All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
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The Niwot High School Cougars opened their football season under the Friday night lights at Everly-Montgomery Field in Longmont in a back-and-forth game against the Greeley Central Wildcats, coming away with a 22-16 win in a hard-fought contest. The Cougars took the opening kickoff and brought it back to their 20-yard line. The Niwot offense produced a solid drive up to the Wildcat 20-yard line, with a combination of dives into the line and screen passes. But the drive would be cut short in the...
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...
The Niwot Cougars took sixth place overall, and third among Class 4A teams at the Frederick Classic Aug. 25. Junior Emmett Shell led the squad with a 72, while sophomore Drew Stapp finished at 79 at the Coyote Creek Golf Course. Sawyer Bennett, a junior, shot an 83 while junior Brighton Langenegger finished at 87. The top three scores count in the standings as the Cougars finished with a 234, one stroke ahead of Berthoud at 235....
While Niwot boys tennis head coach Aimee Hites expects senior and No. 1 singles player Luke Weber to finish top three in Class 4A, it’s her No. 1 doubles team of freshman Oskar Hansen and sophomore Sebastian Moy that has amazed her the most. The Cougars’ young duo is already among the strongest in recent program history, Hites believes. “Our one-doubles is probably the best one-doubles team I've ever coached, so that's exciting,” Hites said. “They're winning the majority of their matches.” Per MaxPreps, Hansen and Moy are 2-1 through Aug...
There was plenty of sunshine and throngs of bold colored, crisp NFL flag jerseys running around the outfields of the Biff Warren Baseball Complex on Sunday, Aug. 28, for opening weekend of the fall 2022 Niwot Youth Sports Flag Football season. Two outfields at the complex are transformed each Sunday into regulation size NFL flag fields for the 13 teams competing this fall. Each team chooses an NFL team to represent, complete with reversible jerseys in team colors and with team logos. Back to run...
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...
After posting a four-win season in 2021, third-year Niwot football coach Nik Blume aims to continue to build the program that had not won more than three games since 2008. With only four seniors on the squad, the Cougars will be very young. "We have a really talented junior class," Blume said of the players who have come up through the program during his tenure. "It's our biggest class. We also have three or four sophomore kids who will contribute." Blume hopes to make up in speed what he lost...
The lengthy bus drive south to Pueblo West High School on Aug. 18 was well worth it for the Niwot boys soccer team after senior goalkeeper Matt Hansen pulled off a miraculous 50-yard game-winning goal on a penalty kick. That's right, the goalkeeper. With just seconds left and the score tied 2-2, Cougar head coach Stephen Dimit called upon Hansen to take the penalty kick. Dimit's decision took into account that Hansen doubles as Niwot football's placekicker, making him no stranger to long distanc...
Niwot Boys Tennis Coach Aimee Hites returns with high expectations for her youthful but experienced squad. "Our goal is to win state," Hites said. "We're super young, and super talented." The Cougars started off with a 7-0 win over Frederick High School Aug. 11, and have already seemingly picked up a second victory by forfeit as Skyline High's team reported only three players out for tennis for this week's match. Things will get tougher with Alexander Dawson School on Aug. 18, followed by Class...
In what could have been considered a transitional season following the graduation of eight seniors, the Niwot boys soccer team continued its winning ways last fall and reached the second round of the Class 4A state playoffs. Last season was fun, said seventh-year head coach Stephen Dimit, but the Cougars are now setting the bar a little higher. "This is a hungry year," Dimit said. "They had a lot of fun last year, but I think they also really want to build on what they started. That's a great...
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...
The University of Colorado’s 17th class to be inducted into the CU Athletic Hall of Fame was announced in June and it features former Gunbarrel resident Dick Tharp, who was the school’s athletic director from 1996-2004. Interestingly, Tharp and his staff created the Athletic Hall of Fame early in his tenure as AD. Among his many accomplishments at CU, he hired former head football coach Gary Barnett in 1996, oversaw a $42.6 million expansion to Folsom Field and developed a long-term plan for the athletic department. “I'm honored by it, humbl...
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,...
Reaching the 4A state championships for the first time since 2017 wasn't a fluke for last year's Niwot boys golf team - it was simply a product of a consistently competitive program. The Cougars brought one golfer from each grade level to the state tournament and finished seventh in class 4A. Although they'll now be without 2022 graduate Christopher Gunlikson, who placed sixth individually at state, the foundation remains sturdy for a successful fall season. "We've got a pretty good program," sa...
