All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
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Back when she was a budding high school track star, Elise Cranny never thought she would be honored as she was during this year's Niwot Homecoming celebration. The 2014 Niwot graduate and 2021 U.S. Olympian was given a hero's tribute during the annual parade and football game on Sept. 17. Before finishing 13th in the Olympic 5,000 meter race, Cranny helped Niwot win two 4A girls track titles and competed collegiately at Stanford University. She said that with no fans allowed in Tokyo, the...
Niwot community pride was on display during last weekend's homecoming events. Friday afternoon's bright sun and cool temperatures set the stage for the parade, which returned following a pandemic-induced break. Junior Olivia Lacert was watching with friends from just outside 1914 House. "I'm excited to go to a homecoming game and to have the dance this year," she said. "I love dances. Last year we didn't have a lot of school events, so this is pretty cool. The football game is later and I'm...
The Niwot offense got off to another slow start in its Sept. 17 matchup against league foe Riverdale Ridge, scoring just six points in three quarters, despite success moving the ball on the ground. But for the fourth quarter, junior quarterback Ben Classen had some late-game heroics up his sleeve, and four touchdowns later, the raucous homecoming crowd was rewarded with a 34-20 victory. "If you sit in the stands, you can see why Ben Classen has such a huge impact when he's playing both sides,"...
Niwot High graduate ('14) and 2020 Olympian Elise Cranny is returning to her alma mater. On Friday, Sept. 17, the decorated distance runner will be riding in Niwot High's motorized homecoming parade, which departs the school parking lot at 3:15 p.m. Later that night, Cranny is also scheduled to make an appearance during halftime of Niwot's football game at Everly-Montgomery Field. Cranny is a two-time state cross country champion, and won multiple state titles in track & field for Niwot. In...
Niwot gymnast Mia Curry admitted that winning a third straight Class 4A all-around title is in the "back of her mind," but there's another piece of hardware that she'd rather have at the end of her senior season: the 2021 team championship trophy. "Right now, my only goal is to help my team get the state win, because I think that would be the best way that I could finish my high school career," she said after Niwot's triangular meet against Fort Morgan and Lone Star on Sept. 8. "I just want to...
Niwot's Sept. 11 matchup against Eagle Valley (2-0) got off to a thrilling start for the home fans, with a foiled onside kick attempt, a long run by quarterback Ben Classen, and finally, a 1-yard touchdown run by Thomas Carnagie, all within the first minute of play. But neither the thrill nor the lead would last, as Eagle Valley scored just three plays into their first possession to tie the game. The Demons then scored a touchdown on the possession after that, and the one after that, and then...
Niwot's 26-20 win over Thornton in the final football game of the 2020 season wasn't just the team's sole victory of the year, it was also a breakout game for running back Thomas Carnagie, who ended the night with an impressive 227 yards rushing and his first career touchdown. In 2021, as a senior, Carnegie has picked up where he left off, and is now one of the Cougars' most potent offensive weapons. In two games for Niwot, he has 201 yards on 35 carries, and was a key factor in the season-openi...
Games are often won or lost in the red zone and that proved true in Niwot football's season opener at Greeley Central on Aug. 27. The Cougar defense didn't budge much all night to secure the team's first win, 21-14. With less than two minutes remaining in the game and Greeley Central down a touchdown, senior Craig Wright intercepted a Wildcat pass to put the game on ice. Wright's statement play was a fitting end to a defensive masterpiece. "Defense comes down to guts -- no guts no glory on the...
Year two of the Coach Nik Blume era will commence at 7 p.m. on Aug. 27 when the Niwot football team opens its season at Greeley Central. The Cougars struggled with a 1-6 record in 2020 but anticipate their returning core taking the next step. Niwot's two biggest losses of the offseason came with the graduation of former quarterback Ayden Bartko and two-way talent Cooper Ackerman. Their replacements? Junior Ben Classen is set to take the reins at quarterback while Ackerman's younger brother, Jack...
After narrowly missing the qualifying mark for the 2016 Team USA women's discus team, Silver Creek graduate Valerie Allman made the mark and more in Tokyo. Allman became just the third American since 1932 to win gold in the women's discus with a 69.98 meter (229.6 feet) hurl on Aug. 2. She backed up a 66.42 meter (217.9 feet) throw in the qualification round on July 30 which had then set a record for the farthest throw ever by an American woman in the Olympics, yet still short of her 70.15...
Niwot high School Head Coach Nik Blume and his staff will be hosting a youth football camp on July 24 from 9 to 11 a.m. The free camp will be held at the NHS football field and players ranging from kindergarten to eighth grade are invited to attend. Walk-up registration begins at 8 a.m. and there is no ability level requirement. Blume hopes to introduce young players to Niwot football while teaching the skills of the game through drills. Several current players will also help coach. “Parents drop kids off for a couple hours and do some skills a...
Niwot High School Boosters, Inc., is a non-profit parent organization that supports all activities at Niwot High School, from cross-country to chess club, from marching band to musicals. Although booster clubs were historically organized to support high school athletic teams, Niwot High School Boosters, Inc., has been active in supporting all student extracurricular activities. You will often see parents and students from an unrelated activity selling concessions at a football or basketball...
After a school year filled with upended routines, unprecedented challenges, and, above all, uncertainty, 270 students from Niwot High came together on May 29 to mark the end of their high school journeys. For IB programme valedictorian Carter Kruse, graduation was also a chance to reflect on the positives that emerged during the pandemic year, and the importance of connectivity beyond Webex and Zoom. "Without question, our senior year was a memorable one," the future Dartmouth student said...
It was another record-setting weekend for the Niwot girls track team, as they competed in back-to-back meets at Roosevelt and Longmont on May 21 and 22. Along the way, the Cougars posted a slew of personal bests, three top Class 4A marks, and one of the fastest 800-meter times in state history. Now heading into the second half of the 2021 season, longtime Niwot track coach Maurice Henriques has just one goal for his team. "It's just to keep working hard and stay healthy," he said following the...
The Jon Hill era is set to begin for the Niwot girls basketball team with the program finding its new head coach. Niwot Athletic Director Joe Brown announced the move on May 5 following the retirement of longtime head coach and Colorado High School Athletics Association Hall of Famer, Terri Ward. Although Ward has stepped away from coaching, she will remain around the program in a mentorship role. Hill said he looks forward to bringing a fresh energy to the program while having Ward's wisdom...
The past year has been challenging for prospective college athletes, particularly those who missed their junior seasons of competition in the spring of 2020. But for 15 Niwot High athletes, the arduous journey through the virtual recruiting process came to a satisfying end at the school's Letter of Intent signing ceremony on May 3. "This is probably the hardest year in the history of college athletics to have an opportunity to play at the collegiate level," Niwot High athletics and activities...
April is National Volunteer month, a moment when the US acknowledges and honors the impressive impact volunteers make by giving their time and energy. We can all make the world a better place by volunteering in big and small ways, and while pitching in, you're also bringing health and happiness to yourself. Here's a list of nearby organizations where volunteers make a huge difference. Note: For the past year, we've been told to stay socially distant during the pandemic, but many organizations...
BASEBALL Ford Ladd (Niwot) finished his collegiate career as a pitcher at New York University and has joined the coaching staff at Georgia Gwinnett College as Coordinator of Research & Development. In his final game at NYU, Ladd played first base and went 1-4 at the plate, scoring a run and driving in two runs in an 11-0 victory over John Jay College March 9, 2020. A day earlier, he went 1-3 as a DH in both games of a doubleheader sweep of Stockton University with a run and an RBI in the second...
It would have been understandable if Josh Armas had skipped the 2021 Niwot wrestling season. After all, Boulder County COVID-19 rules chased away all but his most intrepid teammates, leaving him as one of eight on the team and the lone representative from the senior class. He was also facing a demanding class schedule, all AP and IB classes, and he could have used the extra time for homework. But Armas has never been one to take the easy way out, and abandoning the team and sport he loves never...
In April 2020, the St. Vrain Valley School Board authorized an architect design contract for an eight-lane swimming pool to be added onto Silver Creek High School. Nearly a year later, construction is set to begin in February and is expected to be completed in the fall. "People are excited about it," said Silver Creek Athletic Director Patrick DeCamillis. "I think it's a win for the community for sure, not just Silver Creek, but the St. Vrain community and Longmont in general." Up next on the ag...
Looking over the long list of Elizabeth Duncan's high school achievements, a few words leap to mind: varied, wide-ranging, unconventional, and, finally, impressive. From stints on the cheer and track teams, to honor choir and color guard, there's no question that the senior has trod a unique path through Niwot High, and shows every sign of continuing on it after graduation. Duncan's story originates about 25 miles east of Niwot, in Brighton, where the senior lives with her parents and younger si...
Wrestlers in St. Vrain and Boulder Public Valley Schools will likely miss out on the chance to compete during the 2020-21 school year, after Boulder County Public Health declined a request from the Colorado High School Activities Association to approve the sport for Season B, scheduled to begin on Jan. 18. In a message to wrestling families dated Jan. 5, Niwot High assistant principal and athletics director Joe Brown wrote: "Over the past several weeks, we have continued to work closely with...
The COVID-19 pandemic turned life upside down for most of us over the past 12 months, but it was especially hard on the local non-profit community, which saw its donations dry up as traditional fundraising events and activities were postponed or canceled. Fortunately, there's still time to help balance the scales as we count down the final hours of 2020. Among the many provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) passed back in March, was a change to an IRS rule...
Ashton Campie is passionate about the non-American version of "football," so when the 2020 high school boys soccer season was postponed until spring 2021, the otherwise idle midfielder decided to try out his kicking skills on the gridiron. In the end, both Campie and the Cougars got more than they bargained for, and now the athletic senior has a new appreciation for teamwork and dedication. "I was doing cross country, and then football started up just when cross country ended, and one of the...
Luke Werner dedicated himself to the game of football at a young age. From hitting the field early in the wet, morning dew, and practicing after school until it was so dark he couldn't see the ball, it is safe to say that for this Boulder High School senior, life revolves around football. After playing 9 games total his sophomore and junior year, MaxPreps credited Wernerwith nearly 200 all-purpose yards at wide receiver. Although he specializes in being an impact player on offense, Werner is...
For Niwot first-year coach Nikolas Blume, the 2020 football season will be memorable for many things, and not all of them pleasant. But one pleasant memory he will have is of senior Charlie Herring, a newcomer like himself, whose "work ethic and dedication to his teammates," helped the coach nudge the program in a promising direction. "Charlie was a first year starter and a great leader for us this season," Blume wrote in an email interview. "You won't find a young man more dedicated to...
In 1975, the Lutheran Medical Center Foundation was created as a way to support a nonprofit hospital in West Denver. Since then, it has been renamed the "Community First Foundation" (CFF) and has sought to create change beyond just the Denver Metro. Then, CFF became involved with ColoradoGives.org, an online tool that is a way to connect with and support nearly 3,000 nonprofits around the state. In 2010, CFF and ColoradoGives.org kicked off Colorado Gives Day, which has garnered $355 million in...
Although this year's U.S. Arabian & Half-Arabian National Championship Youth Judging Contest was held virtually, it was the same story for the Colorado Arabian Horse Club's Region VIII team. Led by fifth-year coaches Kendra McConnell and Rachel LeClere, the club has won 19 of the last 20 national championships and did so again this November. In her first year competing at nationals, Niwot High School junior Lily Thomas earned the Reserve High Individual Overall. McConnell said that Thomas's...
Emotions were running high at Erie's Tiger Stadium on Friday, Nov. 20. In a season finale battle of winless teams, Niwot senior quarterback Ayden Bartko led a game-winning fourth-quarter drive to defeat the Thornton Trojans, 26-20. Head coach Nik Blume came away with his first win leading the green and white. He credited his resilient senior class for sticking together despite a challenging season. "I couldn't be more proud," Blume said. "Our seniors carried us tonight. (Wide...
Pvt. Joe Pacheco was a WWII soldier, a father, an American Indian and much more. His son, who shares his name, wanted to honor him for all those things, so he and his brothers got him a banner as part of the Niwot Veteran's Banner Project. "You don't see a lot of praise for those American Indians, no matter what tribe you're in, that had joined the service and fought for their country," Joe Pacheco said. "He, like everyone else, wanted to serve their country." Pvt. Pacheco didn't talk much...
Niwot athletic director Joe Brown employed a bit of trickery to lure longtime Niwot athletics assistant Sue Prahl onto the field at halftime of the Oct. 29th Niwot-Lewis Palmer football game, where he surprised her with a presentation of the Colorado Athletic Directors Association's 2020 Award for Distinguished Service. Prahl's win was announced by CADA last April, but the award presentation had to be delayed due to the ongoing pandemic....
For anybody who has followed Niwot football over the past few years, the name Ayden Bartko should ring a bell. Niwot's senior quarterback has just three games remaining in his high school career and his departure will leave a gaping hole for the Cougars. Between the lines, Bartko has racked up 2,865 passing yards in 32 career games dating back to his 2017 freshman year. At 6-foot-5 and 205 lbs, Bartko towers over his teammates and uses his height to comfortably read the field. Although it...
It will take at least another week for the Niwot Cougars (0-4) to secure their first win of the season after falling to the Lewis-Palmer Rangers, 44-16 Thursday night at host Erie High School. Navigating a "thin" roster, first-year Head coach Nik Blume was impressed with how his players continued to compete. Over half of Niwot's roster is composed of freshmen who have been tasked with learning on the run. "We knew it was a project coming in and you're seeing that for us right now every night...
Stanford University track and field has claimed another prize recruit from Niwot. Standout Taylor James has announced that she will be taking her prodigious talents to Palo Alto next fall, following the trail blazed by former Cougar standouts Elise Cranny and Mary Gillett. "In the end there were a couple of main things that swayed my decision," the talented senior said of her choice. "Obviously Stanford's athletic and academic prestige is one of the big ones. Also, Coach [J.J.] Clark seems...
Niwot head football coach Nik Blume doesn't consider his team's 14-7 overtime loss to Riverdale Ridge on Oct. 16 a moral victory, but there's no doubt he was much happier in the aftermath than he was after the Cougars' 50-14 blowout loss to Holy Family the week before. "I'm not going to come out of a loss saying great things, but what I do know is that every kid we have gave us everything they could have given us, 100 percent. I think the lesson we're going to learn is that you can be...
Holy Family's 43-point first-quarter left little hope for the Niwot Cougars in Friday's football season opener. Niwot would fall to the Tigers, 50-14, under the lights at Mike G. Gabriel Stadium in Broomfield. Prior to the game, Niwot and Holy Family honored their senior classes in front of about 175 fans (mostly parents and a slew of students) per team. Head coach Nik Blume coached his first game at Niwot with over half of his roster consisting of freshmen. He said that his freshmen's need to...
Niwot football’s unusually long offseason finally has an end in sight for first-year head coach Nik Blume. Thirty-nine Cougars, including 16 freshmen, will kick things off Friday evening at Holy Family High School. Niwot’s season opener was supposed to be a home game but Blume opted to play in Broomfield to allow for more fans. SVVSD and BVSD officials announced a 175-person limit will be enforced at games. The opener will also be an early co-senior night between the schools and will honor the eight Niwot seniors. Blume said that Niwot was ini...
This past month, a noteworthy change came to Niwot High School's football field. The St.Vrain Valley School District installed new lights to allow for later practice times and, ultimately, after-dark home football games. Niwot High School is one of three in the district that received new light installations, the other two being Longmont's Skyline and Silver Creek High Schools. According to Athletic Director Joe Brown, the three high schools were the only ones in the district that didn't have...
A lot of things had to go right for Niwot football to have a fall season, and somehow, they did. In early August, The Colorado High School Athletics Association (CHSAA) postponed football's fall season until the spring, but on Sept. 16, in conjunction with Gov. Jared Polis, CHSAA allowed football and cheer and dance to opt for a fall season. SVVSD athletic director Chase McBride then had to wait for local health officials to give permission, which they did on Sept. 17, and SVVSD jumped on the...
