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Posts Tagged ‘Northwest League’

Scan the standings, one final time

Posted in standings, tagged , , , , , on May 13, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Brynn Parker becomes one with the tennis ball. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Time for the fireworks.

The regular season is done, league champs are crowned, and it’s nothing but playoff action from here on out.

Three of Coupeville’s four spring sports teams are still alive heading into next week, with two in action.

Girls’ tennis sends two singles players and two doubles teams to Bi-Districts Friday, May 19 in Seattle, where the Wolves will try and punch some tickets to the state championships.

CHS baseball plays the next day, making its first appearance at state since 2014.

The location of that game and opponent will be announced Sunday when the seeding committee reveals its work.

Coupeville’s track and field team is also off to state, but not until the following week, with the last meet of the season set for May 25-27.

Our final look at league standings for spring sports:

 

Northwest League baseball:

School League Overall
Coupeville 13-1 16-5
MV Christian 13-1 17-3
Friday Harbor 8-6 9-9
Orcas Island 7-8 12-9
Darrington 6-9 8-10
La Conner 3-11 5-14
Concrete 0-14 0-15

 

Northwest League girls’ tennis:

School League Overall
Coupeville 2-2 2-7
Friday Harbor 2-2 2-3

 

Northwest League softball:

School League Overall
Friday Harbor 11-1 14-5
Coupeville 10-2 14-6
Darrington 8-4 9-5
Orcas Island 5-7 5-11
La Conner 2-10 3-16
Concrete 0-12 0-14

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“He has a great dedication to his position”

Posted in Hands Off My Willie, tagged , , , , , on May 13, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Willie Smith, still smiling while doing 10,001 things at the same time. (Helen Strelow photo)

Randy Sweeney has seen them come and go.

Over the past two decades-plus, as a coach and athletic director at Concrete High School, he’s competed against, and worked with, an endless list of men and women who share his love for helping shape the future of young student/athletes.

One of the best of those, he said in a recent chat, is his counterpart in Coupeville, Willie Smith.

“He has a great dedication to his position and loves being involved at every level,” Sweeney said. “Willie always puts his kids first, and that’s what makes him successful.”

The duo faced off during baseball and football games starting in the late ’90s, after Smith arrived in Coupeville from Sequim, and the relationship has grown from there.

Friendly, though deeply committed rivals, they’ve carried a healthy respect for each other as Concrete and Coupeville have shared the same league, parted ways, then reunited.

Now, with possible budget cuts looming, including a proposal to strip Smith of his AD duties, handing them off to an assistant principal whose own job will be cut by 16 days, Sweeney is one of many to call shenanigans.

“Most people have no idea of what we really do as AD’s,” he said. “Of the amount of time we all put in, year-round, always being available from early morning until late evening to deal with any issues which come up.

“It’s the scheduling, the travel, running events, dealing with officials, crowd control — the extent of what we do for a relatively small amount of money at most schools would surprise people.”

Having someone like Smith, who mixes a calm personality and extensive knowledge with decades of working smoothly with their peers, is invaluable.

“Willie is a huge benefit to Coupeville, but also a huge benefit to the Northwest League,” Sweeney said.

“He is always prepared, pays attention to the needs of other schools as well as his own, and is willing to work to benefit everyone.”

While most high school AD’s in Washington state juggle other responsibilities, whether it’s teaching PE like Smith or being a school groundskeeper like Sweeney, athletics drive their day.

Asking someone to jump into that on a limited basis isn’t the way to go, said Concrete’s main man.

“I’ve seen it tried many times, in many ways, and things fall by the wayside,” Sweeney said.

“It’s nobody’s fault, you can have good people working hard, but you need someone from this world who is deeply committed to make things work.

“You have to look at the relatively small amount of money which would be saved, against what Willie brings to Coupeville. Which I think is a lot.”

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Action heats up, standings settle

Posted in standings, tagged , , , , on May 7, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Layla Heo and CHS softball end their season this coming week. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Djina Radenovic and Wolf tennis play twice as the regular season wraps.

A little something for everyone.

The week ahead is a hodgepodge of regular season and playoff action, with all four Coupeville High School spring sports teams involved.

