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Posts Tagged ‘Natasha Bamberger’

Bumpy trails, brilliant results

Posted in Cross Country, tagged , , , , on August 18, 2024| Leave a Comment »

State cross country champ Tyler King, always signing autographs for the fans. (Photo courtesy Sarah Stuurmans)

The history, like a lot of the trails used, is a bit bumpy and uneven.

Coupeville High School has had an on and off, then on again, relationship with cross country over the years.

The Wolves boast two individual state champs, but one of those only competed in a Coupeville uniform at the very end of his career.

That’s because, for a long chunk of time, CHS didn’t have its own in-house harrier program, having shut down the sport in the ’90s.

So, when Tyler King came along in the 2000’s, while he attended school in Coupeville, he ran for Oak Harbor.

Up until his senior season, when paper shuffling between the schools kicked him out of the 4A classification that the Wildcats were part of and put him running as a one-man Wolf crew back in 1A.

King promptly closed his senior season by claiming the 2010 state title, joining 1985 champ Natasha Bamberger, who won at the B/1A level, finishing in the top eight at state in all four of her seasons at CHS.

Going through records held by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, marks for state cross country meets go back to 1959 for boys, 1973 for girls.

Though, looking up small school activity from 1977-1979 currently gets you a “404 – File or directory not found” notice. So, as usual, there will always be gaps in my research, apparently.

And that does directly affect this story, as the CHS boys won league and district titles in 1977, before finishing 5th as a team at state.

But, with no access to old Whidbey News-Times archives — they’re locked-down off-Island these days — and no WIAA info, I can’t definitively list those runners for you today.

But here’s what I have found, with a surge in the ’70s and ’80s, then a long gap as CHS largely shied away from the sport, and now the rebirth of recent years after Willie Smith, Elizabeth Bitting, Bamberger, and others revived the program.

 

CHS cross country at state:

 

1975:

Boys — 9th

Bob McClement (23rd) 13:47
Mike Ellsworth (40th) 14:05
Mike Allgire (60th) 14:21
Jeff Fielding (61st) 14:21
Tom Clark (77th) 14:40
Danny Miller (88th) 14:48
Ryan Keefe (107th) 15:23

 

1976:

Boys — 5th

Bob McClement (12th) 13:19
Jeff Fielding (27th) 13:42
Ryan Keefe (37th) 13:54
Mike Allgire (45th) 13:59
Charlie Ellsworth (74th) 14:22
Don Sherman (85th) 14:40
Tom Clark (92nd) 14:47

 

1977:

Boys — 5th

???

 

1981:

Girls — 8th

Kerry McCormick (38th) 22:06
Debbie Logan (41st) 22:16
Terri McLane (48th) 22:30
Kristine Macnab (61st) 23:17
Sharon Brown (79th) 25:11
Karen Reuss (85th) 26:22

 

1982:

Girls — 4th

Natasha Bamberger (8th) 19:08
Kerry McCormick (38th) 21:02
Debbie Logan (40th) 21:09
Kristine Macnab (55th) 22:04
Molly McPherson (66th) 22:53
Becky Seely (77th) 24:24
Kristy Brown (80th) 25:19

 

1983:

Natasha Bamberger (2nd) 18:56.3

 

1984:

Natasha Bamberger (3rd) 19:11

 

1985:

Natasha Bamberger (1st) 19:51

 

2010:

Tyler King (1st) 15:16.9

 

2017:

Danny Conlisk (124th) 18:06.90

 

2019:

Catherine Lhamon (92nd) 21:44.70

 

2021:

Mitchell Hall (58th) 18:44.40

 

Helen Strelow (58th) 24:48.90
Claire Mayne (62nd) 25:06.00

 

2022:

Mitchell Hall (19th) 17:58.90
Carson Field (74th) 19:27.90

 

Girls — 8th

Claire Mayne (42nd) 24:05.30
Helen Strelow (49th) 24:28.20
Cristina McGrath (63rd) 25:57.70
Reagan Callahan (72nd) 28:20.60
Erica McGrath (73rd) 28:21.80