There's almost nothing normal about the way Jesse Horn's senior year at Niwot High started, so he's grateful for the one thing in his daily routine that hasn't changed much in 2020-the boys golf season. With classes conducted remotely and marching band performances on hold, Horn said having practice with his friends to look forward to every afternoon has kept him centered. "I definitely did not expect golf to be the most normal thing so far," the third-year veteran said. Golf is one of only four...
Local collegiate and high school football seasons may be on hold, but for Niwot Youth Sports flag football, it's nearly business as usual. Players ranging from kindergarten through fifth grade will grace the gridiron this fall at the Biff Warren Sports Complex on Nimbus Road. The league will consist of three age divisions (kindergarten/first grade, second/third grade and fourth/fifth grade) with four teams per division. Practice started on Aug. 31, and games will be played on Sundays beginning...
Niwot High School head football coach Nikolas Blume had a gut feeling his inaugural season at Niwot would be delayed. Even so, the news was still a punch in the gut. "To be honest, I was pretty disappointed," Blume said. "My whole staff is pretty disappointed. There was a lot of time that had gone by and you could kind of see what else was happening around us. If that decision ultimately was going to be made, it could have been made a lot sooner." Blume's discontent stems from the hours of pract...
With students returning to school on Tuesday, Aug. 18, it is time to meet all of the new teachers who will be entering Niwot High School. From PE to English, Niwot is welcoming staff who are prepared to guide students through online learning. Eric Rasmussen will be teaching pre-IB honors biology, pre-IB chemistry/physics, and IB chemistry SL, with classes spanning across all grades (9-12). Previously, Rasmussen taught chemistry and biology for three years at Silver Creek High School. He also...
Direct impacts of COVID-19 have officially reached the fall with the Colorado High School Athletics Association (CHSAA) announcing its rearranged 2020-21 athletics and activities calendar. Instead of traditional fall, winter and spring sports seasons, CHSAA will now hold A, B, C and D seasons that will extend through June. Most notably, football, volleyball and boys soccer will move their usual fall slate to the early-March Season C. Boys tennis, golf, softball and cross country are continuing...
On July 29, the Colorado High School Athletics Association (CHSAA) announced that boys tennis and softball would join boys golf for the fall 2020 sports season. As of Aug. 2, other fall sports including football and volleyball are still awaiting a verdict. Softball and boys tennis are permitted to begin official practices on Aug. 10 with competition starting as soon as Aug. 13. Health and safety is a top priority and CHSAA has made significant modifications to each sport’s season. Per CHSAA, the softball season will be shortened from 23 to 1...
Amid the hubbub about the return to play plans for high school sports such as football and cross country, the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) quietly gave boys golf the green light to start its season as scheduled during the first week of August. In an announcement dated July 25, CHSAA stated that golf is "able to be played under the current national, state, county and CHSAA health guidelines as they pertain to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic," and, as such, plans for the 2020...
Niwot High School has announced plans for an official graduation ceremony for the class of 2020. In a letter sent out to students and parents, NHS principal Eric Rauschkolb thanked everyone for their support through health concerns and the unconventional end to the school year. "We know that this year did not end in the way that anyone expected, however, as we look ahead to our official graduation ceremony, we could not be more excited to celebrate the outstanding students in our 2020...
It's not the school year that parents and students would like, but at least it's better than last spring. That's how several families in the Saint Vrain Valley School District feel about new plans for the upcoming school year. Basic information was released by the district last week, though there are still plenty of questions. Details may be revealed in a couple of weeks when the final plan will be released. "It's school, with only the worst parts," said Ben Goff who will be a senior at Niwot Hi...
With just 60 days to go before the Nikolas Blume era of Niwot football kicks off, the first-year head coach expected to be well on his way to implementing the rebuilding project he was hired to undertake back in February. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic made a hash of those plans, and so it wasn't until last week that Coach Blume was able to watch his players in action for the first time. So far, he's been pleased with what he's seen, but there's no denying that the long layoff has...
Each spring, the Niwot High School Education Foundation awards the Pursuit for Education scholarship to honor "motivated students who recognize the power and impact of post-secondary education," and it's hard to imagine a senior who fits that description better than 2020 recipient Daniel Torres. "I look forward to being the first one in my family to go to college," he wrote in an email interview about the scholarship and his future plans. "No one in my family has reached this point, and I'm...
