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Mia Farris (left) and her teammates hit Instagram for media day. (Photos property Whatcom College volleyball)

Year #2 is kicking off with a bang.

Coupeville grad Mia Farris is back for her sophomore season of volleyball at Whatcom College, with all eyes on her.

The two-time CHS Female Athlete of the Year is moving to libero this time around, which will keep her busy.

And hopes are high, with the Whatcom coaching staff saying in a team preview story that “she’s expected to thrive in her new role after an impressive spring.

“Her consistency in serve receive and passing strengthens the foundation of the Orcas’ backcourt.”

During her freshman season at Whatcom, Farris racked up 52 kills, 195 digs, 10 assists, one solo block, seven block assists, and 37 aces while playing in all 24 matches.

Whatcom opens the season August 21 at home, playing two matches that day and another two the following day.

Farris gets a chance to square off against former Wolf teammate Lyla Stuurmans when Whatcom and Skagit Valley play Oct. 7 and 30 this season.

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Lyla Stuurmans

Lyla Stuurmans was part of a landmark team.

The Coupeville High School grad is heading into her sophomore season of playing volleyball at Skagit Valley College, but first the former Wolf and her fellow Cardinal spikers can bask in the afterglow of last year.

For the first time in program history, SVC volleyball earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award, which is given to squads who maintain a year-long 3.3 GPA or higher.

Stuurmans and crew finished the 2025-2026 academic year with a team GPA of 3.52, soaring well above the requirements.

While they were showcasing their big brains, the Cardinals also did well on the court, finishing 17-15.

Stuurmans played in 30 of 32 matches, racking up 175 kills, 73 digs, eight solo blocks, 41 block assists, and 21 service aces.

SVC kicks off its new season August 21, with matches against Whatcom College, which features former CHS star Mia Farris, set for Oct. 7 and 30.

Big hits, big brains.

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Volleyball guru Cory Whitmore plots strategy. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

His run was truly stellar.

When Cory Whitmore took the reins of the Coupeville High School volleyball program in 2016, the varsity had won seven matches across the previous two seasons combined.

In his first go-round in the CHS gym, the Wolves promptly went 11-6, kicking off a string of nine consecutive winning seasons under their spiker guru.

Whitmore led Coupeville to the state tourney in 2017, snapping a 12-year dry spell, and got back in both 2023 and 2024, with the last of those teams claiming 4th place for the first state trophy in program history.

In between, his teams posted double-digit win totals eight times, with the only outlier being the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, when the Wolves were only allowed to play nine matches total.

When he stepped down after the 2024 season, Whitmore carried a .702 winning percentage with him, having gone 106-45 while on the CHS sideline.

How does that compare to other Wolf coaches? Pretty dang good.

While records are incomplete, the other highest winning percentages I can attest to are owned by the last two CHS softball coaches, Aaron Lucero and Kevin McGranahan.

Lucero is top dog right now, off to a 39-7 start (.848) across his first two seasons, while McGranahan went 111-49 (.694) while matching Whitmore’s nine-year run.

Here’s how Whitmore’s time at Coupeville played out:

2016: 11-6
2017: 13-5 (State)
2018: 11-5
2019: 14-5
2020: 6-3 (Partial season – Covid)
2021: 11-6
2022: 10-6
2023: 12-7 (State)
2024: 18-2 (State – 4th)

That final campaign was truly one for the ages, with Coupeville winning league and district titles, remaining undefeated until the final day of the season, advancing to the state semifinals, and smashing the program’s single season win mark en route to bringing home hardware.

Under Whitmore’s guidance, the Wolves also did the previously unthinkable, toppling La Conner from its perch atop the Northwest 2B/1B League volleyball standings, handing the Braves their first conference losses in more than a decade-plus.

Still kickin’ butt and takin’ names on the court. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

But while the wins and the trophies are huge, what I will remember most about the former Wolf coach is how he got there.

From the first practice to the last banquet, Whitmore was a dream to deal with.

He was friendly, personable, able to take complicated volleyball info and break it down to where even a relative idiot such as myself could (mostly) understand the game in a different way than before.

After crowd-pleasing wins or gut-punch losses, Whitmore never shied away from taking the time to send me emails from the road as the bus bumped back home or camping out in the CHS bleachers to answer my questions.

I found him to be one of the straightest shooters to ever hold a coaching job in Cow Town, and one of the most entertaining.

