Lindsay Black recognized as RMAC Defensive Player of the Year

Black recognized as RMAC Defensive Player of the Year

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference has announced that CSU-Pueblo senior Lindsay Black has been recognized as the RMAC Defensive Player of the Year.

Black, who was also recognized as an all-RMAC first team selection, as well, led the conference in blocked shots by a huge margin, averaging 2.11 blocks per game, nearly double that of the second-ranked player in the conference, UCCS' Tonya Tripp, who blocked 1.34 shots per game.

Black was also one of the top thieves in the conference, finishing second with 2.04 steals per game, just .04 behind steals leader, Regis' Breanne Burley. As a rebounder, Black led the ThunderWolves with 6.1 boards per game, finishing 17th in the conference in that category.

Overall, Black was the only player in the conference to be in the top 20 individually in all three major defensive categories (steals, blocks, rebounds).

Offensively, Black led the ThunderWolves with 13.1 points per game, as well.

Black's recognition marks the second consecutive year that a ThunderWolf has been recognized as a defensive player of the year. Last season, Jonnie Draper was selected as the RMAC West Division Defensive Player of the Year.

Also recognized by the RMAC were junior forward Mary Rehfeld and sophomore center Sarah Staggs, who were each named to the RMAC all-West Division team as honorable mention selections.

To view the RMAC release, which includes all-RMAC teams and Player of the Year recipients, click here.

Ice Climbing The Western Slope

Victoria Mata-Malmgren leads ice climbing in the western slope of Colorado.
click on picture to enlarge

Top 4 in each weight class head for Pepsi Center

Alamosa defending state champion Jesse Meis put pressure on Pueblo South. Meis is back to the weight he won last year’s state title, 103 lbs., carrying a 34-2 record.




By LLOYD ENGEN
ALAMOSA — Every match that each San Luis Valley prep wrestler has faced this season now come into the picture as the brackets are seeded for the state qualifying regional tournaments that come to a climax on Saturday.

At stake are team and individual regional championships and medals and, more importantly, qualification into the 2008 Colorado High School Wrestling State Championships at The Pepsi Center next Thursday — the largest high school sports venue in the state with close to 20,000 fans jammed into the facility for the Saturday night finals.

To get there, wrestlers have to finish among the top four in their weight classes at the regional tournaments — the higher the finish, the better, in order to improve seeding at state.

This is what the wrestlers have been working so hard to achieve, with visions of state medals and the ultimate prize, a state championship, fueling their efforts.

With three of the four state classifications represented by the Valley’s schools, the situation at the state tournament becomes non-stop wrestling from start to finish for SLV wrestling fans.

First, however, come Saturday’s concluding rounds of regional matches at three locations for Valley wrestlers.

The No. 1 ranked Alamosa Mean Moose, pursuing their third straight 4A State Championship, will be at the State Fair Events Center in Pueblo, with the finals projected to start at 6:30 p.m. with the Parade of Champions.

Their main challenger for the regional team title is No. 5 ranked Pueblo West in the field of 18 teams. There are plenty of highly ranked individuals in almost every weight class to challenge the Maroons.

The Mean Moose lost exceptional sophomore Justin Mortensen, ranked No. 7 at 103 lbs. by On the Mat, when he suffered a torn ACL during practice a little over a week ago. As a result, senior defending state champion at 103, Jesse Meis (34-2), ranked No. 1 at 112, has dropped down to 103 where he has wrestled on several occasions this season.

Senior two-time defending state champion Cody Yohn (34-1) is No. 1 at 171 lbs., junior Donovan Archuleta (13-6) is No. 4 at 145, senior Davi Martinez (30-5) is No. 4 at 189, junior Kyle Holman (29-8) is No. 5 at 140, junior Dalton Kelley (30-6) is No. 5 at 119, junior Dominic Gaitan (28-8) is No. 7 at 152, senior Duell Kelley (26-7) is No. 8 at 130, junior Sean Mahaney (27-8) is No. 8 at 135, and senior Vicenté Apodaca (29-8) is No. 8 at

Continued...

