The camp was for kids ages 6-14 and staffed by some of the Metro men’s and women’s soccer players. It allowed the kids to work on skill ability, gain a better understanding of the game and, of course, have fun with the Metro soccer team.

Metro forward Becca Mays, left, and University of Minnesota-Duluth forward Mallory Fox go up for a header Nov. 15, 2009 during the second half of the NCAA Central Region Tournament semifinals at Auraria Field. File photo by Leah Millis

“It’s good to get the youth involved and to keep them on the right track,” women’s soccer defender Gabby Klipp said. “It’s a good experience for them.”

The camp ran for six hours July 12-16 and would start with a group activity to get the players engaged. Participants later separated for circuit training and group games.

This was the first year Klipp was able to help out at the camp and said she had a good time. Watching the kids smile was a memorable moment for her when she played in soccer camps as a child, Klipp reminisced.

“It’s a great feeling,” Klipp said. “I remember being that age. It was a great experience for me, and I hope they took that with them.”

Women’s Head Coach Adrianne Almaraz agreed with Klipp.

“Overall, it was good to watch the kids have a good time and to see them develop from Monday to when they [left] on Friday,” Almaraz said.

The team also raised funds by working the concession stand at the University of Denver games. All the money they raise from the camp and working the concession stand is used for uniforms, practice gear and traveling expenses.

Not only have the Roadrunners been fundraising in the offseason, they have also been recruiting new players for their upcoming season. The team added seven players to their roster, with three transfers and four freshmen.

Sophomore Aubrey Fondy transferred from Nova Southeastern University, while red-shirt freshman Alex Moore came from Florida International University. Sophomore Athena Lopez comes from the University of South Carolina-Upstate, but she will have to sit out the 2010 season due to transfer eligibility rules.

They are joined by freshmen Becca Medina, Karisa Price, Nicole Pollack and Sarah Tanous.

“It’s going to be a great group of girls this year,” Almaraz said. “Hopefully, they will help us continue on the path to be successful.”

The women have big goals every year, which include striving for a national championship. Senior midfielder Madison McQuilliams wants to guide the team by presenting better decisions on the field in order to achieve their ambitions.

“I want to step up into a leadership role and lead by example by making good choices,” McQuilliams said.

Defender Courtney Ryan also has high hopes for her and her teammates.

“We definitely want to win RMAC, because we didn’t last year, and become national champions,” Ryan said. “I think we’ll do pretty well.”

The Roadrunners will begin their season Aug. 20 and 21 against Western Nebraska Community College and Laramie Community College at Auraria Field.

As Spanish forward Andres Iniesta’s half-volley bounced untouched past the desperately outstretched leg of Rafael Van der Vaart and over diving Dutch goalie Maarten Stekelenburg, mixed emotions filled soccer fans everywhere.

Andres Iniesta. Photo courtesy of Daniel Lennon Films and commons.wikimedia.org

Spanish supporters all over the world felt Iniesta’s elation over his game-winning goal, as he sprinted to the corner flag to celebrate with his team.

On the other hand, the heartbreak of the Netherlands’ fans was not an uncommon feeling, as another loss in the World Cup Final further secured their spot as the best country to never win the cup. The fact that the loss came to Spain, who won their first World Cup, cements the Dutch’s title.

But, as a whole, heartbreak and elation were not the only feelings felt in South Africa; a wide array of emotions were experienced at the World Cup. One of the first felt by fans in the United States was a sense of achievement, as the U.S. tied England as the underdog to open their World Cup play.

This sense of achievement followed the U.S. throughout the tournament, peaking off a Landon Donovan goal to beat Algeria and secure the Yanks a spot in the round of 16.

For England, the expression on the face of goalies Robert Green exemplifies exactly what he was feeling as midfielder Clint Dempsey’s shot bounced off his hands and into the net — panic. Green was not the only player to feel panic, though.

New Zealand had their moment of panic, which ended up differently than Green’s misfortune. Down by a goal in their opening-game and with only 40 seconds left, kiwi defender Winston Reid’s head found a beautifully crossed ball to score and tie Slovakia. New Zealand’s last second wave of attackers put a panicked goal into the net and salvaged a tie to open up pool play.

The eventual champ, Spain, opened up their World Cup in bewilderment, dominating ball possession (63 percent to 37 percent) and put eight shots on Switzerland’s goal to three by Spain in a loss. The Swiss may have only had three shots on goal, but the difference in the game was Gelson Fernandes got a lucky shot that went in. Spain didn’t lose another game after that.

Pain was felt by many at the World Cup, whether it was the disappointed fan or injured athlete. Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso may have felt the most amount of pain throughout the tournament.

In the 28th minute of the final, Alonso took a Bruce Lee-esque karate kick to the chest from Oranje midfielder Nigel De Jong after heading the ball to a teammate. The late challenge from De Jong resulted in a yellow card, but in all fairness, even as a Dutch supporter, De Jong should have seen red from the officials.

The FIFA officials felt the heat, after calling back U.S. goals in back-to-back games versus Slovenia and Algeria.

After falling behind 2-0 heading into halftime versus Slovenia, the U.S. scored two goals in the second half to tie the game up. In the 86th minute, midfielder Maurice Edu scored a header to cap a historiic comeback.

The U.S. started to celebrate but their joy soon turned to rage, as they found out that referee Koman Coulibaly called the goal off due to a penalty.

Coulibaly was sent home to Mali and didn’t ref the remainder of the Cup but the trend he started would strike again. For the second straight game, the U.S. was robbed an apparent goal with out explanaion versus Algeria.

Although the U.S. was victimized by bad calls twice, it was England who may have suffered most from the Coulibaly trend.

Down one nothing in the first half, England midfielder Frank Lampard put a shot on goal that bounced off the crossbar and into the goal. Referee Jorge Larrionda waved play on as the goalie quick-mindedly grabbed the ball and put it into play.

Overall, from karate-kick to first-time champions to botched calls, two emotions remain after the Cup: a feeling of loss that comes after the realization that there will no longer be soccer on every day and anticipation for Brazil and the 2014 World Cup.

“Right now, with the athletes, we’re kind of hands off until they arrive from preseason practice,” Head Coach Debbie Hendricks said. “We’re doing things like getting our travel arrangements made, equipment purchased. [We’re] planning and preparing for the things we want to emphasize with the players we have this year and how we want to train.”

Some of the players have already gotten a head start in training for the upcoming season.

“This offseason, I got a personal trainer,” junior outside hitter Bri Morley said. “I’m just trying to get stronger.”

Even though most of the players from last season will be coming back, Metro recruited five players, including four freshmen, to fill vacant holes on the team.

“I think it’s a good freshmen class,” Hendricks said of the new recruits. “I think that, as with all freshman, they’ll have a lot to learn. Every single one of these kids are coming from good high school and club programs, programs that they’ve been well-trained, they’re used to winning. They’re going to contribute a lot.”

Senior right-side hitter Lisa Jones also has expectations out of the new freshmen class.

“I expect them to work hard [and] be proud to be a Metro State Roadrunner,” she said. “I kind of expect them to know what they’re coming into.”

Jones, who will be one of two seniors this season, plans to step into a leadership role on the team.

“I expect us to be pretty good,” she said. “We should be first or second in [the] conference. We’re working hard right now to get to it.”

Even though junior libero Ngoc Phan appears to be the likely candidate to replace Amy Watanabe at libero, but there’s no guarantee.

“It’s an open competition,” Hendricks said about the starting libero position. “Ngoc has the most experience in our system. She trained with Amy [and] she understands what the expectations are of that position. I think she will be the natural [choice], [but] I think competition is always good and keeps everyone performing at the highest level possible.”

The new freshmen not only add talent, but also depth to Metro. Despite having to restock in certain positions, Metro looks to continue its success under Hendricks.

“We grow every year,” Morley said. “You go through different scenarios, different challenges. It should be a good year.”

With a fresh new season coming up, as well as some fresh new faces, the team has a lot to look forward to.

“[We want] to continue to grow, maximize what we have talent-wise, team-wise [and] playing-wise,” Morley said. “I think if we’re going to win nationals, it’ll be the year to do it.”

Metro women's soccer midfielder Becca Medina. Photo by Daniel Clements

Mays led the Roadrunners last season with 53 points and 23 goals and was second in the conference with goals and game-winning goals. She was also named 2009 Preseason Player of the Year and National Soccer Coaches Association of America First Team All-America. Medina said she has some big shoes to fill, however, she’s up for the challenge.

“I just need to work as hard as I can and help everyone else out as hard as I can,” Medina said.

Medina, 18, is a Denver native and started playing soccer when she was 4 years old. She graduated from Heritage High School where she was a four-year letter winner and was named second team all-state as a sophomore and senior. Medina made first team All-Continental League three times and led the Eagles to the state tournament as a senior. She can play any position, although midfield is her favorite since she can do everything.

“She is a very strong player,” Head Coach Adrianne Almaraz said. “She can play different roles and many positions.”

Medina played for the Colorado Storm Academy club team, where her squad won the state championship the past four years.

“It was pretty exciting, because no one could beat us,” Medina said. “The first couple of times was great but the last time was sad, because it was the last time we would play together.”

Medina’s club team went to regionals the past five years and made it to quarterfinals in 2008 and 2009.

“Her club team is one of the top teams in Colorado,” Almaraz said. “She will bring a lot next year to the team this fall.”

Freshmen Sarah Tanous and Nicole Pollack played for the Colorado Storm Academy club team, as well as joining the Metro women’s team with Medina. Medina is happy to have her friends come with her, since she will know some people on the team.

Medina is excited to be able to play with different people and to live by herself. This season she hopes to play a lot, while getting good grades and being a good student-athlete. She chose Metro as the school to attend, because she wants to be in her hometown.

“I knew I wanted to play soccer, and it’s close to my house,” Medina said. “My parents like watching me play and I love being in Denver.”

Medina wants to major in psychology or sports medicine but doesn’t know what she wants to do with either of those yet. In her free time, when she isn’t working at Outback Steakhouse, Medina enjoys hanging out with her friends.

Medina is only a freshman, but with her passion for the game and her soccer history—both high school and club — she is sure to live up to jersey number three’s reputation.

