Out in Leftfield

CROSS COUNTRY

Taylor James (Niwot) is on the Cross Country roster for Stanford University this fall, but has not officially competed for the Cardinal yet. James, a freshman, will have an opportunity to run her trademark events (200M, 400M, 800M, Mile) during the indoor and outdoor track seasons. Her Stanford biography notes that her grandmother, Jana Veverkova (200M, 4x100M), and grandfather, Zdenek Veverka (triple jump), are both Czech Republic track and field national record-holders.

Eva Lennert (Niwot) finished 26th overall out of 67 runners at the East Coast Athletic Conference Cross-Country championship for Vassar College Nov. 6. Lennert, a freshman, posted a time of 29:13.3 for the 6K course. She opened her collegiate career by finishing ninth out of 34 runners at the Vassar Season Starter 3K course on Sept. 1. Her best outing of the fall came at the James Early Invitational Oct. 9, where she finished eighth out of 70, with a time of 21:06.7 for a 5K course.

Grady Rauba (Niwot) ran for the University of Colorado at the Cowboy Invitational Sept. 18 at Oklahoma State University. Rauba posted a time of 26:25.2 for the 8K course. He is also on the track roster for CU.

Cruz Culpepper (Niwot) transferred to the University of Mississippi for his redshirt-freshman season this fall. Culpepper finished 24th overall and sixth on the team for Ole Miss at the SEC Championship Oct. 29, setting a new personal record with a time of 24:17.4. Culpepper ran track at the University of Washington his freshman year where he set a freshman record in the 1500M in his first outdoor race, with a time of 3:41.29 at the Raleigh Relays. He was ninth in the Pac-12 Championships in the 800-meters (1:50.19) and had an 800M season-best time of 1:49.23 to take third at the Washington-Washington State dual meet. He also ran one indoor race, posting a time of 3:50.53 as the 11th sub-four-minute miler in school history at the UW Indoor Preview.

Samrawit Dishon (Niwot) finished sixth for New Mexico at the Mountain West Championships Oct. 29, with a time of 19:51.8. At the NCAA Div. I Mountain Region Championship Nov. 12, she finished 34th with a time of 21:15.5. Earlier in the fall, Dishon finished second in the 5K at the Lori Fitzgerald Open (17:11.1) out of 45 runners, and fourth at the Joe Piane Invitational in the Women's Open division (17:20.6).

Ares Reading (Niwot) capped his spring track season at Furman with a fifth-place finish in the 10,000M at the Southern Conference Outdoor Championships with a time of 31:01.14, and a seventh-place finish in the 1500M with a time of 3:58.50, both personal records. Now a junior, Reading began the fall cross country season with a fifth-place finish at the Furman Invitational 5K on Sept. 11, posting a time of 14:17.5, also a PR. At the FSU XC Open Sept. 17, he turned in another PR in the 8K course at 24:13.8, good for a 12th-place finish. Reading finished 89th at the Joe Piane Invitational Oct. 1, with a time of 24:55.1. At the Southern Conference Championships Oct. 30, Reading finished 19th at 26:33.4.

Maggie Smith (Niwot) saw her first action in over a year Sept. 17, finishing sixth at the Roadrunners XC Invite in Denver. Smith, who transferred to Colorado State University from Oregon State, posted a time of 22:20.5 on the 6K course, helping the Rams to a second-place team finish. Smith spent the 2019-2020 season at OSU, where she competed during the indoor track season before transferring to CSU.

Layla Roebke (Niwot) is a redshirt sophomore on the Tulsa University squad this fall. Roebke finished 26th at the Cowboy Jamboree at Oklahoma State Sept. 18, with a time of 22:05.2 for the 6K course. Roebke was third among Tulsa runners. She finished 35th overall and fourth among Tulsa runners at the Chili Pepper Festival Oct. 1, posting a time of 17:40.8 for the 5K course.

TRACK

Elise Gillett (Niwot) performed well for the University of Colorado in a variety of events last spring. Gillett, a sophomore, posted her best time in the 100M (12.57) at the Doug Max Invitational April 3, which was good for eighth place. She ran the 200M in 26.39 at the Jerry Quiller Classic March 19-20, a personal best. Her best time in the 800M came at the Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner Kersee Invitational at UCLA April 8-9, where she finished eleventh at 2:37.47. She also runs the 60 Hurdles (8.88) and 100 Hurdles (14.60), and competes in the High Jump (5'1"), Long Jump (17'8.25"), Shot Put (33'11.25") and Javelin (101'6") as part of her competition in the Pentathlon, where she finished 10th and Heptathlon (4th) at Air Force Feb. 25-27.

Kelia Portis (Niwot) was part of Western Colorado's 4X400M Relay team last spring, which qualified for the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, held May 27-29 in Allendale, Michigan. Portis, a sophomore, also runs hurdles for Western Colorado. The relay team set a school record with a time of 3:44.70, which put them in ninth position for the NCAA meet. The team ran the sixth fastest seedtime in the prelims at the NCAA, clocking a time of 3:46.53 to place third in their heat. In the finals, Portis and her teammates earned All-American honors as they crossed the line in a new school record of 3:44.56 to place fifth overall. This was the first women's 4x400M relay team from Western Colorado University to ever qualify for the NCAA Championships and is the only relay team in school history to earn All-American status during the outdoor track season.

