track and field | Coupeville Sports

Posts Tagged ‘track and field’

“I can’t get enough volleyball!!”

Posted in Track, Volleyball, tagged ABBA, CHS Wolves, Noelle Daigneault, surfing, track and field, ukulele, volleyball on July 7, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Noelle Daigneault spends time with her beloved pet duck, Chandler. (Photo courtesy Irene Echenique)

Put Noelle Daigneault on the volleyball court and she never stops smiling.

The busy, talented Coupeville High School freshman is also devoted to heaving the shot put, surfing, listening to the sweet sounds of ABBA, painting, and playing her ukulele, but there’s something special about her time as a spiker.

“Volleyball is my favorite sport; I have played club volleyball these past two years and still can’t get enough volleyball!,” Daigneault said. “I love the sport because it is very exhilarating!

“And the feeling of smacking the ball as hard and quick as you can and getting a point for your team is a feeling of such joy I can’t describe.”

On the court, she’s the player always firing on all cylinders, chasing down every last ball with an expression of pure happiness gracing her face on every play.

“One of my bigger strengths in volleyball is, I always want the ball,” Daigneault said. “I will try my hardest to not let the ball drop.

“An area I need to work on is technique,” she admitted with a laugh. “Sometimes I’ll make up my own form, and it more often than not does not help me…”

Daigneault, who follows on the heels of older sister Bree, a standout soccer and tennis player during her time at CHS, attacks each new day with vigor.

“I enjoy being an athlete because I don’t like not doing anything,” Noelle said. “And when you’re on the court there is always something we need to be doing and you’re never standing still.

“One of my goals for my high school career is to always do more, meaning SST, or open gym,” she added. “Sometimes spending an extra half-hour on the court or track, practicing, can make all the difference.”

Daigneault can’t go wrong emulating her older sibling, as Bree was a fireball on the field, while also being one of the most genuinely kind athletes to ever rep CHS.

“My sister has had a very big impact on who I am as a person and a player,” Noelle said.

But there’s also another athlete, a fellow freshman-to-be, who plays a big role in Daigneault’s life, on and off the court.

“My best friend, Jaelyn Crebbin, has always inspired me as a volleyball and track player,” Daigneault said. “I always thought, if she could do it, I could too!

“Considering she has one arm, that does not stop her, and that’s always inspired me to do my best on the court.”

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Fire up fan mail for Coach Ford!!

Posted in A freakin' American hero, tagged cards, CHS Wolves, Hall of Fame, Larrie Ford, track and field on July 1, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Go find a stamp and mail a card to former Coupeville track coach Larrie Ford as he recuperates in Seattle. (Photo courtesy David Ford)

I’m gonna need you to go find a stamp.

Then go send a card to former Coupeville High School track and field coach Larrie Ford as he continues to battle back after surgery.

Coach Ford, a fully-accredited member of the Coupeville Sports Hall of Fame, has moved to the Washington Care Center in Seattle after a three-month-plus stay at Careage.

That’s actually a huge positive, as he recovers from a leg amputation.

At the VA-contracted facility in Seattle, Coach Ford will be focusing on transitioning to the next stage of rehab as he works towards being able to have a prosthesis.

Both during his time at CHS and afterwards, he made a tremendous impact on the local sports community.

There was no project he wouldn’t support, and he put his money, time and spirit into everything he did.

Coach Ford was one of my first, and most loyal supporters, with this blog, but we go back much further.

He used to be a regular presence at Videoville during my video store days, a master of storytelling, and just an all around good guy.

As he goes through rehab, one of the best ways we can support him is to make sure he knows how important he is to his home community.

During his time at Careage, he collected 61 cards, according to son David Ford, and they hung on his wall, a reminder of everyone who was pulling for him.

Now that’s he in the big city, we need to step it up and flood his room with cards and notes.

Let Coach Ford know what an impact he had on Coupeville. What an important role he played, both on the athletic stage and off.

And that we expect him to walk back onto Mickey Clark Field at some point in the near future.

So, get going, get a stamp and fire off something to:

Larrie Ford
Room 253
2821 S Walden St
Seattle, WA 98144

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Once more around the track!!

Posted in Track, tagged Chris Battaglia, CHS Wolves, Logan Martin, state, track and field on May 29, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Ariah Bepler finds his moment of Zen at the state track and field meet. (Logan Martin photos)

Lauren Bayne visualizes her target.

Chris Battaglia is trapped in a mesh net of emotion.

This ain’t Randy King’s first time at the rodeo.

Bayne and Bepler gaze out at the action.

A Lynden Christian runner moves in to congratulate Danny Conlisk after the Wolf junior busted a PR and claimed 2nd in the 400.

