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Posts Tagged ‘Teagan Calkins’

Lions Club honors Calkins, Spear

Posted in awards, tagged , , , , on November 6, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Teagan Calkins tosses candy to her fan club. (Julie Wheat photos)

It’s been a busy fall for Teagan Calkins and George Spear.

The Coupeville High School seniors have been at the forefront of the sports world, starring for the Wolf volleyball and cross country teams respectively.

Plus, the duo has been showcasing their big brains with their in-class performances and side gigs.

All that hard work is paying off, however, as Calkins and Spear have been tabbed as the Coupeville Lions Club Students of the Quarter.

They’ll be honored by the club at a meeting Nov. 19.

The local Lions Club, which has been chugging along awarding scholarships for 87 years, honors two CHS 12th graders each quarter during the school year, before picking two as the Students of the Year come graduation time.

School staff votes for the students, while considering things such as community service, effort, character, social relationships, leadership, scholarship, and sportsmanship.

Teagan Calkins, daughter of Jackie Saia and Shawn Calkins, is a multi-sport star for the Wolves, playing a leading role for CHS volleyball, basketball, and softball squads. She’s been to the state tourney as both a spiker and diamond ace.

“The Red Dragon” is also busy in the community, working as a volunteer ref and coach for youth sports while participating with the Lions Leo Club, Exec, Captain’s Club, and the National Honor Society.

Calkins works in the school library, is part of the Green Team environmental club, and has been a Race the Reserve volunteer.

And she’s also a popular nanny who enjoys puzzles while frequently hopping around the country to pursue life as a home run-mashing club softball player.

In the classroom, she gravitates towards science, math, and sports medicine, while maintaining a flawless 4.0 GPA.

The future? It includes plans to attend a four-year university to pursue a Biomedical Engineering or Mechanical Engineering degree.

George Spear runs between the raindrops.

Her fellow honoree, George Spear, is the son of Ward Sparacio and Teresa Stewart.

The president of the Coupeville High School Leo’s Club, he’ll be in Pasco Saturday to run in the state cross country championships for the third time.

Also an accomplished track and field athlete, Spear is involved in ASB, is a library volunteer, and a member of the National Honor Society.

Staying busy at all times, he’s worked in the catering business, as a farmhand at the Whidbey Equestrian Center, and as a pool attendant at the Sierra Country Club.

Spear enjoys math, reading, and playing Dungeons and Dragons, carries a 3.959 GPA, has been active in local food drives and beach cleanups, and is part of the Coupeville School District Facilities Task Force.

He plans to attend a United States service academy or attend college through the ROTC scholarship program, with designs on becoming a military officer.

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Sweet spiker swan song for “The Red Dragon”

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , , on October 24, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Teagan Calkins shares a moment with the parental units. (Julie Wheat photo)

“I always loved volleyball, even before it was offered to me as a sport.”

Teagan Calkins, the lone senior on this year’s Coupeville High School varsity spiker crew, offered her family, coaches, and teammates some heartfelt words Thursday night before her final home match.

Then, backed by giddy fans waving large photos of her head attached to sticks, “The Red Dragon” did what she does best.

Go out and thump on people.

Delivering 13 kills, including a couple which peeled the paint off the gym floor, Calkins sparked her young teammates to a 25-23, 25-14, 25-13 victory over visiting Concrete, keeping Coupeville’s playoff hopes alive.

With the win, the Wolves — rebuilding after graduation gutted the roster from a squad which finished 4th at state last season — get to 2-7 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 4-8-1 overall.

CHS closes conference play with a trip to Orcas Island Oct. 28, and would currently nab the fourth, and final, berth from the NWL to the 2B district tourney.

Perhaps experiencing some Senior Night hangover, the Wolves started slowly Thursday, falling behind 5-0, and not getting back even until 21-21.

From there, Coupeville claimed its first lead at 22-21, fell back behind at 23-22, then closed with three straight points thanks to some big-time hitting.

Haylee Armstrong floated in from the left side to nail a tip winner, before Calkins erupted for back-to-back floor burner spikes to make sure Concrete knew what pain was still to come.

Even down 20-12 at one point in the opening frame, the Wolves remained in a good mood, with Armstrong kicking off a game of duck-duck-goose during a stoppage in play.

Of course, having Adeline Maynes torch Concrete from the service line, ringing up seven straight points as CHS charged back into contention, didn’t hurt, either.

Adeline Maynes is ready to fill up the stat sheet. (Marquette Cunningham photo)

Once the first set was in hand, the Wolves began to really roll.

Two Concrete players ran into each other while trying to return the first serve from Tenley Stuurmans in set #2, and it went downhill fast from there for the Lions.

Armstrong, Stuurmans, and Calkins took turns whacking winners, often times ripping off a random arm or leg from a rival in the process, and CHS romped out to a 15-4 lead.

