All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
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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...
As if NHS homecoming week events weren’t exciting enough, Niwot’s softball team played in a tournament at Barnes Softball Complex in Loveland. The schedule stretched through four games from Friday to Saturday, with Friday’s play leaving the girls rushing to participate in the Homecoming Week parade and then get to Friday night’s first home football game. Saturday’s games were canceled due to rain and poor field conditions, which was a mix of disappointment and relief for players who no longer had to rush after the games to change into form...
Although Niwot High School's softball team has been off to a strong start and is showing a strong sense of teamwork, this week saw the girls continue to experience both the highs and the lows of growth together. Tuesday's game saw the girls winning handily over their opponents, the Mountain View Lions. They played well together as a team in the field, and showed up at the plate, with a collective batting average of .310. Second baseman Zoe Chociej continued her strong performance, going 3 for 3...
Last Saturday's Niwot High School girl's softball double-header was something of a "wildcat" contest as the Cougars battled the Lyons Lions and the Peak to Peak Pumas. Junior Jenna Hobson and Maddie Stimack shared pitching duties both days with Hobson starting and Stimack coming on in relief. Scoring began early in the first game, with shortstop Autumn Rutherford singling to reach base before she was brought home with the first run. After catching up at the bottom of the first inning, the Lions...
This week's Student Athlete of the Week is Niwot Senior Softball player Zoie Chociej, who was named Max Prep's first national softball player of the week for the 2022-2023 season. According to the organization's announcement, the Niwot senior was chosen based on her accomplishment of going 10-for-10 at the plate, including two home runs during the week of August 15-21. "It felt amazing," she said. "It makes me feel good about all the hard work I put in after years of coaches not believing in...
After a challenging first away game at Frederick High School, Niwot varsity softball went on to a pair of victories and an overall winning record for the opening week of the season. "I feel pretty good about week one," said Head Coach Bobby Matthews. "We were able to put a bad loss behind us on Tuesday and build off a good win on Thursday. It all came together on Saturday for the second win of the week." Scores for the week tell the fuller story. After Tuesday's 20-3 loss to Frederick High...
Niwot softball's 2022 season commences Aug. 16, and for the third straight year, Autumn Rutherford will be one of the Cougars' biggest bats. Rutherford's ability to impact the game offensively with both power and speed earned her first-team all-conference honors in the 4A Longs Peak League as just a sophomore. Now entering her junior campaign, she hopes to be recognized on a grander scale with an all-state nod. During the past few months, her skills have been displayed throughout the country...
Anne Booth and Autumn Rutherford were both major producers in nearly every facet of the game last year for Niwot High School softball. Now entering their junior seasons, expectations have only risen as the Cougars begin their quest for a second consecutive playoff appearance. Niwot's pair of junior stars combined for 13 home runs last season and were the only Cougars to hit over .500, plus Rutherford led the team in stolen bases and Booth won 12 games in the circle. CeCe Smith, Zoe Cameron,...
Niwot Youth Sports (NYS) is hosting a series of events to raise money for the Monarch Improvement Project. NYS, which was originally formed in 1972 as Gunbarrel Lefthand Valley Boys Baseball, Inc, is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing exceptional recreational and competitive sports experiences for kids ages 4 to 18 in the Niwot-Gunbarrel area. These programs, which include baseball, softball, basketball, flag football & soccer, provide children with the opportunity to participate i...
With seven members present, the NIwot Local Improvement District advisory committee recommended approval of three funding requests at its regular meeting July 5 at the Niwot Inn. The LID collects a 1% sales tax in Niwot’s business district and makes recommendations to the Boulder County Commissioners for expenditures which benefit the business district. Chair Scott Firle was joined by Vice-Chair Eric Bergeson, Treasurer Bruce Rabeler, Mary Coonce, Lisa Rivard, Keith Waters and Cornelia Sawle. Mark Ruzzin was the liaison from Boulder County. T...
Last week we wrote about Niwot native Royce Johnson and how in 1974 he made land available to the Gunbarrel Lefthand Valley Boys Baseball, Inc., a non-profit organization now known as Niwot Youth Sports, as a site for "temporary" ballfields. The "temporary" Johnson Fields were used continuously for over 20 years until homes were built on Christopher Court in the Johnson Valley Subdivision in 1994. Ultimately, land that Johnson had donated to Boulder County for a park known as Left Hand Valley...
The Niwot Community Association (NCA) held its monthly board meeting on July 6th in the Mountain View Fire Rescue Niwot station conference room. There were two guests from Niwot Youth Sports (NYS), a local non-profit that has launched a new project to make improvements to the Hangge Fields at Monarch Park. There will be several improvements to the fields, but most importantly, a new building to replace the shipping containers and port-a-potties that are currently on site. Fundraising...
With the final games played this past week, a terrific Niwot Youth Sports recreational softball season has officially come to a close. NYS softball teams played league games and tournaments through the Indian Peaks Girls Softball Association (IPGSA), which has connected softball teams across the Northern Front Range for nearly 40 years. In all, NYS fielded 13 softball teams, comprised of over 170 players in divisions ranging from 8U to 18U, some of the highest participation numbers the program...
By the middle of the 19th century, Sweden was in the throes of a national population crisis-the small country's population had doubled from 1750 to 1850, and was still growing. Tillable land became more scarce, and famine swept the nation. Emigration regulations were eased, and the 1860s saw a massive movement of Swedes fleeing their homeland; between 1861 and 1881, 150,000 traveled to the United States. The majority of these immigrants quickly made their way to the new states and territories...
Three Niwot Youth Sports players practiced their swings early Saturday morning at Left Hand Valley Grange Park to beat the afternoon heat. Julianna, Wesley, and Burke Deens were there taking some batting practice with their dad and coach just in time for Father's Day. Julianna is a pitcher and first baseman on the Wildcats 10U softball team, and when asked about how the team's season was going she said, "Our team is doing really well, and our hitting has really improved so far." Her dad, Jeremy...
Boy Scouts of America (BSA) Troop 161B held its Court of Honor ceremony to award the rank of Eagle Scout to Wyatt Boyd and Cole Robinson May 16 at the Left Hand Grange No. 9. Boyd and Robinson are the 97th and 98th young men to be honored with the rank of Eagle Scout in Troop 161 in less than 50 years since the troop's formation. Bruce Grinnell was the first to earn the rank of Eagle Scout from Troop 161, and was a member of the first graduating class at Niwot High School in 1974. The names of...
Boy Scouts of America (BSA) Troop 161B held its Court of Honor ceremony to award the rank of Eagle Scout to Wyatt Boyd and Cole Robinson May 16 at the Left Hand Grange No. 9. Boyd and Robinson are the 97th and 98th young men to be honored with the rank of Eagle Scout in Troop 161 in less than 50 years since the troop's formation. Bruce Grinnell was the first to earn the rank of Eagle Scout from Troop 161, and was a member of the first graduating class at Niwot High School in 1974. The names of...
Hangge Fields at Monarch Park will host Opening Day ceremonies on Sunday, May 1st, for the Niwot Youth Sports baseball and softball seasons. Ball games will start earlier, but at 10 a.m., NYS officials will interrupt play to conduct an Opening Day ceremony, complete with a performance of the Star Spangled Banner by the Niwot Community Semi-Marching Free Grange Band, and a special guest appearance by Dinger, official mascot of the Colorado Rockies. Families who have made significant...
Now that we've been around for 25 years, the Courier will be recapping articles from 25 years ago. The following article appeared on page 1, Volume 1, Issue Number 2: Grange Field Gets Grass By Lori Lindemann Thanks to Jim Beckley and the Boulder Valley Rotary Club, the Left Hand Valley Grange Baseball Fields are readied for play! Jim and some of the Rotary Club members joined the Boulder County Sheriff's Department's Work Enders participants and Niwot Youth Sports Volunteers in laying sod at...
