2/THEALUMNI

June ’08June ’08www.thealumninews.org

Salon OdysseyRenee ApplehansStylist/Owner 303-564-5659

Lynn NimrodIndependent Cosmetologist

303-725-7844

Cindy Knight - BoiesStylist/Nail Tech 303-564-9533

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Salon 303-252-9619; 12045 Pecos St. Westminster, CO 80234

Community Day: Columbine High School

A Run for Remembrance, crafts, hot rods and food outline a day that an entire community embraces for support. The Alumni/Luke Gonzalez

Feature on Page 14

Got a story idea? Go to Contact Us at thealumninews.org

Go to Contact Us at thealumninews.org

Coach of the Month: Jim Danley

Eaton baseball coach Jim Danley, right, hoists state champion-ship trophy No. 8 with freshman Seth Jackson at Butch Butler Field in Greeley on May 17. The Alumni/Luke Gonzalez

Feature on Page 12

Academics.........................................................................Commentary......................................................................The Alumni Top 50...........................................................School of the Month.........................................................Students of the Month.....................................................Teacher of the Month.......................................................Athletes of the Month.......................................................Coach of the Month..........................................................Activities............................................................................Then and Now...................................................................CHSAA...............................................................................In the Community...............................................................Fitness...............................................................................Around the State..............................................................

Contents:345689

1012141516171819

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2008-09

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WHATDOYOUTHINK?

Bowling is in the process of trying to be sanctioned as a CHSAA activity, along with rugby and boys volleyball. Above, Standley Lake fi nished runner-up to Arvada West this spring. Should bowling be a sanctioned activity, log on to www.thealumninews.org and vote.Michelle Meska/Secretary of the Colorado High School Bowling Federation

Feature on Page 16

QUOTE of the MONTH

“One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to fi nd he can do what he was afraid he couldn’t do.”

Henry Ford

Presented by

SPORTSMANSHIPJust because you try and teach someone how to be a good sport does not guarantee that they will execute such behavior at all the right times. Still, you will make more of an impact than if you never tried at all.

Salon OdysseyRenee ApplehansStylist/Owner 303-564-5659

Lynn NimrodIndependent Cosmetologist

303-725-7844

Cindy Knight - BoiesStylist/Nail Tech 303-564-9533

Jeanette NunezStylist 720-935-2811

Salon 303-252-9619; 12045 Pecos St. Westminster, CO 80234

NEWSANDNOTES ...

THEALUMNI/3

Judith Morales, from Greeley-Evans School District No. 6, was announced as the 2008 English Language Acquisition Unit Teacher of the Year. Morales teaches English Language Learners at Bella Romero Elementary School. ... CDE Commissioner Dwight D. Jones appointed Dianne Lefl y as director of research and evaluation for the CDE. ... Nominations are being accepted for the 2009 Colorado Teacher of the Year. Applications can be found by logging on to www.cde.state.co.us/cdeawards and are due Aug. 15.

FACTSANDFIGURES ...

The National Assessment of Educational Progress released results showing that in 2007 Colorado eighth-grade students performed higher in writing than the national average. The number of Colorado students who performed at or above the NAEP basic level was 91 percent, 4 percent higher than the national average.

AcademicsAcademicsPresented by June 2008

BY JOANNAGOMEZUniversity of Colorado

DIDYOUKNOW? ...

That NAEP was established in 1969 and is the only federally mandated and nationally representative assessment of what young students know and can do in key subject area.

— Colorado Department of Education

Coping with tragedy

Support groups are valuable to help students, teachers, families endure. The Alumni/Jessica Vidal

Fairview, Heritage grieve the loss of beloved members of their communities

TRAGEDIES happen. Chil-dren and teachers die. And high school admin-istrations must face their

students and help them ponder the unanswerable “why?” Death hits hardest when it comes without warning. Fairview High School and Heritage Mid-dle School are familiar with the heartbreak that students and fac-ulty face when someone within the school community unexpect-edly passes away. There is no easy way to cope with death, but there is comfort in knowing that high schools of-fer services and support to griev-ing students and faculty. Bryce Atkinson, a 16-year-old student at Fairview, collapsed in a hallway near the school’s gym on March 19. He was taken to Boulder Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Atkinson suffered from a pre-ex-isting heart condition and died of natural causes. “We’re dev-astated,” said Briggs Gamblin, spokesman for the Boulder Val-ley School Dis-trict. Fairview sus-pended a two-day culture week celebration that was supposed to begin the day after Atkinson’s death. Instead, a day of silence was declared in memory of the teen, who would have turned 17 on March 20.

Teachers, parents and students were seen near the school’s special-education room carrying roses and sharing hugs. Family members and Atkinson’s peers

spent the morning af-ter his death sharing sto-ries about the student. One mother of another special-educa-tion student said, “We’re a close-knit group here.” Principal Don Stensrud

wrote a letter to parents explain-ing that a district counseling team would be at the school for several days if students wished to

talk about what happened. “There has been a wide range of emotions at the school of near-ly 2,000 students,” Gamblin said. Jenny Fisher, a junior at Fair-view, said the counseling ser-vices would be used to their full advantage. “Even people who didn’t know him at all are so up-set. He was just really happy all the time.” Fisher said. Heritage Middle School is cop-ing with the recent passing of one of its teachers. Lance Melting, a special-edu-cation teacher, died March 31 in a car accident on Vail Pass. He was 39. His passing has left a hole in Longmont’s education commu-nity, according to many of the hundreds of people who have responded to his family. Melting’s family and parents,

“Even people who didn’t know him at all are so upset. He was just really happy all the time.”

JENNYFISHERFairview junior

along with the rest of Heritage Middle School, honored him with a video tribute, words and songs. Gary Lloyd, who teaches band, used students’ writings in a memory book to compose a song he performed on his guitar at the middle school’s memorial ser-vice. “You were the best teacher a kid could ever have.” Principal Anne Marie Sanchez concluded the memorial by ad-dressing Melting’s family and alerting students of the counsel-ing services available. The school is establishing the Lance Melting Award for eighth-grade students who can carry on his legacy, and will plant a tree on the grounds “as a lasting memory of one who will always be in our hearts,” teacher Beth Lee said. u

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4/THEALUMNI

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BY KYLEGARRATTThe Alumni

O.J. Mayo is about to en-ter the NBA draft after one year of basketball at the University of South-

ern California, and that sur-prises just about no one. But turn the clock back about five years when ESPN was running a feature on Mayo as he was just entering high school and people were already calling him the next LeBron James. Mind you, this was during James’ rookie year in the NBA when he had proven absolute-ly nothing. That was the first time I remember the state of high school sports stopping me in my tracks and making me think, “Wait, what just hap-pened?” Since when is the largest sports network in the world fixating a camera lens on a kid barely out of middle school? And why is this kid al-ready expected to be the heir to an 18-year-old who has the un-enviable task of being the heir to Michael Jordan? The trend of Colorado high school athletes debating whether to play var-sity or club sports is still a world away from the likes of Mayo and James, but when six start-ers from Mullen’s state champion girls soccer team chose their club team, the Colorado Rush, over varsity, I almost had to ask myself again, “Wait, what just hap-pened?” Is this trend good or bad? Does it have to be one of the two? “Realistically, when you look at the situation, it’s between two good choices,” said George Connolly, a volunteer coach for Mullen and head coach of the club team, the Broomfield Blast. The only time I played club sports in high school was to stay sharp for the “real” season. Now athletes such as the Mullen girls

