Out in Left Field

CROSS COUNTRY

Lucca Fulkerson (Niwot), a freshman at Princeton University, helped her squad to a second-place finish at the Lehigh Invitational Sept. 3, when all five runners crossed the 6K finish line together, good for an eighth-place tie at 22:14.8. She followed with a fourth-place finish at the Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet Sept. 11, with a time of 16:28.3 for the 4800-meter race. At the Princeton Invitational she finished seventh with a time of 21:44.2 for the 6K. At the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Nov. 12, she finished 31st overall with a time of 21:22.4 as Princeton took fourth.

Curtis Volf (Niwot), a freshman at St. Mary's (Calif.) finished 30th among school-affiliated runners at the San Francisco State Invitational Sept. 10, with a time of 26:14.2 on the 8K course. Volf had the third-best time among St. Mary's runners. On Oct. 1, Volf finished 16th among affiliated runners at the Pacific Collegiate Invitational with a time of 26:45.3, as St. Mary's ran to a second-place team finish. At the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational, Volf finished 59th overall but 25th among affiliated runners, posting a time of 26.19.4 as St. Mary's finished second as a team.

Jenna McCaffrey (Niwot) finished 10th at the George Kyte Classic for the Northern Arizona University on Sept. 4. McCaffrey, a senior, posted a time of 16:17.5 for the 2.5K run. She followed with a second-place finish (21:17.0) in the open division at the Lehigh Paul Short Run Oct. 1, a 6K event with 291 runners competing.

SOFTBALL

Meghan Waidler (Niwot) drove in the first two runs of the game for the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs with a double in her final collegiate game May 1, but the lead didn't hold up as UCCS lost to CSU-Pueblo, 8-3. Waidler was primarily a designated hitter in her senior season, posting a .286 batting average in 38 games, with 16 RBI and 12 runs scored. She also saw playing time at first base, starting 35 of the team's 42 games. Her best game of the season came against Black Hills State March 7th, when she had a double and a triple, scoring twice and driving in four runs in a 13-4 victory. On April 25, Waidler was on the other side of the diamond from her high school teammate, Brooklyn DeLozier, as UCCS took on New Mexico Highlands in a doubleheader. Waidler won the battle in game one, a 19-1 UCCS victory, as she had two hits, including a triple, scoring twice and driving in a run. Waidler was named to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Academic Honor Roll, as UCCS also earned team honors. Players must have a GPA of 3.5 or higher to receive the honor.

Brooklyn DeLozier (Niwot), outfielder for New Mexico Highlands had a memorable game on senior day, in her final home game. DeLozier went 3-for-3 at the plate, including a three-run home run, to give the Cowgirls an eventual 7-5 win over UCCS and her Niwot High teammate Meghan Waidler, in the second game of a doubleheader. The NM Highland website quoted head coach Kevin Jannusch describing the home run after the game: "Brooklynn had a special weekend. I can't imagine too many Cowgirls have had a better last home game in our history. You could just tell she was on her mission in her last at-bat. She put a great swing on her second strike and fouled it straight back. Cam (Ziegler) looked at me and said 'Oh, Coach. She's on it'... Was she ever."

VOLLEYBALL

Sara Falk (Niwot), a senior at Sacramento State, has played in 11 matches as a middle blocker this season. Falk saw action in five of the first nine matches of the season, but played in only one match from Sept. 17 through Oct. 28. Since then, she has played in five of the last six matches, with Sacramento State posting a 4-2 record during those games.

Audrey Richard (Niwot) is a junior defensive specialist for Colorado School of Mines. Richard has played in 64 sets so far this season, recording 42 digs, with eight of them coming in a match against Westminster (Utah) Sept. 18. Mines was ranked tenth in the nation, with a 25-3 record coming into the RMAC championship Nov. 20, and defeated No. 1-ranked MSU of Denver for the title in five sets. Richard played in three of the five sets, recording two digs.

BASEBALL

Skye Messinger (Niwot) has transferred from the University of Kansas to the University of Texas for his senior season. Messinger, a third baseman-shortstop, has been working with one of his boyhood heroes, former Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, now an assistant coach for the Longhorns. Messinger has had a productive fall exhibition season for Texas, which is ranked No. 1 in the country in pre-season rankings after a trip to the College World Series last season.

