Meet information for the 2016 state cross country championships:
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A complete list of individual qualifiers for Saturday’s state cross country meet.
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A roundup of Jeffco prep highlights, interviews and schedules with Jeffco Public Schools’ Communication Specialist for Athletics & Activities Dennis Pleuss. This month’s edition features softball, boys soccer, football, the Pomona Marching Festival and Jeffco League cross country championships.
LITTLETON — The original plan for Dakota Ridge sophomore Austin Vancil was just to stay with the pack during the Class 5A boys race during the Jeffco League cross country championships at Clement Park on Thursday.
In the end, Vancil was ahead of everyone.
“I just came in thinking I should stay in the back of the pack during the whole race and hopefully be able to keep up with these guys,” Vancil said. “I got up to the top of the final hill and I felt really good. I made the move and held it.”
Vancil edged Arvada West junior Colin Berndt by six seconds to claim the 5A Jeffco boys individual title. The sophomore admitted he was a little shocked with the victory.
“Of course I wanted too, but I never thought it would actually happen,” Vancil said. “That was pretty cool.”
The Wildcats were pretty cool for the third straight league championship meet. The A-West boys claimed its third-straight 5A Jeffco team title.
Berndt, seniors Max Sevcik, Justin Andrade, Marshall Haymond, junior Andres Perez and sophomore Drew Craig all finished in the top 16. A-West easily distanced itself from Dakota Ridge, who placed second.
A-West’s girls team claimed back-to-back team titles by placing five runners — Katie Doucette, Civianna Gallegos, Claire Pauley, Amber Valdez and Lucy Schroeder — in the top 9.
“It’s pretty exciting,” A-West cross country coach Todd Moore said of the Wildcats doubling down on league team titles for the second straight year. “All these kids were on last year’s team. I think we trained 49 or 50 weeks in the last year. These kids were here everyday working hard and trying to do it again.”
Lakewood sophomore Carley Bennett battled through the warm conditions to win the 5A girls individual title. Bennett passed Dakota Ridge junior Michelle Renner in the final 100 meters to win.
“I knew if I was already working that hard and already that tired I might as well work a little hard,” Bennett said.
On the 4A side, Green Mountain freshman Kasey Klocek pulled out the win in what was the closest finish of the four varsity races. Klocek raced past Wheat Ridge sophomore Tiya Chamberlin at the finish line to win by less than a second.
Evergreen girls claimed the team title edging out Wheat Ridge by a single point — 73 to 74. Senior Brandon Swenson, who finished second last year at the league championships, cruised to the 4A boys individual title for the Cougars.
“The race was great. I took it a little easy at the start,” Swenson said. “It felt really good.”
Swenson, who placed seventh at the state meet last year, is now eyeing a strong regional meet performance next week and has lofty expectations heading into state.
“My goal is top 5 at state or just win,” Swenson said. “That’s all I’m looking for.”
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Class 5A boys
Team: Arvada West 38, Dakota Ridge 59, Ralston Valley 86, Chatfield 88, Columbine 115, Lakewood 125, Pomona 218, Bear Creek 229
Individuals:
1. Austin Vancil, Dakota Ridge, 16:24
2. Colin Berndt, Arvada West, 16:30
3. Chase Dornbusch, Lakewood, 16:36
4. Jerod Kuhn, Columbine, 16:44
5. Max Sevcik, Arvada West, 16:52
6. Benton Meldrum, Dakota Ridge, 16:56
7. Justin Andrade, Arvada West, 17:00
8. Gavin Jones, Ralston Valley, 17:08
Class 5A girls
Team: Arvada West 33, Chatfield 70, Dakota Ridge 71, Lakewood 95, Ralston Valley 100, Columbine 162, Bear Creek 192, Pomona 242
Individuals:
1. Carley Bennett, Lakewood, 19:04
2. Michelle Renner, Dakota Ridge, 19:10
3. Hannah Mae Gigstad, Ralston Valley, 19:29
4. Katie Doucette, Arvada West, 19:32
5. Civianna Gallegos, Arvada West, 19:38
6. Sydney Williams, Chatfield, 19:43
7. Claire Pauley, Arvada West, 19:50