Finding the money for high school sports is difficult

Ok here it is. Pueblo is known for their love of football. Now at least in the last five years the Pueblo sports teams have shown that they can compete again and beat the Colorado Springs preps whom for many years have dominated the playoffs and crowns. Finally the city has pulled together a CSU Pueblo college football team. I do not know bout you but I would like to see our prep footballers have the ability to continue to compete at a high level. Everyone should understand in order to compete and stay healthy, the player will need the top of the line equipment. Now! would it be great to have more of our home home bred football heroes playing for our own Colorado University Pueblo 's Thunder wolves while grabbing those scholarships? Well yeah ! The sure way to open that door even wider is to help fund the Pueblo school's sport programs. Hey " Build it and they will come" by James Mata

''The bitterness of poor quality remains long after low pricing is forgotten!'' - Leon M. Cautillo

By JOE E. CERVI

THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

Central High School head football coach Dave Craddock looks as comfortable on a golf course as Tiger Woods looks in shoulder pads.

But like Woods, Craddock's time on the links is spent trying to make money. Not through winning tournaments or betting buddies $5 a hole, but by hosting a tournament each year to raise money for his football program.

All high school coaches, and coaches at the middle school and club levels, too, spend as much time fundraising as they do coaching. And all agree there is no “fun” in fundraising.

"No coach just coaches anymore," Craddock said. "You have to raise money just to get your teams on the field. If you don't, your programs would fold."

Craddock, the elder statesman of the four Pueblo City Schools football coaches, just completed his 13th year with the whistle. His annual budget 13 years ago was $7,000. His projected budget next season is the same $7,000. MORE ON THIS STORY > Pueblo Chieftian Sports

PUEBLO CITY SCHOOLS 2007-08

Total budget: $196 million A

mount allocated to athletics: $1.59 million

ATHLETIC BUDGET PER HIGH SCHOOL:

Centennial: $40,000 (plus $1,951)

Central: $40,000 (plus $5,530)

East: $40,000 (plus $2,277)

South: $40,000 (plus $7,156)

(Additional money comes from $17,000 in concession profits that is divided by the number of events worked).

DISTRICT 70

2007-08 Total budget: $84.8 million

Amount allocated to athletics: $972,776

ATHLETIC BUDGET PER HIGH SCHOOL

Pueblo County: $118,419 (including $15,000 for hockey not funded by district).

Pueblo West: $125,198 (including $30,000 for lacrosse not funded by district).

Rye: $42,600

Thunderwolves raise $834 for Orchard of Hope Foundation

October 30th, 2007 by Kristina Jojola

The lady Thunderwolves volleyball team experienced some disappointment from their losses this past weekend.
In their last home tournament of the season the women lost three of the four matches against Ft. Lewis and three of the five matches against Mesa State College.

MORE>>>

CSU-Pueblo hands Coyotes first loss, 7-2

Bryan W. Hart had the game's defensive gem and had three hits and two RBI in the loss to CSU Pueblo.