 

2023:

Boys — 10th

Carson Field (44th) 18:23.40
Landon Roberts (63rd) 18:38.10
Ezekiel Allen (83rd) 19:08.40
George Spear (93rd) 19:24.90
Thomas Strelow (106th) 19:34.90
Kenneth Jacobsen (110th) 19:40.60
Axel Marshall (157th) 21:54.60

 

Noelle Western (46th) 23:28.30

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Four decades, one champ

Posted in Track, tagged , , , , on March 25, 2024| Leave a Comment »

The most-successful female runner in CHS history came back around to coach in later years. (Dawnelle Conlisk photo)

They’re still chasing her.

Here we are in 2024 and Natasha Bamberger still rules the Coupeville High School track and field record books.

The five-time state champ — four in track, one in cross country — holds the oldest marks on the big board that welcomes you to the CHS gym.

Bamberger’s top times in the 1600 and 3200, set back in 1984, are the only Wolf girl records to survive from the Greed is Good Decade.

On the boys’ side, marks from ’86 and ’88 endure, while Jennie Cross has held the shot put and discus records since 1990.

Other than those, every CHS track record comes from a year starting with a two.

One of those — Ryanne Knoblich tying the record in the high jump last season — is still to be added, but the recent Wolf grad will soon join Yashmeen Knox on the board.

As current Coupeville athletes head down the hallway to the gym and locker rooms, they can gaze up and see the numbers they’re shooting at.

Will someone one day topple Bamberger?

Only time will tell, but for the last four decades, no one has come even close, helping her legend endure.

The big board as it stands today. (Brad Sherman photo)

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Record board tracks decades of spring glory

Posted in Track, tagged , , , , on March 7, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Natasha Bamberger, always and forever legendary. (Dawnelle Conlisk photos)

Almost four decades, and no one has touched them.

The oldest marks on the Coupeville High School track and field record board were set 39 seasons ago, back in 1984 by five-time state champ Natasha Bamberger.

All these years, and athletes later, her marks in the 1600 and 3200 still stand, two of six records which still tower from the Greed is Good decade.

The ’80s are still repped on the big board in the entrance to the CHS gym, thanks to Bamberger, Chad Gale (long jump, 110 hurdles, and 300 hurdles), and the boys’ 4 x 100 relay unit.

Meanwhile, four records set in the ’90s endure, thanks to Jennie Cross (shot put, discus), Allyson Barker (triple jump), and Yashmeen Knox (high jump).

In an enduring quirk, Knox and Rich Wilson, who set the boys’ record in the high jump in 2000, remain the only husband/wife duo to both appear on the board.

While a handful of long-term records remain in place, the most recent additions to the record book came in the 2019 season, when 10 of 35 marks were toppled.

The pandemic prevented anyone from competing in 2020, and the past two springs, while full of individual and team success, didn’t produce any new school records.

With a new season kicking off next week, which direction will 2023 take?

Only time will tell.

The best track and field marks in Coupeville High School history.

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Time flows, records endure

Posted in Track, tagged , , , , on March 26, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Natasha Bamberger, here coaching CHS cross country in 2018, has held school track records for 36 seasons. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Not all CHS track and field records are from the last year or two. Some athletes have stayed on the chart for decades. (Dawnelle Conlisk photo)

They have endured. Some for three decades.

Track and field records are set to be broken, and often are in the very next race.

But a few achievements seem to last forever.

When you look at the Coupeville High School record board which graces the entrance to the CHS gym, it leans towards the athletes of the current generation.

Ten of 35 records were set just last spring, during the 2019 season.

But, somewhat surprisingly, just as many marks on that board come from athletes who haven’t competed in Coupeville in the last 20+ years.

Entering this spring, and the season which may never happen thanks to a pandemic, four school records endure from the 1990’s, while another six have held on from the 80’s.

Going in reverse, it starts with Yashmeen Knox, who soared five feet, two inches in the high jump back in 1999.

