Eight in-state schoolboy baseball players will be presented with humanitarian awards Saturday at the Branch Rickey Award dinner to honor former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda.
Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Denver, the awards recognize individuals in baseball who contribute to their community on a national and local level.
Danny Beck, Mountain Vista; Vincent Capra, Arvada West; Chris Gray, Dakota Ridge; Chris Johnson, Smoky Hill; Blake Krenke, Pomona; Justin Major, Ponderosa; Matt Petersen, East; and Jacob Yurich, Bishop Machebeuf, will be honored.
Information, Rick Bowman, 303-781-9300, ext. 26, or rick@logostuff.com.
Leadership challenge
The Nuggets, Qwest and the Colorado High School Activities Association are accepting nominations for the second annual Qwest Leadership Challenge, a national program designed to promote service and leadership among high school students.
Through Nov. 30, male and female high school varsity basketball students may apply for the program and give back to their community.
In-state players may select a nonprofit of their choice and volunteer their time and effort. Upon completion of 30 volunteer hours for that nonprofit, each participant will receive $250 to be donated to that organization. In addition, two student-athletes will each receive $5,000 scholarships as recognition for their outstanding achievement within the community.
A year ago, nearly 70 student-athletes signed up to participate, volunteering hundreds of hours and donating thousands of dollars to Colorado nonprofits. Diana Dreman from Littleton High School and Rasheed Lawal from Hinkley High School won the $5,000 scholarships for their outstanding volunteer work.
Players can sign up for the program by contacting their coach or the CHSAA at 303-344-5050 or www.chsaa.org.
Commitments
Jenna Zamprelli of Douglas County has verbally committed to play golf at Wyoming.
Zamprelli was seventh a year ago in the Class 5A state championship.
Jordan Wood, a shooting guard at Smoky Hill, has verbally committed to play basketball and compete in track at the University of Indianapolis. Wood has been named all-Centennial League basketball in 5A and qualified multiple times for the state track meet.
