All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
Sorted by date Results 601 - 650 of 1776
There is a new sport in town as the new all-St. Vrain Valley School District boys volleyball team takes shape under experienced and seasoned coach John Miller. The "Niwot" team is comprised of athletes from multiple St. Vrain Valley School District high schools including Silver Creek High School, Longmont High School, and Erie High School. The team has students from as far away as Mead High School. The students travel daily to practice, which begins a little later than school gets out to allow...
Niwot Youth Sports, which has provided youth sports programs in the Niwot and Gunbarrel area for over 50 years, has started construction on a multi-purpose building at Hangge Fields at Monarch Park, home to six ballfields for the baseball and softball program. The Monarch Improvement Project started last fall with the design of the building, with architectural services donated by Osmosis Architecture. Porchfront Homes is the general contractor on the project and has provided discounted...
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...
On Feb. 21, Niwot Youth Sports basketball welcomed special guest Frank Ryder to practice at Flagstaff Academy. Ryder, a Boulder native and former Colorado Buffaloes center, stopped by NYS Coach Jason Christopoulos's practice to share his collegiate and professional basketball insight and experiences with local boys and girls. Ryder spent two years playing for the University of Colorado under coach Tad Boyle before transferring his senior year to the University of Denver. Following his...
Following an illustrious baseball career that included time playing, coaching and managing in the New York Mets' minor league system, 2005 Niwot High graduate Sean Ratliff is now writing a new chapter in commercial real estate. Ratliff, who helped Niwot win a pair of state championships in 2004 and 2005 before playing at Stanford University, was asked by former minor league teammate, Ike Davis, nearly four years ago to join him in the new venture. "It's commercial real estate, more or less -...
Boulder Swim Team, a midsize swimming club in Colorado, lost its long-time head coach, but wasted no time in filling the position. The club team, which includes several swimmers from the Niwot-Gunbarrel area, hired Jordan Moore-Brown, whom they described as "a promising young head coach from Tennessee." Moore-Brown's coaching resume includes 12 years of coaching experience, including leading age-group and senior swimmers into championships, All-Star teams, and USA Top 10 Times. The team's hiring...
Although the Rocky Mountain slopes are within reach, there are surprisingly few young athletes in the Front Range who ski competitively. Why? Skiing can't exactly be learned in a backyard or driveway; effort and time are required to fully appreciate the thrill of gliding down Colorado's infamous powder. But for those who've gone the extra mile, the payoff can be fruitful. Since joining the Boulder Nordic Junior Racing Team in seventh grade, Sophie Spalding has been glued to the slopes and has be...
The end of a season can bring about many emotions, but it was all smiles on Feb. 25 as the Niwot High School unified basketball team wrapped its final pair of games. Junior Natalie Carrillo was one of 11 NHS students with intellectual disabilities who hooped it up this winter, and she was simply grateful for the experience. "It's like a family," Carrillo said following Niwot's season finale, a 72-70 loss to Mead High School in a tournament hosted by Skyline High School. "Everyone's sweet and...
The bigger picture doesn't go unseen by Niwot High School senior Veer Gandhakwala. In an age where demands on students only seem to be increasing, Gandhakwala has dedicated countless hours of his time toward helping Niwot students with disabilities through the school's unified sports teams. Over the past two years, he has volunteered as a "partner" for unified basketball and bowling, two programs that offer athletic opportunities for special needs students. As a student-athlete himself in both...
Niwot High School boys basketball wrapped up the season with games on the road against the Fort Morgan Mustangs and at home against the Northridge Grizzlies Feb. 14 and Feb. 16, respectively. Niwot was competitive but lost both games, 68-61 to the Mustangs, and 57-48 to the Grizzlies, ending the season on a 10-game losing streak. The Cougars finished ninth of 10 teams in league with a record of 3-15 in Longs Peak league games, and an overall record of 5-17, winning two more games than last...
