Two years ago, the Fossil Ridge SaberCats had dynastic Valor Christian in deep trouble. In the fifth and deciding set, Fossil Ridge led Valor 11-8 and was on the brink of a major upset. But the Eagles won seven of the last eight points to capture their second consecutive Class 5A state volleyball championship.

Now, the SaberCats, stocked with college-bound talent, have a chance to avenge that loss when it matters most.

The ‘Cats entered this year’s tournament with a 23-2 record and the No. 1 seed, having secured it with a four-set win over Valor on Oct. 14. The ‘Cats ended Valor’s run of 72 consecutive victories that dated all the way back to the 2021 state tournament.

But Fossil Ridge’s streak-stopper won’t mean much if it doesn’t hoist the championship trophy on Saturday night at the Denver Coliseum.

“We still look back on that loss (in 2023) and it sucks, it still hurts,” said Fossil Ridge senior and Wyoming commit Emery Johnson. “So this is a huge chance for us.”

The SaberCats’ only two losses this fall came in an out-of-state tournament, and they had dropped only eight sets all season going into this weekend’s tournament. That number was still at eight after their second-round sweep of ninth-seed Pine Creek (25-9, 25-9, 25-18) on the first day of competition Thursday.

But to win a championship, Fossil Ridge will likely have to topple mighty Valor in the finals. The second-seeded Eagles (22-2) are playing for history. Last year, they won their third consecutive state championship, becoming the first team to win three titles in a row in Colorado’s largest classification since Evergreen won eight straight titles from 1978 to 1985.

“It’s a challenge for us,” first-year Fossil Ridge coach Kayla Afoa said. “Valor is a very well-coached team. They’re very gritty and they know they’re legit.”

However, Afoa’s SaberCats feature a talented team that grew up playing together for the NORCO Volleyball Club, based in Loveland. Bringing some recognition to northern Colorado’s volleyball scene gives the players some extra incentive.

“We want to show that northern Colorado volleyball is just as elite as Denver,” said 6-foot-5 senior middle blocker Olivia Ewing, who’s headed to Colorado State on a volleyball scholarship.

Her older sister, Delaney, is a Fossil Ridge graduate who lost to Valor in that classic 2023 championship match. Delaney now plays for Florida State.

This season’s Fossil Ridge team has five players who played in that excruciating loss to Valor in ’23: Senior libero Trinity Burchett, who’s headed to Colorado Mesa; senior outside hitter Alyssa Cottingham, who’s debating her college options; junior middle blocker Ella Wilson, who’s committed to Idaho State; and Johnson and Ewing.

“It would just mean everything to win it this year,” Ewing said.

The victory over Valor earlier this season, on the SaberCats’ home court, was a milestone. Doing it a second time inside the Denver Coliseum could be even harder.

“Absolutely, that win was a big deal, but we look at every single game as a big game that brings us a step closer to our end game,” Afoa said.

And how can the SaberCats dethrone Valor?

“The keys, as I explained to the girls, are winning the serving and passing game to keep (Valor) out of their system and not let them set up their offense,” Afoa said. “I like how we are playing. We are a very mature team, and we play at a high I.Q.”

The 6-foot-5 right-hander always had ability on the mound, but he struggled to harness it. He started his career at Illinois, then got cut. He went to Arizona State and was cut again. By the time he landed at Colorado Mesa last fall, he got cut for a third time as he still lacked the control to pair with his 98-mph fastball.

“When we cut him in the fall, he didn’t make excuses, he didn’t challenge us,” recalled. “He knew what the issue was, and he knew we gave him an avenue to get back on the team.

“I didn’t specifically tell him that we needed to see him working, but behind the scenes, us coaches pretty much said to ourselves, ‘Let’s see how bad this guy wants it.’ And he was out here all the time, throwing on his own. The perseverance is a great story, and if he can keep it going, it can have a really interesting ending.”

On Wednesday, Pogue takes the mound in CMU’s opening game at the RMAC Baseball Championship in Grand Junction. After starting the season as a bullpen arm who appeared in low-leverage situations, Pogue stair-stepped to relieve in close games before finally earning status as the team’s No. 1 starter.

“Getting cut three times, it feels like three strikes and you’re out,” Pogue said. “But I guess last year was a foul ball. I got one more chance at it, and I was determined to make the most of it.”

Now, Pogue is a central factor in Hanks’ belief that the Mavericks can make another deep postseason run.

Hanks says that with Pogue as the team’s unexpected ace, CMU could make this spring one to remember. The Mavericks will host this week’s RMAC tournament after winning their 13th straight regular-season conference title.

The goal is the same as always for the Division II power, which has produced four College World Series appearances and two national runner-up finishes in Hanks’ 27 years at the helm.

“If Pogue can keep pitching well, we really have a shot at (another College World Series appearance), because he’s a difference-maker with that fastball and slider as long as he’s throwing strikes,” Hanks said.

“This team is, in many ways, as good and in some ways better than the previous World Series teams we’ve had. The two teams that have played for national titles (in 2014 and ’19), this team has every bit the personnel of those teams.”

Leadoff center fielder Paul Schoenfeld, two-hole right fielder Kolby Felix and three-hole left fielder Cameron Cartwright (Legend High School) constitute what Hanks says is “probably the best outfield we’ve ever had.” Shortstop Kennedy Hara and second baseman Joey Blank, Vin Scully’s grandson, are also key contributors in the Mavericks’ lineup.

On the mound, CMU’s No. 2 starter is right-hander Sage Ferguson (Elizabeth), its No. 3 is right-hander Liam Hohenstein (Rock Canyon) and its No. 4 is right-hander Gauge Lockhart (Delta). Senior right-hander Ethan Voss is the top reliever. Like Pogue, Ferguson did not start the year in the rotation. The club got him going around midseason after he recovered from elbow tendonitis.

For his part, Pogue says his emergence as a rotational pillar for CMU down the stretch was three-fold.

He built confidence outside of baseball amid all the cuts. After ASU didn’t work out, he went back to Illinois, graduated and passed the Chartered Financial Analyst exam. Then Pogue put himself on the cusp of an MBA from CMU and lined up a job in the financial sector upon his graduation in a few weeks.

He worked closely with longtime CMU pitching coach Jeff Rodgers, who helped him simplify his delivery and thought process. That allowed Pogue, who registered an alarming 14 walks per nine in two partial seasons at Illinois, to cut that rate down to a career-low 4.4 this year.

“The biggest thing for me was to stop thinking about mechanics when I’m out on the mound,” Pogue said. “Previously, I had an internal focus: I was thinking about where my arm should be at this point in time (during my delivery), how I should finish. Instead of that, I now have an external focus, and that’s on my catcher, where his glove is at, where he wants me to throw this pitch.”

His consistent training led to a breakout moment at intersquad games in January, when he hit 97 and 98 mph for the first time while blowing the ball by surprised teammates.

“An object in motion stays in motion: I was able to execute in the classroom, I was able to stay consistent with my training,” Pogue said. “Taking care of things outside of baseball at that time was huge for me, and passing the CFA exam was also huge for me to build my confidence. That’s really all I needed.

“And it was realizing that baseball was going to go away. Now, here I am with a few weeks left of college baseball and I finally get to start again. I couldn’t be more thankful to be in this position.”

Pogue complements his heater with an effective slider and changeup. That repertoire has scouts interested. While Hanks isn’t sure if anyone from the RMAC will get drafted in mid-July — ever since the draft got cut to 20 rounds in 2021, it’s been much harder for D-II players to hear their name called — he believes Pogue has a shot at a professional future.

“I’ve fantasized about giving my future financial employer a call, and saying, ‘Hey, I just got drafted by the Cubs, I can’t come,'” Pogue said. “Until then, I’m keeping my head down and working and trying to help this team win and get to Cary, North Carolina, (for the Division II College World Series) so an opportunity like that can present itself.”

Three Stars to Watch at RMAC championship

Sr. C/LF Adam Paniagua, Regis University: The 6-foot-2, 225-pound standout was the lone D-II player named to the for the award presented to the top amateur baseball player in the country. After his 2024 season ended prematurely because of a broken wrist on a hit by pitch, Paniagua returned to the diamond with force in ’25. He is third in D-II with 26 homers and is second in slugging at .958 as a centerpiece on a Regis team that set a new regular season wins record at 34.

“The fall was a little bit of a challenge, because I was having a hard time getting back into the flow of things because I had been out of baseball for about two months,” Paniagua said. ” … But towards the end, I started to get back into my comfort zone, and once the spring season rolled around, I was ready and I quickly got into a groove.”

Sr. 1B Easton Amundson, Metro State: In his first season at Metro State after transferring from Division I Liberty, the 6-foot-3, 220-pounder is mashing. The lefty is with pull-side power. There’s some K in his approach, but if he can cut those down, he believes he’ll get a chance in pro ball. He is two homers off the national leader, Brevin McCool of Lubbock Christian, and a hot streak could help him overtake McCool.

“I’ve always had the power to do what I’m doing this year … but this year has been the most homers I’ve ever hit in my life. I’ve developed even more power throughout my college career,” Amundson said. “(To lead D-II in homers) would be really cool. I can’t be thinking about it during the games, but I definitely am capable of doing it.”