Although she's just entering her junior year, Julia Rudolph has been a valuable leader for Niwot High School track and field. Rudolph was named a team captain last season and then helped the Cougars win the 4x400-meter relay state title, as well as the state Class 4A team championship. Rudolph continued to beat the competition in early June at the Great Southwest Track and Field Classic in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Competing for Niwot track head coach Maurice Henriques' REAL Training, she ran a...
Just as NFL rookies start reporting to training camp in mid-July all across the country, the young athletes of Niwot Youth Sports were recently treated to an opportunity to start prepping for the upcoming flag football season. While it doesn't seem like football weather, anyone who has played football growing up knows that the summer months are where workouts and practices increase in intensity. It's where the work is done and champions are created. So how do you start building champion...
This fall will look a little different for Niwot senior Ben Classen. After spending the past two years playing football, the Niwot High incoming senior has decided to shift his complete focus to track and field. Classen believes his best chance of securing an athletic scholarship will come through track, a sport that he excelled in last spring. His decision also factored in the elimination of any potential for injury he could have suffered playing football. Last season, Classen was named...
For Niwot's Skyler Messenger, All-Star Game week was more than just a break in the major league season when MLB All-Stars would perform on a national stage, and fans would get a chance to see the best players in the world. In addition to a Home Run Derby and a Futures Game, the week included the amateur draft, conducted over three days, with plenty of TV coverage, unlike days of old, when the draft could go as high as 70 rounds and was clouded in secrecy. As recently as 2019, the draft went 40...
A rarity in most sports, Rachel Noble was a four-year varsity player on the Niwot girls basketball team. The 2022 grad accumulated an impressive 80 career games played while scoring a total of 254 points in a Cougar uniform. She was also part of a tight-knit senior class that included Carly Toothaker, Jordyn Stewart, Maddi Tajchman and Grace Crall, who together helped Niwot (7-15) win its most games since the 2018-19 season. "I loved my senior season," Noble said. "It wasn't anything on the reco...
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...
The third and final day of the Major League Baseball draft ended the suspense for Niwot High School grad Skyler Messinger when the Colorado Rockies selected him in the 19th round of the annual amateur draft. Messenger was draft pick number 566 overall after finishing his collegiate baseball career at the University of Texas. He played third base for Texas this season, posting a .364 batting average with 11 homers and 59 RBI. After a stellar career as a shortstop at Niwot High, Messenger was draf...
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...
Staying active is a must for recent Niwot grad Grace Crall, and she accomplished this need well by playing both basketball and soccer during her successful high school career. In Crall's final basketball campaign with the Cougars, she led the team in three categories: rebounds (110), blocks (12) and assists (30). The senior took particular pride in her rebounding, which as a taller player, was a facet of the game that was drilled into her from an early age. "I think a lot of people don't want...
The Niwot High School football field is getting a facelift, and more. Work has been underway for a month on replacing the sod on the field with artificial turf, with plans to host the NHS Homecoming football game at the school this fall. Along with the turf replacement, a permanent fence is also being installed around the perimeter of the field. Some members of the community are not happy about the fence, which school officials claim is necessary to prevent vandalism to the field and to prevent...
Gracing the podium's peak is nothing new for 2014 Niwot alum Elise Cranny. Nearly one year removed from her first Olympics, she made national headlines once again on June 26 by taking first place in the 2022 USATF Outdoor Championships' 5000-meter with a time of 15 minutes, 49.15 seconds Cranny's win came courtesy of an impressive surge in the final 2000 meters. After crossing the 3000-meter mark well behind the leaders, and in ninth place - albeit still within one second of first - she made a m...
Years worth of hard work on and off the golf course paid off for local amateur golfer Kelsey Webster at the Colorado Women's Open at the beginning of June. Webster's history with the game of golf has had its fair share of ups and downs over that same time period, but her perseverance and positive attitude led her to a new victory recently. Webster, a Gunbarrel resident, grew up playing golf around the Boulder Country Club and attended Fairview High School where she played on the girl's golf...
One of the first gifts Carly Toothaker could remember receiving as a young child was a soccer ball, and after some time to reflect on her recently-completed high school career, that present can be considered an ember to a life encapsulated by sport. Toothaker's father became her first soccer coach, with her mother doing the same in basketball. The immense early guidance helped her become a multi-year varsity starter in both sports at Niwot High. In soccer, which she considers her primary sport,...
When Skye Messinger was drafted in the 22nd round by the Chicago Cubs coming out of Niwot High School in 2017, he had a difficult decision to make – take the bonus money they were offering, or accept a scholarship to play Division I baseball at the University of Kansas. Messinger opted for the college experience, turning down the Cubs' offer to go to KU, where he had a solid career, albeit one interrupted by Covid-19. He reasoned that if he were good enough, he would have a chance to play p...
Becoming a state championship-caliber track and field athlete is a calculated process. Even as the so-called "offseason" commences during the summer, Niwot's top talent remains focused on maximizing their abilities. Cougar head coach Maurice Henriques, fresh off leading Niwot's girls team to another state title, stays working with his athletes through his club program, REAL Training. The club includes athletes from across the state and in June alone, REAL has competed in two prominent meets:...
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...
A Niwot Youth Sports week-long baseball camp was a casualty of Covid-19 for the past two years, but with restrictions lifted, the popular camp returned, as did former camp director Bob Bote. For years, dating back to the early 1980s, Bote conducted a baseball camp for players 5 to 13, using high school players as camp coaches. Bote, who served as the Niwot High School head coach from 1979 through 2006, won five state Class 4A state titles during his tenure, and his summer camps, often sponsored...
Not many high school baseball pitchers have suffered the setbacks Nick Yard has experienced during his prep career. The recent Niwot High graduate has undergone not one, but two Tommy John surgeries over the past three years. Following his freshman season in which he was second on the Cougars' varsity staff with 35 innings pitched, Yard braved his first Tommy John surgery in January of his sophomore year to repair his ulnar collateral ligament. He then fought back and pitched just one game his...
Niwot track and field athletes don't get much of an offseason. Only a few weeks removed from the state championships, the Cougars, competing for head coach Maurice Henriques' REAL Training club team, are staying sharp in June. Henriques' group of tracksters began the month by visiting Albuquerque, New Mexico, from June 2-4 to participate in the Great Southwest Track and Field Classic. Niwot juniors Kimora Northrup (girls) and Eric Walker (boys) each won their respective 400m hurdles events, and...
Having never touched a pole in his life, Niwot senior Nicholas Stade needed just three weeks to learn the pole vault and place ninth in the Class 4A state track and field championships on May 22. Stade said that after he was unable to qualify for state in the 110-meter hurdles, it was his head coach Maurice Henriques who challenged the team player to help Niwot gain an extra point or two. His vault of 12 feet, 9 inches was a pleasant result. "I really surprised myself with being able to do...
Niwot High took four golfers to the state Class 4A state championship at Tiara Rado Golf Course in Grand Junction May 31-June 1, and the results did not disappoint. "We had a great state tournament," Head Coach Ed Weaver said. "We finished fifth place overall, which I'm very happy with. After the first day, we were fifth, but sixth, seventh and eighth place teams were very close." The Cougars separated from the pack on day two, finishing 26 strokes ahead of sixth-place Cheyenne Mountain. Erie...
The Niwot High boys track team entered the state Class 4A meet as the defending state champion, and came close to a repeat, finishing in a tie for second with Cheyenne Mountain at 60 points each, just behind Longmont with 76. The Cougars were led by senior Zane Bergen, who won the 800m (1:52.07) by more than two seconds, and took second in the 1600m and fourth in the 3200m (9:08.60). Bergen, who will run for Stanford next year, was also a part of the winning 4 x 400 relay team. “He’s a great kid,” Head Coach Maurice Henriques said. “He definit...
If you were to walk into the athletic training room in Niwot High after the school day is over, you might see tennis balls flying through the air and an array of athletes practically climbing over each other as they do their exercises. Laughter would probably fill the air and someone probably would say, "Maja, you need a new training room." "I know," athletic trainer Maja Watne would say with a laugh and a sigh. "I try to make it fun...My favorite part of the day is when it's a little crazy,...
Niwot track and field coach Maurice Henriques celebrated a third straight Class 4A state championship with his girls, which for the first time included his daughter, freshman Eliana Henriques, who ran the first leg (100m) of the winning sprint medley relay(1:48.80). The Cougars scored a dominating 170 points. Mullen, which finished second, scored 61. Senior Eva Klingbeil led the way with victories in the 1600m (4:49.66) and 3200m (10:29.62), and also ran the anchor leg on the winning 4 X 800 relay. “She had great times,” Henriques said. “He...