Erika Timbang (Niwot) finished fifth in the 400M for the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs April 18 at the Kit Mayer Classic at Colorado School of Mines. Timbang posted a time of 1:04.50. The redshirt freshman competed in cross country as a true freshman, but has not run in any meets this fall.

GYMNASTICS

Caleb Churchill (Niwot) is on the roster for Army's 2022 gymnastics team, which opens the season in January. Churchill is a junior at West Point, and was named to the CGA All-America Scholar-Athletes gymnastics teams for 2020 and 2021. Athletes must have a GPA of 3.5 or higher to qualify.

EQUESTRIAN

Amber Nusser (Niwot) participated in all five meets for University of California-Davis in horsemanship, finishing with a 2-3 record in the event last spring. Nusser, a sophomore, scored a season-high 73.0 in the regular season opener against Fresno State, posting a two-point win and standing fifth on the season-best list by a UC Davis rider in the event. She is also tied for 11th on the school's all-time list. Nusser's second victory came in the opening round of the East Coast Athletic Conference Championships on March 25, scoring a 146.5 to win by half a point. She also appeared in four meets in reining for the Aggies, finishing with a 1-3 record. Her lone win of the year came against Fresno State. Nusser scored a season-high 68.5 in a loss on Feb. 25, falling by 1.5 points.

SOCCER

Nora Hayden (Niwot) played 15 of 18 games for Guilford College (S.Car.) this fall, starting in 11 contests. Hayden, a freshman midfielder, did not score for Guilford, but had seven shots on the season. Guilford posted a record of 11-6-1.

Lexi Crow (Niwot) played in 14 of 15 games for Black Hills State University this fall. The Sophomore midfielder started twice and had two goals on three shots for the season. Her first goal came in a 4-1 win over MSU Moorhead Sept. 11. Her second goal helped Black Hills State to a 4-3 win over New Mexico Highlands Oct. 17. Crow was named to the RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll after posting a 3.39 GPA with a major in psychology.

Manny Tapia (Niwot) played in 18 games for Laramie County Community College this fall, scoring three goals and adding one assist. Tapia, a sophomore forward, scored his first goal Oct 1 in a 5-0 win over Northwest College. He followed with another goal Oct. 23 in a 6-0 win over Central Wyoming College, and added a third goal Oct. 29 to ice a 3-0 win over Western Nebraska CC.

Jonathan Jimenez-Flores (Niwot) played 19 games for Laramie County Community College, starting 15 this fall. Jimenez-Flores, a sophomore, teamed up with high school teammate Manny Tapia at forward, scoring three goals and adding two assists. His first goal came in a 2-2 tie against Trinidad State Sept. 24. He scored his second goal against Central Wyoming Oct. 11 in an 8-0 victory. He joined Tapia in the scoring column in a 6-0 win over Central Wyoming Oct. 23.

Ava Dumler (Niwot) played nine games for Linfield College, starting two games, including the final game of the season, a 1-0 loss to Whitworth. Dumler, a junior midfielder, had one shot on goal but did not score for Linfield, which finished the season with a 4-14-2 record.

BASKETBALL

Cooper Sheldon (Niwot) has seen action in four of the first 11 games for Doane University this fall. Sheldon, a 6'4" forward, is perfect from the field, making his only 3-point attempt. He is 1-2 from the line, with four points on the season, and has two rebounds.

Alex Erikson (Niwot) is a junior at North Park University, where he is listed as a 6' guard. Erikson saw action in one game as a sophomore, but did not post any statistics.

Volleyball

Emma Falk (Niwot) has played in 9 games this season for College of Charleston. Falk, a 6'4" middle blocker, has recorded 10 kills in 17 sets played. She also has 17 blocks for the season. Falk recorded a season-high five blocks against Elon Sept. 18. Her older sister, Sarah Falk, plays volleyball at Sacramento State.

Zoe Gonzales (Niwot) transferred to Jacksonville State this year after a successful season at Wake Forest where she was second on the team in blocks. Gonzales, a junior middle blocker, earned second-team ASUN all-conference honors for Jacksonville State, after leading the conference with a .404 hit percentage. She also led the Gamecocks with 82 blocks on the season, with 11 coming against Stetson Sept. 24. She had a season-high 12 kills against Chatanooga Aug. 31. The school website quoted head coach Todd Garvey saying, "Zoe was a big addition to our team this offseason and has fit in really well on and off the court. She is one of the best blocking middles in conference and gives us a huge defensive presence at the net. Offensively she is really physical and leading us in hitting percentage for the year. As good as she already is, I think she can be even better next year and still has a ton of upside which is scary. I'm proud of Zoe for all of her hard-work and am excited to see what she can continue to do."