19, 2017| Leave a Comment »

The only thing that tasted better than this sandwich to Tyler King? Winning state titles.

   The only thing that tasted better than this sandwich to Tyler King? Winning state titles.

It has been 2,297 days since a Coupeville High School athlete last celebrated a state title.

As Oak Harbor wrestler Sam Zook basks in the moment of ruling over every other wrestler who took the mat in the 285-pound class this year in 3A, Cow Town’s dry spell looms a little larger.

To find Coupeville’s last time atop the ultimate podium, you have to go back to Nov. 6, 2010.

It was a Saturday and CHS senior Tyler King was busy crushing the field at the WIAA 1A state cross country championships.

His nearest rival, Todd Jackson of Elma, was an astounding 31 seconds off of his pace, and King could have strolled home backwards using a walker and still won.

It was a bittersweet moment, as King joined fellow harrier Natasha Bamberger, who won the girls title in 1985, as the only Wolves to win a state title outside of track.

I say bittersweet because Coupeville didn’t have an active cross country program during Tyler’s four-year career, so he trained and traveled with Oak Harbor, then a 4A school.

Competing at the highest level, he had steadily worked his way upwards at the state meet, from 98th as a freshman to 22nd as a sophomore and 5th as a junior.

Entering his senior season, King had his eyes on a 4A title, only to be denied when OHHS dropped to 3A.

With the downward movement, school officials also decided to end the agreement they had with Coupeville.

While King could still train and travel with Oak Harbor during the regular season, he would no longer wear Wildcat purple and gold, and, when the postseason hit, he was headed back to 1A as a lone Wolf.

He took the demotion in stride, won every race he entered his final prep season and exited as a state champ.

Then promptly went on to a stellar track and cross country career as a scholarship athlete at the University of Washington, one of the few Wolf alumni to truly excel in big-time college sports.

Meanwhile, Nov. 6, 2010 sits there, and the further away we get from it, the bigger the question becomes — who’s next?

Who will be the next Wolf athlete or team to truly seize a moment and stand astride the prep sports world?

Coupeville has come close, at least in track — Dalton Martin (discus) and Makana Stone (400) were both second-place finishers just this past spring — but never fully grabbed the ring since King.

The Wolves have 17 individual state titles, two in cross country and 15 in track, but are one of the few schools in the state to have never taken a team championship.

That 117-year drought looms large, especially since no CHS team has won a SINGLE game or match in a state tourney since girls basketball beat Zillah 45-41 Mar. 4, 2005.

Overall, Wolf teams are 19-49 at state all-time.

Girls basketball tops the chart with seven wins, while the 2002 softball team came the closest to a title, winning four of five games and finishing 3rd.

So, what’s the point of all of this?

There are two things at play here.

The first is honoring King’s state title, and keeping it fresh in people’s minds, by inducting the moment into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame.

Tyler is already in the Hall for his career (which includes two state track titles to go with his cross country championship), but, after this, the events of Nov. 6, 2010 will also be enshrined under the Legends tab at the top of the blog.

And, secondly, it’s to challenge the current (and future) Wolf athletes.

Step up.

If you want to join the eight CHS students who have won a state title, you need to be willing to do what they did — put in the work, fully commit and believe in yourselves.

CHS is a small school, but smaller schools win state titles all the time.

It is not the size of the student body, but the size of those students hearts and the depth of their desire.

There is no reason to fear any other school out there, or step back when you enter a bigger gym or stadium.

You can rule the state.

There is absolutely no reason Coupeville can not bring home more state titles — as individuals, or, finally, as a team.

Put your phones down. You can pick them back up when it’s time to take a photo in front of a state title banner.

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Their turn in the spotlight!!

Posted in Hall o' Fame, tagged , , , , , on February 12, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Carly Guillory (left) is joined by Drew Chan (top) and Heni Barnes.

Carly Guillory (left) is joined by Drew Chan (top) and Heni Barnes.

Underrated.

The three athletes who comprise the 85th class inducted into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame may not have always gotten the headlines that some of their teammates did, but they were invaluable to what their teams accomplished.

