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Posts Tagged ‘Happy birthday’

Happy birthday, diamond queen!!

Posted in Happy birthday, Softball, tagged , , , , , on February 18, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Veronica Crownover

   One look from Veronica Crownover and opposing pitchers get all flustered. (John Fisken photo)

The Terminator turns 15 today.

Coupeville High School freshman Veronica Crownover is celebrating her cake day just 11 sleeps ahead of the start of spring sports.

Come Monday, Mar. 29, unless there’s a terrible plot twist, the multi-talented one will hit the softball field, where she’ll be reunited with her teammates and coaches from the Venom squad that destroyed people in the summer before she hit 8th grade.

In the time since then, VV has continued to sharpen her softball skills, while also regularly popping up on honor rolls at school and delving into the theater arts.

But, as much as I approve of her side endeavors (education, it’s good for you!), it’s the diamond where I look forward to Crownover making a huge impact.

Owner of a big, booming bat and a slick glove at first base, she and fellow frosh softball phenom Sarah Wright are set to be stars from day one.

Seeing them get the chance to reunite with Katrina McGranahan, Lauren Rose, Hope Lodell and others (plus “new” old coaches Kevin McGranahan and Ron Wright) should be one of the biggest highlights of the upcoming season.

As she prepares to set up camp on the CHS diamond and go after all the records (all of them, I said), we just want to take a quick moment to wish Veronica a happy birthday.

May your day be awesome, Miss Crownover, and may the time fly by until you return to rule your softball kingdom.

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Enthusiastic with a capital E!!

Posted in Boys Tennis, Happy birthday, tagged , , , , , , on February 13, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Aiden Crimmins (John Fisken photos)

Aiden Crimmins, possibly up to shenanigans. (John Fisken photos)

Aiden

“I will destroy you, my fuzzy yellow nemesis!!”

Aiden Crimmins is keeping the family business going strong.

As the son of legendary CHS athletes/shenanigans-causers Jon and Jodi (Christensen) Crimmins, he is busy in both worlds.

Aiden has been known to wield a baseball bat and a tennis racket, just like his dad, while also always being front and center when it comes time to root for his classmates.

Part of a pack of Wolves prone to wearing costumes, he puts a capital E in enthusiastic.

He’s also been known to eat Twinkies that had previously been stored in someone’s underwear, cause … well … Twinkies are delicious and it made his mom blush three shades of red on an otherwise cold day at the tennis court.

The kind of guy whose smile arrives several feet ahead of him, Aiden, who celebrates a birthday today, is a genuine good dude in all ways.

Entertaining, goofy, smart, a blessing (most days) to his parents, a good brother (at least in public) to lil’ sis Maggie and a lot of fun.

He lights up the room when he enters, and he’s a guy you can’t help but root for, always.

So happy cake day (or Underwear Twinkies, if you prefer), Aiden! May it be as awesome as you are.

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Rumors are true! She’s pretty awesome!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, Happy birthday, Softball, Volleyball, tagged , , , , , on February 11, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Tiffany Briscoe: kinda awesome. (Photos by John Fisken)

   Tiffany Briscoe: reported to be slightly awesome. (Photos by John Fisken, Amy King and Amy Briscoe)

A young, already irrepressible Tiffany (right) with lil' sis Kyla. (Photo courtesy Amy Briscoe)

   A young, already irrepressible Tiffany (right) with lil’ sis Kyla. (Photo courtesy Amy Briscoe)

It’s always nice to see someone grow, come out of their shell and start to find their way in the world, both as an athlete and a person.

But, I’ll admit, it means more when that someone is a person who you’ve actually known since they were a young child.

Coupeville High School junior Tiffany Briscoe, who celebrates a birthday today, is now, has always been, and always will be, one of my favorites.

From her days as a lil’ blond ball of energy busting through the video store aisles with younger sister Kyla, to today, when she’s a three-sport star for the Wolves, she has been a slice of pure 110% awesomeness.

From everything I’ve seen, Tiff is a fiercely loyal big sis, both to Kyla and friends and teammates she adopts as part of her large, extended family.

She will cut a girl (or at least whack them upside the head, pinch them every time they stray into the paint or knock them into the third row of the bleachers if necessary) to defend her turf, her team, her family.

Which is amazing, frankly, cause off the field of battle, you could hardly find a more genuinely nice person.