The Monarch Improvement Project at Hangge Fields at Monarch Park is starting to take shape. The Niwot Youth Sports construction project, which includes building a permanent building for concessions, storage, meetings, and permanent bathrooms, is moving forward in spite of the snow and cold weather. Niwot contractor Porchfront Homes is handling construction of the building, with Ben Beveridge serving as project manager. Larry Longseth, who served as Equipment Manager for Niwot Youth Sports for...
Niwot High School's varsity girls basketball team picked up its fourth win of the season at Fort Morgan High School (52-35) before dropping the final game of the season at home to Greeley's Northridge High School (60-20). Coach Jon Hill called the Fort Morgan victory "a good win for us. We started really slow and could tell Ft. Morgan was giving us everything they had." "Rose (Pacheco) got in foul trouble early making it really difficult to get an offense going," Hill said. Fortunately the...
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...
In the penultimate week of the Niwot High School boys basketball season, Niwot battled both the Frederick High School Golden Eagles on Tuesday, Feb. 7 and the Mountain View High School Mountain Lions on Thursday, Feb. 9. Niwot lost both games, 70-48 and 61-50 respectively. Now, 5-15 on the season, the Cougars have two more games left, trying to end the season on a higher note. Against the Golden Eagles, Niwot started strong, down only 17-13 at the end of the first quarter. Things quickly fell ou...
Despite the support of a large home crowd that came out Feb. 9 for the Niwot High School varsity girls basketball game, and the team's flashes of moxie and grit, Niwot coach Jon Hill's young varsity squad succumbed to a disciplined Mountain View High School team that jumped out to an early 7-0 lead and never trailed. The Mountain Lions' balanced attack had three double-digit scorers and used a smothering, pressure defense, challenging the Cougars in the backcourt by posting 20 steals and making...
Niwot High School wrestlers came up short of qualifying for the state tournament, but three wrestlers placed at the regional tournament. "We had two sixth-place finishes and one fifth-place," head coach Bobby Matthews said after the Feb. 11 tournament. "It didn't live up to my expectations," Matthews said, "but I saw growth throughout the season, and it finished pretty well." Youth and inexperience as well as injuries haunted the Cougars this season, with only one senior on the squad. The lone...
When Niwot resident Carolyn Bradley steps onto the field of battle, she comes armed with strategy. Keep your opponents at the baseline. Get yourself and your partner to the net. Drop the ball low and tight just into the "kitchen." Stay focused. "I'm realizing I don't hit it hard enough so the better players can put it away," Bradley admitted. "I have to improve that as well as my short game." She was talking, of course, about pickleball, the wildly popular racket sport. "I always enjoyed...
Overall, head coach Ella Thramann would consider her first year leading the Niwot High School girls swim program a success. The Cougars wrapped up their season at the Class 4A state championships on Feb. 9, and led by senior Jamieson Legh, took fourth as a team at the Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton. “I'm very happy with how it ended,” Thramann said. “They all just swim amazingly. Jamieson had first in the 100 butterfly and 100 back, so that was cool to watch her get that first place in those.” After finishing runner-up at state in...
Niwot Youth Sports (NYS) basketball is in full swing, with 200 youth participants this winter competing in the Rocky Mountain Youth Basketball league. NYS is fielding 15 teams this winter and teams have played four weekends of action thus far. There are two more weekends of regular season play followed by an end of season tournament Feb. 27 through March 4. NYS teams play against local talent from Rocky Mountain Youth Sports Upward League and Carbon Valley Recreation Center. In addition to...
Jordyn Ballard has come a long way since interning with the Left Hand Valley Courier during her senior year at Silver Creek High School eight years ago. Following a memorable three-plus year run working in the athletics communications department at West Texas A&M University, Ballard accepted the position of Associate Director of Athletic Communications at Kansas State University in December. She moved to Manhattan, Kansas, in January and is currently preparing for the Wildcats' upcoming spring...
Niwot High School's boys basketball team continued a three-game slide last week, doubling up on a previous three-game losing streak, falling to the Severance Silver Knights, the Skyline Falcons, and the Thompson Valley Eagles. Starting at 5-7 prior to the slide, Niwot looked strong relative to previous years, but inconsistent production has plagued the team ever since. The first of the three games came against Severance last Tuesday. Niwot lost 86-50 struggling to get rolling in a 26-15 first...
