Hall o’ Fame inductee Emily Burchfield is joined by Zane Bundy (top right), the ’91 CHS baseball squad and Abraham Leyva.
Perseverance. Class. Skill.
Pick your adjective and they all describe the athletes who make up the 47th class to be inducted into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame.
Possibly the two most dynamic booters in school history, a two-sport star who overcame a horrifying injury to excel and one of the best teams in Wolf lore, it’s as solid a bunch as they come.
With that, we welcome Emily Burchfield, Zane Bundy, Abraham Leyva and the 1991 Coupeville High School baseball squad to these hallowed digital walls.
After this, you’ll find them up at the top of the blog, living under the Legends tab with their brethren.
Our first inductee, the world-traveling, brilliant Burchfield, was a star on the soccer pitch and tennis court during her time at CHS.
She was also a superb triathlon competitor, and it was at one of those events where she was hit by a speeding car, shattering her back.
Burchfield amazed the doctors and all around her by not only fighting back in record time, but healing to the extent she was able to return to the hard-court and win a district singles title.
One of the most purely talented players to rep the red and black, Emily was also one of the strongest-willed, and her skills, on and off the athletic stage, are undeniable.
These days the former Science Olympiad world-beater is a college grad who is boppin’ around the globe, but her legend still looms large in the little town she sprang from.
Our next two inductees are about to go out and make their mark on the outside world, and it’s appropriate they go into the Hall together.
Bundy and Leyva, who will graduate in June, grew up on the soccer pitch, uniting to form the most potent scoring duo in CHS boys’ soccer history.
In his three years as a Wolf, Leyva set the regular season (20) and career (45) goal-scoring records, with a ton of those set up by his running mate.
Bundy, who had to battle back through injury, was equally explosive when he had the ball on his foot, and that carried over to the football field.
Playing for the first time as a senior, the little kid who once ran wild in the aisles at Videoville, led the Wolf gridiron squad in scoring this past fall.
He was one of the top field goal booters in the state, and his booming drives drew the eyes of college coaches.
In an unexpected detour, it’s football, not soccer, which Bundy will play at the next level, having signed with Santa Barbara City College.
Rounding out today’s class is the 1991 Wolf baseball squad, a team which won a league title, breaking a decade-long dry spell for the program.
Little did they know at the time it would then be 25 more years before Coupeville would again hoist a league title banner for baseball, a feat finally accomplished by the 2016 edition.
The ’91 squad, which featured several players who were key parts of the ’90 Wolf football squad which went undefeated, went on a rampage both with the bats and the arms.
Staff ace Brad Haslam tossed a no-hitter and recorded double digits in strike outs in two-thirds of his starts, while the Wolves rolled up a 145-79 advantage in runs scored over 19 games.
Four different CHS big boppers (Haslam, Frank Marti, Jason McFadyen and Matt Cross) hit legitimate home runs, as Coupeville featured a lineup that thrived on extra-base hits.
Carving up the Northwest B League to a 9-1 tune, the Wolves went 13-6, rolling along until hitting an unexpected bump in their opening playoff game.
One out away from a win over Winlock, Coupeville couldn’t put the game away, surrendering a lead in the seventh before eventually falling 16-13 in 10 innings.
While the loss put a sour taste in a lot of mouths at the time, the achievements of that Wolf team far overshadow a bad inning or two 25 years down the road.
One of the most dominant teams in school history, in any sport, the ’91 hardball squad officially comes home to reside where they have always belonged — the Hall o’ Fame.
Inducted as a team:
Mike Rice (coach)
Cory Smith (manager)
Eric Anderson
Shawn Ankney
Brian Barr
Troy Blouin
Todd Brown
Chris Cox
Jon Crimmins
Matt Cross
Keith Currier
Chris Frey
Brad Haslam
Frank Marti
Jason McFadyen
Jason McManigle
Jeremiah Prater
Jay Renaux
Ryan Samplawski
John Turner
Aaron Williams
Scott Wofford
Brian Wood
Scott Zustiak
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