Carly Guillory, Drew Chan and Heni Barnes all left sizable marks during their time at CHS, and all will be remembered for the way they attacked each new day.

So, let’s swing open the doors and welcome them to our little digital world of fame and glory.

After this, you’ll find the trio under the Legends tab at the top of the blog.

Our first inductee, Barnes, was the best female thrower the Wolf track team had during her time in red and black, regularly lofting the shot put, discus and javelin.

She went to districts in two of her three events, but, truth be told, Heni will most be remembered for having the biggest brain this side of some guy named Albert Einstein.

Barnes did everything in her time at CHS — Jazz Band, ASB president, Science Olympiad, National Honor Society, student rep to the School Board, National Humanities Scholar, and that’s just the start — but National History Day was her peak.

She won a gold medal and pocketed $5,000 from the History Channel for her work in crafting the documentary “Striking a Turning Point: The 1917 Pacific Northwest Lumber Strike.”

It stands as one of the great achievements by a Cow Town student, and is the primary driving force behind today’s induction of Heni into the Hall o’ Fame.

A true scholar/athlete, she remains one of the brightest stars to ever blaze across our prairie skies.

Joining her is Guillory, a 2003 CHS grad who spent much of her career traveling to state tournaments.

Playing during the most successful run Wolf athletes have ever had, she didn’t get as much notice as teammates like Ashley Ellsworth-Bagby or Sarah Mouw, but her achievements were invaluable.

On the basketball court, she was a fiend on the boards (who could also drop buckets when gunners like Brianne King needed backup), while on the softball diamond, Guillory cranked out more than her fair share of RBIs.

Carly is actually already in the Hall, as a member of the 2002 CHS softball team, which won four of five (losing a nail-biter to eventual champ Adna) to finish 3rd at state.

In the program’s FIRST year as a fast-pitch program, I might add.

Today, Guillory gets the full treatment, honored for her hustle, worth ethic and willingness to sacrifice for her teammates.

And PS, before anyone mentions it — yes, I’m pretty sure Carly also played volleyball for the Wolves, which would mean she went to state in three different sports.

But I was deep in video store life during her prep days and I can’t find any Whidbey News-Times articles online to prove my hazy memory is true.

First person to tell me I’m right gets a special No Prize … prize.

Our final inductee, Chan, was the absolute embodiment of grit and determination.

A team captain for both baseball and basketball, he, like Barnes, had a ton of academic pursuits going while in school, but what I will most remember him for is one night on the hard-court.

It was opening night, big, bad Blaine was in town and all but one CHS hoops player (the only one to not eat a hamburger during a team outing) was raging sick.

Chan spent the entire JV game lying motionless and green next to the bench, seemingly dead, while all around him the gym was alive with the sound of retching.

Yet, somehow, when it was time for the varsity to take the floor, with all six players who could halfway stand, there was Chan, front and center, refusing to take the night off.

Blaine had a bench of approximately 237 players, and ran them in platoon-style, while Coupeville’s guys took turns coming off and barfing while the other five Wolves flopped around like extras on The Walking Dead.

It remains one of the most memorable evenings I’ve witnessed in the CHS gym (the smell will never leave my nostrils), and not in a good way.

Except I give Chan tremendous credit.

Not just for playing, but for hauling tail down the court every play, even when the game was way out of hand, refusing to back down for any reason.

That was Drew, on the hard-court, on the diamond — where he had a slick glove at second base and an aggressive swing at the plate — and in real life.

Like Barnes and Guillory, Chan was, and is, a gamer, a proud Wolf to his core, and now, a Hall o’ Famer.

 

UPDATE: Yes, Carly played volleyball. My memory is better than I thought. Her entry under the Legends tab has been updated.

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One team, one dream!!

Posted in Hall o' Fame, tagged , , , , , on February 5, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Play as a team, win as a team. (John Fisken photo)

Play as a team, win as a team. (John Fisken photo)

The great unknown.

That’s where the Coupeville High School girls’ basketball squad was sailing this season.

For four seasons the Wolves always had #23 to rely on, and knowing Makana Stone was running the court alongside you (OK, almost always ahead of you … she’s fast) had to be a great comfort.

