[recruiting-menu]
A on-going list of college volleyball commitments from high school athletes in Colorado’s class of 2015. Send additions, along with position and height, to rcasey@chsaa.org.
[caspio]http://b6.caspio.com/dp.asp?AppKey=d2f23000399b27c694424685ba44[/caspio]
A look at how football’s top-10 teams fared this weekend. Find complete CHSAANow.com rankings here.
A full scoreboard of all games is here.
All games are Friday, unless noted.
Go to: 5A | 4A | 3A | 2A | 1A | 8-man | 6-man
| Class 5A | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| RK | Team | W-L | Result |
| 1 | Valor Christian | 1-0 | W 31-7 vs. Central (Calif.) (Sat.) |
| 2 | Cherokee Trail | 0-0 | Bye |
| 3 | ThunderRidge | 0-0 | Bye |
| 4 | Cherry Creek | 0-0 | Bye |
| 5 | Pomona | 0-0 | Bye |
| 6 | Grandview | 0-0 | Bye |
| 7 | Ralston Valley | 1-0 | W 43-0 at Mullen |
| 8 | Columbine | 0-0 | Bye |
| 9 | Chaparral | 0-0 | Bye |
| 10 | Regis Jesuit | 0-0 | Bye |
| Class 4A | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| RK | Team | W-L | Result |
| 1 | Monarch | 0-0 | Bye |
| 2 | Denver South | 0-0 | Bye |
| 3 | Wheat Ridge | 0-0 | Bye |
| 4 | Pine Creek | 0-0 | Bye |
| 5 | Pueblo West | 0-0 | Bye |
| 6 | Vista Ridge | 0-1 | L 47-22 at Montrose |
| 7 | Ponderosa | 0-0 | Bye |
| 8 | Windsor | 0-0 | Bye |
| 9 | Mesa Ridge | 0-0 | Bye |
| 10 | Falcon | 0-0 | Bye |
| Class 3A | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| RK | Team | W-L | Result |
| 1 | Silver Creek | 1-0 | W 41-25 at Poinciana (Fla.) (Thurs.) |
| 2 | Rifle | 0-0 | Bye |
| 3 | Elizabeth | 0-0 | Bye |
| 4 | Pueblo East | 1-0 | W 35-15 vs. Lewis-Palmer (Sat.) |
| 5 | Conifer | 1-0 | W 14-0 at Glenwood Springs |
| 6 | Discovery Canyon | 1-0 | W 28-7 at (7) Pueblo Central |
| 7 | Pueblo Central | 0-1 | L 28-7 vs. (6) Discovery Canyon |
| 8 | Roosevelt | 0-0 | Bye |
| 9 | Holy Family | 0-0 | Bye |
| 10 | The Classical Academy | 0-0 | Bye |
| Class 2A | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| RK | Team | W-L | Result |
| 1 | Kent Denver | 0-0 | Bye |
| 2 | Platte Valley | 0-0 | Bye |
| 3 | Florence | 0-0 | Bye |
| 4 | Eaton | 1-0 | W 63-0 vs. The Academy |
| 5 | Bayfield | 0-0 | Bye |
| 6 | Brush | 0-0 | Bye |
| 7 | La Junta | 0-0 | Bye |
| 8 | Faith Christian | 1-0 | W 21-10 vs. Bennett |
| 9 | Grand Valley | 0-0 | Bye |
| 10 | Strasburg | 0-0 | Bye |
| Class 1A | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| RK | Team | W-L | Result |
| 1 | Cedaredge | 0-1 | L 42-28 at Eagle Valley |
| 2 | Buena Vista | 0-0 | Bye |
| 3 | Limon | 0-0 | Bye |
| 4 | Centauri | 0-0 | Bye |
| 5 | Wray | 0-0 | Bye |
| 6 | Monte Vista | 0-0 | Bye |
| 7 | Wiggins | 0-0 | Bye |
| 8 | Hotchkiss | 0-0 | Bye |
| 9 | Holyoke | 0-0 | Bye |
| 10 | Resurrection Christian | 0-0 | Bye |
| Class 8-man | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| RK | Team | W-L | Result |
| 1 | Hoehne | 0-0 | Bye |
| 2 | Granada | 0-0 | Bye |
| 3 | Fowler | 0-1 | L 20-14 at Sargent |
| 4 | Dayspring Christian | 1-0 | W 46-14 at Kiowa |
| 5 | Elbert | 0-0 | Bye |
| 6 | Walsh | 0-0 | Bye |
| 7 | Akron | 0-0 | Bye |
| 8 | Caliche | 0-0 | Bye |
| 9 | Dove Creek | 0-0 | at Simla (Sat.) |
| 10 | Hayden | 0-0 | Bye |
| Class 6-man | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| RK | Team | W-L | Result |