During his time running the Wolf program, he immersed himself fully in it, building a very-successful youth program which brought his high school players and elementary school students together.

Whitmore made volleyball fun and exciting for the next generation, and it will pay off for years to come.

Filling the gym with smiles. (Phoenix Da Costa-Ford photo)

He also set up a coaching tree which continues to branch out, with former Wolf players such as Ashley Menges, Scout Smith, Alita Blouin, and Hope Lodell having followed in the footsteps of the man who guided them during their own playing years.

While we all would have loved for him to coach for decades, his “retirement” was well earned.

Teaching at one school (Oak Harbor) while coaching at another, while putting in the 24/7/365 level of commitment to the volleyball program he did, takes its toll.

So, seeing Whitmore looking all hale and hearty and maybe able to have a moment or two to himself these days (or be able to spend some quality time with husband Cris), makes it easier to accept.

But while he’s stepped back from the spotlight a bit, that doesn’t mean we can’t pull him back to center stage one more time — at least online.

Today we swing open the doors to the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame, inducting him for his coaching prowess, his work ethic, and his sunny personality. The pride of Ritzville is the complete package.

After this you’ll find him up at the top of the blog under the Legends tab — the coolest cat in the joint.

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Through rain or shine, cousins Capri Anter (left) and Haylee Armstrong excel across multiple sports. (Michelle Armstrong photo)

A new high school athletic year beckons, ripe with possibilities.

We sit 28 days away from the first practice for Coupeville High School football, 33 away from the start of volleyball, soccer, cheer, girls swim, and cross country.

How will the 2026-2027 school year play out?

No one knows, really, something we were reminded of several years back when a pandemic appeared seemingly out of nowhere to disrupt the established way of life.

Barring any major disruptions, like if an alien spacecraft lands on the prairie and the lil’ green buggers start zapping random cows, you can make some guesses however, based on past performance.

The seniors, that group which forms the CHS Class of 2027, include a number of athletes who I would expect to be front and center as things play out.

From Davin Houston to Lexis Drake, from Riley Lawless to Bella Karr, the elder statesmen should anchor things, even while young guns like Tamsin Ward, Lillian Ketterling, and Wyatt Fitch-Marron likely make their presence felt.

But seeing as how I am fond of making bold, often irrational statements, I hereby proclaim that we are headed into the “Year of the Cousins.”

Yep, 2026-2027 is set up for Capri Anter and Haylee Armstrong to soar even higher, with three Senior Nights on the calendar to provoke tears from their impassioned fan base.

Queens of the hardwood. (Julie Wheat photo)

The duo, who have grown up together on volleyball and basketball courts and softball diamonds, are strongly positioned to rack up major page hits for me here at blog central.

Both are strong athletes capable of filling up a stat sheet, both are personable and outgoing young women, and both have devoted followers.

Moms, dads, aunts and uncles, and especially grandmas are at all their games, home and away seemingly, but it goes beyond that.

Capri and Haylee are also the kind of teenagers joyfully adopted by other families, who often root for the duo as hard as they do their own daughters.

The cousins lead by example, seem to genuinely enjoy their time in the spotlight, and provide stellar examples for their younger teammates, or the little girls (and boys) who aren’t close to high school yet, but are already crowding the fences and benches to get a glimpse of their heroes.

Now, I don’t know either of them away from sports — maybe they’re secretly serial killers and are burying all the bodies at Rhodey and we’ll watch their real story on Netflix one day — but what I do know, what I have seen, through middle and high school, makes me think they’re the real deal.

From someone observing things while bruising my butt on rock-hard bleachers or leaning against rickety wire fences, what I see is this.

I see Haylee and Capri take time out to make sure their family members and friends know how much they appreciate having them at games.

I see them intently listen to their coaches, time and again. They focus; they don’t drift.

I see them honor their teammates, school, and uniform, competing hard every time out, celebrating achievement, but not rubbing it in the faces of their foes.

I see them keep alive the memory of their late cousin, Adam Garcia, in word and deed, and I know he would be proud of that they are accomplishing.

And I see them support each other, and it’s a beautiful thing.

Smashin’ homers and takin’ names. (Jackie Saia photo)

The games will end at some point. That’s a fact.

You like to hope that Capri and Haylee’s final moment together wearing a Wolf uniform will come on a diamond in Eastern Washington in late May next year, with Coupeville softball hoisting a state tourney trophy.

