Coaches’ Corner
BY BRUCE WARREN
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Niwot High Volleyball

The Cougars advanced to the district playoffs for the first time since 2006, finishing second in districts to advance to regionals.  At regionals, Niwot finished third out of four teams, beating Palisade, losing to eventual state champion Cheyenne Mountain, and third-place Roosevelt.  “It was a 4-set loss, and they were all close,” coach Chris Koerner said. “Since there were 16 teams at regionals, I guess we finished in the top 12 in state. It was a good run. It was a good season.  We had fun. 

“Defensively, Jacqui Sigg and Tara Buck were digging stuff up and getting balls all over the court,” Koerner said.  “Our setter, Becca Chavez, played great.  Offensively, Julia Teta and Julia Vaiser were hitting a variety of shots.” 
The Cougars met several team goals this season, including making the post-season and finishing with a .500 record or better.  “Another goal was to improve as you go through the season, both in skills and in playing as a team;  I think we did that,” Koerner said.  “It was a team effort.  The players in practice who don’t see a lot of time on the floor pushed the other kids all season. 
“Katie Meek, a senior, played in the middle for us,” Koerner said.  “She put her heart and soul into the program, and played most of the season with a hurt shoulder.  Renee Polmondon, a junior is another one.  She and Katie are gym rats; they’re just great to have in the program.” 

Seniors Mandy Newton and Emily Stagnitti also earned letters for Niwot. “The have a lot of heart,” Koerner said. 
Koerner is excited about next season as well.  “Megan Richard, a sophomore played right side this year and was our back-up setter.  Cori Kirschling, a freshman, swung up from JV.  Sophomore Chelsey Patterson also came up from JV.  We had a large freshman class with 21 freshmen out of the 43 players in the program.” 

Koerner is a member of the ski patrol in the winter, so he doesn’t coach a club volleyball team. He’s interested in getting more sixth, seventh and eighth grade players involved, perhaps in a Gold Crown team. 

Niwot Boys Soccer

The Cougar boys began the season uncertain how the team would handle graduation losses as well as the loss of four other starters who made the Colorado Rapids Development Academy team and did not play high school soccer.  The team managed quite well, and in the end, advanced to the state 4A semi-finals before losing to Evergreen, 1-0. 

“It was just a good group,” Coach Rob Johnson said of his seniors. “We had great leaders this year.”  Niwot won the first round of the state playoffs by beating Canon City, 3-0 at home. The 11th-seeded Cougars beat Pueblo Centennial on the road, 1-0, in the second round, to set up a match with defending state champion Air Academy, again on the road. 

Niwot came away with a 2-1 victory in a shoot-out to reach the state semi-finals.  The Cougars battled second-seeded Evergreen to a scoreless tie until the 70th minute, when Evergreen scored from 25 yards out. Niwot was called for three yellow cards and a red card in the game, while Evergreen received one yellow card. 
J
ohnson noted that his defense only allowed 14 goals all season, in spite of missing goalkeeper Josh Watts early and late in the season.  Senior John Cooper, an outside defender, jumped into goal late in the season when Watts was injured.
 “He was one of the leading keepers in the state,” Johnson said.  “He stopped a PK in the Air Academy game.” 
Johnson also cited Caleb Payne for outstanding play.  “He was just a great leader,” Johnson said of the senior captain of the defense.  Quentin Pearson, a freshman, and Grant Webster, a sophomore, joined Payne to give the Cougars a formidable defense.  “Caleb didn’t get to play in the final game against Evergreen due to a red card against Air Academy,” Johnson noted.  “I wasn’t upset with him; he just played like he had to. He did a great job as a ‘coach’ on the sidelines during the Evergreen game.

“Luis Montealegre did a great job as an attacker playing center-mid/forward,” Johnson said. “He caused a lot of problems for other teams.”  
Montealegre and Payne were named Second Team All-State in Class 4A.  In the Northern Conference, Payne, Pearson and Webster were named to the All-Conference team, while Montealegre received Honorable Mention. 
The Cougars’ Golden Boot team award went to Tommy Hoffman, who scored the most goals on the season.  Johnson gave other team awards to the entire team, rather than singling players out.  “It was such a team effort, they all deserved it,” Johnson said. 

He noted that the four students selected to the Rapids Development team supported the high school squad very well.  Johnson wondered whether the Academy program was just a phase, or whether it was the future of soccer in the U.S.  “I think Niwot soccer will be okay even without the Academy players,” he said.  

