Out In Leftfield 
BY BRUCE WARREN

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NIWOT YOUTH SPORTS

Niwot Youth Sports held its annual meeting Jan. 10 and re-elected its current directors and officers.   President Mark Lamach, Vice-President Tom Moore, Secretary Jodi Oelsner and Treasurer Peter Morreale will serve for another year.

Tim Rudden will serve as Executive Director and will also act as Baseball Director.  Glen Wager, who came on to the board last year, is looking forward to his first season as Softball Director.  Mike Veeder returns as the Rec Basketball Director, and Chris Heinritz will continue as Director of Facilities.  At-Large members include Bruce Riggins, Holly Barrett, Tony Dageenakis and Sean Shiers.  The Competitive Basketball Director position remains open. 
Online registration for the baseball and softball programs will begin Feb. 18 and continue through March 18 at www.niwotyouthsports.org. 
In-person registration will be held March 3-4 at locations to be determined.  Opening Day ceremonies are planned for May 6, with the recreational regular seasons for younger players concluding June 28. Older leagues will continue play into July.

BASKETBALL

Marrisa Gradoz (Niwot) came back from the break with one of her best games, leading Colorado College with 17 points in a 70-65 win over Berry College. Gradoz has started 15 of 17 games this season, and is averaging 5.9 rebounds per game, second on the squad.  Her 6.8 points per game is fourth on the team. Gradoz also has 43 assists on the season, second best on the squad.  She posted 10 rebounds, seven assists and six points in an 83-72 win over Austin College Jan. 6 and followed with 10 rebounds and four points in a 77-65 loss to the University of Dallas Jan. 8. Gradoz had six points and five rebounds in a 59-55 loss to Millsaps College Jan. 20.

Meghan Heimstra (Silver Creek) had nine rebounds for Colorado State University against Cal State Bakersfield Jan. 4, including a critical defensive rebound with 38 seconds left and the game tied.  The ensuing possession led to the winning field goal for CSU in the 65-63 victory. Heimstra also had six points for the Rams.

Heimstra had 12 points, second high on the squad, in a 73-39 win over Air Force Jan. 11, and  added six rebounds in the game.  She also had seven points and three rebounds in a 79-71 loss to TCU Jan. 14. Heimstra came off the bench to score10 points and post seven rebounds for CSU in a 60-52 win at Boise State Jan. 17. She also scored eight points with two rebounds in a 62-58 win over Wyoming Jan. 21.

Mike Melillo (Fairview) of Gunbarrel led Colorado Mesa University with 10 rebounds in a tough loss to Western State, 58-57, Jan. 13. Melillo added four points. He also had nine rebounds and six points in a 75-50 win over UCCS on Jan. 7.
Melillo had 10 points and five rebounds a day earlier in a 686-65 loss to CSU-Pueblo. Melillo has started every game for Colorado Mesa as a freshman guard-forward and leads the team in rebounds with 103.  He also averages 8.3 points per game, third-best on the squad. He was also named to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference’s 2012 All-Academic Second Team.

Kelsey Webster of Gunbarrel won the Boulder 10-11 Girls Division of the Elks Hoop Shoot free throw competition on Jan. 7.  Webster earned the right to compete at the district Elks Hoop Shoot in Sterling Jan. 21. There she won the regional championship by making 19 of 25 free throws, the most of any girl in any age group.  She will move on to the state competition in Salida in February.

FOOTBALL

Tyler Strong (Niwot) was named honorable mention All-Conference for the Mountain West Conference.  Strong, a sophomore, played left guard for the Cowboys this season after seeing action on the defensive line as a freshman in 2010.

BASEBALL

Bob Bote, longtime teacher and coach at Niwot High School, was one of 10 people inducted into the Colorado Dugout Baseball Hall of Fame at a banquet in Denver Jan. 13.  Bote coached baseball at Niwot for 29 years. He led the NHS Baseball team to state championships in Class 4A in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004 and 2005, before resigning from the position after the 2006 season.  He continued teaching at NHS for several years before retiring last year.
Bote now works for the Erie recreation department and serves as an assistant coach for the Faith Christian baseball program, where his son, NHS grad Danny Bote is the head coach, and his youngest son Luke Bote, is a freshman.

