Runner-up Lauren Grove at work on the soccer field.
Smith checks the base runner (and the vote count).
Return your voting finger to its upright position.
If you can…
The past 100 hours have seen an unprecedented explosion of fervor — mixed with a little screaming, whining, pleading, snarkiness and good-old-fashioned trash talking — here on Coupeville Sports.
This is the fourth time I’ve celebrated the end of the school sports year by holding a winner-take-all poll for the Athlete Supreme.
But year #4 made years #1-3 look downright quaint.
We topped out a bit over 15,000 votes last year, when CJ Smith joined Nick Streubel (2013) and Amanda Fabrizi (2014) in claiming a title that exists only in our minds.
This year?
123,908 votes cast in 100 hours, with Wolf sophomore Hunter Smith riding an explosion of votes in the final 36 hours to upend junior Lauren Grove and make it back-to-back wins for his family.
At one point Tuesday, the two were separated by three votes, than the Smith mafia (I kid, I kid) kicked it to another gear and it was done, man.
Hunter finished with an uncanny 28,440 votes.
Grove (23,286), freshman Lindsey Roberts (15,496), senior Makana Stone (12,962) and sophomore Julian Welling (12,098) rounded out the top five in our 20-athlete field.
To those who played along, thanks.
And to those like laid-back Lathom Kelley and feisty McKenzie Bailey, who couldn’t have cared less about my silly poll, you know you’re still on my A-list.
Maybe even more so now.
The poll, kicked off Saturday afternoon, was a knock-down, drag-out affair, with early front-runners taken down hard in the second half by athletes with extremely deep benches of family and friends who voted in a frenzy.
By the time we got to the final 24 hours, it was firmly a two-person race between three-sport stars, both of whom are standout athletes and better people.
Nerves got frazzled, charges of voter fraud were launched more than once (I, for one, never saw any, but if people found a way to bend the system, hey, let’s give credit where credit is due) and everyone got worked into a froth for an award that exists … only in our minds.
Will I go back to one-person, one-vote next year? We’ll see. I have 12 months to ponder it all.
For now, a bow in the direction of Hunter Smith, our 2016 Athlete Supreme.
And now we can all return to our normal lives and some of you can go stick your thumbs in a bucket of ice.
L to r, Payton Aparicio, McKenzie Bailey, Tiffany Briscoe, Jordan Ford, Lauren Grove, Wiley Hesselgrave, Lathom Kelly, Kailey Kellner, Mia Littlejohn, Hope Lodell, Katrina McGranahan, Clay Reilly, Sage Renninger, Lindsey Roberts, Lauren Rose, CJ Smith, Hunter Smith, Makana Stone, Valen Trujillo, Julian Welling.
Who’s willing to go a bit crazy, while pounding their fingers into submission for a totally mythical award?
Yep, it’s that time again, when we launch the madness that is the 4th annual Coupeville Sports Athlete Supreme.
First I take all the CHS athletes and chop them down into a manageable amount.
In previous years we topped out at 12-16 nomines, but this year we’re making it 20, and no longer trying to hold the number of male and female athletes even.
Not counting track (which is its own weirdly-scored beast) the five varsity CHS girls sports teams won 24 league games this school year, to a combined 18 from the boys five teams.
So, if there are more girls than boys nominated this year (which there are) they earned it.
And yes, as soon as people look at the list, the butt-hurt will begin. As it does every year.
There are some names you would expect to be there which simply are not.
First and foremost, to be eligible you have to had a noticeable impact on at least TWO VARSITY teams in 2015-2016.
There are a lot of very talented Wolves who only played one sport this school year, for whatever reason. Injuries, specialization, what have you.
Whether it’s Abraham Leyva and Kalia Littlejohn in soccer, Dalton Martin and Sylvia Hurlburt in track, Risen Johnson in basketball or countless others, you are noticed, appreciated and honored.
But you’re not eligible for this silly lil’ “award.”
I have to make the first cut somewhere, and the easiest (and I think fairest) way is to limit nominees to those who played multiple sports.
If you can, and do, make the commitment at a small school which desperately needs bodies in every sport, you should get some extra credit.
If and when we have a one-sport athlete who is Olympic or professional level in their field, I’ll reevaluate that stance. Until then, diversification deserves to be noted.
For those who don’t know, the Athlete Supreme is a popularity contest, a Wild West voting war and psychological warfare all wrapped in one.
