After shining as Wolves, several Coupeville High School graduates have continued their athletic success in collegiate spring sports.
Track
Tyler King wrapped up his collegiate running career by earning honorable mention All-America honors at the NCAA championship track meet in Eugene Wednesday, June 8.
Running for the University of Washington, King placed 23rd in the Division I finals, the highest level of college sports, in the 10,000 meters in 32:13.48.
King was third in the Pacific 12 championships in the 10,000 in Seattle in May. That earned him a spot in the Western Preliminaries in Lawrence, Kan., which featured the top college runners from the western half of the United States. He finished ninth and qualified for the national finals.
King also ran the 5,000 meters in the Pac-12 meet, taking 13th.
His top time of 28:59.37 in the 10,000 ranks sixth all-time on the Husky record board.
Baseball
Ben Etzell, a sophomore at St. John’s College (Collegeville, Minn.), helped the Johnnies’ baseball team (32-14) to the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference league tournament title and second place in the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional Tournament.
Etzell finished with a 4-1 pitching record, picking up two of the wins in the postseason.
He earned the win in the conference tournament championship game when St. John’s defeated St. Mary’s 11-4 May 14. Etzell threw 5.1 innings, giving up four runs and striking out three.
In the regional tournament, Etzell kept the Johnnies alive with an 8-2 win over North Central College May 20 in an elimination game. Etzell tossed a nine-inning complete game with five strikeouts.
For the year, Etzell pitched 50.2 innings, surrendering 78 hits while fanning 41 and posting a 7.28 ERA.
Etzell also batted 29 times, getting six hits (.207), seven runs, two doubles, four RBI and four walks while posting a .361 OBP.
Softball
Monica Vidoni, a freshman outfielder at Rainey River Community College (International Falls, Minn.), completed a three-sport year by playing for the Voyageurs’ softball team this spring. She competed for RRCC in volleyball and basketball earlier in the school year.
Vidoni appeared in 39 softball games, hitting .306 (19/62) with two doubles, three home runs, 17 runs and 12 RBI. She finished with a .336 on-base percentage and .484 slugging percentage.
Rainey River finished second in the divisional tournament, and Vidoni helped the Voyageurs win an elimination game over Itasca 5-2 May 6 with a single and RBI.
Coupeville’s Madeline Roberts and Hailey Hammer competed against each other in softball in the North Region of the Northwest Athletic Conference.
Roberts, a sophomore outfielder at Shoreline Community College, helped the Dolphins (16-18) finish third in the divisional standings with a 10-10 record, one game better than Hammer’s Everett Community College club (16-22).
Roberts appeared in 21 games, hitting .209 (9/43) with a double, three RBI, five walks and four stolen bases.
Hammer, a freshman first baseman, played in 25 games and hit .270 (17/63). She tallied nine runs, two doubles, seven RBI, six walks and a home run. The home run was a seventh-inning, walk-off shot that beat Roberts and Shoreline 1-0 April 10.
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Monica Vidoni played softball this spring for Rainey River Community College. Photo courtesy of RRCC Athletics.
