This Fort Collins volleyball player is Blue FCU's fall Preseason Top Girls Athlete
Fort Collins volleyball fans made their votes count, spurring Lambkins senior Caitlin Cripe above a crowded ballot and earning her top honors in the Coloradoan's preseason fan polling.
Congratulations to Caitlin and thank you to fans across the area for voting!
Cripe got 51.1% of the vote in a tightly contested race that featured several other volleyball standouts from the Coloradoan's preseason players to watch list.
Here's how the rest of the top five shook out in the fan poll:
2nd: Addi Forrest, Poudre volleyball (25.1%)
3rd: Kensley Story, Wellington softball (9.9%)
4th: Annabelle Loucks, Heritage Christian volleyball (6.5%)
5th: Vanessa Branchflower, PSD flag football (3.3%)
Cripe is Fort Collins' top returning net presence after a junior season that featured 70 kills and 44 blocks from a middle blocker role.
The senior will be looking to lead the Lambkins back to the Class 5A postseason after a rare one-year absence last fall.
Cripe is also a standout club player for the Premier Volleyball Club, using her 6-foot frame and 9-foot-5 approach jump to soar above the net and win contested balls.
The Coloradoan will have more fan polling for top players throughout the school year. Check coloradoan.com/sports every Monday and Thursday for nominees and winners in our weekly Blue Federal Credit Union Athlete of the Week series.
You can send in Athlete of the Week nominations every week to sports reporter Chris Abshire via email: ChrisAbshire@coloradoan.com.
Final poll results below:
Chris Abshire covers high school and community sports for the Coloradoan.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fort Collins volleyball's Caitlin Cripe voted Preseason Top Girls Athlete
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
WNBA MVP race: Has Napheesa Collier's injury affected her frontrunner status? Could A'ja Wilson, Alyssa Thomas swoop in?
League MVP awards criteria are a nuanced cocktail with an ever-changing recipe. No one approaches it quite the same as another, and the scales can swing night by night with more intel. Which is why a late-season injury to 2025 WNBA MVP frontrunner Napheesa Collier is so interesting in the context of this year's race. Consistency matters to many, and missing any significant stretch of time hinders one's candidacy. It's especially notable since a slew of contenders are making increasingly strong cases in Collier's ongoing absence. Collier, a 6-foot-1 forward and odds-on MVP betting favorite, entered the season as the top contender following a standout year in 2024. She finished second to A'ja Wilson, a unanimous winner whose season snapped league records. That set Collier up for success from the jump, and she lived up to expectations with another strong statistical season as the fulcrum for league-leading Minnesota (28-6) on both ends. She leads the league in scoring (career-best 23.5 ppg) and ranks top-10 in average steals (1.8, third), blocks (1.6, fourth) and rebounds (7.5). She's shooting 53.7% overall (11th), 36.8% from 3 and 90.8% at the free throw line (fourth). Those rankings drop a smidge in per-40-minute stats, a preferred stat for many to compare players' numbers. The bulkiest claim is her status as the best player on the best team. The Lynx (28-6) are running away with the standings at 6.5 games ahead of the New York Liberty and Atlanta Dream. But she missed her eighth game on Tuesday night in the Minnesota Lynx's 85-75 loss to New York at Barclays Center. Collier (sprained ankle) hasn't played since Aug. 2. To win MVP would set a precedent. No MVP in league history missed more than 15.6% of the regular season. Jonquel Jones won the 2021 honor despite missing five of the Connecticut Sun's 32 games while competing at EuroBasket. At eight games, Collier has already missed 18.2% of the full season schedule. She's played in 26 of 34 games. A ninth absence would be 20% of the season. The Lynx upgraded her availability to doubtful earlier in the week. Head coach