Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Pasco’

Harriers run strongly at state meet

Posted in Cross Country, tagged , , , , , on November 8, 2025| Leave a Comment »

No rain in Pasco for the Coupeville High School boys’ cross country squad. (Photos courtesy Elizabeth Bitting)

Year #8 is in the books.

The revival of Coupeville High School’s cross country program continues to roar along, with 12 Wolves competing Saturday at the state meet in Pasco.

CHS coach Elizabeth Bitting had full boys’ and girls’ teams on the line at the Sun Willows Golf Course, with the former finishing 11th in the 2B team standings and the latter 13th in a 1B/2B mashup.

“It was STATE! They put in the hard work and made it!” the Wolf running guru said. “Each team ran great races.”

Liberty Bell (girls) and Freeman (boys) claimed team crowns, with freshman Grace Walsh of Manson and sophomore Waylon Stoneburger-Schafer of Cle Elum-Roslyn earning individual titles while zipping across a 5,000-meter course.

For Coupeville, senior George Spear and sophomore Mikayla Wagner were the top placers, with Spear making his third appearance at the year’s biggest meet.

The Wolf girls enjoy the last day of the season.

In the girls’ race, the Wolves ran as a pack, with the time spread between their #1 and #5 runners the third smallest of any school, trailing just Liberty Bell and third-place finisher Pope John Paul II.

“The girls pushed themselves hard,” Bitting said. “Ivy (Rudat) and Allie (Powers) were our first time state runners. They both ran solid races and have goals for next season.

“Mikayla (Wagner) has been battling an injury but didn’t let that hold her back. She left it all out on the course and has earned some well-deserved healing time off.

“Devon (Wyman) has been fighting off a cold the past few weeks but today you would not have known. She ran one of her best races of the season,” Bitting added.

“Aleksia (Jump), our lone senior in the pack, ran her last state race of her high school career. She pushed herself, encouraged her teammates, her presence within the team will be missed.

“This girls’ team was more than just a team, they bonded, enjoyed each other’s company, laughed, they became family. I am excited to see what’s to come next season.”

CHS seniors (l to r) George Spear, Aleksia Jump, and Ezekiel Allen.

Bitting also came away impressed with her boys’ squad, which captured league and district titles in the same season for the first time since the 1970’s.

“The boys, the school history making boys! They ran amazingly,” she said. “What a group!

“The freshmen in the group, Cyrus (Sparacio) and Ossian (Merkel), truly added to the team. Their talents will take them far. This first year shaped them some but they still have so much more to give.

“Beckett (Green) and Isaiah (Allen), our sophomores, last year attended state as nonrunners #8 and #9, this year they made it and ran!! They both ran a strong race. They encouraged and pushed each other. The pack mentality is within them. Keep your eyes on them.

“Our lone junior Kenny (Jacobsen) always pushed himself and will continue to push himself. He ran a strong solid race.”

Topping things off are her two senior boys, Spear and Ezekiel Allen, who will depart along with Jump.

“George and Zeke – wow! Just wow! They will be missed!” Bitting said.

“They added so much to the team. Today they left it all on the course and both PR’d! So impressive.”

For now, the run is done, but with nine of Saturday’s 12 state meet participants scheduled to return, plus a solid group at home to join them, the future is bright.

“Next season there will be new faces, but the energy and dedication will be the same,” Bitting said.

 

Saturday results:

 

GIRLS:

Mikayla Wagner (46th) 21:58.90
Ivy Rudat (83rd) 23:26.90
Aleksia Jump (92nd) 23:47.80
Devon Wyman (101st) 24:20.80
Allie Powers (114th) 24:53.80

 

BOYS:

George Spear (40th) 18:08.10
Ezekiel Allen (46th) 18:18.20
Cyrus Sparacio (64th) 18:41.20
Kenneth Jacobsen (86th) 19:08.30
Ossian Merkel (117th) 20:06.50
Beckett Green (127th) 20:21.10
Isaiah Allen (130th) 20:41.50

Read Full Post »

“They all ran beautifully!”