5th Yr. 1B/OF Christian Castaneda, CSU-Pueblo: With an up-the-middle, line-drive approach, Castaneda’s been a tough out. He leads the RMAC and is sixth in D-II with a .444 average, and is 10th with a .549 on-base percentage. The 6-1, 220-pounder’s provided quality defense at first and in the corner outfield. Chris Hanks describes him as “very dangerous, and one of the best hitters in the league.” He steps into the box with the memory of his who drowned in September 2019, heavy on his mind.

“Being able to play for (Cruz), and continuing his legacy through me, that really drives me every day,” Castaneda said. “I say a prayer before every game and ask the Lord to help continue his legacy and help me play for what he stood for as a person and as a (would-be college) athlete. I know the next day is not given. I appreciate every moment I have on the field.”

RMAC Baseball Championship

Schedule for the first round of games on Wednesday in Grand Junction.

No. 3 CSU-Pueblo vs No. 4 Metro State — 11 a.m., RMACNetwork.com

No. 1 Colorado Mesa vs No. 6 UCCS — 3 p.m., RMACNetwork.com

No. 2 Regis vs No. 5 Adams State — 7 p.m., RMACNetwork.com ]]> 7123516 2025-05-06T17:07:17+00:00 2025-05-06T17:07:17+00:00 /2025/03/27/colorado-mesa-university-jared-taylor-white-supremacist-free-speech/ Thu, 27 Mar 2025 12:00:56 +0000 /?p=6982866 A student’s invitation to a white supremacist to speak at ignited weeks of pushback from the campus community, but the school’s president is defending the event even as he denounces the speaker’s views as “vile.”

John Marshall, the Grand Junction school’s president, said in an interview Wednesday that the university’s role is not to “platform” or “deplatform” a controversial speaker, but to “allow space for all opinions across the political and ideological spectrum.”

In this case, the opinions of Jared Taylor — scheduled to speak Thursday evening — fall under the that white people are biologically superior to non-white people, according to the which classified the website Taylor founded, American Renaissance, as a “white nationalist hate group.”

Marshall said that as he considered the correct way to handle a speaker whose views he finds “abhorrent,” he asked himself, “What if the shoe was on the other foot?”

“What if it was a trans speaker or a pro-Israel speaker?” Marshall said. “Would you feel empowered to disinvite, censor or cancel them? The answer is no. To me, the whole issue at play here is how do you protect the ability of minority views to not get silenced, and I think the uncomfortable and hard truth is the only way to do that is to protect all of it. Frankly, that doesn’t feel very good in the moment and it����ap somewhat counterintuitive.”

For decades, colleges across the nation, including in Colorado, have provided a platform for speakers with in the name of free speech. Experts who research white nationalism say the current political climate — one in which universities are under federal investigation for supporting diverse students — calls for a different response than the old playbook.

“We are in unprecedented times where it’s not enough to say all speech is equal, because we’re in a situation in which some speech is going to be protected by this federal administration in ways that other speech is not,” said Jennifer Ho, an ethnic studies professor at the and the director for CU’s .

Max Applebaugh, president of a newly formed CMU student group called the Western Culture Club — which says it seeks to “foster and promote the values of Western culture through presentations, cookouts, community building and more” — invited Taylor to speak on the Grand Junction campus at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Applebaugh did not respond to a request for an interview.

The reported that Texas-based attorney Jason Lee Van Dyke donated $1,000 to help fund the event. Reached by phone Wednesday, Van Dyke said the Western Culture Club reached out to him for help because he’s well known for representing right-wing extremist group the Proud Boys and “groups that have been more credibly alleged to be racist,” such as the neo-Nazi group Aryan Freedom Network.

Taylor waived his speaking fee, but Van Dyke helped cover event logistics, he said.

“The reason I did it had nothing to do with the fact of whether I agree with Jared Taylor or not,” Van Dyke said. “I really don’t know him. What I did learn from my research is he’s one of the most censored people in America… That alone is what piqued my interest.”

Van Dyke, who was planning to attend the event, said he was “pleasantly surprised” by Marshall’s response and admires the university president’s respect for the First Amendment. He said he hopes the evening will become a discussion about the importance of free speech.

“I would shut it down”

Jessie Daniels, a professor at the and internationally recognized expert in the rise of racism, said white supremacists have been targeting college campuses for years as an opportunity to advance their ideology.

“If I were the college president, I would not allow an avowed white supremacist to come onto my campus,” Daniels said. “I would shut it down, and then I would take the heat.”

Daniels acknowledged college presidents are now facing financial pressure from the Trump administration, which has threatened to take away funding over schools’ support of diversity initiatives.

“It’s a horrible situation, but by providing a space for this guy, you’re offering a quite literal platform for him,” Daniels said. “What everyone does when they allow them to speak publicly in a legitimate setting is they are advantaging their ideology. They’re legitimating it.”

Ho, the CU Boulder professor, said a January executive order issued by the Trump administration “ending federal censorship” would likely influence colleges’ decisions about shutting down white supremacist speakers.

“Colleges and universities are all too aware they are under a different kind of microscope now than they have ever been in the past,” Ho said.

Marshall said the university’s decision to allow Taylor to speak was influenced not by the federal administration, but by the university’s mission, vision and .

“I would argue the antidote to ugly political movements and bad ideas is almost always more speech,” Marshall said. “Not less speech. That����ap hard because it drives at all of our abilities to keep our cool when someone is making comments that we find dehumanizing. We also have to have in a democracy enough faith in our neighbors that we all have to listen to each other and sort out good ideas from bad.”

“I hope they change their mind”

Sarah Miller, a 21-year-old CMU freshman who grew up in Grand Junction, said she was disappointed and angry at her school. She referenced a March 7 email Marshall sent to the campus about the event in which he highlighted the university’s values.

“Two of those values are love and dignity,” Miller said. “If you’re going to provide a platform for a neo-Nazi to come speak, you’re throwing those completely out the window. It sends a message that protecting free speech is more important than you being safe and comfortable where you go to school.”

Miller said the event sparked an uproar on the campus, with upset students covering the school in posters asking whether Marshall supported fascism. Graffiti that said “No Nazis at CMU” was found on campus, the .

The Grand Junction Police Department will be stationed at the campus event for security, Marshall said. Student leaders also have organized a unity counter-event featuring live music and food at the same time. The campus expects protests, Marshall said.

“We’ll do everything in our power to ensure it doesn’t get disrupted,” he said. “That would be the worst-case scenario if he’s prevented from speaking.”

Marshall said he hopes student organizers are not bullied or shouted at but treated with kindness.

“I hope someone puts an arm around them and gives them a hug,” he said. “I hope they change their mind. If students are able to navigate this by animating our campus values and pushing back on all these ugly ideas with a much more hopeful, much more loving future, well, that would be something.”

Although Taylor may not associate with the white supremacist label, he has been widely described as one and as a white nationalist by experts and watchdog groups. He believes in what he calls “race realism,” often seen in that context as a euphemism for the pseudoscience of scientific racism, and believes in other racist conspiracy theories.

John Marshall, president of CMU, wrote in an email to students on Tuesday that reiterated opposition to Taylor’s views and said he would not attend the speech. Marshall wrote that he plans, “to be there to peacefully and respectfully demonstrate our values.” He also reinforced the university’s stance to allow Taylor to speak.

“This speaker has been invited by students of a campus student club. CMU’s role isn’t to dictate to student clubs, or faculty, who they can invite and what content they present,” Marshall wrote. “Our job as a university is not to ‘platform’ or ‘deplatform’ speakers invited by students or faculty. Our task is to empower you to pursue truth, create space for civil (nonviolent) disagreement whereby we can all continue to refine our understanding of the world and follow our conscience.”

.

They were lying in bed together last September after a particularly rough day. He was crying, depressed, — literally and figuratively — wearing a diaper, unable to move.

“Will you marry me?” LaDonna Lewis asked.

Jeff Tootle blanched.

“I don’t know, LaDonna,” he replied, a familiar grin creeping back. “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.”

But he said yes.

“We’ll get this (expletive) figured out,” LaDonna vowed. “I know we will.”

“I’m smiling so perpetually,” Tootle cracked, “my face is starting to hurt.”

Four aching legs. Two bad backs. One heartbeat, stalwart and true, through sea and sand, against the worst tides imaginable.

“It has been a struggle,” LaDonna sighed.

He’s a former three-sport star at Regis Jesuit, , and an NFL veteran. She’s the love of his life, a partner for more than 35 years, and dangling from her wit’s end.

In July, LaDonna went to the hospital after problems with diabetes and myopathy. The next day, out of the blue, Jeff was admitted.

Prostate cancer, the doctor told him, hands never leaving his hips. Stage 4.

By the autumn, it had spread to the rest of his body.

“All he can do,” LaDonna said, “is take his meds and be happy with the time that he has.”

Only a funny thing happened at the end of the book: Jeff Tootle, 62 years young, started writing more chapters.

Cancer had snatched his leg with a wicked arm tackle. It couldn’t bring him down. Not with LaDonna watching his wing.

“She’s something else, that’s all I can say,” Tootle said. “And that’s coming from my soul. Because I didn’t think I was going to make it. I was in a bad way. I looked up, and she’s still there, washing me up, just taking care of me like a big ol’ baby. My attitude was so jacked up. I don’t know how she put up with me. I wasn’t real nice.”