are choosing between the cama-raderie, friendship and state titles of varsity sports and the expo-sure and national titles possible through club sports. For most athletes, sports are about the competition, team building and that next challenge. For defending Colorado player of the year Danielle Foxhoven, all-Colorado player Brittany Ker-ridge and the rest of the Mullen girls, their club team offered all three. At this stage, they can’t meet stiffer competition than at the club level. Two years ago, they lost in the state final match, then

returned last year to grab the state crown. Natural progres-sion on the athlete hunger scale makes a national title the next

target, and that is what these girls are after. In taking such a large chunk of their team, they won’t miss out as much on the bonding afforded by high school sports. Can we logically blame the athletes seeking the benefits of

club sports? Of course not. But that doesn’t mean we can’t spew out a cliché about when it used to be “just a game.” (Apparently the nostalgic old man inside me is surfacing about two decades before I planned.) The idea that sports are just sports for any elite athlete or program at the high school level or above is simply outdated and naive. Athletes in these club programs get to compete for the highest prize at this level and showcase their talent to the best colleges in the country. Con-nolly compares the amount of exposure athletes get at the club

level as opposed to the high school level as a “night-and-day situation.” But a more hectic travel-ing schedule, ultracompeti-tive atmosphere and pseudo amateurism are not what everyone has in mind for high school athletes. The main conflict is that club and varsity seasons tend to run at the same time, leaving athletes with a tough choice. “I was disappointed for them, that they were put in a position where they had to make that choice,” Mullen head coach Amy Estes said of the girls who opted for club ball. “As far as compet-

ing with the high school season, I think it’s just the beginning of what’s coming. It’s not only competing with high school soc-

cer, but competing with high school academ-ics, because they have them traveling all over the country. I hope the student-athletes will be the ones to stand up and say, ‘This isn’t what’s best for us.’ ” It’s in the best inter-est of club teams to find the best players, so they will continue to look for the best athletes from the high school ranks. When almost an entire team unexpectedly departs, as the case was for Mullen, it opens op-portunities for younger athletes to get varsity experience before they expected. The club presence is likely to get bigger, but the choice is ulti-mately up to the play-ers. If you were Fox-

hoven, you would be coming off a season that left you with nothing else to prove on the high school level and an oppor-tunity to compete for a national title and essentially audition for colleges for a season. Can you say no to that? u

“ I was disappointed for them, that they were put in a position where they had to make that choice. ... I think it’s just the beginning of what’s coming.”

AMYESTESMullen girls soccer coach

Club vs. varsity quandaryElite athletes face a diffi cult choice today

CSCS

Loveland

Erie

RANKINGSCRITERIA1. Academics2. Activities3. Athletics4. Community service 5. Sportsmanship

*Every high school is eligible for the Top 50

Go online at www.thealumninews.org and tell us why your school should be on the list.

Rankings are determined by the staff at The Alumni along with academic information and statistics from the Colorado Department of Education and the help from our partners at the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) with state records and statistics.

... THE NEXT25

26. D’Evelyn27. Akron28. Longmont29. Chatfi eld30. Merino31. Bear Creek32. Berthoud33. Denver East 34. Fort Collins35. Douglas County36. Rocky Mountain37. Dakota Ridge38. The Classical Academy39. Arapahoe40. Ponderosa41. Pueblo Tech42. Lewis-Palmer43. Cheyenne Mountain44. Centaurus45. Pine Creek46. The Vanguard47. Battle Mountain48. Rock Canyon49. Platte Canyon50. Sangre de Cristo

DIDYOUKNOW? ...

That Colorado Governor Bill Ritter is a graduate of Gateway High School,

class of 1974.

For more information, go to www.cde.state.co.us

THEALUMNI/5

Top 50Top 50June 2008Presented by

The Raiders are threatening to break into the top 10 with a strong fi nish late in the school year. And with one issue left until summer break, who is deserving of the 2007-08 school of the year, the Bruins, Mustangs or Eagles?

Regis continues late surge

There are approximately 100 students in Monarch’s Thespian Society. Out of those, 15 to 20 percent pursue theater as a college major.

Why can’t Jim Danley coach for another 20 years? We sure hope he does. Eaton

Eaglecrest

11

Cherry Creek

Cherokee Trail

Monarch

Regis Jesuit

Mullen

Eads

Grandview

Fairview

CommentsRank Last Month School

Kent Denver

The Cougars received a silver medal by U.S. World News and Report as one of the best high schools in the United States.Niwot

Boulder

Peak to Peak

Air Academy

Highlands Ranch

Legacy

Columbine

The Wolves had 20 students who qualifi ed for the FBLA state awards and the school’s hip-hop team won its regional competition.

Ralston Valley

Holy Family

4

Faith Christian

7

Broomfi eld

25

24

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22

21

20

19

18

17

16

15

14

13

12

11

10

9

8 8

10

6

5

4

5

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9

12

15

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13

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29

7

3 3

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1 1

Since the school opened in 2000, the Mustangs have won seven team and 14 individual state championships and 54 league titles.

CCHS off ers more than 95 clubs of which 90 percent of the student body participates in. Ninety percent of students take four years of science and 88 percent of students take a foreign language.

Anika Petach and Tanya Petach will represent the Knights at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Atlanta.

The Eagles already have secured several team titles this year in Class 4A, including boys soccer, poms and girls basketball.

The Mustangs baseball team suff ered a heartbreaking 5-3 loss to Chatfi eld in districts.

The Panthers mock trial team received two special recognition awards: the 2008 Mock Trial Tournament “Team Professionalism” award and the “Outstanding Attorney” award for Sam LaPres.

With one issue left in the school year, the Eagles may fi nd themselves in the top fi ve for the fi rst time this year.

The Eagles earned a No. 1 seed in the state baseball brackets but fell short with a disappointing elimination loss to Lamar 9-8.

The Falcons will send valedictorian Lucy Ji to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the fall.

More than $570,000 of tuition assistance and scholarships were awarded for the 2007-08 school year to 206 students.

Anna Podoplelova and Matthew Jasica have been selected as National Merit Scholarfi nalists.

Regis Jesuit provides nearly $1.6 million in aid to 20 percent of its current families to ensure no qualifi ed applicant is denied enrollment for fi nancial reasons.

CSCS is the largest Christian school in Colorado, serving almost 1,250 students from kindergarten through grade 12 on fi ve campuses.

Peak to Peak High School is a U.S. News and World Report 2008 Gold Medal School, ranking as the 47th best high school in the nation out of 18,790 public high schools in 40 states.

The Thompson School District JROTC program was recognized as an Honor Unit with Distinction and given an overall rating of 97.7 percent. This places the Thompson JROTC program in the top 8 percent of all the 1,435 JROTC programs nationwide.

Future Community Leaders of America continues its focus on community service and leadership development, collecting pop-can tabs for the Ronald McDonald House. The proceeds from the recycling help to pay expenses for families at the facility.

Community Day was a success, even if Mother Nature didn’t cooperate.

It will be interesting to see how Cougar athletics fair next year with the new realignment schedule.

The Tigers had a great season on the diamond but ran into a hot Eaton squad in the Class 3A state championship brackets.

The Kadets girls lacrosse team advanced to the fi nal four in the state championship brackets but lost to Heritage-Littleton 13-12.

The Devils’ David Hanley was named a fi nalist for the Prudential Spirit of Community awards in recognition of his impressive community service activities.

6/THEALUMNI

School OF THE MonthSchool OF THE MonthJune 2008 Sponsored by

The Aragon Groupwww.ColoradoHomeExplorer.com

IS it Mayberry? Maybe.Does it come across as ar-rogant?