The previous three winners are:
2013 — Nick Streubel (football, basketball, track)
2014 — Amanda Fabrizi (volleyball, basketball)
2015 — CJ Smith (football, basketball, baseball)
The first year, I limited voters to one vote apiece and there were 433 votes cast.
Year two I started with the one vote rule, then opened up the voting to Wild West rules the last day and we topped 4,820 votes.
Year three it was full-tilt war from the opening bell and CJ emerged after 15,385 votes were cast.
Year four will be the same as year three — no rules.
You can vote as many times as you want, no limits, for 100 hours, from the moment this poll goes live until 3 PM Wednesday.
The only thing that stands between you and a brief moment of internet immortality is the willingness to bang your thumbs into oblivion via your phone or computer.
Your nominees (in alphabetic order):
Payton Aparicio — Among team leaders in 10 of 11 stat categories during volleyball, half of #1 doubles team in tennis.
McKenzie Bailey — Big hitter in volleyball, nearly-undefeated doubles ace in tennis.
Tiffany Briscoe — Starter and big contributor in volleyball, basketball and softball.
Jordan Ford — Key starter in football and basketball, new school record holder in pole vault.
Lauren Grove — Starter in soccer and basketball, member of fastest 4 x 200 girls relay squad in 1A.
Wiley Hesselgrave — All-League selection in football and basketball and led boys hoops team in scoring.
Lathom Kelley — Two-way terror in football and track wunderkind.
Kailey Kellner — Deadly three-ball shooter and co-captain on basketball team that went to state and a starter in softball.
Mia Littlejohn — All-league in soccer, co-captain and point guard for basketball squad.
Hope Lodell — Impact player in volleyball and softball, where she blasted Wolves only true home run this season.
Katrina McGranahan — Key volleyball and softball player, winner of the WIAA Athlete of the Week.
Clay Reilly — Top punter in 1A Olympic League during football, key player on baseball team which won first league title in 25 years.
Sage Renninger — Rock-solid team leader in both soccer and tennis.
Lindsey Roberts — Soccer starter, explosive sixth-man on state basketball squad, one-fourth of possible state title-bound relay squad in track.
Lauren Rose — Superb across the board in volleyball (#1 in five stat categories), basketball and softball.
CJ Smith — Quiet team leader in football and baseball. Staff pitching ace on diamond, tossed shutout in title-clinching game.
Hunter Smith — Shattered school record for interceptions in football, while also starring in basketball and baseball.
Makana Stone — League MVP for second straight year in basketball and selected to All-State game after finishing career with 1,000+ points, 800+ rebounds and 200+ steals. On her way to making fourth straight appearance at state track meet.
Valen Trujillo — Broke school career record for digs during volleyball season, #1 singles player on tennis squad.
Julian Welling — Big hitter in football, rising star on baseball squad.
Matt Hilborn and Co. have scooped up their first ranking in a state baseball poll. (John Fisken photos)
Senior CJ Smith has been a huge factor in Coupeville’s rise, on the mound, in the field and at the plate.
Pardon me while I have the vapors.
The big boys have rediscovered Cow Town.
For the first time in recent memory, the Coupeville High School baseball squad has cracked the state’s Top 10 polls.
And it happened BEFORE they knocked off defending Olympic League champ Klahowya for the second time Wednesday.
When legendary former Anacortes coach Lem Elway kicked out his latest rankings at washingtonbaseballpoll.com Sunday, there was lil’ ol’ Coupeville sitting at #9 in 1A.
Yep, just three slots behind their league rivals, who dropped from #3 to #6 after their first loss to the Wolves.
Since the poll was released, CHS upended Chimacum Monday, then walloped Klahowya 10-2 yesterday to move within one win of its first baseball league title since 1991.
While Coupeville continues to get short thrift from the computers (ScoreCzar has them ranked at #29, behind teams with 4-11 and 5-12 records), Elway’s poll carries far more weight, as he shapes it after talking with coaches across the state.
The top 10 for 1A (through Sunday, Apr. 24):
1 — Naches Valley
2 — Eatonville
3 — Zillah
4 — Kiona-Benton
5 — Hoquiam
6 — Klahowya
7 — Freeman
8 — Kings Way Christian
9 — Coupeville
10 — Meridian
CJ Smith, your 2014-2015 Coupeville Sports Athlete Supreme. (John Fisken photos)
Julia Myers, second in the voting but first in the hearts of Judy Nation.
Past winners Nick Streubel and Amanda Fabrizi.
CJ Smith destroys polls.