“It was amazing — so much fun,” senior Devon Minshall said. “It was a great experience playing at Invesco and seeing everyone again.”

Photo by Luke Powell

The score went back and forth the whole game, even though the Roadrunners didn’t officially keep track. However, junior Kevin Bertrand led all current players with four goals.

“It was fun scoring on my old goalie,” Bertrand said. “It was cool to play in a stadium, a nice change of environment.”

Head Coach Alex Bauer was fortunate enough to be able to join the alumni squad and was also excited to compete at Invesco.

“It was just an unbelievable experience being able to play out where the pros were,” Bauer said. “It was a great time getting the old guys there.”

Invesco Field wasn’t the only spectacular factor of the game. Alumnus Ethan Heritage reunited with one of his former teammates, whom he played with his first year.

“It was kind of crazy,” Heritage said. “A friend I played with, Josh Ramirez, came all the way from California. It was cool because he scored one of the last goals.”

Minshall founded the team four years ago, and it has been a huge success the past couple of years. The Roadrunners just finished their season in May, going 5-5 against some of the best teams in the nation.

Metro ran into some obstacles in the past, including their former head coach quitting, bringing in a new coach and players. Through all this the ’Runners were able to win games no one expected the team to win. The team overcame their difficulties and have been ranked No. 18 in the nation with a record of more than .500 the last couple of years. The lacrosse team has grown from four years ago, and Bertrand gives all the credit to Minshall.

“He’s hard working and pushes himself,” Bertrand said. “We play opposite positions, so him and I are always talking and helping each other out. He’s good to bounce ideas off of. He’s the reason we have a team.”

Minshall is hoping the first alumni game isn’t their last.

“It was a great experience,” Minshall said. “I’m already looking forward to the next one.”

“[Former Head] Coach [Linda] Lappe left a very good foundation,” Haave said.  “In kind of a nutshell, we want to play hard, play smart and play together.  That’s what I am envisioning.”

Haave said that she does not plan to change the women’s basketball program significantly, stressing team play on both sides of the ball.

“There’s still going to be an emphasis on defense,” Haave said. “We want to be disciplined offensively, disciplined defensively, take care of the basketball, play team defense [and] play team offense.

Haave, who went 36-86 with USF, is looking for a new start to her coaching career.  Having learned from some notable Division I coaches, such as former University of Colorado at Boulder Coach Ceal Barry and Tennessee’s Pat Summitt, she brings experience and her own belief system to Metro.

“I’m excited,” Haave said.  “We’ve got a great core group of players that are returning.  [They’re] a really great group of women that are here now, and the newcomers that are coming in.  I think the future looks bright.”

Junior guard Jasmine Cervantes feels confident in what Haave can accomplish.

“I feel like she knows the game really well,” Cervantes said.  “She’s just going to pick us up more on offense because I feel like our six returners that are coming back have a good sense of the type of defense we need to win games. She’s going to give us more of an edge offensively and she’s only going to give us more talent and more experience.”

Sophomore guard Kristin Valencia feels that playing under Haave will be a significant adjustment but feels hopeful about this upcoming season, since Lappe got a good start on recruiting before she departed for CU.

“I’m expecting a good team because our returners are good,” Valencia said.  “We’re close [as a team].”

Metro recently added three new recruits to their squad and managed to pick up some much-needed post help in 6-foot-3 freshman Chelsea Libonati.

“We have a 6-foot-3 player from Cherokee Trail [High School] here in Aurora,” Haave said.  “I haven’t seen her play that much; she’s got some great length. She’s got some good hands, an ability to get offensive rebounds, get some shots for us.”

Valencia and Cervantes are also excited to play with the new recruits.

“They all seem like they would all fit in really well,” Valencia said.  “We’ve seen a couple of them play.  I think they can contribute a lot to this upcoming year.”

Cervantes is confident that Libonati will adjust to the college game and contribute a lot to the team.

“She’s going to have to adjust to a whole different level of play, but I think she’s going to fit in just fine with us,” Cervantes said of Libonati.  “I played a little bit with her this summer, and she seems like a strong competitor. I’m excited for what she’s going to bring to the table.”

Despite the adversity that both Haave at San Francisco and Metro women’s basketball went through last season, there is reason to believe this upcoming season could be different for Haave at Metro.

“I think Metro’s going to be a tough team and a team to look out for,” Cervantes said.  “We might be the underdog team because we did struggle last year in our post.  Now that we have a new coach, she’s going to make us better.”

On May 19 Colorado became part of the second biggest sport in the world’s community, as Lt. Governor Barbara O’Brien proclaimed June Colorado Rugby Month at Infinity Park in Glendale.

Rugby, a game that resembles football and smear the, uh, one with the ball, is the second most popular sport on Earth next to soccer. Played much like a free-flowing football game with soccer rules, rugby is a violent madman’s sport created from soccer.

The invention of rugby is rumored to come from Rugby School, one of the oldest and prestigious independent boarding schools in the United Kingdom. A student named William Web Ellis caught a soccer ball in the middle of a pick-up game and ran to the opposing goal with the ball under his arm, similar to a football. As rugby lore goes, the game evolved from there and started to resemble modern day football in the U.S., 100 years before the American sport was invented.

To the untrained eye, a rugby game looks like a football game that doesn’t stop after every play, but keeps going much like soccer. There is much more than this to the game, including massive pseudo-wrestling matches for ball possesion. Much like football, to score you must go the length of the field and into a “touchdown” area. For the point to count the ball must touch the ground, legitamizing the word touchdown. Ironically, scores are called “tries” not touchdowns.

The Rugby World Cup’s trophy, Webb Ellis Cup, is named after the originator.

The Churchill Cup, an annual international rugby tournament named after former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, held the tournament’s pool play in Glendale at Infinity Park, before playing the elimination rounds at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J.

Teams from the U.S., Canada and England, with the intentions of raising interest in the sport in North America and developing English players trying to make the national team, created the Churchill Cup. Several other countries are invited to compete in the tournament along with the three founding nations.

France, Russia and Uruguay were the three teams invited to contended for the cup this year, bringing some high-profile rugby teams, like France and England, to Colorado for the second-straight year.

The England Saxons, the English national team’s B team, took home the Cup championship this season with a 38-18 win over Canada while the United States lost 24-10 in the third-place game. The Saxons have a commanding presence over the Churchill Cup, winning 18 of their 22 total matches and playing in all eight cups. The United States has had the opposite fortune, competing in every Cup but only claiming four victories in their 22 matches.

Despite the U.S.’s misfortune in Churchill Cup play, Colorado’s support and enthusiasm for rugby continued as USA Rugby Men’s Collegiate National All-Star Championships coincided with the Churchill Cup.

The Collegiate National All-Star Championships is a tournament comprised of teams that represent geographic areas of the U.S.

The South beat the Pacific Coast in a low-scoring, defensive battle 14-13 to cap off a rugby-filled weekend at Infinity Park.

With a style of play that is similar to football, rugby has the scoring and physical play that can attract the typical American sports fan. The support that Colorado has been mustering over the years is not unusual, as many of the less-popular sports in the United States, like soccer or lacrosse, are finding success in the Rockies.

The Glendale Raptors, Colorado’s professional rugby team, has been an essential component to the sport’s popularity. Infinity Park, the Raptors home field, hosts an abundance of rugby games, from matches versus colleges to international games, and have found a supportive home for the rumbling violent sport in one of the best sporting states in the U.S.

“I was really proud of how gutsy our kids were,” Head Coach Jen Fisher said. “I think going there (College World Series) and winning two games and making it to the semi-final was really exciting. I was just really happy.”

Metro pitcher Aubree Maul, far right, embraces outfielder Molly Clark while center fielder Kellie Nishikida, center, waits to hand out a high five after the Roadrunners beat Wayne State 6-2 at Auraria Field May 22. File photo by Leah Millis

The success that the 53-6 ’Runners squad saw this season was largely due to an extremely talented team that placed seven players on the All-RMAC teams three of which went on to be named Daktronics All-Americans. It also stemmed from a family-like bond that the team rode through winning the RMAC crowns to the World Series.

“This team is probably the team that’s been the closest and that really cared about each other and worked hardest for each other,” Fisher, two-time RMAC Coach of the Year, said. “They definitely wanted to play hard for each other, and that makes your life as a coach so much easier when you have that cohesiveness.”

The 2010 Roadrunner team, which led the RMAC in almost every statistical category including runs batted in (411), runs scored (452) and a RMAC record 112 home runs, had a bond which started and undoubtedly grew stronger with every practice and road trip. It also came out in the community and classroom.

“Our kids have really made the commitment, and not just on the field. They have really done some great things in community service, and we’ve done some good things in the classroom,” Fisher said. “It takes working on all sides of that student athlete, not just the athlete. When you do that, you’re going to be successful on the field, if they’re working hard at being successful in all those other areas.”

After unpredictable Colorado winter weather forced cancellations for two weeks early in the 2010 season, Metro went on a 21-2 winning streak to take a strangle-hold lead on the RMAC. Metro lost only their second game halfway through the season, and finished the regular season with 17 straight wins.

“It had a lot to do with Coach Fisher and how much she pushed us to really play the best that we could; individually and as a team,” All-American selection and third baseman Tara Mickelson said. “As a team, we got along really well and we played really well together, so we understood that we were all really good players and could count on each other to be there if one of us wasn’t succeeding.”

The all-for-one mentality of the team served it well, as it quickly climbed the National Fastpitch Coaches Association charts, rising from number 16 at the beginning of the season and finishing ranked fourth in the country.

Seniors Mickelson, pitcher Christie Robinson, shortstop Amber Roundtree, outfielder Kellie Nishikida, second baseman Sarah Rusch and first baseman Jessica Haab have helped lay down the foundation of a solid softball program at Metro and will be missed, but the future is still bright for the young and successful team.

“I’m really, really proud of this team and I’m going to miss those seniors a lot,” Fisher said. “We’re going to have to work really hard to maintain that level that people have come to expect from us, but at the same time our team has built a lot of traditions and those seniors are going to leave their mark on the program.”