Former San Bernardino Valley College pitching ace Juan Gomez scattered five hits in eight innings on the mound Friday as Colorado State-Pueblo opened its 2008 baseball season with a 7-2 victory over previously-unbeaten Cal State San Bernardino in a non-conference game at Arrowhead Credit Union Park.
A sun-baked crowd of more than 200 fans watched Gomez handcuff the Coyotes batters while the Thunderwolves pecked away at CSUSB ace Matt Long for three early runs and never trailed as they picked up their first win while the Coyotes are now 5-1.
The same two teams will meet at 4 p.m. Saturday at ACUP following a noon game between Cal Poly Pomona and the T-Wolves.
Gomez, who was 11-1 at SBVC last year, struck out four and walked three before leaving the game in favor of Chino's Chris Garcia in the ninth. Garcia yielded a hit but the T-Wolves defense turned a game-ending double play to snuff out any Coyotes hopes of a comeback.
CSUSB was trailing 3-0 in the fourth when the team put together its only runs of the game. Danny Soles led off with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Johnnie Haas. With two out, Gomez walked Chris Olsen and both runners advanced a base on a wild pitch. Senior first baseman Bryan W. Hart then delivered a single that scored Soles and Olsen to make it 3-2.
Hart was the offensive and defensive star of the day for CSUSB, with three of the team's six hits, two RBI. He made the defensive play of the game, diving to his left to stab a hard shot down the first base line and make the putout unassisted. Soles had two of CSUSB's six hits in the contest.
Long (1-1) went 5.2 innings and gave up four runs, three of them earned, while striking out seven and walking three. Michael Leal, Eric Meyerholtz and David Martin finished up on the mound for CSUSB.
Before the game, both teams participated in a special memorial tribute to Ed Wain, a long-time supporter of SBVC and Cal State San Bernardino baseball as well as the San Bernardino Spirit Class A club. John Rozzi sang the national anthem. The program included a tribute by Rich Dauer, former Colton HS and SBVC star who want on to play for USC and the Baltimore Orioles. He is now a coach with the National League champion Colorado Rockies.

Late surge propels Moose past Eagles

Esquibel’s 3-pointers light up victory

By ERIC R. FLORES


ALAMOSA — The Alamosa Mean Moose boys continued their winning ways on Friday as they won their third game in a row, 52-42, over the Pueblo East Eagles.

The scoring started quickly as Alamosa junior guard Ryan Esquibel connected on a jumper. East’s Jordan Gregory countered with an identical one of his own to tie the game.

The Eagles’ Tony Plascencia then hit a lay-up but junior post Chris Green didn’t want to have any of that but he was fouled on his attempt for a lay-up and hit both free throws to tie the game. That was when the three-point shooting contest began. East’s Nick Taibi hit a 3-pointer only to be countered by Alamosa senior Brandon Albert. Gregory then hit a lay-up to put East back on top but that’s when Esquibel took control, hitting not just one but three 3-points in the next several minutes as Alamosa took a 14-12 lead into the second quarter.

The second quarter was a close one, too, but with the Maroons’ slim lead they never gave it up as they worked the lead up to 6 points late in the half, 25-19. Taibi was able to hit one of two from the charity stripe to close the half with a score of 25-20 in favor of Alamosa.

The Moose continued to pull away in the third quarter as junior guard Derek Medina got into the 3-point shootout and by the end of the third quarter the Maroons held a 35-27 lead.

The fourth quarter wasn’t like the first as the Eagles finally landed. Esquibel took the ball down court to widen the lead to 10 points, but Gregory hit a 3-pointer to close the gap to 37-30. East’s Bret Spradley then hit two 3-pointers to make the score 37-36.

Green followed by taking the ball into the key for a short jumper to widen the lead to three with 4:22 remaining. The Eagles came right back and were about to score but had the ball knocked loose and out of bounds. After a few seconds of hesitation, the official called the ball in for Alamosa.

However, the Moose weren’t able to capitalize on the play as Taibi stole the ball and connected on yet another 3-pointer to tie the game at 39-39 with 2:59 remaining.

Medina took control on the next round of action as he hit a 3-pointer but as the ball was in the air a foul was called on East to give Alamosa the basket and possession of the ball. Albert was able to capitalize as he hit a jumper to make the score 44-39. Taibi countered with another 3-pointer to close the gap to 46-42, but with time running out East’s only plan was to foul and Alamosa was perfect from the line, nailing 6 out of 6 shots down the final stretch to seal the win..

Esquibel lead the Moose scoring with 15 points, and Medina was next with 12. Green had 11 points, Dakota Valerio had 7 and Albert had 5. Bob Cody rounded out the scoring with 2. The Eagles won the 3-point shooting contest as they had 7 while Alamosa had 6.

The Moose travel to Cañon City on Tuesday and then host league leading Pueblo South on Valentine’s Day.

However on the girl side of the ball #4 East Eagles expands their domination by beating the the Mean Moose girls.