He’d dealt with heart failure in the winter of 2023 and suffered an infection in his left leg, making it difficult to walk. But the cancer knocked everybody for a loop.

Once overnight, Jeff fell out of bed at their Denver home, around 3 a.m. LaDonna struggled to get Tootle — who played at 240 pounds in the NFL and was heavier during his life’s work in the private sector — back up again.

She couldn’t get the kids on the phone because of the time of day. She eventually found a neighbor, someone she’d never met, and convinced him to come up and help.

“My dad used to say that getting old ain’t for sissies,” Tootle said. “I never really understood. Now I’m like, ‘Dad, I get it.'”

LaDonna got a wheelchair, which Jeff doesn’t love. Sometimes, she’ll help him between points A and B by putting both of Tootle’s arms on the back of her shoulders, so he can more or less use her as a living walker.

“Everybody’s like, ‘Oh, well, you must be well-off,'” LaDonna said. “We’re just regular people who had regular jobs who have regular problems.”

Suddenly, money is becoming one. Jeff can’t work. Tootle’s three appearances with the Giants came during the NFL players’ strike of 1987. He’s not currently eligible for NFLPA benefits, LaDonna was told.

She had to quit her job last year and stay home with Tootle full-time, picking up gigs as they come.

Now, she wants to get the word out. There’s more story to tell. And a wedding to plan.

“We’re going to have to do it soon,” she said. “It’s just (about) getting your life right. I don’t want to wait a year.”

•�Ģ�Ģ

Tootle grew up the son of an Air Force man, having lived in Kansas, Texas and Guam before settling in greater Denver. Jeff excelled in football, basketball and track at Regis, then helped to turn around Colorado Mesa’s gridiron fortunes.

Because Jeff, young Jeff, could bring it. Tootle was an NAIA All-American in 1982 and ’83 — a 6-foot-2, 240-pound defender who could close and cut on a dime. He was inducted into Mesa’s Hall of Honor in 2022.

, he hooked onto the Giants, jumping onto a moving train driven by the likes of Lawrence Taylor, Harry Carson, Carl Banks, Leonard Marshall and Bill Parcells.

“Playing with LT was a lot of fun,” Tootle recalled. “He used to kill me. ‘Come on, 92! Come on, 92!’ I can still hear his voice coming around that corner.

“He was a heck of a player. Just a free spirit. He was something else. He’d be in one spot on the field, and I’d say, ‘Wow, I didn’t even see him get over there.'”

“Ever run with him off the field?” I asked.

Jeff laughed.

“He was a heck of a player. He was all right,” Tootle said. “He was a little different.”

So was Bill Belichick, his position coach.

“I just couldn’t get Belichick to love me,” Tootle cracked. “He was a different kind of coach. Different than I’ve ever had. You didn’t ever know where you kind of stood.”

•�Ģ�Ģ

With LaDonna, that’s never been an issue. Theirs is a romance that started like all classic soaps: The debt collection department at Citibank, inside

LaDonna was already entrenched in the company’s collection wing in 1989. That’s when Jeff found work after the NFL stopped calling.

“I just had a baby, I was getting a divorce. I was like, ‘Wow, I’m so happy to be single,'” she recalled. “Then I met Jeff and was like, ‘What’s going on here?’

“He was like, ‘Hey, I’m Jeff.’ I’m like, ‘So?'”

LaDonna didn’t care about LT. Or Belichick. Or football. He asked her out anyway.

“She couldn’t stand me,” Tootle chuckled.

He broke the ice, though, thanks to the popcorn stand downstairs. LaDonna dug caramel and cheese mixes, so Jeff offered to share a bag. Then he started gifting them.

Snacks became lunches. Lunches became dates.

“Pepsi Cola and some popcorn,” Tootle said, “and we would talk.”

It blossomed into that quintessential ’90s American love story: escalators, shopping malls, sodas and office gossip. Only this one held fast. Through thick and thin.

“It’s like oil and water, me and her,” Jeff said. “Because we still get along, but we don’t. We learned how to argue and we know how to smile at each other the next 15 minutes after she says her piece.”

On Valentine’s Day, they had only one firm rule.

“We just try to be loving that day,” Tootle said. “If something’s between us, we’ll bite our tongues for that day.

“‘Be sweet. Just be sweet.’ We’ll pick it up tomorrow.”

•�Ģ�Ģ

The good days and bad days have one thing in common. Everything aches. Even joy.

“How am I going to deal with this?” Tootle asked. “Keep marching.”

Tootle takes four of what he calls his “horse pills” in regular doses. Last summer, he lost 75-80 pounds.

After a nadir of about 198 pounds, he got his appetite back and has climbed back to 210-ish.

The pills have slowed the pain. But they also kick him square in the backside, a cycle of naps and fatigue that gnaws away at the clock.

His legs gave. His energy waned. It’s not just the lack of independence, but the dependence. Moving. Bathing. Dressing.

“I can do it, I can do it,” Tootle liked to say. “I’m just a little bit slow.”

“A lot slow, Jeff,” LaDonna countered.

In sickness and in health …

“LaDonna has replaced my backbone with her backbone,” Tootle said. “I don’t know how else to put it. Her backbone became mine. I was on my deathbed for several weeks. I couldn’t keep anything down. It counts to have a good woman in my corner.”

Especially when the good woman who wanted to stay single all those years changes her mind.

“It caught me off guard,” Jeff said of the proposal. “I’m like, ‘Whoa, after all these years, now you want to marry me?’

“I guess you’re OK.”

They’ll pick it up tomorrow. Tootle laughed again, softer this time. A smile never hurt so sweetly.

For more information or to donate to Jeff Tootle and LaDonna Lewis’ GoFundMe, visit or email ladonnatoot@yahoo.com.

She grew up in Greeley, the daughter of Mexican immigrants who worked labor-intensive jobs and did not have the opportunity to attain a higher education. Elementary school was a blur for Chavez, who didn’t understand English fluently until fifth grade. Despite the obstacles, she applied herself academically.

Supportive teachers along her educational journey bolstered Chavez’s confidence, promising that college wasn’t a far-fetched pipe dream — it was her ticket to a life unlike one lived by anyone she knew. And she could see it was possible.

“I wanted to pursue higher education to be the change in my community,” said Chavez, now 19. “I don’t want to just work bill by bill like everybody around me. I believed I could do something different.”

In 2023, Chavez was accepted to CU Boulder with a full-ride scholarship. She was thrilled, but the culture shock of academia was daunting for the collegiate trailblazer.

She’s now halfway through her sophomore year, and said she’s made it this far thanks to the support of CU programs dedicated to uplifting first-generation college students financially, academically and emotionally. The programs focus so intently on getting kids into the right postsecondary option that they even provide college-application guidance to students who don’t ultimately choose to attend CU.

“We just want to do what’s best for the student,” said Chris Pacheco, recently retired assistant vice chancellor of CU’s .

Scholarship money bought Chavez her first laptop, but figuring out how to use it was a different story. She didn’t know how to upload assignments with programs her peers had used for years. She struggled downloading materials from her professors’ websites.

For first-generation college students like Chavez — a term used to signify someone is the first in their family to attend college — that overwhelming feeling snowballs as inconveniences stack atop major hurdles like financial setbacks or lack of family support.

But the payoff is strong.

“A first-generation student����ap experience and completion in getting their college degree can shift the trajectory of their entire family,” said Barb Marshall, CU Boulder’s assistant vice chancellor of student financial services.

In 2021, about 37% of students enrolled in Colorado’s public higher-education institutions were first-generation, according to the most recent data released from the .

The state’s flagship institution, CU Boulder, enrolled 1,038 first-generation freshmen in 2024 — 14% of the first-year student population. That number fell slightly from 16% the year prior, which the university suspects is fallout from the chaos surrounding the bungled rollout of the updated Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

At the end of 2024, CU Boulder was designated a , joining the ranks of schools like and , which serve a majority of first-generation students. For example, 60% of MSU Denver students are the first in their family to pursue a college degree.

CU’s first-generation numbers are not as robust as those other Colorado colleges — and tuition on the Boulder campus is pricier — but leaders say perhaps students and families don’t realize the support available.

“Maybe we haven’t done a good job promoting the work that’s being done,” Pacheco said. “In some respects, it’s the best-kept secret the university has.”

“The impact is huge”

After 43 years at CU Boulder, Pacheco retired at the end of 2024.

For decades, the onetime first-generation college student helped make college more accessible for those who came after him.

Pacheco grew up in Eagle County’s Red Cliff, the son of a miner and hotel maid in a family of 10. He began his tenure at CU Boulder as an undergraduate student in 1981, first majoring in biology to pursue medical school.

But his involvement in — a federally funded program that still supports college students from disadvantaged backgrounds — altered his career path. Pacheco loved tutoring and mentoring students throughout their higher-education journey.

“One of the reasons I wanted to go to medical school is to help people,” Pacheco said. “I found that I was doing that here, just in a different way, so one year became 40 years.”

Pacheco touted CU Boulder’s history supporting first-generation students.

