John Gibas, the longtime tennis coach at Cherry Creek in Greenwood Village, has retired.
Beginning in 1992, Gibas’ distinguished tenure resulted in numerous victories, championships, awards and opportunities for boys and girls players to participate.
The head girls coach in 1995 after three years as an assistant, Gibas led the Bruins to titles every year but 1996. In all, he was part of 14 state titles with the girls and 10 with the boys (as an assistant).
The 2005 Southwest Region coach of the year, Gibas also served on the state tennis committee. And in both programs, Cherry Creek annually has had more than 100 players on its rosters.
A.C.E. nominees sought
The Denver Post is accepting nominees for the Dick Connor A.C.E. (Adversity Conquered through Excellence) Award, presented annually to a high school senior who has overcome a handicap, hardship or tragedy to excel in sports. The winner must have exhibited courage, resolve, leadership and citizenship.
Connor, a former Denver Post columnist, died in 1992 after a distinguished career.
Submit nominees on school letterhead to Neil H. Devlin, High School Sports Editor, The Denver Post, 1560 Broadway, Denver, 80202.
The 2006 winner will be honored at a luncheon in June with Post personnel, his or her family and Connor’s widow, Mary Kay Connor, and will receive a $2,000 scholarship from The Post.
Football
Broncos’ No. 1 draft choice Jay Cutler will head the quarterback and receiver clinic at the Mile High Football Camp, June 18-22 at Colorado Christian University in Lakewood. The 31st camp will feature Pro Bowl and defensive rookie of the year linebacker Shawne Merriman and Pro Bowl linebacker Donnie Edwards of the San Diego Chargers, Cutler and other special appearances.
Applications for Cutler’s clinic, for boys ages 8-18, can be accessed on www.milehighfootballcamp.com. Overall, the camp is geared toward boys between 8-14.
Also, Fairview’s REACH Camps in Boulder are: June 5-8, middle school (grades 5-8), at Fairview, 5-7 p.m., $45.
June 19-21: Quarterback-receiver-punter camp featuring Koy Detmer, Philadelphia Eagles, and Bucky Dilts, former Broncos punter, grades 5-8, 8-10 a.m., $45. Grades 9-12, 10 a.m.-noon, $75, punter camp open to only grades 9-12, no pads; offensive-defensive line, grades 5-8, $45, grades 9-12, $75, 4-6 p.m.
July 24-27: Team camp at Longs Peak Middle School, Longmont, pads, grades 5-8, 8-10 a.m., $45, grades 9-12, 10 a.m.-noon, $75. For information, call Tom McCartney, Fairview head coach, at 303-447-5326.
Track and field
Niwot’s Griffin Matthew was named the national high school senior track athlete of the year by the National High School Coaches Association. Matthew won the Class 4A 100- and 200-meter dash titles last weekend at the CHSAA state meet. The NHSCA chooses one boy and one girl in 10 prep sports to receive the honor.
Softball
Cory Berliner of Rocky Mountain in Fort Collins has been named Gatorade state player of the year. The junior also was All-Colorado by The Denver Post, all-academic and had a grade-point average higher than 4.0.
Elsewhere, Amy Hosier, a Lakewood graduate and senior at Georgia Tech, has been named Southeast all-region by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
The Atlantic Coast Conference leader in on-base percentage (.522), Hosier also set ACC records with 51 walks in a season and batted .377, third in the conference.
Baseball
Dan Gehrke resigned as baseball coach at Lutheran to become school principal. The Lights had a 120-90 record in 11 years under Gehrke, including making the Class 3A final four in 2002 and final eight in 2005.
Neil H. Devlin can be reached at 303-820-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com.