East 68, Alamosa 37

Alamosa	15	9	4	9	-	37
East	15	25	16	12	-	68

Alamosa-Bussey 4 2-4 10, McGinn 0 2-4 2, Price 1 0-0 2, Micklich 7 0-2 21, White 0 2-2 2. Totals: 12 6-12 37. 3-point goals: Micklich 7. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: White.

East-Eickelman 8 1-2 18, Walters 1 1-2 3, Gradisar 6 2-3 16, Duran 1 0-0 2, Gregory 8 9-11 25, DeHerrera 1 2-4 4. Totals: 25 15-22 68. 3-point goals: Eickelman, Gradisar 2. Fouls: 11.

CSU-PUEBLO FOOTBALL RECRUITS

Colorado State University-Pueblo announces first football recruiting class

PUEBLO, Colo. – John Wristen, Colorado State University-Pueblo head football coach, is proud to announce a class of 69 recruits that have chosen to continue their education and their football careers at CSU-Pueblo.

This class includes a diverse cross section of athletes, including 10 recruits from Pueblo, 11 from the Colorado Springs area, and more than 40 from the Denver Metro and surrounding areas.

The following is a list of recruits broken down by geographical area.

Denver Metro and surrounding areas
Daniel Belger, DB, 5-11, 190, Bear Creek HS (Red Rocks CC)
Ben Biggi, WR/P, 6-2, 168, Poudre HS
Samual Bill, TE, 6-2, 215, Denver South HS
Bobby Brown, OL, 6-3, 240, Overland HS
Darren Brown, DL, 6-2, 270, Overland HS
Ryan Buckmaster, DL, 6-3, 240, Longmont HS
Joe Campton, LS/ST, 6-0, 190, Columbine HS
Paul Cardona, DL, 6-2, 200, Bear Creek HS
John Chapman, WR, 5-10, 170, Denver East HS
Tyler Dreaman, DB, 6-1, 200, Grandview HS
Devon Fitzgerald, RB, 5-5, 160, Thomas Jefferson HS
Joe Goyer, DE, 6-6, 235, Aurora Central HS
Tyler Hamlin, LB, 6-2, 205, Monarch HS
Justin Herrera, DL, 6-3, 210, Heritage HS
Hayden Hunsucker, DL, 6-2, 250, Pomona HS
BJ James, LB, 6-0, 230, Overland HS
Aaron Johnson, DB, 6-1, 215, George Washington HS
Jesse Lewis, RB, 5-8, 170, Loveland HS
Adrian Marquez, LB, 5-11, 195, Bear Creek HS
Kyle Major, K/P, 6-3, 230, Heritage HS
Kyle McCall, DB, 6-1, 195, Grandview HS
Kaleb Morey, LB, 6-3, 200, George Washington HS
Nick Nguyen, DB, 5-11, 200, Alameda HS
Cory Price, WR, 6-3, 180, Northglenn HS
Shae Ramsden, WR, 5-10, 185, Loveland HS
Alex Rios, LB, 6-1, 210, Arapahoe HS
Trevor Soole, OL, 6-1, 240, Monarch HS
Tyrone Stephenson, WR, 6-2, 205, Denver East HS
Ronald Trione, NT, 6-0, 250, Wheat Ridge HS
Brock Veasley, DB, 5-11, 175, Aurora Central HS
Marques Vieria, DB, 5-10, 180, Regis HS
Cody Wiggins, OL, 6-0, 260, Poudre HS
Denzel Williams, DB, 5-11, 180, Montbello HS
Jordan Williams, DB, 5-10, 180, Montbello HS
Koby Wittek, TE, 6-2, 215, Golden HS