Posted in Cross Country, tagged , , , , , on November 9, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville cross country runners, ready to rumble. (Photos courtesy Elizabeth Bitting)

They finished the season like they started it — leaving everything out on the course.

Putting in some of their best times of the campaign Saturday at the 2B state cross country championships in Pasco, the Coupeville High School harriers closed with a bang.

“They all ran beautifully!” said Wolf coach Elizabeth Bitting. “What a cap off to an already great season!!”

Coupeville, which revived its cross country program in 2017 after a two-decade shut down, sent 11 runners East this time, most of the new era.

The Wolf boys had a full team in the competition and earned 9th place, one spot better than their finish last year.

Cle Elum-Roslyn claimed the boys’ team title, while Coupeville’s Northwest 2B/1B League rival Mount Vernon Christian was 7th.

Dexter Delaney, a senior from Liberty, won the individual crown.

The Wolf girls ran strongly.

On the girls’ side of things, it was incredibly close, with Rainier nipping Pope John Paul II 71-72 for the team crown.

Friday Harbor finished 8th as a unit to give the NWL its best showing among schools which qualified a full female team.

Top individual honors on the 5,000-meter course at the Sun Willows Golf Course went to Regan Thomas, a junior from Saint George’s.

Seniors (left to right) Carson Field, Landon Roberts, and Thomas Strelow score a photo op with their running guru.

Saturday’s meet was the last one for three Wolf seniors, as Carson Field, Landon Roberts, and Thomas Strelow reached the final finish line after helping rebuild their school’s running program.

“It’s an end of an era!” Bitting said. “Missing those senior boys already. Heavy sigh.”

But the future is a bright one, as eight of the 11 Wolves who ran in Pasco can return next year.

That group includes two freshmen (Mikayla Wagner, Devon Wyman), two sophomores (Kenneth Jacobsen, Ethan Walling), and four juniors.

Aleksia Jump, Ezekiel Allen, Aleera Kent, and George Spear will be seniors next year, as will be Noelle Western, a two-time state meet qualifier who was denied a third trip by injuries.

 

Saturday results:

 

GIRLS:

Mikayla Wagner (36th) 21:45.60
Aleera Kent (69th) 23:05.10
Aleksia Jump (81st) 23:31.30
Devon Wyman (90th) 24:02.90

 

BOYS:

Carson Field (28th) 17:48.40
George Spear (37th) 18:14.30
Landon Roberts (38th) 18:16.20
Ezekiel Allen (49th) 18:33.80
Kenneth Jacobsen (55th) 18:51.20
Thomas Strelow (81st) 19:43.70
Ethan Walling (94th) 20:40.20

Bow Down to Cow Town.

Read Full Post »

“They left it all on the course!”

Posted in Cross Country, tagged , , , , , on November 4, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville sophomore Noelle Western has qualified for state in back-to-back seasons. (Photo courtesy Elizabeth Bitting)

Start of a new dynasty?

The Coupeville High School cross country squad sent eight runners to the line Saturday at the 1B/2B state meet in Pasco, and every one of them is eligible to return next season.

The Wolf boys qualified as a complete team for the first time since the late ’70s, while sophomore Noelle Western made it two-for-two in her short, but productive, running career.

With no seniors among the state participants, Coupeville is primed for even more success in the future.

And while none of the current crop of Wolves joined alumni Natasha Bamberger and Tyler King in bringing home individual state crowns Saturday, Elizabeth Bitting’s runners held up well on the 5,000-meter course at the Sun Willows Golf Course.

The CHS boys finished 10th in the team standings, with their top five runners stretched just one minute and 11 seconds apart.

That’s the fourth-best performance by a boys’ team Saturday.

“These boys!! Amazing!!!,” Bitting said. “After 46 years of missing state to finish 10th!

“They ALL ran so hard and pushed themselves to their limits!” she added.

“The look on all their faces running down the homestretch, it was obvious they left it all on the course.”

This marks the fourth time the Wolf boys have finished in the top 10 as a team at state, and the first since they went 9th, 5th, and 5th between 1975-1977.

The Wolf boys, back at the big dance. (Photo courtesy Elizabeth Bitting)

Coupeville’s girls, who claimed 8th place as a team last year, also have an 8th in 1981 and a program-best 4th in 1982.