BASEBALL David Bote, son of longtime Niwot High baseball coach Bob Bote, was placed on the 60-day injured list by the Chicago Cubs on March 19 as he continues to recover from off-season shoulder surgery. Bote, an infielder, dislocated his left shoulder while reaching back to touch second base after a slide sent him past the base on May 30, 2021. He missed almost two months of the season, but returned on July 25, only to go back on the injured list with a sprained ankle August 28. He is expected...
After a week of postponements due to snow, mild spring temperatures brought a robust crowd to a Niwot junior varsity game against Fort Morgan on March 14. That included Ozzie, an 18-month old English bulldog who is the new companion of Niwot softball and wrestling coach Bobby Matthews....
The 2022 edition of the Gary Daum Classic at Niwot High School began with the traditional welcome by NHS Wrestling Coach Bobby Matthews, who introduced Garin Daum, son of the late long-time Niwot wrestling coach for whom the wrestling tournament is named. Matthews gave a history of Coach Daum's teaching and coaching career, noting that in addition to serving as Niwot High wrestling coach, he also coached softball and football while teaching special education students at Niwot. Matthews first...
Like it or not, 2022 is just around the corner, and if your plans for the new year involve bettering the world, there's no better place to start than your own community. The Left Hand Valley is home to dozens of non-profit organizations that are making a difference, and they need engaged volunteers to help them do it. No experience is necessary; there's a position for you. By volunteering, not only are you helping your community, you'll also reap the benefits from connecting with others, learnin...
CROSS COUNTRY Lucca Fulkerson (Niwot), a freshman at Princeton University, helped her squad to a second-place finish at the Lehigh Invitational Sept. 3, when all five runners crossed the 6K finish line together, good for an eighth-place tie at 22:14.8. She followed with a fourth-place finish at the Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet Sept. 11, with a time of 16:28.3 for the 4800-meter race. At the Princeton Invitational she finished seventh with a time of 21:44.2 for the 6K. At the NCAA Mid-Atlantic...
Niwot realtor Pat Murphy presented the 2021 Golden Hammer Award to long-time Niwot volunteer Julie Breyer at the Great Pumpkin Party Oct. 30. In presenting the award, Murphy noted that Breyer was first employed as a waitress at Rev Taylor's Restaurant shortly after moving to Niwot in 1986. She later became a third-grade teacher at Niwot Elementary School, where she currently teaches. Breyer has also been a volunteer for many organizations in Niwot, including the Niwot Community Association,...
Though it was the perfect fall day for outdoor sports, the outcome of a pair of games for Niwot High School's Varsity softball team was less enjoyable. The team, which had played increasingly well in the second half of their season, dropped a pair of games in regional play at Diamond Valley Community Park in Windsor. Despite the common outcome, each game couldn't have been played more differently. "I think it was a tale of two games," said Head Coach Bobby Matthews after play had finished. "In...
Niwot varsity and junior varsity softball players honored seniors Hannah Bassett, Ava McComas and Jasmine Aldama for senior night on Oct. 5. Earlier, head coach Bobby Matthews and his players learned that Niwot has qualified for the Class 4A postseason, and will travel to Windsor to play in a regional tournament against Conifer and George Washington on Oct. 16. The top two teams will advance to the Class 4A championships. The team is pictured here with head coach Bobby Matthews (right) and...
Through Oct. 3, Jasmine Aldama has put on the Niwot softball uniform a whopping 83 times in her career. The versatile senior cleanup hitter has been a valuable asset for head coach Bobby Matthews. Aldama has primarily started at third base, but has also been an option in the circle during her career. Additionally, Aldama has recently played innings in center field, a position she was familiar with on her club team. It's with a bat in her hands, however, that Aldama truly shines. Matthews said...
