Hall o’ Fame inductees (top to bottom) Aimee (Messner) Bishop, Jennie (Cross) Prince, Ron Bagby and Marlene Grasser stack up next to an old school Sherry (Bonacci) Roberts.
And that’s how you play defense. (Photos courtesy Sherry Roberts)
Four Hall o’ Famers (so far) in one photo, as Grasser (24), Bishop (32) and Roberts (30) join their already-inducted coach, Phyllis Textor.
Modern-day Wolf spikers? Roberts (4) and Prince (12) could probably still thump you.
The page hits? They’re never gonna end on this story.
The 11th class inducted into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame manages to incorporate some of the most beloved, reader-friendly legends in the history of this here town.
It’s almost like I planned it that way…
So, without any further ado, rising up to live under the Legends tab at the top of the blog, I give you Marlene Grasser, Jennie (Cross) Prince, Sherry (Bonacci) Roberts, Aimee (Messner) Bishop and Ron Bagby.
And we just broke the internet.
Our first inductee, Bagby, was the CHS football coach for 25+ years and that alone would probably grant him access to these hallowed digital walls.
He produced an unbeaten team in 1990 and shaped generations of gridiron warriors, but there was, of course, much more to the man.
Basketball and track coach, athletic director and, before that, the dude who led the ENTIRE NATION in punt returns during his sophomore year at the University of Puget Sound.
Bagby in a football uniform was all Forks had going for it before they discovered twinkly vampires, and, barring a leg injury, he was slated to be drafted by the United States Football League, the NFL rival that gave us Doug Flutie, Herschel Walker and Donald Trump.
Instead, Coupeville got him and the rest is (Wolf) history.
Joining him are four of the most talented athletes to traverse the hallways at CHS in the late ’80s, all of whom have gone on to spectacular post-high school success.
Grasser (Class of ’87) was a two-time Athlete of the Year who sparkled in four sports (volleyball, basketball, softball and track) before going on to play college volleyball.
Her running mate, Roberts, once said this about her:
“Marlene was my athletic role model. She was such an amazing and gifted athlete and one of the nicest people ever. She always helped me and encouraged me to strive for excellence and become the best I could be.”
Grasser flipped the switch, revealing she still had, and treasured, letters of encouragement Roberts (Class of 1989) wrote her in their younger days.
“I’m the one who thought of Sherry as my role model. She was always so bright and cheery and made the best of any situation. I admired that and strove to be that way too!”
The one-time Bonacci was a four-year letter winner in basketball and volleyball who also went on to play college ball.
An Athlete of the Year honoree herself, the Mrs. Hustle winner later married a Mr. Hustle Winner (Jon Roberts) and their daughter Lindsey is now a CHS freshman poised to wipe out all of their records while flashing the epic smile inherited from her ever-bubbly mom.
If Roberts was usually smiling, Prince (Class of 1990), living up to the Cross family tradition, was a little more intense when glaring at opponents (and sometimes, teammates).
A supremely nice woman off the court, Carson Risner’s mom made no bones about it — she was gonna break you in half and feel damn fine about doing it.
One of the most committed competitors the Wolves have ever had, she was a 12-time letter winner (four each in basketball and volleyball, three in track and one in softball) and her school records in the shot put and discus have never been touched.
Want to capture Jennie back in the day?
In the words of former teammate Georgie Smith:
“I lived in terror of volleyball practice in high school. Bump – set – spike with Jennie and the evil grin she would get when it was her turn to spike!”
And they were friends…
Rounding out our quartet is Bishop (Class of 1988), a three-sport athlete (volleyball, basketball, track) who has gone on to be a very successful (and frequent) runner.
Along the way she produced an Athlete of the Year winner in daughter (and future Hall o’ Famer) Breeanna Messner, earned huge internet fame as the most dependable photo subject in the history of Coupeville Sports and proven herself indispensable keeping Wolf athletics up and running.
And that’s actually how we’re going to induct her into the Hall, as a contributor.
It’s not meant to diminish her athletic accomplishments, but Bishop has made a huge impact as an athletic coordinator at CHS.
All you have to do is go to a game at a different school (say, football at South Whidbey…) and you realize how efficiently she does her job.
The lights stay on, the programs get printed, ice gets to injured players and everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, gets a smile along the way.
Putting her in as a contributor re-links her with her former running mate behind the scenes, Kim Andrews, who was already inducted.
The Kim ‘n Aimee Show, still playing up in the Hall o’ Fame.
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