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All Local, All The Time
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The 2020 Niwot baseball team had just three seniors on the roster, but what they lacked in numbers, they more than made up for it in baseball and leadership talent, according to head coach Adam Strah. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic put a premature end to a promising season behind the trio, and ended their chance to leave a winning mark on the Cougars program. Bidding farewell to the program in 2020 are Felipe Castro, Tim Stokes, and Ben Strid. We asked the departing seniors to reflect o...
Girls tennis was one of the few Niwot programs to complete matches before the coronavirus pandemic put a premature halt to the 2020 season, and if the Cougars' early 2-0 record is any indication, they were on a fast track back to the top of the statewide rankings. Leading the charge for Niwot were four highly experienced varsity seniors, who were all eager for a chance to bring home another Class 4A championship and cement their legacies in Niwot tennis history. "These four seniors have been a...
First-year Niwot girls soccer Head Coach Jenna Machado will have to wait a little longer for her inaugural season in green and white. But for her 11 seniors, it’s no longer a matter of patience when their season was officially cancelled on April 21. Niwot had gotten just two scrimmages in before the season was put on hold in early March. “It’s definitely not what I expected,” Machado said. “I really feel the most for the players and the seniors especially. What they’re going through is really a difficult thing. I couldn’t imagine having my sen...
Sue Prahl doesn't see anything special about her 25-year tenure with the Niwot High athletics department, so when she learned that she had won the Colorado Athletic Directors Association's 2020 Award for Distinguished Service, her reaction was bewilderment. "I'm not a person who needs to be patted on the back, and I never have been," Prahl said of the honor, which was announced publicly on April 30, along with the Athletic Director of the Year awards. "You just go at it and do it. And so I was o...
In the world before the coronavirus pandemic, Niwot golfer Julia Solem was on the cusp of what promised to be an exceptional senior season. After earning Northern League Player of the Year honors in 2019, both Solem and Niwot coach Ed Weaver were eager to see how far she could go in 2020. Sadly, the answer turned out to be not nearly as far as they'd hoped. "I thought she had a shot at the state title," Weaver said of his pre-season ambitions for the fourth-year veteran. "She's worked very hard...
Running in the hallways at school is usually grounds for a reprimand, but for speedy Niwot basketball forward Milo Ostwald, it resulted in an invitation to join the track team instead. Two years later, the versatile senior has a state championship behind him and a chance for a collegiate track career ahead of him, all thanks to an impulse that could have landed him in detention. "Right before the season in my sophomore year, I was running around, probably doing something stupid," Ostwald said....
Playing collegiately is a goal for many high school athletes across the country. It takes talent, hours of work, and equally important, the ability to get recognized and connected with a college coach. Niwot High School counselor and Head Track and Field Coach Kelly Christensen has not let the coronavirus prevent him from helping student athletes connect with colleges. "We're doing more than we normally would as far as really reaching out to coaches of these programs that kids want to go to and...
By the time she reached high school, senior keeper Quinn Gossett thought her soccer playing days were well behind her, but an impulsive decision to try out for the Niwot girls team as a ninth-grader resurrected a long buried passion for the game, even if it took a few days to surface. "I stopped playing in fourth grade, and I really don't know why," Gossett said, recalling her return to the sport at the invitation of former Cougar junior varsity coach Jeremy Drake. "On that first day of tryouts...
If you haven't noticed by now, this spring has been a little different. The birds are still chirping and the flowers are still blooming, but the absence of baseball is apparent. As of April 12, CHSAA has put a halt to all spring sports until at least April 30. Local high school baseball programs are feeling the ramifications. With the state-wide stay at home order extending through April 26, there seems to be little realistic hope baseball will be played in the near future. "I would be more surp...
A world put on pause can be a difficult time for some, but for Niwot High School head boys soccer coach Stephen Dimit, the absence of spring sports only means new possibilities. His new podcast, “Make Your Mindset,” aims to mentor high school athletes during their time off the field. His first episode dropped March 31 and featured Oregon State University men’s soccer player Joel Walker. Dimit plans on releasing weekly episodes with guests ranging from college athletes to coaches and local sports-minded friends. “A lot of the people that we...
