Category Archives: Custer County Kids

Bobcats Play Against Burros

by Barbie Gierhart.
Sports Reporter

On Saturday, December 15th Custer County High School Basketball teams had their home games against the South Park Burros. The Varsity Boys and Girls played hard, but both lost to South Park.
The Lady Bobcat’s final score was 45-38. Scoring the most points was Memphis Curry with 12.

Lady Bobcat Varsity Play Burros
Photo by sports reporter Barbie Gierhart

Katherine Mullett added 10 points, Lindsey Gillmore eight, Emma Aldrich seven, and Brittany Benoit scoring one point.
The Custer County Boys Basketball team took two tough losses over the weekend. On Friday, the Bobcats traveled to Colorado Springs and lost to ECA 62-32. WilliamBerry led the team in scoring and rebounding with eight points and 12 rebounds. Cash Rowley and Chad Lewenkamp each added six points. On Saturday, the Bobcats lost to South Park at home 50-34. Wesley Curtis lead the team in points with 11 and rebounds with seven. Ben Penkoff added six points. William Berry lead team with three steals and Chad Lewenkamp lead the team with three assists.
Coach Prins stated that “We had a lot of good looks, we just couldn’t make the shots.”
The JV Lady Bobcats also played South Park on
Saturday, December 15th losing to the Burros 35-25.

Lady Bobcats on Defense
Photo by sports reporter Barbie Gierhart

The Middle School Bobcat Boys played two away games last week. The A Team had an impressive win against Gardner 58-14. The B Team also won against Gardner 19-14. The A Team had a big win against South Park 44-17, but the B Team lost their game against South Park 11-2.

CCSD-1 JV Boys played Burros this week.
Photo by sports reporter Barbie Gierhart

Football Awards Night

Football Award Night

Bobcat Football Raises the Bar in 2018

by CCSD-1 Coaching Staff
The Custer County High School Football team ended the year 5-4, and competing for a playoff position for most of the season. Leading the 2018 Bobcats were All-League selections seniors Ray
Perez and Adam Sapp and junior Cold Budds. Honorable mention recognition was extended to senior Chad Lewenkamp and
junior Patrick Post.
Ray Perez led the Bobcats in rushing with 723 yards, followed closely by Cole Budds with 675 yards, while Chad Lewenkamp led in passing with 304 yards. Patrick Post led the team in receptions with 6.  Leading the team in tackles was Budds with 131 tackles. For his efforts, Budds was awarded Defensive Player of the Year for the Bobcats and Perez was awarded the Offensive Player of the Year. Special Teams Player of the Year was awarded to Adam Sapp and Patrick Post for their commitment to and performance on the kicking teams. Practice Player of the Year was given to JD Morris.
The “Bobcat Award” which recognizes a player who best exemplifies the foundations of the football program was awarded to Chad Lewenkamp. “Chad was a great leader for us!”, noted head coach Troy Bomgardner. “He was the “do-it-right guy and an
awfully good football player, he will be greatly missed!”.
Other team awards given included: Most Improved Player- Elias Zeller and Tony Tomassoni. “Against All Odds” Award to Greyson Barwick, Hit of the Year Award to Jakob Morris. Highest Senior GPA Awardt to Chad Lewenkamp. “Pound for Pound” Award to Tyler Camper and Team Player Award to Casey Sargent and Jakob Morris. Captains for the 2018 season were Chad Lewenkamp, Ray Perez and Adam Sapp.
“I was very pleased with this year,” said Bomgardner. “Our players put in great effort and I felt they did “Raise the Bar” for our football program. We have a good number of returners and our effort continues to improve in the weight room so we are excited about 2019; this is a compliment to this year’s seniors.”