8. Amber Valdez, Arvada West, 20:17
Class 4A boys
Team:
D’Evelyn 49, Evergreen 54, Standley Lake 75, Littleton 108, Green Mountain 136, Valor Christian 154, Golden 161, Wheat Ridge 180
Individuals:
1. Brandon Swenson, Evergreen, 16:35
2. Trevor Smith, Standley Lake, 16:50
3. Weston Donati-Leach, Evergreen, 16:51
4. Christian Sapakoff, Littleton, 16:54
5. Lucas Jordon, D’Evelyn, 16:57
6. Jace Pivonka, Green Mountain, 17;01
7. Drew Seidel, Wheat Ridge, 17:04
8. Nate MacDonald, D’Evelyn, 17:12
Class 4A girls
Team:
Evergreen 73, Wheat Ridge 74, Golden 86, Standley Lake 90, Green Mountain 119, D’Evelyn 137, Valor Christian 138, Littleton 180
Individuals:
1. Kasey Klocek, Green Mountain, 19:03
2. Tiya Chamberlin, Wheat Ridge, 19:03
3. Keely Jones, Valor Christian, 19:25
4. Amy Leasure, Wheat Ridge, 19:36
5. Addi Iken, Littleton, 19:41
6. Rachel Goodrich, Golden, 19:45
7. Tomah Whitney, Evergreen, 19:46
8. Mary Fox, Golden, 19:46
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Brie Oakley, one of Colorado’s top distance runners, committed to the University of California, Berkeley on Monday night.
A senior, she announced her decision on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/b_oakley22/status/785658063504019456
Oakley is one of the favorites heading into the Class 5A girls state cross country meet later this month. She set the course record at the prestigious Liberty Bell meet last month.
Oakley, a former soccer player, only started running for Grandview last season.
It was a breakout year: she finished second at the state cross country meet. Then, during track season, she set a 5A state meet record in winning the 3,200-meter race, and also won the 1,600 meters.
Follow more college commitments from the Class of 2017 in our recruiting database.
LITTLETON — Littleton’s Addi Iken took first for the girls and Christian Sapakoff won for the boys at Tuesday’s Littleton Invitational cross country meet.
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LITTLETON — Brie Oakley couldn’t quite believe it.
“I saw my time and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I broke 17.’”
The Grandview senior, the Class 5A state runner-up to Lauren Gregory in cross country last fall, claimed the win in round one of a showdown between the big schools’ distance goliaths on Friday at the Liberty Bell Invitational.
The two pushed each other to monumental heights in the Division 1 race at Heritage High School, eclipsing Jordyn Colter’s 17:00 course record from 2012 easily as Oakley crossed the line in 16:44 and Gregory in 16:52.
Oakley, donning the blue and black of the Grandview Wolves for the first time last school year, added another record-setting performance to her resume. She shattered Boulder High legend Melody Fairchild’s 5A state track meet record in the 3,200 with a 10:33, while also claiming the 1,600.
In attempting to unseat Gregory, a Fort Collins harrier trying to become one of the only four-time state champions in the sport, Oakley slipped away from Gregory’s grasp after two miles of the 3.1.
“The second mile we broke away,” Oakley said. “Before the third mile, I knew I just needed to go now. I could feel myself breaking away.”
Even at altitude, the tandem ended up with new high-water marks nationally for 2016, passing Ashton Endsley’s (Abilene, TX) 16:56.
“It feels really surreal,” said Oakley, who ran 47 seconds quicker than her previous lifetime best.
Grandview was also the highest Colorado team finisher in Division 1 with 138 points, good for third place behind Jackson Hole’s (Wyo.) 75 and Albuquerque Academy’s (N.M.) 133.
In Division 2, the defending state champion Broomfield Eagles buried the girls field with 39 points. Madison Mooney, a new Eagle who transferred from Horizon, spread her wings and took off from everyone to a winning time of 17:49. She was over 20 seconds ahead of ThunderRidge’s Shae Henley (18:12) and teammate Ivy Gonzales (18:17).
“I’m trying to place a lot higher at state this year,” said Mooney, whose sister, Megan, competes for Florida State University. “I’m going for top five. The course is definitely really difficult. I’m more of a flat-course runner, but after today I know that I can push myself to go to that limit.”
