The Fossil Ridge Saber cats improved to 9-0, winning four games en route to victory in the Female Athlete Network tournament. 

On Friday August 27th, Fossil beat Discovery Canyon 14-0 and Valor Christian 3-1 to advance to the winners bracket. The next day, they would then beat Lakewood 9-2 and Legacy 9-3 to win the yearly tournament.

This continues a strong opening push from the Saber cats, as they remain undefeated and ranked 1st in Colorado.

The tournament was presented by the Female Athletic Network. The F.A.N. is dedicated to helping keep girls and women participating in sports. The tournament was organized by Fossil teacher Lisa McVicker.

“It’s been a great tournament, we’ve had some really good teams here, there’s been some really good softball…it’s great to see all the girls back…really happy with it,” McVicker said.

With such a large tournament, it is a long running process bringing everything together.

“I start in January with picking teams and we reached out to the top teams in Colorado…we’ve had teams from Oklahoma and Georgia…that’s really cool just to get some new competition in here,” McVicker said.

What separates the F.A.N Tournament from other teams is the high quality of teams, with multiple top 10 teams from Colorado and top level teams including one this year from Georgia. The high level of competition creates some great softball and teams playing their best games so far.

“I think they really appreciate being able to play some of the top teams and have a different format than just a regular high school season….the out of state teams also like to come and see how they stack up against Colorado teams,” McVicker said.

The biggest purpose behind this tournament is to support the Female Athletic Network, which has awarded 97 grants worth $50,500 over the past 11 years. These grants all go towards helping expand female sports, and adding more enthusiasm for female athletes.

“I’m passionate about promoting any opportunities for women and girls…athletics and softball are passion areas for me. I coached Poudre High School for seven years…this is kind of an extension of that, getting a tournament together…raise money that we give out 100% of [to high school players]…in basically opportunity gifts which are $500 towards the organization of your choice to help you pursue your dreams in sports,” McVicker said.

The yearly tournament has been so successful that McVicker and the F.A.N. are looking to expand their efforts.

“We’re throwing around the idea of doing a big school tournament and a small one…We’ve got quite a few smaller teams in Northern Colorado that are pretty good…so we’ve talked about putting together a small school tournament as well on a different weekend,” McVicker said.

Gallery • 5 Photos

A Fossil Ridge player safely diving into 3rd base