Joseph Capra, a four-sport athlete who has been at the top of his game both in the athletic arena and in the classroom has stepped to the head of the class. “Cap” as he is known around campus has been a leader and standout for both the Denver South Ravens and the Denver East Angels. Excelling in football, hockey, track and lacrosse, Capra has demonstrated all the qualities representative of the prestigious Freddie Steinmark Award.
Joseph Capra is the 53rd recipient of the Steinmark Award, which was established in 1972 (there were two winners in 1976 and 1979). Joseph carries on the legacy and tradition of Steinmark Award winners. Through some research of Freddie’s story and speaking with family members, he learned of a connection to Steinmark of which he was previously unaware. Capra’s grandfather who played at Denver North in the 1940s was a teammate with Fred Steinmark, Sr. This along with other stories his family around the rich tradition of Colorado high school athletics, including ones of Freddie himself, set in motion Capra’s desire to learn more about the Steinmark Award. “With newfound awareness of the prestige and character needed to earn the award I did not, yet, possess elite standards but I designed a personal plan to increase my performance, work ethic and leadership skills to be considered for this award.”
Capra’s athletic achievements throughout his high school career have been exemplary, but he strived to be great in the classroom, in his school and his community. Academically, Joseph has a 4.59 weighted GPA and has earned the distinction of being an AP Scholar receiving passing grades on a multitude of AP exams. He has earned college credit for several classes through concurrent enrollment. Additionally, he completed the STEM Practicum program where he has focused on Engineering, Architecture and Drafting.
In school, he was involved in the South HS Navigator, National Honor Society and as a 9th grade Academy volunteer where he was a leader helping the transition of freshman to South. He also took on the position of sports anchor on the Raven Report, which is the school video news show where he enjoyed delivering the sport segment school wide.
The Colorado School of Mines Football commit, Joseph’s athletic accomplishments are also some of the very best, earning 14 letters throughout high school. A 4A first-team All-State quarterback as a senior and a two-time league MVP, he led his team to an 18-5 record the past two season which included throwing for over 4200 yards and 58 touchdowns and winning multiple league championships.
In a rare combo of athletic achievements, Capra is one of the top hockey players in the state and was the 2022 Colorado Player of the Year in Hockey helping lead Denver East to both a state and national championship. You read that right, Capra competed for the Denver Public Schools hockey team which is based out of East High School. Capra commented how great it was to play for the Angels. “It never felt like we were only playing for East, it was like we were playing for all of DPS and it was great to have students from all schools playing together and for all schools to unify behind our hockey team and support us.” Capra concluded his hockey career as a four-time All-Conference selection and a two-time All-State selection on the ice.
In his commitment to giving it all for high school sports, he continued in the spring. Capra balanced Track (4 years) and Lacrosse (2 years) while at South and fortunately practices were back-to-back and it was a short jog from the track to the field to make the commitment work. As a sprinter, he was a two-time all-conference runner in the 100m and the 200m once. He also was a state qualifier in the 4×100 relay. On the lacrosse field, he was a two-year letter winner and a top midfielder for the Ravens on a team that finished in the top 8 in state.
Denver South Football Coach Ryan Marini summed up Capra this way. “In the end, the actions of Joe Capra built a culture on our team and in our athletics department that few other student-athletes could ever claim. Our young players do not know any other way than the successful path Joe helped build… Joe’s career has and will continue to help kids. Denver South changes kids’ lives because of Joe Capra.”
The Steinmark Award was established in 1972 and honors Freddie Steinmark, who excelled in football, basketball, and baseball while attending Wheat Ridge High School in the 1960s. He was also an outstanding student and active in several school and community-oriented endeavors before attending the University of Texas, where he helped the Longhorns to the national football title in 1969. Freddie died from cancer in 1971 at the age of 22.
Dave Logan of Wheat Ridge High School, and now the extremely well-known sports announcer for the Denver Broncos and other sports endeavors, was the first winner of the award in 1972.
In 2022, Dallas Macias from Regis Jesuit received the boys’ Steinmark and Amanda Licht of Kent Denver was the recipient for the girls. The Colorado High School Coaches Association is proud to be the sponsor of the Freddie Steinmark Award and congratulates the athletes, and their coaches, who were nominated for this award.
Finalists for the 2023 Steinmark Award: Brady Collins, Wray; Michael Gerk, Haxtun; Walker Martin, Eaton.