Maddie Vondrak and fellow Wolf athletes are off to a new league next year. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Changes, changes.
What we know for sure – Coupeville High School athletic teams drop from 1A to 2B next year, and the Wolves will take up residence in the Northwest 2B/1B League.
That reignites old-school rivalries, while also meaning next year’s seniors will be in their third league in four years.
As freshmen, they witnessed Coupeville’s final go-round in the 1A Olympic League.
Now, after two years in the 1A North Sound Conference, Class of 2021 athletes lead their fellow Wolves into the new frontier.
But, as we head back, who awaits our arrival?
Orcas Island, for one, where Oprah Winfrey reportedly dropped 8.3 million on a 43-acre secluded compound.
And there’s Darrington, birthplace of longtime Price is Right host (and Happy Gilmore co-star) Bob Barker.
Toss in four other schools, and you have a party.
Concrete:
Classification in 2020-2021 — 1B (drops from 2B)
Mascot: Lions
Team state titles: football (1984, 1985); softball (2007)
Darrington:
Classification: 1B (drops from 2B)
Mascot: Loggers
Team state titles: boys basketball (1955, 1957, 2003); baseball (1981)
Friday Harbor:
Classification: 2B
Mascot: Wolverines
Team state titles: volleyball (1986)
La Conner:
Classification: 2B
Mascot: Braves
Team state titles: volleyball (2002, 2006, 2007, 2018)
Mount Vernon Christian:
Classification: 1B
Mascot: Hurricanes
Team state titles: None
Orcas Island:
Classification: 1B (drops from 2B)
Mascot: Vikings
Team state titles: girls soccer (2009)
With the move from 1A to 2B, boys soccer bounces from the spring to the fall, as 2B plays both girls and boys soccer in the same season.
That shifts Coupeville from having five sports in the fall, two in the winter, and five in the spring to a set-up of six-two-four.
The Wolves don’t currently wrestle or play golf like many of their new league mates do, while some of those schools opt of sports in which CHS fields teams.
The outlook, at least at the moment:
FALL:
Volleyball:
All six teams play, but not everyone plays like La Conner.
The Braves are the defending 2B state champs, and open the 2019 big dance Thursday against Willapa Valley.
La Conner is 16-0 this season, 20-0 last year, and has won 37 straight matches dating back to the final consolation match of the 2017 state tourney.
In Northwest League play, they have at least nine straight undefeated campaigns.
I say “at least” because the league’s website only goes back as far as 2011, with La Conner rolling to 10-0, 10-0, 10-0, 12-0, 7-0, 6-0, 7-0, 7-0, and 10-0 marks in that time.
Mount Vernon Christian couldn’t beat the Braves this year, but they are also at state, and open the 1B tourney Thursday against Klickitat-Glenwood
Football:
Friday Harbor, Concrete, and La Conner play, while Orcas and MVC don’t. Darrington has been playing eight-man football in a separate 1B league.
La Conner won the league title in 2016, the last year Orcas fielded a team, then has been stuck in rebuilding mode.
Concrete won in 2017, the last year Darrington played 11-man ball, then shared the title in 2018 with Friday Harbor.
That ’17 Lions title team was coached by Marcus Carr, who left Concrete after that season to take over the Coupeville football program.
Friday Harbor rolled to the title in convincing fashion this fall, and opens the state tourney Nov. 16 at Lake Roosevelt.
Cross Country:
Only MVC and Orcas field teams, with the Hurricane boys finishing 16th in the team standings at the 1B state meet this fall.
Boys Tennis:
Only Friday Harbor fields a team.
There were several years where Coupeville and Friday formed a two-team mini-league, though the Wolves have spent the past two seasons joining South Whidbey and playing in the private school-dominated 1A Emerald City League.
Girls Soccer:
MVC, La Conner, Orcas, and Friday Harbor play, while Concrete and Darrington don’t.
The Hurricanes (15-1-1) and Wolverines (8-7) both play Saturday in the quarterfinals of the state tourney, which combines 1B and 2B teams.
The league has been a competitive one in recent years, with La Conner winning conference titles in 2016 and 2017, before Friday Harbor came out on top in 2018, and MVC this fall.
Boys Soccer:
Orcas, MVC, Friday Harbor, and La Conner play, while Darrington and Concrete don’t.
The four NWL teams are joined by Providence Christian, Grace Academy, and Lopez for this sport.
League champ Orcas (14-1) and runner-up Friday Harbor (14-4) both play Saturday in the quarterfinals of the 1B/2B state tourney.
The Vikings have won back-to-back league crowns, after Providence Christian (2017) and MVC (2016) claimed the previous two regular-season titles.
WINTER:
Girls Basketball:
Everyone plays, and almost everyone chases La Conner.
The Braves have won five straight league titles, sharing the crown with Friday Harbor in 2015-2016 and claiming the other four crowns outright.
Darrington was the last team to hold off La Conner, ruling the league in 2013-2014.
Boys Basketball:
Everyone plays, with Friday Harbor winning the last two, and three of the last five titles.
In between, Orcas claimed the crown in 2016-2017, and La Conner was king in 2015-2016.
SPRING:
Softball:
Everyone except MVC plays.
Friday Harbor has been the big baddie, but it would be a shame if someone came along to blow up the league.
While the Wolverines have won five straight titles dating back to 2014-2015, they have gone 1-4 in non-conference games against Coupeville in that time.
After losing 7-6 in 2015, CHS has won 11-1, 9-4, 13-4, and 18-17 the past four seasons.
The two teams, who both advanced to state and won games there last season, meet Mar. 17 on Friday Harbor in a final non-conference tilt.
The following spring, the true battle begins.
Baseball:
Everyone plays, with Friday Harbor, which got knocked out in the state quarterfinals last spring, having won four straight titles.
The last three have been outright, while the Wolverines shared the 2015-2016 crown with La Conner, who won outright the season before.
Girls Tennis:
Only Friday Harbor fields a team, and the Coupeville female netters, unlike their male counterparts, played inside the North Sound Conference.
A two team mini-league with a lot of non-conference matches? Some kind of hook-up with another league for just one sport? Your guess is as good as mine at this point.
Track and Field:
La Conner, MVC, Concrete, and Friday Harbor field teams, while Darrington and Orcas don’t.
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