(Photo courtesy of Abby Bartolotta)

When coming up with a list of who’s who in Colorado girls high school basketball, Abby Waner (now Bartolotta) has to be on that list.

A premier player amongst a talented class of athletes, Abby helped ThunderRidge claim three straight Class 5A state championships. She has 43 individual entries in the state record book, including records for points in a game (61), state tournament points in a season (163) and career (515), and field goals attempted in a season.

She and her sister Emily both played at Duke University, where Abby once again proved herself as not just a great player on her team, but a great player in the entire nation.

She won two gold medals in international competition and even got a taste of playing in the WNBA.

Now married to former Heritage standout Jimmy Bartolotta, Abby Bartolotta is tackling life as a mother to two girls.

But there is always a part of her that will be connected to basketball. She took time to chat about what high school basketball meant to her and how it things have changed since she dominated the floor at ThunderRidge.

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Question: When you think back to your high school basketball days, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?

(Barry Gutierrez/Denver Public Library, Rocky Mountain News Photo Collection)

Abby: My teammates. Without fail. I was pretty fortunate in that I had my sister paving the way, so it kind of starts with her. It’s an answer you get a lot and there’s a reason for that. Some of my closest friends and still some of my closest friends today are two of my teammates, Megan McCahill, I actually just went to her drive by baby shower last week, and Emily Fox is expecting her baby girl in October so I dropped off a stroller at her house the other day.

So it’s just fun because that’s what started these lifelong friendships and that’s just, that’s something I’ll never forget about that period of time.

Q: It seems like now girls basketball in Colorado has kind of become a little bit of a hotbed when it comes to national recruiting. We have so many girls going to Stanford and so many other D-I players, what was that whole recruiting scene like when you were in high school, especially when it came to a university like Duke coming after you?

Abby: It’s funny you say that because last weekend we were at my parents’ for just a family dinner and my dad was talking about how when we were my daughter’s age was when he started taking us to games at Highlands Ranch High School. That’s pretty wild to think about. We started talking about some of the players that we actually remember watching and we’d just sit in the stands and he would tell us to pick out a player that we wanted to be like and just watch them the whole game.

We started doing that from a young age and the next thing you know, I’m playing college basketball and high school basketball against Ann Strother and Ambrosia Anderson and Elizabeth Sherwood, Susan Walters. You can go back a little bit further to some of the older Heritage players that went to UConn and Tennessee.

I think what happened is it just became an expectation. When you play against those type of players every single day, your team is going to get elevated and your expectations are going to get elevated. The best thing that could have happened could have happened to all of us was that we started playing together because you practice far more than you playing games.

At ThunderRidge every single day, I was playing against Emily Fox who went on to be one of the best players in Minnesota history. That for sure made me a better player.

And then what happens is it’s just product of the community and college coaches came to know that there was a community here that does it right. These players feed off of each other and they’re going to have similar qualities and similar goals. It was something that I don’t think we ever necessarily took it for granted, but I don’t think we realized at the time how unusual it was.

I think back to like my club team and every single player got a Division I scholarship at one point, which is wild. It just doesn’t happen. It definitely was that atmosphere of competition that we had playing against each other every day and the scholarships, the notoriety, it really was all just a byproduct. First and foremost, we’re all competitors and that’s what made us all raise the level of our game.

Q: How much of an adjustment was it when you got to Duke?

Abby: It was a big adjustment. You go out in high school thinking you’re a good defender because you can get 10 steals a game by playing pretty poor defense. You get to college and you actually learn what good defense means and how discipline is part of it and what staying in a stance actually means. You’re not going to just out-athletic anybody. Defense was definitely the biggest adjustment.

To be honest, I grew up in a culture where we were in the gym all the time. If you weren’t in the gym, somebody else was and they were getting better than you. My sister and I really brought that mentality to Duke and because of that, I think it helps that adjustment.