Wolf softball and girls’ tennis wrap regular season action, while track and field and baseball begin what they hope will be long postseason runs.

The netters travel to Mount Vernon Tuesday, May 9 in a match just added to the schedule, then host Friday Harbor May 12.

That second bout, where the Wolves will celebrate Senior Night, offers CHS a chance to claim sole possession of the Northwest 2B/1B League title.

After that, Ken Stange’s squad sends its top players on to the district tourney, which is set to go down in Seattle May 19.

The CHS softball squad, meanwhile, travels to South Whidbey May 12 for a final non-league game, then packs up the equipment.

The Wolf sluggers were nipped by Friday Harbor in the league finale and lost a chance to advance to the playoffs.

Baseball and track get their postseason closeup Saturday, May 13, with the hardball squad on the road at Lakewood High School, where they will face either Northwest Christian (Lacey) or Friday Harbor.

The Wolf runners, throwers, and jumpers defend their home turf, with CHS hosting the district meet.

Do well, and the state championships are next on the schedule for both teams.

As we head into a week of intrigue, a look at where things sit in terms of wins and losses:

 

Northwest League baseball:

School League Overall
Coupeville 13-1 15-5
MV Christian 13-1 14-3
Friday Harbor 8-6 8-8
Orcas Island 7-8 11-8
Darrington 6-9 8-10
La Conner 3-11 5-14
Concrete 0-14 0-15

 

Northwest League girls’ tennis:

School League Overall
Coupeville 2-1 2-5
Friday Harbor 1-2 1-3

 

Northwest League softball:

School League Overall
Friday Harbor 11-1 14-4
Coupeville 10-2 13-6
Darrington 8-4 9-5
Orcas Island 5-7 5-11
La Conner 2-10 3-16
Concrete 0-12 0-14

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Wolf sluggers denied playoff run

Posted in Softball, tagged , , , , , on May 4, 2023| Leave a Comment »

CHS softball coaches Katrina and Kevin McGranahan contemplate the state of things. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

The season isn’t done, but any playoff hopes are gone.

The Coupeville High School varsity softball squad made some outstanding defensive plays Thursday but stranded 13 runners and fell 3-2 in eight innings to host Friday Harbor.

The Wolf sluggers, who went undefeated in their first two years back in the Northwest 2B/1B League, finish 10-2 in conference action this time around, and are 13-6 overall with a May 12 non-league tilt at South Whidbey left on the schedule.

Friday Harbor, which is 11-1 in league, 14-4 overall, won two of three against the Wolves and earns a league title and District 1’s lone playoff berth for 2B schools.

The difference between Coupeville and their closest rival was razor-thin this season, with both losses being one-run affairs on the road.

Friday Harbor won 13-12 back in March, in a game where CHS was up 6-0 early.

Then the Wolves bounced back, thrashing the Wolverines 8-1 in mid-April in a game played on Whidbey Island.

That set up Thursday’s league finale, which carried simple, but massive stakes.

And both teams met the moment, for the most part, alternating big-time plays as the pressure grew.

Coupeville struck first, pushing a run across in both the first and second innings, while Friday Harbor responded with two tallies in the bottom of the third to knot things back up.

Mia Farris, who walked, then went to second on a Taylor Brotemarkle single, nimbly dashed home on a wild pitch to stake CHS to a 1-0 lead.

Haylee Armstrong is locked and loaded.

The second run of the afternoon came courtesy of a couple of big hits from the bottom of the order, with 8th grader Haylee Armstrong lashing a leadoff triple to right-center in the top of the second.

Sailing into third without any hesitation, the middle school masher then came home two batters later when sophomore Jada Heaton hammered an RBI single into the gap.

Unfortunately for the Wolves, that would be the final run they scored, despite putting runners aboard in every inning.

CHS had Friday Harbor hurler Natalie Morton on the ropes, racking up six hits and 10 walks, but couldn’t land the knockout punch.

The Wolves stranded two runners in each of the first four innings, and left the bases loaded in the top of the seventh.

“We just couldn’t seem to string hits together tonight,” said Coupeville coach Kevin McGranahan.

Part of the problem was Friday Harbor playing spotless defense, seemingly gobbling up every liner or pop fly, and making every throw.