It’s a beautiful combo — Beast Mode on the court, then a serene, supremely kind, smart, determined, little shy (until you know her) young woman with a future as bright as her smile.

Pick a sport — volleyball, basketball or softball — and Briscoe is out there, busting her tail, through rough losses and huge wins.

I hope in the remaining high school (and maybe college?) athletic seasons she has left that she gets a lot of joy out of the experience.

But you know what?

She could walk away today and never play another moment (well, not today … the basketball playoffs are about to start) and it wouldn’t change my opinion of her.

Being an athlete is a key part of her persona, but it is just a small fraction of what makes Tiffany such an amazing young woman.

So happy birthday, Miss Briscoe, and try not to let it go to your head (I’m not really worried) when I tell you we all think you’re pretty freakin’ awesome.

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Shanks for bein’ awesome!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, Happy birthday, tagged , , , , , on February 4, 2016| Leave a Comment »

He's like a rampaging force of nature, he is. (John Fisken photos)

He’s like a rampaging force of nature, he is. (John Fisken photos)

The Coupeville School District hit the jackpot when they hired Dr. Jim Shank as their Superintendent several years ago.

I am an unabashed fan of the nattily-dressed, silver-tongued man, who has done much to benefit our community in his time here.

Making it even better, however, is he also brought a chunk of his family with him when he emigrated from Utah.

His wife, Sallie, and their three youngest children — Matt, Brian and Ashlie — have been just as much of a boon to Coupeville as Dr. Shank.

I could go on and on about each of them, but today, since it’s his birthday, we’ll just semi-embarrass Brian.

The CHS junior has done a bit of everything since he first hit Cow Town, playing football, basketball, tennis and track for the Wolves.

And, like his siblings, he is a fierce competitor who carries himself with a sense of class and grace on and off the court.

Brian has made huge strides on the hardwood this winter and is one of the most potent weapons the Coupeville boys’ JV squad has at its disposal.

Capable of being a dead-eye from long range or putting his shoulder down and rampaging to the bucket, Shank is primed to be a star for the Wolf varsity next year.

If he continues to work in the next off-season the way he did in the one leading into this year, I would go so far as to hail him as being the key piece for next year’s squad.

With 10 seniors departing, and only two varsity players set to return a year from now, starting spots will be wide open and Brian, like older brother Matt before him, should be a fixture in the paint for Coupeville.

If it happens (and it better, or the fans will riot), it will be a nice reward for a guy who works his rear off, listens to his coaches intently during timeouts and treats his teammates with respect.

But, as much as we’re talking about what he can do on the court, if we take sports completely out of the picture, Brian, like Matt and Ashlie, would still be worthy of major praise.

Everything that makes him a star on the court — smarts, inner strength, commitment — is also reflected in how he carries himself away from sports.

Utah’s loss has been our gain.

Happy birthday, Brian, from all of your fans. Have a great cake day!

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One day, two stars!!

Posted in Boys Soccer, Boys Tennis, Football, Happy birthday, tagged , , , , on February 2, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Will Nelson (John Fisken photo)

   William “Dead-Eye” Nelson prepares to bank home a half-court shot at halftime of a recent CHS girls basketball game. (John Fisken photo)

Tyler Cermak: "I was told there would be cake!!"

Tyler Cermak: “I was told there would be cake!!”

It’s cake day, times two.

Coupeville High School athletes Tyler Cermak and William Nelson share a birthday, and a sense of easy-going cool.

For Nelson, he shows it as he glides across the tennis court and soccer pitch, rarely looking flustered, but always leaving his foes looking downright baffled.

In Cermak’s case, the football player who has had to adapt into becoming perhaps the best manager in the world as he deals with health issues, he never breaks a sweat as well.

Whether it’s scooping up vital info from the gridiron and slipping it my way while never letting the camera bobble as he shoots action, or staying above it all as the longtime Patriots fan is verbally harassed by jealous Seahawk “fans,” he, like Nelson, is one cool dude.

The duo also excel at supporting their classmates, and can be seen at almost every CHS game, knee-deep in the action of the Wolf student section.

As both celebrate their birthday, we just want to send them our best.

Both you guys come across as top-quality dudes, on and off the field, and it’s an honor to have you front and center in Wolf Nation.

Now, did someone say something about cake?!?!

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