All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
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In their final night game of 2017, the Cougars lost 69-0 to conference opponent Broomfield in front of the home crowd at Everly Montgomery Field Oct. 19. It was Niwot’s eighth loss of the season and third straight shut-out. Senior quarterback Matt Baun went 9-for-16 with 59 yards passing and led the Cougars in rushing, gaining 15 yards on four carries. His freshman counterpart, Ayden Bartko, was 1-for-3 passing, with –7 yards on the ground. Sophomore running back Liam Flanagan was back in the...
With a season-high score of 178.35, the Niwot gymnastics team finished third in the 2017 Front Range League championships, behind Class 5A teams Thornton (184.325) and Broomfield (183.225). Individually, Niwot’s Lindsay Chohon placed third in the all-around competition, with a fourth-place finish in beam and a fifth-place in both the floor and vault. “You come to this meet, and you just put it all out there,” Niwot head coach Marisa Purcell said following the seven-team competition, which also...
Niwot freshman Taylor James took top honors and junior Maggie Smith put an exclamation point on her comeback this season with an impressive fourth-place finish at the Class 4A Region 3 meet at Lyons H.S. last Thursday. With a time of 19 minutes 27 seconds, Smith finished right behind Valor Christian runners Keely Jones and Taylor Whitfield (2nd and 3rd) to post her first top-five time of the year. Smith and freshman James settled in at the head of the pack early, and led as a tandem until James...
The Cougars will have to wait a few more weeks for their next chance to avenge last year’s heartbreaking playoff loss to the Holy Family Tigers. In five riveting sets, Ali Travis and the Tigers clawed their way back from a 0-2 deficit to hand the Cougars their third loss of the season 25-23, 25-23, 15-25, 17-25, 15-17. The Cougars started strong and took the first two sets on the strength of their blocks, led by juniors Emma Falk and Zoe Gonzales, who ended the night with eight apiece. Senior J...
The Niwot boys tennis team won at least one match in all seven championship brackets last weekend, but failed to finish in the top-three at the Class 4A State Championships for the first time since 2008. The Cougars earned 25 points over the three-day tournament, 10 points behind third-place Cheyenne Mountain, which posted its best team finish since winning the state title in 2012. With individual wins in four of the seven brackets, Kent Denver claimed their fifth consecutive state title with...
When the two best teams in the Northern League met on Sept. 14, the Cougars eked out a thrilling five-set win over the Longmont Trojans that had fans on the edge of their seats the whole way. Unfortunately for Cougars fans, the equally intense rematch on Oct. 10 did not have an equally happy outcome. Niwot came back from a two-set deficit to force a decisive fifth game, but could not pull off the unlikely comeback, falling to the Trojans 16-25, 23-25, 25-16, 25-22, 13-15. “Obviously it s...
Since their breakout performances in Arizona last month, the Niwot cross country teams have been gearing up for the postseason, which kicks off this week with the Class 4A Region 3 meet at Lyons High on Thursday. The top four teams in that race will advance to the state meet later this month in Colorado Springs. “We’re not going to make a big deal out of beating anyone and everyone,” said Niwot head coach Kelly Christensen of his team’s mindset heading into the regional qualifier, where the Coug...
The Niwot Cougars suffered their fourth shutout of the year last Thursday, losing 63-0 to the fourth-ranked Loveland Indians at Ray Patterson Field. Still depleted by injuries and ineligibility, Niwot once again found itself with inexperienced starters at key positions, and wasn’t able to put much of a dent in the Indians’ stingy defense. Sophomore Eric Ruiz and junior Daemonte Terry were the running backs du jour for the Cougars, and they had some success toward the end of the game. Ruiz man...
The Niwot gymnastics team closed out the regular season dual schedule against the Class 5A Broomfield Eagles on Oct. 11. Despite winning four of the top six all-around spots, the Cougars fell to the Eagles by a score of 180.775 to 175.9. Junior Lindsay Chohon captured second all-around for Niwot with a first-place finish in the vault. Niwot freshman Grace Stephenson was third overall, followed by sophomore Taylor Green in fourth. Senior Lilliana Martin, who was fully cleared from injury the... Full story
With a week to think it over, Niwot head soccer coach Stephen Dimit admitted that there was a silver lining in last week’s double-overtime loss to Centaurus after all. “We learned a lot from the overtime game on Thursday,” he said, after his team’s 4-1 victory over Thompson Valley on Oct 12. Earlier in the week, Niwot avenged a tough 1-0 loss to second-ranked Silver Creek last year by handing the Raptors their first loss of the 2017 season on an overtime goal by Manny Tapia.. “So we knew what...
