All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
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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)....
The memorable moments have been few and far between for the Niwot wrestling team over the past few seasons, but fifth-year head coach Bobby Matthews thinks this could be the year it all turns around. With two returning state qualifiers, plus a solid class of newcomers, the 2019-20 squad has at least one key thing the 2018-19 team lacked. "We have a little more experience this year than we've had in years past," Matthews said. "Last year, we didn't have any state qualifiers returning, we didn't...
Clayton Wittrock isn't sure that the Niwot boys basketball team is ready to contend for a Northern League title, but the first-year head coach does have an undeniably sunny outlook for the upcoming 2019-20 season. With a talented core of seniors, plus some future stars, the former Grand Junction assistant said the new-look Cougars are just a few tweaks away from a run in the Class 4A playoffs. "I think the team is going to look much different than last year. We are a motion-based offense. My...
The Niwot girls basketball team hasn't been to the Class 4A postseason tournament since 2013, but longtime head coach Terri Ward thinks 2019-20 will be the season the team's playoff drought ends. With an influx of talented newcomers, plus a host of hard-working returners, the recent CHSAA Hall of Fame inductee said she expects the Cougars to be in the mix for the Northern League title for the first time in years. "I am very optimistic about our chances this season....I like the group, I like the...
It was another crowded National Letter of Intent signing ceremony at Niwot, as seven athletes made official commitments to collegiate programs on Nov. 13. Lexi Crow, Black Hills State University Lexi Crow's collegiate soccer ambitions may be taking her away from Colorado, but the picturesque campus of Black Hills State University in Spearfish, S.D. will be like home away from home, according to the Cougar midfielder. "There's going to be mountains there, and open spaces, and it's green, so it's...
Niwot gymnast Mia Curry started preparing months in advance for the 2019 Class 4A state all-around competition, but she wasn't prepared for the flood of emotions after hearing that all of her hard work had paid off. "I'm just...super happy," the stunned sophomore said moments after the announcement of her first-place finish in the individual all-around at this year's gymnastics championships, held at Thornton High School on Nov. 8. "I'm just so happy and proud of my entire team, and myself, and...
It may have lacked the life-and-death drama of Captain Ahab's pursuit of Moby Dick across the ocean, but Mia Curry's quest to add a Tsukahara vault to her routine and qualify for the state all-around competition may have been as single-minded. Luckily, the affable 10th-grader also escaped Ahab's watery fate, and instead earned a trip to the top of the Class 4A gymnastics podium. "Last year, I only did three events at state, and I wanted to come out here doing all-around, but I didn't want to do...
The Niwot boys soccer team found themselves on the wrong side of a quick start and some fortuitous bounces against Golden on Nov. 5, and the resulting 3-0 loss brought an unhappy end to the Cougars' playoff run that started so optimistically just three days before. "We just needed to weather that first storm," head coach Steve Dimit said afterwards. "We've been doing a pretty good job of that all season, but this was one we did not weather." The Demons outworked Niwot's defense for their first...
A surefooted performance on the balance beam lifted the youthful Niwot gymnastics team to first place at the Class 4A Region 3 championships, and now the Cougars are heading into the upcoming state meet with a renewed sense of "positivity," according to head coach Marisa Purcell. "We've done a lot more individual varsity practices this year, to help them build confidence in each other and learn to lean on one another, and for them to come together and have expectations in each other," the...
Emotions were high on Niwot's bench after its shutout win over No.18 seed Regis Groff in the first round of the Class 4A soccer playoffs, and now head coach Stephen Dimit hopes to use that energy to carry his team through a deep postseason run. "The relief came when we qualified, and now we're excited to be moving on," he said following the No. 15 Cougars' rousing 2-0 victory over the Fusion at Everly-Montgomery Field on Nov. 2. "I feel pretty good. We can play with anybody." His team's...
Joelle McDonald wasn't expecting a life-changing experience when she joined the Niwot girls cross country team as a freshman, but after helping the Cougars win their second straight team title at the Class 4A state championships on Oct. 26, the senior paid homage to the transformative power of running. "It started as 'running is what I do for fun'," she said, recalling her four seasons with the program. "Then it became 'running is what I do,' and now it's 'running is what I am,' because it's...
