Silver Creek’s Toretto keeps his defense on its toes

By Brad Cochi
© 2011 Longmont Times-Call

Last season, Jake Toretto was a JV player. But this year, the senior pitcher is 7-0 on the varsity mound, which ties him with Ethan Poulsen for the Silver Creek single-season wins record.

Poised for one of the best seasons in Raptors history, Toretto was an unlikely candidate to start the season.

“I wasn’t expecting it going into this year, for sure,” Toretto said. “My first start of this year, I didn’t even know I was gonna pitch. When we got here, coach was like, ‘You got the rock today against Broomfield.’”

He allowed four earned runs in eight innings to beat Northern Conference-leading Broomfield that day. He has won each of his six decisions since — Dakota Ridge, Thompson Valley, Greeley Central, Niwot, Centaurus and Mountain View.

But, how’s Toretto doing this? He has a 2.09 ERA, he has allowed 49 hits in 44 innings and he’s struck out just 23 batters.

He just gets the best out of his teammates.

“I think I’ve only had three walks in the last four games or something, so I just let them put it in play and collect outs that way,” said Toretto, who’s pitched three complete games. “When the ball gets put in play on defense, it keeps everybody in the game.”

His fastball tops out around 80 mph, but he hits his spots and mixes in his curve, slider and changeup. Doing so, he gets plenty of ground balls on pitcher’s pitches.

Toretto is also a strike-throwing machine. He’s walked just 11 batters.

“He always throws strikes and keeps us in the game,” Raptors senior center fielder Teagan Kramer said. “That’s the great thing — He keeps the tempo going. He’s not walking people so we’re not just standing out there. Your mind’s always on the game when someone’s pitching like that.”

Toretto keeps the defense sharp, which also translates into run support at the plate. The Raptors average 8.4 runs per game when Toretto pitches.

“Almost every game we’ve played with him on the mound, we’ve crushed the ball, too,” Kramer said. “He keeps us in the game and we hit the ball. We just play better around him.”

Toretto started playing baseball with North Boulder Little League and then with the Boulder Bison when he was 14. He came to Silver Creek in middle school and didn’t start pitching until high school. He had played third base and catcher.

“When I was a freshman, coach was like, ‘Is there anybody who can throw strikes?’” the reserved Toretto said. “I was like, ‘Yeah, I can probably throw some strikes.’ So I started pitching that way.”

By virtue of being able to find the strike zone, Toretto became a pitcher. And he hasn’t changed his approach to the trade since.

Raptors head coach Trevor Platt knew Toretto could throw strikes. But when it came time to replace last year’s talented graduating class, he saw something more in Toretto.

“He doesn’t let anything rattle him, that’s the biggest thing. He’s just mentally tough,” Platt said. “If he misses a spot and something gets hit, he just comes back on the next hitter, for the next challenge, and gets it done. The poise on the mound.”

Platt has been enjoying the show.

“Here’s a kid that’s been a JV player, and we knew he was a strike-thrower,” Platt said. “But we really never expected or knew he’d have the success he’s having this year. It’s exciting, it’s fun, to see a kid stepping up and doing what he’s doing.”

On Saturday, Toretto pitched a seven-inning shutout against Mountain View to clinch a playoff spot for the Raptors. With a regular season start against Longmont remaining and a guaranteed playoff start, he should get at least two more chances to break Poulsen’s record.

Toretto knows Poulsen, a senior last year, fairly well. So he may have to give him a call if he breaks his record. But the even-keeled senior also is keeping things in perspective.

“It has to happen first,” Toretto said.

Brad Cochi can be reached at bcochi@times-call.com.

To the Silver Creek boys swim team, it must feel like yesterday when the Raptors won the Class 4A state championship in 2008.

I remember it well, too, as it was the first story I ever had published, working as a freelance writer for the Boulder Daily Camera.

I was in college then, and I remember the Raptors’ excitement over winning the school’s first state title with such talented swimmers. There was so much excitement at the pool, I expected they may need, and would certainly have, a lull in their state-level accomplishments.

So did Raptors head coach Debbie Stewart.

“I really did think we were gonna have a drop-off,” Stewart said. “That was one of the reasons, when my son (Kyle Stewart) graduated in 2008, I thought ‘You can’t get any better than this.’”

The state title was such a high, Stewart was prepared for the several-season low that usually follows the graduation of a state-championship senior class. So prepared, even, she seriously considered stepping away from coaching.

