News Release
February 8, 2006
Smiley And Hamilton Middle Schools Claim Girls' And Boys' Basketball Championships
The Smiley Cougar Girls' Basketball team outran the Hamilton Huskies last night in front of a capacity crowd at the Bruce Randolph Middle School Complex to earn the title of Middle School Basketball Champions for 2006. The Hamilton Huskies battled hard and displayed some impressive defense against the Cougars. Eventually the Smiley Cougars outlasted the Huskies for the win 34-20. Samantha Sanders from Smiley showed impressive ball handling skills and contributed 14 points in the win.
The boys' championship came down to the wire with the team from Hamilton squeezing out a 45-39 victory over the Cougars from Smiley. Both teams came into the contest with undefeated records. Smiley used a late run to take the lead at the end of the third period 33-32. The score changed hands a number of times in the fourth period. Eventually Hamilton's Billy Sprague created a number of lay-ups for his teammates to take the lead. Lamont Turner and Billy Sprague contributed 23 and 14 points respectively.
On hand to present a check for $180,000 dollars to the Middle School Prep League Manager John Andrew were: Deb Dowling, director of Community Relation for Kroenke Sports; Gayle Walker of the McCormick Tribune Foundation; Mark Randall and Calvin Natt, Community Ambassadors for the Denver Nuggets; and Doug Fulton of Kroenke Sports.
The Denver Nuggets/Colorado Avalanche Prep League has been a success since its inception in 1997. By creating a sports league (volleyball, basketball, soccer, cross country, baseball, softball and flag football) for boys and girls in 25 DPS middle schools, more than 3,000 middle school students who maintain a C average or better in each class participate in 1,560 games in the league annually. The existence of this academic requirement helps students develop good study habits and appreciate the importance of maintaining good grades in order to have the privilege of playing organized sports.
The participating middle schools are: Centennial, Grant Ranch K-8, Grant, Hamilton, Henry, Hill, Horace Mann, Kepner, Kunsmiller, Lake, Martin Luther King Jr., Merrill, Moore K-8, Morey, Noel, Park Hill K-8, Place, Randolph, Rishel, Skinner, Slavens K-8 and Smiley.
The League is funded primarily by grants from the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche Community Funds, funds of the McCormick Tribune Foundation, IKON Office Solutions, and the Denver Public Schools Foundation.
The Denver Nuggets Community Fund and the Colorado Avalanche Community Fund are both funds of the McCormick Tribune Foundation, a charitable organization located in Chicago, Illinois. These two funds have together made grants totaling more than $1 million to the DPS Prep League since 1998. Through its Communities Program, the McCormick Tribune Foundation plays a significant philanthropic role in the metro Denver area. Since 1991 the Foundation has granted more than $130 million to area nonprofit organizations. In addition to the Colorado Avalanche and the Denver Nuggets, the Communities Program's Denver-area partners include the Denver News Agency, the Colorado Rockies, the Denver Broncos, and WB2 TV.
For more information, contact the DPS Athletics Department at 720-423-6170.