Coupeville countered with its own defensive gems, however, as the teams played four straight scoreless innings to send the game into extra frames.

Freshman catcher Teagan Calkins, playing through an injury suffered in her team’s last game, came up huge, gunning down a would-be base stealer at third base.

Her bullet, which slapped into Gwen Gustafson’s glove a millisecond before the incoming runner, was followed by Brotemarkle diving to rob Friday Harbor on a soft liner headed for paydirt.

Best buds Farris and Heaton also came up with huge catches in the outfield late in the game, running down balls which had extra-bases written all over them.

Mia Farris is a defensive dynamo, and a fashion icon.

“Jada had the game of her life,” McGranahan said. “Going back and snagging a long fly, and then catching a short fly to right and diving forward to catch one, and two hits with an RBI.”

Not to be outdone, Brotemarkle also snagged a hot shot on the ground while on the move, then spun and flipped the ball to Maya Lucero to beat an incoming runner.

But as strongly as both teams played on defense, even with the wind whistling past the phone livestreaming the game, a few balls were bound to find a place to drop back to Earth just out of reach.

Leading off the bottom of the eighth, Friday Harbor’s Audrey Allen bashed a ball which sliced between two defenders flying hard from opposite sides, then skipped away towards the fence.

It turned into a triple, and two walks — one intentional to avoid the Wolverines cleanup hitter — loaded the bases with no room for error.

CHS pitcher Allie Lucero whiffed a hitter to get her squad a third of the way to keeping the game alive, but a hard-hit grounder from the next batter was the difference maker.

The Wolves had a play at the plate, but the throw came in low and the runner came in hot, ending the game on a positive note for Friday Harbor.

 

Thursday stats:

Haylee Armstrong — One triple
Taylor Brotemarkle — Two singles, one walk
Mia Farris — Two walks
Gwen Gustafson — One walk
Jada Heaton — Two singles
Allie Lucero — Three walks
Maya Lucero — One single
Madison McMillan — Two walks
Sofia Peters — One walk

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We want all the wins!

Posted in Track, tagged , , , , on May 3, 2023| Leave a Comment »

CHS seniors Josh Upchurch (left) and Dominic Coffman are part of the best boys’ track and field team in the Northwest 2B/1B League. (Brittany Kolbet photo)

Hear the Wolves howl.

Coupeville High School track and field lit up Jack Whitaker Field in La Conner Wednesday, throwing down a dominant performance at the Northwest 2B/1B League Championships.

Boasting a deep roster, the Wolf boys cruised to a team title, doubling up their closest rival, while the CHS girls narrowly finished second to powerhouse Mount Vernon Christian.

Coupeville’s male athletes captured nine wins en route to rolling up 155 points.

La Conner (77), MVC (62), Friday Harbor (37), and Orcas Island (23) rounded out the team scoring.

Among the girls, the battle was much closer, with MVC holding off CHS 154.5-129.5.

Friday Harbor (36), La Conner (31), and Orcas (20) were way, way back of the titanic twosome.

Coupeville’s girls brought home eight titles of their own, with the Wolves claiming the top spot on the podium in 17 of the day’s 35 events.

Wolf senior Aidan Wilson led the way, earning top honors in the 400, 800, and triple jump, while sophomore Lyla Stuurmans (400, 800) and senior Mitchell Hall (1600, 3200) were double winners.

CHS female stars notching wins included Monroe Myles (100), Claire Mayne (100 Hurdles), Carolyn Lhamon (Shot Put), Katie Marti (Javelin), and Ryanne Knoblich (High Jump).

Zac Tackett (Discus), Nick Guay (High Jump), and Nehemiah Myles (Long Jump) are also league champs, as are the girls 4 x 400 relay squad and the boys 4 x 100 unit.

“They all ran, jumped, threw beautifully!” said Coupeville coach Elizabeth Bitting. “It was a good day!!!!!!!”

Next up for the Wolves is the district meet Saturday, May 13, which they will host.

That event, which is the direct lead-in to the state meet, kicks off at 11:00 AM at Coupeville’s Mickey Clark Field.