Side note – Yaz went on to marry fellow CHS track star Rich Wilson, who set the Wolf boys high jump record of 6-04 in 2000.

While he technically doesn’t fit into this story, as his mark wasn’t from the ’80s or ’90s, his big moment still sits on the board as well, 20 years later.

And hey, how many schools can say that their all-time high jump record holders got married?

I’m willing to bet it’s like … one.

Anyway, step a few years back from there and you meet Allyson Barker, whose performance in the triple jump (35-05.50) has stood as the CHS benchmark since ’95.

Throwers have come and gone, but Jennie Cross has yet to be matched, with both her shot put (36-09) and discus (120-03) records untouched since the ’90 campaign.

And then we head back into really faraway times, with six marks enduring from the days of Ronald Reagan, Pac-Man, and a time when the shorts were short and the socks were long.

You can make an argument for Chad Gale having been the most-dominant male athlete in CHS track history, and the board would back you up.

Reed-thin (but it was all muscle), he rocks a ‘stache in photos from the time, forever daring any modern-day track stars to make a run at his marks.

They never quite get all the way there, however.

Gale still stands as the school record-holder in the long jump (22-08 in ’88), 110 hurdles (14.8 in ’88), and 300 hurdles (39.9 in ’86).

That 1986 season also produced the best 4 x 100 relay team to ever suit up in CHS uniforms, with Bill Carstensen, Tony Killgo, Jay Roberts, and Rick Alexander hitting the tape in 43.9 seconds.

But ultimately, no one has endured at the top of the mountain as long as Natasha Bamberger, the most-decorated female athlete in school history.

A four-time state champ in track, she also earned the crown in cross country during the ’85 season, and is the only Wolf, girl or boy, with five individual state titles.

Kyle King tops the boys side of the ledger, with five track titles in the mid-2000’s, with one of his golds coming as a member of a 4 x 4 relay team.

Bamberger, who later returned to her alma mater to coach cross country, captured her first state titles in 1984, winning in both the 1600 and 3200.

Her marks in those events (5:09.6 and 11:23.7) have endured atop the big board for 36 years, holding out against the best efforts of distance runners from Adrianna Royal to Catherine Lhamon and beyond.

Records are set to be broken, it’s true.

But then there are a few where you say, these marks? They’re gonna live forever.

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Bamberger hits pause

Posted in Cross Country, tagged , , , on June 17, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville High School cross country coach Natasha Bamberger watches her runners compete last season. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

The living legend has left the building. For the moment, at least.

Natasha Bamberger, a five-time state champion in running events for Coupeville High School, returned to her alma mater last fall to revive a successful, but long-shuttered, cross country program.

Under her guidance, the Wolves returned to the trails for the first time in two decades, and immediately began to rebuild and impress.

She fielded a full boys team, led by state meet veteran Danny Conlisk, and had a strong one-two combo on the girls side with Catherine Lhamon and Alana Mihill.

With fellow coach Elizabeth Bitting launching a very-strong middle school program at the same time, Coupeville cross country is well on its way to recapturing the glory days it enjoyed when Bamberger won the state cross country title in 1985.

Now, though, her runners will have to go on without her.

Bamberger has resigned as CHS cross country coach, as real-world work issues have reduced her availability to coach.

“This was really hard and a decision I have struggled with,” she said. “It breaks my heart to have to resign coaching cross country this season, but bringing in an income for my family is my reality at this stage of my life.

“I hope my team knows how much I have enjoyed working with them,” Bamberger added. “How much I respect their continued hard work, in becoming a team, a cross country family.”

Having rekindled the fire, she looks forward to seeing future Wolves make a run at the kind of success she enjoyed during her own high school days.

Along with Kyle King, she is one of two Wolves in school history (1900-2019) to win five state titles, and the only one to have all of her championships come in individual events.

Along with her cross country crown, Bamberger ruled the track oval, copping titles in the 1600 in 1984, and the 3200 in ’84, ’85, and ’86.

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