The Wolves stretched the advantage to as many as 13 points, and a set which began with two Lions colliding ended with a Concrete server airmailing a ball that nicked Coupeville coach Scout Smith as she stood at the end of the bench.

The final set was closer — for a hot moment at least — but strong service runs from Armstrong and Maynes, and a whole bunch of mighty mashin’ from Calkins kept the Wolves in front from start to finish.

Near the end, Ari Cunningham unleashed a knee-buckling kill off a note-perfect set from Stuurmans, while Dakota Strong and Lexis Drake chipped in with quality support.

Wherever you turn, “The Red Dragon” is watching you. (Julie Wheat photo)

The final words needed to be written by Calkins, though, and she once again answered the call.

The rock-steady young woman who combines three-sport talent with classroom excellence started her prep career playing side-by-side with players older than herself.

Now, she’s the sage veteran, never too high, never too low, always there to pick up her teammates, to sign an autograph with only a slight roll of her eyes, to be consistent and reliable in the same way her coach was back in her own playing days.

Have a young son or daughter who wants to be an athlete, wants to be remembered one day as a Cow Town legend?

Tell them these words: “Be like Teagan.” Can’t go wrong that way.

 

Thursday stats:

Haylee Armstrong — 9 kills, 8 digs, 1 assist, 1 ace
Teagan Calkins — 13 kills, 9 digs
Ari Cunningham —2 kills, 1 dig
Lexis Drake — 2 digs, 1 ace
Adeline Maynes — 14 digs, 1 assist, 5 aces
Dakota Strong — 1 dig
Tenley Stuurmans — 2 kills, 3 digs, 25 assists, 1 ace

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“Red Dragon” roars in tense tussle

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , , on October 16, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Teagan Calkins unleashes her full fury. (Jackie Saia photo)

Teagan Calkins may need a nap.

The lone senior on the Coupeville High School varsity volleyball squad was involved in seemingly every play Thursday night, stuffing the stat sheet and doing everything humanly possible to push her team to a win.

Unfortunately for “The Red Dragon,” not even her heroics could save the Wolves on this night, as a balanced La Conner unit led by sister snipers Maeve and Nora McCormick proved to be too much for their hosts.

Falling 25-22, 25-23, 25-19 on their home floor, the rebuilding Wolves slip to 1-7 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 3-8-1 overall, with three regular season matches left to play.

Coupeville has a week off, not playing again until it hosts Concrete Oct. 23 on what will be Senior Night for Calkins.

After playing a key role on last year’s Wolf squad, which went 18-2 and finished 4th at state, she is the lone veteran this time around, providing steady leadership for a very-young team still trying to find night-in, night-out consistency.

At times Thursday, Scout Smith’s spikers looked very strong, pushing the Braves to the limit.

At others, one error snowballed into a string of mistakes, hurting Coupeville’s ability to keep a more-seasoned La Conner team at bay.

The night got off to a splendid start, with Calkins connecting on back-to-back winners and sophomore setter Tenley Stuurmans scorching the Braves from the service stripe.

But a 4-0 lead evaporated quickly, with the two teams swapping one-point leads most of the way through the frame.

Coupeville’s final lead in the set came at 12-11, and the final tie at 15-15, and once La Conner edged ahead, the visitors held on to the advantage all the way until the end of the set.

The Wolves went down swinging, however, with Haylee Armstrong roaring in on the left side to deliver a thunderous spike and Calkins constantly making the defense guess (usually wrongly) which direction her shots were headed.

Ari Cunningham is part of a talented group of young spikers who show great promise. (Danica Strong photo)

Set #2 featured Ari Cunningham bounding high to deliver several tip winners, and a whole lot more of Calkins mashing the air out of the ball, as the Wolves clung to a 13-11 lead at the midway point.

But just as the Wolves seemed to be making their move, they got derailed, with La Conner using an 11-1 surge to reclaim control.

Adeline Maynes stopped the bleeding with a four-point run on her serve — with Stuurmans catching the Braves by surprise twice with artful flip winners — and CHS later held off four straight set points.

Enter the McCormick sisters however and exit Coupeville’s chances of finding a complete answer.

Down two sets to none, the Wolves fell behind 20-9 in the third but refused to go away easy.

CHS closed the night on a 10-5 surge, with Calkins and Armstrong elevating and thumping, but the lead was too much to fully erase.

 

Thursday stats:

Haylee Armstrong — 7 kills, 18 digs, 4 assists
Teagan Calkins — 16 kills, 32 digs, 1 assist, 2 block assists, 2 aces
Ari Cunningham — 4 kills, 3 digs
Lexis Drake — 7 digs, 1 solo block, 1 block assist
Adeline Maynes — 9 digs, 2 assists, 1 ace
Kennedy O’Neill — 1 assist
Dakota Strong — 2 kills, 1 dig
Tenley Stuurmans — 4 kills, 11 digs, 25 assists, 4 aces
Sydney Van Dyke — 1 ace

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CHS spikers earn split

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , on October 3, 2025| 1 Comment »

Isa Mc Fetridge explodes for a kill. (Bella Karr photo)

Everyone aims extra hard for the big dogs.