The Silver Creek boys also doubled up on Division 2 titles as Brock Dykema (15:58) won individually, while teammates James Lee (2nd, 16:04) and John Moroney (4th, 16:07) had his back during a comfortable 39-91 victory over Broomfield.
“During the homestretch I was just trying to kick as hard as I could, because I didn’t know where my teammates were behind me,” Dykema said. “I always have to be scared of that, because they’re good too.”
Thomas Chaston (15:57) claimed first in the Division 3 race as his team, Cheyenne Mountain, got past Evergreen 64-85 for the win. Valor Christian’s Keely Jones (18:51) was victorious in Division 3, but Roosevelt (82) got the better of Steamboat Springs (85) and Valor (89) in the team race.
Custer County’s Jerald Taylor, from Class 2A, was wildly impressive in winning Division 4 in a blistering 15:40, the fifth quickest time of the day behind only four top-flight competitors in Division 1. Cole Sprout of Faith Christian, perhaps one of the nation’s better freshmen, was second in 16:00.
Kent Denver’s Sam Schaffer (18:53) scurried away from Buena Vista’s Annie Hughes (18:58) to win the Division 4 girls race, while Holy Family swept the team titles with ease.
A number of Class 4A cross country programs will be dropping down a division this fall.
The Classical Academy has a way of making its presence felt no matter the classification. After all, the Titans conquered ten consecutive girls cross country state titles from 2003-2012, the first nine in 3A.
Holy Family, the 3A champion in 2012, is also back. D’Evelyn, Conifer, Steamboat Springs, Elizabeth and Denver North are among a number of other teams bringing quality groups of girls into the fold.
And yet, even in a bolstered field, the Pumas of Peak to Peak stand out.
“It’s really exciting how many teams came down to 3A from 4A this year,” Quinn McConnell said. “There’s definitely a lot more competition this season and I think it’ll be a bigger challenge. We’re ready for that to help us achieve our goals.”
In returning a pair of sophomores with state title credentials — McConnell in cross country and the 800-meter run in track, and Anna Shults in the 1,600 — Peak to Peak has considerable talent at the top.
“They’ve been able to complement each other in their training given their different strengths,” said Kim McConnell, the mother of Quinn and third-year head cross country coach at Peak to Peak. “There hasn’t been what you would call a rivalry. There’s much more of a sense of working together to get better.”
Tiana Bradfield, seventh place at the state track meet in the 1,600 as a freshman and 26th in cross country, also returns. Elle Triem, Jenna Howard and Jillian Ries all broke six minutes in the 1,600 as first-years, as well. Rachael Metzler, a veteran among the youthful Pumas, placed 21st at the state cross country meet a season ago as a junior.
Peak to Peak is loaded, so much so that they are arguably the preseason favorites to win their first-ever state championship in girls cross country after finishing as the runner-up in 2015 to Salida by a slim six-point margin.
But, for all the excitement surrounding this group of young ladies, the Pumas have a program built on the idea that end results are only a part of the equation.
“We don’t at all focus on results,” the elder McConnell admitted. “We just keep focusing on the process. We focus on becoming excellent human beings and excellent athletes. There are a lot of things you can’t control at a big meet.”
For a school with an already rich distance running tradition since its doors opened in Lafayette in 1999 — second place at the 3A girls state cross country meet in 2007 and third in 2008, with seven total top-10 team finishes since 2006 — Peak to Peak nearly broke through for title No. 1 in the sport a season ago as McConnell and Shults finished clear of all other individuals.
In winning their second championship in three years, Salida had a mere 58-second difference between their first and fifth finishers.
“Salida did an incredibly great job packing up and I sent their coach a letter telling him they were amazing and they deserved to win,” Kim McConnell said. “We didn’t like missing by just six points, but when you look back at the season as a whole we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.”
Quinn said the Pumas are intent on lessening the gap in their lineup from first to fifth, something that would make a rising power even more formidable. Even though lofty aspirations are on the conscience, the sophomore has the wisdom to know there is more to it than just winning.
“We’re close-knit and our main goal this season is to have fun,” she said. “We do have big goals, but we’re just trying to keep it in perspective. Our coach does a really great job of putting into perspective that running is not the biggest thing in our lives.”
