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Posts Tagged ‘Northwest League’

Pain in the rain

Posted in Boys Soccer, tagged , , , , , on October 24, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Edmund Wilson tallied his fifth goal of the season Friday. (Julie Wheat photo)

It was a rough afternoon all around.

Playing in a driving rainstorm in Bothell Friday, the Coupeville High School boys’ soccer squad lost a game, and several players.

Clashing with host Providence Classical Christian in a “very intense, aggressive game” where “the ref didn’t call much,” the Wolves fell 3-1.

The loss drops CHS to 2-4 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 4-8 overall, and slides them into a tie with PCC for fifth place in the nine-team league.

With two games left on the regular season schedule — a road trip to Orcas Island and a home clash with La Conner — Coupeville is fighting for its playoff life.

And almost fighting the old-fashioned way as well.

“The game almost got out of hand, but Coupeville (players) kept their composure despite the frustration,” said Wolf coach Jim Kunz.

It was a rough and tumble affair where Aiden Wheat (knee) and Jacob Lujan (ankle) suffered injuries, Shiloh Sandlin took a head to the nose, causing a significant nosebleed, and Brian Thompson and Sandlin were both handed yellow cards by the officials.

Through it all, the Wolves persevered, getting their goal from Edmund Wilson, who notched his fifth score of the campaign.

Kunz also praised the play of goaltender Sam Richards, who “was amazing as usual in the goal backed up by a strong defense.”

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Sweet spiker swan song for “The Red Dragon”

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , , on October 24, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Teagan Calkins shares a moment with the parental units. (Julie Wheat photo)

“I always loved volleyball, even before it was offered to me as a sport.”

Teagan Calkins, the lone senior on this year’s Coupeville High School varsity spiker crew, offered her family, coaches, and teammates some heartfelt words Thursday night before her final home match.

Then, backed by giddy fans waving large photos of her head attached to sticks, “The Red Dragon” did what she does best.

Go out and thump on people.

Delivering 13 kills, including a couple which peeled the paint off the gym floor, Calkins sparked her young teammates to a 25-23, 25-14, 25-13 victory over visiting Concrete, keeping Coupeville’s playoff hopes alive.

With the win, the Wolves — rebuilding after graduation gutted the roster from a squad which finished 4th at state last season — get to 2-7 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 4-8-1 overall.

CHS closes conference play with a trip to Orcas Island Oct. 28, and would currently nab the fourth, and final, berth from the NWL to the 2B district tourney.

Perhaps experiencing some Senior Night hangover, the Wolves started slowly Thursday, falling behind 5-0, and not getting back even until 21-21.

From there, Coupeville claimed its first lead at 22-21, fell back behind at 23-22, then closed with three straight points thanks to some big-time hitting.

Haylee Armstrong floated in from the left side to nail a tip winner, before Calkins erupted for back-to-back floor burner spikes to make sure Concrete knew what pain was still to come.

Even down 20-12 at one point in the opening frame, the Wolves remained in a good mood, with Armstrong kicking off a game of duck-duck-goose during a stoppage in play.

Of course, having Adeline Maynes torch Concrete from the service line, ringing up seven straight points as CHS charged back into contention, didn’t hurt, either.

Adeline Maynes is ready to fill up the stat sheet. (Marquette Cunningham photo)

Once the first set was in hand, the Wolves began to really roll.

Two Concrete players ran into each other while trying to return the first serve from Tenley Stuurmans in set #2, and it went downhill fast from there for the Lions.

Armstrong, Stuurmans, and Calkins took turns whacking winners, often times ripping off a random arm or leg from a rival in the process, and CHS romped out to a 15-4 lead.

The Wolves stretched the advantage to as many as 13 points, and a set which began with two Lions colliding ended with a Concrete server airmailing a ball that nicked Coupeville coach Scout Smith as she stood at the end of the bench.

The final set was closer — for a hot moment at least — but strong service runs from Armstrong and Maynes, and a whole bunch of mighty mashin’ from Calkins kept the Wolves in front from start to finish.

Near the end, Ari Cunningham unleashed a knee-buckling kill off a note-perfect set from Stuurmans, while Dakota Strong and Lexis Drake chipped in with quality support.

Wherever you turn, “The Red Dragon” is watching you. (Julie Wheat photo)

The final words needed to be written by Calkins, though, and she once again answered the call.