For quite a few Niwot girls swimmers, the Longs Peak League Championships on Feb. 4 was a back and forth trek from the pool to the podium. Charlotte Heuer and Jamieson Legh each won a pair of individual races, Steph Mow led the 100 backstroke and Rowan Lavigne secured the 100 breaststroke gold to help give head coach Ella Thramann a league title in her inaugural season guiding the program. The Cougars also topped the competition in three relays: the 200 medley, 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle....
Everything is coming together at the best time possible for Izzy Fay, the lone diver on the Niwot girls swim and dive team. In Niwot's final meet before the state championships, Fay ran away with a first-place finish at the Longs Peak League Championships on Feb. 4. Her score of 450.85 was about 85 points higher than the next-closest diver. "This is probably my best meet so far, to be honest," Fay said soon after her final dive at the Mountain View Aquatics Center in Loveland. "But my season is...
Showing great poise and determination, Niwot High School's young varsity girls basketball squad picked up its third win of the season on Feb. 2 with a hard-fought 41-31 victory over cross-town rival Skyline High School. The Cougars suffered two lop-sided losses in their other two games last week, losing to Severance High School, 75-13, and to Thompson Valley High School, 60-14. With similar records coming into Thursday's Skyline game, both teams were well-matched. The Niwot Community...
The Niwot High School Cougars outscored crosstown rival Silver Creek High School 58-51 in a high-scoring, co-ed Unified Basketball game. Coaches Dawn Zwisler and Amy Holle led a fired-up group of athletes and partners to an exciting win Thursday, Jan. 26, at Niwot High School. A large, revved up crowd awaiting the boys varsity game vs Riverdale Ridge High School, nearly filled the bleachers as the Unified team from Niwot got out of the gate quickly, blazing an 8-2 opening tear. Throughout the...
It hasn’t been an easy season for the young Niwot High School boys wrestling team. Wins have been tough to assemble and with a limited number of opportunities remaining, head coach Bobby Matthews wants his Cougars to continue “pushing forward.” As regionals loom (Feb. 10-11), staying focused becomes even more important with state championship spots up for grabs. Sophomore Ryder Evans and juniors Eric Falcon and Gavin Burrage, a trio of bright spots for the Cougars, are faced with the challenge of being at their best in February. Momentum is ke...
The Niwot High School boys basketball team had two matchups this week, facing off against the Roosevelt Roughriders and the Riverdale Ridge Ravens, as the Cougars' game against the Battle Mountain Huskies was canceled on Saturday. The Cougars went 0-2 for the week, losing 59-50 against the Roughriders, and 78-72 to the Ravens. The Cougars are now 5-10 on the year. Niwot's first game of the week came on Tuesday when the Cougars took on the Roughriders in a back-and-forth thriller. The game...
Looking back at her nearly-complete Niwot High School girls swim career, the relationships Rowan Lavigne has built come to the senior's mind almost immediately. "Since freshman year, I've made my best friends on the team," Lavigne said. "I'm (grateful to) have my last season with them and everybody." Lavigne has grown particularly close with a pair of fellow seniors who've joined her at the state championships the past three seasons, Julianna Strope and Stephanie Mow. Four years ago as freshmen...
The Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) Legislative Council approved a plan to increase the pay structure for high school game officials in Colorado on Jan. 24 by a strong majority vote. In addition to addressing Colorado's need to improve officials' pay, the effort is also being promoted as a way to help address the shortage of game officials across all sports. A CHSAA press release stated, "The proposal, which is a 3-year gradual increase structure beginning next school year...
A young group of mostly sophomore Niwot High School girls picked up just their second basketball win of the season in Tuesday's home matchup with visiting Fort Morgan High School. The convincing 53-23 score against the winless Mustangs had to have provided a boost of confidence going into Saturday's matchup with Northridge High School in Greeley. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to overcome a strong Northridge onslaught, with the Cougars on the short end of the 55-37 final score. With just two...
