Coaches’ Corner

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Wrestling

Junior Nick Stager was the only Cougar to qualify for state, finishing third at Regionals in the 140-pound class.  Stager won his first two matches at regionals by pinning his opponents.  He lost a semi-final match to Erie’s Clay Bunker by a 7-4 decision, then won the third-place match over Frederick’s Zach Champlin, 6-2.

At state, Stager faced Marcus Velasquez of Montrose in the first round, and came out on the short end of a 3-1 decision.  Velasquez was ranked fourth in the state by Tim Yount’s On the Mat Rankings before the state tournament, and Stager was ranked sixth going into the tournament.  “Nick had a tough draw,” Coach Scott Sanchez said, noting that only regional champions are seeded at state.

Niwot's Luke Stager wrestles at State.

Stager, a junior, won his first match in the consolation round, posting a major decision over Spencer Urban of Roosevelt, 12-2.  In the second round of consolation matches, Stager lost to conference rival Nick Babcock of Broomfield, 6-0, ending his season. Babcock was ranked second in the state by On the Mat entering the tournament, and was seeded third out of regionals.  Stager had wrestled Babcock during the 2009-2010 season, and lost that match.  This year, Stager wrestled at 145 pounds when the teams met in a conference dual, so he missed out on wrestling Babcock during the regular season. Stager entered the tournament with a record of 37-8 and finished at 38-10.

Wrestling - Senior heavyweight

Landon Nolting was unable to wrestle at regionals due to injury.  Freshman Jesse Slepicka finished sixth at regionals at 112 pounds.  “He was one match away from making state,” Coach Scott Sanchez said.  Marcus Cano at 125 pounds also won a match in the consolation bracket at regionals after losing in the first round.

“We didn’t do so hot at regionals,” Sanchez said.  “All of them made it to the second day, but for a lot of them it’s a different level and a big learning curve at regionals.  They all started wrestling better toward the end.”

The Cougars lose only three seniors: Nolting, Austin Boldt (160) and Ben Roper (152). “We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores,” Sanchez said.  “We’ll do some spring and summer wrestling and enter some open tournaments.  We’re trying to work with some of the other Longmont schools.”

Boys Basketball

Coach Travis Maron’s team qualified for the state tournament in his first season, which was not easy considering CHSAA reduced the number of teams from 48 to 32, less than half of the 4A teams in the state.  The Cougars lost their final regular season game to Centaurus, a team Niwot had beaten earlier.  The win propelled Centaurus into the playoffs with a 10-13 record as the 31st seed, while Niwot was seeded 23rd with a 13-10 record.  Niwot and Centaurus tied for fifth in the conference.  The Cougars will play tenth-seeded Harrison, 19-4, Feb. 25 in Pueblo.

Maron is pleased with his team’s season.  “Alex Kicera really turned it on,” Maron said.  “He played some consistent basketball for us the last month.”   Maron mentioned guard Michael Ogez as well.  “He’s established himself as our defensive stopper, the guy we can put on their best player.”  Maron was also pleased with the play of Cody Heimann, Sam Forrer and Andy Wegleitner.  Forrer was injured towards the end of the Centaurus game when his face collided with the head of an opponent.  Forrer was evaluated for a concussion but checked out okay and was back at practice the next day.

Niwot's Cody Heimann goes over a defender to score against Broomfield

“We’ll take 12 kids to playoffs, so it will get a couple of freshmen and sophomores fired up over what can happen over the next couple weeks.”Maron also mentioned Nate Merriman, who has been out the entire season after suffering a concussion at the end of the football season.  “He’s a great kid and a good leader,” Maron said. “He’s been cleared to do some running and weights, but will have to wait until May to get checked out again.”   

Maron learned a lot about himself in his first season as a varsity head coach. “I learned that I can do this,” Maron said.  “I can handle this. Going in, I thought I could, but with a new baby at home and learning everything on the fly, it’s been a whirlwind.”  Maron noted that the parents and the community gave a lot of support.  “We have to keep doing things the right way. I have to show poise, never get too high or too low, and stay in control of my emotions.  We try and teach the kids that and I can’t expect kids to do those things if I can’t do them myself.”

Maron was also appreciative of his staff.  “It came down to the wire for finding help,” he said.  “Everybody was great.  We have lots of basketball experience and everybody communicated well.  The energy and enthusiasm they brought to the kids was great. The kids work their tails off every single day.  I hope they soak it all in – it’s the journey they’ll remember.”

NHS forward Andy Wegleitner drives against Broomfield

Girls Swimming

Coach Sarah Heller was quite pleased with her team’s performance this season, with a ninth-place finish at state.  “We were hoping for a top 10 finish,” Heller said.  “We were very successful; we had lots of fun and got good results.”

Prior to state, the Cougars picked up two more state qualifiers from a dual with Broomfield.  Carly Pillard qualified in the 50 Freestyle and Zoie Jordan qualified in the 100 Freestyle.

At the conference meet, Niwot finished third overall, behind Thompson Valley and Broomfield.  Thompson Valley went on to win state, while Broomfield came in fifth. Kylie Fischer qualified for state in the 50 Freestyle at conference.  “Only 18 girls are allowed to swim in the finals in each event at conference, with a maximum of four from each school,” Heller said.  “We had three or four in each event, and when we only had three, our fourth was the first or second alternate.”