Senior Anna Sallee led the Niwot girls tennis team to a fifth-place finish at the Class 4A state tournament in Pueblo May 12-14. Sallee took home the No. 2 singles state title with a hard-fought 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 win over Pine Creek senior Manoela Amantini Quintanilha. Sallee finished second in No. 2 singles in 2021. Sallee advanced easily through the first two rounds, 6-0, 6-0 victories over both opponents, from Thomas Jefferson and Windsor, respectively. Her semi-final victory came over Kent...
The Niwot Cougars traveled to Monument to take on the fourth-seeded Palmer Ridge girls soccer team in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs. Niwot entered the playoffs as the 29th seed, with a record of 8-7, while Palmer Ridge was 13-2-1. The Cougars started the season with a non-league 1-0 loss to Palmer Ridge. After a non-league 1-0 win over Skyline, Niwot suffered a 4-game losing streak, but only one of the games, a 4-0 loss to Northridge, was a league contest. Northridge went 9-0 in the...
The Silver Creek Raptors, defending state champions from 2021, came close to defending their title, finishing second in Colorado's 2022 Class 4A State Swimming & Diving Championships. The Raptors, a combined Silver Creek and Niwot High School based team, scored 371.5 points, just behind Cheyenne Mountain's total of 402 points. The two-day competition took place Thursday, May 12th and Friday, May 13, with spectators crowding into Thornton's Veterans Memorial Aquatics Center to watch the young men...
Tennis Taylor Thulson (Niwot 2018) helped Carleton College to a return trip the NCAA Championships in women's tennis. Carleton College, located in Northfield, Minn., a Div. I program, qualified for the NCAA tournament for the eighth time, and the first time since 2019. Carleton (15-1) entered the MIAC Playoffs seeded No. 2, but defeated the top seeded and 37th-ranked Gustavus Adolphus College 5-1 in the conference finals. Carleton's only loss this season had come against Gustavus. Thulson, a...
A seventh-inning come-from-behind victory over Thompson Valley May 5 sparked the Niwot Cougar baseball team to follow up with an 11-1 mercy-rule win over Adams City May 7. In the Thursday game, two walks followed by two singles and a stolen base led to three quick runs for Thompson Valley. Senior starter Jack Brooker walked two more batters to load the bases with no outs, and a wild pitch led to a fourth run, but Brooker settled down to retire the next hitter on a ground ball to first baseman...
Getting ready for the state track & field championships which begin May 19 is nothing new for the Niwot Cougars, as both the boys and girls squads are defending Class 4A champions. “We probably have 30 to 40 athletes who have qualified for state,” Coach Maurice Henriques said. The Cougars are just coming off a Longs Peak Conference meet held at Longmont High School last weekend. The St. Vrain Invitational on Friday, May 13, will be the last tuneup for Niwot as the Cougars prepare to defend their titles. “We’re not quite sure of some of the rel...
North Carolina has been one of Niwot High grad Luke Kingsley's favorite teams since he was a little boy, according to his wife, Katie Spencer Kingsley, also a Niwot grad. As North Carolina made its way to an improbable Final Four appearance at the NCAA basketball championships in New Orleans, Luke got a call from a friend in North Carolina, who said, "I have a ticket for you, your wife and Brady...." As it turned out, the friend, Justin Cavenaugh, had met Luke at the Final Four in Phoenix in...
Niwot pitcher Jack Brooker made quick work of The Academy lineup in the first inning of a 10-8 Cougar win April 30. After retiring the leadoff hitter on a lazy fly ball to centerfielder Brock Rothstein, the next batter beat out a soft grounder in the infield. Brooker then picked the runner off first base with a quick move to first baseman Julian Lettow, who ran the runner toward second base where shortstop Jed Kilpatrick applied the tag. Brooker finished the inning by striking out the next batte...
They started by stirring things up in their physical education class at Niwot High School last fall. Freshmen Samantha Zacky and Anne Haley became partners in pickleball and every other sport they played in PE. They felt like they had a good connection and were successful as a team. But it was one particular badminton game that convinced them they had something special. "We defeated the teacher in badminton," Zacky said. "That's when we knew we were good together," Haley added. Neither girl had...