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Class 5A
Class 4A
Class 3A
Class 2A
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Class 5A
Class 4A
Class 3A
Class 2A
The 2015-16 season was packed with memorable moments. There buzzer-beaters, powerful pregame speeches and dominating individual performances.
We had emotional championship wins, record-setting streaks coming to an end and high-level athletes finishing their careers in style.
Through all the moments that we saw, we complied a list of some of our favorites moments from the past year.
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The Cherokee Trail volleyball team began the season dealing with something no high school kids should have to deal with. Before the season, a friend and teammate, Celeste James, passed away.
But the Cougars were able to overcome the loss, come together and win one of the more emotional state championship matches in recent memory.
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Playing with heavy hearts following the death of a teammate earlier in the week, West Grand football gave coach Chris Brown career win No. 306 last fall to tie a state record.
The 8-man team played just three days after quarterback JD Guess was killed in a car accident while driving home from practice.
“The win tonight had little to do with me,” Brown wrote in an email afterward. “First, credit goes to Eric Guess [JD’s father] and Will [his brother, and a former player at West Grand], our amazing assistant coaches, an unbelievable crowd, and a tremendous effort from our kids.”
Brown had won his 300th game earlier in the season.
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A whirlwind of a regular season put Valor Christian alum Christian McCaffrey in the national spotlight. The Stanford star was named a finalist for the 2015 Heisman Trophy and finished as the runner-up to Alabama running back Derrick Henry.
McCaffrey was in the national spotlight again less than three weeks later as he helped the Cardinal roll to a 45-16 win in the Rose Bowl. The former Eagle record 368 all-purpose yards in the game and scored two touchdowns.
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The start of the 2015 football season was a sprint, not a marathon for Holy Family quarterback Chris Helbig. The senior set a state record by throwing for 607 yards in the Tigers first game of the year in a win against Mountain View.
Things continued that way for a while, including wide received Joe Golter setting the receiving record.
Helbig’s season came to a disappointing end as he tore his ACL and was unable to finish the football season or compete during the basketball season. Despite the injury, Helbig aims to continue his football career at the University of Colorado.
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Despite trailing early in his match, Meeker’s T.J. Shelton became the 19th wrestler in state history to win his fourth wrestling title.
Shelton accomplished the feat with a 16-7 major decision over Centauri’s Chris Martin.
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Graham Houtsma took a nasty spill and lost one of his poles when he was leading the nordic skate at the 2016 state skiing championships.
He recovered, was a given a new pole by a teammate, and went on to win the race by one-tenth of a second.
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Longtime Kent Denver football coach and athletic director Scott Yates won his 300th career game in October.
“It’s not a one-guy deal. That’s all there is to it,” Yates said after the game. “The school’s been great. The program has been a lot of fun. And the coaches and the kids that we’ve had the pleasure to work with is really what makes it.”
Yates was the fourth coach to reach the mark.
But like Brown’s 306th win, this milestone came in a wake of school tragedy. Kent Denver teacher Kristin Brown had passed away a week earlier, and the loss weighed heavy on the school.
“I don’t know if you heard him after the game, but after winning 300 games, he didn’t even talk about that,” said Kent Denver running back Will McKissick. “He talked about Ms. Brown, who we lost this week, and he talked about how there are more important things than football. I think that’s not your average guy.”
Kent Denver advanced to the 2A semfinals in the fall, which puts Yates’ career mark at 304-74. The state record, held by Brown and Pat Panek, is 306 wins.
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Regis Jesuit boys basketball coach Ken Shaw won the 700th game of his career in January — upsetting No. 1-ranked Overland.
His career record is third all-time, behind Katte and current Denver East coach Rudy Carey Jr.
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The greens at the Pueblo Country Club are no joke. But with a championship on the line, Silver Creek senior Erin Sargent refused to let them stop her from claiming the 4A girls golf championship in May.
She sank a birdie putt on 18 to top Caroline Jordaan and end her high school career as the best 4A golfer in the state.
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The 5A softball title went to a team that had never even reached the state tournament before. Mountain Range started play in 2009 and made the state tournament for the first time in 2015.
