Sports Shorts

Local golfers receive Evans Scholarship

Ten high school seniors from Colorado have been awarded Evans Caddie Scholarships at the University of Colorado starting in the fall semester, including Grant Cassell of Cherry Hills Country Club, Hunter Kessler from Denver Country Club and Garrett Heidrick of Cherry Hills.

The full tuition and housing scholarships, worth more than $60,000 each if renewed for four years, are given out based on caddie record, academics, financial need, and character and leadership. This year's recipients, including nine males and a female, averaged an unweighted grade-point average of 3.8 and an ACT score of 28, which ranks among the top 10 percent of all those who take the test.

The Evans Scholarship at CU is one of the flagship programs for both the Colorado Golf Association and Colorado Women's Golf Association, which co-sponsor it along with the Illinois-based Western Golf Association. Through CGA and CWGA bag-tag sales and Par Club contributions, Colorado donors fully fund the year-to-year scholarship costs at the Evans Scholars' Eisenhower chapter house at CU.

This year's incoming class of CU Evans Scholars includes two caddies each from Cherry Hills Country Club, Denver Country Club and the Roaring Fork Club in Basalt.

Cassell and Kessler attend Arapahoe High School, and Heidrick is from Englewood High School. Twenty-nine Coloradoans applied for the Evans Scholarship in the current cycle, and finalists were interviewed earlier this month at Colorado Golf Club in Parker by a selection committee that numbered more than 100. Nationwide, about 620 caddies applied for Evans Scholarships, with 230 receiving them. CU is one of 14 universities, primarily in the Midwest, that are home to Evans Scholarship houses. The house at 1029 Broadway in Boulder has been home to the CU Evans Scholars since 1967.

Elizabeth’s Carter wins Simplot Games triple jump

Scott Carter, a senior, from Elizabeth, won the boys’ triple jump with a jump of 48 feet, 11 inches at the 34th annual Simplot Games. It was his personal best.

“I felt really good,” Carter said. “I beat my personal record by a foot, but I can still go farther.”

After throwing his personal best mark, the competition followed, and fellow athletes had their farthest jumps of the night.

“The competition was great,” Carter said. “There were a lot of people right below me which was nice.”

Carter has been competing at Simplot Games for three years, and will attend University of Wyoming on a track scholarship in the fall.

“I love Simplot Games,” Carter said. “I love the intensity and it is very well run.”

More than 1,800 athletes came from across the U.S. and Canada to participate in the 34th annual Simplot Games.

Parker’s Sant wins 60 meters at Simplot Games

Marybeth Sant, a junior from Parker, claimed victory in the girls’ 60-meter race at the recent 34th annual Simplot Games. Despite being sick all that week, Sant persevered through the event. With a time of 7.48 seconds, Sant let nothing hold her back. This is Sant’s third year at the games and her first title.

“It was my favorite meet so far and I really like the track,” Sant, who added that she enjoys the fact that so many people come, said.

Mitch Gibbons named RMAC/Rawlings Player of the Week

Metro State freshman Mitch Gibbons was named Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference/Rawlings Player of the Week on Tuesday. He is the first freshman in school history to earn player of the week honors from the RMAC and he did so in his first opportunity. Metro State has been a member of the RMAC since the 1997 baseball season.

Gibbons, a 6-foot-2 outfielder from Franktown, started his career off with a bang, leading the Roadrunners to three wins in four games against Hastings (Nebraska) in Pueblo over the Feb. 18 weekend. He batted .500 with four runs scored, three RBIs and two doubles.

After recording a hit in his first collegiate at-bat, he went on to score two runs in the game one 6-3 victory that Saturday. The Sunday, he batted 5-for-6 in two games, including 3-for-3 with three RBIs, two doubles and a run scored in game one. He scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning of game two's 9-8 win, while going 2-for-3 in the game.