Who's in, who's out?: Tracking new Fort Collins-area high school head coaches for 2023-24
The 2023-24 high school year is ramping up as August arrives.
On the athletics side, that means we're approaching the fall sports season here in Fort Collins.
Just like every year, there is some turnover in the head coaching ranks among Poudre School District teams plus Windsor. However, it wasn't an offseason for heavy changes like in some years past.
Here's a look at the incoming and outgoing high school coaches in the Fort Collins area for the 2023-24 season:
(Note: This will be updated as winter/spring coaching hires are announced during the school year)
Fort Collins
Softball
In: Arica Abrames - The Fort Collins High School alumna takes over as head coach after being a volunteer assistant for the program.
Out: Keith Aragon - The longtime Lambkins coach retired after 30 years coaching with the Fort Collins softball and baseball programs.
Fossil Ridge
Baseball
In: TBD - A hire has not been made yet.
Out: Ted Bergquist - After one season as Fossil Ridge head coach and several as an assistant, Bergquist moved to Illinois to coach junior college baseball.
Girls basketball
In: Heather Haanen-Roark - The former Colorado State women's basketball player (1997-2001) takes over the SaberCats program.
Out: Jamie Menefee - The four-year SaberCats head coach and longtime assistant stepped away from the head coaching gig after a 66-25 run that included two Great 8 trips.
Football
In: Chris Tedford - Tedford takes over as the SaberCats' new head man after a 17-30 stint at Thompson Valley in Loveland that included the program's second playoff appearance since 2005. He was also a Fossil Ridge assistant for three years from 2014-16.
Out: Jeff Fulton - The school parted ways with Fulton after four seasons and a 19-20 record that included two playoff appearances and a conference title in 2021.
Boys/girls swimming
In: TBD
Out: Matt Murray (boys), Sarah Monk (girls): Both coaches resigned after the 2022-23 seasons. Monk was in her first season as Fossil Ridge girls coach, and Murray was the girls assistant and boys head coach.
Boys tennis
In: Doug Ruffin - The former University of Washington head coach in the 1980s and 1990s and Fossil Ridge assistant from 2018-19 was named the SaberCats' new head coach in May.
Out: Scott Martin - Martin spent three seasons as the SaberCats' coach, finishing with a 2022 campaign that included a state semifinal finish and an unbeaten regular season.
Girls tennis
In: TBD
Out: Mike Scimeca - The longtime SaberCats tennis coach has been the program's only head coach since it was started. Scimeca retired after the 2023 spring season.
Track and field
In: TBD
Out: Aaron Waters - Waters resigned after two seasons as head coach and eight as an assistant for Fossil Ridge to take a counseling job at Fort Collins High School.
Liberty Common
Boys basketball
In: Brad Richardson - The longtime middle school coach takes over the varsity boys program after several seasons coaching the Eagles' seventh- and eighth-grade squads plus assisting with varsity and JV.
Out: Malik Brooks - The two-year coach departs after a 16-26 record in two seasons that included one state tournament berth.
Girls basketball
In: Cassie Michaelsen (interim) - The 2021 Liberty Common graduate played soccer and basketball for the Eagles and she is the current interim coach.
Out: Jacob Guzman - The Eagles went 19-22 in a pair of seasons under Guzman, including one state tournament appearance.
Poudre
Boys/girls swimming
In: TBD
Out: Zack Mozer (girls), Henrik Andersen (boys) - The Impalas will be looking for a new swim coach on both the boys and girls side this school year.
Rocky Mountain
Football
In: Phil Underwood - The Lobos alumnus and 13-year assistant coaching staple on the Rocky sideline moves up from offensive coordinator to head coach. Underwood also played for Rocky from 1997-2000 and Adams State from 2001-04.
Out: Mark Brook - The longtime Rocky Mountain head coach stepped down after 18 seasons and an 89-95 record. The Lobos ended his tenure with a solid final season, going 6-6 and winning a playoff game.
Girls swimming
In: Kristal White - No further information was currently available on White, who Rocky Mountain athletic director Conrad Crist confirmed will be the new girls head coach.
Out: Joel Thompson - Thompson is still listed as the Lobos' boys head coach but not the girls coach after a season with four Lobos' girls finishing in the top-20 individually at the 5A state meet.
Volleyball
In: Ellen Buol - Buol takes over as Rocky Mountain head coach after a lifetime in the sport and five seasons as coach for the Rocky Select Volleyball Club.
Out: Nicole Jones - The Lobos went 34-30 and made two regional appearances in three seasons under Jones.
Timnath
Girls golf
In: TBD
Out: Kayla Garey - The former Fort Collins and Chadron State golfer was the Cubs' inaugural golf coach, as Timnath finished 10th in Class 3A regional action last spring.
Softball
In: Nate Lovato - Lovato comes to Timnath with plenty of local experience on the diamond. He's been an assistant varsity baseball coach or softball/baseball JV coach at both Fort Collins and Fossil Ridge over the last decade and was a Timnath softball assistant last season.
Out: Troy Tolar - The longtime local baseball staple helped get the Cubs' program started last season, as Timnath went 1-22.
Boys tennis
In: Kitson Broadbelt - An English teacher by trade but tennis aficionado for life, Broadbelt takes over the boys tennis program at Timnath for its second season.
Out: Joe Byers - Timnath only had five players in its debut season under Byers, including two players with winning records.
Wellington
Baseball
In: David Jimenez - Jimenez takes over for the program's second season after a decade-plus working for public institutions like PSD, CSU and the city of Fort Collins.
Out: Alvin (Lewis) Hastings - In the program's first season, Hastings helped the Eagles reach the Class 3A playoffs while finishing with a 10-14 record, including a 6-7 mark in league play.
Girls swimming
In: TBD
Out: Henrik Andersen - After helming the small-but-successful Timnath-Wellington girls swimming debut season last winter, Andersen took a position with Fort Collins Swim Team (FAST).
Wrestling
In: TBD
Out: Cole Zempel - The wrestling lifer helped get the Wellington program off the mat in its debut year for his lone season as the Eagles' head coach.
Windsor
Boys golf
In: Jeff Homann - Homann, a pediatric pharmacy specialist with Poudre Valley Hospital and avid golfer, takes over a Wizards program that is coming off a fifth-place finish at state last year.
Out: Jason Maddox - Maddox helped lead the Wizards to a fifth-place finish at the 4A state championships last season, including a second-place individual finish for Kellen Ball.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fort Collins-area high school head coach tracker for 2023-24 CHSAA season
