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Posts Tagged ‘Helen Strelow’

Big meet, strong start

Posted in Cross Country, tagged , , , , on September 18, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Helen Strelow was the top Coupeville girl Saturday at the 29-team Carl Westling Invitational in Langley. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

They ran with the big boys (and girls).

The Coupeville High School cross country team kicked off a new season Saturday with an appearance at the 42nd annual Carl Westling Invitational in Langley.

A day before, a storm ripped across Whidbey with ferocious winds turning the power off for much of the island.

But Saturday was fairly tranquil, offering the Wolves and first-year coach Paige Spangler a chance to strut their stuff.

Coupeville sent three girls to the line in the varsity race, while fielding a full seven-man varsity team and two runners in the JV rumble.

The Wolf boys held up very well, finishing 11th out of 13 teams in their division, despite the other squads all repping schools with larger student bodies.

Coupeville was the lone 2B team, with eight 1A schools, three 2A schools, and 4A Mariner also competing.

2A Cedarcrest claimed the team title, while Will Geisen of 2A Bellingham captured the individual crown, covering 5,000 meters in 16 minutes, 51.60 seconds.

On the girls side, Bellingham was the top team, with Kayla Aalpoel of 1A Meridian the first runner across the line in 19:20.70.

All together, the invitational featured runners from 29 high schools, while five middle schools competed in their own races.

 

Complete CHS results (5,000 meters):

 

GIRLS – Varsity:

Helen Strelow (65th) 26:21.00
Claire Mayne (74th) 30:30.10
Erica McGrath (75th) 34:40.40

 

BOYS – Varsity:

Mitchell Hall (54th) 20:05.80
Landon Roberts (64th) 20:35.80
Carson Field (65th) 20:37.90
Cole White (71st) 20:57.10
Thomas Strelow (76th) 21:17.90
Hank Milnes (80th) 21:28.00
Reiley Araceley (88th) 22:40.70

 

BOYS — JV:

Nick Wasik (84th) 24:25.80
Alex Clark (145th) 29:15.70

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“I am beyond proud of each athlete!”

Posted in Cross Country, tagged , , , , , on May 6, 2021| 1 Comment »

Nozomi Hagihara competes at the Northwest 2B/1B League Cross Country Championships. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

“What a phenomenal finish to what’s been a crazy sports year!”

Coupeville High School cross country coach Elizabeth Bitting was all smiles Thursday, after the Wolves hosted, and competed strongly in, the Northwest 2B/1B League Championships.

The event went down at Fort Casey State Park, with 35 runners from CHS, Orcas Island, and Mount Vernon Christian tearing up the 3.1 mile course.

Coupeville senior Catherine Lhamon completed a flawless final campaign on the trails, earning the league title to cap a season in which she won all four of her races.

Catherine Lhamon hangs out with CHS coach Elizabeth Bitting.

The state meet veteran was joined at the top of the chart by teammates Helen Strelow and Mitchell Hall, who finished second and third in their races, respectively.

Mount Vernon Christian sophomore Devin Van Zanten matched Lhamon, completing a 4-0 season of his own and winning the boys individual title.

MVC, which had five of the top six male runners on the day, cruised to the boys team title, with Coupeville nipping Orcas for second.

There were no team scores on the girls side, as none of the three schools had a full five-woman roster.

While Lhamon’s stellar prep cross country career ends, Coupeville loses only two of its 13 runners, with foreign exchange student Nozomi Hagihara also exiting.

Of the other 11 Wolves who ran this season, eight were sophomores and three were freshmen.

Sophomore Mitchell Hall is part of a bright future for the Wolf harrier program.

Add a strong group of middle school harriers ready to make the jump to high school, and the Wolf program, which has been back in action three seasons now after a 20+ year absence, is in a good place.

A lot of the credit for that goes to Bitting, who coaches at CMS and CHS and is the ultimate promoter of the sport.

Though, as she always does, the sage of the trail loves to put the spotlight not on herself, but on her young runners.

“I am beyond proud of each athlete on this years cross country team,” Bitting said. “All their hard work, determination, and grit all came together in perfect harmony today on their home course!