The university’s , which , works with first-generation students throughout Colorado, beginning in the seventh grade. The program provides academic support and counseling from middle school through high school, and brings students to CU’s campus for five weeks during the summer between their junior and senior years. Since its inception, the program has served more than 30,000 students.

Seventh grade is the magic number because colleges start looking at transcripts in students’ freshmen year of high school, Pacheco said. To get into the courses that colleges want, students need to start taking certain classes in middle school — algebra, chemistry, biology — to set them up for success in high school.

The program also works with students’ parents, educating them about why college is important, what different postsecondary options exist and how to get involved in their kids’ schooling now. It helps students with applications and financial aid questions, supporting them regardless of where they choose to go.

The program has a 98% to 100% success rate in placing students at a higher-education institution, Pacheco said.

“We have a waiting list for all of our programs,” he said. “The impact is huge, and there are way more students who need services than we can serve.”

Life-changing support

Chavez’s family’s budget wouldn’t have allowed her to attend college without significant financial help. When she learned she had earned a full ride to CU Boulder, Chavez burst into tears.

“I knew I could do it, but it was hard,” she said.

Still, the logistics of figuring out her tuition billing proved tricky. Conversations with the financial aid department grew increasingly confusing.

Luckily, Chavez wasn’t alone.

The teen is part of CU’s , which offers financial literacy education, career readiness training, mentoring services, grants and scholarships, and opportunities to meet other first-generation students and socialize.

Jerry Nguyen, program manager in the , was discussed with reverence by CU’s first-generation students.

Nguyen accompanied Chavez to her financial aid appointment, brokering understanding between the student and employee. She showed Chavez how to use her new laptop. She walked Chavez to her classes when the student found herself perpetually lost.

“A lot of it is me understanding a lot of my students come from very different experiences, and I can’t assume they know everything, like how to use a computer,” Nguyen said. “I wouldn’t be who I am today without being able to go to college and have a good experience, so I believe everybody deserves the same amount of access. It could change the entire trajectory of not just themselves but their whole family. That����ap a huge responsibility to bear, and they bear it so well.”

Helen Nguyen, a CU Boulder sophomore, referred to herself as Jerry Nguyen’s No. 1 fan.

“I would go to the moon and back for her,” Helen Nguyen said.

Helen Nguyen is also part of the program, which is housed in the . The sophomore met with Jerry Nguyen so often that she offered Helen Nguyen a job in the office.

“Now I’m graced with her presence every day,” Helen Nguyen said.

Helen Nguyen hopes her college journey inspires her younger siblings to pursue degrees, too.

For Helen Nguyen, family is the motivating factor that keeps her pushing through hard times. During the last round of finals, she called her dad from the library, exhausted from an all-night cram session. Her dad drove all the way from Castle Rock to bring her food to keep her brain fueled.

Support — whether from family, friends or staff and faculty — can make all the difference as to whether a student sticks it out.

“As a first-gen student, one of the first impulses is to leave when something goes wrong,” Pacheco said. “It can confirm this incorrect idea that this place isn’t for you. Having someone here who can say, ‘Well, wait a minute. You don’t have to leave. This is not insurmountable. We’ll get this taken care of’ is key.”

In 2022, the retention and graduation rates for first-generation college students in the United States were generally lower compared to their peers, according to the most recent data from the

The retention rate for first-generation students — meaning the rate of students who returned to the same institution for their second year — was about 68.2% nationally.

In comparison, CU Boulder’s was 84%, compared to the non-first-gen retention rate of 90%.

Nationally, the six-year graduation rate for first-generation students was around 50%, meaning about half of first-generation students who started their bachelor’s degree in 2016 completed it by 2022, according to the most recent data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

In comparison, CU Boulder’s first-gen graduation rate for the same period was 65%, with a non-first-gen graduation rate of 77%.

“Over the past four years since the pandemic, we were seeing some nice increases in first-generation population that dropped a little bit last year, and we think it was just because it was so challenging to get through FAFSA last year, so we’re really focused on getting those numbers up again,” said Marshall, CU’s assistant vice chancellor of student financial services.

A GPS to a better life

Maria Genao-Homs is the inaugural director of CU’s Center for Inclusion and Social Change.

The term “first-generation college student” emerged in higher-education vocabulary around 2000, she said, when more people started talking about creating pathways for members of non-wealthy, lower-class families to get degrees.

The median income of first-generation students’ parents was $41,000 in both 2016 and 2020, according to data from national organization FirstGen Forward. Conversely, the median income of non-first-gen students’ parents increased from $90,000 in 2016 to $103,000 in 2020.

The cost to attend CU Boulder for an in-state undergraduate is about $35,000 a year — including tuition, room and board, and books — before any scholarships or financial aid are applied.

“These students are entering a pretty significant time in their life without a roadmap,” Genao-Homes said. “The emergence of offices like ours are there to set the students up and serve as a GPS because the home or family doesn’t always have the capability to guide them.”

That means it can sometimes be a lonely road, sophomore Chavez has found.

A common refrain among first-gen students is they feel like an outsider at college, but then going back home makes them realize they don’t quite fit there anymore, either.

“It’s like there are these two worlds, and I don’t fit into either,” Chavez said. “It can be like imposter syndrome. It’s been a great experience, but sometimes it can feel lonesome.”

But Chavez can’t give up, she said. Her mom is counting on her.

“She asks me if I want to work like a dog like she does,” she said.

Chavez has her sights set on a health profession like forensic toxicology. With the help of CU resources, she earned all A’s last semester.

“Some people give up so fast, but not me,” Chavez said. “It’s like a rollercoaster where there are ups and downs that happen, but I am riding it out because I am going to buy a house for me and my family someday. We’ve never lived in a house, and I’m going to change that.”

During the twelve years he and his nine siblings lived in the camp, he learned enough English to plead his family’s case to become refugees eligible to resettle in the United States.

Shongolo and his family arrived in Denver in 2004.

Twenty years later, Shongolo runs the register at the international grocery store he owns in Denver, blocks away from the dwelling where he and his family first got their start in America. Global Grocery Mart, 1133 Yosemite St., not only provides a taste of home for immigrants searching for region-specific goods but also acts as an invaluable resource for newcomers to the country.

In a world that can feel hostile to immigrants — especially in a place like nearby Aurora, where the incoming president has threatened mass deportations — Global Grocery Mart is a safe haven where friendly faces are waiting to welcome patrons.

“I am proud of being here for the community,” Shongolo said. “When they first come to this country and don’t have a place to go, at least they can feel at ease here.”

Shongolo remembers the strangeness and hardships that accompanied moving to a new country.

That’s why in between ringing up transactions, he often translates immigration paperwork. He once helped a customer fill out documents that led to them securing Section 8 housing. When an uninsured customer complained about back pain, he referred them to Denver Health, which does not turn away uninsured patients.

Global Grocery Mart is packed with colorful commodities from around the world. Boxes of fufu mix — a West African staple — sit near bottles of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing. Beverages from Thailand, Pakistan and the Caribbean are stocked next to SunnyD. Sara Lee bread is perched above tubs of Somali cookies.

Behind the counter, Shongolo carries multicultural beauty and hygiene products.

He sources goods from all over, asking what kinds of ingredients people from different cultures prefer. He carries flour from Nepal and India, halal products, an abundance of coffees, noodles that will satisfy a multitude of palates, fresh goat meat and rare sweets.

He also supports local ethnic businesses, stocking his store with Ethiopian bread from a nearby immigrant-owned bakery and other local products.

“There are things here you can’t find at Walmart or King Soopers,” Shongolo said.

“It’s like family here”

Mariama Barrie walked in the store on a Tuesday in December, all smiles and jokes with Shongolo, who knows three Somali languages as well as Swahili, English, and some French and Spanish.

Barrie’s grocery list that day featured kalaba clay, which she described as an African remedy for stomach upset. Barrie, who’s from Sierra Leone, came to Denver 10 years ago.

“Abdullahi has food for us,” Barrie said. “This is the only place that has everything. Plus, we are always fighting and laughing. It’s like family here.”

Shongolo’s customer base is willing to travel. He sees patrons from Colorado Springs, Greeley, Green Valley Ranch and Fort Morgan.

Families trickled into the store as the sun set, buying dinner supplies. Mothers held babies on their hips. Elders shuffled slowly through the aisles. Men stocked up on cigarettes.

If Shongolo is out of sight assisting a customer, people who spot his empty post at the register when they enter the store call out his name in a sing-song voice, knowing he can’t be far.

They come for the food and the conversation.

When a customer sheepishly admits to being a few dollars short, Shongolo smiles and waves them off, telling them it’s not a problem.

Global Grocery Mart is in Denver, but the Aurora suburbs, known for their diverse immigrant population, are across the street.

Amid Colorado’s unprecedented influx of Venezuelan migrants in the past two years, Shongolo has stocked his store with items beloved in the South American country.

The store is a few blocks from the Edge of Lowry, the troubled Aurora apartment complex that attracted international attention after a video of armed men barging into an apartment went viral in September. During an October rally held in Aurora, President-elect Donald Trump described his mass deportation plan, part of which is named “Operation Aurora.”

During Trump’s first term in office, Shongolo remembers U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers walking the streets in his neighborhood.

His customers tell him they fear what another Trump administration could mean for them.

