Following is a recap of the top sports stories from January to May 2017. A summary of the remainder of the year will be posted in a few days.
January
Oak Harbor’s Caleb Fitzgerald, Zion Gomez, Michael Fisken and Sam Zook all won individual titles at the Shoreline Invitational Wrestling Tournament Jan. 7.
Zook then added a championship in the Jack Reynolds Tournament Jan. 14 in Issaquah, his fifth tournament title of the season.
Coupeville’s Hunter Smith scored 34 points to lead the Wolves to a 60-58 win over Klahowya Jan. 24, solidifying Coupeville’s chances of qualifying for the district playoffs.
The Coupeville girls basketball team locked up its third consecutive Olympic League championship with a 41-26 win over Klahowya Jan. 24.
Eric McCardle, a 2008 Oak Harbor graduate, qualified for the PGA Tour Latinoamerica, two steps below the PGA tour, by placing third in a qualifying tournament this month.
Dejon Devroe, an Oak Harbor grad, set a new Shorter University (Rome, Ga.) indoor track record in the 800 meters (1:50.52) Jan. 29. He would later receive All-American status in the event.
February
Four Oak Harbor High School athletes signed national letters of intent Feb. 2 to play college athletics.
Mary Johnston (University of Maryland) and Jennifer Turnek (Boise State University) signed to play soccer, while Zook (Central Washington University) and Princeton Lollar (Hutchinson Community College, Kansas) signed for football.
The Oak Harbor High School boys basketball team was one of the top squads academically in the state for the 2016-17 season, posting a 3.5 grade point average. Seniors JJ Mitchell and Adam Nelson paced the Wildcats with 4.0 GPAs.
Coupeville, coached by David King, completed its third straight undefeated Olympic League season in girls basketball, a string of 27 wins, with a 41-31 victory over Port Townsend Feb. 4.
The OHHS boys basketball team used a 16-0 run to help beat Marysville-Pilchuck 55-48 Feb. 2 in the season finale to avoided a winless Wesco season.
The Wildcat girls picked up their first conference win with a 39-33 victory over the M-P girls Feb. 3.
S-Cubed, a team of Oak Harbor High School air rifle shooters coached by Dave Goodman, won the Western Washington Junior Olympic Championship Feb. 5. Steven Richards recorded the best individual score in sporter and Jason Montano took third. Elena Flake was third in precision.
The Coupeville boys basketball team’s season came to an end Feb. 9 in a district play-in game, but not before putting a scare into heavily favored Bellevue Christian. The Vikings, who beat the Wolves 66-38 earlier in the season, escaped with a 66-54 win. Smith scored 29 for Coupeville.
North Whidbey Aquatic Club’s Haley Borja, 9, recorded the nation’s 17th-best time (2:19.38) in the 200-yard freestyle at the Bluefins Invitational in Bainbridge Island Feb. 11 and 12.
Zook won the 3A state wrestling championship in the 285-pound class Feb. 18 in Tacoma. Caitlin Woodworth (170) finished fifth, Blake McBride (132) sixth, Meredith Bain (190) sixth and Nick Dugin (182) seventh. In the team standings, the Wildcat boys placed 15th and the girls 27th.
Zook became the ninth OHHS state champion and the first since 2001.
Oak Harbor took fourth place at the state high school bowling tournament Feb. 18 and 19. Earl Angeles earned first-team, all-state honors, and DJ Rutter was named to the second team.
The Oak Harbor High School NJROTC precision rifle team finished eighth in the National Service Championships Feb. 16-18 in Anniston, Ala. Flake placed fourth in the individual standings. She was joined at the national tournament by Mia Gehrmann, Austin McBride, Julia Flake and alternate Jason Montano.
Eight Oak Harbor athletes received first-team, all-Wesco honors for the winter season: Bruce Vagt (swimming), Enrique Perez (swimming), Jose Cabigting (swimming), Andrew Franssen (swimming), McBride (wrestling), Zook (wrestling), Woodworth (wrestling) and Bain (wrestling).
Earning first-team Olympic League honors in basketball were Coupeville’s Kailey Kellner, Mia Littlejohn, Gabe Wynn and Smith.
The OHHS NJROTC Wildcat Battalion defended its Olympic Division overall title with a strong showing in the final meet Feb. 26 in Oak Harbor.
Coupeville graduate Cole Weinstein, a swimmer at Whitman College, was named the Northwest Conference’s Co-swimmer of the Year. He set the school and league record in the 400 individual medley (3:58.64) Feb. 12.
March
Coupeville graduate Makana Stone, a freshman on the Whitman women’s basketball team, scored 14 points to help the 16th-ranked Blues win in the first round of D-III tournament March 3.