Niwot cruised to a convincing three-set road victory over cross-town foe Silver Creek last Tuesday night, winning the season series for the second year in a row. Sophomore Emma Shiers served up a team-high eight aces in the 25-16, 25-19, 25-23 match, and also had 10 digs and two kills. Juniors Emma Falk and Audrey Richard each had nine kills and an ace apiece, while senior Mackenzie Fidelak had eight kills, two blocks, and 13 assists. Junior Madison Schoeder, a transfer student who is now...
Before taking it up eight years ago, Niwot No. 2 singles player Riley Black had no interest in tennis. “I actually didn’t want to play, but my mom made me try it,” the talented right-hander said, adding that his preferred sport at the time was baseball. “But I ended up liking it, and here we are.” For Black, ‘here’ is on the on the eve of his third straight appearance in the Class 4A state tennis tournament. As a freshman in 2015, Black and partner Riley Mulshine lost in the quarterfinals... Full story
The Cougars opened their conference schedule with a 56-0 loss to the Brighton Bulldogs on Homecoming. “I was proud of a lot of different kids and their efforts,” Niwot head coach Jeremy Lanter said following the Cougars’ third shutout of the year last Friday night. “You could tell we were disconnected at certain times in certain things tonight offensively, but they’re working hard for us right now. I wish we could capitalize on that and get some W's on the board, but that’s not where we ar...
For Niwot head tennis coach Miikka Keronen, his team’s 8-3 regular season record is nice, but the postseason is where all the action is. “The real season starts on the first day of regionals,” he said before the final rounds of last week’s Class 4A Region 5 tournament at the Longmont Recreation Center. “Now we just have to finish the job.” The Cougars did indeed finish the job, notching victories in five of the day’s seven championship matches to capture the 2017 Region 5 title. All four doub...
Despite an unfortunate performance on the first day of the tournament, Niwot golfer Jack Hoover was sanguine during Round 2 of this year’s Class 4A State Golf Tournament at Raccoon Creek Golf Course in Littleton. “Yesterday was a little rough,” he admitted after putting for par on the fourth hole on Tuesday. “Today, so far, I’m pretty good. Off the tee, I’ve hit pretty well. I’ve struggled on the greens today, but that’s golf.” Hampered by unseasonably damp weather, the junior carded double-bog... Full story
For Niwot junior Audrey Richard, volleyball isn’t just a sport, it’s a family tradition. “I’ve been playing volleyball since I was three or four, when my Mom first coached me playing rec,” said the second-year varsity player. “Both of my older sisters also played, and that was just the kind of environment I lived in. I wanted to take after them, and it’s always been a part of my life.” Both of the older Richard girls left their mark on Niwot. Oldest sister Meghan (’14) was the Cougars’ starting...
After an eight-day gap between games, the Niwot boys soccer team finally returned to the pitch last Thursday, but the Cougars didn’t exactly pick up where they left off. After back-to-back six-goal games against Green Mountain and Northridge, the Cougars mustered just two goals in 78 minutes against an underachieving Greeley Central team, and needed a late penalty kick from Jonathan Jimenez-Flores to finally dispatch the troublesome Wildcats 3-2. For Niwot head coach Stephen Dimit, the effects o... Full story
Jaila Johnson and Reagan Wills combined for six hits, five RBI, and two stolen bases last Saturday to lead Niwot to a 12-7 win over Ft. Lupton. Senior Aleris Law also had a pair of hits, while her younger sister Calista Law knocked in a pair of runs in the Cougars’ fifth win of the season. Junior Savannah Rafkin batted in two runs with her first triple of the year, tying Johnson for team lead in RBI with 22. She is now hitting .542 on the year, second behind Johnson (.640). Nikki Sims e...
When these two teams met back on Sept. 5, Niwot dispatched then-winless Thompson Valley without much trouble, downing the Eagles in three quick sets 25-20, 25-15, 25-19. But a much different Thompson Valley team took the court last Thursday night, and it would take some late heroics from the Cougars’ big hitters to put the Eagles away this time. “Thompson Valley has improved a lot,” said Niwot head coach Daisha Agho following the hard-fought 25-12, 15-25, 26-24, 25-19 victory. “I knew they we... Full story
The Niwot cross country teams turned some heads at the Desert Twilight XC Festival in Casa Grande, AZ last weekend with surprise third-place finishes for both the boys and the girls. More than 100 teams from Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas competed in the meet, which is held on a lighted course after sundown. Niwot’s runners ran in the Sweepstakes race, which featured more than 200 runners from the region’s top cross country programs. Led by freshman Taylor James, who fin...
