Out In Leftfield

BY Bruce Warren

If you have news of local athletes, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 303-652-2433.

TENNIS

With longtime coach Miikka Keronen moving to Broomfield High School to coach girls tennis next spring, Niwot athletic director Jim Butterfield hired new NHS math teacher Rachel Bevan to coach the highly successful program.  Bevan coached both boys and girls tennis at Eastern Hills High School in Texas before moving to Colorado with her husband.  She played competitively in high school in the Dallas area before marching band became her focus.  She continued to play non-competitive tennis through college before becoming a math teacher and tennis coach at Eastern Hills, a 1400-student school in Fort Worth. Keronen will continue to coach the boys program at Niwot. 
Niwot High’s Harrison Lang, who won the Class 4A state title at No. 1 singles last year, didn’t take the summer off.  Lang, who won the 4A State Tournament in the #1 Singles Division, advanced to the semi-finals of the ITA Summer Sectional Championship before losing in the singles division.  He and his partner, Kellen Bates, won the doubles division. Lang is rated as a 4 star recruit according to www.tennisrecruiting.net, and played in the USTA National Championship in the Boys 16’s Division, where he lost in the first round, 6-2, 6-0.  

CHEER AND DANCE

Jim Butterfield announced that Nicolette Griffith will take over the coaching duties for the Niwot High cheer and dance squads.  Griffith coached similar programs at Thornton High School, and has already been busy preparing the squads for the fall sports seasons. 
NIWOT YOUTH SPORTS
NYS is sponsoring a golf tournament again this fall after a several-year hiatus.  The event, which was organized for many years by Bill Lambert at Lake Valley Golf Course, will move to Twin Peaks Golf Course in Longmont.  The tournament will be a scramble format, with an 8 a.m. shotgun start on Sunday, Sept. 25.  The cost is $90 per player, and includes a golf cart, range balls, 18 holes of golf, and a lunch following the tournament.  Prizes for contest winners will also be awarded.  Hole sponsorships are available for $100. All proceeds will be used for the Field Fund to improve, repair and refurbish NYS fields. For more information, contact NYS Executive Director Tim Rudden at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .    
BASEBALL
Former Niwot-area residents Mike and Kelly Ratliff have moved to Texas, but haven’t forgotten their time in Colorado.  Mike Ratliff, who served as a coach and board member for Niwot Youth Sports and Niwot Baseball, Inc., for many years, said their son Sean Ratliff is on the road to recovery from a serious eye injury suffered when he was hit by a foul ball in the on-deck circle in spring training at a New York Mets minor league field. 