So what. Is it one of the best? Absolutely. “I lovingly categorize Broom-field as Mayberry,” said Broom-field Principal Ginger Ramsey. “It’s the hometown that everyone knows.” As Broomfield Athletic Direc-tor Mike Lowe described it, “We have a small-town atmosphere in a big-town suburb.” And with 24 state champion-ship banners displayed in the school gymnasium, BHS has a

lot to be proud of. “Parents who come to the school say, ‘Your school is old or your school is ugly,’ and I say, ‘Walk into the build-

ing, talk to the people inside of it and the whole atmosphere changes,’ ” Ramsey said. “We are pretty arrogant in that we don’t put league champion-ship things up on our wall … we only put up first place.” This year alone, the Broomfield Eagles have taken home several state cham-pionships, including titles in boys soccer, poms and girls bas-ketball. The school’s percussion ensemble captured state gold and Gabe Gomez was the state’s 112-pound wrestling champion in Class 4A — solidi-fying Broomfield as one of the top athletic schools in the state. “It’s just incredible what our coaches and kids do year in and year out,” Lowe said. “There is

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BY RENEETORRESThe Alumni

Same old school, same old winning attitude

Mike Lowe

Broomfi eld’s old facility will be replaced by a new building to open for the 2009-10 school year. The Alumni/Jessica Vidal

Ginger Ramsey

because Broom-field kids can go to three different high schools,” Ramsey said. “If you live east of Sheridan, you go to Legacy, and if you live south of 120th you go to Standley Lake.” When Legacy opened in 2000, Broomfield school administrators were a little nervous because they thought they would lose a good chunk of their student enrollment, but as it turned out Broomfield lost only a few kids to the new school. But why? “Kids are in this building from when they are little,” Ramsey explained. “I truly believe that’s why we don’t lose any kids. They will tell you that there is only one school in town.” What separates Broomfield from the rest is the support of the school’s parents, Ramsey said. “We

no pressure that comes out of this office about winning. Winning just becomes an end product.” This year, all of that negative talk regarding the school’s facili-ties will change, because on June 2, construction of Broomfield’s $ 21 million dollar school will begin. The city passed a bond issue to allow for the new school. And for the next year, half of the school will use 13 double-wide portables for 26 classrooms. The construction is scheduled to be finished by the start of the 2009-10 school year, 50 years from when the building first opened.

“This is a big boost for the community,” Ramsey said. “There are three things the kids are get-ting. We are getting a new building, we are get-ting air conditioning and we are getting new bath-rooms. We laugh about it but the bathrooms are 1959 models ― just rein-forcing that the kids need

a good place to go to school.” Beyond all of the success that Broomfield has had over the years, is how the school has managed to maintain it. “We do compete with Legacy High School because they are in the city of Broomfield. It’s weird

Mayberry meets the 21st century

THEALUMNI/7

MORESTORIES ... MOREPHOTOS ... ONLINE THEALUMNINEWS.ORG

PROFILE

School: Broomfi eld High SchoolLocation: 1 Eagle WayMascot: EaglesColors: Blue and whiteClassifi cation: 4ADistrict: Boulder Valley #RE 2League: NorthernEnrollment: 1409Principal: Ginger RamseyAthletic Director: Mike LoweRival: Liberty (Soccer)

have a very involved parent group. Our parents are in and out of this school all the time.” “Society in my opinion has said, ‘Once you get to high school, parents aren’t supposed to be involved.’ I am sorry — they need to be even more involved.” Besides being landlocked, one other element that has always been prevalent is the support of the entire Broomfield community. “We are not doing any of our AP tests on campus because we want a quiet environment,” Ramsey said. “So

the city of Broomfield is letting us use their facilities. You don’t see that in a lot of places.”

Lowe, who moved over from Centau-rus four years ago for the athletic direc-tor’s position, agreed with Ramsey, “It’s kind of a corny comment but I agree — it takes a village to raise one kid, and this village is in-credible. Yeah, I think we have unbelievable coaches, but

I think everything happens well before these kids walk in through those doors.” u

BHS has an enrollment of 1,409 students. Trophy cases display awards achieved by the Eagles over the years. The Alumni/Jessica Vidal

WHATSHAPPENING ...

FACTSANDFIGURES ...

The BHS Percussion Ensemble took fi rst place in the Scholastic National A Division at the Rocky Mountain Percussion Association state competition on April 12. The win was BHS’ second in a row. The team also placed 12th at the WGI World Championships on April 18-19 in Dayton, Ohio. ... The BHS Winter Guard placed 11th in the Scholastic A Division at the Colorado Winter Guard Competitions. ... Kate Hughes received a gold medal and fi rst place in Thematic Table Setting at the 2008 FCCLA state conference held at Johnson and Wales on April 8, and Katie Hartkoff was awarded a gold medal and second place in Gourmet Food Presentation.

NEWSANDNOTES ...

Broomfi eld had an overall academic performance of HIGH for the 2006-07 school year, according to the Colorado Department of Education School Accountability Reports. Student enrollment stability increased from 96.7 percent in 2005-06 to 97.5 percent in 2006-07. Also, BHS students scored higher than the state average in reading, writing and math on the ACT.

— Colorado Department of Education

Three Broomfi eld High School teachers were recently awarded grants from Boulder Valley School District’s Impact on Education Foundation to be used for projects/programs in their classrooms. Winners were Deborah Hayward (English), Chuck Leech (math) and Robert Scott (drama).

— Broomfi eld newsletterNovember 2007

June 2008 Sponsored by

Students OF THE MonthStudents OF THE Month www.HomeVideoStudio.com

8/THEALUMNI

IT’S never too late to change your mind. Especially if your future depends on traveling hundreds of miles away from

home, away from everything you have ever known and, most im-portantly, the one, true constant that has always been there for you ― your family. That’s the decision Broomfield senior and salutatorian Madalyn Kern made just weeks ago. “It came about really late,” Kern said. “I was going to go to Carnegie-Mellon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and their tennis team wasn’t as strong as I had hoped [it] to be, so I called up the coach at the University of Colorado [Nicole Kenneally]. She came down to watch some of my regional matches and she offered me a spot on the team.” Lettering all four years for Broomfield, Kern finished third in No. 1 singles this year at the state championships at Pueblo City Park on May 8-10. “I knew I had a tough draw. I had to play a girl from Kent Denver [Sammie Wat-son] and we had a good match, but she ended up winning,” Kern said. “I went into the playbacks and I had the attitude of winning the rest of my matches and I played very well.” A gymnast before she ever stepped onto a tennis court, Kern began playing tennis at 7. “I was really competitive in gymnastics, spending 20 hours a week in the gym, but I quit when I was 11 so I could play more tennis. I really love the sport — you can play it your whole life and my family has really got involved with it too.” Being an only child, her entire life has been cen-tered around her family, which made the decision to attend CU-Boulder much easier. “My family is a very big part of my life and we spend a lot of time togeth-er. They have helped me in all aspects,” Kern said. The senior already has taken three courses on campus and she plans on studying bio-medical en-gineering. “I really love math — it is one of my strong points,” Kern said. “My dad is an engineer and I like that way of thinking.” Coming from the Star-gate School in Thornton ― a charter school for gifted students ― Kern didn’t expect the Broomfield community to embrace her the way it has. “I came here when I was a freshman,” Kern said. “I didn’t know anyone. But the counselors have been a very big help, searching for colleges and calling them if I needed them to. We have a big family here, so it will be hard to leave, but I know I am going to be entering a new family at CU-Boulder and I am really excited for that.” u

BY RENEETORRESThe Alumni

David KloecknerTennis standout moves on to CU-BoulderBY RENEETORRESThe Alumni

Madalyn Kern

FOR some valedictorians, speaking in front of a large audience can be nerve-racking.