Cheryl Reeve said they expect her back before the regular season ends on Sept. 11. There are no league-mandated qualifications for MVP. The NBA instituted a games-played threshold of 65 games — 79.3% of the regular season's 82-game schedule — for its awards ballots. Its implementation was meant to curtail load management for star players, an issue the WNBA hasn't significantly faced yet with a shorter schedule. Minnesota has kept winning in Collier's absence, another potential knock to her candidacy if one believes the MVP should go to a player whose presence is so significant that an absence would derail a contender. Minnesota is 4-1 without Collier this month, including two wins against reigning champion New York. They are 6-2 in games without her this season. As players around the league are showing, there's a final quarter to state their case for awards. It was easy to leave Wilson out of the conversation when the Las Vegas Aces were barely a postseason squad two weeks ago. Winners historically play on a team that finishes in the top two in the standings. But the Aces have charged into a tie for fourth, shifting the MVP bar of team success more in Wilson's favor. She became the first in league history to score at least 30 points with 20 rebounds and isn't far off from her historic 2024 stat line. She ranks second behind Collier in scoring (22.6 ppg), second in rebounding (9.9) and first in blocks (2.1) for a fourth consecutive season. And the three-time MVP overtook Collier in win shares, a category the Lynx star led handily before her injury. Wilson leads the league (6.6 to Collier's 6.4) after scoring 32 points with 12 rebounds to notch an eighth consecutive win for Las Vegas on Tuesday. Alyssa Thomas continues to cut her own lane in the history books. She has five of the league's 10 triple-doubles this season and nearly half of the 53 in league history (20). Her stat line is similar to that of 2023 when she won the most first-place MVP votes, but fell seven points short of winner Breanna Stewart. Her game style doesn't fit nicely into the historic MVP mold, and she's had to advocate to be seen as one. The knock is always the lack of scoring compared to other candidates, but she is once again averaging nearly a triple-double on the season with 16.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 9.1 assists. Unlike the other top candidates, Thomas is performing in a brand-new environment on a revamped roster in Phoenix. After an 11-year career in Connecticut, Thomas leads the Mercury in rebounds (8.6), field goal efficiency (53.9), and for the first time in her career, leads the league in assists (9.1). Though the guards always fall down the consideration list (no guard has won since Diana Taurasi in 2009), a few will receive down-ballot votes, which could impact a close race. With the 'ultimate green light' under first-year head coach Karl Smesko, Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray is having the best year of her professional career. The Dream are tied with the Liberty for the No. 2 seed as of Wednesday morning, with the most wins (22) since 2018 (23-11). Gray is third in win shares (5.9). Despite an injury-induced fall for the Indiana Fever, calls are coming for Kelsey Mitchell. Mitchell played in all 35 games through Wednesday morning with averages of 20.4 points (fourth), 3.4 assists and 1.6 turnovers. She's carrying the offensive load for Indiana and stepping up to fill voids left by three injured point guards, including Caitlin Clark. Mitchell finished tied for 10th in MVP voting last year. Sabrina Ionescu's availability bar is also nearly full as the most dependable starter of the New York Liberty's big three. She's averaging a career-best 19.1 points per game (fifth), but not as efficiently as years prior. Her 5.4 assists per game rank seventh, and she finished sixth in voting a year ago. It's difficult to parse out a league MVP from the loaded superstar crew in New York. Stewart finished third last year, but has also missed all of August with a knee injury.