“You know they are doing something right when five runners improve their time from a very flat course a week ago to a pretty hilly course today!

“Every runner has a reason to smile when they look at their finish time from their first race on the home course to today! Improvements galore!!!”

The backdrop Thursday at Fort Casey State Park.

Bitting loves to see her harriers claim PR’s and top finishes, but also takes great delight in the small grace notes.

“There were so many moments from today,” she said. “Celebrating Catherine on her last high school race ever; seeing everybody give it their all.

“Our wonderful foreign exchange student putting aside an injury to get one more race in; to seeing every athlete cheer on others and congratulations by athletes to athletes.”

Jackie Saia, shooting photos for the CHS yearbook, becomes one with nature.

While this wasn’t the easiest season, with the ongoing pandemic affecting how people trained, how they competed, even the time of year when they ran, Bitting will still look back on the adventure with fondness.

“It’s been a crazy sports season, but athletes like these make it so worthwhile!,” she said.

“Thank you for the memories! I hope you all have some great memories too!

“You are a great group of runners and I see some exceptional years ahead of you! But for now … take a day off, you earned it!!!!”

Pandemic or not, this year’s team endured and triumphed.

 

Complete Friday results:

 

GIRLS:

Catherine Lhamon (1st) 23:43
Helen Strelow (2nd) 25:09
Cristina McGrath (4th) 25:24
Nozomi Hagihara (10th) 33:58

 

BOYS:

Mitchell Hall (3rd) 19:23
Hank Milnes (8th) 21:43
Reiley Araceley (11th) 22:00
Alex Merino-Martinez (15th) 23:04
Alex Wasik (16th) 23:21
Grant Steller (17th) 23:21
Tate Wyman (19th) 23:24
Josh Guay (21st) 25:01
Alex Bowder (22nd) 25:23

 

To see everything John Fisken shot (and possibly purchase some glossies for Grandma), pop over to:

XC 2021-05-06 at Ft. Casey – John’s Photos (johnsphotos.net)

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Strelow strides towards a bright future

Posted in Cross Country, Track, tagged , , , , , on August 13, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Helen Strelow flies through the air while competing in the long jump. (Morgan White photo)

Helen Strelow couldn’t be stopped.

As she neared the end of her middle school days this spring, she nailed PR’s in two of her three events at the Cascade League Track and Field Championships.

Strelow saved her best performances in the 800 and long jump for that final meet, while also performing strongly in the discus.

Overall, she prospered under pressure the way every coach hopes their athletes will respond on the big stage.

Now, buoyed by that sweet swan song, she’s off to the next level.

Life as a freshman student/athlete at Coupeville High School awaits her this fall, and Strelow plans to keep running for team glory and personal accomplishment.

She’ll kick off a new school season with cross country, then return to track and field in the spring, keeping alive her status as a dual-threat.

Strelow was a strong competitor on a CMS cross country squad which helped bring the sport back to Coupeville after a two-decade absence, and she and the sport immediately meshed.

“I really enjoy cross country, because everyone is so nice and happy,” she said. “I enjoy running. It makes me happy, reduces stress, and I enjoy being part of a team.

“My parents encouraged me to join cross country and supported me,” she added. “Coach (Elizabeth) Bitting pushes me to run faster, as did my team.”

When she’s not out on the trails or hanging out at the track oval, Strelow can often be found creating new masterpieces in a variety of art forms.

“I am primarily interested in the arts,” she said. “I like drawing, building, reading/writing, and listening/playing music.

“I spend my time experimenting with the arts I love.”

Strelow also enjoys spending time with family, and hails Mary Poppins, Man from U.N.C.L.E, and John Wayne’s Hatari! as her favorite movies.

As she prepares for the move from middle school to high school, she’s been working on fine-tuning her skills. That includes attending the recent Falcon Running Camp at Fort Casey.

“I think one of my strengths is being able to realize what I have done wrong or right and how to make corrections,” Strelow said. “I need to work on pacing myself better.

“I would like to get higher placings and reach my full potential as an athlete.”

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