It was déjà vu all over again for Cougar fans in the opening minutes of the game against the undefeated Skyline Falcons last Friday night. Just like the week before against Mountain View, Niwot’s first three possessions ended in a turnover, a punt, and another turnover, and with just five minutes off the clock, the Cougars found themselves down by double digits. The rest of the game had a strangely familiar feel as well. A banged-up Cougar defense tried in vain to stop Skyline’s rushing jugge... Full story
As an avid student of psychology, Niwot senior Aleris Law knows a little bit about how the human mind works. So when asked about her newfound success at the plate for the Cougar softball team this year, she had a ready explanation. “I think I’m just a lot more relaxed. The past couple of years, there have been a lot of really heavy hitters on our team and all of these people going off to play softball in college,” she explained, citing former Niwot pitcher Grace Ladd, now in her freshman year at...
Niwot couldn’t overcome Lewis Palmer on the court three weeks ago, but even a loss to the 4A defending champions has its advantages. When CHSAA unveiled its initial 2017 Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) rankings for the fall sports last week, the Cougars found themselves alone at the top of the list, if just for a few days. The RPI, which ranks teams based on win/loss record and strength of schedule, determines post-season seeding for volleyball, football, softball and soccer. For Niwot head c... Full story
It was clear early on that the Cougars weren’t destined for their first win of the season last Friday night against Mountain View. Two turnovers put the Cougars behind in the opening minutes, and it really didn’t get much better from there in the 51-6 loss. Nonetheless, there were glimpses of an improving team, and more than once the Cougars were able to put together some big plays. Though Niwot head coach Jeremy Lanter knows his team has a long way to go, he said the players are still committed...
If Niwot golfer Jack Hoover was intimidated by the prospect of playing with defending state champion Luke Trujillo at the Class 4A Region 1 tournament at Elmwood Golf Course in Pueblo, he didn’t show it beforehand. In fact, his reaction was exactly the opposite, according to Niwot head golf coach Ed Weaver. “He was totally excited about it,” Weaver said of the junior, who took first or second in four of Niwot’s ten regular season events this year. Trujillo, who was -4 over 2 rounds at the 201... Full story
For Niwot senior Jaila Johnson, last Tuesday was memorable for at least two reasons: it was her 17th birthday and she threw her first career no-hitter. Johnson faced just 10 batters in the Cougars’ rule-shortened 20-0 win over the Centaurus Warriors, striking out the last two batters she faced. At the plate, she extended her hitting streak to six games, going three-for-four with two doubles and three RBI. She now leads the Cougars with 29 hits and 20 RBI, and her team-best .644 average also l...
In the Cougars home game against the Air Academy Kadets last weekend, Niwot linebacker Shane Timmerman did something he’s never done before -- gained positive yards on offense. “Today I got my first run at running back and I loved it,”Timmerman said after the game. In his short stint as the Cougars’ running back late in their loss to the Kadets, he gained 12 yards on three carries after Liam Flanagan went out with an injury. When Timmerman volunteered to serve as backup running back earlier... Full story
Running as a pack, the Niwot boys and girls cross country teams both took first place at the RE-1J District meet in convincing fashion. Paced by sophomore Cruz Culpepper, the Niwot boys had five of the race’s ten fastest times to take first place with 21 points. Lyons was second on the day, with 58 points, followed by Mead (60) and Erie (104). Culpepper took second overall with a time of 17 minutes, 51.79 seconds, followed by seniors Ethan Steiner (17:53.15) in third, Oskar Wells (17.55.64) in f... Full story
Niwot almost got more than it could handle from Longmont last Thursday night, needing five sets to secure its seventh win of the season, 26-24, 21-25, 22-25, 25-19,15-13. The Cougars had difficulty with serve receipt at several points during the first three sets, and communication between the front and back lines was clearly an ongoing problem. After falling behind 2-1 to the hard-hitting Trojans, Niwot seemed on the verge of its first conference loss since 2015. But clutch points from juniors...
The Niwot Cougars snapped a nine-game losing streak last Friday with a 22-5 win over the Greeley Central Wildcats. Junior Savannah Rafkin went 4-for-4 with four RBI in the winning effort, and also had a stolen base. Senior Jaila Johnson also had four RBI on the day, while sophomore Nikki Sims had four hits and a stolen base. The win capped off a better week for the Cougars, who seem to have found their groove on offense. On Monday, Niwot exploded for 23 hits against Northridge, but committed 13...
