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Articles written by Thorn Compton


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  • Niwot's McPeak takes 15th in State Golf Tournament

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|Jun 3, 2016

    Approaching the 18th hole on the final day of the State Tournament, Niwot High School’s Claire McPeak just needed to finish with a four-stroke par to finish five strokes under her first day score of 86. What McPeak didn’t expect was for the ever changing Colorado weather to take an abrupt turn, from a beautiful sunny day in Pueblo to a sudden rain storm mixed with quarter-inch hail. “Personally I don’t mind golfing in the rain, but it was the hail that got to me,” McPeak said after finishing with a five-stroke bogey on the final hole and recor...

  • Silver Creek swimming finishes 5th in state

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|May 25, 2016

    Sitting in fourth place with four events left, the Silver Creek High School boys swimming team needed a great performance from its 200 free relay team to catapult into third place in the state championships. What they got was an outstanding performance, finishing in second place in the race, just .5 seconds behind the winner Air Academy. The elation of that performance was quickly deflated, however, as the swimmers were informed they were disqualified for a hand-off error. The frustration was palpable, as multiple members of the relay team...

  • Niwot girls track takes 3rd at state

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|May 25, 2016

    Winning one state championship is a tall order. Winning three in a row is the start of a dynasty. But what solidifies a dynasty is not the consistency of winning it all, but the consistency of finishing well even if it isn’t your best season. That is what the Niwot High School girls track team was able to accomplish this past weekend at the Colorado High School 4A State Track & Field Championships, with a third-place finish following three consecutive state titles. Though the Cougars did not s...

  • NHS girls tennis competes in state championship

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|May 18, 2016

    This past weekend was the Girls 4A State Tennis Tournament, and the Niwot High School girls tennis team had high hopes for the five competitors who qualified. Sophomores Julia Pentz and Taylor Thulson and freshman Rachel Drake all won their regional tournaments for one, two and three singles, respectively. Senior Emma Lerner and junior Amanda Duquette qualified by placing second in the regionals at the one doubles spot. The tournament kicked off last Thursday, and all three singles competitors managed to win their first round matches, while...

  • Cougar baseball shocks in playoffs

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|May 18, 2016

    Not many people outside of the dugout expected the 7-12 Niwot High School baseball team to compete with the 18-1 Denver North Vikings in their playoff game last Saturday, much less defeat them. Luckily for the Cougars, they weren’t paying attention to what anyone else thought heading into the game. “When we hit batting practice this morning, I knew something was different,” senior starting pitcher Ford Ladd said. “We were relaxed, not thinking we were going to lose. We haven’t had that atmosphere with the team yet this year.” It turns out t...

  • Cougar track competes in St. Vrain Invitational

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|May 18, 2016

    With one week left before starting the defense of the girls’ state championship, the Niwot High School track teams competed in the St. Vrain Invitational to work out the kinks in their game. While they didn’t do as well as they did when they dominated their division in the Northern League Championships last week, the Cougars still had some great performances on the girls side. Sophomore Mackenzie Fidelak won the 300 meter hurdles for Niwot, while the 4x400 team took home first place for the Cougars as well. Junior Alexis Carroll finished in...

  • Silver Creek swimming dominates at Northern League Championships

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|May 18, 2016

    After the first day of preliminary races for the Northern League Championships, Head Coach Debbie Stewart said she was a bit worried about her Silver Creek High School boys swimming team. “In the prelims I was a little nervous,” Stewart said after the completion of the league championship. “We weren’t as shaved down as we could have been and you get a little nervous because everyone else is.” Little did she know her swimmers were just conserving their energy for an all-out blitz in the finals, as the Raptors took home first place in their dis...

  • Niwot girls soccer loses in first round to D'Evelyn

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|May 18, 2016

    Returning to the playoffs after missing the tournament last year, the Niwot High School girls soccer team played a tough game but ultimately lost to D’Evelyn 4-1 last Wednesday. Despite the loss, the girls still gave the season everything they had and should be proud of the 10-6 record for the season. Niwot Head Coach Rob Johnson reiterated that statement after the loss, saying this loss was more on the coaches than the player’s effort. “These girls worked so hard and as coaches it’s our job to...

  • NHS girls soccer reaches win goal

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|May 11, 2016

    After finishing off their conference schedule with a 6-1 record, the Niwot High School girls soccer team had three games left on the schedule to try and reach the 10-win mark for the season. Sitting at 9-3 entering the final week of the season, the Cougars had some tough opponents to get through if they wanted to reach that goal. “The goal is always ten wins,” Niwot Head Coach Rob Johnson said. “We tied the league winners and we can have a better record if we finish strong.” They only needed one game to reach that double digit mark, as the Coug...

  • Niwot baseball drops final three games

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|May 11, 2016

    With three games left on the schedule, the Niwot High School baseball team needed to win out to solidify its chance for postseason play. The Cougars, however, lost their final three games of the season, first to Northridge at home, 9-4 last Tuesday, then to Thompson Valley on Thursday 14-1 and Friday 6-2. Against Northridge, Niwot had as many errors as they had runs scored while they continued to struggle with fielding down the home stretch of the season. Senior Ford Ladd went five innings for t...

  • Niwot girls tennis qualifies five for state

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|May 11, 2016

    After a long and successful season, the Niwot High School girls tennis team had their biggest challenge ahead of them, the class 4A region 5 championships, to qualify for the state tournament. They couldn’t have asked for more momentum heading into the event, riding a six-match winning streak and going 4-0 in conference play, but this two-day event was a different beast. Sophomore Julia Pentz had experienced it before, qualifying at last year’s regionals in her first season on the team, but she...

  • Cougar girls track wins northern league

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|May 11, 2016

    Taking yet another step toward defending their three-time state championship, the Niwot High School girls track team won their division outright in the Northern League Championships last week, placing first out of the 27 teams that competed. They didn’t just compete against their Northern League opponents, however, as the Mile Hi and Tri-Valley leagues also competed in the meet. That didn’t stop the Cougars from taking home their fifth first-place finish on the season and carrying some much nee...

  • Silver Creek swimming heads into conference championships undefeated

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|May 11, 2016

    Senior night was really much like every other night that the Silver Creek High School boys swimming team competes, mainly because every time the Raptors compete, they win. Facing Estes Park, currently the number seven team in the state in 4A, the Raptors had no problem continuing their winning ways, winning the meet 127-55. Dominating wins like that are the main reason Silver Creek saw their state ranking shoot up six spots last week, moving from ninth place all the way to third in Class 4A. Hea...

  • Niwot baseball splits

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|May 4, 2016

    Spring weather in Colorado means the Niwot High School baseball team had to battle both the elements and its opponents this week as it split two games, winning against Skyline and losing to league opponent Northridge. With the split, the Cougars remain two games under .500 for the season with a 7-9 record, but drop back to below even in league play with a 5-6 league record. Niwot Head Coach Craig McBride said despite his team not getting two wins this week they are putting themselves in good...

  • NHS girls tennis on win streak

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|May 4, 2016

    With two more dominant performances last week to close out the regular season, the Niwot High School girls tennis team has all the momentum it needs rolling into the 4A Region 5 championship. The latest victims of the Cougars’ current winning streak were Valor Christian at home last Monday and at Greeley Central last Tuesday. Against Valor Christian, all three singles competitors won in straight sets, led by dominant sophomore Julia Pentz who won her one singles match 6-2, 6-0. For the d...

  • Silver Creek swimming still undefeated

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|May 4, 2016

    After two more events last week, the Silver Creek High School boys swimming team still hasn’t lost anything they have competed in. Last Tuesday, the Raptors, which are a combination of Silver Creek and Niwot swimmers, faced Class 5A Broomfield in a dual meet and won, 129-51. In fact, of the 12 events of the day Silver Creek won 11 of them, settling for second in the 100 fly. Top performances against Broomfield came from sophomore Christopher Wingfield, who won first in the 50 free and 100 free, as well as with the 200 free and 200 medley r...

  • Cougar girls soccer continues hot streak

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|May 4, 2016

    It was a drama filled week for the Niwot High School girls soccer team as the players looked to continue their winning streak. Despite being down at halftime in both games, the Cougars pulled off victories against Centaurus and Mead in dramatic fashion, bringing their overall record to 9-3 on the season. Head Coach Rob Johnson said his team competed to the best of their ability this week and he was proud of their effort. “I will always try to give us a chance to win,” Johnson said. “These girls...

  • NHS girls soccer pulls off three straight conference wins

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|Apr 27, 2016

    It was imperative this week that the Niwot High School girls soccer team pull off three straight wins against conference competition, after losing their last conference match against Silver Creek. The Cougars definitely proved they were up to that task, with a win 2-1 win against Longmont last Tuesday, a 4-0 win against Northridge last Thursday, and a 9-0 trouncing of Greeley Central last Friday. Head Coach Rob Johnson said with the athleticism his team possesses, they can compete with anyone...

  • Cougar baseball drops two against Longmont

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|Apr 27, 2016

    The only thing worse than dropping two conference games late in the season for the Niwot High School baseball team, is dropping those two games to cross-town rival Longmont. Sadly, that’s exactly what happened last week when the Cougars faced the Trojans, first losing at Longmont on Thursday 7-3, then going down at home on Saturday 14-7. Cougar Head Coach Craig McBride said his team just didn’t play well enough to get a win against their longtime rivals. “They take what you give them, and we ga...

  • Niwot girls track wins Boulder County championships

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|Apr 27, 2016

    The recent bouts of spring weather have derailed some of the activities for the Niwot High School track teams, but that hasn’t stopped their momentum. Last Wednesday, April 20, the girls track team won the Boulder County Championships for the seventh straight time, and did so in dominant fashion. While they were only able to win first place in three of the events, it’s the shear depth of the Cougars that overwhelmed their opponents. Niwot scored 152 points in the meet, while the next clo...

  • Silver Creek swimming defeats Windsor

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|Apr 27, 2016

    Winning has become a tradition for this Silver Creek High School boys swimming team, so much so that before their meet against Windsor last Thursday they were more focused on breaking pool records than competing against the other team. “It was hard to get my guys in the water,” Head Coach Debbie Stewart said after the match. “They were all looking at the record board to see what they could break.” That wasn’t too much of a leap for the team, considering they did actually break three pool records in route to a 113-72 victory against Windsor. Ste...

  • Niwot girls tennis downs Longmont

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|Apr 26, 2016

    Rolling into the week with a three match winning streak, the Niwot High School girls tennis team continued its winning ways against rival Longmont last Tuesday with a 5-2 victory. The Cougars dominated almost every match, getting all of their wins in straight sets. In fact, between all three singles competitors they only dropped three games on the day. Sophomore Julia Pentz continued her dominant form by sweeping her opponent 6-0, 6-0 at one singles. Sophomore Taylor Thulson returned to the cour...

  • Cougars soccer winning streak ends

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|Apr 21, 2016

    The Niwot High School girls soccer team had their three-game winning streak come to an end last week with a 4-0 loss at Silver Creek High School last Thursday, April 14. The Cougars won an early week game against Mountain View, 6-0, with Maddie Barkow and Kailee Stobbe each scoring two goals. Hannah Gray added a goal and two assists while Sarah Syper was credited with a goal and an assist. Against cross-town rival Silver Creek, it was a different story. For the first time since March, the...

  • NHS girls tennis returns from break with three wins

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|Apr 21, 2016

    It would seem that spring break was beneficial to the Niwot High School girls tennis team, as the Cougars rolled off three straight match wins against Thompson Valley, Silver Creek and Mountain View in the first week back. In fact, the Cougars only dropped two matches while winning 19 in the past week, showing that they are settling into form as the season draws to a close. Niwot Head Coach Aimee Keronen said her team will continue to improve as long as they can keep getting on the court....

