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Marin Winger flashes some new credentials. (Photos courtesy Julie Dougherty)

She’s building for her bright future today.

Marin Winger, who will be a junior at Coupeville High School this fall, plans to work in the medical profession after school, and she’s getting ready by taking advantage of every teaching opportunity she can find.

The Wolf cheerleader, who was sworn in as a student rep for the school board Thursday, attended a suturing boot camp in July at the top-level Stanford University Medical School.

Making the journey to Palo Alto after being one of 40 students from around the world to be accepted, Winger found a program which offers high school, undergraduate, and pre-professional students “hands-on training in surgical techniques, precision-focused instrument handling, and specialized tissue-repair scenarios.”

Under the tutelage of Stanford faculty, she and her fellow classmates learned “advanced simulation scenarios and specialized suture patterns.”

The program is valuable for those on a medical trajectory, as it offers students realistic, supervised practice while allowing them an opportunity to explore the mindset of precision and patient-centered care.

Winger came away visibly impressed after her visit.

“I really enjoyed the progress to more advanced suturing patterns, specialized closures, and increasingly complex simulated scenarios,” she said. “Plus, the faculty and campus were amazing!”

This is the second summer Winger has jetted off to spend part of her vacation exploring the medical world, as she completed a Sports Medicine program at Wake Forest University when she was a freshman.

She has also put in time wrapping the ankles of her fellow Wolf athletes and participating in EMT training exercises at WhidbeyHealth.

Winger hangs out in a ritzy neighborhood.

Giggle now, nap later

“I’m sorry, my aunt can’t go back to work. She has to hold me 24/7. Those are the rules!” (Photos courtesy Sylvia Smith)

Babies are the best part of the internet.

In a world where no one seemingly gets along, everyone can agree that photos of wee whippersnappers — especially when they’re the offspring of former Wolf athletic stars — puts a positive spin on the day.

Today’s featured duo are the young twin daughters of Coupeville grads CJ and Sylvia (Hurlburt) Smith, which means their aunts and uncles include Larry Hurlburt, Scout Smith, and Hunter and Payton (Aparicio) Smith.

Which means they are the heirs to quite the athletic heritage.

But sports can wait. Today it’s all about basking in photos of joy.

Cora Fix sings the national anthem. (Photos property Everett AquaSox/Evan Morud/Lindsey McClellan)

Cora Fix brought down the house.

The Coupeville High School cheerleader, who will be a sophomore when school starts in September, performed the national anthem before Wednesday’s Everett AquaSox baseball game, and nailed it.

The High-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners followed up Fix’s stellar vocal work with one of their best performances of the season, ripping 14 hits in an 11-6 win over the Eugene Emeralds.

The daughter of CHS Fiscal Secretary Rosalie Fix has been raking in honors of late, having also earned All-American status as a cheerleader during Coupeville’s recent summer camp.

AquaSox players and young softball champs join the festivities.

Hittin’ the high notes.

Lyla Stuurmans and her biggest fan, mom Sarah.

She showed ’em how it’s done.

Playing Wednesday on “High School Night” — where teen players were given free admission — Coupeville grad Lyla Stuurmans sparked the Skagit Valley College volleyball squad to a straight-sets win.

The Cardinals, playing on their home floor in Mount Vernon, whacked visiting Green River 25-20, 25-17, 25-18, improving to 3-2 on the still-young season.

Right at the forefront was Stuurmans, a former CHS Athlete of the Year winner, who produced a team-high 13.5 points by racking up nine kills, two service aces, four digs, one solo block, and three block assists.

Through the first five matches of the year, the former Wolf supernova, now an SVC sophomore, has tallied 21 kills, two assists, 10 aces, 40 digs, four solo blocks, six block assists, and 38 points.

Skagit returns to action September 1, facing off with Columbia Basin in a match set to go down in the Pasco region.

Stuurmans and Co. will be on the road for quite a while.

The Cardinals have 12 matches scheduled for the month of September, but don’t play at home again until they host Shoreline on the 30th.

Nicole Bailey (left) with sister Laura Dozier

They’re back in black, and back in the classroom.

Coupeville Elementary School teachers Nicole Bailey and Scout Smith, who received Reduction in Force (RIF) notices as the district worked to hammer out its budget earlier this year, have both been rehired.

The moves were added Wednesday night to the agenda for Thursday’s School Board meeting.

Bailey, a CHS grad who has had a majorly positive impact on the elementary school over the past five years, returns to that school, while Smith, a fellow Wolf alumnus, is moving to the middle school.

The news that financial numbers and (projected) students in the classroom have clicked into place to allow for the rehiring of the two will likely be met with great joy in the community.

Bailey has been a vital part of the school district’s Facilities Planning Task Force as it works towards the goal of giving Coupeville students a much-needed new elementary school.

During task force meetings, she has been one of the leading voices and is absolutely one of the people who should be at the forefront of interaction with the public as the district prepares a bond request for town voters.

As a proud native of Cow Town, Bailey has already impacted the next generation in her classroom, something pointed out by fellow Wolf grad turned elementary school supernova Mandi Black.

“Your classroom is thriving emotionally, academically, and socially,” Black wrote as part of a tribute to her friend and colleague at the end of last school year.

“One thing I heard loud and clear all year and at the moving on ceremony was that 5th graders loved math, and the community and family they built in Mrs. Bailey’s classroom.

“The best of dens, the test scores, the confidence all reflect the countless hours you poured into them.”

Scout Smith with her proteges, Lyla (left) and Tenley Stuurmans. (Sarah Stuurmans photo)

Smith, as frequently described on this very blog, was a three-sport star and team captain during her days at CHS, leading volleyball and softball teams to state while earning Athlete of the Year honors her senior year.

After college, she returned to her old stomping grounds and worked as a substitute teacher — a favorite of both of my younger nephews — before jumping to full-time status last year.

Smith has just kicked off her second season as CHS varsity volleyball coach, and her hire as the CHS varsity girls’ basketball coach is also on the agenda for Thursday’s school board meeting.

As she is one of the best and brightest we have, and could, if everything goes to plan, coach the Wolves for DECADES, her return to the classroom — thereby making it far more likely she’ll hang around as a coach — is a major win.