Prep notebook: Pine Creek's Watt hauls in two indoor victories

Pine Creek’s Watt wins pair of sprints at MLK Indoor event

Pine Creek sophomore Ally Watt, the reigning 5A state champion in the 100 and 200 meters, won two events at the Martin Luther King Jr. Mile Hi Classic on Sunday at the Air Force Academy.

Watt, running for Colorado Springs-based Speed Track & Field, won the 60 meters in 7.51 seconds and the 200 meters in 24.33.

She wasn’t the only area athlete to take the top step on the podium.

Teammate Heather Bates, the defending state 5A cross country champion, won the mile in 5:14.66. Doherty sophomore Mackenzie Howie, also of Speed Track & Field, crossed first in the 400, in 57.42 and Rampart’s Ashlyn Hare claimed first in the high jump at 5 feet, 3 inches.

In boys’ action, Cheyenne Mountain senior Zach Kuzma won the mile in 4:42.78

Manitou Springs football coach Gieck takes girls’ basketball reins

Dan Gieck already helped one Manitou Springs team to the playoffs last year. Now, he’s working on a second.

The second-year football coach led the Mustangs to the 2A playoffs, and in December was asked to take over as girls’ basketball coach after the sudden resignation of first-year coach Roxanne Dale.

After two losses before the holiday break, Gieck has the Mustangs on a roll, winners of five straight heading into Wednesday’s game at The Classical Academy.

“He has coached girls’ basketball off and on over the years, and he’s glad to do it,” Manitou Springs athletic director John McGee said. “We asked if Dan could come in and finish the season for us, and he’s got them playing pretty well.”

Willey misses two games, 15 pounds after allergic reaction to medication

Doherty junior Mariah Willey found a creative, yet painful and uncomfortable way, to shed 15 pounds quickly.

It all started when she contracted strep throat during finals week in mid-December. But when she suffered an allergic reaction to the medication, a swollen throat led to a five-day hospital stay, during which she had her tonsils removed after developing a cyst in the infected area.

“I couldn’t talk for two or three weeks, and I needed a belt to keep my sweatpants on,” Willey said Tuesday after Doherty’s victory over Pine Creek. “It was one of those things. I had really never gotten that sick, so no one knew I was allergic to the medication.”

She missed two games after finals but returned for the Spartans’ first game of the year Jan. 5 against Heritage. All she did was score 13 points and record seven steals.

“I was definitely ready to come back,” Willey said. “I was waiting a long time to play. Basketball is my life, and I realized how much I love it.”