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Thriller in Los Angeles: Kelsey Plum ruins Paige Bueckers career night
Thriller in Los Angeles: Kelsey Plum ruins Paige Bueckers career night originally appeared on The Sporting News Paige Bueckers lit up Los Angeles on Wednesday night, setting a new WNBA rookie scoring record with 44 points. The Dallas Wings guard remarkable performance wasn't enough to grab the win, as Los Angeles Sparks star Kelsey Plum buried a last-second shot to seal an 81-80 victory at Arena. Bueckers shines despite Dallas defeat Bueckers was nearly flawless. She went 17-for-21 from the floor, knocking down all six free throws and all four attempts from deep. She became the first WNBA player ever to score 40 or more while shooting 80 percent or better. While she carried Dallas, the rest of the Wings combined for just 31 percent shooting. Bueckers was responsible for more than half of the team's points, a rate not seen in the league since 2004 when Tina Thompson accounted for 56 percent of Houston's scoring. 'I've always trusted the midrange game,' Bueckers said. 'A lot of teams don't defend it. I think it gives me an edge.' MORE: Kelsey Plum backtracks after All-Star dig at Caitlin Clark Her 44 points tied Cynthia Cooper's rookie mark from 1997, the WNBA's debut season, and surpassed Candace Parker's 40-point game in 2008. The only Wings player to score more in a single game remains Liz Cambage, who set the franchise record with 53 back in 2018. Dallas coach Chris Koclanes praised his rookie's composure. 'She controls the pace. Defenses can't speed her up. For a first-year player, that's rare.' The Sparks improved to 17-18 and kept their playoff chase alive, while Dallas fell to 9-27 and is already eliminated. More WNBA News: Kelsey Plum backtracks after All-Star dig at Caitlin Clark Rickea Jackson's pre-game style shakes up the WNBA scene A'ja Wilson makes WNBA history in Aces win over Connecticut Sun Minnesota Lynx crush New York Liberty again Sophie Cunningham fills Caitlin Clark's point guard spot with huge stats Fever's Lexie Hull reaches huge milestone The latest on Angel Reese's back injury
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Astros at Orioles Prediction: Odds, expert picks, starting pitchers, betting trends, and stats for August 21
Its Thursday, August 21 and the Astros (69-58) are in Baltimore to take on the Orioles (59-67). Jason Alexander is slated to take the mound for Houston against Brandon Young for Baltimore. Baltimore and Houston just met August 15-17 and the Orioles won two out of three against the Astros. Baltimore met Boston since then and won both games, while Houston dropped three consecutive games to Detroit. The Astros have lost four straight games, while the Orioles have won the past three. Let's dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two. We've got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts. Follow Rotoworld Player News for the latest fantasy and betting player news and analysis all season long. Game details & how to watch Astros at Orioles Date: Thursday, August 21, 2025 Time: 7:15PM EST Site: Oriole Park at Camden Yards City: Baltimore, MD Network/Streaming: FOX Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out. Odds for the Astros at the Orioles The latest odds as of Thursday: Moneyline: Astros (-109), Orioles (-110) Spread: Orioles 1.5 Total: 9.0 runs Probable starting pitchers for Astros at Orioles Pitching matchup for August 21, 2025: Jason Alexander vs. Brandon Young Astros: Jason Alexander, (3-1, 18.00 ERA)Last outing: 3.00 ERA, 2 Earned Runs Allowed, 3 Hits Allowed, 0 Walks, and 6 Strikeouts Orioles: Brandon Young, (1-6, 5.68 ERA)Last outing: 0.00 ERA, 0 Earned Runs Allowed, 1 Hits Allowed, 0 Walks, and 6 Strikeouts Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type! Expert picks & predictions for tonight's game between the Astros and the Orioles Rotoworld Best Bet Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700. Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts. Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager. Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Thursday's game between the Astros and the Orioles: Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Houston Astros on the Moneyline. Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Houston Astros at +1.5. Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the over on the Game Total of 9.0. Want even more MLB best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert MLB Predictions page from NBC. Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Astros at Orioles Baltimore is 2-1 versus Houston this season Houston is 0-4 in the last 4 games Houston is 2-6 in the last 8 games Baltimore is 3-0 in the last 3 games Baltimore is 6-1 in the last 7 games The Astros have won 4 of their last 5 away games against teams with losing records The Under has cashed in 10 of the Orioles' last 12 games with a rest advantage over their opponents The Astros have failed to cover in their last 3 games against the Orioles If you're looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports! Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff: Jay Croucher (@croucherJD) Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper) Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) Trysta Krick (@Trysta_Krick)
