Student-Athlete of the Week: Grace Crall

Staying active is a must for recent Niwot grad Grace Crall, and she accomplished this need well by playing both basketball and soccer during her successful high school career.

In Crall's final basketball campaign with the Cougars, she led the team in three categories: rebounds (110), blocks (12) and assists (30). The senior took particular pride in her rebounding, which as a taller player, was a facet of the game that was drilled into her from an early age.

"I think a lot of people don't want to rebound - it's hard work, but coaches would always be like 'rebound, rebound,'" Crall said. Her parents, Brett and Jeanmarie Crall, are both Niwot High grads. "My dad would always tell me to get low out there and push them back... I think that's a big aspect to help the team improve. Most people just focus on scoring and we need people to focus on more than just scoring. I wasn't a huge scorer, so I'm going to focus on what I can do to help the team."

Her gritty play helped Niwot and first-year head coach Jon Hill finish 7-15 - the program's most wins since 2018-19. Crall was also rewarded with a 4A Longs Peak League All-Conference honorable mention.

"This last basketball season I was incredibly grateful for," Crall said. "Obviously you can tell by the record, but the seasons before weren't the best and basketball started to be really draining on me. But then this season with the new coaches and some new girls who came in, especially the two freshmen, Evelyn (Milis) and Rose (Pacheco), they really just brought up the spirits of basketball. They were able to turn it into something that I did not enjoy going into. I loved going to basketball every day."

Crall added that her rejuvenated love of the sport even led her to often stay after practice to sharpen her game.

Ultimately, though, Niwot's close-knit team is what she'll cherish most.

"Even to this day, I'll still get really upset over the fact that it's over just because I have never experienced quite a community like the basketball (team) this year," she said.

The spring soccer season gave Crall a little more adversity to overcome. During Niwot's third game of the season, one of her already-sensitive ankles was stepped on, leading her to miss multiple weeks. But fueled by Advil and a desire to finish her senior year strong, she returned during the heart of a run to the state playoffs.

Crall's ankle, while not 100%, was strong enough to help her score three goals in a win over Roosevelt on April 28.

​​"I hadn't scored any goals before that this season and then this game (vs. Roosevelt) I was like, 'I'm going to score - I want to score this season, it's my senior year, this is my chance,'" Crall said. "I definitely do better with soccer when I have fun with it."

She added another goal one week later in a win over Berthoud to help the Cougars sneak into the 4A state playoffs. Although Niwot lost in the first round to Palmer Ridge, earning that extra game was important to Crall.

"I was thankful to have that one last game when we finally made it to really soak it all up," Crall said.

Now with her prep career behind her, Crall is training as an assistant at a dental office. She said that if the experience is enjoyable, she'll likely continue on that path in college.