But with four years of mock trial experience under David Kloeckner’s belt, piece of cake. “Speaking in front of people is nothing, especially after speaking in front of a real judge who presides over real murder cases and stuff like that,” the Broomfield High School senior said. Preparing a speech to be presented in front of thousands of people is a task that he proudly accepts. “I have to make it entertaining. I have to make some people laugh and some people cry. But it has to be good,” Kloeckner said. Kloeckner is Broomfield’s highest-ranking student, but it’s not only because he excelled in a high school full of outstanding students. “I have had quite the experience the last four years,” Kloeckner noted. Kloeckner has traveled the world doing missionary work for his church, The Rock at Church Ranch. From supporting the victims of Hurricane Katrina in Dallas, Texas, to teaching Bible school in Mexico to flying overseas to Kenya lending a hand to those with no more than the shirt on their back, Kloeckner has seen strifes and struggles only a few can imagine. Kloeckner recalled an orphanage in Kenya: “There was an orphanage for HIV-positive children and it seemed like on paper that they had nothing. But I remember thinking, ‘Here is an 8-year old orphan, living in a Third World country with HIV, and you wouldn’t know it by talking to them and playing with them.’ ” “It gave me a different perspective on the world and it gave me a different perspective on when you see things on the news.” This fall, Kloeckner will study international relations at the University of Denver, which offered him a full-tuition scholarship. “My experiences kind of directed me to that field of study,” Kloeckner said. “I want to find a career where I can go overseas and interact with people for a full-time thing.” When he’s not volunteering his time to those less fortunate, Kloeckner is busy with tennis, track and Frisbee. And on a whim, this spring he auditioned for the school musical Crazy for You. “My dad encouraged me to try out and I had a friend that was trying out as well, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt. I did a lot better than I thought I would,” Kloeckner said. “The school play was the icing on the cake because it was so different from everything else I have done.” Above and beyond everything in his life, he credits his support system. “My family has been there for me for the good times and through the bad,” Kloeckner said. “And my faith has really been huge. The most important thing that I have learned in the last four years is that no matter what happens, there is a peace available, everything is going to work out. God is bigger than the situation and that has allowed me to have a joy that no matter what happens, I can wake up in the morning and sing in the shower.” u

Valedictorian takes initiative to global scale

PROFILE Name: David KloecknerSchool: Broomfi eldHigh SchoolGrade: SeniorGPA: 4.6Activities:Track, tennis, Frisbee and mock trial

PROFILE Name: Madalyn KernSchool: Broomfi eldHigh SchoolGrade: SeniorGPA: 4.5 Activities: Tennis, NHS and student leadership

“... I remember thinking, ‘Here is an 8-year-old orphan, living in a Third World country with HIV, and you wouldn’t know it by talking to them and playing with them.’ ”

DAVIDKLOECKNERBroomfi eld High senior DIDYOUKNOW?

The University of Colorado-Boulder has an enrollment of more than 28,000 students.

The Ohio State University has the largest student

enrollment in the country, more than 52,000.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE YOUR ADVERTISEMENT HERE?

CONTACT US AT 720-276-1826 FOR RATES AND SPONSORSHIPS ...

PROFILE................................................................Mary Fortunato School: Ralston Valley High School Title: Foreign language teacher FROMTHEPUBLISHER ... You believed in me, and I will forever be indebted ... Mateo

MARY Fortunato doesn’t like awards. She doesn’t like to accept them, at least. The

Ralston Valley High School Spanish teacher craves the area away from the spotlight and prefers to look in at the center of attention. She has shunned teacher of the year awards, and it took the coaxing of a former student for her to submit to this feature. She doesn’t mean to offend, she is simply humble and believes the focus in a teaching environment should be on other people. “I am a very private person. When teacher of the year came around, I always declined it.

That’s just not who I am,” Fortunato said. “My accolades have come from the stu-dents and the parents and the commu-nity. I wasn’t in teaching for

the glory, I was in teaching for the kids. If my students wrote me a little thank-you note at the end of the year, that was all that I needed to feel rewarded.” Fortunato, 62, has had plenty of opportunity to receive notes over the years. She started teach-ing right after graduating from Wayne State College in Ne-braska when she was 20. Teach-ing has been her only occupation since then, and she has been deflecting public praise for most of the ride. “She got most of her kudos from the kids and from parents. She probably didn’t want to be in the spotlight, for no other reason than just, she’s pretty humble and down to earth,” said Bonnie Harden, who taught with Fortu-nato at Mandalay Middle School and Standley Lake High School during the 1980s and ’90s. Fortunato’s distaste for the limelight parallels her childhood. She grew up in Hoskins, Neb., population 180. She was one of

Fortunate to have FortunatoTeacher OF THE Month

THEALUMNI/9

BY KYLEGARRATTThe Alumni

Mary Fortunato

Teacher OF THE MonthJune 2008 Sponsored by

WWW.VIDALPHOTO.COM

Front Range Spanish teacher winds downinspiring career

Mary Fortunato has been a favorite teacher for countless students over the years. The Alumni/Jessica Vidal

three people in her grade before attending high school in Norfolk. “You had to make your own fun. There was no swimming pool, no skating rink, no bowl-ing alley,” Fortunato said. “[We spent] a lot of time riding bikes, riding out in the country, just taking off into fields.” Her love of languages began with Latin and French classes during her first two years of high school at a girls Catholic board-ing school. When her parents could no longer afford the board-ing school, she transferred to the public high school in Norfolk, where Spanish was the only lan-guage offered. About four years later she was on a train by herself to Saltillo, Mexico, to finish her degree in Spanish. “I thought that I really knew Spanish when I graduated from college, but back in those days the emphasis was on grammar, reading and writing. I knew I had to do something because I didn’t

speak very well,” Fortunato said. “After I graduated I took a train to Mexico, which was an experience in itself. I was there all summer long. I studied and stayed with a family, dated every good-looking guy in Saltillo that wanted to go out with me and practiced my Spanish. When I got down there I was just in Spanish shock. I thought, ‘I grad-uated from college with a degree in Spanish and I don’t really know what they’re saying.’ ” Fortunato developed a bond with the two youngest children of the family she was staying with. The children’s level of speaking was more on par with her, so she spent as much time with them as possible. She would take them to the park or for ice cream and play with the children and their dolls. “At that time, that part of Mex-ico was not bilingual at all,” For-tunato said. “It wasn’t like when you go to Cancun and everybody is speaking English, refusing to

speak Spanish to you.” The teaching she received in Mexico was more proficiency based and provided the blueprint for the curriculum she attempted to bring back to the States. After two years of teaching in Omaha, Fortunato moved to Jefferson County and began teaching at Manning Junior High School. Starting in the late 1960s, she taught at several different schools before spending a decade at Standley Lake. She retired from Standley Lake in 2000 only to come back the next year as a part-time teacher at Ralston Val-ley High School. “This is a different experience. All my energy and focus is on the classroom,” Fortunato said. “I’m not on committees, I don’t sponsor any clubs. At Standley Lake I was like the high school mom. I went to all the kids’ activities, their concerts and ballgames, sponsored dances. It wasn’t a job, it was a life. When I came here I thought, ‘I’m not