The Niwot High Baseball program is planning a dinner and silent auction at the Oskar Blues in Longmont for Feb. 25, according to Coach Craig McBride. Proceeds will be used for program expenses. 
The team plans to travel to Arizona in late March to compete against out-of-state competition.  The Cougars will also be selling tickets to select Rockies games as a fundraiser, and will have an opportunity to play a game at Coors Field.

RUGBY

Luke Lahman (Niwot) was selected to the National 7’s All Tournament Team by Rugby Magazine.  The magazine felt Lahman could have started on any team in the tournament, and described his selection by saying, “Lahman almost single-handedly drove Colorado. No team relied on one man more than the Buffs did on Lahman. He was their most ferocious defender and talented attacker.”

Lauren Daly (Niwot) is continuing her rugby career and spending the off-season in Minnesota.  Daly was a member of the USA Rugby National Team last fall.

SWIMMING

Lily Yie (Niwot) finished fifth in the100Y Breaststroke for Babson College at a triangular meet with Wellesley College and the Coast Guard Jan. 11. She also finished sixth in the 200Y Breaststroke, ninth in the 200Y IM, and swam a leg of the 200Y Medley Relay, which finished sixth. She returned the next day to finish second in the 50Y Breaststroke in a dual meet win over Gordon. Two days later Yie won the 50Y Breaststroke in a dual meet win over Norwich University. She also won the 100Y Breaststroke in a dual meet loss to Bentley University Jan. 18.

Christine Jennings (Niwot) appeared poised to win the Queen of the Sea Open Water Swimming event at Copacabana Dec. 10, but according to the Daily News of Open Water Swimming, Jennings suffered a serious leg injury while running out of the water on the hard sand of the beach. 
Jennings had battled Ashley Twichell and Ana Marcela Cunha throughout the race in the 62-degree water, and stood up a few strokes ahead of her two competitors just yards away from the shore for the race to the finish line.  Just as she was about to leave the water, disaster struck.

According to the Daily News, “Christine planted her foot wrong and appeared to hyper-extend her knee, jamming her leg hard into the hard sand. She screamed in pain and crumbled to the shore. As the medical personnel rushed to her side, Ana Marcela and Ashley ran on by to claim first and second. At time of publication, Christine is in the hospital being treated.”  A YouTube video captured the painful finish.

Eric Fischer (Niwot) finished third in the 1000Y Freestyle for Denison University in a dual meet win over Wittenberg University. Fischer’s time ranks 57th in the nation in the event for Division III swimmers. 
Matt Bisping (Niwot) won the 100Y Breaststroke for Colorado School of Mines in a dual meet win over Southwestern University Jan. 4. He also finished second in the 100Y Freestyle.  On Jan. 15, Bisping won the 100Y and 200Y Breaststroke events in a triangular meet with Colorado
Mesa University and the University of Colorado club team.
At the Colorado College Classic Jan. 21, Bisping won the 200Y Breaststroke and swam a leg on the winning 200Y Medley Relay.  He also placed ninth in the 50Y Freestyle.

Aaron Buseman (Niwot) finished third in the 50Y Freestyle for Coe College in a dual meet against Augustana Jan. 13.  Buseman also finished fourth in the 100Y Freestyle.  At the 7-team Grinnell College Invite, Buseman finished 32nd in the 100Y Freestyle, just missing the finals.

TRACK

Elise Cranny (Niwot) finished 29th in the 5000M Run at the Nike Cross Nationals Dec. 2. Cranny posted a time of 18:33.00.  She qualified for Nationals by finishing fourth at the Nike Cross Regionals in  November when she clocked in at 17:45.53.

Several Niwot High athletes did well at the Fort Collins Track Club Invitational Jan. 7, including Lorne Jenkins, who took second in the 200M with a time of 24.25.  Jenkins also placed third in the Long Jump, third in the 400M and 10th in the 60M Hurdles.

