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Posts Tagged ‘SWHS Falcons’

“I enjoy being part of a team!!”

Posted in Girls Tennis, tagged , , , , on July 30, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   Mary Zisette (in SWHS tennis shirt), is a fast-rising Falcon star.

“To me, the people in this town are the best.”

Mary Zisette enjoys her time on the tennis court at South Whidbey High School, but it’s more than that.

“Everyone is incredibly kind and it’s fun to know all the people you see walking through town,” she said. “I think the sense of community is the most special.

“For our school it’s very similar,” Zisette added. “All the teachers are great and super helpful and you pretty much know every single person in the school.”

A strong presence on the court for the Falcons, whether playing singles or doubles, she’s headed into her junior year at SWHS.

With two postseason runs already to her credit, Zisette continues to work on her court skills, with an eye on always improving.

“I think I’m very coachable and can work new suggestions into my game,” she said. “I need to work on my mental tenacity in stressful matches.

“My goals are to just keep improving and keep working hard,” Zisette added. “Also, making it to state would be really nice, we’ve been close the past two years.”

Ever since she first picked up a racket, the love of the game has been there for her. A lot of that comes from the camaraderie she experiences on the court.

“Tennis is my favorite sport because of the atmosphere of the team and how supportive and encouraging the coaches and other team members are,” Zisette said. “I enjoy being a part of a team and getting to know new people each year.”

A member of the National Honor Society, she’s “interested in writing and loves art,” while finding time to balance a summer job with friends and family.

Those close to her have had a big impact on Zisette as she grows as an athlete and a young woman.

“My dad, who taught me to play tennis when I was little and has encouraged me along the way (is a big influence),” she said. “Also, the rest of my family, who are always supportive and teach me ways to be a better, more kind, person.”

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Falcon ace soars to success!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, Boys Soccer, Boys Tennis, tagged , , , , , , on July 30, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   Like his siblings before him, Kody Newman made a big splash at the state tennis tourney.

You know their name, cause athletic success is their game.

Few, if any, Whidbey Island families have had the kind of sustained excellence that Mike and Pam Newman’s children have brought to South Whidbey High School.

Jenny, Caitie, Riley, Lindsey, Hayley, Carlie and Kody have combined to win four state tennis titles, pour thousands of points through the basketball hoop, tear up the soccer pitch and generally be the gold standard for Falcon Nation.

While his older siblings left big shoes to fill, Kody, who will be a junior at SWHS this fall, has stepped right up.

Right out of the gate he made a splash at the state tennis tourney, finishing fourth in 1A as a freshman, winning three of four matches at the big dance.

As a sophomore hoops star, he torched Coupeville for a game-high 21, burying five treys.

For his next act, though, he’s going to mix things up a bit.

Newman, who’s played tennis, basketball and soccer since hitting high school, is headed to the baseball diamond next spring.

And, in a move sure to send shock waves through the net community his family has ruled, he may also switch up fall sports.

“I haven’t decided if I’m doing tennis again,” Newman said. “Or trying something new and play football.”

A talented natural athlete who lives for competition (“my life is sports,” he said with a laugh), Kody draws big rewards from his efforts.

“With sports I can always forget about my problems,” Newman said. “It’s just me and the ball, everything else is gone.

“I’m not thinking about my grades or drama around school, I’m thinking about why that jump shot didn’t go in, or how I can improve on bunting in baseball,” he added. “It’s very relaxing and can always make me happy!”

While he enjoys all his activities, if he had to choose one, the siren call of the hardwood is hard to ignore.

“My favorite sport is basketball,” Newman said. “I grew up playing with my siblings and it was a way we could all connect.

“I would rebound for my brother and sisters and they’d do the same so we could all improve.”

Having that chance to work on his skill-set, to take what genetics have given him and fine-tune his strengths while shoring up any (minor) weaknesses, drives Newman.

“I think that my desire to always get better and being open to constructive criticism is my best attribute,” he said. “I love getting feedback from people to always improve.

“I’d love to work on getting my vertical higher, because, with being shorter, it’s hard to get rebounds or block shots.”

As he’s progressed in all of his sports, Newman has had a string of coaches who have made an impact on him, both as an athlete and person.

He reels off an impressive list — “Mike Washington, Travis Tornga, Henry Pope, Ernie Merino, Tom and Karyle Kramer, Cj Baker and Josh Coleman” — then adds praise for others, as well.

“All the other coaches I’ve had, including Little League and Parks and Rec, and, of course, all my teammates,” Newman said. “Especially Lewis Pope for always teaching me moves and always being supportive!”

And don’t forget about his biggest fans, who have given him legends to aim for, and plenty of support as he finds his own path to success.

“Most importantly, my siblings and family for coming to all my sporting events and pushing me to do better.”

