Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘nationals’

Support a true warrior

Posted in Wrestling, tagged , , , , on May 17, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Izzy LeVine and her main hype man. (Photo courtesy Sean LeVine)

The warrior of the wrestling mat needs our help.

Izzy LeVine, who grew up in Coupeville and now is an award-winning grappler in Arizona, has qualified for the world’s largest youth national tournament, which goes down this summer in Fargo, North Dakota.

It would be the second-straight trip to nationals for the Casteel High School sophomore.

LeVine is deeply committed to perfecting the dark arts of the wrestling mat, competing year-round in both folkstyle and freestyle.

A member of the Arizona National Team, she’s a state meet veteran and an All-American.

To get to Fargo, LeVine is currently raising money to cover the costs of training camps, travel, and team expenses.

She’s set up a GoFundMe, and for every donation of $20 or more, she’ll send you a WARRIOR bracelet, which “symbolizes the mindset needed to compete at a high level and reflects my Native heritage.”

To read more and help Micky and Jae’s lil’ sis go pin people, pop over to:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-izzy-levine-reach-the-nationals?qid=4519747885cb5cffa09ed56fcafb093b

Read Full Post »

Lhamon still queen of the pitch

Posted in soccer, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , , on November 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Carolyn Lhamon may wear a different uniform these days, but she’s still a soccer sensation. (Photo courtesy Helene Lhamon)

Carolyn Lhamon is still rampaging on the soccer pitch, but some of the road trips are a lot longer than in her high school days.

While playing for Coupeville, the All-Conference midfielder and team captain often traveled to far-flung places like Forks and Friday Harbor.

But now that Lhamon is a freshman suiting up for the Colorado School of Mines women’s club team, she sometimes jumps out of state for soccer action.

Case in point, a recent trip to Round Rock, Texas, where the Orediggers competed in the NIRSA National Soccer Championships.

What does NIRSA stand for, you ask?

Deep breath … it’s the National Intramural and Recreational Sports Association.

Now you know, and knowing is half the battle, as every ’80s kid knows from watching G.I. Joe cartoons.

Lhamon, who has likely never seen one of those Saturday morning specials, joined her teammates at a NIRSA battle royal which featured 96 teams – 48 each on the women’s and men’s side of the bracket.

The Orediggers fought to a 1-1 draw with Millersville University, which hails from Pennsylvania, while being nipped 1-0 by Grand Valley State and 2-0 by the University of Oregon.

That caps a season in which Colorado went 6-7-2, while often playing against club programs from much-larger schools.

Getting to keep playing her favorite sport has been a joy for Lhamon.

“She’s loving club soccer!” said mom Helene.

“In club soccer there are no divisions, so a lot of power programs here, but Mines is showing them that engineers from small schools can play great soccer!”

Lhamon, who also played basketball and track and field as a Wolf, was a CHS Female Athlete of the Year winner as a junior.

When she’s not on the pitch, she’s majoring in Biochemical Engineering and has joined a sorority.

Read Full Post »

She’s conquering the world, one pin at a time

Posted in Wrestling, tagged , , , , on July 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Izzy LeVine, wrestling phenom. (Photo courtesy Sean LeVine)

She had to leave Coupeville to truly embrace her destiny.

While a family move to Arizona will likely keep Izzy LeVine from one day earning her diploma at the same prairie-based high school where older sisters Micky and Jae were shining stars, it did open up a whole new world.

If she had remained at Cow Town schools, the youngest of Sean and Joline’s three daughters would have had a tougher time excelling on the wrestling mat.

For one thing, Coupeville has one of the few high schools in Washington state not to have a grappling program of its own.

But after trading Whidbey breeze for Arizona heat, Izzy found a never-ending series of mats, all perfect for slamming her foe into face-first.

Case in point, this past weekend, as she wrestled at two different mega tournaments, and did really well at both.

First up was the 16U Junior National Championships in Fargo, North Dakota, where she finished in the top 32 out of 81 competitors.

Izzy “The Wood Chipper” LeVine, who is in her second season of freestyle wrestling, had a first-round bye, then split her remaining four matches in the 122-pound class.