Photo Gallery: Niwot vs. Air Academy (Sep. 16)... Full story
Although the Cougars didn’t come away with a win in their home opener against the Summit Tigers last Friday night, Niwot head coach Jeremy Lanter has no doubt his team is headed in the right direction. After reviewing game film of Niwot’s 27-15 loss to the Tigers, the coach said he saw improvement across the board. “We did so much better. We grew in just about every area of what we were doing.” Led by sophomore quarterback Noah Peña, the Cougars’ offense generated 213 total yards, nearly dou... Full story
Sophomore Sam Hoover finally caught up with big brother Jack at Northern League Event #7 at Indian Peak Golf Course on Sept. 5. The Hoovers both shot an 83 (+11), and finished tied for 11th on the day. Luc Blondeau (116) and Luke Martinez (116) also tied, but a little further down the leaderboard, in 41st place. The Cougars took eighth in the team competition. Niwot will play its final Northern League Event of the season at Ute Creek Golf Course on Sep. 12. On Sep. 18, they travel to Pueblo for... Full story
The Niwot boys tennis team continued its romp through the Northern League last week with consecutive 7-0 victories over Northridge and Silver Creek. On Sept. 5, Niwot hosted Northridge at Affolter Park in Longmont, one of the Cougars’ temporary homes while the Niwot High courts are being resurfaced. Niwot won all seven matches in straight sets, dropping just 13 of the 84 games. Freshman Neil Wilcox remained unbeaten on the year, after his 6-0, 6-0 victory over Northridge senior Bryan Decker a... Full story
The Niwot boys soccer team narrowly averted a tick in the loss column last week, instead settling for a tie in the first road trip of the season. Even with 100 minutes to do so, the Niwot offense couldn’t find the back of the net at Skyline. Fortunately, as they did so many times last year, Mario Munoz and the Cougars’ defense came to the rescue once again, keeping the deceptively fast Falcons out of the net as well. Nevertheless, Niwot head soccer coach Steve Dimit was less than pleased wit...
Going into the 2017 season, Niwot’s new head volleyball coach Daisha Agho counted the Silver Creek Raptors among the potential roadblocks on her team’s path to the state title. As the Cougars’ chief rival for the Northern League title this year, Agho knew the outcome of this highly anticipated early season matchup would set the tone for the rest of the season. So when the Cougars swept the Raptors in front of a boisterous home crowd last Thursday night, Agho was more than a little relie... Full story
The first thing you notice about Niwot’s Jason Rodriguez is the bright shock of unruly blonde hair that falls over his forehead. The second thing you notice is that he is one impressive soccer player. In three games for the Cougars this season, the senior captain has scored three key goals, including both in his team’s 2-1 win over non-conference rival Holy Family on Aug. 31. He also had the game-winner in Niwot’s 3-1 victory over Skyview in its season opener. His explosive speed, combi...
Despite a case of opening night jitters and a rash of minor injuries, the Niwot gymnastics team opened their 2017 campaign with a narrow victory over the visiting Fort Collins Lambkins on Aug. 30. Senior Lindsay Chohon took first for Niwot in the all-around competition with a score of 37.100 points, just a hair’s breadth over Melia Beccard’s 37.075 for Fort Collins. Niwot sophomore Taylor Green (35.450) was third overall on the night, and freshman Grace Stephenson (32.250) was sixth in her hig...
Niwot golfer Jack Hoover isn’t exactly sure what went wrong during his round at Niwot’s home tournament at Twin Peaks Golf Course on Aug. 22, but he is committed to preventing a repeat. After going +12 on the front nine, including a triple-bogey on the seventh, followed by consecutive double-bogeys on the next two holes, the junior finished the day at +16, putting him 13th overall, his worst finish in a league event so far this year. But in the three tournaments since then, Hoover has been on...