The Coupeville High School junior — and his fervent fan club — outlasted, outwitted and outvoted the field (again), sweeping to victory in Coupeville Sports 3rd annual battle to be named Athlete Supreme.
Smith, who played football, basketball and baseball for the Wolves in 2014-2015, edged out soccer/basketball star Julia Myers with a strong second-half performance.
With 24 hours left in the 3.5-day voting period, Myers held a razor-thin two-vote advantage, but Smith stormed back to win 4,253-3,514.
Overall, 15,385 votes were cast, with Jacki Ginnings (1,660), Matt Shank (1,066) and Valen Trujillo (940) rounding out the top five.
With the win, Smith joins past winners Nick Streubel (2012-2013) and Amanda Fabrizi (2013-2014) in winning an award that has no real trophy (yet) but gets you about seven seconds of fame.
Now, the only question remaining, can CJ defend his crown as a senior and become the first repeat winner in Athlete Supreme history, or is there a Wolf out there preparing to take him down?
To do so, you’ll need two things — a strong athletic year (you’re more likely to be nominated if you play multiple sports) and a really fast voting finger.
To see the complete results and vote totals for all 16 contestants, pop over to:
Clockwise, from top left, Valen Trujillo, Lauren Rose, Madeline Strasburg, Jacki Ginnings, Kacie Kiel, Julia Myers, Hailey Hammer, Makana Stone.
Clockwise, from top left, Aaron Curtin, Wiley Hesselgrave, CJ Smith, Matt Shank, Josh Bayne, Lathom Kelley, Sebastian Davis, Joel Walstad.
Wild West rules.
That’s what we’re going with as we kick off our 3rd annual Athlete Supreme battle, honoring those who played for Coupeville High School in 2014-2015.
You can vote as many times as your little voting finger can handle. Seriously.
So don’t complain if someone else goes wild.
Either get in there and scrap or take the high road and lose. Up to each of you.
From the moment the poll opens (that’s now) until noon Thursday, it’s open warfare.
Then we’ll declare a victor and someone will get a brief giddy rush of joy in joining former winners Nick Streubel and Amanda Fabrizi in claiming a contest with no real trophy, but some bragging rights.
In the first two years of the contest I went with 12 nominees (six Wolf girls and six boys), but this year I bumped it to 16.
Even so, a lot of very deserving CHS athletes got left off the list, starting with those who only played one sport or were limited by injuries.
But I had to cut somewhere, and even if I chose 61 and not 16, someone would be snubbed.
So remember, it’s a silly contest. But feel free to mentally cuss me out if it makes you feel better.
The nominees (alphabetically):
Josh Bayne — Olympic League MVP in football. All-State pick on both sides of the ball. Star baseball player.
Aaron Curtin — Going to state for second straight year in tennis. Threw a no-hitter in baseball. Star basketball player.
Sebastian Davis — Very strong tennis season. #2 scorer in soccer in his first season in the sport.
Jacki Ginnings — Team leader in soccer. #1 singles player and winner of league tourney in tennis.
Hailey Hammer — Capping 12-letter career (volleyball, basketball, softball) with another strong year. Hit an out-of-the-park grand slam against Klahowya.
Wiley Hesselgrave — All-League in football and basketball. Led basketball team in scoring.
Lathom Kelley — Big hitter/power rusher in football. Team’s fastest (and most versatile) male athlete in track.
Kacie Kiel — Volleyball and basketball star who played every game with a huge smile. Hit an epically clutch three-pointer in wildest game of the season.
Julia Myers — Anchored soccer’s defense in goal, then dropped elbows (and a lot of buckets) for league champs in basketball.
Lauren Rose — Starter at key positions (setter in volleyball, catcher in softball) for two varsity teams — as a freshman. Helped lead JV basketball squad to 9-0 league record.
Matt Shank — Rock-solid football lineman and basketball big man.
CJ Smith — Fast-emerging star in three sports (football, basketball, baseball).
Makana Stone — Olympic League MVP in basketball. Scored 367 points in 22 games (best by a CHS girl since 2003). Busting records every day as she heads towards a third straight trip to state as a track runner.
Madeline Strasburg — Volleyball star, electrifying force of nature on the basketball court.
Valen Trujillo — Queen of the floor burns as a volleyball player, hard-charging singles sensation in tennis.
Joel Walstad — Put up impressive numbers as starting QB in football (and got a college scholarship out of it), team leader in basketball and soccer.
Coupeville Sports 