The amount of basketball, the amount of working out, that didn’t change for us. It was more how we did it, the mechanisms, the strength and conditioning, that was probably one of the bigger adjustments. We were fortunate in that we came from an environment and a culture that really prepared us. We had coaches that knew what they were doing and knew what was coming our way.

Q: Is there a comparison in the amount of pressure that you felt then to the amount of pressure that some of the kids might be feeling now? I feel like before they step on a middle school gym, there’s a recruiting profile on some website of every potential, big-time basketball player.

Abby: I am so grateful that we weren’t a part of this era with the access that coaches have to players. I’ve been out of it for long enough that I don’t know what all the rules are now surrounding recruiting, but it goes two ways.

I was really lucky in that college coaches were coming to us. We really didn’t have to solicit that because they found their way to our gym. I realize that’s the exception and that most players end up reaching out to coaches and recruiters themselves and that’s how they get that. That’s how they get their name out.

Understand that my experience was different than the norm. So in terms of the pressure, I think that is a negative byproduct that comes from the access of the internet and social media. But if you can use it for the positive and turn around and say now these kids have access to college coaches that they didn’t have before. I talked to a girl the other day and she said that she’s just been direct messaging every college coach the link to her Hudl video. That’s amazing.

Before it was such a process to track down the college coaches’ contact information so you can email and get them to reply to you. Now there’s this immediate response, which I think if channeled properly it can be used for good. It’s probably more important now than ever that parents are highly involved, that they can help their kids still just be kids while using that to their advantage, to get, the attention that they merit.

Q: If you think back to all the levels of basketball you played, what was the most fun?

(Barry Gutierrez/Denver Public Library, Rocky Mountain News Photo Collection)

Abby: That’s such a hard question. I’m not saying this just because it’s a CHSAA interview, but it was high school. I think that was when it was the most raw. College was a job. I was there on a scholarship and I was getting essentially a free education to play basketball. So I took that seriously. And I wanted to win, so I’m not saying that it was just a job in college.

Something that was always a driving factor for me in high school, college and otherwise was this insatiable desire to win. That was there in high school. It was there in college, but in high school, we were kids. We were sheltered from some of the pressure you talked about in your last question. We were just really, really good basketball players and that was fun.

Playing for Team USA were just some incredible experiences. I also met some of my lifelong friends through USA. What I wish looking back on that was that I had a better grasp of getting to travel the world in that way and see different cultures and see basketball through different lenses.

At age 16 and 17, we were just there to hoop and we were happy when we found a TGIFriday’s in Moscow, instead of really thinking about the cultural experience as the most important part of it.

It’s hard to pinpoint, but if I had to go back in time, I think I would probably get back to my days as a Grizzly.

Q: What would you tell someone maybe like a Jana Van Gytenbeek and a Fran Belibi who are at Stanford or a Lauren Betts who ESPN just labeled as a top recruit in the nation? What would you tell those girls about a college experience and life post-college that you didn’t know about 10 years ago?

Abby: College is a full experience and as a women’s basketball player at some of these elite institutions, they’re going to have avenues that your everyday kid doesn’t get, and I’m not just talking about basketball.

One of my regrets and this might seem small, but I wish I had tried to be a writer for the Duke Chronicle. I never did those extracurricular things. Well, I did, but not to the extent that I think I probably could have because I was so head down in basketball. It’s easy to say that now that I’m not in it, but they should take advantage of the full college experience by way of education and programs, the adults that are going to be there supporting them.

My sister did a great job of that at Duke. She was part of the CAPE program, which is the collegiate athlete pre-med experience. And that was a big part of her becoming a doctor. She did that while playing basketball. If I had a regret, it would be that I wish I had stretched myself a little bit more to partake in some programs and activities that Duke had to offer.

I don’t want to be cliche, but there’s a reason people say that it goes fast. Be there for every summer school, be there for every voluntary workout, take advantage of having the gym to yourself because before you know it, the four years are going to be up and it’s true, it goes quickly.

Q: How much is basketball still a part of your life today?