When she graduated and went off to play college ball, it was a major transitional moment.

Makana. Novi Barron. Brianne King. Lexie Black. Ashley Ellsworth-Bagby.

Those are arguably, in whatever order you want to put them today, the five greatest female hoops stars to ever wear a CHS uniform.

Yes, I know, Megan Smith, Sarah Mouw, Marlene Grasser, Ann Pettit, Amanda Allmer, Amy Mouw, Jen Canfield and Tina Lyness are also in the conversation, as are many others.

But those five — Stone, Barron, King, Lex and Ash — are my picks (for today, at least).

Losing one leaves a gaping hole in the program, and that’s what David and Amy King faced this season. Replacing the irreplaceable.

Barring a fully-formed Sarah Mouw suddenly showing up on your doorstep, ready to play her senior season in your cow town, it’s an impossible task.

So the Kings tinkered and cajoled, exhorted and drove, and got 13 players to realize that, while they couldn’t replace Makana on their own, they each could chip in with a valuable sliver of the pie.

And here they stand now, the 2016-2017 Wolf girls hoops squad, having matched last year’s Makana-led team by going 15-4 overall, 9-0 in Olympic League play.

With Klahowya, Chimacum and Port Townsend united in trying to overthrow the “Evil Empire,” every night was a test for Coupeville. And it responded.

And that’s why the team, and I put an emphasis on TEAM, is being inducted into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame today, the sole member of the 84th class to enter these hallowed digital hallways.

Regardless of how they do in the postseason, these Wolves will forever be enshrined up at the top of the blog under the Legends tab.

Because they have, almost without fail, accepted their roles.

Sacrificed where needed, risen up both as individual players and supportive teammates. Realized they are part of something bigger than just themselves.

Bought into “one team, one dream.”

We’re talking about 13 players here, 12 of whom are still with the team, and all of them are very intelligent, driven young women with their own hopes, desires and dreams.

Every player, in their heart, wants to be the “star.” Otherwise, why play?

To be successful as a basketball team, though, athletes have to sacrifice.

To sell out on defense every play, while others get the momentary buzz of scoring baskets.

To make the extra pass, set a screen like it’s life or death, accept constructive criticism from a coach, cheer on a teammate’s success even at a moment when you desperately wish it was you on the court, and not them.

Doing all that is harder than just shuffling off in a corner, pulling back within yourself and wallowing in self-pity.

But it’s also a thousand times more rewarding in the end.

I’m not in the locker room. I’m not in these players homes. I can only go on what I observe from the stands and what I hear.

And based on that, I believe a large part of this team’s success is precisely because 99% of the time, they have truly bought into “One Team, One Dream.”

It’s why they are where they are, a three-time league champ carrying a #1 seed into the playoffs. And it will be the key to any success they have at the next level, both as a team and individuals.

So, congratulations for all have you accomplished, and for the success that still lies ahead, Wolves.

A single player can shine in the moment, but to truly succeed, it takes a team.

Inducted together, as a TEAM:

David King (head coach)
Amy King (assistant coach)
Kyla Briscoe
Tiffany Briscoe
Mikayla Elfrank
Lauren Grove
Kailey Kellner
Charlotte Langille
Kalia Littlejohn
Mia Littlejohn
Lindsey Roberts
Lauren Rose
Ema Smith
Allison Wenzel
Sarah Wright
Skyler Lawrence (manager)
Peytin Vondrak (manager)

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They were the real deal!!

Posted in Hall o' Fame, tagged , , , , , , on January 29, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Tom Sahli (top, last player on right), is joined by McKayla Bailey and Risen Johnson.

   Tom Sahli (top, last player on right), is joined by fellow inductees McKayla Bailey and Risen Johnson.

One physically towered over the crowd, while the other two soared up in the heavens on skill and passion alone.

Whether they were six-foot-three or not, the three superb athletes who form the 83rd class inducted into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame were game-changers and legend-makers.