  • Niwot baseball wins one, drops two during spring break

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|Apr 14, 2016

    The Niwot High School baseball team had a full schedule of conference play this week as the Cougars took on Centaurus at home last Tuesday, April 5, then played a home and home series with Mountain View, traveling to Mountain View last Thursday, April 7 then facing them at home on Saturday, April 9. While the Cougars would have liked to walk away with three wins on the week, they had to settle for a win against Centaurus and two close losses to undefeated Mountain View. Against Centaurus, Niwot...

  • Cougar baseball travels to Arizona for tournament

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|Mar 30, 2016

    After some early cancellations due to weather, it took traveling to Arizona for the Niwot High School baseball team to get their season underway last week in a neutral tournament with teams from the west coast. The Cougars went 1-3 in Arizona, winning their first game against the Hillsboro Spartans from Hillsboro, Oregon, by a score of 6-1. Niwot dropped their next three games, however. They first lost to the Lancaster Eagles out of Lancaster, CA, 5-3. They went on to lose two more games by a one run deficit, first to the La Salle Falcons from...

  • NHS girls tennis dominates Northridge

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|Mar 30, 2016

    Having dropped their last two meets, the Niwot High School girls tennis team needed to pull out a win against Northridge last Tuesday, March 22 to get their season back on track. That proved to be an easy task to accomplish, as the Cougars dismantled the Grizzlies at almost every level, winning the match 6-1. The only athlete to lose for Niwot was sophomore Victoria Britt, who is normally a JV player and was moved up to varsity to play in the two singles spot in place of sophomore Taylor Thulson who was ill. Cougar Head Coach Aimee Keronen...

  • Niwot track continues season despite weather delays

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|Mar 30, 2016

    The weather hasn’t exactly been kind to the Niwot High School spring sports season, but it hasn’t derailed the momentum that both the boys and girls track teams are creating as their season progresses. Last Monday, March 21, the girls team took first place against a strong field at the Greeley Central Invitational despite sitting through a rain delay. The boys had an impressive showing of their own, finishing third. Later in the week, the girls took home second place at the Runners Roost of For...

  • Cougar Girls Basketball Misses Playoff Spot

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|Feb 28, 2016

    The final two games for the Niwot High School girls basketball team were extremely important for their postseason hopes to come to fruition. They entered the week with a 13-8 record and a 5-7 record in the Northern conference. Unfortunately they dropped both games in their final week, one to Centaurus 57-34 and the final game to Northridge 43-36. After the loss to Centaurus, Niwot Head Coach Terri Ward knew that her team’s playoff aspirations had all but come to an end. “Bottom line, we had to win these last two games to have a shot,” Ward...

  • Niwot Boys Basketball Ends Season on Losing Streak

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|Feb 28, 2016

    The last few weeks were not what the Niwot High School boys basketball team had hoped they would be. Entering the final stretch of the season it was a long shot for the Cougars to make the playoffs, but if they had been able to take care of business and let the chips fall as they would, they would have had a slim shot at seeing the post season. Niwot was not able to do that though, as they ended their season on a five-game losing streak. The most recent losses last week to Centaurus, 50-45, and Northridge, 66-63, were especially hard to...

  • NHS Wrestling's Stager Third in State

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|Feb 28, 2016

    It was a familiar sight for junior Tommy Stager of the Niwot High School wrestling team, being at the Colorado State Wrestling Tournament for the third time in his career. Unlike the last few times though, Stager had some company to share the experience with. Sophomore Alex Gazdik also qualified for the tournament for the first time in his short wrestling career. They both fought hard in the three days of events at the Pepsi Center, but ultimately it was Stager who finished in the top three. Cougar Head Coach Bobby Matthews said this was a...

