Spring sports officially start Tuesday

Spring sports officially start Tuesday

Feb. 17, 2001

BY JIM THOMAS
Journal Sports Editor

Although there is snow on the ground and the calendar still says it is winter, it’s time to think about spring.

The Colorado High School Activities Association’s spring sports can officially get under way with official practices this Tuesday, Feb. 20. The first track meets or baseball games can not be held until the first week of March.

All boys and girls who have not previously played in a prep sport (fall or winter cycles) need to fill out the proper paper work (parent release, physical, insurance waiver), pay any related costs, and come prepared to practice.

Montezuma-Cortez High School competes in boys swimming, baseball, girls tennis, girls soccer, and boys and girls track and field. MCHS will have two new head coaches this year. Monica Plewe takes over as head girls soccer coach, replacing Barb Cullington who resigned last year after a two-year stint, and Chuck Cotter, who replaces Jeff Bollinger whose teaching contract was not renewed.

Plewe, 27, grew up in a soccer family in "soccer-crazed" Southern California and Germany. She played at Irvine Valley College. At Irvine Valley, she was All-Conference and team captain. As a teen-ager, she played for the Mission Viejo Soccer Club, a winner of many national championships. As a player at Capistrano Valley High School, she was team captain, team Most Valuable Player, All-Conference and All-South Coast League. She also assisted at the high school and recreational level when living in Alamosa for a short stay.

Assisting her will be Cheryl Gilbert, a new seventh grade teacher at Cortez Middle School. Gilbert also has college playing experience. This will be Plewe’s first job as a high school level head coach.

Cotter follows his father’s basic philosophies regarding the sport of baseball and goes back to the way he was brought up playing it. He was raised in Los Alamos, N.M. His father, Chuck Sr., taught and coached there. So, it was only natural that junior would play for him and later follow in his footsteps and become a teacher. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Eastern New Mexico University. Cotter started his teaching and coaching career at Hobbs, N.M., and later went to back to teach and coach at Los Alamos. He moved to Safford, Ariz., before deciding the desert wasn’t for him and came to Cortez. Cotter, 33, was hired this past July to be head varsity baseball coach and assistant football coach. Bollinger, incidentally, is now the head coach at Class 2A Ellicott.

Ricky Carver will once again coach the Panther female netters. After taking the fall of 1999 off, he returned to coaching the boys last fall. Bob Archibeque will once again coach the boys while Doug Anderson will be back to coach the girls on the artificial track. Mark Knox will once again guide the boys swimming team’s fortunes.

Dolores and Dolores County will compete in baseball, and boys and girls track while Mancos will compete in boys and girls track and field only. Everything is status quo at those schools with no new coaching changes. At Dolores, Mitzi Wallace will led the boys and girls track program. Jim Everin will be back as the diamond coach. At Dolores County, Kati Banks will head up the boys and girls track and field team while longtime mentor Ken Soper will back guiding the Bulldogs’ baseball team.