Boulder 4, Niwot 3 The Niwot boys tennis team lost its rescheduled match against the Boulder Panthers on Aug. 28, 4-3. Niwot swept the singles matches, with freshman Neil Irwin beating his Boulder opponent in the No. 1 match 6-0, 6-3. The Niwot doubles pairs were in turn swept by the Panthers, but the Cougars’ No. 3 doubles pair, sophomore Anton Lavrouk and freshman Xavier Moy, made their Panthers’ opponents work just a little harder, going down in three sets 3-6, 7-5, 6-7. Singles — 1. Neil... Full story
Coach Jeremy Lanter and his new look Niwot Cougars stumbled just a bit coming out of the gate last Friday night, with an 18-0 loss to the Adams City Eagles in their season opener. Led by rookie quarterback Noah Peña, the Cougars fumbled three times and gained less than 75 total yards in the shutout. Senior back Anton Sandoval had 62 yards on the ground and was responsible for almost all of Niwot’s sporadic offensive highlights. After the game, Lanter readily admitted that the Cougars have so... Full story
The Niwot boys soccer team passed an early season test with back-to-back wins over top-ranked teams Holy Family (0-1) and Standley Lake (0-2-1). With the wins, the Cougars moved to 3-0 on the season to enjoy sole possession of first place in the Northern League. In the match against Holy Family on Aug. 31, the Cougars’ front was once again aggressive on the attack out of the gate. Holy Family’s defense, led by Abel Campos, managed to fend them off until the 17th minute when Niwot senior Jas...
The Niwot Cougars cross country teams kicked-off their 2017 season Aug. 25 at the Vista Nation XC 2-Mile Invitational in Highlands Ranch. Both Niwot varsity teams finished fourth on the day, with the girls just five points out of second place. Overall, Niwot head coach Kelly Christensen was cheered by the results, although he acknowledged the boys’ performance was “a little flat,” mostly due to a recent spate of illness and minor injuries. “Comparing it to last year, we’re light years ahead of... Full story
The Niwot softball team hit a tough stretch in their schedule, and now find themselves upside down in the win/loss column. After a 17-1 blowout loss to conference powerhouse Mountain View at home on Aug. 29, the Cougars dropped four straight games at the Erie Festival of Champions on Sep. 1 & 2. With another quick succession of tough conference opponents on tap next week (Silver Creek, Longmont, Northridge), it could be awhile before the Cougars can climb out of this hole. 8/29 — Mountain V...
The Niwot Cougars cross country teams kicked-off their 2017 season Aug. 25 at the Vista Nation XC 2-Mile Invitational in Highlands Ranch. The small, highly competitive meet attracted many of the state’s top teams and runners, including meet host and Class 5A powerhouse Mountain Vista, as well as perennial 4A favorite Palmer Ridge. Both Niwot varsity teams finished fourth on the day, with the girls just five points out of second place. Overall, Niwot head coach Kelly Christensen was cheered by t...
The Niwot boys golf team was back in familiar territory last week, with two league tournaments at local venues. On Aug. 22, Cougars head coach Ed Weaver played host to a 9-team field for Northern League #4 at Longmont’s Twin Peaks Golf Course. Thanks to an unexpectedly uneven round from Niwot number-one Jack Hoover, the home team finished 50 strokes off the lead to come in fifth overall. Hoover shot +12 on the front nine, with a triple-bogey on the seventh, followed by consecutive d...
In three seasons with Niwot softball, there isn’t a position that senior Jaila Johnson hasn’t played. Though a native of the infield, she has taken her turns in the outfield, done a stint as relief pitcher, and was even pressed into starting catcher duty as a sophomore. After this week, the Western Nebraska-bound senior can add one more position to her resume: starting pitcher. Johnson was a bit rusty in her return trip to the mound in the Cougars’ season opener on Aug. 22, but was able to ge... Full story
It’s hard to describe the past decade of Niwot football without using the word tumultuous. After two classification changes, three head coaching changes, and an abysmal win-loss record, the program’s successes have been few and far between. Last spring, longtime Berthoud defensive coordinator Jeremy Lanter was tasked with rehabilitating the Niwot program, a challenge the first year head coach has taken to heart. As the 2017 season looms, Lanter has a roster full of exciting young players and...
The Niwot boys soccer team cleared the first hurdle on its path to the post season with a 3-1 victory over the visiting Skyview Wolverines in their season debut Aug. 24. Niwot was aggressive on the attack out of the gate, and kept the ball in the Skyview third for most of the first half. The front three generated several scoring chances for the Cougars, and finally got on the board when junior forward Manual Tapia punched in a centering pass from senior wing Andres Montealegre in the 20th...
New Niwot volleyball coach Daisha Agho admits she has lofty expectations for senior Mackenzie Fidelak in 2017. And why shouldn’t she? The powerful 6’4” middle hitter has become one of the area’s most exciting players, with more than enough skills to lead the Cougars to their second consecutive regional title. But to get the Cougars into the deeper rounds of the Class 4A tournament, Agho will be relying on her captain for more than just her athletic ability. “I am looking for her to assume a...
