Coaches’ Corner
BY BRUCE WARREN
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Niwot Football

The future of Niwot football is looking up with eight returning starters on defense for next season.  “We have several skill position players coming back too,” Coach Ron Tesone said.  The Cougars picked up three victories on the field this fall (though the first game ended in a forfeit due to an ineligible player), up from only one win in 2010.  And, Niwot was able to field three teams this year for the first time in several years (Varsity, JV and C team). 
Several players earned post-season honors, led by All Conference seniors Nick Stager, Dillon Manzanares and Max McCaddon.  Stager was selected as a linebacker, Manzanares as a running back, and McCaddon as receiver. 

Four other players received Honorable Mention All-Conference, including defensive tackle Nate Shipley, defensive back Elijah Noterman, linebacker and fullback Jake Sarosi and quarterback Nate Merriman. 
Team awards included Manzanares as Offensive MVP, Merriman as Outstanding Offensive Back for the second year in a row, McCaddon and Cahill Kelleghan as Outstanding Receivers, and Akil Bhagat and  Wyatt Wood as Outstanding Offensive Linemen. 
On defense, team awards went to Stager as Defensive MVP, Nate Edwards and Noterman as Outstanding Defensive Backs, Sarosi and Bryan Meek as Outstanding Linebackers, and Shipley as Outstanding Defensive Lineman. 
Shipley and Stager were the senior Co-Captains for the team.  Rick Faulkner, a senior tight end, received the Coaches’ Choice Award for his hard work and dedication to the program. 

Junior Roman Sharp received the Iron Man Award as the best lifter.  “He loves the weight room,” Tesone said.  Manzanares was recognized as the only member of the 70 Club.  “We call it the SAC Award,” Tesone said, “because it measures strength, agility and conditioning.  There is a possible total of 80 points, so it’s really hard to get 70 or above.  It just shows what kind of athlete Dillon is.”  
In addition to the team awards, the Cougars gave letters to student managers Hannah Thramann and Sophia Mastronardi for their efforts. 

Niwot Girls Basketball

Coach Clark Burton is pleased with the progress his young team has made in the early part of the season. “We’re developing nicely,” Burton said about his 2-4 team.  The Cougars have posted wins over Grand Junction Central and Arvada. 
Niwot’s only returning starter, Sara Bishop, is the team’s leading scorer and rebounder.  “She’s playing phenomenal basketball right now,” Burton said.  “Kayla Blick is shooting well for us and scoring a lot of points.”  Bishop and Blick are both seniors.
Sophomore Callie
Hensen has also impressed early.  “She’s been in the starting lineup most of the time,” Burton said.  “She’s leading the team in steals, which is awesome.” 
The Cougars lose one of their key players in January.  “Juliet Pilewskie has been playing well, but she’s leaving us and heading over to
Germany,” Burton said.  Pilweskie’s family is moving to Germany for the second semester, but the junior expects to be back at Niwot next fall.
Pilewskie is one of the few post players on Niwot’s roster.  “We’ll have to reevaluate where we are after the break,” Burton said.  “There are a lot of different things we can do. We may go to more of our one-post offense.  We just have to be patient, cut down on turnovers and get better at free throws, and we’ll be in good shape.”

Niwot Girls Swimming

The Niwot girls ended the December schedule at the Colorado Coaches Invite in Thornton, with seven swimmers qualifying for the elite Class 4A and 5A 56-team invitational.  “It’s a lot like state,” Coach Sara Heller said. “Swimmers have to qualify by time. We had seven swimmers make it.” 
Hannah Driscoll placed 15th overall in the 50Y Freestyle.  Niwot’s 200Y Freestyle Relay placed 11th, with Driscoll, Elise Cranny, Kylie Pillard and Zoie Jordan. 
Driscoll also qualified in the 100Y Freestyle. Cranny swam the 200Y Individual Medley and the 100Y Breaststroke, Pillard swam the 200Y Freestyle and 100Y Freestyle, and Jordan swam the 50Y Freestyle and the 100Y Freestyle. 