Abby: So my mom sends me a picture. She was watching my daughter, Ella, the other day, and Ella’s two and a half. I think we have a plastic hoop out back, but outside of that we really haven’t done much by way of basketball with her, nor do we expect to. But the other day my mom was watching her and sent me a picture of her sitting in her stroller, watching what I think it was a high school team practicing outside. She was just rapt with attention and that meant so much to me to see these high school aged girls are setting an example for my daughter. It was a pretty out of body out of body moment for me.

A lot of what’s important now for me is coming through the lens that I have two daughters two years apart, just like me and my sister. I hope that they can have similar experiences. I don’t care if it’s through sports or through music or through theater, but being able to find the same source of competition and friendship and confidence that I got from basketball. That’s probably what will make me check in more than anything.

I was watching last year, the Final Four and watching Sabrina Ionescu from Oregon and that girl is a competitor. I wish I was able to watch every single one of her games. So I texted my college coach Coach (Gail) Goestenkors and said “I love watching her play.” And she said, “She reminds me of you.” It was such a compliment. And I felt kind of silly cause it was a girl that’s, I don’t know, 15 years younger than me. It was just fun to feel re-connected in a way and see a similar type competitor. She’s far more talented than I ever was. I’m not saying there was a comparison there, but I really enjoyed following her career.

My husband played at Heritage and he’s just as appreciative as I am of the opportunities that CHSAA gave us. We are really looking forward to being in the stands for state championships moving forward and supporting our local high schools like ThunderRidge and Mountain Vista. I think we’re both really looking forward to that next part of our life where we can just be fans and cheer on the next generation.

(Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

INDIANAPOLIS — To help elevate high school marching band field show performances and ease the financial burdens facing performing arts programs in the wake of COVID-19, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) has collaborated with several organizations to produce “Together As One – One Nation,” a comprehensive field show performance package that can be used free of charge by schools across the country.

“Together As One” is powered by Varsity Performing Arts, a division of Varsity Spirit, in partnership with the NFHS and in coordination with United Sound – a nonprofit organization that provides musical performance experiences for students with special needs. The aptly named program includes a six-minute, fully arranged, designed and choreographed marching band performance that equips bands, cheer and dance teams with all the necessary elements to execute in unison.

“The NFHS is proud to partner with Varsity Performing Arts in the ‘Together As One’ marching band project,” said Dr. James Weaver, NFHS director of performing arts and sports. “Over the past several months, it has been a pleasure to work with an incredible group of nationally-renowned composers, arrangers and choreographers to provide this amazing marching band show.”

“As our country recovers, young people will need school spirit now more than ever before,” said Bill Seely, President of Varsity Spirit. “’Together As One’ is designed to help bring school spirit back into America’s schools in a powerful way, with the collaboration of the cheerleaders, dance team, band programs, and any group in the school that wants to be included. Our hope is that this will help ignite a strong sense of school spirit and community in the fall when our schools need it most.”

In addition to Weaver and executives from other national music organizations, “Together As One” utilizes contributions from a world-renowned cohort that includes design coordinator David Starnes and composer/music coordinator Robert W. Smith, along with 21 other individuals who are among the very best arrangers and choreographers in the field.

Spring is the most active time of the year for high school marching band fundraisers, meaning the vast majority of programs lost most – if not all – of their opportunities due to the pandemic. With field show arrangement costs often totaling multiple thousands of dollars, “Together As One” will not only serve to unite marching bands, cheer and dance teams around the country, but will provide schools with a much-needed cost-effective option for the upcoming season.

“We’re excited for this program to be provided to all schools for free with the hope of creating a sense of unity throughout the United States and all of our music programs,” Weaver said. “As we return to the classrooms, fields, rehearsal rooms and performance halls, we hope we all return ‘Together As One.’”

More information on the “Together As One” project can be found on Varsity Spirit’s website.

Band directors and performing arts leaders who would like to register for access to “Together As One” digital materials including sheet music and online video choreography can do so on Varsity’s website.

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

Valor Christian senior Cole Sprout has been named Colorado’s boys track and field athlete of the year by Gatorade.