Behind sophomore Anne Booth and her 10 RBIs, Niwot won three out of four games at the Berthoud Invitational softball tournament, held Sept. 10-11 in Loveland. With the wins, Niwot improved to 7-7 on the year, with nine games left in the 2021 season. The tournament got off to an inauspicious start for the Cougars on Friday, as they struggled to score runs against Windsor, despite amassing 10 hits, resulting in an 11-4 loss. Booth was responsible for two of those, and senior Ayva McComas also had...
The fall sports season has officially arrived with Niwot softball kicking off its slate of non-league games. After dropping its home opener to George Washington 8-6 on Aug. 18, Niwot split a two-game round-robin tournament at Lyons High on Aug. 21. The round-robin tournament began with Niwot facing the Lyons Lions in game one. Despite a three-run homer by sophomore Anne Booth and a two-run bomb by junior Zoie Chociej, the Cougars couldn't maintain a four-run lead and lost another close battle,...
After winning two of its final three games last season, the Niwot softball team is primed for continued success in 2021. Head coach Bobby Matthews' Cougars return their ace pitcher and nearly all their offensive production with plenty to prove in the 4A Longs Peak League. Senior Ayva McComas has hit over .500 in each of her three previous seasons and will once again be a leader on the diamond. Matthews' "steady" senior shortstop was named an honorable mention to the All-State team last year and...
Barbara Angevine, longtime Niwot resident, passed away peacefully on June 1, 2021. She will be missed by her husband of 64 years, three children and two grandchildren. Peter Sprenkle of Boulder passed away June 11, 2021, of myelofibrosis at age 84. Pete began his storied softball career coaching for Gunbarrel Lefthand Valley Recreation Association (GLVRA), now known as Niwot Youth Sports and later founded the Boulder Valley Girls Softball Association. A celebration of Pete’s life will be held at Pine Street Church, 1237 Pine Street, Boulder o...
It's not easy being a high school coach, and baseball and softball coaches have extra duty to keep their programs running. While many sports run off-season programs, only baseball and softball coaches also must maintain their fields of play, as well as installing and maintaining improvements such as windscreens, bullpens, batting cages and warning tracks. School districts mow the grass, supply some watering and provide baseballs. But baseball coaches often can be found before and after games and...
Softball was not added as a high school sport for girls in the St. Vrain Valley School District until after the 1991-1992 school year. Although the Boulder Valley School District had added a girls softball program at the high school level in the late 1980s, it took an effort by area high school girls and volunteer coaches to convince the St Vrain Valley School District that there was sufficient interest to add softball to the sports available for girls in the district. In the fall of 1991, teams were formed at Niwot, Longmont, Skyline and...
Playing in his first season with the Colorado Thunderbirds hockey club, Niwot High junior Jack O’Rourke didn’t shy away from the bright lights. O’Rourke scored four total goals in three consecutive elimination games to propel the Thunderbirds’ AAA Tier One Elite 16U team to the USA Hockey National Championship Game. Although the Thunderbirds fell to the North Jersey Avalanche in the title game on May 3, the experience was an unforgettable one for O’Rourke. “Those were the biggest games we've ever played and we capitalized on it,” said O’Rourke...
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...
Thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there won't be many wrestlers hitting the mat for Niwot in 2021, but bigger isn't always better, according to longtime head coach Bobby Matthews. And what the Cougars lack in numbers, they more than make up for in experience, he said, which could mean a Niwot representative in the Class 4A state championships for the third straight year. "We're eight right now, so we're definitely down. But I think the eight that we have are solid for the most part,...
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...
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...
After spending two years as head coach of Niwot’s junior varsity baseball team and two years as NHS varsity pitching coach, Colin York’s Niwot reign came to a close in October as he accepted the head baseball coaching position at Frederick High School. “I am incredibly excited for him,” said Niwot head coach Adam Strah. “I think he's going to do a great job. I think he's ready.” York’s ability to be a rock for Niwot was one of his best attributes according to Strah. A constant and calm presence isn’t a bad trait to have in this chaotic year. ...