going to do that again. I’m just going to be the best teacher I can be in the classroom.’ ” Fortunato has about three de-cades worth of students in Jeffer-son County, many of whom she still keeps in touch with. She re-cently ran into two of her former students, are twins who gradu-ated in the early ’90s from Stand-ley Lake. They were at the Chi-cano Arts and Humanities Cinco De Mayo celebration speaking about their father, an artist who recently passed away. The twins immediately recognized Fortu-nato close to 15 years after they had taken classes from her. “She is a teacher who will stay with you for a lifetime. My brother, sister and I still talk about her classes and the fun times we had in Spanish,” said Michele Hynes, a sophomore speech communications major at Colorado State University and former student under Fortunato. She has taken trips with her students to Mexico, Costa Rica and four times to Spain. On a 22-day trip to Alicante, Spain, she broke a bone in her foot on the second day. Her students pushed her around in her wheelchair and when the group went to a bull-fight with no wheelchair access, one of her students gave her a piggyback ride up the steps so she could watch the fight. “Her enthusiasm in the class-room contributed to my deter-mination to become a teacher,” said Amy Robertson, a teacher at Shadow Ridge Middle School. “I use my Spanish, what she taught me, outside of school in jobs and even now, on occasion, in my own classroom. I’ve got students who speak Spanish as their first language and sometimes they are unwilling to ask me to clarify something. I hear them discuss-ing this and then I am able to help them better.” Fortunato said she would like for next year to be her last, but she has said that before. “Teaching isn’t a job, it’s a calling,” Fortunato said. “People will say, ‘How can you teach for 40 years and not be bored?’ But every day is unique because of the students. There’s never a bor-ing day because of the students. I think I’ve done a really good job of dealing with the kids in a professional, yet fair and caring way. That’s a fine line to walk. To have the respect of your stu-dents is probably the number one reward that I’m proud of.” u

MATT Sherrier will head to the College of Charleston after this school year, but the Boul-der High School swimmer doesn’t want to be forgotten too quickly. He left his mark at the

recent Boulder County meet, swimming into first place at the South Boulder Recreation Center with a record-shat-

tering time. Sherrier’s time of 4 min-utes, 42.84 seconds in the 500-yard freestyle reset the old record by about four seconds. “It’s awesome. I didn’t even think I had a chance of getting the county re-cord, to be honest,” Sherri-er said. “It’s really exciting and I want to see my name on that record board for a really long time.” The male athlete of the

month for The Alumni, the senior has more in his target range as his high school career winds down. “I want to keep breaking records and keep getting faster

and faster,” Sher-rier said. “I’ve just been training and working out a lot. My older brother was here two years before me setting re-cords, so I’m just trying to break his records. It’s definitely good motivation.” He’s versatile, too. Sherrier was only a second off his personal best in the 200-meter freestyle at the Boulder County meet.

“It was definitely way faster than I expected,” Sherrier said. “Sherrier is one of the state’s best freestyle swimmers,” Boulder coach Curt Colby said. “It’s still early in the sea-son and the guys are just approaching their best times.”

10/THEALUMNI

June 2008

Athlete OF THE MonthAthlete OF THE MonthSponsored by

Folsom St. Coffee

Boulder senior shatters freestyle recordBY JOANNAGOMEZUniversity of Colorado

MATTSHERRIER

School: BoulderHigh SchoolGrade: SeniorGPA: 3.5Sports: SwimmingYears lettered: FourCollege: College of Charleston

The Alumni/Jessica Vidal

“The competition gets hard sometimes, so I have to train pretty hard, but it just feels good to compete,” Sherrier said. “I’m very close and am improving a lot. “Our team is really good this year and most of our team is seniors. We’ve just improved so much from last year and we are getting faster and faster. I think we are going to do really good at state this year.” With excitement surrounding the Boulder High swim team, Sher-rier has been able to focus on both school and the pool. “Pretty much that’s all I do,” Sherrier said. “I go swimming then go to school. Get out of school then go swim-ming. I breathe, sleep and eat it. It’s the only way to do it.” u

Sherrier sizzles in the water

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several lacrosse camps. She also played with a club team during the offseason. “I became a lot more dedicated, lot more time, more serious,” King said. It paid off. The coaches noticed a difference from day one of practice. “We didn’t know if she’d be ready,” said assistant coach Stephanie Adair. “At tryouts, it was such an im-

provement. Camps help so much. You get a different perspective, you see differ-ent goalies.” Senior defender Rachel Chalat also noticed the dif-ference. “She’s being involved,” Chalat said. “She’s talking a lot more in goal. She’s enjoying having shots on her. She’s moving toward the ball, running at it to get the ball.” King admitted to being nervous when the season started. But that’s changed. “I was filling in big shoes for Jamie Hamilton,” King said. “It was my first time on varsity. But I got better as the season progressed.” In fact, with King in net, the Demons lost their first two games. After that, they went 9-4. “I started off not so con-fident,” King said. “But I could see myself improve. I saw the coach and play-ers have more confidence in me.” The results put King among the state leaders in saves. She made 19 in one game. Her victory against Columbine sticks

out, as King made a number of saves to keep the team in the game. She also made a save and sent an outlet pass that led to a goal. “It’s the most satisfying feeling in the world when you save it, clear it, [your teammates] make a pass and score,” King said. “That’s the epitome of

good goalie play.” While King originally wavered on playing in net, she doesn’t plan on leaving her position for any reason other than to stop a shot or trap a ball. She’s found her spot on the field. “It’s my place now,” King said. “I love the position.” u

THEALUMNI/11

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CAMERONKINGSchool: GoldenHigh SchoolGrade: Junior GPA: 3.87Sports: LacrossePosition: GoalieCollege Interest: Denver University

Photos by Justin LeVett

BY SCOTTKANIEWSKIThe Alumni

CAMERON King is a smart girl. And it’s not just because she carries a grade-point average of 3.78. King had not played lacrosse before her

freshman year at Golden High School. She tried out and ended up on the

third-level team — the level below junior varsity — as a

player in the field. Somewhere between then and now, King figured out how to make the varsity team and be on the field the entire game. The Alumni’s female Athlete of the Month is the Golden High School starting lacrosse goalie. A junior, King helped the Demons to a perfect Jef-fco League record in her first varsity season. Toward the end of her freshman year, the third team’s regular goalie quit the posi-

tion. The coach at the time told King to try playing in

net. She finished out the season as the goalie.

Heading into her sophomore year, King was undecided about sticking in net. But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. She’d be a

sophomore starting on the junior varsity

team. The starting var-sity goalie, Jamie Hamil-

ton, was a senior. So when Hamilton graduated, King

would be in line to be the starting varsity goalkeeper.

Adding to the reason to stay in net: King would play the entire game. Did that help make

the decision easier? “A little,” she said with a smile. But King didn’t take the position or the sport lightly. Over the summer entering her junior year, she attended

A position fi t for a KingGolden junior thrives in new role as lax goalie

percent over the last 10 years, and a winning percentage of 80 percent for his career. Even more impressive, he has led Eaton to 26 consecutive state tournament appearances, winning eight state championship titles. And in January, Danley was inducted into the Colorado High School Activities Association Hall of Fame, adding to a résumé filled with awards and honors.