“People are scared,” Shongolo said. “I’m worried for the community. I’m a citizen, but I hope the people who have come here looking for a better life are not affected.”

Word of mouth broadens community

Ian Ntwali supports refugees who come to Colorado in search of hope, opportunity and rebuilding. He knows how much of a culture shock the transition can be.

Ntwali, a Rwandan immigrant who came to Denver in 2018, didn’t like the chicken he found in American grocery stores when he first arrived. Through word of mouth, Ntwali heard about Global Grocery Mart and was delighted to find that Shongolo stocked the kind of meat he enjoyed — and spoke Swahili, too.

“He’s a very good guy,” Ntwali said.

Ntwali started working at the African Community Center, a Denver nonprofit refugee resettlement agency. To help African refugees get acquainted with their new home, Ntwali frequently accompanies them to Global Grocery Mart to showcase a spot selling familiar foods, along with a kind grocer to add to their new community.

“Even when they don’t have money for groceries, they can come pick up food and pay later,” Ntwali said. “He knows when people haven’t found a job yet, so he tries to be easy on them.”

Shongolo’s hard-earned life experience makes him empathetic to others’ plights.

When Shongolo first came to Denver, he focused on his education, taking English classes and some college courses, eventually earning a medical assistance certificate. He became a translator at UCHealth, working with immigrants and refugees seeking medical care.

Soon, Shongolo had business aspirations.

The convenience store Shongolo and his siblings frequented was up for sale. Shongolo had dreams of expanding the space and turning it into a market that fit the needs of the diverse neighborhood.

He bought the store and expanded it in 2011 with the help of a microloan from , a nonprofit organization that provides financial help to business owners from disadvantaged racial and ethnic groups, including refugees and immigrants.

Now, when customers tell Shongolo they want to open their own businesses, he refers them back to CEDS.

“It’s like a cycle,” said Shafi Osman, CEDS Finance’s community engagement officer. “We are proud to have played a small part in his journey. We have seen firsthand the impact of these networks.”

Liban Shongolo, Abdullahi’s younger brother, is proud to see his sibling behind the register at the store that used to sell them chips and sodas.

Like most of his siblings, Liban has taken his turn working behind the counter, too. He joked that customers’ faces fell when it was him — and not his brother — holding down the fort.

“He does a great job building relationships in the community,” Liban Shongolo said. “Everybody knows him.”

Abdullahi Shongolo’s dedication to hard work and education inspired Liban Shongolo to follow in his footsteps. The 22-year-old is thriving at , where he and mentors youth. He plans to go to law school when he graduates.

On the December evening, a chorus of different languages flowed throughout Global Grocery Mart as people shopped and visited. As Abdullahi Shongolo bantered while ringing up his customers, laughter transcended all dialects.

When the store was quiet, he leaned against the counter and recounted the harrowing journey that brought him to Denver.

“It feels great to be here,” Shongolo said. “But a lot of our people are still back home suffering. I send money back as much as I can. So, yes, I am proud, but I always remember my people back home.”

, which provides water to 1 million people and 600,000 acres of irrigated farming in northeastern Colorado, sent a letter earlier this month to the state’s congressional delegation and the commissioner of the federal . The letter outlines its concerns about the purchase of a water right connected to the Shoshone Power Plant, a small hydroelectric facility that draws on the strained and highly contested river.

The Colorado River District — a taxpayer-funded agency that works to protect Western Slope water — in December announced a $98.5 million deal with Xcel Energy to buy the right to make sure water continues to flow west of the power plant. The district wants to safeguard the right from being changed or purchased by anyone else should the plant go out of operation.

Nearly 200 miles away, the Berthoud-based water provider’s primary concern is that its water supplies could be harmed if the new owner — the Colorado River District — used the water right to its full capacity. Historically, the plant has not diverted all the water it is allocated, leaving more water in the river for other users.

“Northern Water is not trying to benefit in any way from Shoshone permanency — we’re trying not to get injured,” said Kyle Whitaker, Northern Water’s Colorado River programs manager.

Xcel Energy owns the right and uses it to operate its aging on the banks of the Colorado River in Glenwood Canyon, about 7 miles east of Glenwood Springs.

The 1905 water right is the oldest major water right on the main stem of the overused river, which means that it must be fulfilled before any rights established afterward — including rights held by Front Range utilities such as Northern Water. The power plant does not consume the water, instead sending it through its turbines before putting it back in the river.

Buying the right means the river district can ensure a certain amount of water flows down the Colorado River and past the power plant all year.

The plant����ap rights can command 1,408 cubic feet of water per second year-round, or about 1 million acre-feet a year — enough water for 2 million to 3 million households’ annual use.

That would create stability for irrigators, municipalities, recreational users and the environment.

The district denies it will command the right’s full amount and has repeatedly said it plans to maintain the status quo — not using more water than has been used historically, said Matt Aboussie, director of communications for the Colorado River District.

“This proposal has a benefit to the entire state,” Aboussie said. “It does not harm Front Range water users and in no way is a reduction to their water access.”

The Colorado River District has repeatedly told Northern Water that it do not plan to change the amount of water used, Aboussie said.

The district is gathering data on how much water historically has been used by the plant, and that data will be analyzed in water court as part of the purchase process.

Northern Water raised its concerns with lawmakers as the Colorado River District prepares to request $40 million from the federal Inflation Reduction Act. The deadline for apply for the money is Oct. 14.

“The timing of these concerns, it does seem that they are planned,” Aboussie said.

So far, the district has raised nearly $16 million toward the purchase from 24 Western Slope entities, including multiple counties, cities, irrigation districts and Colorado Mesa University. The Colorado Water Conservation Board also and the district plans to use $20 million of its own funds.

“We firmly remember and genuinely believe that we are interconnected,” Aboussie said. “The Front Range needs access to water, as does the Western Slope — and this proposal does a good job balancing both.”

Other major Front Range water providers — Denver Water and Aurora Water — are keeping a close eye on the project. The Front Range Water Council, a collection of major Front Range water providers, asked in an Aug. 9 letter for an analysis of how the Shoshone right has been used in the past.

Aurora Water is monitoring the Shoshone purchase but is not taking an active position at this point, spokesman Greg Baker said last week.

Denver Water supports the goal to permanently protect the Shoshone flows and appreciates the Colorado River District’s pledge to not harm other water users, spokesman Todd Hartman said in a statement.

“Any significant change that might upset the current operating protocols needs careful consideration to avoid harm to the millions of people across the state who rely on the Colorado River,” he said. “We are hopeful that continued discussion with all stakeholders can lead to a scenario that is positive for all of Colorado.”

They’d gathered for a January board meeting to discuss how the Grand Junction university, which largely serves lower-income students, would respond to the botched rollout of a new federal financial aid form that was keeping prospective enrollees from knowing how much money they’d receive from the U.S. government to help pay for school.

How long would many of the 10,000 students that CMU usually serves wait for their financial aid package before deciding college wasn’t for them? President John Marshall didn’t want to find out.

Someone at the board meeting floated an idea: What if the university calculated how much financial aid it believed each student would qualify for to help them make informed college decisions? If CMU calculated wrong, the school would own its promise when the federal dollars eventually came through and cover the difference between its calculation and what the federal government ultimately paid out.

“There was this long, pregnant pause around the table and you could kind of see, with almost no debate, all these faces nodding,” Marshall said.

Marshall and the school’s chief financial officer executed back-of-the-napkin math to estimate by how much they could afford to be wrong. If they were off by 20%, CMU would lose about $2 million, they figured. A more realistic estimate — off by about 5% — meant the school would lose around $500,000.

But by doing nothing, Marshall said, the university risked losing a whole cohort of students who decided to forego college for fear they couldn’t afford it.

Marshall and CMU’s leadership rolled the dice, knowing they likely would lose money. Now, the university is reaping the benefits of that risk.

Their calculations were off by $283,620 — lower than anticipated, Marshall said. But in turn, CMU’s new student enrollment this fall is up by 31%, the largest freshman class on record for the university.

Marshall called the initiative — dubbed — an objective success.

“Somebody out there is going to have a different life because we were able to do something to convince them to come to school,” said Lindsey Campbell, CMU’s executive director of financial aid. “It����ap just cool.”

“The Wait is Over”

The math Marshall and his colleagues worked out during the January board meeting was based on how many students in years past qualified for Pell grants — federal money awarded by financial need that recipients don’t have to pay back.

Using that data, they guessed how many students would qualify for Pell grants this fall and estimated how much that would cost.

For the real calculations, the ones presented to prospective students as their promised financial aid package, Marshall needed more precision — and to get CMU’s financial aid department on board.

When Marshall first pitched the “Wait is Over” campaign to Campbell, he remembers her eyes growing wide as saucers.

“I told her that I know this is going to sound crazy, but stick with me for a minute,” Marshall said.

Campbell’s initial shock softened into brainstorming whether the idea was even feasible for her 11-person department to pull off when they already were stretched thin dealing with the federal financial aid crisis.

The U.S. Department of Education introduced a new version of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid in late 2023 in a bid to make it easier to use and to provide more money to needy college students. Students fill out FAFSA to find out how much money they could receive from the federal government to go to college based on income.

