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Home cooking, flying feet

Posted in Cross Country, tagged CHS Wolves, cross country, Fort Casey, home meet, Noelle Western, Northwest League on September 27, 2023| Leave a Comment »

George Spear flies down the trail Wednesday at Fort Casey State Park. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

The rain stayed away, but the top times flowed down.

Putting three runners in the top seven Wednesday, the Coupeville High School boys’ cross country team defended its home turf at Fort Casey State Park, winning a six-team home meet.

Meanwhile, the Wolf girls, paced by another stellar performance from Noelle Western, pushed Mount Vernon Christian hard, with only nine points separating the two teams in the final tally.

Led by individual champ Evangeline Fikkert, the Hurricane girls finished with 23 points to Coupeville’s 32.

Noelle Western cruises to a 5th place finish.

On the boy’s side of things, the Wolves edged MVC 39-55, though the ‘Canes did have an individual winner in Isaac Betz.

Friday Harbor (73), Orcas Island (86), and Evangel Classical (98) rounded out the team standings.

Lummi Nation also sent runners but didn’t have a full squad.

All the Wolves come off the starting line at the same time.

Wednesday’s meet, the lone home event for Coupeville, played out on a redesigned course covering 5,000 meters.

With retired CHS track coach Randy King on hand to be the official race starter, things kicked off with a big rush, as the girls and boys competed at the same time.

With the weather cooperating, and Coupeville Middle School coach Amber Wyman stepping up to take the reins as race director, it made for a pleasant day all around.

“Great afternoon!!!,” said CHS harrier coach Elizabeth Bitting.

“So many compliments on the beautiful course, wonderful volunteers, shout out to the middle schoolers who stepped up and helped out. Can’t wait for them to run this course next season.”

Volunteers like Sherry Bonacci were invaluable to bringing off a successful meet.

With coaching duties calling to her, Bitting needed someone to run the race, and Wyman knocked it out of the park.

“This was very hard for me to do — give control of my baby to somebody else,” Bitting said with a laugh.

“But Amber is AMAZING and did GREAT!”

Coupeville returns to action this Saturday, Sept. 30, when it travels to the Cedarcrest Golf Course in Marysville for the 16th annual Twilight XC Invitational.

Wednesday results:

GIRLS:

Noelle Western (5th) 24:47.69
Ari Armstrong (14th) 27:41.44
Aleksia Jump (15th) 28:28.76
Erica McGrath (17th) 30:23.69
Reagan Callahan (18th) 30:27.44

BOYS:

George Spear (4th) 19:17.39
Carson Field (5th) 19:32.77
Landon Roberts (7th) 19:41.55
Ezekiel Allen (10th) 20:02.63
Kenneth Jacobsen (13th) 20:18.80
Thomas Strelow (14th) 20:27.07
Nicholas Wasik (25th) 21:47.88
Preston Howard (29th) 22:14.56
Santi Ojeda (30th) 22:17.71
Axel Marshall (31st) 22:30.01
Zach Blitch (43rd) 30:54.28
Damy Giacobbe (44th) 33:52.55

Coupeville Athletic Director Willie Smith ponders the meaning of the universe while tabulating times.

To see more photos from this race, pop over to:

https://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/CHS-Cross-Country-2023-2024/XC-2023-09-27-at-Ft-Casey/

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“We eat hills!!”

Posted in Cross Country, tagged Carson Field, CHS Wolves, cross country, hills, King's, Noelle Western on September 23, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Small in numbers, but fast on their feet. (Elizabeth Bitting photos)

They showed up hungry and left satisfied.

Traveling to Shoreline Saturday, the Coupeville High School cross country squad ran with the big dogs at the 16th annual King’s Roller Coaster Trail Run.

Despite repping one of the smaller schools in attendance, the Wolves had a noticeable impact, tearing their way through a famously hilly course.

“We eat hills!!” said CHS coach Elizabeth Bitting.

“Five boys ran a sub-20 (minute) race at King’s! AT KING’S!! The hilliest course they will run.

“I am so excited for them!”

“Hills? We fear no hills.”

Overall, seven Wolves PR’d on the three-mile course, and two Coupeville runners finished the course even after being stung by pesky bees.

Having survived their jaunt to the big city — and their death battle with wayward insects — the CHS harriers have a busy week ahead of them.

Coupeville hosts a home meet at Fort Casey Wednesday, Sept. 27, then travels to the Cedarcrest Golf Course Sept. 30 for the Twilight Invite.

Saturday results:

GIRLS:

Varsity:

Noelle Western (42nd) 24:10.78
Ari Armstrong (73rd) 26:32.25
Aleksia Jump (88th) 27:36.70
Reagan Callahan (100th) 29:52.32

BOYS:

Varsity:

Carson Field (53rd) 19:03.46
Landon Roberts (62nd) 19:24.48
Kenneth Jacobsen (71st) 19:50.92
Thomas Strelow (72nd) 19:51.51
Ezekiel Allen (74th) 19:52.46
George Spear (81st) 20:13.80

JV:

Axel Marshall (62nd) 20:45.66
Santi Ojeda (70th) 21:07.28
Nicholas Wasik (85th) 21:41.21
Preston Howard (86th) 21:41.22
Zach Blitch (191st) 31:48.56
Damy Giacobbe (192nd) 31:48.56

The calm before the Battle of the Bees.

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Trail warriors earn first closeup

Posted in Cross Country, tagged CHS Wolves, cross country, Noelle Western, season opener, Thomas Strelow on September 11, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Ari Armstrong leads off a series of pics featuring CHS harriers at their season opener. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Footstep, camera click, repeat over and over.

Saturday’s season opener in Sehome attracted the Coupeville High School cross country team, plenty of rivals, and a swarm of photographers.

Getting his camera clicking finger in mid-season form, wanderin’ paparazzi John Fisken snapped the pics seen above and below.

They feature all 15 Wolves in action.

To see more pics, pop over to:

https://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/CHS-Cross-Country-2023-2024/XC-2023-09-09-at-Sehome-Invite/

Ezekiel Allen (left) and George Spear.

Kenneth Jacobsen

L to r: Aleksia Jump, Reagan Callahan, and Noelle Western.

Coupeville coaches Elizabeth Bitting (left) and Amber Wyman.

Zach Blitch

Coupeville juniors form a potent pack — Preston Howard (275), Landon Roberts (278), Thomas Strelow (280), Carson Field (274), and Nicholas Wasik (281).

Erica McGrath

Axel Marshall

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“It was truly a great day!”

Posted in Cross Country, tagged CHS Wolves, cross country, Landon Roberts, Noelle Western, season opener, Sehome Invitational on September 9, 2023| Leave a Comment »

A pack of Wolves, ready to rumble on the cross country trail. (Photo courtesy Brian Strelow)

Who let the Wolves out?

The Coupeville High School cross country team hit the road Saturday, traveling to Sehome for its season opener on a sunny September day.

The destination was the 13th annual Gear Up Northwest XC Preview, which drew 44 schools to Civic Stadium for a series of races.

Most of the events paired off runners based on their year in school, with sophomores facing sophomores, seniors facing seniors, and so on.

Coupeville, a 2B school, was one of four “small schools” in attendance, with most of the competitors hailing from big-time conferences like Wesco, KingCo, and the Metro League.

All three Whidbey Island schools vied, with 1A South Whidbey and 3A Oak Harbor joining the Wolves.

CHS coach Elizabeth Bitting had 15 runners on opening day and came away pleased with the effort and top times.

It might have been the first race, but the trail guru is already in mid-season form with dropping exclamation points.

“So much fun at Sehome today!!!,” she said.

“LOTS of big schools, so placement wasn’t great, but times!!!! OMG, for the boys!!! Top five boys all under 13 minutes!!!”

Those five male harriers were also separated by just 42 seconds on the two-mile course, which bodes well for their ability to run as a pack in future races.

Getting a chance to go toe to toe, and step for step, with athletes from much-bigger schools can only benefit the Wolves as the season plays out.

“They had so much competition,” Bitting said. “It was truly a great day!”

Coupeville returns to action next Saturday, Sept. 16, when it travels to Langley for the 44th Carl Westling Invite.

Coupeville running coaches Amber Wyman (left) and Elizabeth Bitting are back on the bus for another season. (Photo courtesy Bitting)

Saturday results:

GIRLS:

Sophomores:

Noelle Western (48th) 15:35.39
Aleksia Jump (102nd) 17:45.64
Reagan Callahan (137th) 20:41.28

Juniors:

Ari Armstrong (110th) 17:49.05

Seniors:

Erica McGrath (94th) 20:39.58

BOYS:

Freshmen:

Kenneth Jacobsen (72nd) 12:53.20

Sophomores:

Ezekiel Allen (44th) 12:15.83
George Spear (57th) 12:30.07

Juniors:

Landon Roberts (87th) 12:10.71
Carson Field (103rd) 12:26.15
Thomas Strelow (134th) 13:34.41
Nicholas Wasik (135th) 13:36.09
Preston Howard (141st) 13:48.22

JV-1:

Zach Blitch (139th) 19:29.91

JV-2:

Axel Marshall (37th) 13:48.17

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“So proud of each and every athlete!”

Posted in Cross Country, tagged CHS Wolves, cross country, Devon Wyman, Lake Padden Relays, Noelle Western on August 26, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Noelle Western and friends ran in Bellingham Saturday, putting a cap on a successful summer. (Kerry Western photo)

“What happens when Coupeville attends a relay at Lake Padden? DOMINATION happens!!!”

Coupeville High School cross country coach Elizabeth Bitting was riding a natural high Saturday after she, her fellow coaches, and a ton of Wolf runners rocked the joint in Bellingham.

Running at the Lake Padden Relays, Coupeville harriers, who competed as “Evolution of a Runner” to reflect the difference in ages of its many competitors, burned up the trail.

Competing on a 2.59-mile course around a lake, with each of four runners putting in a lap, the Wolves closed out their “Summer Fun Runs” in style.

Now, it’s on to regular season competition for both middle and high school athletes, with Saturday’s runners hailing from multiple sports.

Cross country, soccer, volleyball, and track were repped, with current Wolves joined by CHS grad Tate Wyman, who has some time to kill before heading off to college in Oregon.

Wolf coaches enjoy the day. (Photos by Wendy Wasik and Elizabeth Bitting)

Bitting, who ran as part of a title-winning coach’s team, was thrilled to see all five Coupeville squads place at the event, which drew 72 teams from near and far.

“Everybody had an amazing time,” she said. “It was fun to see the results of all the hard work they put into their summer runs in this type of event.

“So proud of each and every athlete that ran, no matter what sport they participate in during the school year,” Bitting added. “WAY TO GO WOLVES!!!”

Complete results:

Middle School – Co-Ed – 3rd place – 1:34:55

Cyrus Sparacio (21:15)
Ossian Merkel (22:57)
Allie Powers (24:30)
Anna Powers (26:12)