Record-setter among Whidbey grads competing in collegiate sports / Alumni update
Published 1:30 am Saturday, November 19, 2016
A record-setting year by Whitworth quarterback Ian Kolste highlighted the athletic efforts of Oak Harbor and Coupeville high school graduates competing in college athletics this fall.
Football
Tyler Adamson and brothers Ian and Taylor Kolste, all Oak Harbor graduates, played football at Whitworth University (Spokane) this fall.
Ian Kolste, a red-shirt junior and two-year starter at quarterback, earned first-team, all-Northwest Conference honors with a record-setting year while leading the Pirates to an 8-2 record and a second-place finish in the NWC (6-1). In addition, Kolste was named the Northwest Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Year with Linfield’s Sam Riddle.
Kolste was the national DIII leader in passing completions per game (35.1), passing yards (3,790) and passing yards per game (379).
In all, he set eight school records: offensive plays (522), total offense (3,831), pass attempts (488), pass completions (351), completions per game (35.1), completion percentage (71.9), passing yards (3,790) and touchdowns (29, tied with Joel Clark, 2005). He also helped Whitworth set five team offensive records: total points (459), scoring average (45.9), passing yards (3,944), total yards (5,262), and yards per game (526.2).
With a year of eligibility remaining, he already holds the school career record for completions (710).
His top individual game performance was Sept. 17 at La Verne (California) in a 48-42 win when he hit 40 of 59 passes for 500 yards and three TDs.
Twice this fall he earned conference Student-Athlete of the Week honors.
Adamson was also a first-team, all-Northwest Conference selection. The sophomore had a hand in setting the records as the team’s starting left tackle, and the Pirate offensive line led the league in fewest tackles for a loss per game (5.1).
In addition, Adamson was named to the District 8 all-academic team with a 3.83 GPA in criminal justice.
Taylor Kolste, a freshman receiver, appeared in three games and caught three passes for 15 yards.
Mitch Pelroy, a Coupeville High School grad, completed his football career at NAIA school Montana Western (Dillion) this fall. He appeared in 36 games over four years as a defensive back and kick returner, collecting 55 tackles (including two sacks) and 1,122 return yards. This year he led the Bulldogs (7-4) in kickoff returns, running back 12 for 314 yards with a long of 51. On defense, he posted 15 tackles.
Dayne Herron, a sophomore from Oak Harbor, started the past seven games at right tackle for the University of New Hampshire (Durham). The Wildcats, who are 6-4 for the year and 5-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association, finish the regular season Saturday, Nov. 19.
Coupeville’s Zane Bundy is a freshman back-up kicker for 7-3 Santa Barbara City College.
Oak Harbor’s Dakota Sinchak is a reserve defensive back at Pac-12 North leader Washington State University.
Coupeville’s Nick Streubel, a red-shirt sophomore at Central Washington University, started the first game at left guard for the Wildcats but suffered a season-ending injury.
Oak Harbor graduates David Ray, a sophomore defensive back, and Savion Hollins-Passmore, a freshman receiver, are reserves at Midland University (Fremont, Neb.).
Volleyball
Oak Harbor’s Kayleigh Harper and Janae Payne are members of the Western Washington University volleyball team. Payne, a freshman, is red-shirting this season; Harper, a red-shirt sophomore, is one of the team’s top players.
Harper, a 6-foot, 3-inch middle blocker, was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference’s Offensive Player of the Week for Oct. 31-Nov. 6 when she recorded 31 kills in two matches and had only three hitting errors in 54 attempts. This was Harper’s first Offensive Player of the Week award after winning two Defensive Player of the Week honors as a freshman.
Last year she was first-team, all-GNAC and named to the all-tournament teams at the West Regional Tournament and NCAA DII National Tournament. That helped her receive the DII Rookie of the Year Award from HERO Sports, a collegiate sports website. She also finished fifth in the country in blocks per set (1.45), best among freshmen.
This season, Harper was leads the conference in hitting percentage (.369).
Among Western players, Harper is first in blocks (100), third in kills (289) and assists (39) and fifth in aces (5).
She recorded double digits kills in 14 matches this fall, including a season-high 22 against Seattle Pacific Oct. 15. She had eight blocks against Western Oregon Oct. 1.
Western finished the regular season with a 21-7 record and second in GNAC with a 17-3 mark. The Vikings, who reached the national final four in 2015, are ranked 18th this fall and will most likely will receive a postseason invitation.
Roshel (Muzzall) Donwen, a senior at Pacific Lutheran University (Tacoma) from Oak Harbor, appeared in 22 matches for the 13-11 Lutes and helped PLU place second in the Northwest Collegiate Conference with an 11-5 record.
Donwen finished with 125 kills, sixth best on the team, with a fifth-best attack percentage of .133. She recorded a season-high 12 kills at the University of Puget Sound Oct. 19.
Donwen was fifth in blocks (36), fourth in blocks per set (.046) and 10th in digs (39).
Coupeville’s Monica Vidoni competed at Rainy River Community College (International Falls, Minn.) this fall, playing in 27 of 34 matches. The Voyageurs were 11-3 in league and 21-13 overall, reaching the regional finals before falling to Central Lakes in a match to earn a berth in the national tournament.
Vidoni, a sophomore who also plays basketball and softball for the Voyageurs, had five kills, six digs and three blocks for RRCC this season.
Claire Anderson, a freshman from Oak Harbor at the University of Bridgeport (Connecticut), has appeared in 57 of 92 sets for the Purple Knights, most among first-year players. She is fourth on the team in digs (115), fifth in kills (118), seventh in blocks (8) and eight in aces (8).
UB finished third in the East Coast Conference with a 10-4 record, 14-12 overall, and has qualified for the conference tournament.
Cross Country
Senior Christina Wicker is a key contributor on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology women’s team, which is ranked No. 2 in DIII heading into the national championship meet Saturday, Nov. 19.
The Engineers won their fourth regional title Saturday, Nov. 12, at Westfield, Mass., as Wicker placed 18th (fourth among MIT runners) out of 406 athletes from 59 schools.
MIT won their 10th consecutive New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference championship Oct. 29, earning a perfect score of 15 by taking the top five spots. Wicker was fourth out 134 runners from 11 teams to earn all-league honors for the fourth time.
Oak Harbor’s Alexandra Laiblin, a junior at Western Washington University, earned her best finishes of the season when she was 24th out of 40 runners at Central Washington Sept. 10 and 25th out of 92 at the Saint Martin’s Open Sept. 24. For the second year in a row, Laiblin, who owns a 3.59 GPA in marine biology, was named to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Academic team.
Sophomore Dejon Devroe was 17th out of 84 runners from 11 schools to help Shorter University (Rome, Ga.) place fifth in the Gulf South Conference championships Oct. 22 in New Market, Ala. That effort earned second-team, all-Gulf South honors for the Oak Harbor graduate.
Devroe’s top finish this spring was third place out of 40 runners at the four-team University of Western Georgia Invitational Oct. 7.
Jonalynn Horn, a sophomore at Idaho State University from Oak Harbor, is red-shirting this fall.
Soccer
Coupeville’s Jennifer Spark and Oak Harbor’s Alyssa Cross were freshman teammates on the Tacoma Community College women’s soccer team this fall. They helped the Titans finish second in the West Division with an 11-3 record, 13-7-1 overall. TCC qualified for the playoffs but lost 1-0 in the first round to Walla Walla.
Two freshmen from Oak Harbor, Matti Miesle and Hailey Erbe, played for Skagit Valley College.
