Out in Left Field

BASEBALL

Former Niwot High teacher and baseball coach Bob Bote has been hired to coach Standley Lake High School next season. Bote, who coached at Niwot from 1978-2006, was the head coach for five Class 4A state championship teams – 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004 and 2005. Bote’s overall record at Niwot was 459-123. He served as an assistant coach at Erie after leaving Niwot, then served as an assistant coach to his son, head coach Danny Bote, at Faith Christian, where they won a state title in 2011 in Class 3A, a team that included current Chicago Cubs farmhand David Bote.

Bob Bote returned to a head coaching position in 2016 when he took over his high school alma mater, Littleton, where he went 18-20 in two years. He hired longtime Eaton head coach Jim Danley as his pitching coach at Littleton. Bote’s last team at Littleton barely missed the state playoffs. Standley Lake, which played in the same league as Littleton (Jeffco League) finished 4-15 last year.

Sam Distefano (Niwot) took his Holyoke High School baseball team to the Class 2A state tournament this season where Holyoke lost to eventual state runner-up Rocky Ford in the first round. Holyoke finished with a 14-2 record in conference play and tied for the league title. Overall the team had a 17-5 record. Distefano took over the program in 2016, when his first team finished 9-10, but made the playoffs before losing in the first round.

TRACK

Nick Harris (Holy Family) of Niwot set a new school record in the decathlon at Briar Cliff University (Sioux City, IA) May 6. Harris scored 5345 points at the Great Plains Athletic Conference Championships in Fremont (NE) to earn All-Conference honors. He finished second in the 1,500 meters, fourth in both the high jump and discus, fifth in the 400 meters, sixth in the javelin throw, seventh in the 100 meters and eighth in the shot put. Harris broke his own school record, set earlier in the year at a conference meet at Northwestern (Orange City, IA) where he finished fifth overall with 5097 points. He was also named NAIA Scholar Athlete, which requires at least a 3.5 GPA and is awarded to juniors and seniors who excel in varsity athletics. During the indoor track season, Harris, a senior, set a new school record in the heptathlon with a score of 3737 at the GPAC Championships. He also earned All-GPAC honors during the indoor season after placing fourth in the 1,000 meters, sixth in the 55 meters and seventh in the shot put.