Newman has his eyes set on playing college ball, but his immediate future revolves around helping the Falcons fly high while competing against King’s and Archbishop Thomas Murphy in the always-tough 1A/2A Cascade Conference.

“I hope to make the playoffs again for basketball and hopefully help the baseball team go back to state,” he said.

In the few moments when he’s not living the athletic life, Newman, who wants to be a fire fighter, enjoys his science classes and spending time with family.

“I like spending time at the beach wake boarding with my brother, or playing beach volleyball with my sister or going to the pool with my girl friend,” he said.

While sports and life may take him away from his home in the future, the southern part of the Island, where he has grown up and grown into a star, will always be special.

“I love South Whidbey because everyone is kind to each other and it’s just an all round great community to be in.”

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Let’s not dwell on it…

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on April 24, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Jake Pease fires in a pitch. (John Fisken photo)

We’re gonna keep this short and sweet.

Sort of the opposite of the game itself.

Unable to muster a hit against a more experienced South Whidbey squad, the Coupeville High School JV baseball team fell hard Monday afternoon.

The 13-0 loss, which drops the Wolves to 2-6 on the season, went on for quite awhile without much good happening for the guys in red and black.

“One of those games where it’s about learning … cause you hope they learn,” said CHS coach Mike Etzell.

With the Wolf varsity off-Island playing a league game, Coupeville had a straight-up JV squad on the field, while the Falcons, whose varsity was idle, were able to use some swing players.

It showed at times as South Whidbey wielded heavy bats and, other than a few walks here and there, thoroughly dominated.

Coupeville did get seven runners on, mustering six walks and a fly ball from Shane Losey which was dropped for an error.

Jacob Zettle and Kyle Rockwell led the way, with two walks apiece, while Ulrik Wells and James Vidoni also eked out free passes.

Coupeville used three pitchers, with Elliott Johnson, Jake Pease and Gavin Knoblich all seeing mound time.

If nothing else, it was live game action, always preferable to practice, and the sun was out the entire afternoon.

And that’s about all I have to say about that.

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First taste of victory!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on March 18, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   Marc Aparicio juggled his lineup Saturday and it paid off with a win. (John Fisken photos)

Kory Score stretches for the throw at first, as a Falcon bears down on him.

Matt Hilborn vacuums ups a would-be base hit.

A deep pitching staff will be key this year.

With new restrictions on how often high school baseball pitchers can throw, and how many throws they can let loose once on the mound, every coach will need more than one ace to call on.

Three games into a new season, Coupeville coach Marc Aparicio is already seeing the benefits from having as many as seven quality hurlers on his staff.

Saturday, it was senior Taylor Consford, normally the starting catcher, who took the ball and went six strong innings in a 7-4 home win over Island rival South Whidbey.

The non-conference victory, coming less than 24 hours after a loss to Sequim, lifts Coupeville to 1-2 on the season.

While Consford was chucking away, ringing up six strikeouts, the man behind the plate catching his throws was fellow senior Clay Reilly.

Normally a power-hitting outfielder with a cannon for an arm, he strapped on the catcher’s gear for the first time in high school.

The Consford/Reilly connection proved to be a potent one, bringing an appreciative smile to Aparicio’s face on a frigid prairie afternoon.

“They both played extremely well,” he said. “Taylor and Clay stepped up and had strong games for us.”

Reilly also swung a hot bat, bashing a two-run single as Coupeville built a 5-1 lead.

Taking advantage of some South Whidbey miscues, and a few well-placed walks, the Wolves got one run in the first, three in the second and another in the fourth.

Lead-off hitter Hunter Smith accounted for three of those five runs, after walking twice and reaching on an error, while Ethan Marx had a key single.

The Falcons, coming off a one-run win over Chimacum, didn’t go down easily, however.

Tom Fallon’s squad trimmed the lead back to 5-4 heading into the bottom of the sixth, before the Wolves iced the game.

Walks to Smith and Reilly gave Dane Lucero a chance to be a hittin’ hero, and the sophomore slugger responded, drilling a two-run single in the sixth to stretch the lead back out.

Aparicio went to sophomore Matt Hilborn to close the game out on the mound, and he did, after a brief bit of trouble.

An error and a single put two runners on base for South Whidbey in the seventh, but Hilborn bore down and finished the game off with a strikeout and a fly to left.

Coupeville closes a three-game home stand Monday when it welcomes 2A Bremerton to town for a 4 PM game.

 

To see more photos from this game (purchases fund college scholarships for CHS student/athletes), pop over to:

http://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/2017-Coupeville-Baseball/20170319-vs-South-Whidbey/

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Gun show on the prairie!!

Posted in Softball, tagged , , , , , on March 18, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   Sarah Wright collected three hits and two RBI while playing inspired ball behind the plate Saturday in a 6-5 Wolf win. (John Fisken photos)

   When she wasn’t pitching, Katrina McGranahan also blasted a home run and knocked in three runs.

