Rampart’s Lindsey Immel, Air Academy graduate Maria Mettler among honorees for 2021 Sportswomen of Colorado Award
Rampart senior swimmer Lindsey Immel and Air Academy graduate Maria Mettler were two of 12 female athletes honored as 2021 Sportswomen of Colorado award winners based on their athletic achievements in 2020.
Immel was named the swimming winner following another standout state meet performance, where she brought home three golds, and a silver medal to help Rampart to a second-place finish. Immel, the 2019-20 Gazette Preps Girls’ Swimming Peak Performer of the Year, won the 50 and 100 freestyle races, and helped her team to a third-straight title in the 200 medley relay. The Rams also placed second in the 200 free relay.
To date, Immel has 12 state medals, including seven gold, three silver, a state record and two Class 4A team titles with the Rams.
Mettler, who competes for the Air Force Academy, was the honoree for track and field. In 2020 she won the Mountain West Indoor championship in the 3,000-meter race with a time of 9:26.04, a college best. She also ran a college-best time in the mile with a time of 5:03.75 at the Air Force Invitational, and placed second in the 5,000 meters at the Iowa Classic with a college-best time of 15:49.58.
Air Academy High School freshman Bethany Michalak was honored by the Sportswomen of Colorado as the most promising athlete. Michalak won the Class 4A girls’ cross country championship, and is ranked as one of the top freshman runners in the nation.
Pikes Peak region teams are among the highest-scoring in the state
St. Mary’s and Rampart rank as the top two scoring boys’ basketball teams in the state and the only Colorado teams to average more than 90 points per game. Vanguard girls rank ninth in the state, averaging 69 points. St. Mary’s girls fall at No. 17 averaging 65 points.
St. Mary’s boys are undefeated and have scored more than 100 points three times this season, and outscore opponents by 40 points, on average. Saturday, St. Mary’s won its most contested game of the season with a three-point margin over Colorado Springs Christian. The team’s closest game prior to Saturday was a 19-point win over Faith Christian in the opener.
The Pirates’ top five scorers all averaged double figures, and the top two — junior Sam Howery and senior Luke Stockelman — average 23.9 and 21 points, respectively. Howery has a double-double average through the first half of the season, averaging 10.4 assists.
Rampart, which opened the season with a dominant 119-64 win over Pueblo West, averages 91.5 points and has not scored fewer than 80 points so far this season.
The senior-laden squad is led by Tyler Edwards with a 20-point average, and Cole Bowen averages 15.2. Dante Wydra averages 14.7 points and Colby Shepherd is close to a double-figure average with 9.8 points.
The Rams are 5-1 and 4-0 in 5A/4A PPAC with the team’s only blemish coming in a one-point loss to Smoky Hill. On average, Rampart outscores opponents by 25 points.
Rampart will face Liberty (4-1, 3-0) on Tuesday, the only other undefeated team in 5A/4A PPAC.
Vanguard girls, the second-ranked team in Class 3A, is undefeated midway through the season. The Coursers are led by a host of sophomore standouts. Juliana Garcia averages 17.8 points and Ramiyah Byrd averages 13.7 points, nears a double-double average with 8.8 rebounds and leads the team with 4.2 steals.
Olivia Canton averages 10.5 points and Hailey Blanchard is close to a double-figure average with 9.3 points, and averages 7.7 rebounds.
This content was originally published here.