With the Coupeville High School varsity volleyball squad having gone undefeated in league play last year, followed by a 4th place finish at the state tourney, the Wolves are being hunted.

And, with a young, rebuilding team in place, other teams are getting a bit of revenge from time to time.

Thursday night that payback belonged to visiting Orcas Island, which came from behind to topple Coupeville 17-25, 25-19, 27-25, 25-19.

The loss drops CHS to 1-4 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 3-5-1 overall.

The Wolves have a prime opportunity to bounce back, however, hosting Friday Harbor, a team they have already beaten once this season, this Tuesday, Oct. 7.

After that, Coupeville closes the regular season with four of its final five matches on the road.

“And then I told them, do you want the next spike to bounce off the top of your head? Cause I’ll do it, sister!” (Frankie Tenore photo)

 

Thursday stats:

Haylee Armstrong — 7 kills, 9 digs, 1 assist, 1 ace
Teagan Calkins — 21 kills, 13 digs, 1 assist, 3 aces
Ari Cunningham — 4 kills, 7 digs, 3 aces
Lexis Drake — 3 digs, 1 ace
Adeline Maynes — 5 digs
Dakota Strong — 2 kills, 1 dig
Tenley Stuurmans — 1 kill, 10 digs, 31 assists, 3 aces

 

JV pulls out a thriller:

The winningest CHS team in any sport this fall is the second unit of spikers, which now carries a 3-1 mark in league play, and a 5-2 record overall.

The young Wolves latest victim was Orcas, which fell 25-14, 21-25, 15-12 in a battle which went to the limit.

A major key for Coupeville was its service game, which accounted for 16 aces, with Emma Leavitt (7) and Sydney Van Dyke (6) leading the way.

 

Thursday stats: 

Kee’Arya Brown — 1 dig
Hailey Grijalva — 3 assists
Emma Leavitt — 5 kills, 1 assist, 7 aces
Adeline Maynes — 2 kills, 3 digs, 5 assists
Isa Mc Fetridge — 2 kills, 5 digs, 1 ace
Kennedy O’Neill — 2 kills, 1 dig
Chelsi Stevens — 1 kill, 2 aces
Sydney Van Dyke — 3 kills, 2 assists, 6 aces

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Loggers spike Wolves

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , on September 27, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Teagan Calkins uses her Jedi mind skills to freeze the volleyball in place. (Julie Wheat photo)

The road to back-to-back league titles is a rocky one.

When you’re the big dogs, everyone comes hard for you, something a rebuilding Coupeville High School volleyball squad is experiencing on a nightly basis.

The latest lesson came Thursday in the wilds of Darrington, as the Wolves, missing key starter Haylee Armstrong, fell in straight sets.

The 25-22, 25-18, 25-18 loss drops CHS to 1-3 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 2-4-1 overall.

With Armstrong sidelined by a bad foot, Tenley Stuurmans moved to outside hitter, with swing player Adeline Maynes nabbing the start at setter, where she collected a varsity career high 12 assists.

Coupeville returns to action Monday, Sept. 29, when it travels to the mainland to face non-conference foe Auburn Adventist Academy.

After that, the Wolves play six straight league contests, starting with back-to-back home matches against Orcas Island and Friday Harbor.

 

Thursday stats:

Capri Anter — 4 digs, 1 ace
Teagan Calkins — 6 kills, 5 digs, 1 assist, 3 aces
Ari Cunningham — 1 kill, 2 digs, 2 block assists
Lexis Drake — 3 digs
Adeline Maynes – 1 dig, 12 assists, 1 block assist, 1 ace
Dakota Strong — 4 kills, 1 block assist
Tenley Stuurmans — 4 kills, 13 digs, 1 assist, 2 aces

 

Olivia Martin (left) was deadly at the service stripe in Darrington. (Caroline Summers photo)

JV nipped:

The Wolves ultimately won more points (67-65), but the Loggers won more sets to claim a 25-22, 25-20, 15-25 victory.

The loss drops Coupeville’s second squad to 2-1 in league play, 3-2 overall, but also featured the JV debut for Mary Western and Darcee Dickson.

“These debuts were earned through daily hard work and dedication,” said CHS varsity coach Scout Smith. “They consistently show up day in and day out.”

 

Thursday stats:

Emma Leavitt — 1 kill, 2 digs, 14 assists, 1 ace
Olivia Martin — 1 kill, 3 aces
Isa Mc Fetridge — 3 kills, 3 digs, 1 assist, 1 ace
Kennedy O’Neill — 2 kills, 4 digs, 1 ace
Chelsi Stevens — 4 kills, 2 digs, 2 aces
Sydney Van Dyke — 5 kills, 2 digs
Mary Western — 1 dig

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