High School Kicker Wows Crowds with 50-plus-Yard Field Goals
Trevor Phipps
As the fall sports season reaches a conclusion, many local athletes are now celebrating their accomplishments, despite no playoff action.
Even though no Woodland Park team made it to the postseason ranks, the WP athletes recorded some amazing accomplishments.
The girls’ volleyball team has proven to be the most successful of local sports’ teams this year. However, they may have missed a chance at the playoffs due to one late-season loss.
The high school football team is basically already out of the playoff race, but some athletes have still had the chance to prove themselves like never before. A few players put up some amazing numbers and ranked high statewide.
Softball was the first fall sport to end, and the team did well when it came to non-league play. But they struggled when playing teams in their league and thus missed the playoffs.
The boys’ soccer team picked up some key wins this year. But they struggled when playing league teams and their numbers just didn’t look good enough to make it to the postseason. This was a familiar theme among most WP fall sports’ teams.
Girls Volleyball
At one point in the season, the Lady Panthers were sitting right at the cusp of making it to the postseason tournament. But then after a close, nail-biting 3-2 loss to Banning Lewis Academy, the team dropped considerable in rankings.
At press time, the girls held an 8-6 overall record and a 3-3 league mark. However, they ranked 42nd statewide in Class 3A, while only the top 36 teams qualified for the playoffs.
During the season, junior middle blocker Ava Vander Linden was ranked sixth statewide in 3A and second in the Tri-Peaks League with 47 total blocks. She has also picked up 63 kills and 15 serving aces during the season.
This week, the girls play on the road against the 9-7 La Junta Tiger on Tuesday. Then on Thursday they play their last home game against the 8-8 Florence Huskies. The Lady Panthers end their regular season with two road games next week against St. Mary’s and Colorado Springs Christian High School.
Football
The football team has fallen short against most of their opponents this season. Still, fans remember their impressive 29-2 defeat against their rivals, the Manitou Springs Mustangs. But unfortunately, that win remained their sole league victory of the season.
At press time, the Panthers had a 2-6 overall record and a 1-6 league record. The Panthers played their final regular season game at home last Saturday, but results were not available prior to press time. As a result, it is safe to say that the Panthers’ pigskin season is officially over.
Even though the season didn’t turn out how many fans had hoped, the team’s kicker stunned crowds with his strong leg, rivaling the achievements of NFL-level kickers. Junior kicker Barrett Absher already has college recruits eyeing him after putting away three super-long field goals this season of 48, 51 and 53 yards, respectively.
“We actually had a game against Palmer. I kicked a 48-yarder, and coach was like, ‘If you miss this, you’re never kicking one again,'” Absher told KRDO with a laugh. “It felt like a lot of pressure. But at the end of the day, I was like, I’m just going to kick it as hard as I can.”
Softball
The Lady Panther Softball team did see some success during the season as they picked up three wins in a row at one point and ended with an 8-15 overall record. But, with their 0-6 league tally and their number 34 rank, they missed playoff action.
But despite their playoff miss, some of the athletes put up some good numbers during the 2026 season. Senior shortstop Christine Renteria ranked in the top three in the 3A Tri-Peaks League in several statistical categories.
Renteria snagged first place in the league with six home runs and a 1.120 slugging percentage. She also took second with 24 stolen bases. She ranked third in the league with 30 runs and a .571 on base percentage.
Sophomore Tyler DiFabio was extremely impressive with a .500 batting average over the season. DiFabio also led the team with 27 hits and was second-best at touching home plate with 25 runs.
Boys Soccer
The Panther soccer team impressed fans early in the season when they started with a 5-0 win against Ellicott and a 3-3 tie against Sand Creek. But then the team was riddled with a lengthy losing streak.
At press time the WP boys’ soccer team had a 2-8-1 overall record with a 2-6 league tally. The team was ranked 59th, which basically puts them out of playoff contention.
Junior midfielder Payton Porter led the team with seven total goals and 16 points. Goalie Liam Rawson currently has 2.842 goals against average and 6.6 saves per game. He earned one shutout and racked up 66 total saves.
The soccer team finish their season this week with a home game against the 5-4-3 Manitou Springs Mustangs at 6 p.m. on Monday. Then on Thursday, their schedule says they play a “to be announced league cross over” team.
