Former CHSAA assistant commissioner Borgmann remembered

Rice Krispy treats, service to others called part of his legacy

BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

AURORA -- Callie Kryder said the people who attended a celebration of life service for her late father, former Colorado High School Activities assistant commissioner Bert Borgmann, knew him for di erent reasons.

“But I’d like to tell you a few things that he loved that you didn’t know about,” she said March 4 at Smoky Hill United Methodist Church in Aurora.

“He loved Rice Krispy treats and Diet Coke. Every time we went somewhere, he’d stop at a gas station, buy a

20-ounce Diet Coke and one of those foot-long Rice Krispy treats.”

Bert Borgmann died from complications of hip surgery in January. He spent 33 years at CHSAA before retiring in 2021.

His brother, Bruce, was 15 months younger than Borgmann.

“It made us more than brothers,” he said. “We could be sidekicks .. and even friends. ere were times when we didn’t get along, and our parents made us get along.”

Bruce Borgmann’s “issues” were with his brother’s employment at CHSAA. Bruce Borgmann said once people recognized his last name, they started peppering him with complaints about CHSAA, his brother and high school athletics/activities in general.

“I’d have to stop them and say, ‘I don’t work at CHSAA,’” Bruce Borg- team. We didn’t.”

“It snowballed,” hill said. “Shots we normally would make weren’t falling.” mann said. “I’d say, ‘Call Bert.’ ey never did.”

“You often don’t meet your heroes. ey often disappoint you,” said Bert Borgmann’s son, Logan. “I was raised by my hero. I learned how to break bad news to people, how to best present myself. I paid attention to what he said and how he said it. He never missed a chance to make memories with us. Every place he took us was a chance to learn.”

Bert Borgmann loved cheese-andcracker snacks, books (“He eventually moved to an e-reader. He thought it would save the rainforest,” Kryder said) Southwestern art and wooden spoons.

“He loved his cell phone. He was always on the phone. He was on the phone while having a conversation with you,” Kryder said.

Kryder said her dad also loved e Hallmark Channel, long drives and and Cameron and Christian Seifert. had a habit of not nishing sentences.

“He’d get halfway through a sentence, and you’d wonder, ‘and what?’” she said.

“He put me on a team in a scramble golf tournament. He said it was because of my power o the tee,” Logan Borgmann said of his dad. “I found out it was an excuse to spend more time with me. Maya Angelou said people won’t remember what you said but how you made people feel. at was dad. He made kids in the smallest towns feel like celebrities.” e family requests that donations be made to e Gold Crown Foundation or the CHSAA Foundation.

“I couldn’t have had a better partner than Bert,” Bruce Borgmann said. “I thank God for the time He gave us to have Bert in our lives. And if anyone asks if I’m his brother, I’m damn glad to say I am.” energy to start the game. We didn’t run our plays at all, and that is the best way for us to score the ball.”

With the exception of an early rstquarter lead, ERA played from behind.

“ ey came out with a little more energy,” Torres said. “ ey started hitting shots. When you fall behind early, it’s hard to dig yourself out of that hole. It’s unfortunate. We didn’t get out of that hole.”

“ ey put a lot of pressure on us, and we didn’t take it well,” added Hunter Hill, who was held to three points. “We have to get to the rim as a

Quintana hit three baskets from long range in the third quarter en route to his 16-point performance.

“If we play together, no one can stop us,” he said. “We’ve played together for so long. We know how to play o each other.”

“We honestly like having that chip on our shoulder,” said the Tigers’ Rocco Bridges. “It makes us try a little harder. We just have come out here and compete every night and get the win.” e Warriors will need to nd replacements for Hill, Torres, Allen Eli Garcia, Daniel Olivas-Rey, Michael Mignogna

ERA nishes with a mark of 21-6.

“It shows we were a good group of seniors,” Hill said. “We played hard. We played as a team.”

“I’m proud of this whole season,” Allen said. “We worked hard this season, and we all wanted the ring this year, too, especially because of the school’s past and how ERA had a losing record ever since they started. It’s good to see how much we have grown from freshmen to now.”

“We have a good culture here,” Torres said. “At one point, we had three wins (in a season). We showed we can build a program. We’re about to graduate, and we’re getting back-toback 20-win seasons. We care about each other. I only see this program going up from here.”