The semi-final finish at the World Series and the 53-6 overall record may have been the best finish in school history, but the journey through the 2010 season may be what some remember most from this team.

“I will definitely look back on my college career, basically, toward this season, since it was my last one and we made it so far,” Mickelson said. “I will look back on how far we made it and how well we played as a team, how we overcame so many obstacles and so many people not believing in us. We made it so far, it was really a worthwhile year.”

The second-team All-RMAC second baseman was a force to be reckoned with at the plate during her final season in a Roadrunner uniform.

Metro second baseman Sarah Rusch attempts a bunt during a game Saturday May 22 against Wayne State. File photo by Leah Millis

“She really brought an offensive prowess,” Head Coach Jen Fisher said of the Westminster native. “She’s very aggressive at the plate, and I think she had a really nice swing, so she helped a lot of the younger players, and she helped us develop that offensive power that we’ve been known for in the last couple of years. She helped lay out a foundation for what Metro softball is.”

Rusch, a 2006 Standley Lake High School graduate, started her collegiate softball career at Otero Junior College where she met first baseman Jessica Haab and Coach Fisher.

“We were actually rooming together this year,” Haab said. “We really clicked on the field. She’s just a great athlete and a great friend.”

Rusch joined the team in 2008 when Fisher left Otero and arrived at Metro.

“Previously, I just played for high school and some summer teams,” Rusch said. “Nothing like this [though]. This took it up to a different level for me, definitely a lot more hard work here at college. I haven’t been a part of anything like this before.”

Rusch, who majored in land use with a concentration in environmental resources at Metro, has already mapped out her future after graduation and plans to use her major in the governmental field.

Metro Secondbasemen Sara Rusch throws a runner out at second base during a game Saturday March 23 at Auraria Fields. The Roadrunners split their double header against CSU-Pueblo. File photo by Steve Anderson

“After I graduate, I’m going to look for a job in the government with the Department of Interior, maybe work for the Forest Service, the Division of Wildlife or something that has do with my major,” Rusch said. “Right now, I have a job at ‘Three T Systems,’ which is a software company. I’m an accounting assistant right now.”

Rusch is also considering coaching at Standley Lake H.S. in Westminster.

Rusch has a strong relationship with her parents, who were her biggest inspiration.

“They formed me into who I am,” Rusch said. “I kind of just feed off of them.”

Like many things that happen during a down economic time, her family is going through a tough time, Rusch said.

“My family’s been going through a hard time this [past] season with jobs and the economy,” Rusch, 22, said. “They’ve had to overcome that. [Also], some people in my family have been sick.”

Despite her family’s tough times Rusch was close to the team and feels optimistic for their future.

“I expect them to keep the traditions going, just keep working hard for Coach [Fisher] and for each other,” Rusch said. “We’re all pretty tight together and we all get along really great.”

Along with the second team All-RMAC honor, Rusch was named to the Daktronics All-Central region team and is the Metro career record holder in doubles, with 28, home runs, with 27, and holds the records for most doubles in a season with 18.

“It kind of exceeded my expectations,” she said of this past season. “Going to the College World Series, it was an awesome season. We all were like a family and we took it as far as we could.”

“There were some down falls with the team,” Evans said. “But we won games, and that’s what counts.”

Former men's basketball Head Coach Brannon Hays, center, attempts to rally his trailing team Feb. 20 during a timeout at Auraria Event Center. File photo by Leah Millis

Hays left Metro with a 98-27 overall record and an accompanying 61-15 record in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. He finished this past season with a 24-7 record, including 14-5 in the RMAC.

The Roadrunners also advanced to the NCAA Tournament after winning the RMAC championship. Hays led the Roadrunners to three RMAC Tournament championships and two regular season tournament championships.

“We appreciate everything he did with us,” Athletic Director Joan McDermott said. “He was very successful. He did a great job for us during the time he was here. We appreciate his hard work.”

Hays guided Metro to its second-best record in school history in the 2008-2009 season, where he also captured RMAC East Division Coach of the Year honors.

“He was very successful,” Evans said. “We had the work ethic. We had the tools to win games.”

Hays left Metro for a ‘career advancement’ and on May 7 was named Mullen High School’s boys basketball head coach. He will also teach physical education at Mullen.

McDermott hired Derrick Clark as the new men’s basketball head coach June 3, as the seventh men’s basketball coach in school history.

“It’s very exciting,” McDermott said. “He was here for many years, the most successful years at Metro. He’s had five years at a Division I school and great experience working under a good coach.”

Clark used to be part of the Roadrunner coaching staff during eight seasons between 1997 and 2005; serving under Metro’s winningest coach, Mike Dunlap.

“I’m very excited,” Clark said. “It’s an environment that I’m very familiar with so I’m very excited.”

The Roadrunners won national championships in 2000 and 2002 with Clark on staff, posting a 227-40 record in eight years overall. Clark comes back to Metro after spending the past three seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He guided the Buffaloes to a 15-16 record in 2009 to 2010 under former Denver Nuggets Head Coach Jeff Bzdelik, improving from a 9-22 season in 2008 to 2009.

“It sounds exciting,” Evans said. “It sounds like he’s ready to win.”

Clark has many goals for the Roadrunner basketball program — not just on the court, but off the court as well.

“First and foremost, I want to make the guys on this current roster better,” Clark said. “Not just on the basketball stand, but academically as well.”

Clark played for an Australian professional team from 1995 to 1997 before coaching. Clark played under Dunlap at California Lutheran University, earning first-team all-conference honors and led his team to two NCAA Division III Sweet 16 appearances.

“I was really proud of how gutsy our kids were,” head coach Jen Fisher said. “I think going there and winning two games, and making it to the semi final, was really exciting.”

Metro pitcher Aubree Maul, far right, embraces outfielder Molly Clark while center fielder Kellie Nishikida, center, waits to hand out a high five after the Roadrunners beat Wayne State 6-2 May 22 at Auraria Field. Metro ended their season May 30 at the NCAA Division II World Series with a 53-6 overall season record. File photo by Leah Millis

Although second baseman Sarah Rusch and third baseman Tara Mickelson both reached base in the top of the first inning versus Hawaii Pacific, Metro could not find any more offense as they ended the top of the inning scoreless. The Sea Warriors took an early lead, as pitcher Sherise Musquiz singled up the middle with the bases loaded to bring home second baseman Casey Sugihara to take a 1-0 lead after the first.

The ’Runners stalled offensively for the second straight inning in the second but kept the Hawaii offense at bay before taking the lead in the top of the third inning.

With runners on second and third bases, left fielder Jennessa Tesone singled up the middle bringing home Rusch and short stop Amber Roundtree to take a 2-1 lead after holding Hawaii Pacific scoreless for a second straight inning.

The Roadrunner bats cooled off in the third, only finding one hit before switching fields.

The Sea Warriors reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Musquiz brought Sugihara home for the second time in the game, after Metro gave up a previous run in the inning, to put Metro in a 3-2 hole.

The Metro scoring drought continued in the top of the fifth, as three straight batters were retired, before the Warriors took a 4-2 lead thanks to a run-scoring single up the middle from left fielder Ciera Senas.

The Roadrunner’s bats could not connect for a third consecutive inning, as Hawaii Pacific furthered their lead to 7-2 off a three-run inning, which included two unearned runs.

“That pitcher was a really sharp pitcher,” Mickelson said. “Whenever we got on base, we weren’t able to capitalize. If one person would get on we weren’t able to move them around.”

The Sea Warrior defense held strong during Metro’s final at-bat of the game, in the top of the seventh, as the ’Runners only managed one hit before Hawaii ended the game, and the Roadrunners season, 7-2.

“When you make it to the World Series, the Division II Championships, you’re really going to see the best pitching,” Fisher explained. “Not to make excuses, but when you get to that level the pitching is just so, so solid that six or seven hits, usually, aren’t going to be good enough to win the game.

Metro lost their first game of the CWS, 10-3 to number 19 Angelo State, before rattling off two straight wins over seventh ranked Wayne State and number one North Georgia.

Mickelson and Tesone were both named to the NCAA Division II Softball All-Tournament team. In four games, Mickelson batted in four RBIs, two home runs and brought in two runs while batting .333. Tesone matched Mickelson’s batting average and had five RBIs while scoring one run and hitting one homer. Mickelson also earned Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Athlete of the Month honors for the month of May.

“It’s exciting, but I know I wouldn’t be here if our team wouldn’t have made it this far,” Mickelson said about her accolades. “I just played as best I could for the team and came out pretty decently in the tournament. It was pretty exciting.”

Metro ended the season ranked number four in the nation, putting up a historic 53-6 overall record, the most wins in school history, and 37-2 in the RMAC.

“I’m really, really proud of this team and I’m going to miss those five seniors a lot,” Fisher said. “ We saw softball on a national level, and I think we’re going to continue to have to work really hard within our conference because I think our conference isn’t quite as respected in softball as it should be. “

This season Metro sent just three runners to the tournament  — all from the men’s side — but they managed to have two top-five finishes in the men’s 800-meter run.

Senior Anthony Luna completed his college track career with a second place finish in the men’s 800m with a time of 1:48.18, less than a second from first place.

Rick Bogatay, left, leads a pack of runners while Nate Newland, center, follows close behind during the men's 1500-meter race April 24 at the Jack Christiansen Invitational in Ft. Collins. Bogatay finished 11th in the 1500-meter run May 29 at the Division II Track and Field National Championships in Charlotte, N.C. File photo by Daniel Clements

The race was tight as junior Shawn Lindbom finished a few tenths of a second behind Luna to finish fourth at 1:48.65.

Luna said he couldn’t maneuver out of the pack of runners at the start, which hampered him from making a strong push for the top position toward the end.

But he added that overall he “didn’t run that great of a race,” which was something that has stayed on his mind.

“To be honest, I haven’t stopped thinking about that race since it happened,” he said.

Luna is the only Metro track runner to win a national title. He won the indoor and outdoor titles in the 800m during the 2008-09 season; he didn’t want to finish his time at Metro without a win.

“It was really disappointing,” he said. “I’m not going to beat around the bush: I was upset. I shouldn’t have lost that race.”