The first two years of Eric Falcon's Niwot High School wrestling career didn't go according to plan. Beset by the COVID-19 pandemic and a leg injury, he was unable to dedicate his complete focus to the sport until his junior season. Success began to follow and now as a senior, the 165-pound Falcon has cemented himself as one of Niwot's top wrestlers. Two of his best meets this season resulted in second-place finishes at the Wheat Ridge Invitational on Dec. 10, and at the Alameda Wrestling...
The Niwot High School boys basketball team played three games this week, taking on the Mountain View Mountain Lions on Tuesday, the Fort Morgan Mustangs on Thursday, and the Northridge Grizzlies on Saturday. Niwot lost their Tuesday and Saturday games but won their Thursday game in a last-second thriller. The first of the matchups was a 56-43 loss to Mountain View where Niwot's early struggles got the best of them. Getting outscored 17-6 in the first quarter, the game fell out of reach early,...
First-year coach Ella Thramann was pleased with the performance of her swimmers and diver Jan. 21 at the District Swimming and Diving Meet at Mountain View High School, but disappointed with a second-place finish. The Cougars took second to cross-town rival Silver Creek, which took top honors among the six schools competing, outsourcing the Cougars 645 to 580. Thramann said the Cougars didn't realize how deep the Silver Creek team was. "I think they have 47 girls to our 35," she said. Thramann...
The Niwot High School boy's basketball team had two matchups this week, one against the Thompson Valley Eagles, and the other against the Frederick Golden Eagles. The first of the two games was against Thompson Valley on Tuesday, where Niwot failed to generate offense, losing 68-52. The second game landed on Thursday where Niwot struggled to get past Fredrick, losing 80-55. In the matchup between Niwot and Thompson Valley, the Cougars started off cold, giving up a 13-point run at the beginning of the game, resulting in Niwot being down 23-11...
Three meets in a busy week kicked off earlier this month at the Mountain Vista Invitational Jan. 7 where the Niwot High School swim and dive team placed 11th in a field of 23 teams. Highlights included Rowan Lavigne's ninth-place finish in the 100 freestyle, seventh in the 100 breaststroke, and 10th in the 200 freestyle relay with teammates Stephanie Mow, Catherine Knight and junior Reese Lavigne. First-year coach Ella Thramann was pleased with the team's performance, especially since only half...
While Niwot High School girls basketball's first win of 2022-23 was inarguably a team effort, few Cougars were as critical to the victory as Molly Slupik. A junior starting forward, Slupik had dominant runs in multiple aspects of her game, all contributing to a 42-39 win at Skyline High School on Jan. 14. Her physicality on the boards, particularly on the offensive side, stood out the most for head coach Jon Hill. "I told her she's got to get on the offense glass," Hill said. "She worked her...
The Niwot girls basketball team is winless no more. Following an 0-9 start to the Niwot High School girls basketball season, head coach Jon Hill's Cougars rallied late in the game to beat the Skyline Falcons on Jan. 14, marking the program's first victory since last February. The celebration that ensued following the 42-39 win was special for a team that had maintained both its confidence and work ethic throughout a difficult stretch. "We've been doing a lot of the right things and the results...
Niwot High School Athletic Director Joe Brown announced that girls soccer coach Jenna Machado has resigned due to the time demands of a growing family. With informal workouts beginning, Brown did not have to look far to find an interim coach to take over the program. Niwot High boys soccer coach Stephen Dimit agreed to step in and serve as head coach for the 2023 season. Dimit is no stranger to NHS girls soccer, having served as head coach for the girls program in 2017, 2018 and 2019. When...
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...
Niwot High School's wrestling coach, Bobby Matthews, opened the Gary Daum Classic wrestling tournament with a brief tribute to the late NHS wrestling coach, then asked the crowd to join him in a moment of silence in honor of the memory of Daum's daughter Lindsay and his granddaughter Meadow who died tragically last summer. Following the national anthem, the tournament began with 15 schools competing at Niwot High School, including schools as small as Lyons High School and as large as Boulder...
