Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘state championships’

Special Olympics hoops stars dazzle

Posted in Basketball, tagged , , , , on March 3, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Team Whidbey is ready to rumble. (Photos courtesy Tiffany Wheeler Thompson)

Put a basketball in their hands, and they soar.

Two Whidbey Island hoops teams participated in the Special Olympics state championships in Wenatchee this weekend, with both nabbing top finishes.

South Whidbey Wind claimed silver after enduring a nail-biting triple-overtime affair, while Team Whidbey earned fourth place in their division.

“It was a long day for our athletes, but they made all of us so proud,” said Tiffany Wheeler Thompson.

South Whidbey Wind players sport their medals.

The 2024 Special Olympics State Winter Games ran from Mar. 1-3, with athletes competing in events such as alpine skiing, basketball, cheerleading, figure skating, snowboarding, and speed skating.

There were 495 athletes taking part in the basketball competition.

 

Spring sports kickoff:

While basketball has capped its season, Team Whidbey is moving on to swimming and track.

The events are open to ages eight and up, with no skill required.

To sign up, or for more, info contact Shari Mays at wispecialolympics@gmail.com.

Read Full Post »

One-man wrecking crews make statement

Posted in Swim, Wrestling, tagged , , , , , , on February 17, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Finn Price, reppin’ the red and black at the year’s biggest swim event. (Photo courtesy Paul Lagerstedt)

One athlete. No teams. Big results.

Coupeville’s Finn Price and Jaje Drake closed out their respective state meets Saturday with strong finishes, standing tall as lone Wolves.

CHS doesn’t field swimming or wrestling programs, so the duo persevered, training and traveling with other schools during the regular season, than forging their own paths in the postseason.

Price, a sophomore, won the consolation finals in the 200 free Saturday at the 2A state championships at the King County Aquatic Center, while also claiming fifth in the 100 free.

His times of one minute, 55.06 seconds in the 200, and 52.41 in the 100 were both better than his results in Friday’s prelims.

Overall, 2B Coupeville (which is just Price, remember) finished 30th out of 34 schools in the team standings.

Jaje Drake (right) brings the gun show to Cow Town. (Sophia Broderick photo)

Drake lost a close match with Rainier’s Matthew Kenney Saturday, ending his run at Mat Classic XXXV at the Tacoma Dome.

The Wolf senior, competing in the 2B/1B boys 215-pound class, finished his tourney with a 2-2 record.

That ties him with current CHS football coach Alex Turner, who also went 2-2 at state in 2019 during his own senior season.

Drake, a one-man demolition crew hefting the torch for the Wolves by himself, carried Coupeville to a 33rd-place performance (out of 50 schools) in the team standings.

“I’ll be back!” (Jackie Saia photo)

Read Full Post »

Anacortes shocks football universe

Posted in Football, tagged , , , , on December 2, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Our neighbor to the North just completed one of the most stunning turnarounds in Washington state prep sports history.

Four years after the program was on life support, and getting beat by 2B schools like Coupeville, the Anacortes High School football squad won the program’s first 2A state title Saturday at Husky Stadium, destroying six-time champ Tumwater 60-30.

The Seahawks scored 34 unanswered points in the first half and put up the most points a T-Bird gridiron squad has ever given up in a loss.

Anacortes rang up 552 yards in the win, with quarterback Rex Larson throwing for 346 yards and four touchdowns.

The Seahawks, who have a Coupeville connection in cheerleader Kate McFadyen, daughter of former Wolf QB Jason, scored on nine of 11 drives.

Anacortes also currently claims Kwamane Bowens, who formerly coached football at CHS and attended school in Coupeville in his early days.

Kwamane Bowens

Tumwater, which entered the day ranked #1, also has a Coupeville connection, as All-Conference tight end Jake Dillon is the son of former Wolf Sean.

His mom, the former Becca Jenson, was a year behind me at Tumwater.

The parental units — Jason McFadyen (left) and Becca and Sean Dillon.

Read Full Post »

Gridiron dreams do come true

Posted in Football, tagged , , , on November 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »

They played ball together in Coupeville. Now, Jason McFadyen (left) is an Anacortes football fan, while Sean Dillon cheers for Tumwater. (Photo courtesy McFadyen)

“Change your stars and live a better life than I have.”

Living by the words of A Knight’s Tale, both the Coupeville and Anacortes football programs have soared in recent seasons.

The turnaround for the Seahawks is simply spectacular.

Go back to Oct. 25, 2019, and Anacortes was arguably at its lowest moment.

That night a fairly large 2A school took to the gridiron in Cow Town and promptly lost 18-7 to a Coupeville squad repping a 2B-sized school, and not a state powerhouse by any means.

The win clinched the first winning season for Wolf football in 14 years, a streak which had endured since 2005.

For Coupeville players, coaches, and fans, it was a huge moment and signaled the beginning of a turnaround.

Now, current Wolf head coach Bennett Richter — Coupeville’s Defensive Coordinator that night — has continued to build on what Marcus Carr accomplished, while adding more milestones.

Coupeville won a league title and went to the state playoffs in 2022, accomplishments not earned by a CHS football team in three decades.

And while the loss stung for Anacortes, the visitors went home, kept working, and piece by piece became a program which ain’t playing any 2B rivals again any time soon.

In fact, the current Seahawks, whose support group includes cheerleader Kate McFadyen, daughter of old-school Coupeville QB Jason, are one step from achieving inner nirvana.

Anacortes is undefeated, ranked #2 in the state in 2A, and plays for its first state title this Saturday at Husky Stadium against Tumwater, my true alma mater.

The T-Birds are a major obstacle — also undefeated, ranked #1 and seeking a seventh crown — but go back to 2019 and try to imagine Anacortes football being where it is now.

The Hawks, regardless of the final score in Saturday’s game, have really, truly, changed their stars.

That’s a major win in my book.

 

PS — Go Tumwater!

Read Full Post »

Husky Stadium nabs state title football games

Posted in Football, tagged , , , , on June 5, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Win big this fall and Wolves (l to r) William Davidson, Zane Oldenstadt, and Logan Downes can close their CHS careers on a big stage. (Michelle Glass photo)

Washington state’s most important high school football games are getting a big stage.

For one year, at least.

After using a mix of sites in recent years, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association has signed a one-year deal with the University of Washington.

That puts all six WIAA state title football games at Husky Stadium this fall.

“Gridiron Classic” goes down Dec. 1-2, with three games on both days.

Kickoff is set for 11 AM, 3 PM, and 7 PM, with 1B, 1A, and 3A playing Friday, and 2B, 2A, and 4A taking the field Saturday.

For Coupeville fans, Saturday’s opener is the one where they hope to be front and center.

Moving all the title games back to one location is an embrace of the past.

When the Kingdome was still standing, teams aimed for an appearance at “Kingbowl” between 1977 and 1994.

The event moved to the Tacoma Dome in 1995, where it ran under the name “Gridiron Classic” until 2018.

At the time, the WIAA cited “rising costs and sagging attendance” for abandoning the joint.

Though, there was also considerable blowback from fans, coaches, and players after Tacoma Dome renovations wrecked sightlines for football in the building.

The WIAA went to a format of two games each at three Pierce County high schools after that, with tepid response from all concerned.

Now, in a one-year trial, it’s Husky Stadium or bust for championship-hungry gridiron teams.

After that, the WIAA will solicit bids for its next five-year cycle (2024-2028).

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »