Student-Athlete of the Week-MacKenzie Demmel

The Class of 2020 may have lost prom and a conventional graduation to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Class of 2021 is on track to lose an entire academic year and, with it, most activities and milestones. For a deeply engaged student like MacKenzie Demmel, the loss has been hard to take, but she has found refuge on the basketball and volleyball courts for Niwot, and is determined to make the most of her final seasons there.

"I think what I've missed the most is, there's not really as many opportunities to just make memories like you should in your senior year," she said. "It makes sports that much more important, because it's a chance to socialize. So even though I am busy, it's like the best part of my day."

Demmel has been a two-sport athlete since grade school, but she reluctantly decided to give up basketball after her academic demands started growing. She didn't expect to be back at center for the Cougars as a senior, but with an abbreviated schedule and some extra free time on her hands, she decided it would be worth the trouble.

"I had to make too many sacrifices for both teams and the coaches weren't happy," Demmel said. "This year with the season being so short, and I wasn't sure whether club volleyball would continue into basketball season anyway, I was just like this my senior year, and I'm going to make it work. It's only for five weeks, so the coaches will have to deal with that."

The Cougars are off to a slow start in 2021, especially on offense, and Demmel hasn't seen many scoring opportunities in the first two games, but she collected nine rebounds in the season opener against Roosevelt. For now, she is just grateful for the chance to have some normalcy, even if there isn't much normal about playing basketball in a mask.

"I'm really excited to just see all my friends again, and I hope for the best," she said. "The whole message that my coach is trying to give us this year is that we're supposed to take every opportunity, because it's really impressive that we even have the chance to play this season. And with that, that means that every practice is an opportunity to improve and every game as well."

Demmel is planning to take the same outlook into the modified volleyball season, which begins on March 8, right on basketball's heels. She will be reprising her role on the Cougars' front line, where she amassed more than 100 kills and 30 blocks as a junior.

Athletic success is only part of Demmel's story, however, and her achievements off the course are just as remarkable. As a sophomore, she was a member of Niwot's first Girls Go Cybersecurity challenge team, which finished first overall in Colorado. She also participates in several school clubs, including National Honor Society, Link Crew, Environmental Club, and Key Club.

On top of that, Demmel has also excelled in Niwot's demanding International Baccalaureate program, and has especially enjoyed history, even when her mom, Sarah Demmel, was the teacher. "That was actually, fun, surprisingly... She's a big dork."

She also grudgingly admitted to enjoying physics, a subject that hasn't come naturally.

"That is definitely the hardest class I've ever been in," she said. "I have really pushed myself, and I'm glad that I chose to take that class, just because I think it really prepared me for the college scene, in terms of studying and all the effort I have to put in, because I've never really done that for a class before."

For the IB program's service requirement, Demmel conducted the St. Vrain for the Brain, a virtual fun run to benefit the National Brain Tumor Society and, indirectly, her aunt, Megan Boyer, who was diagnosed with the condition in 2018.

"That was just a really amazing experience for me," she said. "And I just really loved getting connected with the community in that way and feeling like I was making an impact."

But her aunt's battle didn't just inspire a fundraiser. After learning more about the potential of technology to solve medical mysteries, Demmel has decided to pursue a career in biomedical engineering in hopes of one day doing more for tumor patients than just raising money.

I just really think that it would be impactful if I can make any sort of improvements in the field in that way just because I feel like every small thing matters there. And I would love to be a part of that.

After graduation and an internship through Harvard, Demmel plans to attend either CU or CSU for an undergraduate degree, then pursue an advanced degree and enter the medical field. For now, that leaves competitive sports out of her post-high school plans, but if there's one thing she's learned over the past year, it's that even solid plans can change in ways you never expected.

"At this point, I'm not even looking that far ahead," Demmel said, "because everything is just always up in the air. Maybe, when the time comes, I'll start stressing, but right now, I'm just rolling with it."