Top 2022 Picks: The celebrities, sports, and stories that mattered this year in Fort Collins

 Top 2022 Picks: The celebrities, sports, and stories that mattered this year in Fort Collins

What an amazing year 2022 was.

This past year, the sports community in the Fort Collins area had a particularly enjoyable ride.

There were remarkable and new stories proliferate, from the Rams' re-visitation of College basketball, a CSU legend resigning, new schools joining the prep conflict and a whirlwind of state titles for our neighborhood track stars.

The following are twelve stories that made a difference in our nearby games world throughout recent months:

The rams dance:

Around here, the 2021–22 Colorado State basketball team was one to remember.

The Rams, led by Mountain West Player of the Year David Roddy, a first-round pick in the NBA Draft, qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013. 6 seed, their highest Big Dance ranking ever.

It wasn't just the elite success or the 25-6 record that made CSU basketball so enjoyable.

The group highlighted an agreeable mentor in Niko Medved, simple stars to pull for and an unassuming list.

However, they also marked the official return of Moby Madness with thrilling victories over San Diego State, Wyoming, and Boise State at home.

This track is run by FoCo:

They were unable to withstand the spring snow.

Yes, our local track athletes absolutely dominated the Colorado state track and field championships in May. Fort Collins' Brooke Naughton won 5A Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year for her legendary performance, winning the state title in all three jumping events—the high jump, the long jump, and the triple jump.

The hardware was far from complete there.

The 5A triple jump and long jump titles were won by Fort Collins' Dantay Johnson and Poudre's Rhys Travis, respectively. Kevin Bruxvort of Rocky Mountain and Laura Davis of Fort Collins won the 5A boys discus and 5A girls shot put championships, respectively.

Jack Nauman won two distance events and Ainsley Stanton added another for Heritage Christian, which won both the 1A boys and girls team titles.

Isabel Allori and Brandon Bate won five individual state titles between them, leading Liberty Common to the 2A girls team championship.

We won't soon forget the Fort Collins track and field season in 2022 because so many medals were won.

Hilbert dries it:

Over the course of the past quarter century, a number of coaches have worked for CSU, but Tom Hilbert remained constant.

In November, during a loss to San Diego State in the MW Tournament, Ram fans finally had to say goodbye to the legendary CSU volleyball coach.

His final match was fittingly held at Moby Arena, where he transformed this team into one of the nation's best and most consistent teams with the support of a passionate fan base.

Yes, Hilbert will be remembered for his 18 MW titles and 23 NCAA Tournament appearances in a row.

However, Fort Collins may be more affected by his influence on the program's future and the fan base he built, which culminated in the first-ever volleyball sellout against CU in September.

Lucy Bell, who set records:

At her final state swim meet, the Fossil Ridge girls swimming star gave the best performance of her prep career.

In the 200-yard individual medley, Bell broke Missy Franklin's previous record of a decade, which was Bell's crowning achievement during her time in high school.

However, just for good measure, she won the 100-yard freestyle title 30 minutes later and then helped the SaberCats win the 400-yard freestyle relay championship with a stunning 2.5-second comeback on the anchor leg.

Best Female Swimmer in 5A? With his record-breaking match, Bell made it crystal clear.

 The Newcomer: Jay Norvell of CSU: