All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
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The Niwot High School track and field program sent athletes to three different cities, including one in California, during the first weekend of April. Cougar colors were present in Longmont at the Birds of Prey Invitational, in Parker at the Legend Titan Track Clash, and in The Golden State for the renowned Arcadia Invitational and at all venues, Niwot runners enjoyed plenty of success against high-level competition. At the Birds of Prey Invitational, hosted by Skyline High School on Friday, Apr...
A handful of Niwot High School track and field athletes traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, over the weekend for the New Balance Indoor Nationals. Racing as members of REAL Training, a club team led by Niwot track and field head coach Maurice Henriques, NHS students who competed include Addison Ritzenhein, sisters Mia and Anna Prok, Kye Toothaker, and reigning shot put state champion Jade West, among others. The event was held from Thursday, March 7 through Sunday, March 10, with races being held at either the TRACK at new balance or the Reggie...
Rod Archer smiles modestly when he says, "if I were looking for a job now I would say two words, 'Stanford' and 'Apple.'" Indeed, his story includes his success in combining his mechanical engineering training at a prestigious university with his ability to work with developing technologies at one of the world's most innovative companies. Archer grew up in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota, with his parents, a younger sister and a younger brother. He says he was "a good, quiet kid." He chose to...
When it comes to the multitude of success stories coming out of Niwot High School these days, the statistics speak for themselves. Academically, NHS remains the only school in the St. Vrain Valley School District with an International Baccalaureate (IB) program, in which there is a 40% participation rate. An impressive 72% of students are taking at least one IB or Advanced Placement (AP) class. And, NHS students currently boast one of the highest SAT scores in the district at 1103 and one of the highest PSAT composite scores in the State of Col...
While most of Niwot was suffering below zero temperatures on Jan. 13 and 14, Niwot resident Pete Brandes was basking in the sunshine and 70+ degree temperatures in Hawai'i. But don't think he wasn't suffering too. Brandes was there to compete in the aptly named Hurt 100, an ultra-marathon on the island of Oahu. Brandes said the joke at the race was to be prepared for overnight temps to be five (degrees) below..."below 70 degrees that is." Brandes finished in an impressive 16th place with a...
Only midway through her prep career, Addison Ritzenhein has already cemented herself as one of the greatest runners to ever come through Niwot High School. In the past few months alone, the sophomore standout secured her first Class 4A cross country individual state title and surprised many by finishing first at the Nike Cross Country Nationals on Dec. 2. Her efforts were then honored on Jan. 23 when she became the first Niwot runner to win the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Cross Country P...
The vast majority of banners inside Niwot High School's main gym celebrate team championships. A select few, however, are hung in honor of individual achievements. Coming off a stellar sophomore season on the NHS cross country team, Addison Ritzenhein will soon have her name immortalized twice. After receiving the Gatorade Colorado Girls Cross Country Player of the Year award on Monday, the state championship-winning runner earned the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Player of...
As expected, Colorado's girls dominated the 2023 Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) Saturday, Dec. 2, in Portland, Oregon, but no one was more dominant than Niwot's Addison Ritzenhein who now adds the title of National Champion to her growing list of credentials. Ritzenhein, just a sophomore, came into the 18th Nike national race expected to be one of the top five or six finishers in the race, but splashed through the mud and deep standing water on Portland's Glendoveer Golf Course to outpace in-state...
The top two high school cross country teams from each of the nine Nike regional qualifying meets in November secured automatic berths into this weekend's Nike Cross Nationals (NXN). That left just four at-large invitations available for high school boys teams from across the United States to compete in the national championships on Saturday, Dec. 2, in Portland, Oregon. When the Niwot boys cross country team finished fourth in its Southwest Regional meet on Nov. 18 in Arizona, it looked like a...
NIWOT GIRLS WIN REGIONALS, GOING TO NATIONALS When the top teams in the country gather in Portland, Oregon on Saturday, Dec. 2, for the Nike Cross Country National Championships, all eyes will be on the two girls teams representing the Southwest Region – Niwot High School and Air Academy High School. Colorado's 4A State Champion Cougars and 5A champion Kadets squared off Saturday, Nov. 18, for the first time this season at the four-state Nike regional qualifying meet at the Coyote Run Golf C...
Mia Prok has enjoyed quite an impressive past few weeks. First, the senior helped Niwot High School win its sixth straight Class 4A girls cross country state title on Oct. 28. Then, only 11 days later, she signed her national letter of intent to continue her running career at Wake Forest University. After committing to the Division I Demon Deacons in March of last year, Prok was thrilled to finally make things official. "It was cool to actually sign the papers and see it in writing," she said. R...
Wednesday, Nov. 8, was a busy day at Niwot High School as ten student-athletes signed National Letters of Intent to continue their athletic careers at the next level. The athletes represent a cross-section of fall sports at Niwot, including soccer (2), volleyball (2), cross country & track (2), softball (1) and golf (1). In addition, two athletes signed to play lacrosse in college, a sport not offered at Niwot High. Ashton Karch, who played football at Niwot, will play lacrosse at Westminster...
BASEBALL Niwot was represented at the World Series by Patrick Perry, a 2001 NHS grad, who is an area scout for the Texas Rangers. Perry was able to meet up with Matt Mercurio, a former teammate from Perry's days in the Boston Red Sox organization at the World Series. Mercurio, who played first and third base for the Lowell Spinners in 2005, is now a scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Perry, was a catcher for Lowell in 2005 after being drafted out of the University of Northern Colorado. Skyler...
Outstanding depth and tremendous individual performances were the key all season for the Colorado Class 4A State Cross Country Champions from Niwot High School. Those efforts were recognized by this year's 4A Girls and Boys All-State Team selections. The Cougars' two sophomore standouts, Addison Ritzenhein and Rocco Culpepper, led the celebration with first team All-State honors. Ritzenhein, who also earned Runner of the Year honors, was joined by senior teammates, Olivia Alessandrini, Sarah...
For the sixth time in six years, the Niwot High School girls cross country team reigns supreme in Colorado. And, not to be outdone, after a disappointing two-year hiatus, the Cougar boys team reclaimed its state title at this past weekend's 4A Colorado State Cross Country Championships. Taking advantage of their outstanding individual leaders and incredible team depth, the Cougars wrapped up their near perfect season with two runaway victories on the Norris Penrose Event Center course in...
After battling COVID-19 earlier in the month, Niwot High School cross country senior Olivia Alessandrini was unsure how well she’d run at regionals on Oct. 19. Her stamina was still in recovery mode, and because the North Area Athletic Complex in Arvada is no easy course, she wasn’t exactly confident heading into the meet. Regardless, Alessandrini embraced the challenge and completed the 5,000-meter race with a personal best time (at altitude) of 17 minutes, 49 seconds. Alessandrini’s confi...
All the hard work . . . all the long hours . . . all the miles of traveling . . . all of it is behind the Niwot Cougars’ cross country teams. Now, there’s nothing left for the runners to do but lace up their shoes and run for their ultimate goal . . . a 4A state championship trophy. Seven boys and seven girls from Niwot will don the green and silver and represent one of the country’s (not county’s) elite programs Saturday as they attempt to cap a nearly perfect 2023 racing season at the 4A State Championship Meet at Norris Penrose Event Center...
With the varsity teams making their final preparations for the state cross country championship season, the spotlight shone on Niwot High School's junior varsity runners on Wednesday, Oct. 11, at the Hawk JV Championships. Once again, the girls' and boys' teams showed there are plenty of reasons to expect other runners from Colorado to be chasing the Cougars for years to come. Led by three freshmen, the Class 4A Niwot girls took the first three places over the Adams County Regional Park course...
Go ahead and take some time off. You’ve earned it. But don’t expect the rest of your team to stop running while you do -- they won’t. With several of their top runners, including Addison Ritzenhein and Rocco Culpepper, taking well-deserved breaks after impressive individual and team efforts the previous week at the Desert Twilight Festival in Arizona, the Niwot boys and girls cross country teams traveled to the Western Slope on Thursday, Oct. 5, and continued their dominance with team victories at the Warrior Lincoln Park Classic in Grand...
The Niwot High School cross country team showed Friday evening, Sept. 29, that Colorado isn’t the only state where the Cougars’ dominance will be felt in 2023. Coach Kelly Christiansen led his team into the Arizona desert, and the Cougars ran away with both the boys’ and girls’ coveted Sweepstakes titles in the Desert Twilight Cross Country Festival in Mesa, AZ. The event, one of the premier invitationals in the country, included 248 teams and nearly 6,000 athletes from five states. Thirty-one different races were held during the evening...
Fall came to Niwot a day early on Friday, Sept. 22, with Niwot's annual homecoming parade. The parade followed the usual route, winding past Niwot Elementary School, where students greeted the parade, then down Niwot Road past Cottonwood Square and onto Second Avenue. Parents and other community members eagerly waited for the event. Brady Toothaker, the parent of a junior at the high school, was excited to cheer the teams on. "We come because we just love how they get all the sports teams out...
GIRLS XC Look out Colorado, Niwot’s Addison Ritzenhein is a runaway freight train with no slowing down in sight. The sophomore picked up speed on the final downhill stretch and steamed through the finish line Saturday at the St. Vrain Cross Country Invitational, leaving all competitors far behind while crushing the girls’ course record along the way. In her second race of the season, Ritzenhein picked up her second victory, this time by a whopping 30 seconds over teammate and second-place finisher Olivia Alessandrini, who added the silver med...
The results of last Wednesday's RE-1J District Cross Country Meet may have looked like opening the floodgates, but Niwot head coach Kelly Christensen described the outcome as more of a controlled release. The Cougars, who had seen their top runners held out of competition in the first weeks of the season, were on full display on their home course and the visual effect was a green wave. Both the girls and the boys teams easily ran to victory with the girls capturing the top 13 individual places...
Hundreds of runners and their fans were out in force Saturday, Sept. 2, for the 2023 Wyoming Cross Country Invitational at the Little America Resort Golf Course in Cheyenne. Collegiate men’s and women’s teams as well as high school varsity and junior varsity boys’ and girls’ teams from across Wyoming and Colorado were represented at the spectacle. The collegiate host, the University of Wyoming Cowboys, edged out rival Colorado State to win the men’s event. The CSU women, ranked 26th in the nation, returned the favor by winning their race over...
“Go out steady . . . gradually pick up the pace . . . and sprint to a strong finish.” Sounds like a great strategy for an individual cross-country runner. It’s also the approach Niwot Coach Kelly Christensen uses to sketch out the blueprint for his team’s entire season. “We kind of travel to the beat of our own drum,” Christensen said. “We take a slower approach to our season than you might normally see. We’re a team that goes very late into June with our track athletes and a lot of the other teams don’t. While we’re still racing track in lat...
Five girls 4A state championships in the past five years. Two boys state championships and two runner-up finishes in the last four. To say that the Niwot cross country program is a championship machine may be an understatement. In his eighth year as head coach, Kelly Christensen has found a formula that other coaches around the state would love to steal. Christensen says it’s not that complicated. “The right kids are coming to Niwot and the families are super supportive. They drink the Kool-Aid,” Christensen says with a smile in his voice. “It...
Ok. Have you ever traveled, called a friend across the country, watched the Olympics or the World Cup and realized figuring out the time difference can be a hefty math problem? I am talking about time zones. You may know the U.S. has six time zones (not including its territories). So, you may live in the same country as your east coast cousin, but you may be just getting off work when they are sound asleep for the night. And think about this: Why does the U.S. have six time zones, Russia has 11...
Following a busy yet fruitful start to his summer, Kye Toothaker's two weeks of down time is now complete as his junior cross country season at Niwot High School looms not far in the future. His time away was certainly well-deserved, though, after he competed in both the CHSAA track and field state championships and the Nike Outdoor Nationals in June. Results-wise, Toothaker helped Niwot win the Class 4A 800-meter relay - along with Rocco Culpepper, Ryder Keeton and Carlos Kipkorir - before...
On Tuesday evening, June 13, and again on Wednesday, June 14, a group of board members from the Boulder County Beekeepers' Association (BCBA) participated in a beehive clean-up in remembrance of Niwot beekeeper Tom Theobald, who passed away in November 2021. Dawn Server, co-owner of Meadow Lake Honey, organized the event, recruiting volunteers to clean up Theobald's apiary off Monarch Road. John Stobbelaar, a Marine veteran who owns the property on Monarch Road where the beehives are located,...
The requests for funding presented to the Niwot Local Improvement District Advisory Committee June 6 included old and new events –- a new event designed to capitalize on the Bike MS: Colorado event coming through Niwot on Saturday, June 24, a FlowerFest event scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 5, music for First Friday Art Walks, a resurrection of Oktoberfest on Sept. 30, and a Where’s Waldo Local scavenger hunt throughout the month of July. Bike MS: Colorado Bike MS: Colorado is a bicycle ride, as opposed to a race, with a route from Fort Collins to...
Lex Bullen doesn't much like talking about herself. The 2023 Niwot High School grad instead prefers giving credit to the countless number of individuals who've helped her reach impressive heights as a runner. After moving from Stargate Charter School in Thornton to Niwot High prior to her sophomore year, Bullen helped the Cougars to three straight girls state titles in both track and cross country. Yet, she remains most fulfilled knowing that she benefited from a program that treated her as...
Niwot High School's graduation ceremony last Saturday was equal parts bright and sentimental. The football field was awash with rows of white chairs and green capped and gowned members of the class of 2023. Proud families, teachers and staff assembled under a photo-ready crisp blue sky to honor the students. Nearly 300 students accepted their diplomas from Principal Eric Rauschkolb, after experiencing one of the most normal school-year experiences since classes were disrupted by the COVID-19...
Although he has his own personal goals, Jeremy Gillett is typically thinking about his team before anything else. On April 1, for example, the Niwot High School track and field senior shared that he took immense pride in representing his school as he competed on his home track at the NoCo Series #1 meet. Gillett ran in the 1,600-meter and as the race remained crowded up front entering the final stretch, his final push was motivated by a force greater than himself. "In that last 100 (meters), I...
A few weeks before opening night, students from Erie Middle School came to see a special performance of Niwot High School's "Beauty and the Beast." "All the kids absolutely loved it!" said NHS freshman and actress Micah McGhee. "Afterwards, we had some time for questions. When the microphone was handed to one of the middle schoolers, they said something along the lines of, 'Cheese grater, whoever you are, we love you!'" McGhee, who performed the part, added, "I will honestly never forget that....
Veteran Niwot High School golf coach Ed Weaver is optimistic about his squad, with three returning state qualifiers. The only loss from last season's state qualifying team was graduating senior Sydney Rothstein. "Sydney came over to practice last week while she was on her spring break," Weaver said. Weaver, a realtor with Slifer, Smith & Frampton - Front Range (formerly Colorado Landmark) when he is not coaching golf, appreciates the connections he forms with his players, which last long after...
Lucky Niwot Day celebrates St. Patrick's Day on Saturday, March 11 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., courtesy of the Niwot Business Association, with live music, games, Irish food and face painting for the whole family. See if you can spot the leprechaun wandering our streets. Start the day with an Irish breakfast at the Niwot Market, treat yourself to cookies at Little Bird, Cimmini's, and Few of a Kind Vintage + Mercantile, and lemonade at The Niwot Inn. Get your face painted at Blessings Day Spa, find...
For the Niwot High School track and field team, "slay" isn't used in jest. The trendy phrase is instead an acronym that head coach Maurice Henriques hopes can be a guiding force: Sacrifice. Loyalty. Accountability. Yearning. Every one of Niwot's approximately 140 athletes will be repping S.L.A.Y on the back of their T-shirts this spring season. "Those are things that we've been talking about from the first day of practice," Henriques said. "We're asking our coaches and we're asking our athletes...
After falling just short the past two years, Jamieson Legh finally got over the hump of winning an individual state championship in her final run. The fourth-year Niwot High School swimmer finished runner-up in the 100-meter butterfly as both a sophomore and junior, plus she took second in the 100 backstroke last year and placed third the season prior. But given one last opportunity as a senior, Legh took advantage and won both events by a combined 6.73 seconds at the Veterans Memorial Aquatic...
VOLLEYBALL Morgan Daugherty (Niwot) played in 21 of 27 matches for South Dakota School of Mines as a freshman this season. Daugherty, an opposite hitter, recorded 110 kills for Mines, to go along with 20 blocks, including four solo blocks. She added 26 digs on the season. One of her best efforts came at Black Hills State during a 5-set victory Sept. 6. Daugherty recorded 12 kills in 29 attempts for a .310 hitting percentage. CROSS COUNTRY Samree Dishon (Niwot) helped New Mexico to a...
The Niwot High School girls cross country team traveled to Portland, Oregon, to run in the Nike Cross Nationals on Dec. 3 and brought home the second-place trophy. A total of 22 teams from across the nation and 45 individual runners competed in the invitation-only event, where the Cougars were runner-up to the Kinetic Club from Saratoga Springs High School in Schenectady, NY. Team scores were counted based on the places of the top five runners from each school, compared to the other team...
BASEBALL Jack Brooker (Niwot) signed to play baseball at Queens University of Charlotte, a Division I program. Brooker, who graduated from Niwot High School in the Class of 2022, played in the Mile High Collegiate Baseball League All Star Game last summer held at Scott Carpenter Park in Boulder. He played in the collegiate league this past summer and was the only 2022 high school graduate on his team. He not only represented his team in the All Star game but also in the Home Run Derby. Skyler...
As Niwot continues to honor veterans in the month of November, you'll find stories behind some of the banners displayed in Cottonwood Square and on 2nd Avenue. James Albert Zander, U.S. Navy, WWII - Born in Saginaw Michigan in 1915, Zander was a civilian flight instructor for the Army Air Corps before joining the Navy as a pilot. Stationed in Texas, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, and Hawaii, Zander spent most of his time in C-47s, F6F Hellcats, and Corsairs, transporting troops and supplies...
Make it a five-peat. For the fifth time in as many seasons, the Niwot High School girls cross country team took first place at the Class 4A state championships on Oct. 29. Months of preparation, including two trips to the Norris Penrose Event Center course in Colorado Springs, helped Niwot score 20 points - miles ahead of second-place Battle Mountain (122) and third-place Durango (134). "It was just incredible," said senior Madison Shults, who was one of six Cougars to finish in the top 10....
The final hurdle the Niwot High School cross country team had to clear before the state meet came in the form of the Class 4A Region 3 championships on Thursday, Oct. 20 at the North Area Athletic Complex in Arvada. In need of a top-four regionals team finish to qualify for State, both the Cougar girls and boys took first place with relative ease. Niwot was led by a first-place freshman on each side — Rocco Culpepper for the boys (16 minutes, 7 seconds) and Addison Ritzenhein for the girls (18 minutes, 41 seconds) — and 13 total Cougars pla...
A whopping seven Niwot cross country underclassmen — girls and boys combined — had a top-10 finish in the Longs Peak League Meet on Oct. 12. On the boys’ side, Cougar freshman Rocco Culpepper led all runners with a time of 15 minutes, 18.9 seconds which was about 23 seconds ahead of Severance’s Caden Schweer. Niwot seniors Carlos Kipkorir Cheruiyot and Jeremy Gillet finished third and fourth, respectively, while sophomore Keegan Geldean (fifth), senior Frederick Ambrose (sixth) and sophomores Christopher Wood (seventh) and Gavin Engtrak...
The final chapter of Madison Shults' Niwot High School cross country career has been a good read. In the month of September alone, Shults had top-10 finishes in the RE-1J District Meet, the St. Vrain Invitational and the Desert Twilight XC Festival - which all also resulted in team wins. Shults gave special recognition to head coach Kelly Christensen and a slew of others for helping make her senior season memorable. "I definitely have to credit it to our coaches," Shults said. "Our coaches are...
As is typical this season, Niwot cross country’s depth on the girls’ side delivered another meet win. All eight Cougars girls who traveled down to Mesa, Ariz., for the Desert Twilight XC Festival on Sept. 30 finished within the top 20 to secure the team victory. The strong showing marked the third consecutive first-place finish for the Niwot girls — the St. Vrain Cross Country Invitational and the RE-IJ District Meet being the others. In the 5,000-meter Desert Twilight race that included 21 total teams and 174 girls, not only did the Couga...
For most people, a 10k would constitute a long run. But Niwot resident Pete Brandes has a different definition of "long." On Sept. 17th, Brandes, 30, completed the Run Rabbit Run 100-mile ultra-marathon in Steamboat Springs with a total time of 27 hours and 37 minutes. Brandes took 26th place out of a field of 315 dedicated runners. He logged 185,000 steps during the event. The course had 20,391 feet of total ascent and 20,391 feet of descent. Brandes said he started seriously thinking about an...
Homecoming week took a hit on the Niwot cross country team. According to head coach Kelly Christensen, his Cougars were far from 100% when they lined up for the St. Vrain Cross Country Invitational on Sept. 17. But even without four top runners, the Niwot girls team squeaked out a first-place finish at Lyons High School. An encouraging takeaway for Christensen was that a few underclassmen, on both the girls and boys’ sides, were able to keep a shorthanded Cougars team competitive. Sophomore Bella Nelson led the Niwot girls with a third-place f...
It was a successful Homecoming week for Niwot High School. Football won on its home turf, volleyball swept Silver Creek, boys tennis went 1-1, softball got a win and for cross country, both the girls and boys teams cruised to first place in the RE-1J District Meet. The cross country boys were led by four seniors who finished from third place to sixth in the order of Jeremy Gillett, Frederick Ambrose, Stefan Haug and Carlos Kipkorir. And even though the first and second place individual finishers...