Veronica Crownover pulled off a defensive gem at first to aid the cause.

Power against power.

South Whidbey High School hurler Mackenzee Collins is a beast in the circle, and the junior fireballer whiffed 13 Coupeville hitters Saturday afternoon.

But, when the Wolves did get their bats on the ball, they turned her own power against Collins, riding epic blasts from Katrina McGranahan and Sarah Wright to capture a 6-5 win on a frigid opening day.

Overall, Coupeville rapped out eight hits, but none were bigger than a game-tying two-run home run from McGranahan and a go-ahead RBI triple from Wright.

Both blasts ended up in the deepest, darkest part of center field, out where the deer were cavorting pregame, and the only thing which kept both moonshots inside the fence was the stiff wind gusting across the prairie.

The duo combined to record five hits (Wright held a 3-2 edge) and five RBI (McGranahan won 3-2), but they also got some assistance at just the right moments from their teammates.

On a day where, two hours before the first pitch, it would have been safe to bet the game wouldn’t get played, things zipped along surprisingly smoothly.

After much sweat and toil from master groundskeeper Mike Lodell, the field stayed firm and just a trace muddy, the complete opposite of the school’s nearby grass parking lot.

Under the strain of rain and too many tires — the CHS baseball team, which shares the lot, was playing its second game in as many days — it became a roiling pit of mud, sending cars skidding, when they weren’t spinning in place.

But back on the well-preserved softball field, the Wolves were showing resiliency, twice bouncing back from deficits before claiming the lead for good.

Trailing 1-0 heading into the bottom of the first, Coupeville responded immediately, with lead-off hitter Lauren Rose lighting the fuse.

After drawing a walk, Mouse ran wild on the base-paths, eventually ending up on third after a steal and a passed ball. With her attention diverted a bit, Collins got tagged one-two by McGranahan and Wright.

It wouldn’t be the last time.

The Wolves #3 and #4 hitters socked back-to-back RBI singles, before Collins escaped by punching out the inning’s final two batters with wicked pitches.

South Whidbey put together a three-run rally in the top of the second to go back out in front 4-2, but after that McGranahan settled down in the pitcher’s circle and started matching her Falcon rival pitch-for-pitch.

She got some help, with Wolf first baseman Veronica Crownover plucking a low throw out of the dirt and shortstop Mikayla Elfrank denying her former Falcon mates by running down a dangerously drifting pop fly.

Up at the plate for a second time, again with Rose dancing on the base paths (perhaps in a bid to stay warm), McGranahan crushed the snot out of the ball in the bottom of the third.

Putting medal through the metal, she tore around the base-path, almost catching the quicksilver Rose, before emphatically stamping on home with a game-tying two-run home run a second before the throw was airmailed in from center field.

With the game knotted up, both hurlers bore down.

McGranahan got aid from center fielder Hope Lodell, who chased down two dangerous blows, leaning forward to snag one just before it would have hit the ground and skipped away.

Coupeville got a runner on here, a runner on there (a single from Wright, a walk by Robin Cedillo), then broke through again in the bottom of the fifth.

Joltin’ Jae LeVine led off the inning, obtaining a hit by dropping the ball into a two-inch target between the pitcher and first baseman. Flying pell-mell down the line, “Flash” lived up to her nickname, out-leaning the throw.

Falcon fans perked up on the next at-bat, as Collins got a little revenge by striking McGranahan out, but that just opened up the stage for Wright.

The force-of-nature sophomore catcher launched a rocket to straight away center field, plating LeVine with the go-ahead run while Wright flew into third, huge smile on her face.

The smile got even bigger a moment later, when Elfrank punched a ball between two Falcon infielders for an RBI single of her own.

Up 6-4 and looking to break things open, Coupeville was aggressive on the base-paths, forcing South Whidbey to make difficult throws.

Twice the Falcons did just that, though, gunning down Elfrank at third to end the fifth, then nailing Lodell at home to bring a close to the sixth.

South Whidbey shaved the lead back to 6-5 with a run in the sixth, but Lodell snuffed any further damage by running down a long fly.

Then, with the pressure cranked up, and the game-tying run at third with just one out in the seventh, the Wolves closed like champs.

McGranahan speared a liner for the second out, then went home to Wright, who fired the ball on a bead to Rose at third, catching a drifting Falcon to end the game on a decisive note.

As his team celebrated taking down their Island arch-rivals, CHS coach Kevin McGranahan appreciated how his team responded to early adversity.

“The girls hung in there and played well for our first outing,” he said. “This team once again showed their heart and found a way to win it.

“Now if Oak Harbor would play us, we could rule the Island.”

 

To see more photos from this game (purchases fund college scholarships for CHS student/athletes), pop over to:

http://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/2017-Coupeville-Softball/20170318-vs-South-Whidbey/

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