So, let’s welcome old school hoops hotshot Tom Sahli, new school hoops terror Risen Johnson and the first great superstar of the era when I jumped from newspaper writing to blog ranting and raving — McKayla Bailey.

After this, you’ll find the trio hanging out at the top of the blog, under the Legends tab.

Today, we kick things off with Sahli, a giant from a time when basketball was played mostly below the rim.

A star on Coupeville High School basketball teams in the early ’50s, he went on to play college hoops at Pacific Lutheran University, where he and the rest of the Lutes who played between 1955-1959 are all enshrined in the school’s hall of fame.

Playing under legendary coaches Marv Harshman and Gene Lundgaard, PLU went 100-16 over that four-year span, finishing in the top three at the NAIA national tourney twice.

Sahli started at center for the Lutes varsity basketball squads while on campus, while also finding time to play (and star) on the school’s intramural football team.

While it’s hard to find a ton of info on his CHS days (did anyone keep their paper work and score books?!?), the mere mention of his name still draws raves, and a lot of credit goes to Orson Christensen, who first brought Sahli to my attention.

The other two inductees both played out their careers under my gaze, emerging as electrifying athletes and stellar people.

We got two years of Johnson dazzling us on the hardwood, and they were a wild ride.

The dude had a motor like few others, and rampaged from end to end like a man possessed, yet off the court was the laid-back, impeccably-dressed king of cool.

Put a basketball in his hands and his relative lack of size meant nothing, as he swooped, dove and darted, shredding hapless big men and leaving them flailing at where he had been.

Risen could put the ball in the bucket, from long range and slashing to the hoops, and he was a remarkably tough guy, bouncing off of bodies and the floor, quiet smile rarely leaving his face.

When he was out on the run, kick-starting the break, he was a thing of beauty.

You, me, the guy trying to get back on defense to guard him, sometimes even his own teammates didn’t know where Risen was going or what wonders he was about to lay down.

Johnson could zip laser passes between bodies, finding his teammate’s waiting fingers at just the right angle, or fake a guy out of his shoes, spin him around and bank home a runner like a ballet dancer with supreme hoop hops.

Even when he spun out of control, and the play didn’t go quite as he probably imagined, he was worth the price of admission and more.

If “entertainment” is not Risen’s middle name, it should be.

There have been a lot of good Wolf basketball players over the years, but were any as much of an edge-of-your-seat treat as Risen? I doubt it.

Win by 50, lose by 50, if he was on the floor, there was going to be a show and dang, it was fun to watch.

Our final inductee, Bailey, is already in the Hall as a contributor, for her peerless work as the one true Photo Bomb Queen. Today, though, she goes in for what mattered even more to her, the way she played the game.

A very talented athlete who battled through injuries, McKayla could do it all — basketball, volleyball, soccer (she went from newbie to starting goaltender in the blink of an eye) and, most of all, softball.

When she strode on to the diamond, Bailey was a beast, flinging heat and daring batters to try and dig in.

Her junior year, she took the ball every game, every inning, every pitch and carried the upstart Wolves to the state tourney, the first appearance by the team at the big dance in a decade-plus.

Put a bat in her hand and she would spray hits all afternoon, cracking moon shots to the wall or slicing wicked shots up the middle (or off of rival player’s arms and legs).

She was a terror on the base-paths, smart and enterprising and she was a deadly shortstop when not pitching, sprinting into the hole and firing balls like they were shot out of a cannon towards a patiently-waiting Hailey Hammer at first.

But it was the moments inside the pitcher’s circle, as she stalked around, slapping her glove against her leg, glowering at the batter over the top of her face-mask (when she wore it) and projecting an air of “I am gonna kick your fanny!!” when Bailey was supreme Bailey.

Off the field, in the dugout, at school, in the community, one of the most genuinely outgoing, supremely friendly, blazingly smart young women you will ever know.

But, on the field, a demon unleashed, and dang, the girl who grew from a “diaper dandy” to a seasoned vet, left every ounce of her soul and passion between the lines.

When she looks back at her high school career, it may not be perfect (injuries are a pain in more ways than one), but McKayla should be super proud of all she accomplished.

I know the rest of us are.

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