Makana Stone (right) gets a congratulatory hug from teammate/best bud Sylvia Hurlburt. (John Fisken photos)
League champ discus hurler Dalton Martin and the man who taught him everything he knows, dad Bob.
Wolf thrower Skyler Lawrence on the podium.
Their future is so bright, they have to wear shades. CHS relay whiz kids (l to r) Lauren Grove, Marisa Etzell, Hurlburt and Stone.
1A. 2A. It matters not.
Crushing everyone from the other 10 Olympic League schools, Coupeville High School juniors Makana Stone and Dalton Martin emerged as league track and field champs Saturday.
Stone roared to a victory in the 400, and I do mean roared.
Coming down the backstretch she was in a battle with a runner from 2A Sequim, then put on the jets.
Photo man John Fisken, who was on the scene snapping pics, described it as the other girl vanishing from the photos as Stone flipped on the afterburners.
“It was a fun race to watch,” Fisken said. “She just left the other girl in the dust!”
Martin made a huge jump himself, launching his personal best throw in the discus by a good five feet to claim the top spot on the medal podium.
The league meet, held at North Kitsap High School, united the four 1A schools with their counterparts from 2A.
While the bigger schools, with their much deeper rosters, dominated the team scoring, Coupeville, the smallest 1A school in the state, held its own against its closest rivals.
The Wolf girls finished ahead of 1A foes Chimacum, Port Townsend and Klahowya, while the boys tied with Klahowya and edged out Chimacum.
That strength should come into play next weekend when Coupeville travels to Bremerton for sub-districts.
That meet will feature just the four 1A schools, with the top three finishers in each event advancing to districts May 22-23.
A fourth-place finisher will also advance if their time/throw proves to better than the fifth place athlete at the Nisqually League meet.
“Nearly everyone on the team should qualify,” said Coupeville coach Randy King. “We hope for a big contingent!”
The top two in each event at districts goes to the state meet in Cheney May 29-30.
While Stone and Martin captured the spotlight Saturday, the girls relay teams and sophomore thrower Skyler Lawrence also made huge strides.
Both the 4 x 100 and 4 x 200 relay units (featuring quicksilver Sylvia Hurlburt, Lauren Grove, Marisa Etzell and Stone) posted season-best times and came dangerously close to busting school records.
All that, and Grove spent much of the day being seriously ill. Get her healthy and records will likely topple.
Lawrence launched her best discus throw of the year and “is on her way to reaching quite a bit further.”
Complete CHS results:
GIRLS:
100 — Sylvia Hurlburt (8th) 13.60; Marisa Etzell (12th) 14.10
200 — Makana Stone (2nd) 27.25; Hurlburt (4th) 27.87
400 — Stone (1st) 59.68
800 — Abby Parker (10th) 2:43.98 *PR*
1600 — Lauren Bayne (10th) 6:15.70
4 x 100 Relay — Etzell, Lauren Grove, Hurlburt, Stone (2nd) 51.72
4 x 200 Relay — Etzell, Grove, Hurlburt, Stone (2nd) 1:48.98
Shot Put — Skyler Lawrence (4th) 28-08.50
Discus — Lawrence (9th) 86-01 *PR*
Javelin — Bayne (15th) 66-03; Allison Wenzel (16th) 66-01
High Jump — Bayne (13th) 4-02
BOYS:
400 — Jared Helmstadter (15th) 55.93; Jacob Smith (16th) 58.35
110 Hurdles — Lathom Kelley (9th) 17.66 *PR*
4 x 100 Relay — Smith, Connor Thompson, Helmstadter, Kelley (9th) 47.48
Shot Put — Dalton Martin (5th) 40-05.50 *PR*
Discus — Martin (1st) 135-10 *PR*
Triple Jump — Thompson (13th) 34-01.00
Coupeville Sports 