Dillon Manzanares was close behind in the 200M, finishing third at 24.40. Manzanares placed 10th in the 400M, 10th in the 60M and 10th in the Long Jump. Austin Ebbers was 21st in the 200M, 17th in the 400M and 17th in the 60M Hurdles.  Elijah Noterman finished 24th in the 200M and 28th in the 60M.

On the girls side, Deyja Enriquez took fourth in the 400M.  Kelsey Traxinger finished sixth in the 400M and 13th in the 200M.  Dana Maydew was seventh in the 400M, 15th in the 200M and 29th in the 60M.

The following day at the Colorado School of Mines HS Open, Maydew, Traxinger and Enriquez took second, third and fourth, respectively, in the 800M. Manzanares won the pole vault by clearing 14 feet, and also finished fifth in the 60M.  Jenkins took fifth in the 400M.

At the USATF-Colorado All Comers Invitational Jan. 14 Jenkins finished second in the high jump and Manzanares took fourth. For the girls, Maydew was second in the long jump and Traxinger was fifth in the high jump.  The following day at the Air Force Indoor Invitational Manzanares took second in the pole vault and seventh in the 400M.  Jenkins was 10th in the 400M, and Dutch Maydew finished 21st. For the girls, Traxinger finished seventh in the 400M, while Enriquez and Dana Maydew finished 10th and 11th, respectively.

HOCKEY

Michael Sdao of Niwot is third in scoring for Princeton, with six goals and nine assists heading into the semester break. Sdao scored the game-winning goal in a 3-2 win against Brown University Jan. 6, three minutes into overtime. The Princeton website described the play, stating, “The puck hit Sdao’s skate as he reached the blue line and [Sdao] used some great stick work as he made his way to the goal and sent the puck over the blocker of goalie Michael Clemente from the bottom of the right circle.”

Sdao had a hand in all three goals for Princeton in the victory over Brown.  He was also credited with an assist on the first goal of the game against Yale, but Princeton came out on the short end of a 6-2 score in the end.  Princeton is 6-10-5 on the season.
Jonathan Sdao of Niwot had a goal for the New England Huskies of the Eastern Junior Hockey League in a 3-2 loss to Green Mountain Jan. 21.  Sdao also had an assist in a 4-2 loss to the New Hampshire Monarchs Jan. 11. He has two goals and eight assists on the season.  Sdao, a forward, also had a goal in three games at the EJHL Showcase.

WRESTLING

Paco Retana (Niwot) lost the 285-pound match 6-2 in a dual meet for Colorado Mesa University against Chadron State Jan. 19, but came back the following day to post a 4-2 victory over New Mexico Highlands. Earlier, Retana pinned his opponent from Western Wyoming College. He is now 10-17 on the season.

TENNIS

Niwot High Boys Tennis Coach Miikka Keronen coached the Niwot girls squad for the past several years before resigning last year due to commitments at The Ranch Country Club.  When the girls head coaching position at Broomfield High opened up later, he applied for the position and was hired.   Keronen took the Broomfield position because it was much closer to his job, but he was again forced to resign when his duties at the Ranch expanded. 
Keronen’s assistant at the Ranch, Justin Dilts, was named to the position, with Keronen’s support.  Keronen hopes to serve as a volunteer assistant with the Broomfield girls when it doesn’t conflict with his duties as the junior tennis team coordinator at the Ranch.

HORSE JUDGING

Madison McKenzie, a sophomore at Niwot High School, led her Boulder County 4H Horse Judging Team to victory at the 2012 National Western Stock Show in Denver.  The Boulder team came out on top while competing against state champions from 15 western states.  Individually, McKenzie took first high in performance, first high in reasons, third high in halter, and high individual overall. Her awards included a $1,000 scholarship to Colorado State Universtiy and a $500 scholarship from the American Quarter Horse Association. Others on the team included Erin O’Kelley, a sophomore at Alexander Dawson, Madison Harman, a senior at Fairview, and Madison Zeier, a junior at Erie.  Each earned a $250 scholarship to CSU.  The team is coached by Jodi Zeier of Lafayette.