By Joel Maguire

The Niwot High School Boys Volleyball team captured its second consecutive title at the Colorado High School Boys Volleyball Association championships, held at Thompson Valley High School in Loveland on May 19. 

The Cougars finished the regular season with an 18-1 record, only to be upset in the regionals by their arch-rival, the Monarch Coyotes.  Niwot fought back to defeat Fairview to secure a spot in the eight-team championship field, which also included Pomona, Grandview, Regis, Horizon, Broomfield, and Faith Christian. 

The loss to Monarch dropped Niwot to the fifth seed and set up a rematch with the fourth-seeded Coyotes in the quarterfinals.  This proved to be a good omen, however, since Niwot also began last year’s title run as the fifth seed.

Continuing with tradition, team members and head coach John Kohut bleached their hair and then enjoyed a Friday night pasta dinner cooked by the coach.  On Saturday morning, Niwot beat Monarch 15-9, 11-15, 15-10 in a match that lasted over two hours.  The Cougars then defeated Pomona 15-1, 15-4 and Broomfield 15-6, 15-4 to capture the title. 

Middle Hitter/Blocker Alex Gallegos and Opposite Hitter/Blocker Tim Maguire repeated as members of the All-State Tournament team.  They were joined by Setter Uriel Trujillo.

Kohut, who formerly taught at Denver West High School, brought three players with him to Niwot.  Uriel and Willie Trujillo and Alex Gallegos grew up playing volleyball in Mexico, then moved to Denver.  Since Denver West doesn’t have a team, they were happy to join Kohut at Niwot. 

Boys volleyball has now grown to 38 teams statewide and efforts are continuing to attain sanctioned status with the Colorado High School Athletics Association.  Before CHSAA could add a sport, another sport would have to be dropped.  Until then, the teams compete as club teams, without any official connection to the schools they represent.