For Thornton's two-time state heavyweight wrestling champion, Marcus Felker, the challenge to excel came early, and it came from his mother: "My mom was in the weight room a lot, so I set out to beat her." Marcus explains that when mom Liz Felker was a sophomore at Middle Park, she benched 215 pounds and squatted 365. "So, my first goal was to break her records." He got her in the bench when he was in eighth grade, but it took him until his freshman year to pass her in the squat. "The relationship between us is very competitive, but since I'm a pretty big guy, she kind of expected that I would eventually beat her." The one thing the son probably will not do is pass mom in the state championships category. He earned his two in wrestling, but she graduated in 1988 with a total of four, in the shot put and discus. This spring, he would have to win both those titles himself to equal her. Reflecting on his high school career and his football scholarship to Wyoming, Marcus gives all the credit to his powerful mama. "She is the biggest influence in my life. And she's what got me to where I am today."

RANGE OF RECORDS: "Phenomenal." "Impressive." "Arguably the greatest player in school history." That's how the Regis University athletic department describes basketball player Diana Lopez. Four years after she and her twin sister, Denise, won a state high school championship at Ranum, the two were selected first-team all-region. Diana is the all-time best at Regis in steals, three-pointers and points, with 1,996 for her career. The former Class 4A Ms. Basketball also is the only athlete in conference history to win Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors three consecutive years. Additionally, Diana was one of two women to represent Regis at the Sportswomen of Colorado awards banquet. She was selected the College Basketball Player of the Year, while Barb Schroeder, the state's first female college athletic director, was honored with the Sportswomen Leadership Award.