Senior Rick Bogatay finished 11th in the men’s 1500-meter run with a time of 3:52.99.

The 2009-10 indoor and outdoor track season ends after a series of changes in the program. Pete Julian, co-founder of the program and long-time head coach, abruptly left Metro to take a coaching position at Washington State University in Pullman, Wash.

Metro Athletic Director Joan McDermott quickly named Sean Nesbitt, who helped Julian revive the program in 2005, interim head coach of the men’s and women’s cross country teams. Last December John Suspic, an assistant under Nesbitt and student of Julian’s, took over as the permanent coach of the cross country and track teams.

“We’re really pleased to have John take over as our new head coach,” McDermott said in a statement. “We feel John can take us to the next level of competing with Adams State and Western State. He has an excellent running background and we think the transition will be easy for our student-athletes as he brings a similar philosophy as Sean and Pete (Julian) had.”

Luna said the transition wasn’t easy for long-tenured runners like himself, but in the end they became receptive to the changes.

Although he found frustration instead of a third national championship in Charlotte, Luna found solace in knowing the track program is progressing well.

Suspic summed it up after the race.

“He (Suspic) told me ‘You know Metro is going in the right direction if athletes are pissed off with a second place finish at nationals,’” Luna said. “We’re moving the program in the right direction. “

The answer is simple; they have a pitiful bullpen and not much rotational depth.

To back up that statement, Metro’s ERA was 7.73. They allowed 55 home runs, struck out only 218 batters, which was 8th in the RMAC, and opposing batters hit .336 off the Roadrunners.

Metro must work on rebuilding and improving their bullpen during the offseason.  Pitchers such as Sean Walter and Ross MacDonald, both of whom finished their senior seasons, are now gone.  Let’s not forget their ace, Ted Jamison, as well.  Pitchers like him and Jake Draeger were one of the only reasons Metro managed to squeeze into the RMAC tournament to begin with.

Another logical reason they got into the tournament was that the offense compensated for the bullpen’s poor performances, time and again, with home runs.

One pitcher who must step and lead the bullpen is Ryan Hutchinson.  I’ve known him since elementary school, and he’s a player with much potential in the future.  Hutchinson, who will be entering his junior season next spring, barely received any action on the mound this past season, and it’d be surprising if Tom Carcione doesn’t give him more opportunities to pitch.

Besides Hutchinson, Carcione must focus on recruiting solid, notable pitchers to bolster the bullpen.  In other words, it needs a serious makeover.

Moving on the rotation, Metro must recruit a No. 4 or 5 starting pitcher to take the pressure off of Draeger, Bradshaw Perry and Nate Van Bibber.  They all will be seniors next spring, so Metro needs to shop for another starting pitcher soon.

The bottom line is that Metro must solve its bullpen issues from this past season and have their starting pitchers go deeper into ball games instead of being taken out after a certain number of pitches.

For instance, on April 30 against RMAC heavyweights New Mexico Highlands, pitcher Jamison looked fine on the mound with a 3-2 lead on his shoulders until Coach Carcione yanked him after five innings, even though Jamison still had some gas left in the tank.

That’s when the game went south for Metro, who eventually lost 10-3 that day after the bullpen gave eight runs over the final four innings.

That being said, if Metro wants to contend, they must place a heavy emphasis on recruiting pitching, predominantly for the bullpen, above all other needs.  If they don’t, do not be surprised if they finish another season as a sub-.500 team.  If they do decide to recruit bullpen help, they could have an opportunity to challenge teams such as Mesa State and New Mexico Highlands.

Metro guard Dante Nicholas drives on CSU Pueblo's defense during the RMAC Championships March 5. Photo by Luke Powell

“It was very impressive the way the guys came together, improved and how we finished the season,” said Head Coach Brannon Hays.  “We had our ups and downs, but they kept coming closer and closer together as a team.  The returners really stepped up and led the group, and the guys were buying in and working hard.  So, it was fun to be a part of it.”

Junior guard Donte Nicholas also took note of this past season.

“I felt like it was a good experience for the young guys coming in,” he said.  “We got 10 new guys this year, just to give them a taste of what it’s going to be like and what we’ve got to do to get to where we want to be next year, which is [to] advance to the next level [of the tournament].”

The first month and a half of the season was memorable.  Metro dominated at home and they were just as efficient on the road.  Nicolas, Brian Minor and Reggie Evans led the team on the court.  Meanwhile, freshman center Jonathan Morse blossomed into arguably one of the best freshmen in the RMAC because he adapted to playing Metro State basketball quickly.

“He delivered more than we expected,” Hays said of Morse.  “Coming in as a freshman post player, we didn’t know how many minutes he would play, and he ended up earning a starting position.  In my mind, he was the best freshman in the conference.  I thought he did a fantastic job.  He wants to be a good player, he wants to learn, his work ethic is tremendous [and] his attitude is fantastic.”

Men's basketball Head Coach Brannon Hays, center, attempts to rally his trailing team Feb. 20 during a timeout at Auraria Events Center. Photo by Leah Millis.

Metro got quite a scare Jan. 16 when they traveled to CSU-Pueblo.  The ThunderWolves rallied late, but Metro managed to escape with a 66-64 victory and hold onto their winning streak, courtesy of senior guard  Minor’s two game-winning free throws.
As of Jan. 23, the Roadrunners were 15-2 and on a nine-game winning streak until Colorado Mines came to the Auraria Events Center Jan. 29, snapping Metro’s streak.

Metro managed to rebound with a 76-64 win the following day against Colorado Christian and their obnoxious fans.
The Roadrunners continued to dominate, sweeping their Nebraska road trip against Nebraska-Kearney and Chadron State to improve to 18-3 on the season.

Their road to the RMAC tournament went good to nerve-racking the following weekend.  They dropped both road games against CCU, 66-80, and Mines, 69-78.  The players felt agitated, for a lack of a better word, in the days that followed.

Brian Minor goes to the basket against the Colorado School of Mines Friday Jan. 26, 2010 at the Auraria Events Center.

“As you go through the year, you up and down,” Hays said.  “You play a little better; you win a couple close games.  We won a couple games at the buzzer in December against quality opponents here at home, and it was good to get those wins.  We had a few bumps in the road when we lost at [Colorado] Christian and at Mines.  It was the first time we lost two games in a row as long as I can remember.  The guys really regrouped and came back strong the following weeks after that.”

Fortunately, Metro won three of their final four home games, beating Chadron State, losing to UNK and easily taking out Regis and UCCS, to improve to 21-6 and 14-5 in the RMAC.  Metro entered the 2010 RMAC tournament in Pueblo as a No. 2 seed.
Metro defeated UCCS in the opening round at the Auraria Events Center, 85-62, before traveling to the Colorado State Fairgrounds Center in Pueblo.  Ironically, Metro would square off against CSU-Pueblo in the semifinals.

Metro trailed the ThunderWolves, 23-22, with 5:47 left until halftime but regrouped to take a 36-28 lead at the break.  In the second half it was all Metro.  Metro shot 16-34 in the second half, eliminating CSU-Pueblo, 70-61.

The following night was arguably the RMAC game of the year.  Metro overcame a 19-point deficit to defeat New Mexico Highlands, 83-79, and to win the RMAC Shootout.  Metro outscored Highlands 39-19 in the final 12:28.  Metro entered the Central Region tournament as the five seed.

Unfortunately, Metro’s season ended in the opening round against St. Cloud State, 77-82.  Minor lost control of the ball and the Huskies recovered it and made a pair of free throws with 0.2 seconds left in regulation, eliminating the Roadrunners.

Metro men's basketball team bring all hands in for a cheer to end a timeout. Photo by Leah Millis.

“I actually feel pretty good, even though we ended the way we didn’t necessarily wanted to,” reserve center Shakir Johnson said.  “We made some really good progress, had 10 new recruits and we did well with them.  Hopefully, we’ll do better next season.”

This season was fun, frantic and insane.  The only question on everybody’s mind is this:  Can Metro clinch another RMAC title without Minor?  With the other four starters returning next season, chances look high again.

“The goal is to get better,” Nicholas said.  “[We’re] pretty much coming back with the same core group of guys.  Four out of the five starters will be back, so I see no reason for us to slow down.”

Olè, Olè, Olè, Olè …

The four-year wait is over for soccer fans worldwide, as the 2010 FIFA (Fèdèration Internationale de Football Association) World Cup arrives on the historic shores of South Africa June 11.

Thirty-two teams from six continents will be competing to be crowned as the world’s premier soccer nation, a crown that can be worn four years. The 2010 World Cup marks the first time an African nation will be hosting the tournament and is a salute to not only the unity South Africa has built among its citizens, but also to 32 nations uniting in sport.

Tournament play does not start immediately in the World Cup, as each team is placed in a group that contains three other teams. The four teams within each group play each other for the right to advance to the round of 16, where it is a win or go home scenario for each team from there on.

The defending champions, Italy, will be looking to defend its title as they kick off play against Paraguay, in a weak group that also features New Zealand and Slovakia. The Italians may be the most hated team on the planet, as their arrogant mannerism are as much apart of their game as their fast paced play.

The Italians cruised into elimination play during the 2006 World Cup, playing their closest game in a 1-1 tie in a game with the United States in which the Italians put one in the back of both team’s net.

Italy has played more World Cup games than any other nation and have won the championship four times, second to only Brazil who has five, and have the experience on their side to make a run at another title.

Brazil, the team most associated with both ‘futbol’ and the World Cup, will be in the fight for gold in a group it shares with the Ivory Coast, North Korea and Portugal.

With a roster that resembles an all-star team, Brazil is always a fixture of the championship discussion as they have won the World Cup more times than any team, the last one in 2002. The Brazilians play, probably, the most entertaining and fast paced style of soccer but were left short in 2006 with a 1-0 loss to eventual runner-up France in the quarterfinals. Look for Brazil to streak their famous green and yellow jerseys into the final four and possibly beyond.

Former host nation Germany showed it is a force to be reckoned with during the ’06 World Cup, as they dropped all-world forward Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal to place third.

Midfielder and captain, Michael Ballack, will be thirsty for a title, as he has come up short on all of soccer’s biggest stages. Behind his leadership and the acquisition of Brazilian-born, goal-scorer forward Claudemir “Cacau” Barreto, Germany has the talent and leadership to be crowned as the best.

The ever-skilled Netherlands fields its best team in the World Cup yet, yearning for the cup more than anyone. The Dutch are the best team in the world to never win the tournament and look to make themselves the best team in the world, period.

Led by the young phenom Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and veteran Dirk Kuyt, Holland opens up against 35th ranked Denmark and is expected to make elimination play in a pool that contains Japan and Cameroon to round out Group E.

Watch for the orange jerseys of Holland to push for their historic first cup title.

Thirty-two teams all fighting for one goal: the right to call themselves the best in the world. The 2010 World Cup is sure to be full of competition, renewed rivalry and heartbreak, but the chance to watch the best soccer players in the world on the biggest stage in the world only comes, well, once ever four years.

The Metro volleyball team recently added four new players for the 2010-2011 season.

Libero Alex Green from Peoria, Ariz., setter Sarah McGaffin of Phoenix and former University of Wyoming libero Nikky Sapp, an Arvada native, join Kayla Collier-Vigil, a Highlands Ranch native, in the 2010 recruiting class.

Volleyball Head Coach Debbie Hendricks addresses her team during a home game at the Auraria Event Center. Photo courtesy of the Metro Athletic Department

“Other than the fact that it’s close to home, they have a really good, strong volleyball program,” Collier-Vigil said. “I [also] have a lot of family that lives here, so I just wanted to stay close [to them].

“I’ve lived in Colorado most of my life. I went to ThunderRidge High School and I’ve played volleyball since I was nine. I’m really excited for next year.”

Collier-Vigil, who signed with Metro in November, also apparently has a deceptive appearance on the volleyball court.

“I’m kind of the person that looks like the underdog,” Collier-Vigil said. “I [also] have a really strong attitude, a lot of endurance and power.”

The recruits will add plenty of depth to a team who will be without outside hitter Amanda Cook, setter Gabe Curtis and libero Amy Watanabe, all of whom were seniors last season.

Green, who led Cactus High School (Arizona) in her four-year tenure there, won numerous awards last season, namely 2009 region player of the year, first team All-Arizona and first team All-West Valley. Green, 5’8”, has a calm presence on the court and interacts well with teammates.

“I’m just a really hard worker and I’ll just do whatever [I’m told],” Green said. “I’m [also] pretty flexible. So, whatever they tell me [to do], I’ll just do it.”

Green also explained what factored into her decision to join the Roadrunners.

“Our recruiting person for our [volleyball] club was her (Coach Hendricks) former player,” new libero Alex Green said. “So, she said that she’s awesome. I was like ‘okay.’”

McGaffin, 5’11”, led Horizon High School (Arizona) to the Class 5A state title this past fall and was named back-to-back All-Arizona 5A and all-region three years in a row. As a starter in her four years at Horizon, McGaffin had 2,235 set assists, 1,491 digs, 684 kills, 197 service aces and 180.

“I really like their program,” she said. “The girls are really nice, and their volleyball program is really successful.”

McGaffin also explained what led up to her volleyball career.

“I have three brothers, so I’ve grown up playing a lot of sports with them,” she said. “I enjoy playing volleyball.”

Sapp, a 5’3” libero, transferred to Metro from the University of Wyoming, where she received limited action on the court, appearing in only 27 sets with 19 digs, but had a .902 serve receive percentage with only five errors in 51 attempts. Sapp, a 2008 Pamona High School graduate, was a four-year letter winner and three-time all-conference honoree.

After finishing last year’s campaign with a 26-8 overall record, including 14-5 in the RMAC, Metro looks to build on last year’s successful 2009-2010 season with a new look on the court.

“Preparing for the RMAC, we broke up the team,” Head Coach John Supsic said. “Guys that already qualified for nationals trained through RMAC.”

The championships became a venue for the runners to sharpen their skills and build confidence for nationals.

The conditions in Pueblo were less than favorable, Supsic said.

Kellen Fockler breaths deeply after his 800m run April 20 in Golden. Metro has four runners who have qualified for the NCAA finals, two in the men's 800 meter run and two in the men's 1500-meter run. Photo by Dan Clements

“The weather has been bad the entire season,” Supsic explained. “There has only been one decent meet the entire year.”

The windy conditions made the meet difficult but all the schools were forced to compete in the same weather.

“It’s not the preferred conditions but we did it with a smile,” Supsic said.

Metro’s runners performed with confidence even with the windy conditions. The program had top five performances in the men’s 800-meter and 1500-meter running events, as well as a championship finish.

Anthony Luna entered the meet as defending champion in the 800-meter run and repeated as RMAC champion with a 1:50.68 run time. Shawn Lindbom finished fourth, a few seconds behind Luna, with a time of 1:51:21.

“Shawn, did great and he’s ready to roll at the national championships,” Supsic said.

There are two ways to qualify for nationals. Athletes need to run an automatic qualifying time or meet a provisional time. The provisional time needs to place in the top 16 of their respective event. A qualifying time can be met at any event during the season. Lindbom earned a spot at nationals with a provisional time that places him in the top 10 nationally. Luna earned a spot in his first meet of the season with an automatic qualifying time of 1:49.10, which remains the fastest in the nation.

Rick Bogatay and Carl Arnold III both finished in the top five at RMAC in the 1500-meter run. Bogatay finished third with a time of 3:53.16. He entered the championships with a spot at nationals. Arnold finished fifth 3:54.14. He earned his trip to nationals at the Colorado Mines Last Chance meet.

The meet was a last chance to secure a trip to the NCAA Championships in Charlotte, N.C. Arnold competed May 16 in Golden. He lingered around the 16th spot in the nation going into the meet and the conditions at Last Chance were ideal for him to secure his spot.

“Ironically, the meet had really good weather,” Supsic said.

Arnold ran 3:53.01 and finished second at the meet. The RMAC Championships proved to be a place for younger athletes to develop their talent.

“Derek Fiorini finally turned his season around,” Supsic said.

The sophomore sprinter finished third in the 200-meter dash. He also earned a fourth-place finish in the 100-meter dash. Fiorini struggled throughout the season but found his stride at the championships.

No female athlete will compete at nationals, however, a few athletes had their best performances of the year at RMAC. Danielle Kehoe finished seventh in the 5000-meter dash.

“The women were a little further behind than I thought we’d be,” Supsic said. “There were still very strong performances by certain athletes. Danielle Kehoe had a great meet.”

Metro will continue to improve their standings at future RMAC championships. The absence of field events puts the school at a disadvantage when competing for a team championship.

“Once we start adding field events we’re going to keep moving up,” Supsic said.

The Metro track and field team will compete at the NCAA Championships May 27 through May 29 in Charlotte.

Metro finished the season 21-23.

“We kept repeating ourselves in certain areas of the game of baseball,” Head Coach Tom Carcione said. “That’s why we couldn’t get any winning streaks together. I think it has a lot to do with how our pitching staff went this year. We’ve had our opportunities out there and hopefully it’s a growing experience.”

The Roadrunners jumped to a 3-2 lead versus Mesa State after one inning before the Mavericks put more runs on the scoreboard. They appeared to have the game in the bag, leading 14-11 after eight innings, before Metro stormed back to take the lead, 15-14, in the top of the ninth inning. Unfortunately, Metro could not maintain the lead, as Mesa State came back to win in 10 innings, 16-15.

Catcher Brett Bowman slides safely back to first during a game against Mesa State April 17 at Auraria Field. Photo by Steve Anderson

“I think we played our hearts out and did everything we could,” first baseman Jordan Stouffer said. “Sometimes, that’s how baseball goes.”

Carcione also reflected on the game.

“It was a high scoring affair,” Carcione said. “It was back and forth, pretty much, the whole game. From a pitching standpoint, every time we got back into the game we gave it back up. But, our guys offensively, kept fighting back. We just wound up going to extra innings and couldn’t get the big hit[s] when we needed it. Mesa got the big hit[s] to win the game.”

Metro hit 12-39 in the game.

Stouffer had his best performance since April 3 against CSU-Pueblo, hitting 4-6 with three home runs and five RBIs.

“It was good feeling,” Stouffer said.

Pitcher Ted Jamison went three innings in his final game with the Roadrunners, giving up nine runs on 10 hits, walking three and striking out two.

“What I’ll miss most is coming to the field every day, hanging out with the guys and the camaraderie we have between everybody,” he said.

Carcione also took note of Jamison’s last game.

“I think his leadership is what you [will] miss,” he said. “He’s the big horse of our pitching staff and hopefully the guys that will be returning have picked up on his work ethic, his leadership and what it takes to be the first guy out of the rotation on the weekends.”

May 6 was a pitchers duel, as Metro pitcher Bradshaw Perry pitched eight solid innings, allowing three runs on nine hits, walking five and striking out four. Perry’s performance was virtually the same as Highlands pitcher Drew Vassil, who also went eight innings, allowing three runs on nine hits, walking two and striking out four.

Unfortunately, Metro fell 4-3 in 10 innings, concluding their season.

Metro hit 9-34 in the game, led by Stouffer, who hit his 17th home run of the season and was named to the All-RMAC team. The Roadrunners look to the offseason and will return to the diamond in February.

“We have a lot of returners coming back,” Carcione said. “I think we have some talent here and we’ve got to go out and get some pitching for this upcoming season. Overall, it was a frustrating year.”

Metro is the first RMAC school to make it to the national championship.

“It’s just really amazing to our team,” Roadrunner pitching ace Christie Robinson said. “We worked really hard and I think we didn’t set any limits on what we could do this year. We knew that we had the potential to be great.”

Metro beat Wayne State College back-to-back in a three game series May 21 and 22, winning its first super-regional since the program was reinstated in 2008.

Metro third baseman and senior Tara Mickelson prepares to throw a runner out at first after fielding a grounder May 22 during their game against Wayne State. Photo by Leah Millis

Both defenses were on top of their game during the first match-up of the super-regional final, as Robinson and Wildcats pitcher Katie Goetzinger dueled for five scoreless innings before a run was put on the board.

With a runner in scoring position on third base, Wayne State leftfielder Hannah Engelkamp singled into right field to bring in the tie-breaking run and give Metro a 1-0 deficit.

The Roadrunner offense could not find an answer for the run in the bottom of the sixth but held the Wildcats scoreless in the seventh, as Robinson retired three straight batters.

Metro third baseman Tara Mickelson worked Goetzinger and drew a lead-off walk, thanks to a 10-pitch plate appearance, before left fielder Jennessa Tesone stepped up to the plate.

Face with a 2-2 count, Tesone crushed a two-run, walk-off home run over centerfield to give Metro the series lead with a 2-1 win.

“When I saw coach Becerra, she was out of control and it was just awesome to have that coach feel that with you,” Tesone said about the game-winning homer. “[I was thinking], ‘Did I really just do that? No way, I’ve never hit a walk-off like that.’ So it was pretty cool.”

Metro started off game two in almost identical fashion, keeping Wayne State scoreless through five innings while putting up a run in the top of the fifth, due to a left-field single from Mickelson.

The Wildcats tied the game in the bottom of the sixth inning off a single to center field to tie the game up going into the seventh. A defensive battle ensued, sending the game into extra innings before the Metro bats ignited.

In the top of the ninth inning, second baseman Sarah Rusch doubled into left-center field and driving in short stop Amber Roundtree. As she has done her entire career, Mickelson came up big when the ’Runners needed her, smashing not only a two-run home run over center field but also Wayne State’s spirit. Right fielder Kellie Nishikida drove in a run to close out the ninth-inning scoring for Metro, brining the score to 6-1.

Metro left fielder Jennessa Tesone, left, is greeted by celebrating teammates at home plate after hitting a walk-off, two-run home run May 21 at Auraria Field. Photo by Steve Anderson

“We were really threatening a lot more offensively that game than the day before,” Head Coach Jen Fisher said. “What sparked it was just good at bats. We were working deeper into the count and maybe just wearing Goetzinger down a little bit.”

Wayne State’s come-back attempt fell short as Robinson and the Metro defense only allowed one run in the bottom of the inning, sending the Roadrunners to compete for their first national championship after the 6-2 win.

With the win, Robinson improved her overall record to 28-2 off a 14-groundout performance that allowed only two earned runs.

Metro will face a fast and powerful Angelo State in the title match-up, May 27 through 31 in St. Joseph, Mo, but is confident in its potential to take home the championship, Fisher said.

“We know they’re quick; we know they have a lot of lefties,” Fisher explained. “They probably have a lot more speed than us; we probably have some more power numbers than they do. We expect a lot out of them (Angelo State).”

In 2009 she smashed 22 home runs, led the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with 74 RBIs and was named first team All-American. The senior is on pace for another 20 home-run season heading into the final weeks of the 2010 season.

“She sets her own standards pretty high,” Head Coach Jen Fisher said. “She spends time trying to understand how pitchers will try to beat her.”

Metro softball senior Tara Mickelson. Photo by Chancey Bush

At the end of her 2009 season, the Boulder-based softball team Colorado Bombers gave Mickelson the opportunity to be an assistant coach. However, dominating pitchers and coaching 16-year-old girls requires a different kind of patience.

“I have wanted to be a softball coach since I was in high school,” Mickelson said.

She said she desired the chance to coach but she went into the summer coaching job not knowing what to expect. Nevertheless, Mickelson viewed the coaching position as an opportunity to experience her dream. The Bombers asked her to instruct hitting for the under-16 team.

Tara played on the Colorado Bombers under-18 club when she was in high school and she appreciates how the club develops young girls into successful softball players. Her assistant coaching position began immediately following Metro’s season.

“I went into coaching right after my season ended,” Mickelson said. “I just jumped right in and started with one of their games.”

She spent the time in the dugout feeling out the team and staying quiet. She missed the first practices due to her Metro schedule and as a result missed the chance to get acquainted with the team in a practice setting.

She noticed the glances from the young girls. The girls looked at each other and back to Mickelson as if thinking, ‘who is this college girl in our dugout?’

“They think they’re really good at 16 so they’re a little cocky,” Mickelson said.

She had just finished a record-breaking season. Her home runs and RBIs were ranked in the top five nationally. But the girls seemed unimpressed.

“They were really quiet around me,” Mickelson said. “They had a hard time accepting me at first.”

Laughter proved to be the key to a successful coaching experience for Mickelson. Like any good friend or teammate Mickelson uses sarcasm to lighten the mood. Sometimes the comments bordered on mean or offensive, but they served a purpose. Mickelson is that teammate.

“She uses humor to cheer up teammates when they’re down, and she is always encouraging teammates,” teammate and fellow All-American Kellie Nishikida said.

Athletes believe the strange sense of humor builds bonds.

“I used humor with the 16-year-olds. They just needed to get to know me,” Mickelson said.

The young girls broke down and allowed Mickelson to instruct them. She worked with their swings and stances, helping the young players improve their at-bats.

The coaching job required her to commit five days a week to the team. Her dedication reflects her passion for the game of softball.

“Softball has been a big part of my life,” Mickelson said. “The game has given me the opportunity for higher education and given me a lot of joy, and as a coach I think I can help others have the same experience.”

Those close to Mickelson believe she will be just as successful at coaching as she is at hitting home runs.

Her coaches and teammates admire her work ethic and her passion.

“She’s willing to help the younger players and she’s not one of those players that will get in the face of her teammates,” Fisher said. “She teaches in a way that she would want to be taught.”

The ’Runners made the 1500-meter run their primary goal to improve on over the weekend. The Metro track team was successful in qualifying two new 1500-meter runners while improving two personal records for two 1500-meter runners.

In Eugene, seniors Rick Bogatay and Anthony Luna battled against the NCAA provision standard of 3:53.00 for the 1500-meter run.

Track redshirt freshman Adrienne Bratton practices her triple-jumping technique while jump and sprint coach Jacenta Spanti offers advice in the background before Bratton competes April 30 at the Mines/Metro/UCCS meet in Golden. The meet started out with a flurry of hail but quickly turned to more track-friendly weather. Photo by Daniel Clements

Bogatay and Luna traveled to Eugene to participate in the same 1500-meter race. The entire trip was an immense success with Bogatay finishing 3:50.95 and placing third.

Luna placed fifth out of twelve with a time of 3:52.31, which was still high enough to qualify. The duo joins junior Carl Arnold III and junior Nate Newland in 1500-meter provisional qualifiers. Both Arnold and Newland qualified earlier this season.

Arnold held the fastest time on the team before the dual meet in Golden but in improved his time yet again, becoming the ninth fastest 1500-meter runner in the nation with a time of 3:49.26.

Sophomore Xenia Flores also beat her 1500-meter personal record by almost 2 seconds with a time of 4:57.51, making this the fourth 1500-meter runner to either improve their personal record or qualify under the NCAA standard.

Sophomore Kristin Yarkosky dominated her 800-meter run improving her personal record by a whopping 22 seconds. Yarkosky ran a 2:20.65 and finished third out of nine runners in her 800-meter race.

“We have put in a ton of work and miles since December and we are expecting the best performances of the year,” Head Coach John Supsic said.

The track team will travel to Pueblo May 9-11 to compete in the RMAC championships.

New Mexico Highlands – 2

The Metro baseball team’s regular season ended after dropping two of three against New Mexico Highlands, losing 10-3, April 30, and 12-10 in 10 innings and winning 11-3, May 1.

Metro finished the regular season with a record of 21-21 and 18-12 in the Rocky Mountain Athletics Conference.

“I’ve seen them play better,” Head Coach Tom Carcione said of Highlands. “They’re a winning team. They expect to win and they execute.”

Pitcher Ted Jamison also took note of the series.

“Their hitters, one through nine, [are] just amazing hitters,” he said. “You just have to go after them.”

Metro baseball outfielder Brennen Brown, pitcher Tony Weber and catcher Kevin Coughlin embrace each other during a presentation for the senior baseball players May 1 at Auraria Field. Photo by Steve Anderson

In game one, Metro led Highlands 3-2 going into the sixth inning, but the bullpen would allow eight runs. Highlands won, 10-3.

“We didn’t perform,” Carcione said. “When you pitch behind in the count to a team that’s fifth in the country in hitting, you can’t win ball games that way.”

Outside of the bullpen woes, Metro only hit 7-33. Meanwhile, Highlands hit 11-33.

“We just didn’t come out and execute,” right fielder Zach Krueger said. “They’re a good hitting team.”

Meanwhile, pitcher Ted Jamison went five innings, allowing two runs on three hits, striking out one batter and walking five.

“I came out of the game and then our bullpen didn’t get ahead of the guys,” he said. “We started walking guys then our hitting went downhill. As soon as you know it, we’re out of the running for it.”

Carcione explained why Jamison left the game early.

“Teddy got out of some jams,” he said. “He gave up two runs in five innings, but after five innings, he was at 101 pitches and you can’t pitch him more than that, especially with the conference [tournament] coming up.”

In game two, it was déjà vu. Metro was up 6-4 after five innings when the bullpen allowed five runs in the sixth inning.

“Part of it goes back on me,” catcher Cody Henry said of the bullpen. “We just missed some spots and they took advantage of what we missed.”

Metro managed to rally late in the game, but they came up short, losing 12-10 in 10 innings. Pitcher Bradshaw Perry went four innings, allowing three runs on four hits, walking three and striking out two. Offensively, Metro hit 11-38.

“We didn’t execute when we had the opportunity,” left fielder David Fox said.

In game three, Metro unleashed the bats. After three innings, Metro led Highlands 8-1, knocking Highlands’ pitcher Danny Brown, out of the game after two innings. Metro won the final game of the series, 11-3.

Metro hit 14-30, while pitcher Nate Van Bibber pitched five innings, allowing three runs on six hits, walking one and striking out three. Seniors catcher Cody Henry and outfielder Nick Columbia both homered.

“We’re getting things cleared up for our conference [tournament],” Henry said.

Metro will travel to Kearney, Neb. to play Mesa State May 5 in the opening round of the RMAC tournament.

