Coupeville Sports

Marlene Grasser and husband Jim. (Photo courtesy Grasser family)

The enforcers at work. (Photo courtesy Sherry Roberts)

This weekend has been punctuated with unbelievable highs and unbelievable lows in Wolf Nation.

Friday and Saturday the Coupeville High School girls’ basketball squad, playing a true team game where every player mattered, where every young woman contributed, soared to new heights.

The Wolves won the Friday Harbor Tip-Off Classic, and the joy that emanated from every photo was about far more than just winning a couple of basketball games.

Those nine young women, who range from a precocious freshman to a wise senior, will remember this weekend long after their hoops careers end.

For the wins, yes. For the title, certainly.

But when the games end and real life begins, it will be the moments they had together, on the court, in the hotel room, on the bus, that will stay with them.

They will remember the shots they made, the defensive assignments they nailed, but they will also remember a moment in the locker room when, arms interlocked, they bounced and screamed as one.

“Who are we? WOLVES!!” “What are we? CHAMPIONS!!!”

They will remember the look in each others eyes at that moment, the sisterhood they had then and will have forever.

Years from now, they will be able to look back and tell their own daughters and sons about it.

It will be a part of their life, a slice of pure joy, for all their days.

And that is an important thing to remember tonight, as word filters out that Marlene Grasser, one of the most accomplished athletes in Coupeville history, has passed away after a battle with cancer.

The 1987 CHS grad was a four-sport star, a dominant athlete who was beloved by those she played with and against.

In an interview two years ago, when I was forcing her to look back on her prep exploits (she finally said yes, because she didn’t want to disappoint close friend and former teammate Sherry (Bonacci) Roberts) Marlene downplayed her records.

What she remembered, what she embraced, years later, was this:

I don’t remember awards, but do remember the fantastic experiences with my teammates.

My best memories are all involving team sports. I looked forward to practices every day and the games were a blast.

I loved my teammates and our mutual competitiveness and cohesiveness.

It is probably what I miss the most and was the hardest to let go of when I graduated.

I hope every current and future athlete in this town really listens to what Marlene said.

And I hope that they are able, every one of them, to embrace her words, live them and look back years later and feel exactly the same that she did.

This weekend is full of great joy. It is full of deep sadness.

A team ascended, a legend departed.

Two stories interwoven by a town, a sport and the heart and soul displayed by young women in different decades.

Grasser would have been proud of this edition of the Wolves and what they have attained, and what they will attain.

She would have loved seeing a team that includes Lindsey Roberts, the daughter of her one-time running mate, playing just like she and Sherry did back in the day.

And every one of those nine young women should be proud to wear the same uniform Grasser once did.

Marlene will be greatly missed, but her spirit will live on, and it will be reflected best every time another young woman steps onto a basketball court and embraces the joy she exhibited every day, every game.

The joy of playing. Of competing. Of walking side-by-side onto the court with friends and walking off with sisters.

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