That drop-off never happened. They haven’t won a state title since, but the Raptors have still been right up near the top of the state. They finished eighth at state in 2009 and sixth in 2010.

In Stewart’s opinion, the Raptors’ sustained success has been a product of the growing trend towards swimming year-round at Silver Creek. That trend has also been a major factor in her return to coaching each season.

“The guys see the guys that go to year-round swimming,” Stewart said. “That’s what helps keep this team up there like the state champions they were back in 2008.”

During the Raptors’ senior night meet against Broomfield last week, each of Silver Creek’s five seniors recognized the value of staying in the water year-round during his senior speech. And they all encouraged the future Raptors to continue to do so.

Club swimming also allows the swimmers the chance to go on to junior nationals and other larger club meets. Stewart knows they don’t get that from high school swimming.

She also didn’t want to leave and have a new coach come in and prevent the Raptors from swimming with their club teams.

“A lot of high school coaches don’t want the guys to go off and be with their club team,” Stewart said. “I know how important it is to allow the guys to swim with their club teams because I swam with my club team when I was in high school. Yes, you want them there for camaraderie, but I know they’re getting the coaching they want from their club coach and he’s not going to let me down.”

After deciding to come back following the 2008 championship, Stewart promised she would stick around until current seniors Nick Shonka and Alex Bisping graduated. But Stewart admits she easily becomes attached to each year’s newcomers, just as they seem to quickly take to her guidance.

“After this year, I’ve still got other ones. I’ve got Drew (Weibel) and a bunch of others,” Stewart said. “There’s not an end for me because new people do keep coming up. There are always the Drew Weibels and the Cody Hoyes.”

Already with nine individual state qualifiers and the 4A Northern Conference meet still to go, the Raptors are set up once again for a top 10 finish at state.

Like all coaches with families, Stewart has had to balance her time between the pool and the household. But with her daughter Taryn Stewart graduating this year, Stewart may be free of any influences pulling her away from coaching.

“After this year, my family’s moved on, so why not stay with them a bit longer,” Stewart said with a smile.

Silver Creek’s Kim Langona has waited her entire high school career for this moment.

The senior has come back from injuries and shrugged off barely missing the cut to the Class 4A state tennis tournament in years past only to qualify for the first time this season.

And, yes, coach Kelly Burns is happy for her and the other six Raptors who will compete in the three-day tournament. But when Langona and No. 1 doubles teammate Maddie Doering hit the court today at Pueblo City Park, he wants them all to forget about any past success and focus on the next match and nothing else.

Langona understands. But after battling back from a serious knee injury in August and a loss in the regional play-backs that kept her from reaching state as a sophomore (she was fourth last year at No. 2 doubles), she doesn’t mind taking a moment to celebrate the accomplishment.

“I walked into this season knowing that this would be my last chance to go to state,” she said. “My goal was to make it, so anything after is just icing on cake.”

The top singles players and doubles teams from across the state meet in Pueblo today for the tournament, with championship matches scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday, and the area is well-represented.

Silver Creek brings three doubles teams and No. 3 singles player Laura Werle, and Niwot qualified all three singles positions and two doubles teams. No. 1 singles player Caroline Hobbs of Alexander Dawson and No. 3 doubles team Kelle Kloster and Kelly Graham of Longmont also made it.

The last individual state champion from the area was Niwot’s Molly Joyce, who won the No. 2 singles title in 2009. The Cougars won the team title in 2008.

It is results like those that keep Burns from allowing his Silver Creek teams to settle for anything less than the big prize. He took over the program last season, and he and his coaching staff promptly helped guide two doubles teams to state.

The Raptors doubled their number of qualifying positions this season, and Burns is quick to admit that he won’t be happy until all seven positions make, a few pick up individual titles and the Raptors win the team championship.

And then he will probably come up with more goals for the Raptors to strive for.

“I don’t tend to be that patient,” he said. “For a second-year program, we are high up in the clouds about taking this many to state, but getting there is just one part of the equation. You want the girls to go in there with the right mindset that you don’t want to be satisfied just to get there.

“You either beat those teams you play, or you sit around and become their biggest cheerleader, hoping to get back in.”

Langona and the others heard the message loud and clear.

“He doesn’t want us to settle. This is an opportunity to go out there and make a name for Silver Creek and keep the program going in right direction,” she said. “He wants us to know that so much more can be achieved.”

