Area athletes hit the ground running

Area athletes took the field Monday, Aug. 13, for the first official day of practice in Colorado for boys and girls cross country, boys soccer, boys tennis, field hockey, football, gymnastics, softball and volleyball.

Boys golf started practice last week. Most area golfers open play today. Tennis and softball open in the next few days while all other sports start Aug. 30.

The Cheyenne Mountain football team started at 7 a.m., to avoid the heat. Still, it was warm.

“It showed in some guys’ faces that is was warm outside,” coach Kris Roberts said. “They need to just take care of themselves especially between practices. We’ve been harping them on that. They don’t need to be running around between practices. They need to rest and take in food and fluids.”

While construction continued at Doherty, its volleyball team opened practice at a private facility.

It wasn’t Spartan gym but it certainly sounded like it. The tryouts were full of high fives and shouts.

For freshmen, it was both exciting and nerve-wracking.

“I’m glad it’s over with,” freshman Lauren Tekavec said. “It was a little harder than I expected, but I thought I did well and was prepared. We did a lot more running than I thought we would.”

With tryouts concluding Wednesday, the freshmen took advantage of an extra two-hour session to garner more attention from coaches.

“We did mostly basics today so we know what coach (Julie) Ortiz is looking for,” Tekavec said. “The upperclassmen have been really nice and they’ve been real welcoming to me.”

Senior Kassen Boesel said familiarity between the returning players and an influx of freshman should make for a cohesive team after tryouts conclude.

“Everyone is really all on the same level,” Boesel said. “We all connect really well.”

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