Niwot High Football

Niwot finished the season 3-7 on the field, but 2-8 in the record book due to an early-season forfeit. The Cougars were fifth out of seven teams in a tough conference.  “The kids worked hard,” Coach Ron Tesone said.  “That’s all you can ask.”

Niwot picked up its last victory against Thompson Valley.  “It was a big one for us,” Tesone said. “That helps the outlook.”
Dillon Manzanares led the Cougar offense with over 1,000 yards rushing, in spite of missing the Denver South and Elizabeth games due to injury.  “He was only 75% at the Thompson Valley game, but he ran hard to the end,” Tesone said. 

Quarterback Nate Merriman eclipsed 1,000 yards passing in the Broomfield game.  He threw for 11 touchdowns with only seven interceptions.  “We averaged 20 points a game,” Tesone said. “That’s pretty good point production.  It’s really improved over the last two years.  Max McCaddon had seven TD’s and Elijah Noterman threw for two touchdowns.  He also had four interceptions, and missed a couple of games.  And of course the linemen are always the unsung heroes.” Noterman’s four picks tied for second in the state.

The Cougar defense gave up 306 points.  “The defense should be better with eight returning starters,” Tesone said.  “We had a lot of young kids on defense.  Brian Meek is only a sophomore but he was in the top eight in the state in tackles.”

Tesone was also pleased to have a JV squad again.  “Our JV’s managed to get a couple W’s over Thompson Valley and Skyline,” he said. “I think we made some strides.  I’m very proud of them.”  The C team did not post any wins, but 13 of the 24 players had not played before.  “There was no one with any experience at quarterback, and we didn’t tackle very well, but they sure worked hard and their attitude was good.”   Tesone was impressed with the size of the group, and particularly with freshmen Tanner Wilke and the Allen triplets. 

Senior Nick Stager was the only 3-year letterman this season.  Second-year letter winners included Nate Edwards, Jake Sarosi, Nate Merriman, Max McCaddon, Tommy Dyer, Dillon Manzanares, Sean Harrison, Nate Shipley, Wyatt Wood, Akil Bhagat and Roman Sharp.  Winning letters for the first time this year were Damien O’Hare, Rick Faulkner, Wyatt Sigafoos, Cahill Kelleghan, Jack Setter, Bryan Meek, Andy Fiamengo, Kyle Howe, Brandon Slepicka, Kyle Conarro, Bryan Hawthorne, Elijah Noterman, Sage Eckman, Jessie Slepicka and Keenan McCauley. 

Niwot Cross Country

Elise Cranny finished second at state in Class 4A for the girls, and she’s only a sophomore.  “She came up a little bit short of her goal,” Coach Doug Duffy said.  “She has high expectations.” 
On Nov. 19, Cranny ran unattached at the Nike Cross Southwest Regional, and finished fourth overall in the national race with a time of 17:45.53. 
Other Cougar runners who scored at state included Kaiti Shepherd (41), Maddy Jalbert (58), Louise Vandenberghe (80) and Rachel Sharpe (83).  Also running were Madi Dolifka and Haley Dennerline.  The girls finished seventh as a team.
Nick Harris led the Niwot boys at state with a 10th-place finish in Class 4A. Other runners scoring included David Schahrer (72), Jake Fisk (90), William Zimmerman (106) and Kevin Bueno (122).  Also running were Scott Everett and Ryan Faulkner.  The boys finished 13th overall.  

Both Cranny and Harris received All-State honors for their performances.  Cranny was named the Northern Conference Athlete of the Year and led the All-Conference selections. Shepherd was Honorable Mention All-Conference for the Cougar girls.  On the boys side, Harris was All-Conference while Fisk was Honorable Mention All-Conference. 

“The guys came up a little short of where we hoped to be,” Duffy said.  “They didn’t have a great day. The girls’ seventh-place finish speaks for itself.” 
A Cougar Spirit Award went to parent Bob Cranny of Altitude Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine for his support of the team.  Cougar Spirit Awards also went to senior Mariah Wall for the girls and to freshman Elliot Minor for the boys. 
Most Improved went to Ulises Herrera Ayala, a sophomore on the boys side, and to Michelle Wagner, a sophomore girl.  Jake Fisk, a freshman, was named Best Young Cougar for the boys, while Louise Vandenberghe was named Best Young Cougar for the girls.  Nick Harris and Maddy Jalbert were recognized as team captains for the boys and girls squads, respectively.