  • Cougar Boys Struggles Through the Week

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|Feb 17, 2016

    Coming into the week, the Niwot High School boys basketball team really needed to win their four remaining games in order to keep their post-season hopes alive. Unfortunately they could not get back on the winning path, dropping both games. The Cougars lost an away game at Thompson Valley on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 64-54, then lost at home on Thursday, Feb. 11 to Mountain View, 64-55. Niwot Head Coach Preston Hardy said after the Mountain View game that luck just wasn’t on their side this week. “Basketball is a funky game, couple shots here or there a...

  • NHS Girls Basketball Pulls Off Two Straight Wins

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|Feb 17, 2016

    In order to keep their playoff hopes alive, the Niwot High School girls basketball team needed to go undefeated in their final four games of the season. They are well on their way to accomplishing that goal after two big wins this past week. The Cougars won their final home game of the season against Thompson Valley, 54-44 last Tuesday, Feb. 9, then handled Mountain View on Thursday, Feb. 11, winning 47-34. The victories boosted Niwot’s record to 13-8, with a 5-7 league record and two games remaining to try and get to .500 for the season in l...

  • Cougar Boys Struggles Through the Week

    Thorn Compton|Feb 17, 2016

    Coming into the week, the Niwot High School boys basketball team really needed to win their four remaining games in order to keep their post-season hopes alive. Unfortunately they could not get back on the winning path, dropping both games. The Cougars lost an away game at Thompson Valley on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 64-54, then lost at home on Thursday, Feb. 11 to Mountain View, 64-55. Niwot Head Coach Preston Hardy said after the Mountain View game that luck just wasn’t on their side this week. “Basket...

  • Niwot Wrestling Has Two Make State Tournament

    Thorn Compton, [email protected]|Feb 17, 2016

    All of the work, all of the effort, every dual, every tournament, every practice, all led to this moment for the Niwot High School wrestling team - the opportunity to show out in the regional tournament and make the state championship. The Cougars brought eight athletes to compete in the regionals, and six of the eight made it at least to the quarterfinals of the consolation round with a chance to continue their season at the Pepsi Center. Those six were sophomores Alex Gazdik and Nathan Hemenway, juniors Tommy Stager and Dylan Bonge, and senio...

  • NHS Girls Basketball Pulls Off Two Straight Wins

    Thorn Compton|Feb 17, 2016

    In order to keep their playoff hopes alive, the Niwot High School girls basketball team needed to go undefeated in their final four games of the season. They are well on their way to accomplishing that goal after two big wins this past week. The Cougars won their final home game of the season against Thompson Valley, 54-44 last Tuesday, Feb. 9, then handled Mountain View on Thursday, Feb. 11, winning 47-34. The victories boosted Niwot’s record to 13-8, with a 5-7 league record and two games r...

  • Cougar Boys Basketball Wins at Home, Loses on Road

    Thorn Compton|Feb 10, 2016

    Starting the week with six games left on the season and a 7-10 record, it was do or die time for the Niwot High School boys basketball team. Unfortunately they did a little bit of both during the week. The Cougars won big in the last game of their home stand against Greeley Central on Wednesday, Feb. 3 67-43, but they were unable to take care of business when they hit the road for a game against Longmont Friday, Feb. 5, which they lost 52-37. Against Greeley Central, Niwot had three boys score...

  • Cougar Girls Basketball can't Shake Losing Streak

    Thorn Compton|Feb 10, 2016

    After starting the season 8-1, the Niwot Cougar girls basketball team has dropped its last four games. Most recently they lost in two games last week against Longmont and Thompson Valley, and in both contests, the team was unable to keep their opponent under 59 points. On Tues., Jan. 12 the Cougars lost a home game to Longmont 61-40, a game in which only one Niwot player scored in the double digits. YY Chen scored ten points for the Cougars, while Keena Strope and Alyssa Jenkins each contributed seven. They played a closer game on Fri., Jan....