Out-of-State
Jason Campbell, LB, 6-2, 225, Kamehameha HS (HI)
Matt Cole, LB, 6-4, 235, Walnut HS (CA), Cerritos CC
Layton Dickerson III, RB, 5-11, 180, Cottonwood Mingus HS (AZ)
Sean Gavin, QB, 6-3, 190, Canyon Country HS (CA)
Tim Kessel, TE, 6-4, 235, Cottonwood Mingus HS (AZ)
CJ Oakley, RB, 6-1, 225, Alamogordo HS (NM), Univ. New Mexico
Vincent Papasedero, RB, 6-1, 210, Bishop Blanchett HS (WA)
Kaulupono Perez, RB, 5-9, 170, Kamehameha HS (HI)
Aromous Robinson, WR, 6-1, 200, Arizona Western Univ.
Derek Robinson, QB, 5-11, 170, Sumner HS (WA)
Nick Sabye, OL, 6-6, 230, Paradise Valley HS (AZ)

Pueblo area
Isaiah Cartmell, NT, 5-11, 245, South HS
Da’Quan Cartwright, WR, 6-2, 185, South HS
Daniel Coppa, RB, 5-10, 180, Canon City HS
Myles Meserve, TE, 6-2, 235, County HS
Tyshawn Nicholas, WR, 6-2, 185, Central HS
Roger Pfannenschmid, OL, 6-2, 235, Centennial HS
Joe Pullara, LB, 5-11, 200, County HS
Gio Rider, RB, 6-0, 220, County HS
Craig Rush, OL, 6-4, 260, West HS
Matt Valdez, DL, 6-2, 245, South HS

Colorado Springs/Pikes Peak Area
Demetrius Gilmore, RB, 5-10, 190, Harrison HS
Grant Jansen, DL, 6-1, 230, Pine Creek HS
Taurean Jones, RB, 5-10, 170, Sierra HS
Louis Lujan, DE, 6-1, 265, Sierra HS
TC Opetia, LB, 6-2, 200, Sand Creek HS
Will Paddock, QB, 6-3, 215, Fountain-Ft. Carson HS
Tee Rodriguez, LB, 60-, 215, Rampart HS
Fletcher Sergent, FB, 5-10, 240, Fountain-Ft. Carson HS (Glendale CC)
Dominique Smith, LB, 5-11, 230, Sierra HS
Mark Sterling, DB, 5-11, 170, Sierra HS
Zeb Vargas, DB, 5-9, 160, Widefield HS

Western Slope/Eastern Plains Colorado
Jon Bailey, WR, 5-10, 185, Fort Morgan HS
JT Hadden, FB, 5-11, 215, Moffat County HS

Owie's SayOwee...No ring for YOU JUNIOR!!!!

“Just full of disappointment,” Seau said after a perfect season and perhaps a perfect ending to a career were denied by the New York Giants' 17-14 victory over the New England Patriots yesterday.

Gary Zimmerman Hall of Famer

Hall of Famer Warren Moon and former Bronco quarterback Marlin Briscoe

Class of 2008 announced
The Pro Football Hall of Fame added six new members on Feb. 2. Watch the press conference from Glendale, AZ, site of Super Bowl XLII.

Gary Zimmerman joins John Elway in Pro Football Hall of Fame

DENVER - Gary Zimmerman had mixed feelings about becoming the second Denver Broncos player in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.

"I'm happy to be joining John Elway, but at the same time I'm sad because there's so many other Broncos who deserve to be in the Hall, too," Zimmerman told The Associated Press in an interview from his home near Bend, Ore.

One of those who he felt should be in the Hall is linebacker Randy Gradishar, who failed to gain enough votes in his 20th and final year of eligibility as a modern era candidate on Saturday.

Now, Gradishar will have to pin his hopes on the veterans committee, where the list of names is longer and the odds slimmer.

"Randy definitely deserves it. Let's keep our fingers crossed for him," Zimmerman said.

As for his own selection, Zimmerman was stunned.

"You know, there aren't any stats for offensive linemen, and then there's the fact I didn't talk to the media, so there were a bunch of negatives," said Zimmerman, who quit talking to reporters after getting burned during his playing days in Minnesota from 1986-92.

He fit right in with the O-linemen's vow of public silence during his days in Denver from 1993-97, where he won a Super Bowl ring.

