With no help from the school, and without even receiving a varsity letter, the Monarch Boys Hockey Team placed at the national championships for the first time ever in 2000.
“It was really interesting because they opened the school in 1998 and when they first opened it, it was only freshmen and sophomores,” Ryan Katapski said. His first year at the school was his junior year, as he made the decision to switch from Boulder High School. He was the left wing on the brand-new, hand-picked Monarch boys hockey team.
“We were the pioneers of bringing it to the school,” he said. “We made it pretty popular. You know, we definitely weren’t the football team those first couple years, but we got a lot of people involved, engaged, and interested in it, and it was just cool to be in on the ground floor.”
Katapski’s team wasn’t even recognized by CHSAA at the time. Since the two other hockey teams in Colorado weren’t eligible to go to the USA Hockey Nationals, Monarch’s team was created, tryouts were held in March, and Katapski and his team packed their bags and hit the road on Apr. 28, bound for Dallas.
Their first night in the Lone Star State, the boys shut out the best team in Utah, 9-0. The next morning, they beat the best team in Texas, 2-1. As the tournament continued, they placed 3rd overall, becoming the first team from Monarch to not only compete, but also place at the national level.
In 2001, a young Micheal Kugler started his teaching career, working part-time on a temporary contract.
“It was a welcoming environment,” he said. “The staff was mostly young teachers, so it was fun to work with people my age. We all grew up together. We had kids together.”
A few years into his “temporary” job, Kugler led a Horseshoe Club, where he formed a friendship with one of his students, Matthew McAllister, class of 2000.
“I still think Kugler is one of the best teachers I’ve ever had,” McAllister said.
McAllister spent his time at Monarch on the speech and debate team, the ultimate frisbee team, and, of course, as a valuable member of the highly prestigious Horseshoe Club.
“We petitioned to have a horseshoe pit installed behind the tennis courts, and it was gaining traction, but we were seniors,” he said. “I think the administration just waited for us to graduate.”
While there is no state-of-the-art horseshoe pit residing at Monarch today, it’s not for McAllister’s lack of trying.
When McAllister wasn’t at school or involved in extracurriculars, he and his friends enjoyed hours of gaming, just like teenagers today.
“We all got home around 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., and everyone would log on a few minutes later,” McAllister said. “The internet had just been upgraded for Louisville to be on high speed DSL, so enough for the Xbox to run.”
In between regular high school activities, McAllister was able to start working towards what he was passionate about.
“We did an annual film festival, and I asked someone out to be my date to prom with a video, which was pretty cool,” McAllister said. “I organized a booth that was focused on raising awareness about global poverty, and that got a lot of students involved and excited about that.”
After graduating with the superlative “Most Likely to be President” in 2007, McAllister became a Colorado Buffalo.
“I learned more in high school than I did in four years of college at CU afterwards,” McAllister said. “I think the things that you could trace back for me all the way to high school is being interested in government, being really interested in tech, and trying to figure out how tech and government intersect and can make for more efficient services. That’s been a longstanding theme for me.”
McAllister was able to take his passion for government, technology, and advocating for others into his adult life. He started as an intern at the White House, even giving his favorite high school teacher, Mr. Kugler, a tour.
From there, McAllister served under the Obama administration for five years, working under the U.S. Chief Technology Officer.
Now McAllister is the CEO of a company called Solar APP+, making solar energy accessible for all consumers through the use of the company’s efficient software.
McAllister found success after Monarch by combining his long-lived passion for tech, the environment, and helping others.
“Anything is possible,” McAllister said.
