BY BRUCE WARREN

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NIWOT YOUTH SPORTS

Long time NYS coach Jim Ehrets came to the rescue of the baseball fields at the Warren Complex at Nimbus Road. The irrigation pump failed on July 3, but could not be repaired until the last week of July. With the recent hot weather and little rain, the grass was near dead.  Ehrets searched all over Boulder County and found a pump and several hundred feet of hose. He and his son, James Ehrets, pumped an estimated 30,000 gallons of water onto Hagan Field on July 22 and worked all weekend July 23 and 24 to save the turf on both Ritz Field and Columbine Field.

”This effort likely saved NYS several thousand dollars in lost turf,” former NYS Fields Director Gregg Hangge said. “Did anyone mention that Jim bought and donated a brand new zero turning radius 50” wide Toro lawn tractor to NYS for use at Warren? This guy is unbelievable.  He never asks for any help, pays for everything out of his own pocket and does this out of the love of the game and the kids of the community. We are so lucky to have people like Jim Ehrets cross our paths in life.”

The dedication of Hangge Fields at Monarch Park in June produced a large crowd of supporters.  In addition to those mentioned last month, the crowd included former NYS basketball coach Gary Melillo and Valerie Melillo, and Gunbarrel resident and personal trainer Jeanie Thomas.

BASKETBALL

Mike Melillo (Fairview) of Gunbarrel redshirted as a freshman last year at Mesa State College in Grand Junction.  Melillo, a guard, has grown to 6’5” after helping lead Fairview to the Class 5A finals in 2009-10.  As a senior, Melillo averaged 14 points per game and five rebounds per game.  He shot 54 percent from the field and 43 percent from beyond the arc for Fairview.

Sam Forrer (Niwot) has committed to play basketball at Mount Marty College in Yankton (S. Dak.). Forrer, a 6’0” guard, averaged 14 points per game for the Cougars last winter, and added six assists and two steals per game. He shot 40 percent from behind the three-point line, and made 84 percent of his free throws. Forrer, who lettered two years at Niwot, received the Niwot Cougar Award last year. Mount Marty coach Jim Thorson said, “Sam has the work ethic and potential to be successful and make a contribution to our program.  He will be a great addition to our team.”   Forrer will receive an Academic Incentive scholarship and plans to major in elementary education.

CHEERLEADING

Elaine Bailey (Niwot) earned a spot on the George Washington University cheer squad last year.  Bailey, who was a cheerleader at Niwot, did not spend much time “flying” until she made the GW squad. At Niwot, she was usually a “base” on the ground for most routines, but spent most of the time in the air in college. Bailey was also a ski racer in high school on the Nederland squad.

BASEBALL

Sean Ratliff (Niwot) is out for the season after suffering an eye injury late in spring training in the Mets minor league camp, but he appears on a 2011 baseball card, as part of the Bowman Prospect Rookie Card series.  Ratliff appears on card no. 68, which is printed in several varieties, including simulated autographed cards.

Briar Cliff University announced that Craig “Christopher” Harris (Holy Family) of Niwot received the Jim Bertelsen Award as the team’s most valuable player.  The award is named for Jim Bertelsen, a catcher for Briar Cliff during the 1985 season, who lost his life in an automobile accident, Nov. 25, 1985. Harris pitched 60 and two-thirds innings this past season, producing a 4.90 ERA. He made 10 starts and led the team with six complete games. Harris struck out 40 batters and registered a 4-6 record as he earned honorable mention all-conference accolades. Harris, who can throw five different pitches for strikes, finished his career with a 5.18 ERA and a win-loss record of 10-13.

Ryan Strufing (Niwot) started and won a 9-6 decision for the Newport Gulls of the New England Collegiate Baseball League July 21, over the North Shore Navigators.  Strufing pitched seven-plus innings to gain the victory.  He was cruising along with a 7-2 lead in the seventh inning when a pair of walks and a single led to a run.  A pair of errors by the shortstop led to two additional runs, and an RBI groundout made it 7-6.  Strufing was charged with five runs total, only three of which were earned.

Ben Packard (Niwot), University of Northern Colorado pitcher, was named to the Great Western Athletic Conference All-Academic Team in baseball.  To be eligible, an athlete must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.20 or above and participate in 50 percent of the school’s contests. Packard is a junior majoring in Biological Sciences.

TRACK

Kelsey Traxinger, a Niwot High School senior this fall, was the recipient of a National Leadership Grant, sponsored by the National Football League Players Association and the National Collegiate Scouting Association.  Traxinger, one of 10 athletes receiving the grant, will be able to work with the NCSA for free to build an online recruiting profile to pursue college scholarship opportunities. She placed third in the 800M and fifth in the 400M in the Class 4A state track and field championships last spring.  Traxinger also excels in basketball for Niwot.  The award was based upon her community leadership, academic performance and a written essay.

Dan Summers (Niwot) won the Colorado Junior Olympics Championships 100M dash June 18.  Summers, who has worked with Colorado Flyers coach Tony Wells, posted a winning time of 11.07 seconds.  Summers ran an 11.20 in the 100M when he first started working with Wells. His personal best is 10.88 at the state 4A high school championships.

SOFTBALL

Carly Potock (Alexander Dawson) was named to the Patriot League softball Academic Honor Roll.  Potock, an outfielder for Lehigh University, posted a 3.83 GPA for the semester, second highest on the team.  The senior marketing major also earned her first Academic All-District Award during her final season at Lehigh.

The Niwot Youth Sports IPGSA U18 team, known as the Niwot Thunder, came in second in its division.  The team, coached by Mike Giron, beat division-winner Erie twice in regular season play, and ended up third in the end of the season tournament, again beating Erie in the consolation game.

SWIMMING

Christine Jennings (Niwot) finished 13th in the Women’s 10K FINA Open Water World Championships in Shanghai, China, July 19.  “I finished three spots away from making the Olympics,” Jennings said.  The top 10 swimmers automatically qualified for the 2012 Olympics.

No Americans qualified, and Jennings was the top U.S. swimmer, finishing at 2:02:24.6, less than six seconds out of the top 10, and 26.5 seconds behind the winner.  She will get another chance to qualify for the Olympics on June 9, 2012 in Setubal, Portugal, where 15 more swimmers will earn an Olympic berth.  However, at that race, only one American can qualify, rather than the two which would have been permitted at the China race, had they both finished in the top 10.

“I have to be the top American in Setubal to make the Olympics,” Jennings explained.  The other U.S. swimmer in China, Eva Fabian finished 30th, and is also expected to compete at Setubal.

“It was a very brutal, rough and physical race,” Jennings said, describing the China contest. “The temperature of the water at the start of the race was 86 degrees and rose 1-2 degrees throughout the race.  The sun was intense with air temps at 88 plus.  I struggled a lot due to missed feeds, which are intake of water and Gatorade given to athletes by the coaches on docks, and getting kicked in the chest, bruising me to the extent where it is hard to breath now,”   Jennings isn’t discouraged, however.  She said, “Next time, London 2012!”