| Coaches' Corner - November 2010 |
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| Written by Bruce Warren |
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Coaches’ Corner This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it NHS BOYS GOLF Niwot sent two players to the state tournament at the Flying Horse Country Club in Colorado Springs when senior Connor Phillips qualified in a sudden death playoff the week after regionals. Junior T.K. Coody qualified for the second time in two years by playing his best round of the year at regionals. It looked like Phillips had missed the cut by one stroke, but one of the 13 players who finished ahead of him was unable to play at state due to poor grades, opening up a position. Four players had tied for the next best regionals score at 80, but CHSAA inexplicably announced one of the four as a replacement without the benefit of a playoff. When word went out to the coaches, CHSAA reversed course and scheduled a sudden death playoff. Phillips started slowly on the hole, but blasted out of the bunker on his third shot to within a foot of the pin. He finished with a par, while the other three golfers finished one over. The opportunity to go to state was especially sweet for Phillips because his father, Rick Phillips, coaches Niwot. The younger Phillips, who normally shoots between 80 and 85, shot 83-86 at state to finish 64th out of 94 golfers. Coody finished with a 92-84, improving significantly the second day. “The state tournament was held at an exclusive club in the Springs,” Rick Phillips said. “Three years ago during my first year coaching the tournament was held in Craig at a public course, and it happened to be on the opening weekend of deer season.” Phillips described arriving in Colorado Springs this year to find a gated country club, and a rather difficult course. The Cougars’ best golfer on the season, senior Tyler Winslow, failed to make the cut at Regionals in spite of a 73 average during the season. Winslow was named first-team All Conference based on his regular season play. “He had the skills to be there [at state], but only one shot to get there,” Phillips said, lamenting the fact that regular season performance has no bearing on qualifying for state. “T.K and Connor invited Tyler to come down to state with them, and he accepted. He went above and beyond,” Rick Phillips said, noting that Winslow took two days off school to come down and support his teammates. “He was like an assistant coach. Connor gets very nervous if I watch him play, so Tyler followed Connor around the course, and I stayed with T.K. Tyler texted me after each hole and let me know how Connor was doing. I was able to go around with T.K. and talk to him during his rounds.” CHSAA rules don’t permit anyone except the coach to talk to players during the round, so Winslow was limited to offering words of encouragement only, and from a distance. “It really took the edge off for Tyler to be there,” Phillips said. “It was fun for me, and it was a great weekend, both as a coach and as a father.” NHS CROSS COUNTRY “We’re pleased,” Coach Doug Duffy said after the Niwot girls won regionals, and the boys took third. The Cougar girls had five runners in the top 20, with Kati Shepherd (7th), Maddy Jalbert (9th), Lauren DeGroot (10th), and Kate Judge (16th) placing.. Haley Dennerline and Madi Dolifka also ran for the girls team, which has qualified for state for the past 10 years. “They have a great attitude,” Duffy said. “I know they work very hard. The veterans are showing lots of leadership and it’s exciting for the young girls.”
On the boys side, Nick Harris took second with a time of 16:41, two seconds behind the winner. Quinn Harris (7th) and William Zimmerman (20th) also finished in the top 20. Kevin Bueno and Scott Everett also scored for Niwot. David Schehrer and Ryan Faulkner also ran for the Cougars. “We beat everybody we should have beaten,” Duffy said. Cranny finished third at the Northern Conference Championships to earn first team All Conference honors. Shepherd and Jalbert earned second team All Conference honors. On the boys side, Nick Harris finished fourth at the conference meet and was named first team All Conference while Quinn Harris was named second team All Conference. NHS GYMNASTICS Coach Mallory Lang is pleased with how the season is going for the Cougars, who f Lang noted that others who have performed well lately in the All Around are Frederick High School seniors Jannine Vela and Nikki Longstreth. With Regionals the last week of October, the Cougars were hoping to stay healthy. “Nikki may be out,” Lang said, “but we’re hoping to have her back. We’re hoping to qualify as a team for state.” NHS SOFTBALL Niwot had a tough draw at regionals, with Mullen and cross-town rival Silver Creek in the same 4-team bracket. “We would have preferred not to play a team we’ve played twice before,” Coach April Martinez said, referring to Silver Creek. The Cougars started off strong, beating Mullen 10-1. “That’s the best they’ve played all year,” Martinez said. “Nikki Blue pitched unbelievably and we scored a few runs.” The Cougars met up with Silver Creek and tied the score at 1-1 in the top of the seventh. A homerun in the bottom of the seventh ended the contest and sent Niwot back to play Mullen again for a chance to go to state. “We put runners on base,” Martinez said, “and we scored three runs, but we had three errors and one really cost us.” Niwot hit the number one Mullen pitcher hard in the first game, but Mullen used its number two pitcher in the second game, and Niwot had more trouble hitting the much slower pitches. The Cougars’ season ended with a 4-3 loss. “We had such a young team, but they never gave up,” Martinez said. Three players earned All-Conference honors, led by pitcher Nickie Blue, only a sophomore. “She gave us a chance to win every time,” Martinez said. “She wasn’t used to being the only pitcher, but she adjusted. And she led the team in almost all offensive categories. She’s the only kid I’ve ever had who never struck out [batting] all year.” Catcher Liz Paterra and outfielder Rachel Johnson were also named All Conference. Paterra is considering playing in college next year. Emma Goodenow received Honorable Mention as a third baseman. Outfielder Amy Keschl, a senior, began her career as a courtesy runner while she was just a freshman. “She’s been on varsity ever since,” Martinez said. “She played so hard for us.” Ashley Silva was am outfielder who transferred to Niwot for her senior season.. “She had never played high school softball before. She struggled early but really came through.” Freshman Mikayla Artzer joined the varsity after the JV season was over. She pitched primarily for JV, but was inserted into the lineup as a DP in the playoffs and came through, driving in her older sister, Haley Artzer with a run. “We have lots of kids coming back,” Martinez said. “All of our possible starters will play summer competitive ball.”