“I like it, it’s fun,” said Liam Clarke, who just joined the club a month ago. “It’s not too competitive so you can enjoy yourself without getting upset at the game. It’s a good way to connect with people.”

The Auraria Soccer Club features nearly 30 players, both men and women, divided arbitrarily into two teams. The teams play games every Saturday morning at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, against one of five other club teams.

“I really enjoy it,” said Nathan Van Dam, who joined the club last summer and is now its president. “I’d never played a sport before and I wanted to try it, and it’s great because I can get some exercise. I also like the social opportunities, and we try to have a gathering once per season.”

From left: Auraria club soccer players Claudia Corona, Augustin Vizcaino and Matt Roleto fight for ball possession. Photo by Matt Gypin

The teams play during spring, summer and fall, seven games per season. There are no coaches, and the club is open to anyone who wants to join.

“Everyone is at completely different skill levels,” Van Dam said. “I just started playing. Anyone can play. We’re always trying to grow the club.”

Van Dam said club dues are $30 annually, with league fees set at $65 per person. The team doesn’t have official uniforms so players pony up to buy T-shirts.

“Everybody chips in $10 and we all get the same shirt,” he said. “I guess the only other equipment you need is shorts and cleats.”

Mael Coutrier, the club’s vice president, moved here from France three years ago, where he used to play all the time. He plays on another club team that is more competitive, but joined TASC for the chance to play his favorite game at a relaxed pace.

“It’s more about fun than anything,” said Coutrier. “The other league is way more competitive but I like this because it’s a little slower-paced and we’re all friends. We’ll probably go get a beer after this.”

For international students Clarke and Coutrier, the excitement is building for the upcoming World Cup. Clarke, who moved here from South Africa nine years ago, said he can’t wait to see the Cup in his home country.

“Oh absolutely I’m excited,” he said. “It might be one of the biggest things to happen to South Africa.”

Of course, Coutrier had something to say about it, as France is set to face off against South Africa in one of the opening matches.

“You’re going down buddy!” he said to his teammate.

“We’ll see about that,” Clarke responded.

The two then lit up cigarettes and talked about getting a beer, just another friendly competition in the world of club soccer.

Chadron – 0

The fifth-ranked Metro softball team closed out its regular season with a fourth consecutive conference series sweep, May 1 and 2, versus Chadron State College on its way to a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference win record, in Chadron, Neb.

“They were absolutely very focused,” head coach Jen Fisher said. “Their goal is to stay in first place in the region.”

Metro came out in their usual fashion, taking the first game of the series 7-1 behind a commanding 13-ground out performance by pitcher Christie Robinson, and back-to-back-to-back home runs from short stop Amber Roundtree, outfielder Molly Clark, and second baseman Sarah Rusch.

“[Game 1] just pumped us up,” left fielder Jennessa Tesone said. “Our bats were on; we knew our pitchers were on. So we were ready.”

The Roadrunners exceeded their previous performance of the day in game two, May 1, using their high-powered offense to propel them to a mercy-rule victory.

After doubling early in the first inning, Roundtree put the ’Runners on the board, scoring an unearned run off an error by Eagles catcher Blair McEndaffer.

Neither team scored in the second inning before Rusch sent her second home run of the day out of the park with a two-run home run down the left field line to put the Eagles in a 3-0 hole after the third inning.

The Roadrunners put up a run in both the fourth and fifth innings and put the game away as Rusch out-did herself, hitting her third home run of the day with a three-run homer out of center field.

“I just felt like I had a good week at practice,” Rusch said. “I felt like I could just open up my swing and go for it.”

Third baseman Tara Mickelson put the cherry on top with a home run of her own over the left field fence later in the inning, giving Metro its final lead at 9-0.

Pitcher Brittany Moss and the defense only allowed four hits in the shutout, while Moss pitched all six innings and recorded seven strikeouts without allowing any runs.

“[Moss] was just lights out,” Tesone. “ She always usually is but when she pitches that well, it pumps us up more.”

The Eagles nearly ended Metro’s 14-game win streak as the Roadrunners committed four errors and allowed five unearned runs to squeak by with a 6-5 win, due to home runs from catcher Lauren Hainlen, designated player Julia Diehl, Mickelson and Clark.

“We made four errors in that first game on Suday but I think it was good to get those out of the way,” Fisher said. “We jut got a little bit unlucky on a couple plays.”

Robinson finished the regular season with an 18-1 mark, second in the RMAC, including a 0.11 earned run average in her last 11 starts and a single earned run in 66 innings.

“C.Rob was amazing,” Moss said. “You wouldn’t even be able to tell that we were down or tied or anything. She’s just a really strong pitcher.”

The ’Runners rebounded from their slow start in game one, scoring five runs in the first inning to set the tone for the game.

After getting hit by a pitch, Roundtree gave Metro its first lead, scoring off a sacrifice fly-ball to center field. Tesone hit a two-run homer over right field one batter later as the ’Runners went on to take a 5-0 first inning lead off six hits.

Diehl and the defense held the Eagles scoreless in the bottom of the first inning, before Rusch homered over left field, her fourth of the series, starting a scoring onslaught that ended five runs later as Metro took an 11-0 commanding lead after two innings.

Diehl extended the lead to 13, as she brought in right fielder Danni Hedstrom with a two-run home over left-center field.

Chadron saved the shutout with a two-run homer by right fielder Cassie Humphrey.

Diehl and the defense held Chadron scoreless the rest of the game, while Mickelson homered in the top of the fifth to give Metro a 14-2 mercy-rule win after five innings.

With the series sweep, the Roadrunners broke the RMAC win record and improved to 40-3 overall, 37-2 in the conference. The 37 wins that Metro put up this season broke the previous mark of 34 set by Regis University, who went 34-2 in the RMAC in 2006.

“It was huge and not only to beat it but we kind of separated it more and more, as far as we could,” Moss said about the record. “It gave us a lot of confidence going into post-season.”

Metro will host the RMAC Championships May 6-8 and will face Nebraska-Kearney, May 6, in the first round.

After a crucial loss in game six of the opening round of the Western Conference Playoffs, the Denver Nuggets not only left one of the most promising seasons in Nuggets history unfulfilled but also exposed critical uncertainties.

Disappointed by the monumental underachievement from the Nuggets, fans are left wondering,”what happened?”

Have the Nuggets reverted to their pre-Billups, one-and-done playoff selves, or was the absence of George Karl a larger leadership loss than originally expected?

On Feb. 16, two days after the NBA All-Star weekend, a concerned Karl announced to his team, and the basketball world, he had been diagnosed with throat cancer.

At the time of the announcement, the Nuggets were in second place in the Western Conference, behind heated rival Los Angeles Lakers, and held a four-game lead in the Northwestern Division over the Utah Jazz.

Karl returned to the Denver bench for a handful of coaching appearances while receiving treatments for throat cancer before surrendering the reigns to assistant coach Adrian Dantley.

Dantley, a former Jazz All-Star and an NBA Hall of Famer, led the Nuggets on a bumpy journey that saw them forfeit their second place positioning to the Dallas Mavericks, in a slide down the Western Conference standings that would land them in fourth place, not to mention tied with the Jazz in the division for first place.

Dantley led the Nuggets to an 11-8 record to finish the regular season at 53-29, a game behind their mark from a season ago. With the fourth seed, the Nuggets drew the division rival Jazz who they had gone 3-1 against in the regular season, and were missing their starting center and small forward.

Although Denver won the first game, the Jazz took three straight with players who were dismissed as scrubs, to put the Nuggets in a hole they could not climb out of in the end.

The breaking point of the series was a 114-111 home loss that the Nuggets were in until the end. Denver gave up the coveted home-court advantage to one of the best teams in the league, when it comes to playing at home.

With the home loss, the Jazz made it clear that the Nugs couldn’t win without Karl in Utah, taking both games in Utah and dooming Denver to a 3-1 deficit, not even touching their potential run at the finals.

The Nuggets proved that without Karl they lacked leadership and focus. Chauncey Billups did the best he could to lead the team and Carmelo Anthony stepped up his game in the playoffs, but the Denver bench showed up for two games in the series as Jazz coach Jerry Sloan showed his experience and out-coached the Nuggets in the opening round of the playoffs.

Denver’s heart and soul does not lie with hometown hero Billups but with the man who assembled this Denver team.

Under Karl, the Nuggets were a championship caliber team ready to learn from its series with L.A. last year and knock off the defending champs.

With Dantley, the Nuggets proved to be a mediocre playoff team who could not beat a short-handed Utah team.

For the sake of Nuggets fans nationwide, let’s hope a healthy Karl returns to the bench next season to avenge this season’s underachievement.

“That was exciting for us,” Head Coach Jen Fisher said. “We wanted to lock that up. It’s nice being home; we just play well here.”

The Roadrunners went into the series opener April 24 only needing one win to clinch the RMAC regular season championship and weren’t denied, as strong play on both sides of the ball shut down the Lopers early.

After the first three batters loaded the bases, center fielder Kellie Nishikida was hit by a pitch to bring in the first run which was followed shortly by a ground-out by left fielder Jennessa Tesone to bring in another run and give the ’Runners a 2-0 lead.

The Lopers could not manage a run in the second before designated player Julia Diehl extended the Metro lead with a home run over right field. Second baseman Sarah Rusch brought in short stop Amber Roundtree, after she stole second, with a double into right field before outfielder Molly Clark scored an unearned run, putting the Lopers down 5-0.

Nebraska-Kearney was able to keep Metro scoreless in the third but could not score any runs in the third and fourth innings before the Roadrunners capped the game in the bottom of the fourth.

With two outs and two runners on base, Tesone drove a triple down the right field line to bring in Rusch and Nishikida and give the ’Runners a 7-0 lead.

Robinson and the defense kept the Lopers from driving in the run in the final innings, giving Metro not only the win but also the RMAC regular season championship.

Metro pitcher Christie Robinson delivers a pitch to a University of Nebraska-Kearney batter April 24 at Auraria Field. The Roadrunners won the game 7Ð0 and the series 4Ð0. With the 7Ð0 victory Metro clinched the regular season RMAC championship. Photo by Steve Anderson

The Roadrunners faced a gritty Lopers’ team April 25, grinding out a win in the first game of a triple header 3-1.