THANKS, GILL Danley found his passion for baseball at a young age. “We moved in from the farm to Greeley when I was 8 years old and at that time there were really just two to three major activities,” Danley said. “What you did was trade baseball cards in the morning and at noon you played baseball until it was time

12/THEALUMNI

With 8 state crowns, revered skipper forges onBY RYANRUSSOThe Alumni

Coach OF THE MonthCoach OF THE MonthJune 2008 Sponsored by

Jim Danley has led Eaton to 13 of the last 16 state championship games, including a 4-1 win this year against Lamar. File photo

Danley’s will drives Eaton

BEFORE the 1998 Class 3A state baseball championship game, Eaton head coach Jim

Danley approached leadoff hitter Jason Smith and told him, “You are going to play a key role in today’s game. “I am going to swing at the first pitch, coach,” Smith replied. “I know he is going to throw a fastball down the pipe.” Danley turned to Smith, looked him in the eyes and said, “You do what you have to do,” and trotted down the third-base line. Sure enough, the first pitch thrown by Lamar High School’s Brad Stiles was a fastball that Smith smoked for a line-drive base hit. Eaton beat Lamar 3-1 that day, giving the Reds their third state championship. “That’s why Coach Danley has been so successful. He believes in his players and he just lets them play their game,” said Smith, who became an all-conference outfielder for the University of Northern Colorado. Smith now works at The Ridge at Castle Pines North as a golf assistant. Ten years later, on May 17, Eaton faced Lamar again in the Class 3A title game, defeating the Savages 4-1 for another Danley achievement. Senior starting pitcher Kyle Ottoson, who will be attending South Mountain Community College in Phoenix in the fall, struck out 15 Savage batters. He pointed to Danley for his success. “Throughout four years of high school, he has changed me completely, making me into the ballplayer that I am today. He is a tremendous coach and that’s all you can say,” Ottoson said. In a career that spans more than 36 years, Danley has willed himself to accomplish just about as much as a high school baseball coach can accomplish. “In school we work with kids’ minds. The mind can think and the mind can judge, but the third thing that the mind can do is to will, and I think that is something that we don’t pay much attention to in modern-day society,” Danley said. “You can find no successful people who didn’t get there without the ability to will their way through the tough times.” Going into this season, Danley had a winning percentage of 91

to go home. I learned to love the game at that point.” The storied coach points to his father, Gilbert, as a source of inspiration: “My dad had always gone to great lengths to show me how to play the game properly. Back in those days, each town had [its] own team and in the town of Gill, Colorado, they had some great Mexican baseball players. My dad asked them to show me how to throw and how to hit. Those Mexican players and the town of Gill and those families got me into loving baseball.” Danley served as a teacher and counselor at Eaton High School for 34 years. He founded the Eaton Elementary School Anti-Drug Character Building Program and directs the Eaton High and Middle School Anti-Drug Mentoring Program. Eaton Athletic Director Steve Longwell said Danley is simply an outstanding individual. “It’s not about just baseball with Jim,” Longwell said, “it’s about how he teaches the kids to approach life.” Former Eaton third basemen Mike Carrasco agreed: “He was more than my neighbor; he taught us more about life than about baseball,” Carrasco said.

THE RECORD STREAK Like Smith, Carrasco played for Danley during the school’s state record run of 45 consecutive wins from 1998-99. Jim Danley with his sons Kirk and Jimmy in 1992. File photo

Coach Danley loves classical music, “It’s a very well-kept secret. My mother was a concert pianist and I grew up listening to the world’s greatest music.”

JIMDANLEYSchool: Eaton High SchoolYears: 36Sports: Baseball

DIDYOUKNOW:

THEALUMNI/13

“The mind can think and the mind can judge, but the third thing that the mind can do is will, and I think that is something that we don’t pay much attention to in modern day society.”

JIMDANLEY Eaton baseball coach

ADVERTISINGDISCOUNTS ... BLOGPOSTS ... ONLINE THEALUMNINEWSAGENCY.COM

Danley remembers the streak vividly and how it began: “The year before, we lost to Kent Denver 13-5 and I remember Smith, Jeff Meyers and Carrasco after the game with tears in their eyes and I remember them coming up to me and saying, ‘Coach, this is not going to happen again.’ “Who knew what that could have meant at the time, but from that moment on, they never played a game where they were not focused and mentally prepared.” Carrasco remembers during the streak that the team played with great confidence. “If you have a coach who is all over you, you

don’t have much confidence. Coach Danley just let us play. He knew when to stop and he knew when to redirect us,” Carrasco said. Danley said baseball is comprised of singular moments,

and when individuals and teams believe in themselves, they can accomplish anything. “We played superior teams during the streak and we fell behind and came back several times,”

Danley said, “but those kids imposed their will on their opponents and they simply would not go away.” Is there another streak in his future? Danley shows no sign of stopping. “As long as I’m getting

up every morning and my first thought is about baseball, I will still be here. I guess I haven’t changed from about the age of 4 years old,” Danley said. Danley said life on the diamond can prepare kids for anything. “I can’t think of any

better preparation for the rough and tumble capitalistic world we live in than athletics and in my case baseball,” Danley said. “It is a great vehicle for life’s lessons.” u

CAREERHIGHLIGHTS

• 8 state championships• 15 championship game appearances• 22 final four appearances• 26 consecutive state tournament appearances (1983-2008)• 29 conference championships• 619-146-2 overall record (Colorado state record)• 226-21-1 record over the last 10 years• National High School Coaches Association Baseball Coach of the Year (2003)• Colorado High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee (2005)• Colorado Sports Hall of Fame Special Citation Award (2003)• 28 conference coach of the year awards• Eaton Elementary School Anti-Drug Character Building Program (Founder)• Eaton Optimists Club (Charter member)

— For more information, log on to www.eatonbaseball.com

www.thealumninews.org

ActivitiesActivitiesColumbine Community Day & Run for Remembrance — May 10 — Clement Park

14/THEALUMNI

Students from Normandy Elementary School contribute to the festivities during Columbine’s Community Day. Left, Columbine Princiapl Frank DeAngelis announces the winners of the Run for Remembrance; bottom, hot rods and clowns fi ll the parking lot of CHS. The Alumni/Luke Gonzalez

Rebels celebratea day for each otherBY RYANRUSSOThe Alumni

Giving back, saying thanks at Columbine

NOT wind nor rain nor snow could put a damp-er on Columbine High School’s Community

Day. On May 10, CHS put on its third annual Community Day and Run for Remembrance. The events were developed so the school could give back to the community for the support after the April 20, 1999, tragedy.

Junior Jeff Ballard said being able to do something for those who helped so much is special. “This is a lot of fun,” Ballard said. “It’s a great event to bring the entire community together for a day.” Proceeds from this year’s event will go to the Burn Center at Children’s Hospital. The day was kicked off by the Run for Remembrance, and after the race, students from Norman-dy Elementary and the CHS band performed musical num-bers. Booths from local small businesses and food options highlighted a day that continues to bond the Columbine community. u

THEALUMNI/15

Then & NowThen & NowDenver East grad hits the pro cageBY KYLEGARRATTThe Alumni

Former Denver East wrestling standout Lumumba Sayers works on technique in Denver recently. The Alumni/Jessica Vidal

The Alumni/Jessica Vidal

Sayers chases mixed martial arts stardom

TWO-LEGGED takedown. Block the hips. Circle the head. Squeeze the knees. These are not necessar-

ily the terms that the average fan might associate with mixed martial arts. The right cross, up-percut and roundhouse kick are simply more exciting. But former Denver East wres-tling standout Lumumba Sayers is in the under-ground gym at Grappler’s Edge every Tuesday and Thursday to learn the small stuff. Sayers struggles on the mats with a handful of oth-er men learn-ing strategies for the kind of situations in MMA fighting that might make the casual viewer change the channel. Sayers, 29, tries to perfect where to place the blade of his forearm on an opponent’s tri-ceps; the quickest way to get his shin in an opponent’s ribcage; or how to use his ear to execute an arm bar. Grasps and grunts smack the walls in the fight for that extra inch of leverage. Chief instructor and owner Sheldon Marr maps out exactly where each hand, foot and knee should be. It’s Sayers’ wrestling days with the precision cranked way up. “It’s exciting. Some of the stuff that I see Sheldon do, it’s like ‘I would never even have thought of that,’ ” Sayers said. “Learn-ing jujitsu, it’s a transition with learning the submission holds you can do.” Sayers has compiled a 4-1 re-cord in a year of amateur fights and will be making his pro debut on June 7 in Stockton, Califor-nia, with Explosive Champion-ship Fighting. After he gradu-ated from Denver East in 1997, he went on to Colorado State University, where he boxed. He had some success, but not an excessive amount, in both boxing and wrestling, so combining his strengths in both seemed like the logical next step. “Sometimes, in a boxing match, the guy’s hands were fast-er than mine, but I hit harder,” Sayers said. “And I was good at wrestling, so I figured, put them together. The people that I can’t strike, I’ll wrestle. People that are better than me at wrestling, I’ll strike them. I can put it to-

