Fall practice is now under way, and the the 2011 Oak Harbor and Coupeville high school athletic teams will be shooting to repeat the success of the 2010 Wildcat cross country and volleyball teams.

Last fall the girls cross country team finished third in the state meet, a school best, and the volleyball squad qualified for the state tournament for the first time since 1991. How did these feats stack up to past performances? Here’s a  recap of Oak Harbor and Coupeville state appearances in fall athletics.

Cross country

The Oak Harbor girls’ third-place finish last fall tied the 1966 boys for the highest Wildcat place at state.

The girls have qualified for the state meet (which was first run for girls in 1975) eight times (‘78, ‘81, ‘89, ‘91, ‘92, ‘95, ‘09 and ‘10). Their previous best finish was seventh in 1981.

The boys earned 11 state berths (‘64, ‘65, ‘66, ‘69, ‘70, ‘71, ‘72, ‘77, ‘95, ‘99 and ‘10). In addition to getting third in 1966, the boys trophied in 1965 and 1971 with fourth-place finishes.

Debra Vaughn recorded the best individual finish for Oak Harbor by placing second in 1994, the only top-10 finish for an Oak Harbor girl.

Coupeville’s Tyler King, while running for Oak Harbor in 2009, earned the only Wildcat top-10 finish for a boy since 1972 when he placed fifth.

Other top-10 efforts: 1962, Paul Henry, eighth; 1963, Henry, sixth; 1964, Gary Lineburg sixth; 1965, Lineburg, fourth; 1966, Willy Sharp, eighth; 1971, Steven Menard, 10th; 1972, Menard, seventh.

The Coupeville boys placed fifth in 1977 and the girls were eighth in 1981 and fourth in 1982.

King won the state title last fall, while Jeff Fielding was second in 1978 and fifth in 1977.

Natasha Baumgartner won the girls title in 1985 after placing fourth, second and third the previous three years.

Volleyball

Oak Harbor reached state volleyball eight times in 10 years from 1982 to 1991 (missing in ‘85 and ‘90) but has never placed, posting a 7-22 record in state matches. The Wildcats’ best year was 1988 when they won three of six matches.

Coupeville had a four-year run at state volleyball from 2001 to 2004. The Wolves went 1-2 in pool play each year.

Football

The Oak Harbor football team has had the most state success of any local squad this past decade, but struggled to make the playoffs in the early years of the tournament which started in 1973.

The Wildcats played just one state game (a 1982 44-14 loss to South Kitsap) until 2002. Oak Harbor dropped first-round games in 2002 (Mountain View, 49-0) and 2003 (Ballard, 21-10) before it earned a win in 2005 (over Gig Harbor 28-14, then losing to Skyline 49-21).

The Wildcats won their only state title in any sport in 2006 as they rolled to the championship with four wins (Mariner, 43-42, double overtime; Skyview, 26-22; Gonzaga Prep, 14-0; Bothell, 21-14).

In 2007, Oak Harbor beat Olympia 30-21 before losing to Bothell 42-14.

The Wildcats have had several play-in games as well; those contests are not considered state games.

Coupeville reached the state playoffs four times, all loses: 1974, Willapa Valley 12-0; 1986, Nasalle, 21-15; 1987, Mossyrock 34-7; and 1990, Rainier, 34-14.

Girls soccer

Oak Harbor placed fourth in the state, winning two of four matches, in 1994 in its first trip to the playoffs. The ‘Cats lost in the first round in ‘95, ‘96 and ‘00 before splitting a pair of games in 2003.

Coupeville has never reached the state playoffs in its short history of girls soccer.

Boys tennis

Oak Harbor scored in the state tournament six times (1962, ‘67, ‘68, ‘70, ‘71 and ‘99), with a best of eighth place in 1967 behind brothers Jim and Tom Eggerman’s fifth-place finish in doubles.

Coupeville scored at state in 1964 and ‘65; at that time there was just one invitational tournament for all schools regardless of size. It finished 10th in ‘64 and was represented by Ron Edwards in singles and Bruce Seiger and Stan Willhight in doubles.

Girls swim

Oak Harbor has scored points in 12 state meets from 1997 to 2010 (missing in ‘07 and ‘09) and finished in the top eight three times (fourth, 1999; sixth, 2000; and seventh, 2001).

Kyla Meuer picked up the first individual title in 1999 (100 freestyle).

From 2001 to 2004, Missy McIntyre won seven titles (four in the 100 breaststroke and three in the 50 free).

Until last year, Coupeville swimmers combined with Oak Harbor. Rachel Weistein placed eighth in the 500 freestyle in 2010 for the Wolves.