Other Cougars who competed included Cate Rose in the 500Y Freestyle and 100Y Backstroke, Lauren FitzGibbons in the 100Y Breaststroke and Kylie Fischer in the 50Y Freestyle and 100Y Freestyle. 
Niwot also qualified the 200Y Medley Relay and the 400Y Freestyle Relay teams.
The Cougars lost the first dual meet of the season to Broomfield, but Heller was encouraged by the team’s performance.  “We had a great season opener, with lots of great swims,” Heller said.  “We’ve qualified all three relays for state, and we had lots of huge time improvements since the last swim last year.  It shows how hard they worked in the off-season and at practice.” 

Niwot won the second dual meet against Mountain View. “We had lots of great times,” Heller said.  “We’re sitting pretty right now.  I’m so pleased with the performances across the board.”
Heller has been impressed by some of the younger swimmers, including  freshmen Madison Studebaker and Anna Beeck. “Maisey Harrison, a sophomore, worked very hard and dropped several seconds from her times in the 100 Free, 50 Free and 100 Breaststroke.  Cate Rose dropped four seconds off her time in the 500 Free.”  Heller noted that Victoria Jepson, who swims the Individual Medley and the 100 Butterfly, is also close to qualifying for state.  
Niwot divers Aerial Mosier, Gabrielle Casey, Jayne Benedict and Paige Hillen are also off to a great start, according to Heller.

Niwot Boys Basketball

Niwot heads into the winter break with a 2-4 record, not quite what was envisioned.  “It’s been interesting,” Coach Travis Maron said.  “We’ve struggled quite a bit.  We’ve had quite a few things go against us.”
Injuries have been a factor, with Cody Heiman suffering a wrist injury in a pre-season scrimmage that kept him out of the first two games.  Sophomore starter Alex Kinneson, who Maron describes as “our toughest kid,” suffered a dislocated kneecap in the last game, which will keep him out for four weeks.  “They had to put him under to get it back in place,” Maron said. 

Another varsity player “had to miss the first four games for something that happened in the spring,” Maron said.  And Chris Gurule, a senior who came out for the first time since his freshman year, played one game before deciding that his soccer commitments would not allow him to continue. 

“We’ve had pink-eye, sickness, you name it,” Maron said.  “Hopefully it gets us stronger and brings us closer together.  We’re trying to get the right chemistry.” 
Maron has been encouraged by the play of junior Nate Merriman. “He’s been a nice surprise for me.  He didn’t get to play last year at all due to concussions, and he only played in one summer league game. He’s a hard worker and shows good leadership.  He just seems to get better and better as he plays.”  Merriman has been battling shin splints this season. 

Maron looks to seniors Henry Sebesta, Michael Ogez and Heiman.  “We’ll go as far as they will take us,” Maron said.  The Cougars don’t shoot much from 3-point range.  “That’s the nature of our team. We’re a better team around the basket. We have to get to the free throw line.  We just haven’t been finishing as well as we would like. We’re competing, we’re right there.”

Niwot Wrestling 

Coach Scott Sanchez’s squad is off to a good start, winning two out of three dual meets.  The Cougars picked up wins over Mountain View and Centaurus, then had five wrestlers advance to the second day at the Old Chicago Northern Colorado Christmas Tournament, while finishing 31st out of 57 teams. 
Senior Nick Stager led the way, finishing fourth at 138 pounds.  Stager is ranked fourth in the 145 weight class by On the Mat.  “He beat three ranked opponents,” Sanchez said, including the top-ranked 5A wrestler, the second-ranked 3A wrestler, and the ninth-ranked 4A wrestler.

Other Cougar wrestlers who won three matches on day one of the tournament included Clay Robinson at 106, Collin Frank at 120, Christian Ramirez at 126 and Joey Lambert at 132. 

“I knew we’d have that strong lower weight group,” Sanchez said.  “We hope our heavier weights can feed off that.”  With only 12 varsity wrestlers, Niwot does not have a wrestler at the 113-pound class, or at the heavyweight division. 

For the UNC meet, Matthew Strope moved down to 145 from 152, and Morgan Schoep came up from JV to wrestle at 152.  David Voss moved from 170 to 160, and Damien O’Hare, who joined the squad late, wrestled at 170.  Sean Harrison at 182, Nate Shipley at 195 and Brandon Slepicka at 220 round out the squad. 

Niwot hosts the Boulder Valley Invitational on Jan. 7. “That will be a good tournament,” Sanchez said.