In times posted by Pacific Northwest Swimming this month, Borja led all 9-year-olds (about 350) in six events.
North Whidbey Aquatic Club’s Jillian Pape competed in the Western Senior Sectionals March 17-19. Her time of 24.33 in the 50 freestyle placed her second on the NWAC record board.
Wildcat Battalion finished second at the 32-team regional competition March 18 in Puyallup. The sporter and precision rifle teams each took first place; Elena Flake was first among individual precision shooters.
Four swimmers — Kiersten Tyson, Ashleigh Merrill, Lindsay Brown and Borja — represented NWAC at the Northwest Age Group Championships March 23-26 in Federal Way. Tyson, 10, led the group with four top-eight finishes.
Elena Flake finished first among all Navy shooters at the All-Service JROTC Championships in Anniston, Ala., March 24 and 25.
Coupeville High School christened its new track March 30 by holding its first home meet in five years.
April
S-Cubed finished eighth in sporter and 13th in precision at the Civilian Marksmanship Program Western Regional Tournament April 6-8 in Layton, Utah. Elena Flake posted the best individual score for Oak Harbor, taking ninth in precision.
Heidi Mullins and Kaia Crebbin of Ground Zero and Sakura Hogan, Amya Martin and Cassidy Gore of the Island Flyers won titles at the state tumbling and trampoline championships April 8 in Maple Valley.
The Wildcat sailing team earned its first trophy in its four-year history and missed its first win by one point at the Island Cup in Oak Harbor April 8 and 9. The Wildcats’ two boats were manned by skipper Austin Hauser and crew Jenny Danielson and skipper Jordan Wood-Pina and crew Piper Fisher.
This month, NWAC’s Lecya Santiago was one of only 52 swimmers out of 3,200 in the 11-14 age group to be selected to the Northwest Diversity and Inclusion Camp.
JJ Mitchell and Kurtis Zylstra each recorded hat tricks in Oak Harbor’s 6-2 soccer win over Stanwood April 21.
Coupeville’s Katrina McGranahan threw a no-hitter in the Wolves’ 5-1 softball win over Lynden Christian April 22.
James Zima (17th among men) and Bethany Lee (second among women) were the leading local finishers in the 15th annual Whidbey Island Marathon April 23.
Coupeville, coached by Ken Stange, clinched its third consecutive Olympic League girls tennis title by defeating Klahowya 5-2 twice April 27.
Devroe set the Shorter outdoor 800 record with a 1:49 at the Alabama Relays and won the event in the conference meet April 22.
May
Oak Harbor’s Bain signed a letter of intent to wrestle for Eastern Washington University May 4.
Gary Stuntz finished first in the Round Whidbey Regatta May 6.
The Coupeville girls track team, coached by Randy King, won the sub-district track meet, the equivalent of the Olympic League title, May 6.
Mikayla Elfrank homered in each game as Coupeville swept Sequim in a softball doubleheader May 10.
Coupeville singles player Valen Trujillo and the doubles team of Payton Aparicio and Sage Renninger repeated as Olympic League tennis champions May 10.
At the USA Gymnastics Regional Trampoline and Tumbling Championships in Las Vegas May 12 and 13, Ground Zero’s Mullins, Crebbin and Allison Lovett and the Island Flyers’ Kaitlyn Rozycki and Martin won gold medals.
Justin Roberts ran the length of Whidbey Island, 57.1 miles, May 6.
Jacob Smith (200, 22.51), Mitchell Carroll (triple jump, 43-03) and Lindsey Roberts (100 hurdles, 15.97) set new Coupeville school records at the district meet May 19 and 20.
Smith (22.41) and Carroll (43-11.75) bettered those marks at the state 1A meet May 25-27, as they placed third and fifth respectively. Danny Conlisk and Ariah Bepler also competed at state for the boys. Lauren Grove, Roberts, Maya Toomey-Stout and Mallory Kortuem were fifth in the 4×200 relay. Lauren Bayne also qualified for state for Coupeville.
At the 3A state meet, Oak Harbor’s Andrew Miller, Jordan Washington, Dorian Hardin and Taeson Hardin were eighth in the 4×100 relay.
Ozell Jackson, Miguel Guzman, Chris Brown, Mac Nuanez, Garren Guerrero and Lydia Dorsey were other state participants.
Oak Harbor freshman Nick Krantz finished 62nd at the state 3A golf tournament May 23 and 24.
Oak Harbor graduate Anthony Stewart, a junior centerfielder for the University of Minnesota Crookston, earned All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference second-team honors.
Coupeville’s Ben Etzell, the closer for the St. John College (Collegeville, Minn.) baseball team, was a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference first team choice.
Lucas Horrobin won his third straight Whidbey Golf Club Men’s Invitational May 27 and 28.