Foreign exchange students (l to r) Lavinia Tomba, Valentina Nadela, Carlota Marcos-Cabrillo, Sara Omega, and Anna Annunziato all competed Wednesday. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

 

Wednesday’s results:

 

GIRLS:

100 — Monroe Myles (1st) 13.29 *PR*; Anna Annunziato (8th) 15.09 *PR*; Alysia Burdge (11th) 15.54; Isabella Gaspio (14th) 15.71; Carlota Marcos-Cabrillo (15th) 15.74; Gwen Crowder (17th) 16.20 *PR*; Sara Omega (19th) 17.25; Frankie Tenore (20th) 18.05

200 — Annunziato (10th) 32.48 *PR*; Noelle Western (11th) 32.98; Ayden Wyman (12th) 33.33; Desi Ramirez (16th) 37.18 *PR*; Reagan Callahan (17th) 38.07 *PR*; Valentina Nadela (18th) 43.31 *PR*

400 — Lyla Stuurmans (1st) 1:03.60 *PR*; A. Wyman (5th) 1:14.04; Aleera Kent (6th) 1:14.24; Aleksia Jump (7th) 1:17.21 *PR*; Tenore (9th) 1:27.07 *PR*; Callahan (10th) 1:33.84 *PR*; Delanie Lewis (11th) 1:35.41 *PR*

800 — Stuurmans (1st) 2:24.22; Kent (3rd) 2:50.76; Western (4th) 3:01.47

1600 — Erica McGrath (4th) 8:00.50 *PR*; A. Jump (5th) 8:41.56 *PR*; Taygin Jump (6th) 8:51.77 *PR*

3200 — Kent (3rd) 14:00.14 *PR*; Western (4th) 14:42.46 *PR*; Cristina McGrath (5th) 16:43.55

100 Hurdles — Claire Mayne (1st) 17.58 *PR*; Katie Buskala (6th) 22.17; Tenore (8th) 24.13; Crowder (9th) 25.63 *PR*

300 Hurdles — Mayne (4th) 56.35; Crowder (7th) 1:05.68

4 x 100 Relay — M. Myles, Ryanne Knoblich, Issabel Johnson, Mayne (2nd) 54.13

4 x 200 Relay — Knoblich, Burt, A. Wyman, Stuurmans (2nd) 2:00.19

4 x 400 Relay — Mayne, Burt, Kent, Stuurmans (1st) 4:27.11

Shot Put — Carolyn Lhamon (1st) 31-04.25; Katie Marti (4th) 27-01; Reese Wilkinson (5th) 23-06.50; E. McGrath (6th) 22-10; Anna Myles (7th) 22-01 *PR*; Burdge (8th) 20-09 *PR*; Ramirez (10th) 19-08.25

Discus — Wilkinson (2nd) 91-11 *PR*; Lhamon (3rd) 87-09; Marti (4th) 83-03; A. Myles (5th) 80-08 *PR*; E. McGrath (6th) 77-10; T. Jump (7th) 77-03; Ramirez (10th) 60-05 *PR*; Aby Wood (15th) 46-00

Javelin — Marti (1st) 95-08; T. Jump (3rd) 88-05; Wood (9th) 56-07; Johnson (10th) 55-00; Burdge (11th) 53-05; Marcos-Cabrillo (12th) 53-00 *PR*; Nadela (14th) 52-09; Wilkinson (15th) 52-08; Crowder (17th) 45-06; A. Myles (18th) 40-07 *PR*; Lewis (20th) 27-09 *PR*; Lavinia Tomba (21st) 22-09

High Jump — Knoblich (1st) 5-00; Buskala (5th) 4-00; Marcos-Cabrillo (7th) 3-10 *PR*

Pole Vault — Burt (3rd) 7-00 *PR*; A. Jump (6th) 6-06 *PR*; Johnson (7th) 5-06 *PR*

Long Jump — Knoblich (3rd) 13-09; Burt (4th) 13-08; Buskala (9th) 12-04; Tenore (11th) 11-04; Wood (12th) 11-02 *PR*; Annunziato (14th) 10-02.25; Omega (15th) 10-02; Nadela (17th) 9-08.75; Lewis (18th) 9-07; Tomba (19th) 9-00

Triple Jump — C. McGrath (3rd) 27-01

 

BOYS:

