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Posts Tagged ‘SWHS Falcons’

Daniel Verduzco keeps the CHS gym gleaming while often surprising with his eclectic post-game playlist. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

They’re the true heroes.

Basketball players, wrestlers, and cheerleaders usually get the spotlight during winter sports, but things wouldn’t run the same without high school custodians.

The men doing the hard work at Coupeville, Oak Harbor, and South Whidbey deserve our praise as well.

If it wasn’t for them, we’d likely be watching our little games while buried under a pile of ever-growing trash.

So next time you’re in a Whidbey school gym, take a moment to tip your cap to their work ethic.

And then maybe pick up your dang trash and put it in the garbage can instead of leaving it up in the bleachers, you damn dirty apes!

Vik (left) and Cody Rikard are the best father-son duo in the clean gym biz.

South Whidbey’s unsung hero.

And his partner in … grime.

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Garth Batchelor (far left) was deeply committed to helping both his own children and their friends play sports. (Photos courtesy Jenny Dill)

There are Wolves, Falcons, and Wildcats, but ultimately, it’s one Whidbey for those involved in sports.

The unexpected death of Garth Batchelor Tuesday leaves a huge hole for the South Whidbey community, and I’m asking Wolf Nation, if possible, to join in helping them.

Batchelor, who along with his wife Olivia, grew up on the south end of the island, was an avid little league coach and athletic supporter.

All three of the couple’s children — Brent, Morgan, and Levi — are strong multi-sport athletes who provided great competition for Coupeville.

Even as I gently harassed Olivia during her own coaching days, imploring her to transfer her children to the middle part of Whidbey, they remained steadfast Falcons — something I respect.

Garth, Olivia, and their children.

This will be a very tough time for the family, beginning with the fact Garth was the primary source of income for the Batchelor’s.

If you have the ability to financially help, please consider doing so. If not, pass on info to others.

Together, we can help keep alive the idea of “One Whidbey,” a band of small-town folk standing together regardless of what school colors we wear.

 

For more info and to help, pop over to:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/garth-batchelor?qid=2bba1deffa870353f4dcd8e76f3d2df6

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Robby Sullivan elevates for a shot between Coupeville defenders Nick Guay (4) and William Davidson. The Wolves won handily in the final time South Whidbey AD Paul Lagerstedt will be involved in the rivalry. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

After a decade on the job, Paul Lagerstedt is retiring as South Whidbey High School Athletic Director.

The change was listed on the consent agenda for Wednesday’s school board meeting and his last day of employment will be June 30.

Lagerstedt, who is also an assistant vice principal, arrived at SWHS in 2015, after putting in 17 years at Thomas Jefferson High School in Auburn.

Along with being an AD, he has also worked as an English teacher and basketball coach.

That included a 10-year stint working with Mercer Island’s Ed Pepple, the winningest high school hoops coach in Washington state history.

During his time at South Whidbey, Lagerstedt worked closely with Coupeville AD Willie Smith, who said the friendly Falcon will be greatly missed.

Paul has become one of my closest circle of AD’s, and more importantly, a good friend,” Smith said.

“Such a high caliber of a person: ethical, high character, even-keeled, knowledgeable, and passionate about his school and students.

“South Whidbey will certainly have a tough time replacing him,” he added.

“Though, if I know Paul, he has someone that he has mentored and will continue building up what he has started and maintain the same level of professionalism and character driven programs that he has developed.

“Definitely one of the highlights of my 30 years of education is getting to work alongside, with, and befriending Paul.”

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Chase Anderson swoops to the hoop. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Cole White bleeds, Coupeville leads.

Whether it’s a full-blown geyser or a little scratch, when the pale prairie point guard displays even a little bit of red, the Wolf varsity boys’ basketball squad usually finds inspiration.

Wednesday night was no different, as White got dinged (but just a bit) and CHS romped to a 68-42 win over visiting South Whidbey.

The non-conference Island rivalry victory lifts Coupeville to 13-4 heading into a major matchup Saturday in Puyallup against always-dangerous Chief Leschi.

The Wolves prepped for their clash with the Warriors, who are also 13-4, by picking apart their next-door neighbors.

Jumping on the Falcons early, Coupeville mixed four first-quarter three-balls from Logan Downes with a series of breakaway buckets to stake themselves to a 26-8 lead at the first break.