But the rollout of the new online form was plagued with delays, errors and widespread confusion last fall and earlier this year, leaving students and higher education experts worried about a lack of participation in a program that can make the cost of college feasible for marginalized students.

Campbell had a thought that could make the board’s big idea work.

CMU recently partnered with a new net-price calculator company. Most universities have tools on their websites in which aspiring students can fill out their financial information to receive cost-of-attendance estimates. The estimated cost for a full year of school for a Colorado resident living on campus this upcoming year is about $26,800, including housing, food, tuition and other costs.

With the help of the company that built the existing tool for CMU, Campbell helped create a more accurate version that would send students’ information straight to the financial aid department.

A few weeks later, “The Wait is Over” launched on Valentine’s Day.

“The initial white-knuckle panic turned out not to be true,” Marshall said.

CMU issued nearly 4,000 early financial aid offers long before the federal government, stymied by the malfunctioning form, sent out its aid packages.

About 1,000 of those offers were sent to prospective new students. Of those, 900 registered for the fall semester, Campbell said.

As of last week, CMU was set to welcome 2,293 new students to campus this fall. Nearly half of those students enrolled directly after receiving their early financial aid offer.

The 31% enrollment bump in one year was a shock, administrators said. The goal is usually to increase annual enrollment by 1%, said Kelsey Dudley, CMU public relations specialist.

The numbers also indicate the campaign helped with student retention. More than 81% of continuing students at CMU enrolled after getting their early aid offer.

Putting CMU on the map

While Kimberly Medina, CMU’s assistant vice president for enrollment management, was sure the “Wait is Over” initiative contributed to the enrollment increase, she said the university didn’t just send out a couple of marketing emails about it and call it good.

The financial aid department held frequent workshops at high schools across the state to promote the initiative and the school’s scholarship promising tuition coverage to qualifying families who earn $65,000 or less. Marshall visited schools with lower-income student populations to promote the initiative.

The most important thing Marshall thinks “The Wait is Over” did was put CMU on the map for families with potential first-generation college students.

“I would visit these high schools and hear from kid after kid that they couldn’t get FAFSA to work, and I would tell them, ‘We’ll figure out what your financial aid is going to be right now,’ ” Marshall said. “It made a difference.”

Olathe High School Principal Scot Brown said he appreciated Marshall making the pitch for higher education to his Western Slope students.

“A lot of our kids’ families don’t see a way they’ll be able to make college work financially,” Brown said. “This opens up doors and provides them an opportunity.”

After Marshall explained that CMU would guarantee an early financial aid package and had available scholarship opportunities, Brown said his students — predominantly Hispanic with lower socioeconomic backgrounds — lined up to ask Marshall questions about the possibility of college.

“A lot of our students have never been out of the valley,” Brown said. “You have to raise the awareness that college is possible for them, and I appreciate CMU showing students the possibilities.”

Marshall also traveled to Aurora West College Preparatory School, a metro Denver school with a large immigrant student population, to spread the word there.

“You could see among some of our juniors, it realigned the idea to them that college was within their reach,” said Ryan Adams, the school’s principal.

Aurora West this year had among the highest FAFSA completion rates in Colorado, with almost half of the school’s applicable students filling out their forms. Adams attributes that to Marshall’s visit.

Courage and calculations

CMU’s own FAFSA completion likely was boosted by the initiative, too.

During a year when institutions across the state and nation saw FAFSA completion plummet amid turmoil over the updated form’s rollout, CMU only saw an overall 0.5% decline compared to last year and a 0.5% increase in FAFSA submissions among new students, according to university data.

Comparatively, the country has seen a 10.9% decrease in FAFSA completion this year compared to last, according to the most recent data from the . Colorado has seen a 9.9% decline in FAFSA completion, the data showed.

CMU leaders received inquiries from other universities asking how they were putting out aid offers before the federal government, Marshall said.

The money the university ended up owing from its miscalculation was worth it, Marshall said.

“Hundreds of kids are going to college that maybe wouldn’t have gone anywhere otherwise,” Marshall said.

CMU’s freshman class is so full that some students will be starting out the year living in hotels rather than dorm rooms, Marshall said.

“I would argue this initiative is not the kind of thing you do unless there’s a really deep sense of common purpose across the institution at all levels,” Marshall said. “Everyone was on board and made it happen in a few weeks. That’s courage.”

BASKETBALL

Canyon Barry

Specialty: 3×3 (guard)

Colorado connection: Graduate of Cheyenne Mountain High in Colorado Springs

What to know: Barry is the son of Basketball Hall of Famer Rick Barry and known for his “granny style” free-throw shooting.

Competing: vs. Serbia July 30; vs. Poland July 31; vs. Lithuania, vs. Latvia Aug. 1; vs. France and vs. China Aug. 2; vs. Netherlands Aug. 4

Results: Team USA was eliminated Aug. 4 after a 21-6 loss to Netherlands. Barry scored 16 of the Americans’ 21 points 21 points in a win over France, then dropped 14 more in a 21-17 victory over China. The U.S. went 2-5 in pool play.

Jimmer Fredette

Specialty: 3×3 (guard)

Colorado connection: Littleton resident

What to know: A unanimous national college player of the year at BYU, Fredette played six seasons in the NBA.

Competing: vs. Serbia July 30; vs. Poland July 31; vs. Lithuania, vs. Latvia Aug. 1; vs. France and vs. China Aug. 2; vs. Netherlands Aug. 4

Results: Team USA was eliminated Aug. 4 after a 21-6 loss to Netherlands. After their opening loss to Serbia, Fredette was injured in the second game, a loss to Poland, and the team was forced to play the next five games without him. Fredette later revealed on social media that he has two torn ligaments in his adductor, calling the injury “devastating.”

Nikola Jokic (Serbia)

Specialty: 5×5 (center)

Colorado connection: Reigning NBA MVP and starting center for the Nuggets

What to know: Have you heard this guy likes horses?

Competing: vs. United States, 1 p.m. Thursday; bronze/gold medal game Aug. 10

Results: The Serbians went 2-1 in pool play, with their only loss coming against the United States in their opening game of the tournament. The two will meet again in the semifinals of the single-elimination bracket on Thursday (1 p.m.) after Serbia outlasted Australia, 95-90, in overtime of their quarterfinal meeting. Jokic averaged 19.3 points, 11.8 rebounds and 7.5 assists on 60.4% shooting through the first four games.

Nick Kay (Australia)

Specialty: 5×5 (forward)

Colorado connection: Starred at Metro State from 2011-15, leading the team to four Division II NCAA Tournament appearances, including two Final Fours.

What to know: Kay is one of many Australian stars who played for the Roadrunners over the years, which included former Olympians David Barlow and Mark Worthington.

Competing: vs. Spain, July 27; vs. Canada, July 30; vs. Greece, Aug. 2; vs. Serbia (quarterfinal), Aug. 6

Results: Australia was eliminated by Serbia 95-90, in overtime of their quarterfinal meeting.

Jamal Murray (Canada)

Specialty: 5×5 (guard)

Colorado connection: 2023 NBA champion with the Denver Nuggets

What to know: Team Canada also features familiar names like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Dillon Brooks, RJ Barrett, and Kelly Olynyk.

Competing: vs. Greece June 27; vs. Australia June 30; vs. Spain Aug. 3; vs. France (quarterfinal), Aug. 6

Results: Murray and the Canadian national team were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the single-elimination bracket by host France in an 82-73 loss. Murray struggled in the loss (3-of-13 shooting, seven points, one assist three turnovers) and throughout his time in Paris. Murray finished the tournament at 6.0 points, 3.8 assists and 2.3 turnovers per game, averaging 21 minutes in four contests. He shot 29% from the field and 14% from 3-point range.

Derrick White

Specialty: 5×5 (guard)

Colorado connection: Graduate of Legend High in Parker, played at UCCS and CU

What to know: It����ap been a big year already for White, who won an NBA championship with the Boston Celtics in June and signed a $118 million contract extension a few weeks later.

Competing: vs. Serbia July 28; vs. South Sudan July 31; vs. Puerto Rico Aug. 3; vs. Brazil (quarterfinal) Aug. 6; vs. Serbia (semifinal) Aug. 8; bronze/gold medal game Aug. 10

Results: White has been a consistent contributor for the undefeated Americans, averaging 18.1 minutes per game with 4.8 points, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals. The United States will face Serbia for the second time Thursday (1 p.m.) in the semifinals for a spot in the gold medal game.

Essential reading:

• Colorado native, Celtics guard Derrick White reflects on being an NBA champion: “I’m super thankful.”
• Keeler: Derrick White proud to tick one box Chauncey Billups never did: repping Colorado, Denver at Summer Olympics.

CYCLING

Riley Amos

Specialty: Mountain bike

Colorado connection: Lists Denver as hometown, trains in Durango

What to know: Amos and Christopher Blevins are hoping to end the Americans’ 12-year Olympic medal drought in mountain biking. The U.S. has never won gold.

Competing: Men’s cross-country, July 28-29

Results: Amos finished seventh, the highest of any American in the race, with a time of 1:28:08. Gold medal winner Thomas Pidcock, of Great Britain, finished in 1:26:22.