This is the third consecutive year Sprout has won the boys track award — he becomes the first three-time winner in the sport. Last fall, Sprout became a three-time Gatorade winner in cross country.

Only one three other athletes in Colorado have ever won the Gatorade award three times in their sport. Sprout is the most decorated athlete in Colorado in terms of the Gatorade player of the year program, which started in 1985-86.

Sprout is the 13th athlete from Valor Christian to win a Gatorade player of the year award.

Though Sprout’s senior track season was canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic, he finished third in the 1500-meter run at the Reykjavik International Games in 3:54.23. That time was the nation’s top high school performance during the 2020 indoor season.

In April, Gatorade announced that it would continue to honor spring sport athletes despite the cancellation of the season nationwide.

Sprout was a three-time state champion in cross country, and won the 1,600 and 3,200 meter races at the 2019 state track and field championships. He holds the state record in the 3,200 with a time of 9:01.53.

Sprout, who has a 3.98 GPA, will run at Stanford starting this fall.

(Courtesy of Resurrection Christian Schools)

Resurrection Christian has hired former Colorado State basketball star Ryan Yoder to be its next boys basketball coach, athletic director Dan Knab announced.

Yoder was introduced to his new team on Thursday evening. He played at CSU from 1991-94, and still holds a number of records for the men’s basketball program, including career assists.

It was a big first hire for Knab, who started as Resurrection Christian’s athletic director this month after helping to build Liberty Common from the ground up for the past two decades.

“We’ve known each other dating back to CSU. My dad introduced him and his wife, Erika,” Knab said. “So every time I had a basketball opening, even if it was a junior high girls coach, I was like, ‘Hey, we’ve got a spot for you.’ He would always say, ‘Someday.’ So I called him up, and said, ‘Hey put your money where your mouth is.'”

Yoder has primarily been a youth basketball coach, helping to coach his kids teams.

“His basketball IQ is super high,” Knab said. “He’s from Indiana, so he’s a Hoosier through-and-through. He’s got a little bit of a learning coach with high school basketball, but anyone who knows Ryan … he’s a perfectionist. He has a high bar. He raises the bar and gets the kids over it.”

Yoder takes over for Bruce Dick, who led the program to a very successful 10 seasons, including championship game appearances in 2015 and 2016, and Final 4s in 2012 and 2020.

So expectations for the program are understandably high.

“At first it was like, ‘Here’s the keys the Ferrari, don’t wreck it,'” Knab said with a laugh. “The more I talk to him, it’s like, ‘Best can be better. Think outside the lines, and make it yours.’

“He’s really excited about building tradition,” Knab added. “He’s a traditionalist. There are some things from Indiana that he wants to implement that are special and unique to RCS. He wants to continue that culture and really have respect and sportsmanship. Those are big deals. Do all the little things right, and the wins will come.”

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

When the CHSAA boys basketball record book got updated two weeks ago, it provided a reminder of some memorable performances that fans saw throughout the year. It also provided fitting ends for some of the best basketball players to come through the state.

There were top performances from both individual players and overall teams that stand out for years down the road.

There were standout defensive numbers combined with plenty of offensive output that makes the last boys basketball season one to remember.

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Mancos’ Caden Showalter ended his career as one of the most efficient players in state history. At the conclusion of this last year, he totaled 58 career double-doubles, besting Colorado Springs Christian’s Sam Howard by five.

A few other players broke into the top 10 of the same category. Pomona’s Trevor Baskin ended with 38 to finish 10th with Mile High Academy’s Blake Essex coming in for a tie at eighth with 40.

Vanguard’s Dominique Clifford finished fifth in career double-doubles with 43. He had 24 this last season which is second most in a single season. The University of Colorado commit’s career was capped with several notable spots in the record book.

He finished third in career rebounds in the state tournament (109), fifth in career triple-doubles (3), sixth in rebounds in a single state tournament (51) and second in triple-doubles for a year (2).

