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Posts Tagged ‘Maia Sparkman’

Support peace, love, and Maia Sparkman

Posted in Fundraisers, tagged , , , , , on February 28, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Maia Sparkman, seen during her high school track days, sets off for Zambia in April to join the Peace Corps. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Maia Sparkman is one of the great ones.

She was a phenomenal athlete, both at South Whidbey High School and then at Seattle University.

As a Falcon, she was a standout on the soccer pitch and a state meet medal-winning supernova in track and field, the sport she continued to pursue in college.

Now, during her prep days, I was much more combative with those who lived on the South end of the Island.

There was a moment, though, after finally listening to people wiser than myself, that I started reaching out to Falcon Nation with an olive branch, instead of swinging my computer keyboard wildly to and fro.

During that time, I wrote several feature stories on South Whidbey athletes, and Maia, showing her grace, agreed to be the first Falcon I wrote about.

In her answers to my questions, she showed herself to be highly-intelligent, very-focused, and a young woman with immense potential.

Maia didn’t have to talk to me, but she did, and I greatly appreciated it, both then and now.

Thursday night, one of my favorite former Coupeville athletes, Haley Sherman, posted a link to a GoFundMe for Maia, and, being curious, I popped over to check it out.

Once there, I discovered Ms. Sparkman has joined the Peace Corps and is off to Zambia in April to kick off a two-year adventure.

I also found that, after working two jobs after college to build up savings, she unfortunately fell prey to a scam which gutted those savings.

Her family and friends have come together to try and help Maia get back on her feet financially, and I hope the mission blossoms.

This young woman is one of the best and brightest Whidbey Island has produced during my time running Coupeville Sports, and how can you not want her to succeed when her goal in life is simply to help others?

So, take a moment, pop over to the link below to get more facts, and, if you can, hopefully help Maia, with financial aid, positive messages, or both.

 

https://www.gofundme.com/support-maia

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Our favorite Falcon soars!!

Posted in South Whidbey: Not the Antichrist, Track, tagged , , , on June 1, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Exploding on the takeoff in the long jump.

Maia Sparkman explodes on the takeoff in the long jump. (John Fisken photos)

Maia Sparkman, bein' really, really fast. (John Fisken photos)

“I must destroy you!!”

Stickin' the landing.

Stickin’ the landing.

Yes, this is Coupeville Sports, but, let’s take one last moment to pay honor to our favorite Falcon.

South Whidbey High School senior Maia Sparkman, who was the first athlete from her school to agree to an interview with me back in the days when I picked on the Falcons a lot, is a class act through and through.

So it’s nice to see her do so well in her final moments as a high school athlete.

Competing at the 1A state track meet in Cheney Friday and Saturday, Sparkman brought home three medals, the most of any Whidbey Island athlete this spring.

She opened state by placing 7th in the long jump, hitting the sand at sixteen feet, 8.50 inches, then ran legs on two Falcon relay teams that brought home medals.

Her 4 x 100 relay squad, which included Anna Leski, Bailey Forsyth and Madi Boyd, claimed 7th in 50.75 seconds, while her 4 x 400 unit (Boyd, Jaime Rodden, Mackenzie Hezel and Sparkman) finished 4th in 4:03.34.

Well done, Miss Sparkman. Well done.

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One Whidbey, kickin’ your fanny!!

Posted in Baseball, South Whidbey: Not the Antichrist, Track, tagged , , , , , on May 25, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Exploding on the takeoff in the long jump.

Maia Sparkman explodes on the takeoff in the long jump. (John Fisken photo)

Coupeville coach Willie Smith and South Whidbey baseball guru Tom Fallon chat with the umps. (Shelli Trumbull photo)

  Coupeville coach Willie Smith and South Whidbey baseball guru Tom Fallon chat with the umps. (Shelli Trumbull photo)

Well played, South Whidbey, well played.

This blog is called Coupeville Sports for a reason, but there are times when even the most die-hard of Cow Town folks can take a moment and tip our hats to the folks down in Langley.

We live on an Island, and as much as the Wolves and Falcons have always been, and will always be, the best of rivals, we can celebrate each others triumphs.

Lord knows the ATM’s and King’s of the world, and their brethren, need a paddle taken to their entitled, pompous rears as often as possible, and any win for a Whidbey athlete is a win for all of us “hicks.”

So take a moment with me to send congrats to a couple of South Whidbey people who I have found to be class acts all the way. They may not wear the red and black — our loss — but I wish them well all the same.

Tom Fallon guided his SWHS baseball team to its first trip to state in decades, where the Falcons and Wolves, who split their four games this year, accounted for 1/8th of the field at the 1A tourney.

South Whidbey opened with a 10-5 win over Tenino Saturday, then fell 1-0 to Richland in the afternoon to end its season, while Coupeville was nipped 2-1 by Rochester.

If Richland and Rochester win their state semifinals next weekend and play for the title game, they will do so with the knowledge they barely escaped the wonder twin power of Whidbey’s best.

Meanwhile, over in the heart of the beast (King’s home stadium), Whidbey track runners stepped up and made a huge impact at Tri-Districts.

We’re hugely enthusiastic about CHS sophomore Makana Stone advancing to state in the 400. She has the third-fastest time in 1A and is a second away from pulling off an upset and winning a state title.

But let’s also send a big thumbs up to South Whidbey senior Maia Sparkman, who qualified for state in the long jump and as a member of 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relay teams.

At a time when I poked the Falcons frequently, Miss Sparkman was gracious enough to consent to an interview (https://coupevillesports.com/2013/06/30/the-falcons-are-alright-maia-sparkman-sparkles/), when she could have blown me off as several South Whidbey athletes did.

Fallon and Sparkman — class acts through and through, even if I think they’re wearing the wrong colors.

But deep down, the colors don’t always matter.

What does is one Whidbey, kickin’ ass and takin’ names. Always.

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A photographic tribute to a Falcon?!?!?!?!

Posted in South Whidbey: Not the Antichrist, Track, tagged , , , on May 15, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Maia Sparkman, bein' really, really fast. (John Fisken photos)

Maia Sparkman, bein’ really, really fast. (John Fisken photos)

Exploding on the takeoff in the long jump.

Exploding on the takeoff in the long jump.

Stickin' the landing.

Stickin’ the landing.

She just jumped over the freakin' fence (sort of...)!!!

She just jumped over the freakin’ fence (sort of…)!!!

Please keep it down — the Canadian-owned “local” papers are trying to take a nap.

But while they’re snoozing and losing, it is up to us, the rogues of Coupeville Sports, to swoop and scoop.

Thanks to travelin’ photo man John Fisken, who ended up down in Lynden Wednesday for Day 1 of the 1A District 1 track championships, we have not just photos of Coupeville High School students, but (bite me, South Whidbey Record!), snappy pics of Falcon senior supernova Maia Sparkman.

Why her, you ask?

Because, at a time when I was cheesing off most of the South End of Whidbey, Ms. Sparkman was gracious enough to consent to do an interview and allow me to write a feature story about her (https://coupevillesports.com/2013/06/30/the-falcons-are-alright-maia-sparkman-sparkles/) and maybe soften my frosty relationship with Langley … a bit.

She didn’t have to, but she did. And she didn’t have to be so smart and well-spoken in her comments, but I kind of think that’s her natural persona.

So, while she may not wear the red and black, Ms. Sparkman remains one of my favorites, a young woman of grace and refinement who mixes book smarts with athletic prowess.

A young woman we all should be proud of, regardless of what part of the Island we live on.

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