“Besides God and my kids, this is me,” Sayers said. “I’m always in the gym training, getting ready for a fight.” His work has paid off with early success. He knocked out his first opponent in 52 seconds and he recently knocked out an opponent in 11 seconds. Before his pro debut, Sayers is set to train with Nick and Nate Diaz, brothers of Ultimate Fighting Championship fame. “He has vicious heavy hands, mad knockout power,” said Joe Trujillo, a local pro MMA fighter and friend. “He’s well-rounded. He doesn’t really have any flaws that I see.” Sayers’ wrestling background gives him a nice base, but Marr

gether and still be the best.” The most challenging MMA matches so far for Sayers came against Chino Montoya. Sayers said he was attacked with a bat a week before the first match and during the match he broke a rib, which collapsed his lung, and he tapped out after Montoya locked him in a hold. The second match stirred up some controversy during the sec-ond round. During a takedown, Sayers claims to have inadver-tently poked Montoya in the eye. The referee stopped the fight and once it resumed, the fighters hit the mat again. Sayers said he ac-cidentally poked Montoya in the same eye and then Montoya bit

Sayers’ finger. The fight was stopped for good and the referee disqualified Sayers. Sayers was suspend-ed from fighting for 100 days. “As far as what I have seen and what I feel in my heart, and what he knows too, I won that fight,” Say-ers said. “I feel like I accidentally poked

him in his eye and he bit me on purpose. He was running out of gas and he looked for an easy way out.” Sayers’ full name is Lumumba Nantamba Mohamed Sayers. Lumumba means gifted and Nan-tamba means man of destiny. “I was named after Patrice Lu-mumba, who revolutionized Af-rica,” Sayers said. “I’m proud of my name. My dad named me and all my brothers African names. We all fit the meanings of our names.” One of six boys, Sayers grew up fighting his brothers and learning from his dad. These days his life is essentially work-ing for Road Scholars moving, training, fighting and taking care of his three kids.

still sees him as rather unpol-ished when it comes to grappling and jujitsu techniques, having only trained with Marr for a couple months. “He needs to learn a lot more both about applying and staying out of submissions,” Marr said. “He’s got an open mind and he’s a fast learner, so it’s not going to take that long. With some people it takes months and months just to grasp the basics, but you don’t have to show him too many times before he gets the tech-nique down.” Gaining pro status, especially in the UFC, is more about who you know than what you know. Sayers seeks an MMA career to change the course of his life and

serve as an example. He has seen three of his best friends die be-fore his 30th birthday and spent some of his younger days run-ning with the wrong crowd. “Some fighters get into the cage just to be known as a fighter. I get in the cage because it’s my way to success. I feel like I’m good at it. I can be success-ful at it and I can reach a lot of people through the community being a role model,” Sayers said. “I like the attention because it’s a way to get a message out. Life can get easier. I went through some stuff when I was younger and I overcame it. You can go through things and overcome them. You can have a better life, just keep trying hard.” u

CHSAACALENDAR

16/THEALUMNI

June 2•Music Committee meeting— 9 a.m.

June5•Ice hockey athletic directors meeting— 9:30 a.m.

June 6• Executive Committee meeting— 8 p.m.

June 7•SAT test date

June 10•Partners meeting— 6 p.m.

June 14•ACT test date

July 4•Independence Day— CHSAA offi ce closed

July 24-25•Assembly of fall school boxes— Englewood H.S.

July 28-Aug 1•Student Leadership Workshop at CSU

CHSAACHSAAwww.thealumninews.org

Arvada West High School took home the 2008 state bowling championship at the club level. Bowl-ing is not a sanctioned activity by CHSAA. Michelle Meska/Colorado High School Bowling Federation

HIGH SCHOOLERS pack lo-cal bowling alleys with their friends on Friday nights, awaiting the

opportunity to showcase their talents of hurling bowling balls down open lanes. Other high schoolers’ talents are on hold as they await the opportunity to showcase their talents for team and individual glory in an official CHSAA event. Currently, students who par-ticipate in bowling at the high school level have only the club scene for statewide competition. “Right now, bowling has got-ten the approval and they have done the survey, but they cannot find a league to sanction it,” said Colorado High School Activities Association Assistant Commis-sioner Rhonda Blanford-Green. According to the CHSAA con-stitution and bylaws, any activity wanting to be sanctioned must go through a number of steps to be-come approved. Organizers must first conduct an all-school survey to deter-mine the level of interest. Once the infor-mation from the surveys is gathered, the sup-porting party must present the in-formation to the CHSAA equity committee, including the posi-tives, negatives and any Title IX issues. Organizers also must gauge whether there are enough schools in a geographical area to com-

plete a schedule, support the likelihood of having practice and competition sites readily available, provide the availabil-ity of officials, present the cost estimates per school for start and maintenance, and address the liabilities involved with the new activity. So if bowling has received an approval, why don’t leagues

want to submit a proposal to sanction it? “I think schools are being pulled in 20 different directions and financial issues like transpor-tation and other budgetary issues are stopping them from introduc-

ing a new activity,” Blanford-Green said. “I don’t want to speak for our board, but what I am hearing is that there is a lot on their plates right now. The financial stability of athletic bud-gets as well as school budgets are kind of in question.” The last activity to go through the process and become a sanc-tioned activity was field hockey

in 1997.Right now, bowl-ing is the only pending activity to have gone through the full process, but rug-by and boys

volleyball are putting their cases together too. “Rugby just completed the survey. They’ve spoken in front of the board of control and come to the equity committee, but it doesn’t look at this time that

CHSAA wants to add rugby based on the survey,” Blanford-Green said. Boys volleyball organizers spoke at the board of control in April but have yet to complete other steps necessary to get on the books. Even if bowling and rugby are denied, they might gain sanction in the near future. Bowling is already functioning successfully as a club sport, so if it does be-come sanctioned, the transition of putting it under the CHSAA umbrella would be almost instan-taneous. Rugby faces a tougher chal-lenge, but the upside for the activity is high. Rugby’s national office is centered in Boulder, so there are plenty of resources to get the activity off the ground. Rich Duncan, competitions di-rector for Colorado Youth Rugby and head coach of the North Side Vikings youth club, said sanc-tioning the activity could be a matter of time. “2010 is not an unreason-able expectation,” Duncan said. “Right now we have more girls competing in rugby than what CHSAA has in field hockey.” u

Bowling, rugby, boys volleyball seek acceptance

BY RYANRUSSOThe Alumni

•Results from a formal survey must be submitted by parties interested in adding a new activity (i.e. school support, funding, coaches availability and student participation).•Recommendations from the Equity Committee regarding positive and/or negative impact to proportionality in CHSAA member schools.•Adequate number of schools in a geographical area to complete a schedule.•Practice and competition site availability.•Availability of certifi ed offi cials.•Cost estimates per school for start and maintenance for the activity.•Safety and liability issues involved with the new activity.

— CHSAA bylaws

WHATITTAKES to become an activity ...

Target: Getting sanctioned

DIDYOUKNOW? ...

CHSAA is a voluntary association of 332 member

schools, including 287 public and 50 private schools. Of

the public schools, eight are charter schools and three have incarcerate student

participants.

— Colorado High School Activities Association

In the CommunityIn the CommunityJune 2008

THEALUMNI/17

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with 4 bed/4 bath3012 sq. ft.