Yes, Battaglia does feel pretty good about the luxuriousness of his hair and how it’s holding up in the Cheney heat. Thanks for asking.

Maya Toomey-Stout (left) celebrates teammate Lindsey Roberts’ success in the hurdles.

The heat of Cheney, the roar of the overflow crowds, the electricity of the races themselves — all done for another year.

But while the state track and field meet ended Saturday, the photos, such as the ones seen above, will linger on for some time.

The pics you’re gazing upon come to us from the camera of Coupeville Middle School camera bug Logan Martin, who took a break from his own athletic pursuits to capture the goings-on in Eastern Washington.

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Sun, fun, and a wild run!!

Posted in Track, tagged Allison Wenzel, CHS Wolves, Jacob Smith, state meet, track and field on May 26, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville junior Lindsey Roberts finished 2nd in the 100 hurdles, capturing the fifth medal of her prep track career. (Dawnelle Conlisk photos)

Jerseys hang waiting for Danny Conlisk and Jacob Smith, who combined to bring home six medals from Cheney.

Allison Wenzel, here throwing the javelin in an earlier meet, smashed her PR in the discus Saturday by almost 10 feet. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Ariah Bepler soared to a fifth-place finish in the high jump.

Wolves (l to r) Danny Conlisk, Randy King and Jacob Smith celebrate Coupeville’s smashing success of a weekend. (Dawnelle Conlisk photo)

Tyler King, the most-decorated track athlete in Coupeville High School history, finished 2nd five times at the state meet.

Those runner-up finishes (and two state titles) were part of an 11-medal haul for the guy who would go on to be an All-American on scholarship at the University of Washington.

So, when I say the 2018 Wolves emulated King Saturday, it’s something for them to be proud about.

While none of Coupeville’s athletes were able to win a state title during the 1A state track and field meet in Cheney, they did the next best thing, capturing four second-place medals in one day.

Hauling in medals in six events Saturday, including three runner-up finishes, the Wolf boys roared up the team standings, as well.

By the time the day was done, the current squad had claimed 5th, the best showing since the CHS boys took home 4th in 2008.

Coupeville finished with 34 points, just back of Riverside (36), while King’s (58), Lakeside (50) and Stevenson (48) rounded out the top three.

Island rival South Whidbey finished 12th.

The Wolf girls, who had a lot less bodies in action, claimed 24th, while South Whidbey was 10th and Lakeside claimed the team title.

The few Coupeville girls in action Saturday all made an impact, however.

Allison Wenzel (Discus) and Lauren Bayne (Javelin) both set PR’s, with Wenzel smashing her career mark by nearly 10 feet.

The spotlight was brightest on Lindsey Roberts, though, as she stormed past her arch-rival, Aubry Botkin of Port Townsend, beating the RedHawk for the first time this season.

Roberts finished second, a hair off of Chewelah sophomore Lillian Kirry, while claiming the fifth state meet medal of her career.

Botkin, who entered state ranked #1, had held off Roberts at the league and district meets, and Saturday was the final time the two Olympic League stars will likely face.

Though she’s a junior, Botkin is graduating early and joining the military.

While Roberts came out triumphant in her final duel, the CHS boys were on fire all day.

Senior Jacob Smith became just the second Wolf to ever win four medals at one state track meet, joining Jon Chittim, who did so in 2006.

Smith claimed 2nd in the 100 and 200, then sparked his 4 x 4 relay team to an unexpected 5th place finish.

The Wolves had slipped into the final as the eighth and final entry.

Capping off his incredible run, Smith was also part of a 4 x 1 squad which claimed 7th.

With his furious finale, Smith finished his career with six state meet medals, which ties him for the fourth-most in CHS track history.

The fourth 2nd place finish Saturday came courtesy junior Danny Conlisk.

Gliding through the 400 while looking like he didn’t have a care in the world, the lanky, serene Wolf passed a runner in the final steps, set a PR, but was out-leaned by La Salle speed demon Peterson Bohannon.

The defending state champ in the 400, Bohannon picked up two more state titles in his final year, also out-leaning Smith in the 200.

That race was decided by .05 of a second.

Senior Ariah Bepler capped the day, and the weekend, by finishing 5th in the high jump, the final event concluded in boys action.

He tied his PR of 6-02 and actually finished in a three-way for third, just two inches off the 6-4 that won a state title.

Bepler dropped to fifth based on which of the three at 6-02 had the most misses, but his finish was high enough to clinch Coupeville’s spot in the top five for the team standings.

His performance, which came on the same weekend cousin Payton Aparicio teamed with Sage Renninger to claim 4th at the girls tennis state tourney, just missed giving Ariah family bragging rights.

Dad Mark Bepler finished 4th in the discus in 1986, and will remain the king of the house, at least in terms of state track meet finishes.