Christopher Blevins

Specialty: Mountain bike

Colorado connection: Born and raised in Durango

What to know: Blevins is looking to improve on his performance at the Tokyo Olympics, where he finished 14th.

Competing: Men’s cross-country, July 28-29

Results: Blevins finished 13th with a time of 1:29:06.

Savilia Blunk

Specialty: Mountain bike

Colorado connection: Attended Fort Lewis College, now trains in Durango

What to know: This four-time elite national champion is a first-time Olympian.

Competing: Women’s cross-country, July 28

Results: Blunk finished 12th with a time of 1:31:52. Teammate Haley Batten took silver at 1:28:59, behind winner Pauline Ferrand Prevot, of France, at 1:26:02.

Olivia Cummins

Specialty: Road and track

Colorado connection: From Fort Collins, currently competes for Colorado Mesa University

What to know: Cummins is believed to be the first active CMU athlete to compete in the Olympics.

Competing: Women’s team pursuit Aug. 6-7

Chloé Dygert

Specialty: Road and track

Colorado connection: Lives and trains in Colorado Springs

What to know: Dygert����ap comeback from a 2020 crash that nearly severed her leg has been full of setbacks. In addition to multiple surgeries, in 2022 was diagnosed with Epstein-Barr virus, which causes severe fatigue. She underwent heart surgery to correct an arrhythmia.

Competing: Women’s time trial July 27; women’s road race Aug. 4; women’s team pursuit Aug. 6-7

Results: Despite a disappointing crash in the time trial, Dygert took home bronze with a time of 41:10.70. Another crash derailed her hopes of medaling in the road race, finishing 15th in 4:03:03. Teammate Kristen Faulkner took gold with a 3:59:23. Capped off Olympics by winning gold in the team pursuit competition with Lily Williams, Kristen Faulkner and fellow Colorado Springs resident Jennifer Valente. The foursome took down New Zealand (4:04.927) in a time of 4 minutes, 4.306 seconds.

Grant Koontz

Specialty: Road and track

Colorado connection: Lives in Nederland, rides professional for Denver Disruptors

What to know: You’ll recognize this Texas A&M graduate by his distinctive mullet hairstyle.

Competing: Men’s omnium, Aug. 8

Jennifer Valente

Specialty: Track

Colorado connection: Attended UCCS, trains in Colorado Springs

What to know: America’s most decorated track cyclist, the San Diego native won gold (omnium) and bronze (team pursuit) in Tokyo and silver (team pursuit) in Rio. She is targeting Sarah Hammer’s record of four Olympic medals by a female American cyclist.

Competing: Women’s team pursuit Aug. 6-7; women’s madison Aug. 9; women’s omnium Aug. 11

Results: Began her Olympics by winning gold in the team pursuit competition with Lily Williams, Kristen Faulkner and fellow Colorado Springs resident Chloé Dygert. The foursome took down New Zealand (4:04.927) in a time of 4 minutes, 4.306 seconds.

GOLF

Wyndham Clark

Colorado connection: Born in Denver, Valor Christian graduate

What to know: Life’s been a whirlwind for Clark, 30, since winning both his first PGA Tour event (Wells Fargo Championship) and first major (U.S. Open) last year. The former Oklahoma State and Oregon golfer is expected to return to Colorado shortly after the Olympics for the BMW Championship, Aug. 22-25 at Castle Pines Golf Club.

Competing: Men’s stroke play, Aug. 1-4

Results: Clark finished tied for 14th within 11-under 273. Teammate Scottie Scheffler brought home gold with a 265.

Essential reading:

• After long road to rapid rise, PGA star Wyndham Clark eyes Olympic glory in Paris.

GYMNASTICS

Lynnzee Brown (Haiti)

Specialty: All-around

Colorado connection: Former All-American, co-national champion at DU

What to know: Brown, now an assistant coach at Penn State, will be representing Haiti in Paris.

Competing: Women’s qualification round, July 28

Results: Brown became the first gymnast ever to represent Haiti at the Olympics when she competed in qualifying. Despite beating the highest mark of her elite career, she finished 54th in the individual all-around rankings with a score of 48.832 and did not advance. She was No. 64 on floor, No. 70 on beam and No. 74 on bars.

ROWING

Jessica Thoennes

Specialty: Women’s pair

Colorado connection: Graduate of Mountain Vista High in Highlands Ranch

What to know: Thoennes and Team USA finished two seconds short of medaling in the women’s eight in Tokyo, then she didn’t make the eight boat for Paris. She’ll be looking for redemption in the pairs competition with first-time Olympian Azja Czajkowski.

Competing: Women’s pair, July 28-Aug. 2

Results: Thoennes and Czajkowski finished fourth.

SHOOTING

Rylan Kissell

Specialty: Rifle

Colorado connection: Graduate of Dakota Ridge High in Littleton

What to know: Kissell was a team and individual national champion at University of Alaska-Fairbanks. He just received his bachelor’s degree in business administration in May.

Competing: Mixed air rifle July 27; men’s air rifle July 28-29; men’s 50m rifle 3 positions July 31-Aug. 1

Results: Finished 13th in mixed air rifle, 35th in men’s air rifle and 38th in men’s 50m rifle three positions.

Keith Sanderson

Specialty: Pistol

Colorado connection: Lives in Monument

What to know: Sanderson spent eight years in the U.S. Marine Corps and is a three-time Olympian (2008, 2012, 2016). In 2021 he sued the Denver-based U.S. Center for SafeSport to keep his spot on the Tokyo team following a suspension for sexual misconduct. A federal judge dismissed the case.

Results: Finished 19th in men’s 25m rapid pistol.

Competing: Men’s 25m rapid fire pistol, Aug. 4-5

SOCCER

Janine Beckie (Canada)

Colorado connection: Born in Highlands Ranch and starred at Valor Christian High School

What to know: Beckie, 29, is playing in her third Olympic Games for Team Canada, having won a bronze in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and a gold in Tokyo in 2021.

Competing: vs. New Zealand, July 25; vs. France, July 28; vs. Colombia, July 31

Results: The Canadians reached the knockout round but lost to Germany in a shootout in the quarterfinals.

Lindsey Horan

Colorado connection: Graduate of Golden High

What to know: Now the USWNT captain, the midfielder won a World Cup with the U.S. in 2019 and a bronze medal in Tokyo. Horan & Co. will be tasked with getting that bad taste out of their mouths after last year’s Round of 16 exit from the World Cup.

Competing: vs. Brazil (gold medal match), 11 a.m. Aug. 10

Results: Has played in all five matches for the Americans, who went undefeated through group play and then beat Germany, 1-0, in the semifinals to set up a showdown with Brazil in the gold medal match on Saturday in Paris.

Sophia Smith

Colorado connection: From Windsor, Fossil Ridge High graduate

What to know: At just 23 years old, Smith’s resume already includes an NCAA title with Stanford, NWSL title with MVP honors with the Portland Thorns, and a World Cup appearance. The forward was the first player born in the 2000s to compete for the U.S. senior national team. Will she add Olympic gold this year?

Competing: vs. Brazil (gold medal match), 11 a.m. Aug. 10

Results: Smith has scored three goals through five matches, including the game-winner in the Americans’ semifinal victory over Germany. The gold medal game is next.

Mallory Swanson

Colorado connection: Graduate of Mountain Vista in Highlands Ranch

What to know: Swanson tore her left patella tendon in 2023, forcing her to miss the World Cup. The 26-year-old forward, who signed a record-breaking contract with the Chicago Red Stars earlier this year, scored twice in a 4-0 win over South Korea in last month’s friendly in Commerce City. If she’s back to her pre-injury form, the Americans should be in good shape.

Competing: vs. Brazil (gold medal match), 11 a.m. Aug. 10

Results: Swanson has three goals and two assists through five games for the Americans. Her through ball set up Smith for the game-winner in the semifinals.

Essential reading:

• Mallory Swanson after scoring twice in USWNT return to Colorado: “I was just super thankful.”

Djordje Mihailovic

Specialty: Midfielder

Colorado connection: Plays for Rapids

What to know: Mihailovic is one of just three players over age 23 on the U.S. roster, per Olympic rules. It����ap a sort of redemption for the 25-year-old, who played on the U23 team that failed to qualify for the Tokyo Games.

Competing: vs. France July 24; vs. New Zealand July 27; vs. Guinea July 30

Results: Despite producing one of the most memorable goals of the tournament, Mihailovic and the Americans were sent home with a 4-0 loss to Morocco in the quarterfinals of the knockout stage.

Essential reading:

• Rapids’ Djordje Mihailovic on Olympic team selection: “Shocked and excited.”

SPORT CLIMBING

Colin Duffy

Specialty: Combined boulder and lead

Colorado connection: From Broomfield, current CU student

What to know: At 17, Duffy was the youngest climber at the Tokyo Games when the sport made its Olympic debut, finishing seventh. Duffy, as well as teammates Natalia Grossman and Brooke Raboutou, have a chance to claim the first American sport climbing gold at the Olympics.

Competing: Men’s boulder and lead, Aug. 5-9

Essential reading:

• Trio of Colorado climbers in Paris Olympics reinforce Boulder’s status as sport����ap mecca.