NHS VOLLEYBALL Niwot finished with a 7-12 record overall, and went 4-10 in the conference. “We’re a good team,” first-year coach Chris Koerner said. “We were just not able to close.”
Koerner noted that Tara Buck had an outstanding season, leading the team in kills. “She passes well, she’s just an all around player.” Koerner made some adjustments during the season that helped the team. Maggie Webster and Becca Chavez alternated at setter, which allowed the Cougars to always have a setter in the front row. Koerner also moved Jackie Sigg up from the JV to play the Libero position. “Having Jackie in the back row was a key move that allowed us to win,” Koerner said. “Amanda Rutherford really came on in the second half of the season. Katie Meek’s blocking improved significantly, and she was able to kill from both sides.” NHS BOYS SOCCER The Cougars thought they had sewn up another conference title with a 4-0 win over Thompson Valley, but they learned later that an administrative error caused them to forfeit the first six games of the season for using an ineligible player. The saga began when NHS Athletic Director Jim Butterfield received a call from another athletic director informing him that Niwot was using a player who had played six soccer games at another school last year. Butterfield reported the matter to CHSAA and CHSAA ruled that Niwot had to forfeit the first six games of the season. “There were many non-traditional circumstances,” Butterfield said. “It was purely a procedural, administrative situation, and we took responsibility for it.” The player lives in the St. Vrain Valley School District, but not in the Niwot attendance area. He is primarily home-schooled, and also takes classes online and at another school. Last year, he attended a different school and played soccer for six games before leaving the school. He then took classes at another school which did not have a soccer program. When he open-enrolled at Niwot for soccer, the NHS administration noted that he had not played soccer at his last school and believed he was eligible to play at Niwot. Because he had changed schools without a parental move, as far as soccer was concerned, CHSAA rules made him ineligible.
Niwot appealed the penalty, but CHSAA’s decision to penalize the school game-for-game was upheld. “We’ve changed some forms as a result of this situation and will make sure any new player coming into our program is interviewed,” Butterfield said. The Cougars won four of the first six games on the field, but with the forfeits, the Cougar record dropped from 11-2-2 to 7-6-2. Niwot qualified for the state playoffs in spite of the forfeits, but since two of the forfeits were conference games, the playoff chances of other teams were affected. Niwot ended up second in conference rather than first due to the forfeits. NHS FOOTBALL Coach Ron Tesone’s squad has had a tough season, with injuries mounting. The Cougars are 1-7 on the season after a 50-14 loss to Denver South.
“Roy Turner was having a great year at offensive tackle, but he suffered a concussion,” Tesone said. Whether he will be able to return is unknown. “Richard Burton was just awesome,” Tesone said of his offensive guard-noseguard who suffered what may be a season-ending knee injury. Landing Nolting, the Cougars’ biggest offensive lineman, has also been lost to injury. Sophomore quarterback Nate Merriman has been trying to play with a cast on his left and non-throwing hand after breaking his two middle fingers. Sophomore Jake Sarosi, who starts at linebacker, has stepped in for Merriman at quarterback when necessary. “The young kids are getting lots of varsity experience,” Tesone noted. Sophomores Josh Heape (DT), Wyatt Wood (OG) and Sean Harrison (C) have moved up from the JV to play for the varsity. Tesone noted that several players have played well. “Ryan Schuler and Eric Bengston have been outstanding,” he said. “Xandon Sigafoos and Dillon Manzanares have provided most of our offense.” Sigafoos and Nick Stager scored Niwot’s two touchdowns against Denver South. Akil Bhagat has moved from center to guard on offense, and Nate Shipley is playing well at left tackle and defensive tackle. Max McCaddon has shifted between tight end and wide receiver. Tanner Smith has performed well at tight end and defensive end, and also serves as the Cougar punter. Tommy Dyer kicked the extra points for Niwot, and Chad Pasma, who plays defensive back, has kicked Niwot’s only field goal of the season. Marcus Lively picked up an interception at defensive end. “He’s really coming around,” Tesone said. Nate Edwards at cornerback is another player who has impressed Tesone with his play after returning from an injury. “Gustavas Rosas at defensive end is in his first year,” Tesone said. “Collin Downs, a fullback and linebacker, is also in his first year.” “Mitch Eutsler was Homecoming King and scored his first touchdown against Elizabeth,” Tesone said. “He scored one last year but it was called back. It was really nice to see considering all he’s been through.” Eutsler has returned to play after battling a brain tumor discovered last summer. |
| Last Updated on Sunday, 07 November 2010 19:54 |
eature a team of gymnasts from throughout the St. Vrain Valley School District. “Debi Johnson has done well in the All Around,” Lang said. Johnson is a junior from Silver Creek High School. 
The Cougars generally took their opponents to five games in each match, but came out on the losing end six times out of eight. “We beat Broomfield and Mountain View,” Koerner said. “Thompson Valley was the number one team in the conference. They only lost four sets in 13 matches all season. Two of the four losses were to us.”