"I’ve been to the back field in Jupiter (Fla.),” the elder Ratliff said.  “The on-deck circle isn’t any further away from the plate than those at the softball fields in Niwot.” 
He explained that the ball was fouled off by a right-handed hitter toward his son who was on the first-base side of the plate.  “His vision is better than he thought it would be, but he can’t work out or do much of anything.  He can fish; he caught a 60-pound king salmon. He can sit around the house for about two days at a time. He has made it up to Colorado to see his friends.”  The Ratliffs live outside of Dallas, and recently saw the Braman twins Ben and Alex from Niwot at a soccer showcase in Texas.  Their daughters, Katie Ratliff and Abby Ratliff, who played multiple sports at Niwot, just graduated from CSU last spring and are entering the job market. 
Will Mossa of Gunbarrel was part of the North Boulder Little League team which made it to the Little League Southwestern Regional Tournament after winning the Colorado state title.  North Boulder beat New Mexico 7-6 in the opening game of the regionals, with Mossa driving in the tying run on a sacrifice.  He also had a perfect day at the plate, going 1-1. North Boulder advanced to the semifinals of the regionals in a game televised on ESPN2, but lost out on a chance to go to the Little League World Series, losing to Texas East, 5-4. 
Christopher Harris (Holy Family) of Niwot pitched for two summer teams after completing his collegiate career at Briar Cliff.  Harris played for the Coyotes with his buddies in the Senior Baseball League, and also played for Walker Transmission in the summer colleg-iate Rocky Mountain Baseball League.  The only problem was that neither team knew he played for the other team, which led to one weekend of two innings, nine innings later the same day, and three innings the next day, and a sore arm. 
Six weeks later Harris ran into the same problem, pitching one inning for Walker followed by seven innings for the Coyotes that afternoon, followed by one inning for Walker on Sunday at 10 a.m.  That would have been okay, but Walker Transmission needed to win a 4 p.m. game later that day to advance to the NBC World Series in Wichita.  Harris pitched the first five innings, and left with an 8-1 lead. Fortunately, the bullpen avoided a complete collapse, with five pitchers giving up nine runs in the last inning, and Walker won 11-10.  
Harris pitched in two games in Wichita, giving up a hit and getting a strikeout in his first appearance, then getting an out in his second appearance.  Following Walker’s elimination from the tournament, Harris rode the bus all night, arriving just in time to pitch nine innings for the Coyotes, winning 10-5.  Harris allowed three earned runs and struck out 16. 
For Walker on the season, Harris had only one bad outing after his sore arm.  The rest of his appearances resulted in an ERA of 0.81 in nine games.  Harris worked with coach Tom Deiden, who taught him a change-up and helped him increase his velocity. Harris will return to Briar Cliff for a student teaching assignment this fall.
Dylan Kaczues (Niwot) pitched 9 innings for the Longmont Twins in a second-round playoff win against the Grand Junction Gene Taylors. Kaczues also drove in four runs, scored one run and added a stolen base. Unfortunately, the Twins lost the next day during the double-elimination playoffs, 18-5, against the Rocky Mountain Hitmen. Kaczues had a bases loaded double driving in three of the Twins’ five runs. He plans to attend CU this fall and will play club ball for the Buffs.
SOFTBALL
Jennessa Tesone (Niwot), who completed an outstanding career at Metro State, is serving as an assistant coach at Chatfield High School this fall.  Tesone and former Niwot teammate Shannon DePuy, an assistant at Niwot this fall who completed her career at Midland University last year, joined NHS alums Hannah Artzer and Kendra Stone at a recent Niwot practice. 
Danielle Olsen, former Niwot High and summer competitive softball player who went on to play at the University of Tulsa, returned to Colorado as coach of the Diamond Girls out of Tulsa (Okl.) over the July 4th weekend.  Olsen’s team won the 16U division of the Fireworks tournament in Aurora, beating the Runnin’ Rebels Gold from Lodi, Calif., 5-3, in the final game.  The Fireworks tournament hosted 192 teams from across the nation, and a plethora of college coaches on the recruiting trail. 
SOCCER
Peter Freeman (Niwot) is the lone senior on the Adams State squad this fall.  The Grizzlies are entering only their second season in the conference after adding soccer as a sport three years ago. 
Erin Gunther (Silver Creek) had three shots on goal for Creighton University in a season-opening 1-0 win over South Dakota State.  Gunther is a senior midfielder. 
The University of Colorado started the season with a 5-0 win over Colorado College. Kate Russell (Silver Creek) started at midfield for the Buffs, while Lauren Shaner (Niwot) came off the bench to score one of the five goals.  According to the CU website, Shaner “dribbled through traffic and hammered [the] goal from 18 yards out.”  Russell is a senior and Shaner is a junior. 
Danielle Figliola (Silver Creek) took one of eight shots for Drake University, but Drake came out on the short end of a 2-0 game with Iowa State University. Figliola, a senior, came of the bench to play forward. 
Jelli Schira (Niwot) is a midfielder for Colorado School of Mines this fall.  Schira, a junior this fall, posted one assist and one goal last season.
Lauren Braman (Niwot) is a returning starter for the University of Nevada, which lost the season-opener to Pacific, 3-0. Braman, a junior defender, has started every game of her college career.
Alyssa Beck (Alexander Dawson) of Niwot is a junior defender-midfielder for Rollins University.  Beck received a medical redshirt last season due to injury.
Janelle Kramer (Silver Creek) started for the University of Northern Colorado in a first-game loss to the University of Denver, 2-1 in overtime.  Kramer had a pass bounce off her back which nearly went into the goal early in the game, but the ball sailed to the left of the goal. Freshman Katie Miller (Niwot) is also on the Bears’ roster but did not see action.  According to the UNC website, “Luke Walton, a forward for the Los Angeles Lakers, is her second cousin and godfather.” Walton is the son of Hall of Famer Bill Walton. 
Santiago Velez (Niwot) is on the roster for 15th-ranked Ohio State University.  Coach John Bluem is quoted on the OSU website saying, “Santiago is as complete a player as we have recruited in several years. Should be able to play in a number of roles for us and will make the transition to college soccer easily.”
FOOTBALL
Matt LaBorde (Niwot) and Kelton Manzanares (Niwot) are looking to earn playing time for Colorado School of Mines this fall. Both are redshirt freshmen.  LaBorde plays offensive line, while Manzanares is a defensive back. 
CROSS COUNTRY
Megan Horsch (Niwot), who had an incredible season as a junior at the University of Northern Colorado last year, will redshirt this fall. According to the UNC website, Horsch will still be involved with the program.  The website described the first practice of the fall season, saying, “Horsch led the pack this morning during trials and though she won’t be on the course during competitions, will be looked upon for leadership.”
Miranda Lahman (Niwot) returns for her sophomore season at Western Washington University. WWU opens the season Sept. 3.
GOLF
Taylor Winslow (Niwot) earned a scholarship to play at the Colorado State University-Pueblo this season.  Winslow was the top golfer on Niwot’s squad the past two years.