The Colorado state cross country meet has produced some amazing athletic achievements over the years, but few top Niwot's in the 2019 Class 4A championships, held Oct. 26 at the Norris-Penrose Center in Colorado Springs. Led by individual winners Samrawit Dishon and Cruz Culpepper, the Cougars emerged from a highly competitive field to capture both team titles and complete the first four-title sweep for a single school since 1995 (an honor Niwot shared with Lyons on the day). Afterwards,...
Niwot senior Samrawit Dishon was holding on to a slim lead heading into the toughest stretch of the state cross country race when she got a boost from an unexpected source-her closest competitors. "It was kind of cool to have them both there like that," Dishon said of Eagle Valley sisters Joslin and Samantha Blair, who trailed the front-runner by just a few meters. "They were hyping each other up and talking to each other, and I thought, 'This is great. I know they're not talking to me, but I'm...
There were plenty of emotions to go around after the Niwot boys' inspiring win at the 2019 Class 4A state cross country championships on Oct. 26, but one in particular seemed predominant among coaches, parents, and athletes alike, according to fourth-year head coach Kelly Christensen. "A huge relief is probably the best way to describe it," he said after the Cougars beat out 19 other teams to claim the top spot at the state race for the first time in school history. "It's validation for them....
It's 6 p.m. on a Friday night in late October, and the unseasonably warm afternoon is quickly giving way to an autumnal chill as the sun slips behind Longs Peak to the west. At Everly Montgomery Field in Longmont, Niwot High Game Manager Sue Prahl grips her handheld radio as she scans the grounds, looking for the game's officials, or "black and whites," as she calls them, due to their striped uniforms. There's still an hour to go before kickoff in the upcoming football game between Niwot and...
On Oct. 24, the Niwot volleyball team closed out Northern League play for 2019 with a three-set loss to the Longmont Trojans (11-25, 22-25, 17-25) in a match head coach Daisha Agho called "frustrating." "I'm disappointed that we weren't able to come out with the usual fire we usually have, and the excitement we usually have. They played scared tonight, and I'm not sure why...they were very uncharacteristic tonight and not at all like my Cougars." Niwot struggled on both offense and defense...
Denver Broncos team nutritionist Bryan Snyder, RD is giving a presentation on athlete diet and fitness in the large gym at Niwot High School (8989 Niwot Rd) on Tuesday, Nov. 5 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. A former basketball player at CU-Colorado Springs, Snyder has been the Broncos full-time Director of Nutrition for more than a decade. He is a registered dietitian with Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND), as well as a member of the Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietitians Association (CPSDA). His...
There wasn't much mystery about the team winner of the Class 4A Region 3 girls cross country race, after Niwot's top five runners crossed the finish line at Denver's City Park a good 30 seconds ahead of any other competitors. That resulted in a rare perfect score of 15 for the Cougars, which head coach Kelly Christensen feels is a good way to close out the 2019 regular season. "A perfect score is a perfect score, no matter where you get it or who you get it against or whatever the conditions,"...
Dealing with a quirky teammate is an unwelcome annoyance for most high school athletes, but Niwot sophomore Bella Steiner isn't like most high school athletes. For the talented equestrian, managing her temperamental partner isn't just an enormous challenge, it's also enormously gratifying. "It's so technical, and a lot of people don't know that," Steiner said of her unconventional high school sport. "Everything affects the horse, and creating a bond with your horse is the most important part of...
The Niwot boys soccer team extended its win streak to eight with a 4-0 victory over the visiting Northridge Grizzlies (5-8-1) on Oct. 17. With the win, the Cougars improved to 10-4 on the season, and moved into a position to compete for the Northern League title, a prospect that seemed implausible just a month ago when the team was 2-4. "We just had to iron some things out and work on some teamwork," head coach Steve Dimit said after the shutout, the Cougars' sixth of the year. "We weren't...
Due to the early bout of winter on Oct. 10, the Class 4A Region 5 boys tennis tournament may not have started as expected, but it did end that way-with Niwot claiming another regional title on Oct. 11. With wins in six of the seven championship matches, the Cougars will advance as a No. 1 seed to the Class 4A state tournament, which opens at Pueblo's City Park on Oct. 17. Afterwards, head coach Miikka Keronen said he feels the Cougars are "in a good place," both mentally and physically, and he...
The Niwot softball team is headed back to the playoffs after a thrilling 2019 season that saw dramatic wins and heartbreaking losses, often in the same week. It also featured plenty of Niwot offense, as the team averaged more than 10 runs per game and recorded the highest batting average (.386) in the Northern League. Driving that offense for the Cougars was lead-off hitter Nikki Sims, who took her production to a new level during the regular season, with career-highs in average (.521), on base...
Niwot golfer Christopher Gunlikson finished in 45th overall at the 2019 Class 4A State Championships, held Oct. 7-8 at the Bridges Golf Course in Montrose. The sophomore carded an 86 (+15) on opening day, but followed up with an 81 (+10) on day two for final score of 167 (+25). Though he was well out of title contention, coach Ed Weaver was pleased with Gunlikson's improvement over the two-day tournament, and believes his top golfer came away with some hard won experience that will help him...
Niwot softball wrapped up its dramatic 2019 regular season with a tough extra-innings loss to Northridge on Oct. 9. The Cougars gave up three runs in the seventh inning to tie the game at 9-9, then surrendered six more in the eighth to fall 15-9. Senior catcher Reagan Wills recorded her 100th-career RBI in the losing effort, while Nikki Sims went 3-for-5 and scored three runs. Niwot finished the year with a 12-11 record and landed at 27th in the Class 4A RPI rankings, which was good for a 2019...
Public speaking comes naturally to Cougars football announcer Joe Bartko, who seemed destined for a life behind the microphone even from a young age. Now he is using those talents to give back to the communities that meant so much to him as a student at Niwot High School. “I have a hobby that I get paid for,” the former Cougar percussionist said before a recent home game at Everly Montgomery field. Bartko is also the public address announcer for the Colorado State University marching band. “I...
The Cougars had a devil of a time hanging onto the football in their wrenching 18-14 loss to Eagle Valley, and not even a heavenly performance by senior Jarrett Noterman was enough to save the team from doom. Afterwards, head coach Jeremy Lanter forgave the team its misdeeds, but beseeched his players to go forth and fumble no more. "We're just not quite where we want to be yet," he said of the Cougars' six turnovers, their highest total in two years. "It's about finishing and focusing on those...
Volleyball fans were treated to a free emotional roller coaster ride during Niwot's gripping match against arch-rival Longmont on Oct. 1. After staging an improbable comeback over the Trojans to take the first set 27-25, Niwot held on for a win in the second, (25-23), and seemed to have momentum heading into the third. But their hopes of an easy victory plunged when Longmont staged their own improbable comeback, and rolled to easy victories in the next three sets (21-25, 17-25, 10-15). "It...
Niwotian Doug Richards has been racing cyclocross for nearly a decade. Under the watchful eye of a new coach where he's been on an amped up training regime, he has recently achieved great success. He's celebrating two first-place finishes in the 60+ division on Sept. 28 and 29 and a second-place finish on Sept. 15 while competing in the Blue Sky Velo Cup course races in Dry Creek Park in Longmont. He's a member of Blue Sky Velo Club. Cyclocross races are short courses (two miles or less) on...
The Niwot boys soccer team extended their winning streak to four with a 3-0 victory over Thompson Valley on Oct. 3. Junior Aidan Martin scored while most of the crowd was still finding their seats, and then senior Jared Osteen struck twice in the second half to deliver the Cougars’ second Northern League win of the week. “That’s some real good stuff,” Niwot head coach Stephen Dimit said, after noting that his team also has a four-game shutout streak. On Oct. 1, they beat Mountain View 3-0 in...
Niwot boys golf coach Ed Weaver knew he had to act after his number one golfer, Christopher Gunlikson, lost six strokes on three holes during the Class 4A Region 3 tournament at Coyote Creek golf course on Sept. 26. The normally even-keeled sophomore went from +2 after five holes to +8 after the eighth, putting him in danger of falling out of contention for a berth to the state championships on Oct. 7. So Weaver stepped-in and gave his top player some unexpected advice. "After number eight, I...
Niwot forward Keegan Stobbe has been a dynamo for the Cougars' offense in 2019, but it wasn't until the 56th minute of their non-conference match against Erie on Sept. 26 that the speedy junior finally got the shot that he's been waiting nearly half the season for. "I was just chilling on the 18, basically, and I gave Mason [Wright] a little look," Stobbe said of the sequence that resulted in his first goal of 2019. "He saw me and placed the ball in. It was a weird ball, but I got my head on...
Scoring goals isn't Andy Worrell's specialty, but the Cougars' defender knows a good opportunity when he sees it. Luckily for the Cougars, the 6'-6" senior was uniquely positioned to take advantage of one against Littleton on Sept. 24. "Carter [Kruse] played me a great ball across and I knew they couldn't rise up as high as me, so I just went up and tried to make a play," Worrell said of the heads-up play that broke a 0-0 tie in the second half. "It came off my shoulder more than my head, but...
Niwot cross country has emerged as one of the top programs in Colorado, and now it can claim its spot among the best teams in the southwestern U.S., after an impressive performance at the Nike Desert Twilight Festival in Casa Grande, Ariz. on Sept. 27. Paced by senior Samrawit Dishon, the Cougars finished first overall in the elite girls 5000M race, with 80 team points. Dishon posted a personal best time of 17 minutes 8.02 seconds to capture third place, followed by junior Taylor James...
Senior Calista Law may not have had the most hits or RBIs in Niwot’s thrilling 19-17 win over the Northridge Grizzlies on Sept. 18, but for head coach Bobby Matthews, the fourth-year varsity infielder was the day’s most impressive performer by far. “The poor kid was so sick,” he said. “She was throwing up between innings, and she was on base all the time, so she would run from home to first base, and then have to go to the trash can. But she was great for us.” The ailing Law reached base three...
Niwot softball has hit a bit of a rough patch since going 7-4 to start the season, but head coach Bobby Matthews was sanguine after his team's messy 7-2 loss to rival Longmont on Sept. 21. With 10 games still to go in the 2019 season, he said his eager team should be able to "clean things up" heading into the final push for the post-season. "We're not as good as we could be, but we've shown glimpses of that," he said. "We've fought and battled through some games, and done some things really...
You don't have to look back very far to find the last Niwot football game that ended with a running clock, but it's been at least a decade since the Cougars were the team ahead by more than 40 points. That's just one of the milestones head coach Jeremy Lanter and his players are celebrating after Niwot's 52-0 drubbing of Fort Lupton in front of a raucous homecoming crowd on Sept. 13. "It feels good to be on this side of it," Lanter said after his team's dominating performance against the Blue...
Niwot generated more than 300 yards of offense against Greeley Central in week two, but football games are often won or lost over much shorter distances. Unfortunately, the Cougars had to contemplate that painful lesson on a long bus ride home after falling 17-14 to the Wildcats thanks to some untimely miscues. “Football is an interesting game in the sense that the little inches that you need are all over the field,” Niwot head coach Jeremy Lanter said after the narrow loss. “There were times wh...
Niwot running back Liam Flanagan made a splash in the Cougars’ season opener against George Washington, rushing for a career-best 210 yards and three touchdowns. And that game was no fluke. In 2018, he rushed for more than 100 yards three times, and was indisputably Niwot’s offensive leader. While Flanagan is quick to give credit for his productivity to the offensive line and his coaches, it turns out that he also has some specialized training in his background that has paid off in une...
The Niwot boys tennis team went 21-0 over its first three matches of 2019, but it was the narrow 4-3 victory over Class 5A powerhouse Fairview that head coach Miikka Keronen called his “favorite” of the still young season. “These are the kinds of matches we need,” Keronen said after the tense Sept. 5 bout with the Knights, who finished third at last year’s 5A state championships. “If you want to win the state title, you have to play this caliber of teams. ... People think winning 7-0 is good...
The Niwot gymnastics program isn’t exactly starting from scratch this season, but after graduation and other pursuits lured away much of last year’s varsity roster, fourth-year head coach Marisa Purcell knew that picking up where the team left off after winning the 2018 state title was an unlikely scenario. Instead, she is looking forward to molding a new generation of Niwot gymnasts into state champions, even if she has to be patient in the meantime. “It’s very exciting to have a new team an...
What a difference a year makes. In 2018, the Niwot offense couldn't get much going against the George Washington Patriots and limped home after a 36-0 shutout that saw less than 150 yards combined rushing and passing. In 2019, against the same team with largely the same players, the Cougars racked up more than 300 yards and scored four rushing touchdowns in their best offensive performance of the past three years. So what changed in the last twelve months? According to just about everyone in...
Senior Jared Osteen didn’t wait very long to make his mark on the 2019 season. With just 90 seconds gone in Niwot’s season debut against Brighton, the forward found some open space in front of the Bulldogs’ net for the Cougars’ first score of the year. He would go on to add an assist in the second half, and ended the game with a total of eight shots, five of those on goal. Afterwards, fourth-year head coach Stephen Dimit said he expects Osteen to embrace his leading role on offense. “He had...
