Running a solo endeavor for some

Ponderosa’s Cameron Nuzman didn’t have any teammates in the race, but he wasn’t alone while running the course at Norris Penrose Events Center in Colorado Springs during the state cross country championships.

Nuzman warmed up by himself, not with six or seven teammates like many fellow competitors. He was the only Ponderosa runner who qualified for the Oct. 29 state meet.

But many members of the Mustangs’ team were on hand to support Nuzman.

“It helps to have the team there, even if they were not running,” he said.

Nuzman, a senior, finished 43rd in the boys 4A race with a time of 17:12.5.

Green Mountain freshman Kasey Klocek, who was the only Rams’ qualifier in the girls 4A race, was fourth in the individual standings with a 19:12.6 clocking.

“It wasn’t bad being the only runner,” she said. “I had the team cheering me on.”

An ice day

I have always admired runners, but sometimes it doesn’t look fun at the end of cross country races.

It was a warm day with the temperature reaching near 75 degrees at the state cross country championships and there were plenty of runners ushered into the medical tent for aid.

It looked way too busy to me, but apparently it was not unusual, according to a medical technician who said it was pretty typical with dehydration, exhaustion and swelled knees and ankles after falls.

It was estimated that at the start of the day there were at least 30, 20-pound bags of ice on hand to help runners recover.

Jeffco softball honors

Jefferson County announced its all-league softball selections, and the top individual honors were shared by four schools.

Arvada West’s Brenna Millikan was tabbed as the Class 5A Coach of the Year and pitcher Gianna Browly of Ralston Valley was selected as the Most Valuable Player.

In the Class 4A Jeffco, Valor Christian junior pitcher Ali Kilponen was named the Player of the Year and Dan Porreco of D’Evelyn was the Coach of the Year.

CHSAA Hall of Fame inductees

Mary Shea, a standout athlete at Thornton, and Ron Vlasin, who coached basketball at Arapahoe and Littleton, are two of the eight people being inducted in the Colorado High School Activities Association’s 2016 Hall of Fame class.

The 2016 class will be inducted during ceremonies Jan. 25, 2017 at the Radisson Hotel-Denver Southeast, I-225 and Parker Road.

Shea played volleyball, basketball and tennis at Thornton and helped the Trojans win the 1980 state basketball title as a senior. She played college basketball at Wyoming and coached the Thornton volleyball team in 1997 and 1998.

Vlasin compiled a 546-165 record in 32 years as a basketball coach. He coached at Merino, Littleton and Arapahoe. In six seasons at Arapahoe, the Warriors compiled a 96-23 record, and his Littleton basketball teams were 125-64 in nine seasons. He also coached baseball at Arapahoe for six seasons.

New ThunderRidge boys lacrosse coach

Colton Mattei has been named the new boys lacrosse coach at ThunderRidge.

Mattei, son of Regis Jesuit girls basketball coach Carl Mattei, coached the past two seasons at Machebeuf where he compiled a 6-23-0 record for a program that had won a combined five games in the previous three seasons.

He inherits a ThunderRidge program that has gone 21-39-0 in the past four years.

A play to remember

Several people have commented that the final play of the Oct. 28 football game between Cherry Creek and Prairie View was one to remember.

Prairie View senior Patrick McKinney, who is wheel chair bound with cerebral palsy, was given a hand-off and wheeled into the end zone while being cheered on by Thunderhawk and Bruins players.

Colorado Springs during the state cross country championships.

Nuzman warmed up by himself, not with six or seven teammates like many fellow competitors. He was the only Ponderosa runner who qualified for the Oct. 29 state meet.

But many members of the Mustangs’ team were on hand to support Nuzman.

“It helps to have the team there, even if they were not running,” he said.

Nuzman, a senior, finished 43rd in the boys 4A race with a time of 17:12.5.

Green Mountain freshman Kasey Klocek, who was the only Rams’ qualifier in the girls 4A race, was fourth in the individual standings with a 19:12.6 clocking.

“It wasn’t bad being the only runner,” she said. “I had the team cheering me on.”

An ice day

I have always admired runners, but sometimes it doesn’t look fun at the end of cross country races.

It was a warm day with the temperature reaching near 75 degrees at the state cross country championships and there were plenty of runners ushered into the medical tent for aid.

It looked way too busy to me, but apparently it was not unusual, according to a medical technician who said it was pretty typical with dehydration, exhaustion and swelled knees and ankles after falls.

It was estimated that at the start of the day there were at least 30, 20-pound bags of ice on hand to help runners recover.

Jeffco softball honors

Jefferson County announced its all-league softball selections, and the top individual honors were shared by four schools.

Arvada West’s Brenna Millikan was tabbed as the Class 5A Coach of the Year and pitcher Gianna Browly of Ralston Valley was selected as the Most Valuable Player.

In the Class 4A Jeffco, Valor Christian junior pitcher Ali Kilponen was named the Player of the Year and Dan Porreco of D’Evelyn was the Coach of the Year.

CHSAA Hall of Fame inductees

Mary Shea, a standout athlete at Thornton, and Ron Vlasin, who coached basketball at Arapahoe and Littleton, are two of the eight people being inducted in the Colorado High School Activities Association’s 2016 Hall of Fame class.

The 2016 class will be inducted during ceremonies Jan. 25, 2017 at the Radisson Hotel-Denver Southeast, I-225 and Parker Road.

Shea played volleyball, basketball and tennis at Thornton and helped the Trojans win the 1980 state basketball title as a senior. She played college basketball at Wyoming and coached the Thornton volleyball team in 1997 and 1998.

Vlasin compiled a 546-165 record in 32 years as a basketball coach. He coached at Merino, Littleton and Arapahoe. In six seasons at Arapahoe, the Warriors compiled a 96-23 record, and his Littleton basketball teams were 125-64 in nine seasons. He also coached baseball at Arapahoe for six seasons.

New ThunderRidge boys lacrosse coach

Colton Mattei has been named the new boys lacrosse coach at ThunderRidge.

Mattei, son of Regis Jesuit girls basketball coach Carl Mattei, coached the past two seasons at Machebeuf where he compiled a 6-23-0 record for a program that had won a combined five games in the previous three seasons.

He inherits a ThunderRidge program that has gone 21-39-0 in the past four years.

A play to remember

Several people have commented that the final play of the Oct. 28 football game between Cherry Creek and Prairie View was one to remember.

Prairie View senior Patrick McKinney, who is wheel chair bound with cerebral palsy, was given a hand-off and wheeled into the end zone while being cheered on by Thunderhawk and Bruins players.

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