The rock-steady young woman who combines three-sport talent with classroom excellence started her prep career playing side-by-side with players older than herself.

Now, she’s the sage veteran, never too high, never too low, always there to pick up her teammates, to sign an autograph with only a slight roll of her eyes, to be consistent and reliable in the same way her coach was back in her own playing days.

Have a young son or daughter who wants to be an athlete, wants to be remembered one day as a Cow Town legend?

Tell them these words: “Be like Teagan.” Can’t go wrong that way.

 

Thursday stats:

Haylee Armstrong — 9 kills, 8 digs, 1 assist, 1 ace
Teagan Calkins — 13 kills, 9 digs
Ari Cunningham —2 kills, 1 dig
Lexis Drake — 2 digs, 1 ace
Adeline Maynes — 14 digs, 1 assist, 5 aces
Dakota Strong — 1 dig
Tenley Stuurmans — 2 kills, 3 digs, 25 assists, 1 ace

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Runners sizzle at league championship meet

Posted in Cross Country, tagged , , , , on October 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Isaiah Allen zips along at the league championship meet. (Shaloma Allen photos)

They stand alone on the mountain top.

Placing four runners in the top nine Thursday in Mount Vernon, the Coupeville High School boys’ cross country team ran away with a team title at the Northwest 2B/1B League Championships.

It’s the third league title in program history, following a shared title in 2022. Other than that, you have to go back to 1977 when the Wolf boys ruled the Cascade League.

It also pulls Coupeville male runners even with their female counterparts, who won league crowns in 1982, 2021, and 2022.

Not bad for a cross country program which was revived in 2018 after lying dormant since the early 1990’s.

For CHS coach Elizabeth Bitting, who has been the driving force behind the rebirth and growth of the harrier team, this latest accomplishment is something worth celebrating.

“What a season! I am so proud of these runners,” she said. “They have pushed through illnesses and injuries and are peaking when they need to be.

“Just about every runner who ran this course last season set a personal record at today’s race.”

Tearing up the 5,000-meter course, the Wolf boys, who were led by third-place finisher George Spear, finished with 46 points, holding off Mount Vernon Christian (46) and Evangel Classical (55) to claim the title.

Spear not only set a PR Thursday but ran the second-fastest time by a Wolf boy in the modern era.

He edged past Danny Conlisk, Carson Field, and Mitchell Hall, and trails only Tyler King, who won a state title in 2010 running as a Lone Wolf without a team.

Devon Wyman cruises for the finish line.

Coupeville’s girls, who got a third-place finish from Mikayla Wagner, also finished strongly Thursday, earning third with 57 points, trailing only MVC (26) and Friday Harbor (43).

Up next for the Wolves is the Westside Classic, set for Saturday, Nov. 1 at University Place. That meet is the qualifier for state, and CHS sends 12 runners.

Barring any changes between now and then, the lineup will be Wagner, Aleksia Jump, Ivy Rudat, Devon Wyman, and Allie Powers on the girls side of things.

The boys will be Spear, Cyrus Sparacio, Ezekiel Allen, Kenneth Jacobsen, Beckett Green, Ossian Merkel, and Isaiah Allen.

 

Thursday results:

 

GIRLS:

Mikayla Wagner (3rd) 21:55.3
Aleksia Jump (11th) 23:46.6
Ivy Rudat (12th) 23:47.1
Devon Wyman (18th) 24:33.4
Allie Powers (19th) 24:45.2
Ava Lucero (26th) 28:40.9

Aleksia Jump enjoys her nature run.

 

BOYS:

George Spear (3rd) 17:40.7
Cyrus Sparacio (4th) 17:52.9
Ezekiel Allen (8th) 18:23.0
Kenneth Jacobsen (9th) 18:26.8
Ossian Merkel (23rd) 19:43.8
Beckett Green (27th) 19:59.4
Johnathan Jacobsen (29th) 20:12.4
Isaiah Allen (31st) 20:16.3
Will Tierney (42nd) 21:33.3
Hunter Atteberry (44th) 21:54.0
Donovan Fox (54th) 26:30.3
Nolan Hunt (55th) 26:46.8
Zach Blitch (56th) 28:30.9
Zachary Saho (60th) 38:17.7

Two thumbs up for Cow Town runners.