Now in her eighth year as Niwot High School girls' gymnastics coach, Marisa Purcell and her assistant coach, Maddi York, took a young squad to the 4A gymnastics state championships in Thornton where they finished third, but only seven tenths of a point from second place. After graduating six seniors in the spring of 2022, this team of mostly freshmen and sophomores had to first learn to be a team in a sport that traditionally emphasizes individual performances prior to entering high school. As...
The Niwot High School boys basketball team (4-4) faced off against the Skyline High School Falcons (3-5) this past Friday, playing their first game of the new year. The Cougars were triumphant in their return as they won in a nail-biting 59-53 win, snapping a streak of four straight losses, putting them at 4-4 on the season. The 53 points allowed were highlighted by a second-quarter defensive shutdown that resulted in only six points notched by Skyline, with Niwot's 22 points in the fourth...
Although only a sophomore, Ryder Evans has proven early on that he can compete against Colorado's top wrestlers. The 126-pound Niwot High underclassman owns an 18-5 record so far this season and his focus remains locked on qualifying for the state tournament. With several of the area's best wrestlers coming to Evans' home gym at Niwot High School for the Gary Daum Classic on Jan. 7, he was given an opportunity to test his skills against other state hopefuls. Evans made quick work of his first...
Niwot High School boys basketball's final game of 2022 against local rival, the Longmont High School Trojans, resulted in Niwot's 50-33 loss. The loss compliments a theme of defensive success, but a lack of offensive production which has cost the Cougars long-term. The 50 points allowed were highlighted by a fourth-quarter shutdown that resulted in only six points being notched, with Niwot's 16 points in the third quarter shining some hope on an otherwise poor offensive performance. Niwot...
For the first time since breaking his ankle as a sophomore, Alexander Long finally feels like a "complete basketball player" midway through his senior season at Niwot High School. "I didn't really rebound until this year - just strength and stuff in my ankle," Long said. "It's good to finally be able to run and have it not hurt or bother me, it's not in my mind." On the court, Long takes the most pride in his defensive abilities. He may not light up the scoreboard offensively, but the Cougar...
Overall, it was a mixed bag of results for the Niwot High School wrestling team at the Keith Kilker Memorial boys wrestling event held from Dec.16-17 in Keenesburg. The Cougars left Weld Central High School 3-4 in duals with junior Gavin Burrage going a perfect 8-0 in the 190-pound class and sophomore Ryder Evans finishing 6-1 at 126 pounds. Those two, in particular, entered winter break as definite bright spots for the young Niwot team. A few other Cougars also enjoyed some success in Keenesburg. Per head coach Bobby Matthews, Moi Carmona...
First-year coach Tony Engel stepped in to take over for Daisha Agho, and took Niwot High School's girls volleyball team to State, finishing 21-9 on the season and 10-1 in league play. That record doesn't show that five of those nine losses came against just two very strong Windsor High School and Thompson Valley High School teams. Engel's daughter, junior Addison Engel led the charge. Named 2nd team all-state at middle blocker, Addison recorded an impressive season statistically and was named Lo...
With three minutes to go in the first half against Longmont High School, the Niwot High School girls basketball team was matching the more experienced Trojans point for point. Niwot junior Molly Slupik made a layup to even the score. But with the teams tied at 18-18, the wheels fell off for the Cougars. Longmont went on a 12-0 run to take a commanding lead, and the outcome was no longer in doubt. Turnovers by Niwot and hot shooting by the Trojans from 3-point range put Longmont up 30-18 before S...
The Niwot High School girls swim and dive team entered winter break on a high note by topping the Class 4A field at the REX Memorial Coaches Invite on Dec. 17. Niwot placed 12th overall, but the team's 244 points were the most amongst the 13 Class 4A schools competing, which included local foes Longmont High School and Silver Creek High School. Jamieson Legh was once again the Cougars' standout as the senior took second in the 100 butterfly (55.87 seconds) and third in the 50 freestyle (23.99)...