Zimmerman began his career with the L.A. Express of the USFL before reporting to the Vikings, where he began a streak of 169 straight starts that lasted until 1996, when surgery sidelined him. He was one of just a handful of players chosen for two NFL all-decade teams, the 1980s and 1990s, earned first-or second-team All-Pro honours eight times and was selected to play in seven Pro Bowls.

Still, he insisted he wasn't expecting a phone call Saturday informing him he'd been selected to the Hall of Fame, where Elway is the only Broncos player ever enshrined.

"It was like a dream, like it wasn't real, like I was in the 'Twilight Zone,"' Zimmerman said. "There was so many other great players that were up for induction, so I figured I was going to have to wait my turn."

An avid outdoorsman and winter sports enthusiast, Zimmerman has spent his retirement enjoying snowboarding and snowmobiling although injuries from his playing career have started to crimp his enjoyment of those activities, he said.

"Lately, I've been driving the plow eight hours a day," said Zimmerman, who spent much of Saturday clearing the snow from an easement road leading to his house. "I've got drifts that cover all but about three inches of my six-foot fence."

Ex-Ram Warner wants NFL to expand probe of Patriots

Looking back, quarterback Kurt Warner says Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans is a blur. The underdog New England Patriots simply outschemed Warner's St. Louis Rams, parading out six and at times seven defensive backs and roughing up the Rams' sleek receivers to slow down an offense then dubbed "The Greatest Show on Turf." St. Louis, Warner says, just got beat. The final score read 20-17. That result can't be changed.

But for peace of mind, the two-time MVP wants the league to investigate reports that the Patriots might have benefited from a videotape of the Rams' final practice before that Super Bowl six years ago.

Orange Crusher Randy Gradishar

Number: 53
Position: Linebacker
Year Inducted: 1989
Years with Broncos: 1974-83

• Gradishar Visits Troops in Iraq -- May 17, 2004

Then: Randy Gradishar was the only Ring of Fame inductee in 1989, in recognition of a 10-year career at linebacker with the Broncos. During his career, Gradishar was a seven-time Pro Bowler, the most by any Bronco at the end of his career, and he is also the all-time leader in tackles for Denver, finishing with 2,049. Gradishar never missed a game, playing in 145 in a row. He accounted for 33 turnovers in his career (20 INTs and 13 fumble recoveries) and was voted the Defensive Player of the Year in 1978 by AP, UPI, Pro Football Weekly and NEA (George Halas Award). His teammates also voted him team defensive MVP in 1978 and 1980. While at Ohio State, Gradishar was referred to by his head coach -- the legendary Woody Hayes -- as "the best linebacker I ever coached at Ohio State." Randy was a three-year starter for the Buckeyes and was named to every All-America team following his senior season, as well as being an Academic All-America selection, graduating with a degree in distributive education. Gradishar was also the president of the Denver Broncos Youth Foundation from 1982-92. He was inducted in 1998 into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Now: Gradishar joined the Phil Long Dealerships as Leadership Manager in December 1997, a position in which he helps train, equip and support employees in the quest to achieve their goals and objectives. In that capacity he encourages employees to exceed customer expectations and ensure customer satisfaction. Gradishar is also instrumental in the Phil Long Community Fund, which operates in conjunction with the Denver Broncos Charities Fund to make an investment back into the communities with which it does business, as well as the Phil Long University, furnishing employees with career opportunities through quality education and state-of-the-art training. Gradishar and his wife, Beth, make their home in Denver. He has three children: Paige, Meredith and Mark.

Randy Gradishar's Regular Season Record
Year	Games	Starts	Tackles	Ints.	Yards	Avg.	TD
1974	14	4	51	0	0	0.0	0
1975	14	14	177	3	77	25.7	1
1976	14	14	198	3	44	14.7	1
1977	14	14	219	3	56	18.7	0
1978	16	16	286	4	19	4.8	0
1979	16	15	235	0	0	0.0	0
1980	16	16	250	2	96	38.0	1
1981	16	16	258	4	38	9.5	0
1982	9	9	151	0	0	0.0	0
1983	16	16	224	1	5	5.0	0
Career Totals	145	134	2,049	20	335	16.8	3