“We had some illness toward the end of the season,” Heller said.  “A bunch of swimmers were sick, which was rather unfortunate.  We had several girls with bronchitis, including two on the state team.”   In spite of the health issues, the Cougars managed to set a new school record in the 200 Freestyle Relay at state while taking third place. Hannah Driscoll, Jordan, Caroline Joyce and Kaley Wheless swam the relay in a time of 1:40:10, surpassing the 2002 school record of 1:40.74.

Several other Cougar swimmers placed at state, including the entire 200 Freestyle Relay team in the 50 Freestyle, led by Joyce (8th), who was followed by Wheless (11th) and Jordan (15th). Driscoll was the second alternate for the finals in 18th place.  Even though they posted state qualifying times, Pillard and Fischer were not able to swim the event because schools are only allowed four swimmers per event.

The 200 Medley Relay took 13th with Melissa McCaddon, Driscoll, Wheless and Jordan swimming legs.  Diver Ariel Mosier finished 13th.  “She had a good day,” Heller said. “It was very competitive this year, and she rose to the occasion.”

Other swimmers who placed at state included Joyce (8th – 100 Butterfly), Wheless (11th -100 Freestyle), Pillard (22nd – 100 Freestyle), McCaddon (21st – 500 Freestyle; 20th – 100 Backstroke), Driscoll (22nd – 100 Breaststroke), Elise Cranny (27th – 100 Breaststroke) and the 400 Freestyle Relay of Pillard, Fischer, Jordan and Joyce (7th). 
“We had a very successful year,” Heller said.  “The girls got along great.”  The Cougars lose seniors McCaddon,

Wheless and Joyce from the state team.  In addition, co-captain Maggie Fitzgibbons and Sarah Krafft, who Heller described as solid contributors, will graduate.  The Cougars also had five other seniors who were first-time swimmers.

Girls Basketball

Coach Clark Burton’s squad ended the season with a record of 7-14, including a conference record of 3-11, but the record is deceptive.  “We had at least six losses of nine points or less,” Burton said. “We play in such a tough conference, and we played a tough non-conference schedule.

The Cougars finished sixth in the conference, which included Broomfield, Longmont, and Thompson Valley, all among the top teams in the state.  The five teams ahead of Niwot in the conference all qualified for state, with Longmont and Broomfield seeded first and second.

“I thought we’d be better than we were,” Burton said of his first season after replacing veteran coach Terri Ward.  “There were a variety of reasons.  We had some really good games, but just weren’t able to pull off the victories.  We’re close to where we want to be.”

Cougar girls take to the floor against Greeley Central.

“We continued to preach rebounding and turnovers all season, and that’s what hurt us,” Burton said.  “You have to remember sometimes that they’re just kids, and they have a lot of stuff going on in their lives.”

Burton was proud of his players, nine of whom will graduate.  “Lea Gralewski had a great season,” he said.  “She was a real calming force for us. She was our leading scorer.  She just has a pure shot.  Kelsey Blessing was great defensively.  She was one of two players we usually put on their top player. She did a lot of things for us that don’t show up in the box score.”

Casey McPherson missed most of the season due to an ankle injury, but came back to play in the last six games.  “She finally got healthy, but it took her some time to shake off the rust, and gain her trust back in her ankle,” Burton said.  “But she never missed anything during the season.  She was at every practice except when she had to go to physical therapy.  That just shows you what kind of kid she is.”

Amy Keschl was second in rebounding for the Cougars.  “She plays defense tenaciously and really improved her rebounding,” Burton said.  “Katy Hedlund was our main ball handler, and along with Kelsey, was one of the players we counted on as a top defender.”

Kelsey Blessing cuts off the ball against Greeley Central

Janae Larsen played the post for the Cougars.  “She was a great offensive rebounder,” Burton said.  “She just finds a way to track it down.  Shaylene Burd was a great shooter outside, and Kenzie Ward played great defense in the post.  She shut down some Division I and II players.  Natalie Heape improved a tremendous amount over the season. She was always working hard.”

All of them will graduate, leaving Niwot with two returning varsity players, juniors Sara Bishop and Kelsey Traxinger.  Bishop was the leading rebounder, both in total rebounds and offensive rebounds.  “She did a great job for us,” Burton said.  “She’s very ferocious and plays a very physical game.  We needed that because we tend to be a very timid group.”

Burton described Traxinger as a pretty raw talent, and one he is counting on heavily next year.  “Kelsey had a roller coaster season with all of the stuff going on with her family,” Burton said. “Her dad, Bob Traxinger, was diagnosed with cancer last fall, and has had a tough time with the treatment.  He got to sit on the bench with us  a couple of games, and that was special.”

“We have some good leadership coming back,” Burton said.  “We had a lot of freshmen on the JV squad, so we have lots of potential.  It’s a lot of work, and it always takes a little bit more than you think it will.  We’ll take a break and get started again the first part of May for summer ball.”

Niwot's Lea Gralewski battles for the ball against Greeley Central