The Mustangs made the most out of the opportunity, coming away with the 5A championship with a 12-2 win over Pomona. It was only the second overall state championship in school history.
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Pomona was good enough to beat Valor Christian in the regular season. But the Eagles proved to be tougher to handle with gold on the line.
Valor forced a turnover with less than three minutes left and was able to capitalize on it to come away with its sixth championship in seven seasons.
“In our program, we don’t want to focus too much on peaks and valleys,” Valor coach Rod Sherman said. “We lost a close game like this last year and tried not to be too devastated about it, and this year we’ll try not to be too over the moon.”
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In perhaps the year’s best example of all for one and one for all, the Denver Coliseum exploded with cheers for Castle View when it was announced the Sabercats had won the 4A/5A co-ed title.
The reason was easy, coach Heather Acampora has become known for actively rooting on all teams at the event, competition or not. With Acampora’s desire to see all teams succeed at the highest level, it was easy to be happy for her own team’s victory.
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The 2016 state track meet proved to be the perfect sendoff for Air Academy senior Katie Rainsberger. After bringing home the cross country title in the fall, the Oregon commit swept the 800, 1,600, 3,200 and 3,200 relay to end her high school career as one of the top runners the state has ever seen.
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Sanford boys basketball won its third-consecutive 2A championship in March, and in the process extended its winning streak to 73 games. That ties the state record held by Ridway in 1993-96.
The winning streak dates to the middle of the 2013-14 season.
Sanford beat Resurrection Christian 63-58 in dramatic fashion to win the 2A title.
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Oliana Squires put on an historic performance during the 4A girls basketball Final 4. The Sand Creek senior tied a state tournament record by scoring 43 points in the Scorpions loss to Evergreen.
Valor Christian went on to win the girls 4A title, but the scoring effort by Squires in the semifinals was the standout performance of the tournament.
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I might be tough to recall games off the tops of our heads, but the fun we all had while waiting for the basketball selection committee to release the 5A boys basketball was definitely one of the top moments of the year.
When you think the 5A boys basketball bracket should be out, and it isn’t #copreps pic.twitter.com/rkP4Ptaenj
— CHSAA (@CHSAA) February 21, 2016
@CHSAA waiting…. pic.twitter.com/LotP9bLC3z
— FMHS Media (@FMHS_News) February 21, 2016
(Checks inbox. Nothing from @CHSAA 5A selection committee) #copreps pic.twitter.com/IYyNqh5ztn
— Daniel Mohrmann (@DanMohrmann) February 21, 2016
Waiting for @jryancasey to release the @CHSAA 5A boys bracket like… #copreps pic.twitter.com/Y6EhcAUeH3
— Matt Meyer (@jmattmeyer) February 21, 2016
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In one of the craziest endings all year, in any sport, Sand Creek battled back from a 20-point deficit in the second half to take its first lead of the game on a Jordan Phillips 3-pointer (video above).
The Scorpions forced a turnover and possessed the ball with 10 seconds remaining, but a steal led to an open shot for Raymon Harper who would knock it down, giving the Wolves a huge win over their district rivals.
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Seven innings of dominance on the mound gave Holly its first baseball championship in school history, as the Wildcats came away with the 1A crown.
Ricardo Juarez threw seven innings, allowing only four hits while striking out six Fleming hitters in the win.
“Ricardo’s been our guys since he was a freshman,” Holly coach Dayne Eaton said. “We’ve been so close. Two years ago we knocked off a great Stratton team and then last year we tried to save Ricardo and got beat by Dove Creek and they went on to win it.”
Holly had fallen to Fleming in the 2013 1A title game.
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The Lewis-Palmer girls soccer team finally got the state championship that barely eluded them a year ago. After falling to Cheyenne Mountain in penalty kicks in 2015, the Rangers needed to find the back of the net only once in 2016.
Annica Fletemeyer scored the only of goal of the game as the Rangers topped Valor Christian 1-0.
“I didn’t want to miss it, that’s what was going through my mind,” Fletemeyer said. “It was a great ball by Brianna (Alger). I didn’t want to miss it because I didn’t want to let my team down. It was just such a rushing feeling of emotion, so I’m just really glad I could put it away.”