All total, Coupeville picked up 14 medals in 2018, with nine athletes claiming at least one.

Smith led the way with four, Conlisk and Sean Toomey-Stout nabbed two apiece, and Cassidy Moody, Henry Wynn, Roberts, Jean Lund-Olsen, Cameron Toomey-Stout and Bepler each collected one.

Complete Saturday results:

GIRLS:

100 Hurdles — Lindsey Roberts (2nd) 15.63

Discus — Allison Wenzel (9th) 106-04 *PR*

Javelin — Lauren Bayne (11th) 109-02 *PR*

BOYS:

100 — Jacob Smith (2nd) 11.64

200 — Smith (2nd) 22.75

400 — Danny Conlisk (2nd) 49.70 *PR*

4 x 100 Relay — Cameron Toomey-Stout, Smith, Sean Toomey-Stout, Jean Lund-Olsen (7th) 45.16

4 x 400 Relay — Smith, Henry Wynn, S. Toomey-Stout, Conlisk (5th) 3:31.00

Shot Put — Ryan Labrador (16th) 36-04.75

High Jump — Ariah Bepler (5th) 6-02

Long Jump — C. Toomey-Stout (14th) 20-00 *PR*; S. Toomey-Stout (15th) 19-06.50

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Get this party started!!

Posted in Track, tagged 1A state meet, Cassidy Moody, CHS Wolves, Jacob Smith, track and field on May 25, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Cassidy Moody shattered her PR in the long jump by 10 inches Friday and claimed Coupeville’s first medal at the 1A state track meet. (Photo courtesy Beth Stout)

For 12 years Jon Chittim has stood alone, atop the mountain.

No more.

Gliding through the heat in Cheney Friday, Coupeville High School senior Jacob Smith put on a show, an impressive enough one he can now stand alongside Chittim.

Smith ran in four prelims at the 1A state track meet, and qualified for Saturday’s finals in all four events.

That means the speedy Wolf is guaranteed to medal in the 100, 200, 4 x 1 and 4 x 4.

In the long history of CHS track, Chittim was the only Wolf to have won four competitive medals at the same state meet.

He ran away with state titles in the 200, 400 and 4 x 4 in 2006, rounding out his assault on the record book with a 7th place showing in the 100.

Whether Smith can match Chittim’s stunning display or not, the four medals he’ll pick up Saturday will give him six for his career.

After picking up one medal apiece in his sophomore and junior seasons, his furious finale will leave him tied with Natasha Bamberger and Chad Gale as the fourth most-decorated Wolf track star all-time.

Only Tyler King (11), Kyle King (10) and Makana Stone (7) have more state meet medals.

Smith isn’t the only Wolf star adding to their resume at the 2018 state meet, as junior Lindsey Roberts clinched the fifth medal of her career when she qualified for Saturday’s finals in the 100 hurdles.

Fellow junior Danny Conlisk also had a strong opening day, qualifying for the finals in both the 400 (where he PR’d) and 4 x 4.

The medals he’ll pick up Saturday for those events will push him to three, making him just the 23rd Wolf all-time to break into the three-medal club.

While Coupeville is guaranteed medals in six events Saturday, and could pick up honors in five other contests, the only Wolf to have physically laid claim to a medal so far is Cassidy Moody.

The sophomore long jumper finished 8th Friday, shattering her PR by an astonishing 10 inches.

CHS competed in 11 events on the first full day of competition in Cheney, with eight prelims for races and three finals for field events.

The Wolves advanced through to the finals in six of the eight events, failing to qualify only in a pair of relay events.

The girls 4 x 2 set a season-best time but narrowly missed the cut, while the 4 x 1 team was tripped up (literally) when runners inadvertently stepped on each other’s feet.

Complete Friday results:

GIRLS:

100 Hurdles (Prelims) — Lindsey Roberts (3rd) 15.67

4 x 100 Relay (Prelims) — Ashlie Shank, Mallory Kortuem, Maya Toomey-Stout, Roberts (15th) 54.21

4 x 200 Relay (Prelims) — Roberts, Shank, Kortuem, M. Toomey-Stout (11th) 1:48.46

Long Jump (Finals) — Cassidy Moody (8th) 16-02.75 *PR*

BOYS:

100 (Prelims) — Jacob Smith (2nd) 11.37

200 (Prelims) — Smith (2nd) 22.49

400 (Prelims) — Danny Conlisk (4th) 49.93 *PR*

4 x 100 Relay (Prelims) — Cameron Toomey-Stout, Smith, Sean Toomey-Stout, Jean Lund-Olsen (6th) 44.42

4 x 400 Relay (Prelims) — Smith, Henry Wynn, S. Toomey-Stout, Conlisk (7th) 3:33.02