While the Wolf girls just missed on sending a complete team to state this time around, Western made her second trip to Pasco, joining Carson Field in being a repeat qualifier.

Both veterans bettered their performance from last season, even with Western fighting off a cold.

“It was a wet and slick course,” Bitting said. “But she pushed herself and finished strong.”

Pope John Paul II, led by state champ Ruby Henry, claimed the girls’ team title, holding off Garfield-Palouse 45-51.

Henry, just a freshman, nipped Leki Albright of Liberty Bell by three seconds to hit the tape first.

In the boys’ race, it was more of a blowout, with Liberty Bell junior Dexter Delaney finishing 41 seconds ahead of the field.

Valley Christian, a private school out of Spokane, held off Pope John Paul II for the team title, while Coupeville came within a fraction of finishing as high as 8th.

Covenant was one point ahead of Adna, which was two points in front of CHS once everything was totaled up.

Coupeville’s Northwest 2B/1B League rival, Mount Vernon Christian, finished 14th in the team standings, as the Wolves beat them at both tri-districts and state after the Hurricanes narrowly won the league title.

After being so strong in the ’70s and ’80s, the CHS cross country program was shut down in the ’90s and sat dormant for nearly two decades.

Individual runners such as Tyler King and Danny Conlisk trained and traveled with Oak Harbor or South Whidbey during the “lost years.”

But the Wolves didn’t fully reenter the harrier world until Athletic Director Willie Smith relaunched things in 2018.

Working alongside fellow coaches Natasha Bamberger, Luke Samford, and Paige Spangler, Bitting has been deeply involved since the rebirth.

Whether coaching at the middle or high school level, the running guru has been instrumental in helping the Wolves build back, step by step.

Team captain Landon Roberts (hoodie) and teammates will be back. (Sherry Bonacci photo)

Looking ahead to season seven of this new era, Bitting can return every athlete who ran in Pasco, and 15 of the 18 who were on the roster this season.

Erica McGrath is the lone senior, while two foreign exchange students ran with the boys’ team.

There are also a number of standout 8th graders ready to make the jump after working with CMS coach Amber Wyman.

Even as one season ends, Bitting is ready to go again.

“I hope this instills in them that their hard work truly does pay off,” she said. “From the very beginning of the season they stuck with the pack mentality and only pushed themselves harder!

“This truly has been an amazing experience and I thank my lucky stars that everything just lined up this season.

“They, both girls’ and boys’ team, were ready for the challenge, bought into what I was preaching, their times dropped and look how they finished! That says it all!”

 

State meet results:

 

GIRLS:

Noelle Western (46th) 23:28.30

 

BOYS:

Carson Field (44th) 18:23.40
Landon Roberts (63rd) 18:38.10
Ezekiel Allen (83rd) 19:08.40
George Spear (93rd) 19:24.90
Thomas Strelow (106th) 19:34.90
Kenneth Jacobsen (110th) 19:40.60
Axel Marshall (157th) 21:54.60

Read Full Post »

Wolf harriers shine at state meet

Posted in Cross Country, tagged , , , , on November 6, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Noelle Western made it to the state cross country meet as a mere freshman. (Kerry Western photo)

They were too fast for the storm.

Eight Coupeville High School cross country runners departed Whidbey Island long before the power went off, and stayed off, at home.

Then, while most people back home stared into the unrelenting, inky darkness, the Wolves hit the course at Saturday’s 2B/1B state meet in Pasco.

Having sent a full team to the big dance for the first time since the ’80s, Coupeville unleashed six girls and two boys on the Sun Willows Golf Course.

Senior Mitchell Hall was the first Wolf to hit the tape, finishing 19th in the boys’ race, while the CHS girls claimed 8th in the team standings.

That’s the third top 10 finish for the program, coming on the heels of 4th in 1982 and 8th in 1981.

None of Saturday’s runners were even close to being alive during the age of Madonna, but they acquitted themselves nicely in Paige Spangler’s final moments as Coupeville’s harrier coach.