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From a percentage standpoint, no one had a better free throw shooting year than DSST: Byers’ Kyrie Thomas. He made his way to the line 84 times and sank 79 shots to shoot 94.048 percent, the best season for anyone with at least 50 attempts.

He also knocked down 30 consecutive free throws during the season, the fourth longest streak in state history.

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(Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

Conifer’s Landon Wallace will always hold a place in state history as one of the top all-time assists men. He cracked the top five in career assists with 697 and dished out 239 in 2019-20 alone, fifth most in a single year.

In 2018-19, he dished out 256 which is the second most in state history.

From a team standpoint, Resurrection Christian made its mark as one of the most unselfish teams on record. The Cougars recorded 569 assists this year, No. 3 on the all-time list. Denver East (550) and Highland (533) also cracked into the top 10 of the category.

Peaking of Highland, Tate Bessire had another season in which he finished top 10 in a single season in steals with 128. He finished his career with 392, which is second most all-time.

Sterling and Mead turned in some of the best long-range shooting seasons on record. The Tigers set a state record for most 3-pointers made by a team in a single season at 272. That tops Eagle Calley’s 2017-18 mark of 268. Mead ended the season with a respectable 237 made 3-pointers, fifth most all-time.

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Notables

• • Loveland’s Austin Bierhaus recorded 13 blocks in a Dec. 20 win over Northridge. It’s tied for fifth most in a game by a single player. He finished with 162 for the season which is No. 4 in the category. The team overall had 201 blocks, eighth most all-time for a team.
  • Lutheran’s Baye Fall scored 456 points last season which is seventh most for a freshman.
  • Longmont Christian’s Kyle Saunders recorded 144 steals, fourth most in a single season for any player.
  • Sheridan’s David Marquez III ended his career as one of the most efficient 3-point shooters in state history. His 48.052 career percentage from behind the arc is No. 9 in the category. He shot 56.923 percent from long range last year for the seventh best season on record.
  • Chaparral guard Kobe Sanders was never shy about firing up shots. His 613 career 3-point attempts are 10th most in state history.
  • Dawson’s Riley Burridge and Peak to Peak’s Garrett Shriver each attempted 21 3-pointers in a game this last year, tied for third most. In all, Burridge fired up 265 shots from long range, the sixth most in a single season. He made 97 of them, tying him for No. 8 in a single season with Rye’s Bryan Ribaudo and Fossil Ridge’s Braxton Bertolette.
  • Sedgwick County ended the years as the toughest team to ever score against in Colorado history. The Cougars gave up just 34 points per game, the best points against average of all-time.
  • Highland attempted 1,804 field goals last year, more than any other team in state history. It made 852 of them which is also more than any team before it. The Huskies scored a total of 2,155 points, seventh most for a single team, and averaged 86.2 per game, second most all-time.

(PaulDiSalvoPhotography.com)

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow.com)

Niwot junior Taylor James has been named the best girls track athlete in Colorado by Gatorade.

James, who was named the Class 4A track athlete of the year last season, is the first girl from Niwot to win the track award, and becomes the fifth Niwot student to be honored by Gatorade overall. Niwot’s most recent Gatorade winner was Elise Cranny for girls cross country in 2013-14.

At last year’s state meet, James won the 800, 200 and 400, and was part of Niwot’s championship 4×400 team. She set a meet record in the 800 (2:08.29). This year’s state meet, of course, was wiped out by the Coronavirus pandemic.

In April, Gatorade announced that it would continue to honor spring sport athletes despite the cancellation of the season nationwide.

This past fall, James was part of Niwot’s championship-winning girls cross country team, and she placed 10th individually in Class 4A.

“Taylor’s range and versatility are unmatched,” said Niwot coach Maurice Henriques. “Her athleticism shows clearly given her ability to run against the best from the 100 to the 1600, and on the cross country course.”

A senior this coming school year, James has a 4.0 GPA, and has volunteered locally on behalf of Lifeline Puppy Rescue.