| 1 | Fleming | 0-0 | Bye |
| 2 | Eads | 0-0 | Bye |
| 3 | Deer Trail | 0-0 | Bye |
| 4 | Hi-Plains | 0-0 | Bye |
| 5 | Liberty/Stratton | 0-0 | Bye |
HENDERSON — Mother Nature threatened to ruin the 2013 football opener for Grand Junction and Prairie View, but the teams got the last laugh in staging one of the wildest games of the early season.
After a delayed start, the visitors walked off the field at 11:12 p.m. with a 61-42 win that resembled more of a 6-man football game.
The game was scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., but a severe thunderstorm prompted game managers to, wisely, postpone the start until 8:05. The teams started an abbreviated warm-up only to be pulled off the field by game officials for another delay. By the time the teams returned, it was nearly 8:45.
The Tigers opened the game by trying an onside kick, but Prairie View covered the kick. PVHS struggled on it first possession and GJHS’s Tanner Griffin blocked the punt and then recovered it in the end zone. PVHS got its first score when Anthony Prespotino recovered a muffed punt in the end zone. Jessica Dunn’s first of six PATs gave the Thunderhawks a short-lived lead at 7-6.
That started the scoring onslaught and created nightmares for both defenses. The score was 21-18 after the first quarter in favor of Prairie View and 31-28 Grand Junction at the half.
Grand Junction added a pair of scores early in the third, took at 46-28 lead at 9:37 in the third and thwarted numerous attempts from the potent Thunderhawk offense to start 1-0.
Both teams’ offenses had plenty of stars. The Tigers quarterback Tyler Heinsma threw for over 250 yards and three TDs. Theron Verna was a force in the game, scoring on passes of 73 and 22 yards and taking a pitch from Heinsma and sprinting 58 yards to score. Austin Lewis had three scores on a pass and two runs.
Not to be outdone, Prairie View’s RJ Martinez is a home run threat every time he touches the ball, especially on kickoffs where he amassed over 100 return yards and had an 80-yard kickoff return called back by penalty. Cole Barone had two scoreds on runs of 56 and 68 yards for Prairie View, while quarterback Ben Meraz added a 46-yard TD run of his own.
The live event will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.
[divider]
Valor Christian will have a different look when it opens the season on Saturday. The Eagles unveiled their new uniforms in a YouTube video released Thursday night.
Here’s the video:
And photos of the uniforms:
Valor Christian, a four-time defending champion, opens the season against Central (Calif.) at 8 p.m. Saturday. The game will be shown on ESPN2. As has been its custom during Zero Week over the past few years, the school built temporary bleachers on the far side of the field to create additional seating.
The game is the first for Rod Sherman as head coach. Sherman, also Valor’s athletic director, had been offensive coordinator since the school opened in 2007. He took over after former coach Brent Vieselmeyer left to become co-defensive coordinator at Houston Baptist University.
COLORADO SPRINGS — The biggest difference in Doherty’s gym as the 2013 volleyball season opens? It’s not the new championship banner watching over practice. It’s all the new faces.
