Student-Athlete of the Week: Anne Booth

Niwot softball's power-hitting pitcher Anne Booth reached a difficult milestone during the Cougars' loss to Riverdale Ridge on Sept. 29.

In only her junior season, Booth recorded her 100th career hit on a double, and although it's more of an individual accolade, she was sure to mention her fellow teammates, a few of whom have also racked up some large numbers.

"It's really cool to finally see with the stats how much work I've been putting in, and the team as well," Booth said. "A lot of our other girls on the team are close, too, so it's really cool to see all of our work paying off."

Senior Zoie Chociej is at 94 career hits and junior Autumn Rutherford is one away at 99 as of Oct. 2. They will have just three more regular season games to reach the century mark for their high school careers this season.

Booth credited her work ethic for much of her success, which has helped not only her, but likely the entire Cougars roster.

"I like to come to practice with a good attitude, and I like to lift all the other girls on the team up so we have a good and productive practice," Booth said.

Those fruitful practices have also contributed to Booth's .625 batting average and 15 extra-base hits this season. With only a handful of games remaining for the 9-11 (7-8 4A Longs Peak) Cougars, her batting average ranks sixth in Class 4A, right behind fifth-place Chociej (.642).

Booth's numbers at the plate become even more impressive considering she is Niwot's primary pitcher. While her teammates in the field have an opportunity to think about their previous and upcoming at-bats, Booth's focus is on the opposing batter, 43 feet away. But still, she admitted that the two areas are linked in some respects.

"They definitely feed off of each other," Booth said. "When I do well in one, I want to do even better in the other."

Surprisingly enough, softball isn't even her primary sport. Booth hopes to play lacrosse in college and she has spent the past two seasons as a goalkeeper for Fairview High School. Niwot High does not currently offer the sport - however, with the St. Vrain Valley School District adding the program at Mead High School, she'll be playing for the Mavericks in the spring.

College coaches were allowed to begin reaching out to Booth in September, making for a busy past couple of weeks for the Niwot junior.

"It's been definitely interesting since schools can actually talk to you," Booth said. "It's fun seeing where all my friends are going and all that. It's definitely a stressful process because you don't really know what's going to happen. I'm also a goalie, so schools normally only take one in each class. Once they commit a goalie, you're like 'Oh, I can't go to that school anymore. I've got to move on.' That's been a little tough, but I'm really excited to see how it turns out."

Booth added that her older brother, Jack, who graduated from Niwot in 2021 and played lacrosse at Erie, was a major reason why she took up the sport. Jack Booth is currently on the men's lacrosse team at Washington and Lee University in Virginia.