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Wolf booters chase playoff berth

Posted in Boys Soccer, tagged , , , , on October 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Shiloh Sandlin leads the charge. (Julie Wheat photo)

Growth and improvement, yes. A win, not on this day.

Facing off Wednesday afternoon with Friday Harbor, which has been a powerhouse in boys’ soccer in recent years, Coupeville’s young booters continued to jell as a team, but were unable to topple the high-powered Wolverines.

Still, the 5-1 home loss was a step forward from the season opener, when CHS was blanked 8-0 by the same foe.

“Much better than our first game of the season,” said Coupeville coach Jim Kunz. “Our Wolves made them work for it. We worked as a team.”

Kunz adjusted his normal defensive setup, with Wyatt Fitch-Marron, Shiloh Sandlin, Sage Arends, and Brian Thompson anchoring the back line in support of goaltender Sam Richards.

“They shut them down,” Kunz said. “A few small mistakes resulted in goals, but we definitely had the ability to win, which is very exciting.”

Coupeville’s goal came off the foot of Arends, who notched his team-high sixth score of the season.

The tally pushes the Wolf junior to nine goals for his prep pitch career, right on the cusp of becoming the 14th Wolf boy to reach double-digits in career scoring.

With the loss, CHS drops to 2-3 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 4-7 overall, and sits in fifth place in the nine-team conference with three games left to play.

The Wolves hit the road for their next two, playing Providence Classical Christian Oct. 24 and Lopez Island Oct. 28, before wrapping the regular season with a home clash against La Conner Oct. 30.

The top five teams from District 1 advance to the playoffs, which start Nov. 4.

Defending state champ Orcas Island (6-0), Mount Vernon Christian (6-1), Friday Harbor (4-2), Lopez (3-3), and Coupeville (2-3) currently hold down those slots, with Cedar Park Christian-Lynnwood, Grace Academy, La Conner, and Providence all on the outside looking in at 1-4.

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Booters shine in prime-time performance

Posted in Boys Soccer, tagged , , , , , on October 17, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Edmund Kunz scored his first high school goal Friday night. (Julie Wheat photos)

The spotlight suits them.

Playing under Friday Night Lights, the Coupeville High School boys’ soccer squad rolled to a 4-1 win over visiting Grace Academy, sending their fans into a tizzy.

The victory is the third in the last five games for the Wolves and lifts them to 2-2 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 4-6 overall.

Playing on its home turf as the sun set over Mickey Clark Field on a fairly serene mid-October night, Coupeville’s pitch kings were in control of the game from start to finish.

Playing for the first time this season with a completely healthy roster, including the debut of Jacob Lujan after he battled back from a leg injury suffered during the first day of practice, Coupeville attacked in waves.

And the goals came, fast and furious, as Sage Arends put together a hat trick, in just one half of play.

His first score came on a charge up the middle barely three minutes into the game, as he dared the Grace goalie to stop him, then offered the netminder no chance.

The ball left Arends toe like a rocket, splashing into the back of the net, and the rout was on.

From there, the silky-smooth junior banged home shots while on the move at the 22-minute mark, then again at the 34-minute mark.

With those three goals, Arends has five on the season, moving him back to the top of the team scoring chart, and eight for his CHS career.

While spending most of the half on the retreat, Grace did manage to get a few shots of its own off, only to have Wolf goalie Sam Richards deny them.

His best move? A block where he went parallel to the ground to punch the incoming shot off to the side, where it rolled out of bounds harmlessly.

The visitors did break through in the second half, scoring their lone goal on a laser to the corner of the net with 18 minutes left to play.

But the Wolves, to the delight of a group of high school fans beating out a steady rhythm on the metal stands with their legs, had an almost immediate response.

A Coupeville player was sent sprawling to the turf during an ensuing scrum, earning a penalty kick for the Wolves, and CHS coach Jim Kunz sent his son, Edmund, to the line for the one-on-one play.

The move paid off, with Edmund Kunz hammering the crud out of the ball, spinning it past the flailing goalie, notching his first high school goal, and capping the night’s offensive performance.

Wyatt Fitch-Marron, man of many talents.

With the Wolves basking in the afterglow of a home victory, Jim Kunz praised his team’s play, while honoring Wyatt Fitch-Marron as his game MVP.

The sophomore helped anchor the team while playing as both a defender and midfielder and showed consistent bursts of speed and an ability to kick-start the Wolf attack.

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