Athletes at all levels of competition put in a lot of time and effort to be their best. And while everything may not always go their way, the times when it does makes it all worth it. Colten Rother has put in the work and seen it pay off.

“It takes discipline, hard work, dedication and consistency in training in order to be successful,” he said. “The highlight of my career would have to be winning the Connie Mack State Tournament this last summer in Enid.”

Colton is a senior at Duncan High School, where he plays first base, third base, and is a pitcher for the baseball team. He is also a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at Duncan. Away from school, he is part of the sound team at his church and he is active in the church’s youth group as well.

Though the work has been important, Rother has had people that have helped shape him into the person that he is today.
“My biggest influence is Jesus Christ,” he said. “He is the core of my Christian faith. Someone else would be Tamara Hoyt, who was my English teacher my junior year. She is passionate about what she does and she was always willing to help me with any questions I had.”

While he and his teammates work hard to continue to get better, Colton says that there are some people that also deserve some credit.
“I don’t think there is an under-appreciated player on our team,” he said. “But I do think our coaches do not get the appreciation they deserve. The amount of time and work they put into our training and the grounds work to keep the field looking great definitely doesn’t get appreciated like it should.”

When he goes out on the field in his Duncan Demon uniform, Rother always wants to be a good student-athlete.
“I want to always represent my school, community and my family in a positive way every time I step on the field,” he said. “I want to demonstrate a good attitude and good sportsmanship when I play.”