“That first game went really quickly,” Fisher said. “[The triple header] was good for us because in the post-season we, potentially, could have to play three games in a day.”

Tesone hit a solo home run in the fourth and Robinson improved her record to 16-1 this season with another complete-game pitching performance.

“It just showed that we have to come out and play our best every single game,” Roundtree said. “It kind of made us step up our play the next two games.”

The Lopers surrendered game two, 4-0, after both Rusch and Mickelson hit two-run home runs and pitcher Brittany Moss pitched a complete game shutout, earning her ninth win of the season.

”Christie [Robinson] can’t pitch every game,” Roundtree said. “Brittany coming in with a different pitching style and different pitches — it’s a huge role and she’s been fulfilling that role really well this season.”

UNK built a 2-0 lead, their first in the series, in the final game with a two-run home run from Loper pitcher Dani Mowinkel, but it would not last as Diehl blasted a three-run homer over left field to help the ’Runners to a 4-0 lead after two innings.

“I was really proud of Julia (Diehl),” Fisher said. “We recruited her as a hitter but with two injuries to start the season we ended up using her on the mound. She’s exceeded our expectations on the mound by far.”

After the Lopers’ offense stalled in the third and fourth inning, Nishikida and Rusch drove in runs before Tesone knocked a two-run home run out of left field to put Metro up 8-0.

Kearney did its best to respond, with a solo home run from short stop Kelsey Smith in the fourth, but it was not enough as first baseman Aubree Maul forced Mowinkel out of the game, sending the first pitch of the inning out of the park.

The pitching change did not work as Rusch brought in another run before Mickelson smashed a monstrous grand slam over right-center field, ending the game 14-3.

“It was huge; it just, kind of, solidified the type of player that Tara (Mickelson) is,” Robinson said. “She comes up big in big situations.”

Diehl pitched all five innings and earned her 11th win of the season, utilizing not only defense but also two hits, which included a three-run home run.

“Pitching-wise [Julia]’s been huge for us this year,” Robinson said. “We can trust in Julia; she can come in and do just as good of a job as me and Britt (Brittany Moss) can do.”

With the conference sweep, the Roadrunners improve to 36-3 overall and 33-2 in the conference. Metro will travel to Chadron, Neb., to take on Chadron State College May 1 and 2 in the final conference series of the regular season.

Metro pitcher Sean Walter chases after a ground ball April 16 against Mesa State at Auraria Field. Photo by Matt Gypin

After two cancellations April 23 and 24 due to inclement weather, the Metro baseball team played two games in Pueblo April 25, sweeping Colorado Christian, 9-2 and 13-6. They are now 20-19 overall and 17-10 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

“It was important,” outfielder Zach Krueger said. “We’ve got a little momentum going. Everybody came through and got it done.”

Outfielder David Fox was also satisfied with the outcome of the series.

“Any win’s big,” he said. “We’re on a role and it’s nice to go into a big series with [New Mexico] Highlands coming in this weekend. It’s nice to go in with two wins under your belt. Everybody’s feeling good, confident and comfortable.”

In game one, CCU led Metro 2-0 going into the fourth inning, when the Roadrunners unleashed the bats. Metro scored nine runs in the final five innings, which included five runs in the fifth inning.

“We had a lot of good pitches to hit,” Krueger said. “Everything clicked.”

Metro won 9-2, hitting 18-43. Krueger went 5-6 with three RBIs, while pitcher Bradshaw Perry only allowed two runs on six hits and struck out five batters.

“I think we’re looking pretty solid as of now,” Fox said.

Game two started out ugly for Metro.

Pitcher Ted Jamison struggled in the first inning, giving up six runs. Though, it was all Metro from that point on.

After trailing 6-1 at the end of the first inning, Metro rallied to win 13-6 behind another stellar performance by Krueger, who went 3-5 with a home run and two RBIs.

“We had two bad innings pitching-wise [over the two games],” Head Coach Tom Carcione said. “They made their adjustments and shut them down. We had some good at bats, got some guys on base, we put the ball in play and we capitalized on that. We want to build some momentum.”

Jamison picked up the win, allowing six runs, all in the first inning, off 10 hits, and walked five batters over seven innings. Krueger was one single short of the cycle. He hit 8-11 during the series.

“It was fun to watch and fun to hit behind him and Chris [Redding],” Fox said of Krueger’s accumulative performance. “As soon as they got up, it was darn-near guaranteed that they were going to get on base. It makes it easier for you and the guys behind you.”

Carcione also took note of Krueger’s progress.

“At times, he’s been struggling this year, but he’s won a few ball games for us,” he said. “To see him put two games like that together offensively, he’s starting to get hot at the right time and it can carry over into this upcoming weekend.”

Metro will conclude the regular season against New Mexico Highlands on April 30 and May 1 at Auraria Field.

“The weather conditions were tough,” Head Coach John Supsic said. “The sprinters ran pretty well. Distance it was tough for them, but they ran great considering the conditions.”

Junior Carl Arnold III posted a provisional qualifying time in the 1,500 meters, winning the race. He finished with a time of 3:52.37, beating the provisional standard time by .63 seconds.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Arnold said. “I haven’t hit a provisional time all year. I’m working on getting an auto time.”

Arnold is the second runner to qualify in the 1,500 this outdoor season after junior Nate Newland qualified last week.

“He’s kind of a quiet leader,” Supsic said on Arnold’s performance. “He does what’s expected of him. I heard people say they were nervous because of the win, but Carl went out and ran with guts. He’s coming on strong and is going to have a great end of the season.”

Senior Anthony Luna missed the cutoff time, finishing second in the 1,500 meters.

Sophomore Derek Fiorini missed the school record time in 100 meters, finishing eighth with a time of 10.90. Fiorini said breaking records isn’t that significant to him.

“I was more excited to see my times going down,” Fiorini said. “To me, that’s more important than holding records.”

Track senior Rick Bogatay, left, leads a pack of runners while junior Nate Newland, center, folls close behind during the men's 1500-meter race April 24 at the Jack Christiansen Invitational in Ft. Collins. Photo by Daniel Clements.

Women’s basketball senior Chelsea Williamson became the first discus thrower in school history, however she wasn’t able to record a measurable throw.

Redshirt freshman Adrienne Bratton finished sixth in the triple jump with four Division I jumpers ahead of her. She recorded at 10.56 feet, her second-best distance.

The Roadrunners only have a month until the season is over. Fiorini said the team has done pretty well this season, despite being so young and having a new coach.

Arnold agrees with Fiorini.

“It’s been a pretty decent season,” Arnold said. “We have pretty good expectations for finishing up in the DMR (distance medley relay).”

He’s also setting goals for himself for the next couple of weeks.

“For me, I want my times to go down more,” Fiorini said. “I’m happy with the season, I just had to adjust to training more, but I’m happy with it.”

The Roadrunners will travel to Fort Collins May 1 for the CSU Front Range Open.

Metro tennis senior Georgie Perez returns a ball against CSU-Pueblo March 16 at Auraria Courts. Photo by Steve Anderson

The Metro tennis team traveled to Albuquerque, N.M. to play in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship tournament April 23-24 in order to fight into the conference championship.

Both the men’s and women’s teams started the tournament against Montana State University-Billings, but had different results, with the men losing and the women moving on to play Nebraska-Kearney.

When the first serves started April 23 on the outdoor courts, the temperature was just over 40 degrees and the wind unpredictable. Even though the women’s team had every reason not to win, they pulled off the victory over MSU-Billings, 6-3.

Later that afternoon, the women’s team played Nebraska-Kearney for a chance to play April 24 for the RMAC Championship. Nebraska-Kearney was fresh from having earned a bye for the first round of the tournament.

“It was bad,” sophomore Yerica Pessoa said. “Her ball would be heading out so I would be like, ‘it’s going out, it’s going out.’ Nope, the wind would bring it back in bounds.”

Doubles started off the match on the wrong foot with UNK leading the match 2-1 and it proved to be too deep of a hole to climb out of in the end.

No. 3 doubles, junior Alexis Alvarez and freshman Marianne Evangelista, were the only team to pull off a win over UNK for the match point, 9-7.

Singles matches didn’t help the situation with No. 1 Pessoa and No. 2 senior April Hirad unable to pull of a victory for a match point, making the match score 4-1 after two matches.

The losing continued in singles with freshman Nicole Herrmann losing 6-2, 6-2 at No. 3 singles. Junior Kathleen Thompson and Alvarez were not able to finish because of the sweep in singles. UNK clinched the win.

The only player to win a singles match was Evangelista who defeated UNK senior Claire Bryan 6-3, 6-1.

“When you play people who are fresh, they chase down a lot more balls and it’s tougher for you to stay in courts mentally, so it’s really tough,” Evangelista said.

The men were unable to win against MSU-Billings which abruptly ended their season with a 6-3 loss.

The match started roughly, by coming out of doubles down by two match points. No. 1 doubles players senior Georgie Perez and junior Ross Gelina were the only doubles team to win a game for a match point.

Singles matches weren’t enough to pull off a victory over MSU-Billings with only No. 3 junior Ryan Campbell winning 6-4, 6-1 and No. 4 freshman Ryan Joyce winning 6-3, 6-3 for match points.

The 6-3 loss ended the season for the men’s team making its overall record 6-10.

“I think our whole team just kind of had a rough season with our players being injured,” Gelina said. “But I think we are all looking forward to next season.”

Statistically the season doesn’t look too impressive going 14-21 overall, but the Metro tennis team had four players named to the All-RMAC Team.

Perez earned first-team honors for singles, and Gelina second-team honors, while the two made first team honors for doubles play.

The women had Pessoa named first team All-RMAC honors for singles and first selection for doubles alongside Hirad for doubles selection.

Head Coach Beck Meares has high hopes for next year’s teams.

“For the girl’s side, a couple of Colorado girls are coming and they’ve already signed, and possibly a couple of out of state,” Meares said. “On the guy’s side, we’ve definitely got one out of state and one international coming in. We’re going to add to the top of the line up rather than at the bottom.”