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Cross Country

The Cougars entered the state championship with high hopes, qualifying both boys and girls teams, with the girls coming off a regional championship.  As it turned out, the boys performed above and beyond expectations, while the girls were disappointed in their performance at state.

“It was a pretty exciting season,” Coach Doug Duffy said. “The guys got better every week, and ran pretty well for us in the big meet.  We were probably outside the top 10 going in, but finished fifth overall.”

The girls finished seventh overall, behind three teams the Cougars had beaten in the regional.  “We did everything right, did everything well, right up until the big meet. Performing on the big stage, the pressure of the big meet, we just struggled with that,” Duffy said.

Duffy looked at the whole season in a very positive light.  “For the girls, it was a big year for camaraderie, taking care of each other.  We did things a little bit different this year.  We did a little yoga session each week.” Duffy brought in an outside yoga instructor.  “I just tried to stay away and leave the girls with the instructor and Angelina [Ramos, assistant coach].”

At state, all five boys scorers finished in the top 100, with Nick Harris leading the way in 13th place with a time of 17:01.13.  His brother, Quinn Harris, was close behind, finishing 31st overall.  Others scoring were David Schahrer (82), Kevin Bueno (83) and William Zimmerman (89).  Scott Everett (165) and Ryan Faulkner (184) also ran for the Cougars. 

For the girls, Elise Cranny led the way with a 10th-place finish at 19:46.57.  Kaitlyn Shepherd (36) and Maddy Jalbert (49) also finished in the top 50.  Others scoring were Lauren DeGroot (97) and Kate Judge (100).  Madi Dolifka (101) and Haley Dennerline (124) also ran for Niwot. 

Quinn Harris and Nick Harris made the All-Regional Team on the boys side, while Cranny, Shepherd, Jalbert and DeGroot made All-Regional on the girls side. 

Freshman Austin Schuler was recognized as the Best Young Cougar for the boys. Cranny, also a freshman, was named Best Young Cougar on the girls side.  

Freshman Megan Tatusko was named Most Improved Runner overall. Twins Lindsay and Lauren DeGroot, both seniors, were honored at the season-ending banquet with the Big Sister Award for supporting and inspiring the younger runners on the squad.  Duffy indicated that the Cougars are the only 4A school to qualify for state as a team on both the boys and girls side throughout the decade. “The freshman girls are great,” Duffy said, giving hope that the streak will continue. 

Boys Soccer

“It was a tough season,” Coach Rob Johnson said.  “The team wins a state championship and the coach leaves, which left the kids wondering.”  Johnson entered the program as a new head coach after Steve Lepper resigned. 

Niwot had high hopes of defending its state title, with most of the championship squad returning.  But a series of mishaps derailed the Cougars’ plans.  Forward Santiago Velez, who is a member of the elite Real Colorado club team and has played on a national developmental squad, committed to play at Ohio State next fall. 

Soon afterwards, he left the team. “He played six games with us, and he was struggling,” Johnson said.  “He got hammered every game.  Every team concentrated on stopping him.  He wanted to do what Ohio State wanted, and he wanted to get focused on his club team.  He’s on the Academy team that trains year-round and they were asking him to lift and run.  It was hard for him.”  When Velez left, it was a big blow to the team. 

That was just the beginning.  Thirteen games into the season the Cougars had just beaten Thompson Valley and thought they had made the playoffs.  At that point, an athletic director from another school called and told Niwot Athletic Director Jim Butterfield that Niwot was using an ineligible player who had transferred to Niwot without a parental move after playing six games at another school last year.

Niwot then learned that the student’s last school, where he didn’t play soccer, was not the only school he had attended last year.  As a result, Niwot reported the violation to CHSAA, which penalized Niwot by forfeiting its first six games. In addition, the player, who had started in goal for the Cougars all year, was placed on restriction for six games and was not eligible for the playoffs. He played the last two games on JV, and must do the same for the first four games next year.

The Cougars recovered to finish second in the conference in spite of the forfeits, and qualified for state.  “Jon Cooper played in goal for us and did a great job,” Johnson said.  Cooper has played in the field for Niwot but has also been the backup keeper for the last three years. 

Due to the forfeits, Niwot was seeded lower than its record on the field warranted.  The Cougars beat Discovery Canyon 3-0 in the first round on two goals by Ben Braman and one by Chris Gurule. Gurule and T.J. Sandoval provided assists.  The second round, however, pitted Niwot against Mullen. Mullen, a private school in Denver, plays a 5A schedule then drops down to Class 4A for the playoffs. 

“They’re more physical than us,” Johnson said.  “We fell behind 2-0, then Chris Gurule went out of the game due to an injury.  We had to play out of our game.”  Gurule, a forward who was injured when he was taken down from behind, returned later but was not at full strength, and eventually had to leave the game for good.  Niwot lost to Mullen, 3-0, ending the season. 

Gurule, a junior, was named Player of the Year by the Northern Conference.  Senior forward Tommy Xiong and sophomore defender Jason Pillard joined Gurule on the first team All-Conference.  Sophomore forward Ben Braman, sophomore midfielder Alex Braman, senior midfielder Tyler Terry and junior defender Robert Charles were named second team All-Conference.  Sandoval is the only other senior who will be lost to graduation. 

“We brought four guys up for the playoffs and they all saw minutes,” Johnson said.  “Alex Merritt, a sophomore, played goalkeeper the last 20 minutes of the Discovery Canyon game.  Junior Chris Oswald played defender, sophomore Koom Xiong played forward with his brother Tommy, and freshman Grant Webster played center midfield.”  Webster was the JV Player of the Year for the Cougars.

Johnson brought back the Golden Boot Award, which went to Gurule, who had nine goals and five assists for the season.  Tommy Xiong received the MVP Award, and Pillard received Jeremy Drake’s Vinnie Jones “Toughness” Award.  Pillard played every minute of every game as a defender, except for a few minutes in the last game.

“We want more,” Johnson said. “We beat Broomfield, and they lost in the state finals.”