Three former Oak Harbor High School teammates, Allison Duvenez (Northwest Christian University, Eugene), Hannah Bressler (Willamette University, Salem) and Christina Wicker (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge) helped their respective collegiate cross country teams finish among the nation’s best this fall, and Coupeville’s Tyler King earned All-American cross country honors while running for the University of Washington.
Their exploits highlighted the efforts of Oak Harbor and Coupeville high school graduates in collegiate athletics this season.
Cross Country
Duvenez, a senior at Northwest Christian University (Eugene), helped the Beacons
place third in the NAIA national meet in Lawrence, Kan., Nov. 22. She placed 40th overall (18:44), fourth for NCU.
Duvenez was part of the best four-year run by NCU in cross country. The Beacons finished fourth in the national meet in 2011, 14th in 2012 and ninth last year.
Prior to this year’s national meet, Duvenez helped the Beacons take their first-ever Cascade Colligate Conference cross country championship Nov. 8. The Beacons also finished first in four of their five regular-season meets.
Duvenez was sixth (18:14) out of 79 in the nine-team 5K conference meet and fifth (18:37) in the CCC preview meet in September.
Duvenez also earned her third selection to the conference all-academic team.
Wicker and Bressler both competed at the NCAA Division III championships in Mason, Ohio, Nov. 22.
Wicker and MIT captured second in the meet, the school’s best-ever finish in national cross country competition. Bressler and Willamette placed 15th.
Wicker was 17th, third among MIT runners, in 22:12.9 over the 6K course.
Bressler placed 132nd (23:29) and third for Willamette.
Wicker, a sophomore, helped the Engineers win their eighth consecutive New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference cross country championship Nov. 1 by placing second (18:25) out of 143 in the 11-team, 5K race.
MIT placed first in the 57-team Division III Regional Championship Nov. 15, and Wicker finished fifth overall, second among MIT runners, out of 387.
Wicker, a physics major, was also named to the NEWMAC all-academic team.
Bressler, a junior, was sixth (22:41.3) in the 6K Northwest Conference cross country meet to help Willamette (Salem) win its second consecutive league championship.
She then ran 12th (22:48) as the Bearcats won the Division III West Regional Nov. 15.
During the regular season, Bressler finished third in the Oak Knoll Run for the ninth-ranked Bearcats.
King and Oak Harbor’s Adrianna Royal (Sacramento State University), compete at the highest collegiate level, Division I.
King, a red-shirt junior, helped the 11th-ranked University of Washington earn a berth in the NCAA Division I championships in Terre Haute, Ind., Nov. 22; the Huskies placed 20th.
King finished 40th, second among Huskies to Aaron Nelson, in 30:46 over 10Ks. King and Nelson are the first UW duo to earn All-American honors in the same championship race.
King and the Huskies placed fourth in the Pac-12 meet Oct. 31 and fifth in the Region I meet.
King was 12th (24:00) out of 78 in the 8K conference meet, second among UW runners, and 33rd (30:11.6) out of 185 in the regional 10K race Nov. 14.
Royal’s best finish this season was fifth (24:01), second among Hornet runners, in the 6K Doc Adams Open in Davis, Calif., Nov. 9. The senior ran third for Sacramento State and 30th overall (23:07.4) in the 11-team San Francisco State University Invitational Oct. 10.
Alexandra Laiblin from Oak Harbor competed as a freshman on the Western Washington University cross country team. Laiblin’s best finish this fall was 12th in the Saint Martin’s University Invitational Sept. 27. The Vikings finished third in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference meet, just two points out of first.
Junior Matt Reith, running for the University of North Carolina-Pembroke, a Division II school, finished third overall (27:49.5) in an eight-team, 8K cross country race in Wilson, N.C., Sept. 12. The Oak Harbor grad was 17th (25:57.45), third for the Braves, in the 10-team Peach Belt Conference meet Nov. 8, helping UNC-P place second in the team standings.
