Coupeville eighth grader shines in softball, track and field

Zariyah Allen hit .500, collected nine hits and scored 10 runs in her first season of softball, giving Coupeville a reliable bat and outfield presence while still competing in middle school track and field. The eighth grader’s rapid rise turned her into one of the clearest examples of how a small school builds around versatile athletes.

Allen helped the Wolves return to the 2B state fastpitch tournament in Yakima, where the 16-team bracket was played May 22-23 at Gateway Sports Complex. Coupeville entered as the No. 8 seed with an 18-2 record and opened against No. 9 Kittitas. The Wolves finished 19-4, won league and district titles, and made their second straight state trip and fifth appearance in program history, a milestone the school had never reached before in back-to-back seasons.

That softball run came while Allen was still finishing her middle school track and field career. She won the discus twice, once as a sixth grader and again as an eighth grader, and set the Coupeville Middle School girls record at 95 feet, 10 inches. The middle school program also spent the spring rewriting its record book, with athletes across grades 6 through 8 breaking multiple marks in both boys and girls events.

What makes Allen stand out is how much Coupeville is asking one athlete to do, and how well she has answered. She has also played volleyball and basketball, and she has managed the overlap between Coupeville Middle School and Coupeville High School while contributing to the varsity softball roster. In a district the size of Coupeville, that kind of flexibility is not a luxury. It is part of how the Wolves stay competitive when numbers are thin and roster spots have to be filled by athletes who can move between roles without much warning.

Allen’s sports life is rooted in a family that already knows the rhythm of school, practice and competition. Her older brothers, Ezekiel and Isaiah, and younger sister Jasmine are all involved in sports and school work, giving her a support system that matches the demands of a multi-sport schedule. Allen also likes being outdoors, listening to music and sketching, details that round out a teenager whose value to Coupeville goes far beyond one season or one event.

With her move to Coupeville High School approaching in the fall, Allen will arrive as more than a promising freshman. She enters as part of the pipeline that has already helped the Wolves stack league titles, district hardware and another trip to state.