David Bote, a Niwot Youth Sports alum, began the 2021 season as the starting second-baseman for the Chicago Cubs, but injuries, including a separated shoulder, hampered his performance. Bote hit eight homers and drove in 35 runs, scoring 32 runs, while hitting .199. He split time between second base and third base. Bote underwent shoulder surgery after the season ended, but expects to be ready for spring training in 2022.

SOCCER

Maddie Barkow (Niwot) is a fifth-year transfer student-athlete at the University of Indianapolis, where she made an immediate impact on the team. Barkow, who played four years at the University of Northern Colorado, started 16 games for U-Indy as a defender and picked up two assists on the season. She earned second-team All-Conference honors for her efforts. U-Indy posted a regular season record of 11-4-3.

TRACK

Alexis Carroll (Niwot) finished sixth in the 100M Hurdles for the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs May 2, at the RMCC Outdoor Championships, posting a time of 15.04. She also finished eighth in the Long Jump with a leap of 5.56M, and ninth in the Triple Jump, earning second-team All-Conference honors for her efforts.

HOCKEY

Reilly Herbst (Niwot) is a freshman goalie for Ohio State this fall. Herbst spent 2020-21 in the USHL, first with Dubuque before finishing the year with Omaha. He saw action in three games with the Fighting Saints, with a 3.33 goals-against average and .873 save percentage, and played in eight games with the Omaha Lancers, posting a 3.60 goals-against and .857 save percentage. He has yet to see action for Ohio State during the first 10 games of the season.

Michael Sdao, formerly of Niwot, was an assistant coach with the Lincoln Stars of the U.S. Hockey League last season. Sdao, who played for the Stars from 2007-2009 as a defenseman, had an eight-year pro career after graduating from Princeton and played the last several pro years in the New Jersey Devils system. He has now joined the NHL franchise as a U.S. amateur scout, and will operate out of Lincoln (Neb.), where he will be responsible for scouting high school, junior hockey and college hockey players in the region. After he was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in 2009, Sdao played four years at Princeton, where he served as an alternate captain for three seasons (2011-13). Following his time at Princeton, he spent eight years playing pro hockey, finishing up his playing career with the Adirondack Thunder of the ECHL in 2019-20 before joining the Stars' coaching staff.

GOLF

Kelsey Webster (Fairview) of Gunbarrel transferred to Oregon State after playing three seasons of collegiate golf at the University of Colorado. Webster, who was the runner-up in the CGA Women's Fall Amateur in 2020, joined the Beavers under coach Dawn Shockley, a Colorado native. At Colorado, Webster competed in 11 tournaments and had a scoring average of 77.78. Webster's first tournament for Oregon State was the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational on Sept. 13. She was solid on the first day with four birdies and was tied for 25th place with a 3-over 73-74--147. Her second day did not go as well as she finished in a tie for 48th place with a 9-over 73-74-78-225. She quickly improved, leading Oregon State to a fifth-place finish at The Molly Collegiate Invitational Sept. 28 with a tie for 11th place overall, carding a 7-over 75-77-71--223. She had four birdies in the final round to post a 1-under 71. The Beavers concluded the three-day tourney with a 14-over 288-283-295--866 at the par-71, 6,269-yard Stanford Golf Course and finished eighth in the 17-team field. Webster shot a 1-over 214 to finish in a tie for 19th place at the Stanford Intercollegiate Oct. 17, posting scores of 71-70-73. She finished the fall season by shooting a 12-over 77-75-79--231 to finish in a tie for 38th place at the NANEA PAC-12 Fall Preview Nov. 3.

SWIMMING

Abbie Shaw (Niwot) won the 100Y backstroke in the first meet of the season for Liberty University with a time of 56.86. Shaw, a sophomore, also swam the first leg of the winning 200Y Medley Relay in the dual meet against Campbell University Oct. 2. She also finished sixth in the 200Y backstroke. She followed with a third-place finish in the 200Y backstroke in the next dual meet against Marshall, Oct. 23. Against Penn State, she took second in the 50Y backstroke (25.80) and third in the 100Y backstroke (55.86). In the TYR Invite '85, the final meet of the fall season, Shaw won the 100Y backstroke with a finals time of 54.05 after posting a time of 53.88 in the prelims.

FOOTBALL

Ayden Bartko (Niwot) saw action in four games for New Mexico Highlands at quarterback this fall. Bartko, a freshman, received extensive playing time in a 40-17 loss to South Dakota Mines Nov. 6, passing for two touchdowns. He completed 12 of 32 passes for 181 yards, including a 48-yard TD pass.