(Paul Soriano)

Grace Weigand sat at the end of the Regis Jesuit girls basketball bench with her knee encased in a bag of ice. Anyone who saw the way she crumbled to the floor just a few minutes earlier could tell something wasn’t right.

It wasn’t long after that the extent of the damage was realized. She was going to need surgery. She needed to rehab. Any thoughts of playing lacrosse, her sport of choice and the sport that is getting her a scholarship the University of Notre Dame, went up in smoke.

She knew one thing, though. The faster she got her knee repaired meant she could start physical therapy sooner. And she has every intention of returning to the lacrosse field stronger than she was.

“I had surgery 10 days after I got hurt,” Weigand said. “I got hurt on March 6 and I had surgery on March 16, right before everything got shut down from coronavirus. That was a huge blessing to get it done before everything was shut down. I was also an essential patient for physical therapy and I was lucky to be able to go.”

The timetable of her recovery is unclear, but she’s shown that she has the work ethic to pull anything off. Since she got to high school, Weigand has been a three-sport athlete at Regis Jesuit. In the fall and spring she’s on the grass playing field hockey and lacrosse and in the winter she helps the girls basketball team as one of the better defenders on the roster.

She refuses to ease into each sport at the start of each season. The turnaround is quick and the transition from sport to sport isn’t easy for anyone to handle.

“Gracie makes that transition,” Raiders girls basketball coach Carl Mattei said. “She plays field hockey right up into finals and then overlaps into a winter sport. She doesn’t skip a beat and she doesn’t take a single day off.”

Mattei knows that she’s one of the premiere girls lacrosse players not just in the state of Colorado, but in the entire nation.

(Ray Chen/ArrayPhoto.com)

In her sophomore campaign, she was second on the team in overall points and goals scored. The only person to edge her in those categories was her older sister, Sidney. When Notre Dame came calling, Grace was quick to jump on the offer. When her injury happened during basketball season there was a brief moment of disbelief that playing something other than her primary sport dealt her such a tough break.

“I’m not even doing what I’m going to be doing in the future and this happens,” Weigand said. “There was a bit of ‘Why me?’ But after the surgery, it’s now full speed ahead and not looking back. There are a lot of things out of my control and I just need to focus on what I can do.”

What she can do is take on her latest opponent: rehab. That’s a game that she knows she can win and those around her know she can win. The biggest tool an athlete can have in a battle against rehabbing an injury is toughness is there may not be an athlete more suited for that battle than Weigand.

“She already well beyond where any normal person would be in their recovery,” Mattei said. “That’s the difference. She can mentally push herself to where she knows she can beat it.”

Weigand has no plans to slow down. It’s too early to determine if she can get back on the field for the field hockey season and she admits that her basketball future is unclear. That can be a tough pill to take for someone who started playing sports for all the right reasons.

“I played field hockey my freshman year to make friends,” she said. “Going into freshman year I didn’t know as many people so field hockey was all about making friends.”

As she’s grown into a lacrosse standout, she never gave up on field hockey and she never gave up on basketball. Time will tell if she’ll be back on the floor next winter, but Mattei insists there is a spot for her in the program regardless of the role she decides take.

She’s the kind of athlete that can make a team better without even stepping on the playing field because she understands that to achieve the desired result, the effort must be there every step of the way.

“That’s what makes her so special,” Mattei said. “She doesn’t stop. She doesn’t take a break.”

(Tim Bourke/TimBourke.com)

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

The football season is on the horizon, and some manufacturers have created face guards for football helmets specific to the Coronavirus pandemic.

The NFHS, in conference with doctors on the national Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, released a document this month about rules considerations for the 2020 season as it relates to COVID-19. Some of the recommendations are specific to face coverings in football.

The document states that “cloth face coverings are permissible.” It further states that plastic face shields are not permissible — “unless integrated into the face mask and attached to the helmet and clear without the presence of any tint.”

These newly marketed face shields meeting the above criteria (fully integrated into the face mask, attached to the helmet, clear with no tint) are approved by the NFHS, but are not mandated to be used at this time.