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For the seniors on Colorado Academy’s field hockey team, the feeling of not winning a state championship will never be felt.
The Mustangs increased their winning streak to 70 games and captured their fourth state field hockey title in as many years.
“It’s definitely not routine,” Colorado Academy coach Veronica Scott said. “It’s beautiful for the seniors because there’s eight girls here who have not lost a game in four years. It’s their fourth championship. For them, that’s extra special.”
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Pueblo West was not among the early favorites to come away with the 4A boys basketball title. But that didn’t stop the Cyclones from storming through the bracket.
Bobby Tyler’s bunch never won a game by anything less than 11 points and dominated in the state championship game against Valor Christian.
The win gave the Cyclones their first boys basketball championship in school history.
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For 19 straight years, Cherry Creek was the talk of 5A girls tennis. That run ended in may as Fairview became the first team since the Bill Clinton administration to best the Bruins for the team title.
Thanks to Sophie Pearson’s win in No. 3 singles, the Knights edged Cherry Creek by three points. But it took some time for the feat to sink in for Fairview coach Susan Stensrud.
“I’m not one hundred percent,” she said. “I don’t believe it one hundred percent. It hasn’t sunk in, but I’m so glad it’s this team of girls.”
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Weather (shockingly) pushed the completion of the 2016 baseball championships back one day. So it was on a Sunday that Valor Christian was able to beat Pueblo West twice to come away with its first baseball championship.
It was the seventh team championship on the year for the Eagles which led all schools.
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Rocky Ford softball was on the way to the 3A state tournament last fall, and when it passed through Limon, the team was met with a road block — and a banner directing the team to a parking lot.
The Rocky Ford team had two players who recently lost their parents, and the tragedies were “widely and deeply felt,” according to coach JC Carrica.
Limon’s community rose up. They prepared goody bags for each player, took the time to talk with the players who recently lost their parents, and then sent Rocky Ford off with honking horns and more banners.
“The girls were hanging their heads out of the bus window, yelling, smiling, of course taking pictures and selfies,” Carrica said. “It was just the encouragement and lift we needed. As we left Limon and entered the interstate, there was not a dry eye on the bus.”
Limon was honored for its sportsmanship last month.
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Pine Creek football was a juggernaut this season, storming it was through the 4A ranks.
But then the Eagles ran into Loveland, a No. 13 seed which stunned Pine Creek with a 26-14 win in the semifinals. The loss ended a 37-game winning streak for Pine Creek, which spanned two championships.
Loveland advanced to the 4A title game, where it lost to Windsor.
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Monarch was the team in Colorado hockey this season, entering with a 21-0 record, and beating teams by a combined score of 20-4 on its way to the championship game.
The Coyotes even took a 1-0 lead 13 seconds into that championship game, against Regis Jesuit in March.
Oh, but. The Raiders stormed back with six unanswered goals to stun Monarch and win the title, 6-1.
Niwot has hired a rising star in the cross country coaching ranks, tabbing Palmer Ridge’s Kelly Christensen to lead both its boys and girls programs.
Cougars athletic director Chase McBride announced the hire late Monday night.
Christensen has been the head boys and girls coach at Palmer Ridge for the past two seasons, leading the boys to a Class 4A championship in 2014, and a runner-up finish in 2015. He also headed the Bears boys track teams, and coached them to back-to-back championships in 2014 and 2015.
He was also an assistant at Thompson Valley, where he helped the girls track team win a 4A championship in 2012.
“Obviously, coach Christensen brings a wealth of knowledge, and running experience as former collegiate All-American with him, but what impresses me most is his want to develop a student-athlete,” said Niwot athletic director Chase McBride. “He prides himself on helping young men and women to use athletics to learn life lessons. He is a once-in-a-life-time type coach.”
Christensen will also be an assistant with Niwot’s track teams in the spring, specializing in distance. The Cougars’ girls teams won back-to-back 4A championships in 2014 and 2015.
Christensen will also become a counselor at Niwot.
“He was a hands down favorite in our candidate pool of counselors — his student-first approach is clearly genuine,” McBride said. “He will be an amazing addition to our coaching staff, counseling department, and community. We couldn’t be more thrilled to have him on board.”