Soccer
Oak Harbor’s Gavin Stewart, a freshman soccer player at Bellevue College, registered an assist this season in the Bulldogs’ 3-1 win over Olympic College Oct. 22.
Stewart helped Bellevue finish the conference season with a 5-6-2 record, 7-7-2 overall.
Caley Powers, a freshman at Grand Canyon University (Phoenix), is red-shirting in soccer this season.
Oak Harbor’s Alexander Krantz is attending the Richmond International Academy and Soccer Academy in Leeds, England. Krantz plays right back for Eccleshill United U19.
The academy provides an American undergraduate degree while allowing the student-athletes the opportunity to be part of the English social and football culture.
Coupeville’s Amanda d’Almeida recently completed her sophomore season for Carleton College (Northfield, Minn.).
She appeared in 13 matches for the Knights, starting six. She recorded four shots, two on goal, during the season, and helped Carleton finish third in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Conference (7-1-3) and 11-4-3 overall.
On the collegiate coaching front, Travis Connell, a 1991 OHHS grad, led the Western Washington women’s soccer team to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship this fall. The Vikings, who finished 16-1-4 and ranked 12th nationally, suffered their only loss this season in the semi-finals of the West Regional of the NCAA Division II national tournament.
Connell, in his 12th year as the UWW coach, has a 157-61-24 career record and is a three-time GNAC Coach of the Year.
Volleyball
Oak Harbor graduates Roshel Muzzall, a sophomore, and Makenna Martyn, a freshman, are volleyball players for Bellevue College.
Muzzall appeared in 14 matches, starting three, and finished fifth in digs (69) and aces (11) and sixth in kills (56).
Martyn played in 20 matches with three starts and was fourth in blocks (25), fourth in kills (86) and eighth in aces (3).
Bellevue finished second in the North Region with a 9-2 record, 20-12 overall, and went 2-2 in the NWAC championship tournament last weekend.
High school teammate Kelsey Rankin red-shirted at Everett Community College this season.
Football
Nick Streubel, a 6-foot-3, 316-pound freshman offensive lineman from Coupeville, is red-shirting for the Central Washington University football team this fall.
Oak Harbor’s Dakota Sinchak is a walk-on redshirt defensive back at Washington State University.
Dayne Herron, an Oak Harbor grad, is a 6-foot-4, 283-pound freshman offensive lineman on the University of New Hampshire football team.
Oak Harbor’s Ian Kolste is a sophomore quarterback for Whitworth University (Spokane). Kolste appeared in only two games before a shoulder injury ended his season.
In a 63-10 win over Lewis and Clark Sept. 6, Kolste played just a quarter and a half but completed 20 of 29 passes for 224 yards and four touchdowns. The effort earned him Northwest Conference Player of the Week honors. The following week, he led the Pirates to a 30-17 win over Whittier by going 25-for-50 for 250 yards. He also ran for 55 yards.
Aaron Boesch, from Oak Harbor, is a tight end on the San Diego State University football team. The junior has appeared in one game for the Aztec as of Nov. 22.
Coupeville’s Mitch Pelroy plays defensive back and returns kicks for Montana Western (Dillon). Pelroy helped the Bulldogs win their final four games to finish 6-5. He recorded 18 tackles (14 solo), including a sack.
As a kick returner, he was second on the team in kickoff returns (16 for 389 yards, a 24.3 yard average) and second in punt returns (four for 56 yards with a long of 38).
Rugby
Oak Harbor’s Jennifer Fremd is a member of the Quinnipiac University (Hamden, Conn.) women’s rugby team. Fremd, a junior, and the Bobcats won the American Collegiate Rugby Association regional tournament and will play Penn State in the national semifinals Dec. 6.
Bri Peterson, a senior from Oak Harbor, plays rugby for Central Washington University. The Wildcats have a 6-2 record, including a 22-17 win over Fremd’s Quinnipiac squad.
(Hannah Bressler, an Oak Harbor High School graduate, ran for Willamette University this fall. Photo by Christopher Sabato/Willamette Athletics.)