If these items do become mandated, CHSAA member schools will hear from our office to confirm.

While we all look forward to another great CHSAA football season, the safety of participants, coaches, and officials are at the forefront of discussions. As with any new product to market, there is excitement and a rush to purchase by many.

At this time, these items are not mandated at the national level from the NFHS, nor are they mandated at the state level by the CHSAA.

Personally, with limited data as to the extent these items successfully decrease potential exposure to respiratory droplets, I would caution against a potential false sense of security these may provide.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

COLORADO SPRINGS — The good news for Eaglecrest senior-to-be Emma Bryant is that she’s never lost a Class 5A girls golf state tournament that didn’t play out to a full two rounds.

Her freshman year, she shot an impressive 2-under-par 70 at the Boulder Country Club to claim gold in her first try at a state tournament. It was a feeling she was hoping to capture at least one time in her high school career.

But fate has not been on her side in that time. The 2019 state tournament was cut short to one day due to weather and she finished tied for 15th, eight strokes behind champion Lauren Lehigh of Loveland. The 2020 season was called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rather than dwell on what could have been in those two years, Bryant continues to work on her game and put herself in a position where she must compete against the best players in the state.

Last week she finished third at the Colorado Jr. PGA Championship, the first major of the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado’s summer tour season.

The summer is a long way from over and Bryant knows that the time she has is vital in order to represent Eaglecrest with another championship win.

“I have one year left of high school,” Bryant said. “I just have to go full speed ahead. This summer is really important. I’ve already committed to the University of Denver and now it’s about getting ready for college and using this time refine my skills and perfecting the small things.”

Those small things were crucial when it came to winning her freshman year. She sank five bridies on the front nine of that final round which helped her shoot up the leaderboard.

When she sank a birdie putt on 18, she officially made the 5A individual golf titles a family affair as her older brother Davis had won the boys title that fall.

Davis’ title was the only one of his career and he’s now established himself as a vital member of Colorado State’s men’s golf team.

Emma is hoping to do the same for DU, but among the many reasons that she wants to claim another state title is to have a bit of family bragging rights.

“Of course I want to beat him,” she said with a laugh. “I mean, I already beat him in way if we look at when I won and when he won, but it would be great to say I won twice. He only has one so I’d be in the record books there.”

It was recently announced that the 2021 girls state golf tournaments would be moved into June. Although associate commissioner Tom Robinson cited many reasons for the change, pushing them out of questionable times in terms of weather was certainly an added benefit.

“It kind of sucks that I’ve only played in one (full) state tournament,” Bryant said. “I am hoping my senior year I can come out on top and say that I’m undefeated in (two round) tournaments.”

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

We are encouraged by the recent guidelines from the Governor’s office that align with the Association’s plans to resume all education-based athletics and activities for the 2020-21 school year.

The CHSAA associate and assistant commissioners are proceeding with guidelines and standards for resuming fall sports on their scheduled start dates.

The recent “Safer at Home” and “Protect our Neighbors” guidelines from the state have provided our staff with more flexibility to construct regular season, postseason and contingency plans for fall programs.

All sport-specific plans will have the oversight and review of the CHSAA’s sports medicine advisory committee, which includes mental health professionals, before they are released to the membership for implementation.

As our educational leaders work diligently to construct their “Return to Learn” models, our staff is preparing to adjust and modify our programs to meet the diverse educational platforms that will be introduced this fall.

We are a statewide organization, so our task becomes more complicated when educational and health mandates vary at district levels, much less from county to county. Although we are moving forward, we know that our plans must be flexible and subject to change to provide equitable participation opportunities across the state.

A shutdown in one area, impacting one classification, would send our staff back to the white board. The state and county data, and decisions, are fluctuating so we continue to plan for the knowns of today and the unknowns of tomorrow.

Our primary and only objective, while acknowledging that we are still in the midst of a national pandemic, will be to resume athletics and activities with the safety and well-being of our participants, coaches, officials, staff and school communities in the forefront.