I guess it is safe to say that Wiley Hesselgrave is competitive.

The senior football and basketball player is also the most accomplished male athlete in his class at Coupeville High School.

In separate interviews, Hesselgrave and his coaches, Brett Smedley in football and Anthony Smith in basketball, all cited Hesselgrave’s  competitiveness as the primary reason for his considerable athletic success.

Hesselgrave: “I like to compete against the person in front of me, and I don’t like to lose.”

Smedley: “It doesn’t matter if it’s in PE, on the basketball court or on the football field, Wiley is always competing and wants to be the best at everything he does.”

Smith: “He is a competitor. He is fearless; he has the will to win.”

That martial spark helped Hesselgrave earn four varsity letters in football and, at the end of this hoop season, three in basketball.

In football, he received the team’s Most Improved Player Award as a sophomore, and last year he was Coupeville’s Most Valuable Defensive Player and a first-team, all-Olympic League linebacker.

This year’s football awards have not been announced.

In basketball, he won the team’s Mr. Hustle Award as a sophomore and was an Olympic League first-team selection as a junior.

He was also third in the voting for the conference MVP in basketball last year, an award Smith said was a crime Hesselgrave didn’t win.

Hesselgrave is pragmatic about not winning the award: “They voted for someone else, so obviously they must have thought that player was better.”

When prodded, he admitted that the league Most Valuable Player Award is a goal for this season, but he stressed that his primary goals are for the team and not himself.

“I want to get a banner on the wall (team championship),” he said. “This is may last year, so I will try to make this team as good as possible.”

That team-first attitude stands out to Smedley: “Wiley played football because he loves the game. He also played because he enjoys being with his friends.”

Losing is tough to take for the competitive Hesselgrave, but he learned to deal with it.

The Wolves finished 1-9 in football this season and won only 10 of 60 basketball games the past three years.

“After we lose a game, I am bitter at first,” Hesselgrave said. “The next day I use it as motivation to work harder to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Smith lauded Hesselgrave’s work ethic: “He shows up every single day, game or practice. He is ready to go right now. His teammates have to step up to that: If Wiley is going 110 percent, his teammates have to go 110 percent.”

Working hard was a lesson Hesselgrave learned at home.

“My parents have been to 98 percent of my high school games, and I want to impress them; I want them to see my hard work,” he said.

“If you don’t work hard, you are not going to be very good.”

He also said that Smith pushes him to increase his effort and understands why Smith “gets on him” in practice.

“Coach Smith helped me a lot,” Hesselgrave said. “He said ‘If I stopping yelling at you, that means I have given up on you.’”

Although athletically gifted, Hesselgrave doesn’t play a spring sport.

“I like to have some free time after school before summer when I am working all the time.”

He said he prefers basketball over football because “it is a lot faster and a better fit for my skill set — and it’s warmer.”

Hesselgrave also enjoys the intimacy of basketball.

“I like all the eyes on the court,” he said. “In football, there are a lot of things people miss.”

Hesselgrave does not plan to play competitive sports in college but does plan to channel his competitiveness to the classroom.

“I really want to focus on my career; I want to be successful,” he said. “There is a toughness factor in school as well as sports,” Hesselgrave said. “If you get pushed down on the field, you get right back up. The same in the classroom.”

Hesselgrave will study business in college and wants a career in finance.

Smedley is confident Hesselgrave will succeed: “I look forward to seeing what Wiley accomplishes on the basketball court and after high school. I am confident he will continue to make Coupeville proud after graduation.”

What does Hesselgrave want others to say about him once his CHS playing days are finished?

“I want them to remember my hard work, my willingness to be down in the paint with people flying all over.”

Just what you would expect from someone who thrives on competition — attacking the heart of the defense.