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Raven Vick

Raven Vick gets set to play with the school band. (Photos courtesy Vick)

Vick gazes into a bright future.

Vick gazes into a bright future.

Sports and friendship go together, hand-in-hand, for Raven Vick.

“I enjoy being able to play with other people that feel the same way about the sport as I do,” she said.

One half of a pair of talented twins, Raven and sister Willow will head to Coupeville High School this fall for their freshman year.

When they do, Raven will enter with well thought-out goals, both for sports and the real world.

“My goals for my freshman year are to keep a 3.5 or higher GPA,” Vick said. “And possibly go to state with our teams.

“My goals for later in life would be playing volleyball on varsity and playing in college,” she added. “I would also like to open a business with my sister.”

Vick plans to play volleyball and run track as a Wolf, and her top sport comes first in the year.

“Volleyball is my favorite because I get to play with a team and make new friends,” she said. “I also love everything about the sport, diving, jump serving, etc.”

When she’s not spiking volleyballs or hurling the javelin, Vick can often be found snapping photos (“I love taking pictures of the trees and the sky”), listening to music or sailing.

She’s discovered a yen for Korean K-Pop music (“shout-out to Luci Coleburn for getting me hooked during our band festival”) and enjoys her yearbook and math classes.

A whiz kid in the classroom, she’s two years ahead of most of her fellow freshmen in math and will be taking Algebra 2 College Prep.

Whether she’s breaking down theorems or droppin’ aces on the court, Vick gets a substantial amount of support from her family, something for which she’s grateful.

“I think my parents have made a huge impact on me,” she said “They are always pushing me and supporting me in anything that I decide to do.

“And my sister is always there for me, whether she’s playing on the same court or cheering me on in the stands.”

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Thane Peterson flies down the backstretch. (Photo courtesy Sandi Farris)

Thane Peterson flies down the backstretch. (Photo courtesy Sandi Farris)

The champion has left the building, but his successor is arriving.

After capping his stellar prep track and field career with a 2nd place finish in the discus at the 1A state meet this spring, Dalton Martin graduated and will now head off to throw in college.

As he leaves, Thane Peterson will make the jump from middle school to high school, intent on becoming Coupeville’s next great thrower.

Peterson, who will be a freshman at CHS in the fall, won a league title in the discus as an 8th grader, and his best throw at this stage of his career (101-04) is almost right on par with where Martin (102-02) was at the same age.

Whether he will one day fling it as far as his predecessor, who topped out at 161-07 as a senior, won’t be known for awhile, but Peterson will come in guns blazing.

“Some of my strengths are throwing the discus, visualizing the steps to throw in my head before I throw,” he said. “Some strengths I need to work on are timing the throws and getting the spin to a consistent speed.”

That will come with time, work and increased coaching.

Peterson, who also enjoys the 200 and 400, plans to add the javelin to his string of events next year. Being able to do more than just one thing is what draws his interest.

“My favorite sport is track and field, because of the ability to choose your events,” he said. “And then the freedom to practice those events is one of the best parts of the sport.

“The coaches are great and traveling to other places to compete is an exciting part of track.”

When he’s not practicing or competing, Peterson enjoys math class and pushes himself in the classroom.

“My goals for my freshman year and beyond is to keep straight A’s,” he said.

While he set a goal of breaking the 100-foot barrier in the discus this year (a 25-foot increase from his best throw as a 7th grader), he hasn’t decided yet what he will aim for as a freshman.

Whatever number he picks after talking to his coaches, “I will try my best to get it.”

In both sports and regular life, Peterson gets much of his support from his parents.

“They have been a big help all my life and have helped make me who I am.”

He also greatly enjoys the camaraderie which is built into the world of track, where large numbers of athletes train, compete and hang out together.

“The most enjoyable part of being an athlete is being part of a team,” Peterson said. “Being part of a team is a great part of playing a sport, because there are people who support each other.”

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Ashleigh Battaglia

   Ashleigh Battaglia sticks the landing during her 8th grade track season. (Pat Kelley photo)

(John Fisken photo)

   Refusing to let the play die, Battaglia gives maximum effort while trying to chase down a wayward volleyball. (John Fisken photo)

Ashleigh Battaglia is going to be busy.