That they will have made highlights on the volleyball and basketball court, before putting the exclamation point on things as part of the Smash Sisters, playing the sport which really seems to define both.

Maybe it will be so. Maybe it won’t.

Either way, they will be together for life, the latest link in a family deeply ingrained in Wolf Nation.

But before they get those diplomas and head off to the next stage of their lives, here’s to hoping Capri and Haylee see all their athletic dreams come true during their senior campaigns.

I’m calling it — this is going to be “The Year of the Cousins,” and the Vegas odds tell us it’s going to be a special one.

The dynamic duo. (Michelle Armstrong photo)

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Savina Wells was a homer-bashin’ hotshot as a freshman back in 2022. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

She was The Natural.

The One Born to Lead the Wolves to the Promised Land.

Why, she was, dare I say it, The Chosen One.

Oh, I did, and I was chastised by some for doing so, which I understand. Not that it stopped me.

Savina Wells was that rarity in Coupeville — a naturally gifted athlete who excelled at each and every sport she tried, who made things seem effortless at times, and was a genuine star from day one.

And by day one, I mean birth, as she followed in the footsteps of her older siblings, Ulrik and Izzy, following them around, one cartwheel at a time, before stepping up to stake her own claim to fame.

From her earliest days in little league and rec basketball, to her days at Coupeville Middle School and High School, Savina was arguably the second-most talented athlete I have written about here on the blog.

Makana Stone lives in a world of her own, and the battle for #2 during the Coupeville Sports era is a fierce one, with a group headlined by Maya Toomey-Stout, Madeline Strasburg, Lindsey Roberts, Teagan Calkins, and a few others.

Savina brought height, grace, speed, tenacity, confidence, and star quality to the stage, and left a sizable impact while we still had her in Cow Town.

Different state, same superstar. (Photo courtesy Katy Wells)

A family move to Florida after her freshman year left Wolf fans wondering what could have been, while she went on to have a super-successful run at Fernandina Beach High School as a volleyball, basketball, and track star.

Before graduating in 2025, Savina advanced to the state track meet twice in the sunshine state, while setting a school record in the high jump.

And yes, her top mark of five feet, three inches would also be a CHS girls record, if the world moved in a different way.

Before she left Coupeville, Savina played two years of varsity basketball for the Wolves, joining Lyla Stuurmans as the first 8th graders to ever start for the high school program.

She and Izzy were the #2 and #3 scorers in 2021 for a CHS hoops squad limited to a partial schedule by the pandemic, then was the #4 scorer for the Wolves as a fab frosh.

And do you need to ask? Yes, she went on to pour in nearly 700 points and snatch 500+ rebounds across her three seasons playing God’s Chosen Sport in Florida.

Pardon me while I go cry in the corner…

Rampaging on the hardwood during Covid days. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

While Savina turned to track and field to fill her spring days in her new home, she played softball for CHS as a freshman, often operating as the team’s catcher while Izzy stalked the pitcher’s circle.

They made for a dynamic duo, helping lead the Wolves to a 16-3 mark in their one season together, with Savina crackin’ extra base hits and flying around the basepaths like a wild woman unleashed.

That included a three-hit game early in the season on the road against state powerhouse Lynden Christian, capping things with a two-out home run which set Lync fans back in their pricy chairs.

The youngest Wells was also a varsity volleyball player for CHS as a freshman, piling up 70 kills, 47 digs, five block assists, and 42 service aces in her debut.

Savina hangs out with mom and big sis Izzy. (Photo courtesy Katy Wells)

Regardless of which state she was living in, Savina excelled. Pure and simple. She had great potential, and she lived up to the promise.

Selfishly I wish she had made her full run in Coupeville, like Ulrik and Izzy.

But she didn’t, and I don’t fault families for finding what works for them. Her parents, Lyle and Katy, were two of my favorite customers in the Videoville days, and they raised three really stellar children.

Seeing Savina soar to new heights, even from across the country, has given me great joy the last couple of years.

But I want her to know, that like her brother and sister and parents, she’s not forgotten about where it all began.

So today Savina joins her big sis in the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame, inducted for all she accomplished in Cow Town, and all she has done since departing The Rock.

She was always special, not just as an athlete, and from now on you’ll find her up at the top of the blog under the Legends tab.

Right where she belongs.

Born to be a superstar. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

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