Natalia Grossman

Specialty: Combined boulder and lead

Colorado connection: Graduate of Fairview High and CU

What to know: Grossman was watching stateside when sport climbing made its Olympic debut in Tokyo. Now she’s making history as the first Latina climber for Team USA. Grossman punched her ticket to Paris with a gold medal win at the Pan American Games last fall.

Competing: Women’s boulder and lead, Aug. 6-10

Brooke Raboutou

Specialty: Combine boulder and lead

Colorado connection: Graduate of Fairview High, trains in Boulder

What to know: Brooke’s parents, Robyn Erbesfield-Raboutou and Didier Raboutou, coached her, Duffy and Grossman on Team ABC Boulder. Raboutou was the eighth and final American to qualify for Paris.

Competing: Women’s boulder and lead, Aug. 6-10

SWIMMING

Emma Weber

Specialty: Breaststroke

Colorado connection: Denver native, Regis Jesuit graduate

What to know: Weber originally planned to attend the Paris Games as a spectator. Then she took second in the 100-meter breaststroke with a personal-best 1:06.02. The University of Virginia rising junior will join Cavaliers teammates Alex and Gretchen Walsh and two recent UVA alumnae in Kate Douglass and Paige Madden. About 25% of the U.S. women’s swim team — coached by Todd DeSorbo, who’s led the Hoos to four straight national titles — hails from Virginia’s program.

Competing: Women’s 100-meter breaststroke, July 28-29

Results: Finished eighth in her heat of the women’s 100-meter breaststroke.

Essential reading:

• Emma Weber finds home in water. Former Regis Jesuit star ready to embrace Olympic experience.

TRACK & FIELD

Valarie Allman

Specialty: Discus

Colorado connection: Graduate of Silver Creek in Longmont

What to know: The former Stanford All-American is heading to Paris to defend her gold medal in Tokyo. A 68.98-meter throw was enough to top the podium in Tokyo three years ago, but the 70.89 she threw at Olympic trials last month wasn’t even her personal best (that would be 71.46).

Competing: Women’s discus, Aug. 2-5

Results: Became the first American woman to win two gold medals in the discus, exciting fans in Stade de France and in Longmont.

Essential reading:

• Colorado’s Valarie Allman enters Paris Olympics on doorstep of discus history.

Valerie Constien

Specialty: Steeplechase

Colorado connection: Graduate of Battle Mountain in Edwards, ran at CU

What to know: The 28-year-old beat her personal best by 11 seconds to win at Olympic qualifying and punch a ticket to her second Olympics. Constien, who works full-time as a customer service agent for running tech company Stryde, also plays the piano and French horn.

Competing: Women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, Aug. 4-6

Results: Reached the steeplechase final and placed 15th in 9:34.08.

Elise Cranny

Specialty: 5,000 meters

Colorado connection: From Niwot

What to know: The former Stanford runner has been vocal about her struggle with relative energy deficiency in sports (RED-S), which affects athletes who (intentionally or unintentionally) do not eat enough food to fuel their workouts. Cranny says it’s a major problem in the distance running world, where athletes feel pressure to get faster by losing body mass. Now she mentors young female athletes through Voice in Sport.

Competing: Women’s 5,000 meters, Aug. 2-5

Results: Reached the 5,000 meters final and finished 11th in 14:48.06.

Anna Hall

Specialty: Heptathlon

Colorado connection: From Longmont, Valor Christian graduate

What to know: The top-ranked heptathlete in the world, Hall could be a breakout star in her first Olympics. Only six months after a January knee surgery, the former Florida Gator was at the top of the podium at Olympic qualifying.

Competing: Women’s heptathlon, Aug. 8-9

Essential reading:

• Keeler: Colorado’s Anna Hall, Team USA’s best Olympic comeback, says Denver “has special place in my heart.”

Woody Kincaid

Specialty: 10K

Colorado connection: Graduate of Columbine in Littleton

What to know: Kincaid’s trademark is his closing kick. In 2023, it helped him win the U.S. men’s 10K title with a time of 28 minutes, 23.01 seconds (fellow Coloradan Elise Cranny won the women’s race in 32:12.30) and secured him the North American indoor record (12:51.61) in the 5K.

Competing: Men’s 10K, Aug. 2

Results: Finished 10th in the 10,000 meters in 27:29.40.

Leonard Korir

Specialty: Marathon

Colorado connection: Colorado Springs resident

What to know: After growing up in Kenya, Korir ran at Iona College and then enlisted in the U.S. Army and joined its World Class Athlete program at Fort Carson. The staff sergeant competed in Rio in 2016, then missed out on a trip to Tokyo by three seconds. His status for Paris was up in the air as the third-place finisher at the trials in February with only two men’s marathon spots “unlocked” for the U.S. On June 4, Korir got word he was Paris-bound after World Athletics granted the Americans an additional spot.

Competing: Men’s marathon, Aug. 10

Hellen Obiri (Kenya)

Specialty: Marathon

Colorado connection: Boulder resident

What to know: Obiri won silver medals in 5,000 meters at the Rio and Tokyo Olympics. She placed fourth in the 10,000 meters in Japan. She made her marathon debut in 2022 in New York. Since then, she’s won the 2023 Boston and New York marathons and the 2024 Boston Marathon.

Competing: Women’s marathon, Aug. 11

Maor Tiyouri (Israel)

Specialty: Marathon

Colorado connection: Boulder resident

What to know: Tiyouri is competing in her third Olympic games, having finished 90th in Rio and 48th in Tokyo.

Competing: Women’s marathon, Aug. 11

TRIATHLON

Kirsten Kasper

Colorado connection: Lives and trains in Boulder

What to know: Before she got into triathlon, Kaster was a Massachusetts state champion in swimming (four titles), cross country (three) and track and field (two), and a scoring member of Georgetown’s national championship cross country team. She is married to Canadian Olympic triathlete Matthew Sharpe.

Competing: Women’s individual triathlon, July 31

Results: Finished 49th in the women’s triathlon in 2:06:38.

Taylor Knibb

Colorado connection: Trains in Boulder

What to know: A rare dual-sport Olympian, Knibb also qualified for two cycling events but resigned her spot in the road race to focus on the time trial and triathlon. At 23, she became the youngest person to qualify for the U.S. Olympic triathlon team and left Tokyo with a silver medal in the mixed relay.

Competing: Women’s individual cycling time trial, July 27; women’s individual triathlon, July 31

Results: Finished 19th in the women’s triathlon (1:58:37) and 19th in the women’s individual time trial (43:03.46), but capped her Olympics by taking silver in the mixed relay.

Morgan Pearson

Colorado connection: Ran at CU, lives and trains in Boulder

What to know: In May, Pearson became the first American man to win the World Triathlon Series since 2009, securing a trip to his second Olympic Games. He won silver in Tokyo with the mixed relay team.

Competing: Men’s individual triathlon, July 30

Results: Finished 31st in the men’s triathlon (1:48:26) but claimed silver alongside Knibb in the mixed relay.

VOLLEYBALL

Jordyn Poulter

Colorado connection: Graduate of Eaglecrest High in Aurora

What to know: A member of the U.S.’s gold-medal team in Tokyo, Poulter suffered a devastating knee injury in December 2022. The last 18 months have been a race for the former University of Illinois All-American to recover in time for Paris. A bone bruise sustained in June — just days after the U.S. roster was announced — on that rebuilt knee has set her back, and earlier this month the American setter wasn’t taking reps in six-on-six practice.

Competing: vs. Brazil (semifinals), 8 a.m. Aug. 8; Medal matches, Aug. 10-11

Essential reading:

• Aurora native Jordyn Poulter has been on 18-month race against Olympic clock recovering from “gnarly” knee injury. Now comes the stretch run to Paris.

Haleigh Washington

Colorado connection: Graduate of Doherty High in Colorado Springs

What to know: A Penn State alum who now plays professional volleyball in Italy, Washington once set a Colorado state high school record with 48 kills in a single match. The middle blocker helped the U.S. win gold in Tokyo.

Competing: vs. Brazil (semifinals), 8 a.m. Aug. 8; Medal matches, Aug. 10-11

WRESTLING

Kyle Snyder

Specialty: Freestyle (97 kg)

Colorado connection: Graduate of Coronado High in Colorado Springs

What to know: In 2016, the Ohio State product won an individual NCAA national title, world championship and Olympic gold medal — all before his 21st birthday. Now 28, he’s added two more NCAA titles, a pair of world championships and a silver medal in Tokyo. A gold in Paris would make him the fourth American wrestler to win multiple golds.

Competing: Men’s freestyle 97 kg, Aug. 10-11

Essential reading:

• Wrestler Kyle Snyder looks to become fourth American to win two Olympic gold medals.

Kamal Bey

Specialty: Greco-Roman (77 kg)

Colorado connection: Graduate of Pine Creek High in Colorado Springs

What to know: Part of the U.S. Army’s World Class Athlete Program, Bey is a culinary specialist based at Fort Carson.

Competing: Men’s Greco-Roman 77 kg, Aug. 6-7

Results: Eliminated in the 1/8 final with a 4-1 loss to Akzhol Makhmudov of Kyrgyzstani.

Essential reading:

• Greco-Roman wrestler Kamal Bey came to Colorado to chase Olympic glory. Now he’s ready to fulfill his dreams in Paris.