Her victories included a technical fall of Isabel Navarro of California and a pin of Maritza Martinez of Texas, while one of her losses was a tense nailbiter against Nyah Lovis of Illinois which came down to the final seconds.

The other loss?

A stout effort against top-seeded Kaylyn Harrill of Nebraska, who went on to win a national title.

Not stopping there, Izzy bounced over to the USMC/USA 16U Junior Nationals Beach Bash, where she made her debut under a completely different rule set.

Beating grapplers from North Carolina and Utah, with her only loss to a teammate from Arizona, she claimed 3rd place.

“Super proud of this kid,” said dad Sean, who coached multiple Whidbey soccer teams to great success back in the day.

“Next year will be interesting.”

Read Full Post »

Former Wolf grapples for glory

Posted in Wrestling, tagged , , , , on June 30, 2023| Leave a Comment »

The older one’s a wrestling legend, the younger one an international superstar. (Sean LeVine photos)

The little girl who used to give me free rocks at her sister’s softball games is now ripping heads off.

On the wrestling mat, at least.

Izzy LeVine may not be on target to graduate from Coupeville High School like siblings Micky and Jae — she does live in Arizona now — but she’s upholding a family tradition of excellence.

Both of her sisters and dad Sean are in the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame, while mom Joline is the true superstar, but it’s the youngest family member who is currently claiming the spotlight as her own.

Izzy finished first in her weight class at the five-day Wrestle the World Camp in early June, impressing a Colorado crowd which included Terry Brands.

I can pretend like I knew who he was prior to writing this story, or I can admit I Googled him.

Either way, Brands is a two-time NCAA wrestling champ, two-time world freestyle champ, a bronze medalist at the 2000 Olympics, a highly accomplished coach, and a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

He sort of knows his way around the mat is what I’m saying, and he’s in the pic at the top of this story.

Which means, one day, he’ll be able to say he shared the same frame with Izzy “The Destroyer” LeVine.

So, he’s got that going for him, which is nice.

Izzy LeVine’s collection of fine medals and trophies continues to grow.

The youngest LeVine isn’t stopping with her performance in Pagosa Springs, though.

Izzy is locked and loaded for the 16U Nationals, which runs July 15-23 in Fargo, North Dakota.

While there she’ll wrestle freestyle in the 122-pound class.

Just getting the invite to nationals is a big deal, as each grappler has to qualify through their state association.

Izzy is one of two 122-pound female grapplers on Arizona’s roster, joined by Brooklyn Perez, who can now Google herself and be all like, “What in the heck is Coupeville Sports?”

Read Full Post »

Support prairie powerhouse’s college volleyball dreams

Posted in Volleyball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , , on March 2, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Emma Smith, back when she was tearing up the volleyball court at CHS. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

You can help send Emma Smith to the next level.

The Coupeville High School grad is currently playing club volleyball while attending the University of Washington.

Now the Huskies are looking to raise money to send two squads to the season-ending National Collegiate Volleyball Federation tournament in Phoenix, Arizona April 14-16.

U-Dub spikers need $15,000 to cover hotels, travel expenses, and entry fees, and have already topped $3,000 in a short time.

This will be the first NCVF tourney in three years, as the pandemic erased the last two national championships.

While the University of Washington funds its NCAA D-I volleyball program, club sports rely on the goodwill and bucks of Husky supporters who contribute to fundraisers.

The club volleyball program features two traveling teams, which compete in the Pacific Collegiate Volleyball Association, and a third squad which provides opportunities to beginners.

Smith, a four-year varsity player at Coupeville High School, is on the Husky B team, having been selected after tryouts which involved 150+ players.

During her time at CHS, she was an All-Conference pick and qualified for state tourneys in both volleyball and track and field.

A ferocious hitter from the middle blocker position, Smith was a team captain, a stat leader, and a ray of sunshine on the prairie.

An inductee into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame, Emma kept her family’s proud athletic tradition in fine form, following in the large footsteps of aunt Joli, uncle Todd, dad Jesse, and Grandpa Steve.

 

For more info on the U-Dub fundraiser, pop over to:

https://online.gifts.washington.edu/peer2peer/campaign/uw-womens-club-volleyball

Read Full Post »