 

Bobcat Varsity Games

by Barbie Gierhart
and Coaching staff


On Wednesday, December 5th, Custer County High School Basketball teams had their home opener games against the SCA Spartans. The Varsity Girls played a good game with a win of 52-49. Scoring the most points of the game was Memphis Curry with 17 points. Katherine Mullett put up 16 points, added by Lindsey Gillmore with 14, Jessie Henrich four points and Hailey Hunter with one point.
The Varsity Boys played hard but lost to the Swallow Charter School’s Spartans 61-40. The high scorer of the game was Dillon Kinsey with 10 points. Jakob Morris brought eight points, Patrick Post added seven, Wesley Curtis six, William Berry five, and Chad Lewenkamp along with Ben Penkoff both adding two points. Penkoff lead team with four assists and Berry led team with four steals.
The Bobcats boys travel to Colorado Springs this Friday night to play ECA and are home on Saturday to host South Park. Hope to see you there!

Custer County Schools Board of Ed – November 2018

BOE: Construction Update, Bullying,
More Rodriquez, FFA/AG Teacher Selected

Custer County Schools Board of Education
BOE Regular Meeting
—November 13, 2018
WESTCLIFFE, Colo.

by McKenzie Huffman,
Education Reporter

The well attended regular BOE meeting started off with two presentations from 5th Grade students Logan Nameth and Alyssa Gaide showcasing their researching and writing skills. Logan shared how he applied skills he had learned to create his slideshow on Desert Hedgehogs. Alyssa taught us about Reindeer and how to use words to engage your audience in her presentation. Great job kids! Bobcat Pride Certificates were presented to everyone involved with the new scoreboard. Those new and old to the community came together to volunteer time, labor, equipment, supplies and money to complete this project. Dr. Davis presented the certificates and gave the BOE, administration, staff and audience a few moments to walk around to express their gratitude. Continue reading Custer County Schools Board of Ed – November 2018

Bobcat Basketball Update

by CCSD Coaching Staff
The Custer County High School Boys Basketball Team played two games this past weekend. On Friday the Bobcats lost to ECA 58 to 43. Billy Berry led the Bobcats in scoring with 15 points and in rebounding with 9 rebounds. Kobe Lewsader added 12 points. Patrick Post had five assists and Chad Lewenkamp added four assists. On Saturday night, the Bobcats went to Mosco and lost to Sangre de Cristo 64-50. Patrick Post lead the team in scoring with 21 points, Kobe Lewsader added 18 points. Billy Berry lead team in rebounds with 18. Chad Lewenkamp lead the team in steals with three points and assists with four. David Kinsey added three assists.
The JV team went one and one over the weekend. The young Bobcats lost on Friday night to ECA 46 – 15. Wesley Curtis lead the team in scoring with 10 points. Eero Prusti lead the team rebounds with six and Logan Kinsey lead team in steals with two and had two blocked shots.
On Saturday, the JV Bobcats won a close game against Sangre de Cristo 15-14, with Wyatt Aldrich making a free throw in the last few seconds of the game. Matthew Kienbusch lead the team in scoring with six points. James Koester lead team in assists two and Logan Kinsey lead the team in rebounds with six.
The Custer County High School Boy’s JV Basketball team took on the Cotopaxi Pirates Monday night. The young Bobcats lost 41-27. Eero Prusti lead the team in scoring with 10 points, Wesley Curtis and Logan Kinsey each added six. Eero also lead the team in rebounding with seven, Matt Kienbusch added four. Wyatt Aldrich and Hunter Speer each had two assists to lead the team and Logan Kinsey had three steals.

Custer County School Board Meeting

—December 12, 2017
by Larry Luikart, Reporter

President Davis called the meeting to order followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.  All members of the Board were in attendance and the Agenda was approved with minor modifications.
The Owner’s Representative for NV5 (the agent for the Bond Issue construction) spoke regarding the team and overview of the planning, safety, and security of students and the various steps leading to the actual work on the project.
There were no Public Comments at either session during the meeting. Vice-President Lee presented Bobcat Pride Certificates to every individual involved in the fall Athletic Program. Continue reading Custer County School Board Meeting

Award Ceremony: Three Eagle Scouts

Press Release

Westcliffe, Colorado


Last Sunday afternoon, on the 12th of November, Boy Scout Troop #114 held an Eagle Scout Court of Honor for Michael Batson, Tyler Ferron and Scott Freeburg. The ceremony was held at the Alpine Lodge followed by a dinner attended by family and friends. The Master of ceremony was Ron Torgerson. The American Legion Post #170 Honor Guard posted the Colors and is also the Troop’s charter organization. The scouts received their Eagle awards from Kevin O’Keefe, the District Director of the Rocky Mountain Boy Scout council.
Michael received his Eagle badge and is the son of Carl and Lorie Batson. Michael is a senior at Custer County High School. His Eagle Scout project was to rebuild the decks at the Methodist Church in Westcliffe.
Tyler is a third generation Eagle Scout and received his bronze and gold palm also. His parents are Eric and Kristin Ferron. He is a junior at Custer County High School. Tyler’s Eagle Scout project was to build a fence at the Mission Wolf Ranch.
Scott is the son of Dave and Janet Freeburg and he received his bronze palm along with his Eagle rank. He is a senior at Custer County High School. Scott’s Eagle Scout project was to finish the interior of the Silver Spurs 4-H Club’s concession stand at the Custer County Fair Grounds.
All three scouts officially became Eagle Scouts on August 24, 2017, after their Board of Reviews at the Boy Scout Council’s office in Pueblo.
The three Eagle scouts were also awarded American Flags flown over the nation’s capital through the office of U.S. Representative Scott Tipton. As well as the American Legion’s Eagle Scout certificate from Post Commander Carol Kennedy and Jessica Carter, the post’s Boy Scout liaison officer.
The Eagle Scout Rank is the highest rank a scout can earn in the Boy Scouts of America.

Cotopaxi Kids Wrap up Giving Project

by Randi Dotter,
Cotopaxi, Colorado


On Thursday, November 9th, the Cotopaxi Middle School Leadership and Kindergarten classes, along with their teachers, Randi Dotter and Jennifer Lang, gathered together for an annual tradition – decorating the turkey boxes that will hold food for several of our Cotopaxi families. The Kindergarten students work together with a middle school partner to cut out the body, beak, eyes, feathers and “gobbler” beard for the turkey decorations and then glue them onto the cardboard boxes which will soon be full of food. The annual school project is aimed at helping families who may not otherwise have a turkey and all the fixings to enjoy a very happy Thanksgiving holiday.
In addition to creating the turkey boxes, Middle School Leadership students work to raise the money needed to fill the boxes with food items. This year, MS leaders ran a 50-50 game at a volleyball match, collecting $73, and then joined with Student Council to organize a “Spare Change Challenge” for student body and staff which ran through Thursday, November 16th. All proceeds will be donated towards the purchase of food items for turkey boxes. In addition, Cotopaxi Parent-Teacher Council donates funds to purchase a turkey for each food box, and this year the Pleasant Valley Club is also making a donation towards purchase of food for the boxes. Amber Canterbury, school secretary, will do the shopping and MS leaders will stuff the boxes with goods. Any remaining funds will be donated to Salida’s Granary to help feed the hungry in our community this holiday season.