Former Niwot High School baseball player Caleb Martinez was shocked when he learned his sophomore season at Northwest Nazarene University in Idaho would be canceled due to the coronavirus. "It was just unreal," he said. Martinez pitched for Niwot High from 2017-18 and pitched for the Boulder Collegians this past summer, and he was looking to make an impression after redshirting his freshman season. The coronavirus caught him and his teammates off guard. "On Monday, we were getting ready for the...
Isabella Steiner, sophomore at Niwot High School (and LHVC Student Athlete of the Week for Oct. 23), earned a first place at the Desert Circuit VI International Horse Show in Thermal, CA (February 25 - March 1, 2020.) Bella competed in the 1.0 Meter Non Pro Jumper Course to earn this placing....
Patrick Perry, a 2001 graduate of Niwot High School, was an important part of the 2000 NHS 4A state baseball championship team, and one of three players from that team selected in major league baseball's amateur draft. Baseball has pretty much been Perry's life ever since, and has carried him to a position as an area scout for Nevada and northern California for the Texas Rangers, evaluating players for the same draft. "I cover Reno to the Bay Area to Fresno," Perry said. Perry went to Otero JC...
Fourth-year varsity lacrosse defender Abby Eidsness didn't realize it at the time, but mom knew best when it came to the Niwot senior's eventual sport of choice. "I started playing lacrosse in a co-ed rec group because my mom forced me to," Eidsness said of her introduction to the growing sport in sixth grade. "I was really mad at her, and didn't want to do it. I had to play with my younger brother, too-he was on the same team. So, it was kind of a rocky start." But the more Eidsness played the...
Citing "concerns surrounding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic," the Colorado High School Activities Association has extended the moratorium on all sports and activities until at least April 18. Additionally, all CHSAA Music Events have been cancelled for 2020, and the CHSAA Hall of Fame event, scheduled for April 14, has been cancelled. "It turned very quickly," Niwot High assistant principal and athletic director Joe Brown said of the abrupt decision to suspend the season, originally announced on...
The 2019-20 Niwot girls basketball season is one that most of its participants would rather forget, but senior Lily Sieben will be taking at least a few happy memories with her. Among them is the resilience of her teammates, who kept fighting for wins even as the losses kept piling up. "Winning our last game made it easier to walk away from the season," Sieben said of the Cougars' 2-21 record, their worst in decades. "We had high expectations this year, and not reaching them, we were disappointe...
Fourth-year coach Ed Weaver has sky high expectations for the 2020 Niwot girls golf program, and it's not hard to see why. His projected varsity squad is loaded with state-tested veterans who are eager for another chance at the Class 4A title, and he's attracted a cohort of newcomers eager to make their marks. With 14 players total, both short-term and long-term prospects seem bright for Niwot girls golf, and Weaver can't wait to get the season started. "Our goal is to win state," Weaver said....
Thirteenth place in giant slalom at State was music to the ears of freshman skier Jack Vincent, who posted a combined time of 2:18:63. He and two other Niwot High students were at Beaver Creek Feb. 27 and 28 for State slalom and giant slalom races. Vincent uses a music analogy to describe the two different types of racing. "Slalom, you can think of it like a country-rock song. It's a little bit faster pace," said Vincent. "Then GS is more like an opera. It's slow. You have to keep control...
Senior point guard Cooper Sheldon was philosophical following Niwot's three-point loss to Air Academy Kadets in the first round of the Class 4A basketball playoffs on Feb. 26. A questionable judgment by the referees in the final seconds of the game cost the Cougars another shot at the net, and, with it, a chance to tie up the score and go to overtime. Instead, the clock ticked away to 0:00 with the score at 53-50 favoring the Kadets, and as their jubilant fans crowded the court, the Niwot...
A lot of students play basketball in high school, but few inhabit the sport the way Niwot's Cooper Sheldon does. The six-foot, four-inch senior became a serious student of the game after taking it up in middle school, and even now dedicates at least part of every day to training or studying film. It's evident on the court, where the veteran point guard commands the Cougars' offense, and often gets the best out of his teammates. It's also evident off the court, where he serves as the team's emoti...
Niwot High's new head football coach, Nik Blume, doled out pizza and enthusiasm when he met with the players and their parents last week, sharing his "full tilt" approach to coaching. He won't officially be on staff until the end of the semester, but he's already laying the groundwork for next season. Blume told the players that weightlifting will start this spring. "That's non-negotiable for me. If you don't like weights, this might not be for you," he said. "You have to be physically prepared...
Niwot seniors Jovani Lopez and Daniel Torres accomplished much more than they thought possible during their four-year high school wrestling careers, but in the immediate aftermath of grueling losses in the 2020 Class 4A state championships, it was hard for them to accept falling short of their ultimate goals. "It was a good experience," Lopez said, though without much conviction. Minutes before, he had lost a close third-round match in the heavyweight consolation bracket, putting him out of...
There weren't very many Cougars in the pool at the 2020 Class 4A swim and dive championships, but what the Niwot state squad lacked in competitors, it more than made up for in impressive swims. Chief among them were Mary Codevilla's stunning performances in 200- and 500-yard freestyle races, which brought the talented sophomore two individual state titles and helped catapult the youthful Cougars into ninth place overall. Afterwards, head coach Sarah Stamp said that she was "thrilled" with the...
Niwot wrestler Daniel Torres was restless as he watched his lighter teammates take on their first opponents at the Class 4A Region 3 tournament, held at Windsor HS on Feb. 14-15. He was anxiously awaiting a mat assignment-his first since suffering an elbow injury on Jan. 11. The senior was worried that the six-week layoff had cost him too much strength and conditioning, and that his high school career might come to a premature end in the Wizards' gym. But those worries dimmed after an impressive...
Jovani Lopez got more than he bargained for when he joined the Niwot wrestling team as a ninth-grader, but the senior heavyweight isn't complaining. As he looks ahead to his second straight appearance in the Class 4A state wrestling championships, the soft-spoken Lopez said the sport has brought him more than just success on the mat. "The biggest reason I did wrestling was to lose weight," he said. "But I eventually found out that I love wrestling. I like winning and beating other people. I...
The drive to the Mountain View Aquatic Center in Loveland may have been a little frightful, but that didn't keep the Niwot girls swim and dive team from turning in a delightful performance at the Northern Conference championships on Feb. 7-8. With wins in six of the 12 events and a slew of personal-best swims, the Cougars easily captured a second straight team crown, and picked up another state qualifier to boot. Now head coach Sarah Stamp and her repeat league champions are looking ahead to nex...
On Feb. 6, six seniors took the mat for Niwot one last time, as the Cougars hosted Broomfield and Mountain View in the season's final home event before the Class 4A Region 3 qualifying tournament. It was a good night for the seniors who were able to find a contested match against either of their two opponents. Senior Max Pechersewski went 2-0 on the night in the 113-pound class, his win coming by fall over Alex Church of Broomfield (3:14) in his only contested match of the night. Senior Keith...
In seventh grade, Austin Rathburn realized that his ultimate height was destined to be several derivations from the norm, so he set his sights on the sport that tends to favor those so gifted. Now several years and several growth spurts later, the even-keeled senior is the Niwot basketball team's starting center and, at a towering 6-feet 5-inches, one of the hardest players to defend in the Northern League. "In our conference, he's tied for double-doubles, and in the last game, he was [close...
The Niwot girls basketball team is still searching for its second win of the 2019-20 campaign, after falling 60-25 to Northridge on January 31st. The Cougars struggled on both sides of the court against the youthful Grizzlies, but their deficiencies were most evident against Northridge's zone defense, and a scoreless second quarter all but sealed their 14th straight loss. Afterwards, Niwot head coach Terri Ward opened up about finishing a season with nothing on the line but pride. "There's...
Daniel Torres didn't know much about wrestling when he reluctantly joined Niwot's team as a freshman, which makes his success in the years since all the more impressive. Thanks to quick wits and a penchant for hard work, the soft-spoken Torres has become one of the region's top wrestlers in the years since, and now he's on the cusp of a repeat bid to the Class 4A state championships at the Pepsi Center. As his high school career comes to a close, the senior is grateful to that once-shy ninth...
When he's on the court "making it rain" for Niwot, shooting guard Misha Barrett looks like any other underclassman hustling for a chance to leave the 'D' team behind. It's only when you get a chance to talk to him that you realize that the hardworking three-point specialist has significant cognitive deficiencies, thanks to an anoxic brain trauma suffered at birth. But that hasn't stopped him from playing the game he loves, and now he's getting a chance to do it for the team he loves. "It feels g...
The Niwot boys basketball team moved to 8-7 on the year, after dropping a pair of close games to Northern League rivals. On Jan. 21, the Cougars scored 25 4th-quarter points in a 64-56 losing effort to arch-rival Silver Creek. Niwot had another strong second half against Centaurus on Jan. 24, but it wasn't enough to overcome a 14-0 deficit to start the game, and the Cougars went on to lose 54-47....
It was a light crew for head coach Bobby Matthews at the 2020 Diny Pickert Invitational at Berthoud High on Jan. 26, as several Niwot wrestlers battled illness. That made for a light score in the final team standings, where Niwot placed 14th overall with 34.0 points. Niwot heavyweight Jovani Lopez earned his seventh trip to the podium this season with a 2nd-place finish in the 285-pound class. He was runner-up for the third time to Oscar Aranday of Skyline, who won in a 2-1 decision. Lopez went...
Spring is right around the corner, and Niwot Youth Sports is gearing up for its 51st season of fun and friendly competition on the diamond. Early-bird registration for recreational baseball is now underway at www.niwotyouthsports.org. Softball registration will open on Feb. 1. NYS Baseball is offering six divisions again this season; Bubblegum (T-ball for ages 4-5), Rookie (coach pitch/T-ball hybrid for ages 5-6), AA (coach pitch for ages 7-8), AAA (kid pitch for ages 9-10), Majors (kid pitch fo...
The annual St. Vrain All-District meet marks the midway point of the girls swim season, and after an energetic performance by her top swimmers at this year's event, Niwot head coach Sarah Stamp is renewing her hopes for another top finish at the upcoming Class 4A state championships. "We've been building steadily every week," she said after the friendly but competitive meet, held Jan. 18 at Mountain View Aquatic Center. "Today, there were lots of time drops, and best times across the board. By...
The Niwot girls swim team lost nearly 20 swimmers to last year's graduation, so heading into the 2019-20 season, head coach Sarah Stamp had some holes to fill in the lineup. Much to her delight, junior Emiley Yie has been willing and able to help fill more than a few of them. So far this season, the talented swimmer has qualified to compete for Niwot in all but one individual event at the upcoming Class 4A state championships, and she is hitting her fastest times as the post-season approaches....
Niwot heavyweight Jovani Lopez earned his fifth trip to the podium this season with a third-place finish in the 285-pound class at the Frederick Warrior Invitational on Jan. 11. Lopez was methodical in his final match against Wheat Ridge's Samuel Mondragon (12-7), steadily accumulating take down and nearfall points that would ultimately result in an 8-1 decision. "My strategy was not to rush the moves, to just move around until I saw the opening," the senior said after the win, his 16th of the y...
The Niwot boys basketball team improved to 7-4 on the year, after picking up another pair of wins as Northern League play got underway last week. The Cougars were considerably more effective on both sides of the ball in rousing home wins over Northridge (63-40) on Jan. 7 and Thompson Valley (48-39) on Jan. 10, but it was his team's return to form on defense that had head coach Clay Wittrock back in a positive frame of mind. "Thompson Valley is a tough, big physical team, and I knew that was...
Kyle Reeves has been on the brink of a breakout game for Niwot all season, and when it finally came in the Cougars' 63-40 win over Northridge on January 7, the talented guard didn't hesitate to reveal the family secret behind his success. "I was actually playing for my grandmother," the senior said of his 19-point, five-steal performance, both bests as a Cougar. "She's a big part of my life, and I dedicated the game to her. She's taught me so much, and she's just my everything." Reeves has...
The Niwot High gym was stacked to the rafters on Saturday, Jan. 4, as the largest field ever took to the mat for the eighth annual Gary Daum Classic. While more teams may have meant more problems for tournament host and Niwot head coach Bobby Matthews, he said it has been tremendously gratifying to see the competition named for the legendary Cougar coach grow into a can't miss event. "When I came here five years ago, one of my goals was to make this a really tough tournament. This year, our...
The Niwot boys basketball team rang in 2020 by going 2-1 at the annual Rough Rider Shootout at Roosevelt, held Jan. 2-4. But sloppy play on both offense and defense over the three-game stretch has Cougar head coach Clay Wittrock making some new resolutions for his team. "We need to find how we're going to be a team that, for four quarters, battles regardless of whether things are going well or bad, and plays for each other," he said. "We really need to find that consistency, so every game,...
The Niwot girls basketball team was without the services of top scorers Lily Sieben and Nikki Sims during the Rough Rider Shootout, which led to some lopsided losses during the three-day tournament, held Jan. 2-4 at Roosevelt High. The Cougars averaged just 20 points-per-game as they fell to D'Evelyn (68-26), host-team Roosevelt (56-18), and finally Steamboat Springs (38-16). Head coach Terri Ward once again did not have much to say afterwards, but admitted, "We're out of sor...
Keith Hemenway got a jump start on his New Year's resolution to finish his senior wrestling season strong with a trip to the podium in front of the home crowd at the eighth annual Gary Daum Classic on Jan. 4. The fourth-year wrestler won four straight matches to take fifth overall in the 160-pound class and improved to 11-6 on the season, a career best. Afterwards, he chalked up his growing success as a senior to the three grueling years as an underclassman when success was hard to come by. "As...
VOLLEYBALL Mackenzie Fidelak (Niwot) was part of Stanford's NCAA national championship team, which defeated Wisconsin Dec. 24 in the NCAA finals. Fidelak, a sophomore opposite hitter, played in six contests during the season, but did not see action in the NCAA tournament. Her most extensive action came against Arizona State in a 3-0 victory Oct. 13, where she played all three sets, recording 11 kills and only three errors. She had an attack percentage of .348 against Arizona State, and also...
The 2019 Niwot football season will be memorable for a number of reasons and the emergence of Jarrett Noterman as a standout athlete is at or near the top of that list. As a wideout/cornerback/kick returner for the Cougars, the speedy senior had a hand in nearly every one of the team's marquee plays during the season, and was often the only highlight in their double-digit losses against league opponents. Now Noterman is bringing the same spark as a guard in Niwot's varsity basketball lineup,...
Doug Richards' cyclocross skills took him to first place in Colorado in the 60+ men's division on Nov. 24 and then on to the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships in Washington State where he finished 20th in his division. After riding cyclocross for almost 10 years, he attributed his success this season to having worked with Coach John Mansell, who added structure to Richards' training. Richards competes as a member of the Blue Sky Velo Team and raced more than 20 times this season. "Th...
The Niwot girls basketball team fell to 1-5 after dropping the home-opener to Erie 62-25 on Dec. 19. Afterwards, a clearly frustrated Coach Terri Ward had just one thing to say about her team's desultory performance: "We're ready for a break." The Cougars will get that break over the next two weeks for the winter holidays, and hopefully it will give them time to regroup. Currently on a four-game skid, Niwot has averaged just 25.3 points per game so far this season and is shooting 26% from the...
It wasn't quite a Christmas miracle, but Niwot's upset win over the 10th-ranked Erie Tigers on Dec. 19 certainly had fans rejoicing. Led by senior guard Cooper Sheldon, four Cougars scored in double-digits in the 61-48 victory, while an aggressive effort on defense held one of the highest scoring teams in Class 4A to their lowest point total of the season. For first year head coach Clay Wittrock, it was the breakout game he has been eagerly anticipating. "We finally found a way to calm down,...
Niwot's Jovani Lopez (far left) took seventh overall out of 35 competitors in the 285 lb. bracket at the Northern Colorado Christmas Tournament at the University of Northern Colorado on Dec. 21. It was the third podium appearance in three tournaments for the senior, who took first in the heavyweight division at the Mike Stanley Invite on Dec. 7 and again at the Frank Palmieri Invitational on Dec. 14....
Coming off a Northern Conference championship and a 4A runner-up finish last season, the Niwot girl's swim team looks to continue its success with a fresh lineup of swimmers. Head coach Sarah Stamp leads a young 2019 squad that has already shown promise. "We're in a unique spot because we graduated 16 seniors last year," said Stamp, who is in her eleventh season at the helm. "I think our seniors this year are finding their voice after having such a powerful and present senior class (last year)....
