Student Athlete of the Week Kianna Butler

It didn't take long for newcomer Kianna Butler to find her groove with the Niwot High School varsity softball team last season.

After transferring from a Class 2A school in Flagstaff, Arizona, Butler became the Class 4A Cougars' top pitcher during her junior season. Niwot head coach Bobby Matthews trusted Butler with 130.2 innings in the circle and was rewarded with a stellar 2.68 earned run average.

Butler, not one to shy away from pressure, said she enjoyed the competitive leap from 2A to 4A.

"I love being the pitcher and always achieving stuff and getting strikeouts with my whole team," said Butler, whose 165 strikeouts led the Longs Peak League. "It's a fun time. It's an even better feeling if it's against a really good team."

With Butler's arm silencing opponents' bats, Niwot won 18 games - the program's most since 2012 - and reached the state tournament for the first time in nine years. The junior pitcher was equally as impressive at the plate, finishing the season with a team-high 20 doubles and a .432 batting average. Butler also knocked a home run in Niwot's lone state tournament game against D'Evelyn High School.

Now heading into her senior campaign, Butler hopes to enjoy her final high school season while also guiding Niwot to another deep playoff run.

"I just want to have fun this year," Butler said. "I really want to win and get farther in the season than last year."

Niwot, which recently lost key leaders Anne Booth, Autumn Rutherford, Zoe Cameron, and Jenna Hobson to graduation, will be relying on a new group of seniors to step up. Butler admitted that while she's still developing her own leadership skills, she recognizes the importance of veterans helping younger players. "It's really important if you want to win a lot of games," she said.

Along with attending Niwot's summer workouts, Butler is currently playing club softball for American Freedom Colorado's 18U team, coached by Sky Martin. Her team recently won a tournament and will soon play in the prestigious Colorado Sparkler.

Butler has also been communicating with college softball coaches this summer in hopes of playing at the next level.

"I really love softball," Butler said. "It makes me really happy, and it's basically my main hobby. I'd literally be nothing without it."