Bobcat Gridders Close 2017 Season with Another Win

November 3, 2017

by CCSD staff
The 2017 football season came to a close last Saturday with the Bobcats defeating Simla 40-28. The victory would give the Bobcats sole possession of third place in the Southern League conference. The day started out with seniors Aaron Anderson, Jack Bowker, David Kinsey, Kobe Lewsader, and Dylan Schoch getting honored for their time in Bobcat Football. “It was a great senior class,” noted head coach Troy Bomgardner. “They all provided leadership for our underclassmen, they will be missed!”
The game started out with the Bobcats rolling down the field and scoring on a 30-yard strike from Chad Lewenkamp to Billy Berry. Lewenkamp would add the 2-point conversion and the Bobcats would lead 8-0. The Cubs would come back with a 10-play scoring drive and convert the 2-point play to make it 8-8. The Bobcats would put together another scoring drive with David Kinsey and Ray Perez carrying the load behind the strong blocking of Adam Sapp, Jake Morris, Jack Bowker, Billy Berry, and Dylan Schoch. Lewenkamp would cap the drive off with a beautifully executed screen pass to Kinsey for a 28-yard touchdown. “Our offense really began to come together the last two games,” exclaimed Bomgardner. “I never doubted that we could score at any time and that is a good feeling.” An errant snap on the 2-point play left the Bobcats ahead 14-6 early in the second quarter.
The Bobcat defense battled to stop Simla but would finally allow a score after a 10-play drive again. The 2 points made it 16-14. “It was like we were living Kiowa all over again,” said Bomgardner, referring to the see-saw overtime victory last week. Jumping into their no-huddle offense, the Cats quickly put another score on the board with Kinsey playing QB and scampering 28 yards into the end zone. Misfiring on the 2-point conversion left it 20-16 for the Bobcats at the half.
Coming out of the half, Simla received the kick and began to march down the field again. Dylan Schoch would make a great play on an interception only to fumble it back to the Cubs on the return. Simla would drive again and it would come down to a fourth and goal on the two-foot line. And the Bobcats made the stop! However, on the ensuing play and mishandled pitch would give the Cubs an easy score but the Cats would rise up to stop the 2-point play which made it 22-20. “What I really love about high school sports are these moments,” beamed Bomgardner. “The interception and then the fumble and the fourth down stop was huge and we were pumped and then our fumble and you could just see the air go out of us. But we rose up on the 2 point with Ray making a great play and then Aaron Anderson recovering the onside kick and I knew we had the fight in us. What a moment of teaching that when you get knocked down, you have two choices, stay down or fight back!”
Kinsey would add another score off of the no-huddle offense to move CCHS up 26-22. A break came that the Bobcats were looking for when Kinsey jarred the ball loose from the Cub QB and Perez bounced on it. It would only take two plays and Kinsey would have another 28-yard touchdown run. A Lewnkamp to Berry 2-point conversion would take the lead to 34-22. But Simla again rose up and drove down to convert a fourth down play to score. However, Schoch made a great play to stop the 2-point conversion to make it 34-28.
The Bobcats could not convert a crucial first down on the ensuing drive and Simla had a chance to tie the game but the Bobcat defense rose up and stopped them on a big fourth down play. “Our defensive backs played so much better this game,” said Bomgardner. “And it came down to two consecutive plays to defend the pass and we got the job done!”
Taking over on their own 45, Lewenkamp would master the clock on a time-consuming 7-play drive that ended with Perez battling his way for a 12-yard score. Failing the 2-point conversion left it 40-28 with under four minutes left. The Bobcat JV defense came in and held the Simla varsity for a few plays and then the varsity D was called back to finish the game.
“What a way for the seniors to wrap up their careers,” said Bomgardner. “I couldn’t have been prouder of how we played the last two games of the season. We didn’t really have a chance for any post season play, so we were just playing for the thrill of victory and doing our best. And our team worked hard in practice simply for the chance to play and bring home another Bobcat victory. It was a sweet ending!”
The victory moved the Cats to 4-5 on the season and secured sole possession of third place in the Southern League. The season ending banquet will take place on Sunday, November 19th.

 

Bobcats Win: Epic OT Thriller

by CCHS Coaching Staff

The CCHS Gridders traveled to Kiowa Friday night and came away with an overtime victory of 48-46. The game was a see-saw battle in which the lead changed numerous times and had each team leading by two scores at different times in the game.
“I was very proud of the way our guys battled,” said head coach Troy Bomgardner. “We were down by two scores in the first quarter but battled back to take the lead in the second half only to see them come back and tie it to send the game to overtime. But the Bobcats pulled it out!” Continue reading Bobcats Win: Epic OT Thriller