The Spartans graduated seven seniors off of last season’s team which went unbeaten en route to winning the Class 5A title. In fact, just four varsity players return in 2013.
“It’s been terrifying, actually,” said Haleigh Washington, one of those returners. “It’s scary! Because last year, you’re in this comfort zone, there’s a bunch of seniors, there’s a bunch of upperclassmen.
“So this year, we’re in this new environment. We have younger kids, we have kids that need to learn. We have kids that kind of know what they’re doing, but still need to learn. So it’s scary, because we don’t know what the next step is.”
Early-season practice has completely changed from this point last season.
“Last year, we were able to focus on the strategy earlier on in the season,” coach Tara Hittle said. “This year, the main focus is on the skill and the technique of the skill. We’ll get to strategy a little bit later on.”
Hittle has three freshmen on the varsity roster, and moved a number of girls up from last year’s lower-level teams.
“There are a lot of unfamiliar faces, a lot of new people,” said senior Gabby Simpson.
But Doherty’s cupboard isn’t bare.
Washington, a Penn State commit, is the reigning Gatorade player of the year in Colorado. (The only other volleyball player to do that in Doherty’s history? Hittle, who also led the school to a championship in 2003.)
Simpson, a setter, is bound for Colorado State. Seniors Rachel Staudte, an outside hitter, and Kaylee Bussinger, the libero, also return experience.
“It’s a pretty big change,” Hittle said. “However, in the returners that we have, we have four good players.”
The seniors have each embraced a leadership role.
“You’re the leader now, you’re the top dog,” Bussinger said. “You want to show them how we do things on varsity.”
Added Washington: “We try to explain to them things you wouldn’t typically picture in a winning team. We don’t say, ‘You need to hit hard,’ and ‘You need to pass the ball perfectly.’ It’s things like, ‘You need to be confident in yourself,’ ‘You need to know that you can do what we teach you,’ ‘You need to be willing to learn,’ or ‘You need to be willing to change what you already do.’ ”
Despite graduation’s impact, Doherty opened the season atop CHSAANow.com’s 5A volleyball poll on Monday. It’s yet another challenge added to an early season full of them.
“It’s a lot of pressure and everything to hold up to,” Bussinger said, “but, sure, give us that, we’ll try to defend it.”
“We have a target on our back, definitely,” Staudte said.
The Spartans begin the season on Aug. 31 at home against No. 2 Grandview, the team they beat in the 2012 final which graduated just one senior. It makes for a quick test.
“Are we going to go 29-0 (again) this season? Probably not,” Hittle said. “Is that the goal? Yeah, we would love to. But I’m not so concerned with how we do at the beginning of the season. I’m more concerned about us learning and growing. I would love to win the last game of the season.”
Three defending champions head the preseason boys cross country polls released on Tuesday.
Mountain Vista (5A), Coronado (4A) and Lyons (2A) won championships in their respective classifications last season and opened 2013 at the top spot in the Colorado Track XC/CHSAANow.com boys cross country rankings.
Frontier Academy is the top-ranked team in 3A.
[divider]
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org.