A promising first-five innings turned sour in the sixth for Niwot softball against Frederick on Thursday, Oct. 1. Niwot dropped its final game of the season at home, 16-4. The Cougars would finish 2020 with a 4-4 record in the Longs Peak Conference but fell short of Head coach Bobby Matthews' goal of a .500 overall record at 7-9. Although 16 was the winning number in Niwot's Sept. 24 victory over Frederick, Thursday's rematch didn't yield the same offensive output for Matthews' Cougars. Niwot...
In an eight-inning thriller east of I-25, Niwot softball upset the top-10 ranked Frederick Warriors 16-14 on its home turf on Thursday, Sept. 24. The Cougars moved to 6-8 on the season with two games remaining. Niwot played in its ninth game decided by two runs or less, but it was anything but close early on. Behind a two-run home run, Frederick scored three runs in the first inning off freshman pitcher Anne Booth before Niwot erupted for nine runs in the second. The Cougars were...
Back in mid-August, Niwot softball opened its season against Berthoud. It was not a competitive affair and the Cougars lost 15-0 in three innings. On Friday, Sept. 18, the two teams reconvened, this time in Niwot. Although Niwot lost again, 9-7, the team was hardly recognizable from a month ago. Niwot was without its freshman pitcher Anne Booth and junior shortstop Ayva McComas for the first meeting and their presence proved large in the rematch. Booth has been a workhorse all year for Niwot,...
A truncated softball season doesn't leave much room in the schedule for tournament appearances, but Niwot was able to make time for four games at the 2020 Berthoud Invitational, held Sept. 11-12 at the Barnes Softball Complex in Loveland. Thanks to clutch play on both sides of the ball from Dulce Amaya, Anne Booth, and Ayva McComas, the Cougars pulled off two wins over non-conference teams, and nearly escaped with a third win over a dreaded conference rival. While far from perfect, sixth-year...
It took just three innings for Niwot softball to roll past Thompson Valley, 17-0, on Thursday, Sept. 3. The Cougars cranked out 14 hits and freshman Anne Booth left the Eagles hitless at Centennial Park in Loveland. Niwot, which improved to 3-4, has won three of its last four games after starting the season 0-3 and being outscored 39-5. Head coach Bobby Matthews applauded his team for applying the fundamentals learned in practice to the big stage. "It's especially nice when they do the things...
Dulce means "sweet or mild" in Spanish, but the Niwot catcher by that name was a tough out on the softball diamond last week. After belting a game-tying double against Severance on Sept. 1, she exploded at the plate against Thompson Valley to lead the Cougars to a 17-0 victory. But if senior Dulce Amaya is hard on opposing pitchers, she embodies her name off the field and her relentlessly positive leadership has been a "huge" factor in his team's recent turnaround, according to Niwot head coach...
A relentless Roosevelt RoughRiders offense spoiled Niwot softball's home opener by a score of 18-0 on Saturday, Aug. 22. The Cougars dropped to 0-3 on the young season and are still looking to hit their stride in all facets of the game. Head Coach Bobby Matthews is tasked with developing a young Niwot team that includes five freshmen and just one senior. While you can't control every outcome in softball, Matthews targeted defensive communication and energy as two areas Niwot can improve upon...
Niwot softball's inexperience proved detrimental at Berthoud High School on Saturday, Aug. 15, as the Cougars dropped their season opener against the Spartans, 15-0. With four out of the nine starting Cougars fresh to the varsity level, Assistant Coach Jason Johnson said he told the girls after the game, "This won't define us." The unfamiliar stage of varsity competition is now a little more palatable for Niwot. "You could see a lot of nerves and first game jitters," Johnson said. "There's a...