When she hits the ground running as a Coupeville High School freshman in the fall, she’ll be kicking off a year in which she plans to be involved with sports every season.

Battaglia will be a member of the fall CHS cheer team, hopes to continue with the squad through basketball season, then head outside in the spring to join older brother Chris on the Wolf track and field team.

Toss in school work and she’ll have plenty of things to juggle, something of which she’s well aware.

“My goals as a freshman this year are to be able to get through this year not having to worry about last minute assignments and spending time with my family so I can easily enjoy my hobbies outside of school,” Battaglia said.

While she’ll be busy, the chance to interact with her teammates more than makes up for it.

“I love being on a team,” Battaglia said. It makes me feel like I have another family outside of home with the people I can trust if I ever need anything.”

Eternally positive, she looks for the bright side of things, but knows she can look to her veteran teammates if she hits any low moments.

“Every time I fail, I try to get back up again and keep going,” Battaglia said. “I want to improve.

“I would like to work on my confidence,” she added. “Like in cheer, I have girls who I know will help me if I struggle or need help.”

Battaglia was a three-sport athlete at CMS (volleyball, basketball, track) and looks forward to following in the footsteps of her brother, who went to state in the high jump as a freshman this spring.

“Track, I like it because I get to try new things and I compete mostly with myself to try to improve as much as possible,” she said. “My brother has always had helpful advice on anything track-related.”

Battaglia, who enjoys sketching, singing and hanging out with friends and her little sister (“she’s coming to middle school ready to show off her enthusiasm for sports and anything fun”), draws big support from her entire family.

“My dad, Brian Rogers, has had a huge impact on my athletic experiences, he’s always had encouraging things to say,” she said.

“My mother, Amanda Rogers, has always taught me to stand tall and try my best in everything,” Battaglia added. “So I can always look back and be proud of what I accomplished.”

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(John Fisken photos)

   This trench is where the permanent slip-and-slide will be set up … and I am being informed I have no idea what I’m talking about. (John Fisken photos)

cat

Burying the bodies. I assume…

track

Even Makana Stone would have trouble accelerating around this corner.

Well, it looks different.

Work on replacing the track oval at Mickey Clark Field continues full bore, as we sit 78 days away from the first high school football game of the season.

The vintage track is gone, replaced (for the moment) with a lot of sand, while heavy machinery continues to run wild, ripping things up.

Travelin’ photo man John Fisken wandered into the danger zone to snap these pics for us, giving everyone a feel for how the project is moving along.

He was never seen again, leading me to believe he might have been buried in the end zone, Jimmy Hoffa-style.

At least he left behind some photos…

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(John Fisken photos)

   The bleachers are gone, but the dilapidated press box of my misspent youth hangs on … for the moment. (John Fisken photos)

press box

   When they rip it down, someone keep all the dead bees you find inside. There will be at least 12,000 of them. Trust me on that.

stands

   The bleachers were led away. “Tell me about the rabbits, George…” Then, a single gunshot and the bleachers were quiet, forever. 

Just in case someone forgets...

Just in case someone forgets.

Yikes.

We sit three months away from the first CHS football game of the season (Sept. 2 at home vs. South Whidbey) and it’s safe to say some work will need to be done between now and then.

Which is exactly the point, as the long-anticipated revamp of the school’s track has officially begun.

The bleachers are gone, leaving the press box to look even more sad in their absence, and things are beginning to be ripped up.

Over the next couple of months, the outdated, six-lane track will be torn to bits and replaced with a snappy new eight-lane masterpiece.

That will allow CHS to host track meets for the first time in years, something Wolf stars like Lindsey Roberts, Jacob Smith and Skyler Lawrence can look forward to.

The plan is to eventually have brand new permanent bleachers in place (and maybe a posh new press box … nudge, nudge, wink, wink), though the school may go with portable bleachers this coming fall.

As the transition kicks off, John Fisken wandered through the currently rough-looking environment to snap a few pics for us all to goggle at.

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