| Class 5A | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | PTS | PVS |
| 1 | Mountain Vista (6) | 75 | – |
| 2 | Boulder (1) | 65 | – |
| 3 | Fort Collins | 61 | – |
| 4 | Cherry Creek (1) | 50 | – |
| 5 | Thornton | 48 | – |
| 6 | Monarch | 46 | – |
| 7 | Arapahoe | 35 | – |
| 8 | Rock Canyon | 29 | – |
| 9 | Dakota Ridge | 13 | – |
| 10 | Heritage | 7 | – |
| Others receiving votes: | |||
| ThunderRidge 5, Pomona 3, Fossil Ridge 2, Rampart 1. | |||
| Class 4A | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | PTS | PVS |
| 1 | Coronado (5) | 77 | – |
| 2 | Pueblo West (2) | 65 | – |
| 3 | The Classical Academy (1) | 61 | – |
| 4 | Thompson Valley | 44 | – |
| 5 | Durango | 42 | – |
| 6 | Air Academy | 36 | – |
| 7 | Cheyenne Mountain | 32 | – |
| 8 | Broomfield | 31 | – |
| 9 | Palmer Ridge | 30 | – |
| 10 | Centaurus | 10 | – |
| Others receiving votes: | |||
| Eagle Valley 6, Battle Mountain 5, Evergreen 1. | |||
| Class 3A | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | PTS | PVS |
| 1 | Frontier Academy (4) | 56 | – |
| 2 | Salida | 52 | – |
| 3 | Lamar (2) | 38 | – |
| 4 | Estes Park | 37 | – |
| 5 | Holy Family | 33 | – |
| 6 | Faith Christian | 32 | – |
| 7 | Peak to Peak | 23 | – |
| 8 | Pagosa Springs | 17 | – |
| 9 | Bayfield | 13 | – |
| 10 | Alamosa | 12 | – |
| Others receiving votes: | |||
| Sterling 6, Buena Vista 4, Aspen 2, Brush 2, Platte Canyon 2, Gunnison 1. | |||
| Class 2A | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | PTS | PVS |
| 1 | Lyons (7) | 70 | – |
| 2 | Crested Butte | 63 | – |
| 3 | Vanguard | 52 | – |
| 4 | Telluride | 43 | – |
| 5 | Hotchkiss | 39 | – |
| 6 | Rocky Ford | 33 | – |
| 7 | Mancos | 23 | – |
| 8 | Wiggins | 15 | – |
| 9 | Alexander Dawson | 14 | – |
| 10 | Custer County | 13 | – |
| Others receiving votes: | |||
| Skyview Academy 7, Resurrection Christian 6, Del Norte 3, Antonito 2, Rye 2. | |||
Fort Collins (5A) and The Classical Academy (4A) are among top-ranked teams in the Colorado Track XC/CHSAANow.com girls cross country preseason rankings.
[divider]
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org.
| Class 5A | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | PTS | PVS |
| 1 | Fort Collins (6) | 78 | – |
| 2 | Monarch (2) | 74 | – |
| 3 | Cherry Creek | 61 | – |
| 4 | ThunderRidge | 47 | – |
| 5 | Fairview | 46 | – |
| 6 | Pine Creek | 38 | – |
| 7 | Fossil Ridge | 37 | – |
| 8 | Boulder | 18 | – |
| 9 | Grandview | 17 | – |
| 10 | Mountain Vista | 16 | – |
| Others receiving votes: | |||
| Arapahoe 5, Loveland 5. | |||
| Class 4A | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | PTS | PVS |
| 1 | The Classical Academy (7) | 76 | – |
| 2 | Coronado | 64 | – |
| 3 | Thompson Valley | 62 | – |
| 4 | Air Academy (1) | 61 | – |
| 5 | Battle Mountain | 40 | – |
| 6 | Broomfield | 38 | – |
| 7 | Evergreen | 33 | – |
| 8 | Niwot | 20 | – |
| 9 | Summit | 19 | – |
| 10 | Cheyenne Mountain | 10 | – |
| Others receiving votes: | |||
| Centaurus 5, Mountain View 5, Durango 3, Glenwood Springs 2, Palmer Ridge 2, Golden 1. | |||
| Class 3A | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | PTS | PVS |
| 1 | Salida (3) | 48 | – |
| 2 | Frontier Academy (1) | 42 | – |
| 3 | Holy Family (1) | 41 | – |
| 4 | Estes Park | 34 | – |
| 5 | Colorado Academy | 31 | – |
| 6 | Peak to Peak | 27 | – |
| 7 | Moffat County | 20 | – |
| 8 | Kent Denver | 15 | – |
| 9 | Pagosa Springs | 9 | – |
| 10 | Alamosa | 7 | – |
| Others receiving votes: | |||
| Aspen 2. | |||
| Class 2A | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | PTS | PVS |
| 1 | Hotchkiss (6) | 69 | – |
| 2 | Lyons (1) | 60 | – |
| 3 | Denver Christian | 53 | – |
| 4 | Paonia | 46 | – |
| 5 | Vanguard | 45 | – |
| 6 | Nederland | 40 | – |
| 7 | Resurrection Christian | 27 | – |
| 8 | Liberty Common | 11 | – |
| 9 | Sargent | 8 | – |
| 10 | Heritage Christian | 6 | – |
| Others receiving votes: | |||
| Yuma 6, Rocky Ford 5, Crested Butte 4, Skyview Academy 3, Alexander Dawson 2, Peyton 1. | |||
CHSAA staff held a conference call with music adjudicators on Wednesday. A full replay of that call is below.
Included:
See also: Our year by year participation database in Colorado
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Participation in high school sports increased for the 24th consecutive year in 2012-13 and passed the 7.7 million mark for the first time, according to the annual High School Athletics Participation Survey conducted by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS).
Based on figures from the 51 NFHS-member state high school associations, which includes the District of Columbia, sports participation for the 2012-13 school year reached an all-time high of 7,713,577 participants – an increase of 21,057 from the previous year.
An additional 15,190 girls participated in high school sports last year, moving the girls all-time record to 3,222,723 and marking the 24th consecutive year for an increase in the number of female participants. After its first decrease in 20 years last year, boys participation started on the upswing again with an additional 5,867 participants. The boys total of 4,490,854 is second all-time to the 4,494,406 in 2010-11.
“While we recognize that many schools are experiencing challenges with funding high school sports programs, we are encouraged that schools are responding to the challenges and that more and more students are involved in high school sports,” said Bob Gardner, NFHS executive director. “Playing sports within the school setting continues to be the desire of more than 55 percent of students enrolled in our nation’s high schools.”
Eight of the top 10 girls sports registered increases in participation in 2012-13, led by competitive spirit squads (8,201), outdoor track and field (4,172), and swimming and diving (3,536). Lacrosse, cross country, volleyball, soccer and tennis also had additional female participants, while basketball and fast-pitch softball had minor declines.
Five of the top 10 boys sports showed increases in participation, led by outdoor track and field (5,044), swimming and diving (4,354), and basketball (3,387). Cross country and baseball also registered gains among top 10 sports.
Eleven-player football remains the top sport for boys with 1,086,627 participants in 2012-13, although the number of players has decreased slightly each of the past four years, including a drop of 9,366 from 2011-12 to 2012-13.
In terms of combined participation, track and field, and swimming and diving registered the best overall gains. Track and field had an increase of more than 9,100 participants when combining girls and boys, while swimming and diving was up almost 8,000 participants.
Girls sports outside the top 10 that recorded increases in participants and could be emerging sports for females are bowling (25,450 participants in 2012-13), ice hockey (9,447), wrestling (8,727) and flag football (7,019).
A sizeable increase in “adapted sports” participation also contributed to the rise in 2012-13 figures. With seven states offering these programs for students with disabilities in 14 sports, the number of participants rose almost 3,000 to 8,747 (girls and boys combined).
The top 10 states by participants remained in the same order as last year, with Texas and California topping the list with 798,333 and 777,545, respectively. The remainder of the top 10 was New York (389,475), Illinois (339,944), Ohio (327,919), Pennsylvania (315,492), Michigan (304,438), New Jersey (270,423), Florida (243,397) and Minnesota (230,421). Although only one of the top 10 states registered an increase in participation (New Jersey), overall, 30 states reported higher figures from the previous year.
The participation survey has been compiled since 1971 by the NFHS through numbers it receives from its member associations. The complete 2012-13 High School Athletics Participation Survey is attached in PDF format and is available on the NFHS Web site at www.nfhs.org.