Call Bob Truax at 303-548-8508

Golden

$345,000Beautiful home up north

5 bed/3 bath3455 sq. ft.

Call Bob Truax at 303-548-8508

Loveland

Featured Listings

Color & HighlightsStarting at $65 or $3 per foil up, to 10 foils

Full Sets $40-$50Rebase $25-$35

Service Updo’s $65

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pro kicking academycoaching training recruiting

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Wingman

Northglenn303-450-9378

Westminster Mall303-427-8843

Comminiello’sMeats & Bakery

Homemade Italian SausageParty Trays & Deli Lunches

12039 Pecos StreetWestminster, CO 80234

303-451-8432

18/THEALUMNI

FitnessFitnesswww.thealumninews.org

WORKOUT: PUMPRUBBERMichael H. Branch — Cherry Creek Athletic Club — Trainer of the Month

MICHAELBRANCH

Age: 49Fitness center:Cherry Creek Athletic Club, 500 S. Cherry St.Certifi cations:USA Track & Field, Functional Fitness, Yessis System; coach for 26 years, trainer for 12High School:Wheaton Central H.S., Wheaton, Illinois, class of 1976College:University of DelawareActivities: Football, track and fi eldAwards and achievements: Ran anchor for 4x100-meter and 4x200 m relays (East Coast Conference champions, 1980)Coaching achievements:2003, 2005-07 recipient of the Cherry Creek Athletic Club Circle of Excellence Award; fi rst place at the 1997 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor championships; fi rst place at the 1996 Illinois boys high school track and fi eld championships; and the 1994 Illinois state high school association’s assistant coach achievement award.

NUTRITIONTIP: Eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, eat foods in their natural state, eat plenty of lean protein, add in a good multi-vitamin/mineral and drink plenty of water.

3 4

21

Step One: Assess the athlete’s technique to see what is missing in his or her running performance (knee lift, paw back, stride length, and leg turn over). Step Two: Use rubber tubing to add resistance while performing exercises that will help to correct fl aws in the athlete’s technique.Step Three: Mimic perfect running style with the resistance cordsStep Four: Perform exercises slowly during the off -season and fast during the competitive season.Step Five: Perform movement without resistance in an accelerated mode. Feel your body move faster, faster, and faster!

TRAININGTIP: Get enough rest. Make your training refl ect the same muscular pathways as the sport you are competing in.

Add speed to your fall sports

2

Chad Shrumwww.ceconcrete.comcuttingedgeconcrete@hotmail.com2045 W. Union Ave., #CEnglewood, CO 80110

Call us today for a free design consultation, and let us help you create your own outdoor sanctuary! 303-794-3866

COMINGNEXTISSUE

Around the StateAround the StateJune 2008

THEALUMNI/19

PICTURE of the MONTH

Columbine juniors Jeff Ballard, left, and R.J. Gaither have some fun after the Run for Remembrance. The Alumni/Luke Gonzalez

•AWARDWINNERS

Sean Pack of Battle Mountain is congratulated by March Coach of the Month Suzanne Foster at the 2008 state speech festival. File photo

2007-08 YEARINREVIEW ...

Pueblo West defeated Monarch 21-14 in the Class 4A football state championship game at Invesco Field at Mile High. The Alumni/Ryan Russo

•PICTURES

ARVADA’S Destination Imagination team, Blair Elmo Project III, re-cently took first place in

the Jeffco Regional Tournament at Lakewood High School. Team members Kyle Giddings, Daniel Leonard, William Rafferty and Heather Rafferty competed in the structure challenge, “Switch,” by building a structure weighing less than 21 grams out of balsa wood that held more than 300 pounds of weight. The structure had to hold weight in one con-figuration and then be switched to another position to hold addi-tional weight. … Niwot’s produc-tion of Romeo and Juliet sparked donations of more than 3,000 pounds of food for Community Food Share. … Skyline’s Timony

Schuerman’s art portfolio was recognized with a gold key award at the Scholastic Art Com-petition. Her portfolio will move to a national showing in New York City. … Golden’s Stephanie Morales was awarded a $1,000 scholarship in recognition of her four-year participation in Family, Career and Community Leaders of America. … Horizon jazz students Michael Drotar and Kevin Macumber were invited to join the Mile-High All-Star Band, and Macumber, Travis Spencer, Ben Cole, Dylan Car-penter, Thomas Haupt and Jer-emy Wagner will be members of the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra All-Star Band this summer. … Thornton’s Ann Greenaway was a National Merit Scholarship winner. The THS World Af-fairs team of Calvin Ly, Keenan Luebbers, Madhav Narayan, Minh Than, Andy Nguyen and Shauna Robbennolt placed best overall for team quiz score at the

Montegues and Capulets give back

Arvada displays winning ImaginationWorld Affairs Challenge. THS student Anjali Chadayammuri was selected by the University of Denver for the prestigious MLK Scholarship. … Aurora Central’s Monte Damaris Smith received the Faculty Award for Outstand-ing Senior Student and Tsebaot Simeneh Mergia received the Principal’s Leadership Award. … Air Academy’s Science Olym-piad team finished fourth in state at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden. Individual gold-medal winners were Wenfei Du and Preston So for Disease Detec-tive, Alicia Unangst and Rachel Colchin for Health Science and Kevin Durbin for Wright Stuff. … Liberty’s Knowledge Team took second place in Class 4A at state competitions at Colo-rado College. Team members were Daniel Pascua, Ben Sut-ton Sharon Beltracchi, Andrew Hoffman, Jeff Kralik and Phillip Beltracchi. u

Staff report

The Alumni$1,500

Student Journalist of theYear Award 2008-09

Deadline: Sept. 19, 2008

* Write a 500-word essay on why journalism/photography appeals to you; your college aspirations; and how you would use the scholarship award.* Letter of recommendation

Application:

1. First name: Last name: Middle initial:2. Date of birth: / /3. High school: Year: GPA:4. Home address: City: State: Zip:5. Phone number: Cell: Other:6. E-mail:

Personal References: One reference must be a teacher (school newspaper administrator if possible)

Name: Home phone/e-mail: Years known:1.2.3.

Please send this application along with essay and letter of recommendation to: Attn: Isaiah Castilleja 12000 Zuni St., Ste. 1 Westminster, CO 80234

Applications must be received before Sept. 19. All Colorado high school students can enter; only one will be chosen per school. Other rules and regulations will apply.

The Aragon GroupThe Alumni

www.ColoradoHomeExplorer.com

For additional information on these listings call toll free!

1-877-791-1239or

e-mail us at help@coloradohomeexplorer.com

Property of the Month

is a proud sponsor of

If you would like to see your property featured here contact us at 1-877-791-1239

Senior Loan OfficerErik Aragon

Registered Mortgage Brokerwith the

Colorado Division of Real Estate

The Mortgage Network has been serving the greater Denver metro

area since 1985!

Loan Programs:

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The Arabian Horse Center12000 Zuni St. Ste. 1

Westminster, CO 80234303-301-7221

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$150,000Beautiful 3 bedroom home

in excellent condition1100 sq. ft.

Call Paul Aragon at 303-525-8915

Henderson

From left; Ben Vialpando, Paul Aragon, Renee Torres

Contact Paul’s Team at 303-525-8915

$162,500This home shows absolutely perfect!

3 beds/3 baths 1400 sq. ft.Call Paul Aragon at 303-525-8915

Thornton

$135,000Mountain property with

gorgeous views1020 sq. ft.

Call Paul Aragon at 303-525-8915 Como, Colo.

$380,000Great property, very clean,

only one year old2660 sq. ft.

Call Brian Richardson at 303-618-8470

Thornton