100 — Tim Ursu (3rd) 11.94; Nehemiah Myles (4th) 11.95; Dominic Coffman (7th) 12.24; Preston Epp (12th) 12.55

200 — Ursu (3rd) 24.80; Alex Murdy (4th) 24.83 *PR*; N. Myles (5th) 25.91 *PR*; Nick Guay (6th) 24.93; Reiley Araceley (7th) 25.68; P. Epp (8th) 25.86; Marquette Cunningham (11th) 26.29; Hank Milnes (15th) 27.03; Quinten Simpson-Pilgrim (17th) 27.65 *PR*; Easton Green (18th) 27.65 *PR*; Alex Merino-Martinez (20th) 27.93; Kris Sturtevant (22nd) 28.05

400 — Aidan Wilson (1st) 53.47; P. Epp (4th) 56.26 *PR*; Milnes (6th) 57.93 *PR*; Cunningham (8th) 59.52 *PR*; Ezra Boilek (10th) 1:00.74 *PR*; Anthony Smolen (11th) 1:01.62; Merino-Martinez (14th) 1:03.16 *PR*; Sturtevant (15th) 1:04:10 *PR*; Simpson-Pilgrim (16th) 1:05.09

800 — A. Wilson (1st) 2:12.41; Boilek (3rd) 2:27.14; Ezekiel Allen (6th) 2:32.41; George Spear (9th) 2:35.90 *PR*

1600 — Mitchell Hall (1st) 4:44.85 *PR*; Malachi Somes (2nd) 5:06.32; Spear (4th) 5:22.46 *PR*; Allen (8th) 5:37.50 *PR*; Green (14th) 5:55:61 *PR*

3200 — Hall (1st) 10:36.29; Cameron Epp (2nd) 10:41.70 *PR*; Somes (3rd) 11:17.16; Spear (4th) 11:51.88 *PR*

110 Hurdles — Tate Wyman (3rd) 16.90 *PR*; Araceley (5th) 18.70; Cael Wilson (6th) 19.15

300 Hurdles — T. Wyman (2nd) 44.92; C. Wilson (6th) 47.77 *PR*; Araceley (7th) 47.92 *PR*

4 x 100 Relay — N. Guay, T. Wyman, A. Wilson, Ursu (1st) 45.20

4 x 400 Relay — N. Guay, Milnes, P. Epp, C. Epp (2nd) 3:50.33

Shot Put — Zac Tackett (3rd) 36-10.25 *PR*; Kai Wong (4th) 35-11.50; Zane Oldenstadt (6th) 92-09; Josh Upchurch (9th) 31-04; Ursu (13th) 29-08 *PR*; Josh Guay (24th) 21-07.25; Nick Shelly (26th) 19-09.50

Discus — Tackett (1st) 126-02; C. Epp (4th) 98-03 *PR*; Oldenstadt (6th) 92-09; Wong (8th) 84-03; Upchurch (10th) 82-08 *PR*; J. Guay (13th) 79-06 *PR*; Shelly (19th) 73-00 *PR*

Javelin — Boilek (5th) 120-07 *PR*; Hall (8th) 106-04; Wong (9th) 102-05 *PR*; Upchurch (10th) 101-08; Coffman (11th) 100-10 *PR*; Somes (14th) 95-01; Tackett (15th) 93-06; Oldenstadt (17th) 91-00 *PR*; Shelly (21st) 74-09; Cunningham (22nd) 74-05; Allen (26th) 55-03 *PR*; J. Guay (27th) 51-07

High Jump — N. Guay (1st) 6-00 *PR*; C. Wilson (3rd) 5-08 *PR*; Murdy (4th) 5-06; Coffman (5th) 5-06; Simpson-Pilgrim (7th) 4-10

Pole Vault — C. Wilson (3rd) 8-06 *PR*; Cunningham (4th) 8-00 *PR*

Long Jump — N. Myles (1st) 19-07 *PR*; Murdy (3rd) 18-09; Merino-Martinez (11th) 15-09; Sturtevant (14th) 14-10.50 *PR*; Green (15th) 14-05.50; Allen (19th) 13-03 *PR*

Triple Jump — A. Wilson (1st) 40-09; Milnes (5th) 35-09; Araceley (9th) 32-09.50; Hall (10th) 29-05 *PR*

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