3/20/2011   © 2011 Longmont Times-Call

Boys peak performances

Chris Boddiger, Skyline baseball: At the plate, he went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, and he pitched a scoreless inning with a strikeout as well.

Haden Fesenmeyer, Lyons baseball: The senior hit a home run and two doubles to finish with five RBIs in a 3-for-4 effort at the plate.

Connor Messinger, Niwot baseball: He worked a no-hitter into the seventh inning before finishing a complete game shutout with seven strikeouts and one walk. He also went 3-for-4 at the plate with two triples.

Greg Reynolds, Silver Creek: He hit a three-run homer in the bottom half of the extra frame to help the Raptors rally to a victory.

Nick Romito, Frederick baseball: He finished 4-for-4 with two double and two RBIs. He also struck out eight in five innings on the mound.

Zach Woodruff, Erie baseball: He went 1-for-1 with a double, a run scored and two stolen bases in the Tigers’ victory.

Girls peak performances

Nola Basey, Lyons track and field: She placed first in the high jump and the triple jump, where she posted a distance of 33 feet, 113/4 inches. She was also part of the winning 400-meter relay team.

Kelli Drobney, Silver Creek soccer: The sophomore scored a goal and assisted on another in the Raptors’ 2-0 victory.

Rachel Hinker, Lyons track and field: Her leap of 16 feet, 7 inches in the long jump was nearly a foot farther than the runner-up, and she also won the 200-meter dash and helped the Lions take first in the 400 relay.

Diana Olson, Longmont track and field: She won the 100-meter dash by the narrowest of margins, edging Maisie Larrabee of Arvada West by a hundreth of second, 13.40 seconds to 13.41.

Melissa Roberts, Lyons track and field: She held of a charge from Pomona’s Alaina Anderson to win the 1,600-meter run with a time of 5 minutes, 23.80 seconds.

Miriam Roberts, Lyons track and field: Her time of 2 minutes, 32.95 seconds was good for a blue ribbon in the 800-meter run.

By Brad Cochi
© 2011 Longmont Times-Call

LONGMONT — Hovering just below .500 and having lost seven of its last nine games, Silver Creek was in need of a blowout.

Against the Greeley Central Wildcats on Wednesday, junior Ana Gurau had 16 points, six assists and five steals as the Raptors crushed the Wildcats 68-37.

“We were intense from the very beginning,” Gurau said. “We really wanted to win.”

The Raptors jumped out to a 20-8 lead in the first quarter and held on, outrebounding the Wildcats 31-23 and sending them to the free throw line often, where the Wildcats shot 14 of 27.

Raptors Jordan Lind and Margaret Davis each grabbed seven rebounds, and freshman Emilie Rembert chipped in 12 points, 10 in the first half.

Rembert said the win was a confidence boost for the Raptors, who believe they’re still on the state-tournament bubble.

“We just want to do the best we can,” Rembert said of how the Raptors want to finish the season. “We’re just gonna put in our all and try our best.”

The Raptors have three games remaining. They travel to play Broomfield (16-3) on Friday, then return home to host Mountain View (10-10) on Feb. 15 before wrapping up on the road at Longmont (19-1) on Feb. 17.

Alishah Chambers led the overmatched Wildcats with 12 points and five rebounds.

Brad Cochi can be reached at bcochi@times-call.com.

When Stewart received the Northern Conference coach of the year award, she was quick to clarify the honor’s significance.

“It’s not my award; it’s the girls’ (award),” Stewart said. “Coach of the year reflects what the girls do throughout the whole season. It’s an honor that I got it, it’s just that I wouldn’t have gotten it if it wasn’t for the girls.”

If the award is an affirmation of the Raptors’ effort, it came at the right time. The Raptors finished fourth at the conference meet and have qualified seven individuals for state. They’re taking 10 swimmers altogether, in addition to the relays they’ve also qualified.

On Saturday, Raptors sophomore Morgan McKeen qualified for the state championships in the 100 backstroke. She was the latest, and last, of the Raptors to qualify before next week’s state championships.

The Raptors, who switched over to the West side of the Northern Conference this season after winning back-to-back titles in the East, were unfazed by the transition into the more top-heavy division. In fact, Stewart said she’d never seen the team so calm.

“I like it on this side,” Stewart said. “The other side, it’s nice to win, and the competition isn’t easy over there either. But, it took a lot of pressure off the girls this year, and I just saw so much more relaxation in the girls.”