The trail guru, who coached two seasons at CHS, heads east after this, with her military husband having received new orders.

Before she left, Spangler also got to witness her girls team receive an academic state championship, with the Wolves having the highest GPA of any 2B team.

Coupeville’s girls, fast and smart. (Nicole Strelow photo)

Four of Coupeville’s eight runners at state depart as well, with Helen Strelow, Cristina McGrath, Hall, and Claire Mayne all seniors.

Noelle Western, Erica McGrath, Carson Field, and Reagan Callahan are all underclassmen.

Pope John Paul II and Chewelah claimed the girls and boys team titles, respectively, at Saturday’s championships, with PJP-II edging Garfield-Palouse by a single point.

Josie McLaughlin of St. George’s and Ciaran St. Hilaire of Tri-Cities Prep won individual crowns.

 

Saturday results:

GIRLS:

Claire Mayne (42nd) 24:05.30
Helen Strelow (49th) 24:28.20
Cristina McGrath (63rd) 25:57.70
Reagan Callahan (72nd) 28:20.60
Erica McGrath (73rd) 28:21.80

 

BOYS:

Mitchell Hall (19th) 17:58.80
Carson Field (74th) 19:27.90

Read Full Post »

Catherine the Great hits big time

Posted in Cross Country, tagged , , , , on November 9, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville junior Catherine Lhamon got faster as the cross country season progressed, running her best time Saturday at the 1A state meet. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Lhamon and Wolf coach Luke Samford celebrate in Pasco. (Helene Lhamon photo)

Her junior season ended much better than her sophomore campaign.

A year ago, Coupeville’s Catherine Lhamon was the top female runner for a reborn Coupeville High School cross country program.

Peaking at just the right time, she was running wild on the trails, until late-season leg injuries sent her to the sidelines, unable to run in the postseason.

Jump forward a year, and the Wolf harrier program has exploded in the number of athletes participating, with Lhamon back at the front of the pack.

This time, she avoided injuries, allowing her fleet feet to carry her all the way to Pasco, where she ran in the 1A state meet Saturday.

And not only did Lhamon break from the line at the big dance, but she also finished with a bang.

Passing runners down the backstretch, the Wolf junior recorded a season-best time, and the second-fastest mark she’s ever had in a 5,000 meter race.

Her time of 21 minutes, 44.70 seconds was 18.5 seconds faster than her previous top mark this season, and placed her 92nd in a field of 149 runners.

Lhamon was the only CHS athlete to qualify for state this fall, in any sport, and becomes just the third Wolf, and only female, to make it to high school cross country’s biggest race this decade.

She joins Danny Conlisk, who ran at Pasco in 2017, and Tyler King, who won the 1A state title in 2010.

King trained and traveled with Oak Harbor, Conlisk with South Whidbey, as Coupeville’s own cross country program lay dormant for two decades.

It returned in 2018, led by Lhamon, Conlisk and coach Natasha Bamberger, who won the 1985 state title while attending CHS.

Work commitments led to Bamberger stepping away from the program before this season, and she was replaced by college coach Luke Samford.

Coupeville jumped from two girls in 2018 to five this year, while the boys drew a double-digit turnout in year two.

The increased numbers allowed the Wolves to compete in the team standings at meets this season, another huge step as the program rebuilds.

A prime example of what CHS would like to be sits just up the road in Langley, where South Whidbey has a cross country program which sits in the WIAA Hall of Fame.

Saturday, the Falcons sent both boys and girls teams to Pasco, claiming fourth and eighth in the team standings, respectively.

The top individual finisher for South Whidbey was junior Kaia Swegler Richmond, who claimed 6th place.

The 1A girls race got super-dramatic, as defending state champ Naomi Smith of King’s and top contender Alaina Stone of Colville dueled, separated by a single second at the two-mile mark.

Smith, who is one of the fastest high school harriers in the nation, suffered a late fall, however, allowing Stone to run away with a title in the final prep match-up between the speedy seniors.

Adam Briejer of Charles Wright Academy won the boys race, with the Deer Park girls and Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls) boys claiming team titles.

Read Full Post »

Older Posts »