South Whidbey was down just 7-6 midway through the opening quarter, before White spurred his team into action.

First, he collected an offensive charge on a rumbling, stumbling Falcon, before immediately stinging his rivals at the other end of the court on a sweet lil’ runner in the paint.

After that it was Downes ripping off treys like he was a World War II machine gunner, spraying bullets everywhere, with almost all of them hitting their target.

Coupeville continued to pour it on in the second frame, opening things on a torrid 11-2 run to stretch the lead all the way out to 37-10.

The Falcons had no answer for the Wolves, as Downes continued to splash down bombs from behind the arc, while White and Chase Anderson ran laps around their defenders, outsprinting them end to end on breakaways.

A three-ball from Ryan Blouin shoved the advantage out to 28 points, before the visitors (slightly) carved things down to trail “just” 40-18 at the half.

The Wolves celebrate another bucket.

The treys kept dropping, and the net kept popping, as the third quarter played out, with Downes (twice), Nick Guay, and Blouin connecting as CHS turned the game into a blowout at 62-30 heading into the fourth.

With the starters having long since departed to chill on the sideline, Wolf bench players wrapped things up.

Coupeville’s last bucket might have been its best, with sophomore swing player Aiden O’Neill slashing around the defense to convert a three-point play the hard way.

South Whidbey, which had been outscored 30-0 from the three-point line, finally got one to drop as the final buzzer sounded, but it was (way) too little, (way) too late.

Downes paced all scorers with 29 points, hitting seven treys, and becomes the first Wolf boy to compile two 400+ point seasons.

He threw down 554 points as a junior, and now has 416 in his final go-around, the sixth-best single-season total for a CHS boy across 107 seasons.

White knocked down 12 in support, with Anderson (10), Guay (7), Blouin (6), O’Neill (3), and Hurlee Bronec (1) also tallying points.

Anderson and Blouin reached personal milestones in the win, with the former cracking the 200-point club and the latter joining the 150-point club.

William Davidson, Quinten Simpson-Pilgrim, Mikey Robinett, Hunter Bronec, Zane Oldenstadt, and Timothy Nitta also saw floor time as the Class of 2024 improved to 51-19 as varsity hoops players.

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Malachi Somes rampages through the paint. (CHS Yearbook Staff photos)

Sometimes you’re the meat and sometimes you’re the grinder.

Wednesday night it was Coupeville’s turn to do the chopping and shredding, as its JV boys’ basketball team torched visiting South Whidbey 73-4.

And no, that’s not a misprint.

The non-conference win against their next-door neighbor lifts the Wolves to 11-2 on the season heading into a road trip Saturday to play Chief Leschi.

While Wednesday’s score might sound bad, it could have been far, far worse.

With Coupeville’s varsity featuring nine seniors, its second unit is filled to the brim with players who in other years would already be playing in the marquee games.

Facing a scrappy, but outmatched Falcon squad, the Wolves threw down the gauntlet early, then did everything possible to give their foes a good rumble while not running up the score unnecessarily.

Coupeville’s starters only played 10 minutes, with most of the game devoted to giving CHS freshmen the run of the floor.

Still, the Wolf starters, even with Johnny Porter in street clothes with an injury, are a potent bunch and they blew out to a 41-0 lead by the first break.

Jack Porter and Camden Glover controlled the boards, using their long arms to yank down rebounds and turn them into second-chance buckets, while Malachi Somes, Aiden O’Neill, and Landon Roberts went on a rampage of backcourt steals.

Camden Glover pounds down low.

The Wolf lead eventually got up to 50-0 after a pair of Jayden McManus buckets wrapped around a three-ball from Davin Houston, before South Whidbey finally broke through.

Drew Staats slipped a free throw through the net with 3:37 to play in the half to get the Falcons on the board, while Elias Wilke nailed a three-ball from the right side for his team’s lone field goal.

After that, it was all Coupeville, all the time, as the Wolves pushed the lead to 60-4 at the half, before coasting in for the win while a running clock kept things hoppin’ in the second half.

Ten of the 11 Wolves to see action scored, with Jack Porter (14), Somes (11), and Glover (10) hitting double digits.

McManus (9), Houston (9), Riley Lawless (6), O’Neill (6), Roberts (4), Sage Arends (2), and Makai Myles (2) also tallied points, while Easton Green spent the night setting up his teammates with crisp passes.

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