One Raptor, Amanda Siedem — who has qualified for state in the 100 freestyle, 100 backstroke and 50 freestyle, plus the relays — was nearly euphoric following the meet.

“This is probably the most fun I can remember having at a meet in a really long time,” Siedem said.

The junior said this year’s conference meet snuck up on her, so she didn’t have time to get nervous about it.

“I was trying to relax the whole weekend, and I wasn’t as much focused on meeting a time that I wanted to, I was more focused on having a good time and feeling strong in the water,” Siedem said.

BREAD AND BUTTER: The Raptors took fourth place, but they easily could have been fifth.

Heading into the final event — the 400 freestyle relay — the Raptors (300 points) held a slim five-point lead over host Mountain View (295). The difference makers would have to be the Raptors’ 400 freestyle relay swimmers.

They wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“That last relay is their pride and joy,” Raptors coach Debbie Stewart said. “Three of those four girls on that team have been together doing that relay since their freshman year.”

The Raptors relay team — Kenni Sterns, Bethany Bates, Siedem and Taryn Stewart — took care of business, out-touching rival Broomfield to take second place and sealing the fourth-place team finish.

Sterns, who led off the swim, had a perfect view of Taryn Stewart’s finish. One she’d seen many times before.

“We’ve been doing it forever and this season we haven’t been hitting our best times,” Sterns said. “For us to go out and beat Broomfield right then, that was a really nice victory for us. It felt really good.”

Taryn Stewart, who said the Raptors’ bread-and-butter relay was once their least favorite event, said the team had never been so excited to swim the race as it was Saturday.

“Once I was in the water, I could hear the pool,” Taryn Stewart said. “I’ve never been able to hear how loud it was before. That really just kicked me in, and once I saw that we out-touched Broomfield, and my team was so happy. That was the second time I cried because of a meet.”

Silver Creek’s Burke started early, and his game shows it

By Ray Sobczyk
© 2010 Longmont Times-Call.  Click HERE for the online article

Ryan Burke doesn’t recall the very first time he picked up a golf club.

But there is a factual account out there.

“My dad said I started picking the game up when I was 2,” Burke said. “I guess I loved it.”

Burke’s passion for golf is stronger than ever.

The Silver Creek junior won the Class 4A Northern Regional and flashed his talents at state for the third straight season. For his efforts, Burke has been named the Times-Call Golfer of the Year.

“Every time a new opportunity comes up, I like to see how good I can do,” Burke said. “I always push myself more.”

Burke carded a 1-under, 70 at the regional tournament, winning the event by one stroke. He also won two league meets during the regular season.

“I had the expectation going in to compete in every tournament,” Burke said. “My goal was to try and win. I gave it a good run.”

At state, Burke tied for 28th place.

But Burke said his performance at state wasn’t up to his standard. More fuel for next season.

“I’m definitely used to the bigger tournaments,” Burke said. “I gained more experience, and, hopefully, that will help me next year.”

Win or lose. Burke’s home is on the golf course.

Burke said he was playing a “good amount of golf” by age nine. By the time he was 11, he was practicing every day.

“Giving it my all,” Burke said.

With his father’s guidance, Burke realized there are two sides to golf. If he wanted to succeed, he needed both.

There’s hitting the ball and fine-tuning your swing, obviously. But there’s also the mental side, which Burke is still trying to hammer down.

“It’s really tough,” Burke said. “It’s hard to go 18 holes without any mental lapses.”

Burke said Tiger Woods is a pro at staying mentally strong on the course.

“He knows what he wants to do with every shot,” Burke said. “Makes the game so much easier.”

In fact, Burke said his mental approach finally started “clicking” during his junior year.

“Every time I go out there I have similar thoughts,” Burke said. “Sort of an over and over thing. But I’m getting used to it.

“It’s the most important part of the game. If you can conquer the mental part, no one can beat you.”

Not even his dad.

See, Burke said he grew up playing golf with his father. “I just wanted to spend time with him,” he said.

Growing up, the two bonded on the course. Burke said his dad taught him all he knows about golf.

Burke’s dad is his biggest fan and coach.

“He’s always been there for me,” Burke said. “He helps my game.”

They also compete. Burke wants to win.

“At first, he gave me a few strokes,” he said. “But now, I can’t beat him — most of the time.”