With a new cross country season comes a new coach for Sierra Grande. The school announced in an email to CHSAANow.com that it has hired Ben Sandy as the new cross country coach for both the boys and girls teams.
Sandy is also a physical education teacher at Sierra Grande.
His last coaching stop came at Dawson Community College in Glendive, Montana. He competed in both high school and in college. He was a Class 3A state champion in Wyoming his junior year and won nine Nebraska Iowa Athletic Conference titles while competing collegiately.
At the end of his career, he was a two-time NAIA All-American.
“We at Sierra Grande feel very fortunate to have such an outstanding mentor for our students and athletes,” athletic director Matt Lucero said in the email. “We are proud and fortunate to have him join our Panther Community.”
Practice for all cross country teams began this week and competition is slated to begin on Saturday.
AURORA — All sports in Season A are now underway with the start of boy and girls cross country practice on Wednesday.
Teams can begin competition on Saturday. They will wrap up their regular season on Oct. 3, and regionals by Oct. 10. The state meet is scheduled for Oct. 17.
Of course, the season will look different due to modifications which align with current COVID-19 guidelines from the state.
The number of regular season meets has been reduced from 11 to 7. During the regular season, 3A-5A teams can run seven runners, with five scoring. In 2A, they can run six and score four.
In the postseason, 2A teams will run five and score four, and 3A-5A will run six and score five.
No JV or open races are permitted to be run at varsity meets, but schools can host a JV meet or an open race separate from the varsity meet.
The biggest change is the number of athletes permitted at each meet. During the regular season, 50 athletes per gender are allowed, and they must start in waves of no more than 25.
At regionals, 75 athletes per gender will be allowed. At the state meet, 100 athletes per gender, per classification are allowed.
Also playing in Season A are boys golf, boys tennis and softball.
One look at an activity log for either Kate or Anna Griffin and one thing is clear and obvious: Neither one seems to crave downtime.
The (non-identical) twins are constantly busy whether it’s on the athletic fields, in the classroom or volunteering for their community. They do it all and they do it all very well.
And they mostly do it at different schools. Anna spent her high school days at Coronado where she played volleyball and tennis. She qualified for the Class 4A state tennis tournament three times and helped the Cougars reach the 4A volleyball semifinals this previous fall.
Like her sister, Kate is a multi-sport athlete, only she competes at the Colorado Springs School after figuring out that she preferred a small-school environment. Kate runs cross country, plays basketball and in the spring plays both tennis and golf. As the Kodiaks don’t have a golf team, Kate played for Coronado.
She took 12th at the 2019 2A girls state cross country meet before placing third at the 3A girls tennis tournament and turning around less than two weeks later to take sixth at state golf.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
“She excels at every sport but she has more accolades in golf, tennis and cross country over her career,” CSS girls basketball coach and athletic director Vicki Vaughn said. “She was all-state in all three of those sports, but basketball always resonated with her because of the team aspect.”
That right there is the true spirit of both Griffin sisters. They prioritize others over self and that’s especially true outside of athletics.
They’re both members of the National Honor Society and spent countless hours volunteering for their schools and communities.
“It’s definitely something I thought about right when I joined CSS,” Kate said. “At a private school, academics always come first. Community service is a requirement but it’s very important to me. It wasn’t all that challenging to figure out I needed to balance athletics as well as being involved in the community and the school.”
It runs in the family.
Anna takes the same approach at Coronado. She likes taking a leadership mentality to the volleyball and tennis courts and uses that same approach to better the world around her. It’s a heavy burden for a high school student to take on, but as she’s progressed in athletics and activities, it’s clear that it’s part of who she is, not what she does.
(Photo courtesy of Lisa Voight)
“Going into high school through sports, that’s something I wanted to do by being a team captain or even just as a freshman on the JV team,” Anna said. “That translated through my service. Being a part of NHS or NCL — which is the National Charity League — we did a lot of community service.”
A lot of that community service was was done through the John Zay Guest House which she quickly proclaimed to be her favorite charity.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of how busy both sisters are is how they can balance every task on their plate and do it at a high level.
“It takes somebody very driven and motivated to maintain that balance and focus on important things like that,” former Coronado volleyball coach Crissy Leonhardt said. “She has it. She’s that kid. She’s a go-getter. When she puts her mind to something she’ll get it done and she will do it right.”
The one thing she had yet to do, and was on the verge of this spring, was sharing the playing field with her sister. Kate originally devoted most of her time to golf and for their senior year, she wanted Anna to join the team with her.
“She was pretty convincing,” Anna said. “I had talked to the golf coach a little bit about it and she was edging me to do it and I was pretty close. There’s a very good chance I would’ve been on the golf team.”
Which would’ve meant splitting time between golf and tennis. But not to worry because Kate had that blueprint all worked out.
Kate’s only intention was to add to it and had planned on playing soccer for Colorado Springs School as well as tennis while also competing for Coronado’s golf team.
“It’s kind of just become muscle memory,” Kate said of keeping her activities and school work all in line.
Although they didn’t get to share time on the golf course together, they have four years of shared experiences ahead of them. Both girls will attend Colorado State and study bio sciences.
And it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them find their way to some sort of athletic competition whether it’s intramurals, club or even somehow varsity.
If they’ve shown anything these last four years, it’s that they can find time to carve out for any activity they want.
(Photo courtesy of Erik Melgoza/Alamosa Athletics)
Lilly and Emily Lavier have spent a lot of time competing together. As kids, they battled each other and as they got into high school it was battling side by side.
Lilly always thought herself a runner first but also loved to play basketball. Emily thought differently. Basketball was her main sport and running turned out to be secondary. But it was important that each one was doing both. They’ve shared several athletic moments together, among those is winning two 4×400 relay championships at the state track meet and sharing the basketball court together when Emily set the state’s single-game 3-point record.
While Emily will return to Alamosa as a senior next year, Lilly has graduated and will run at Oklahoma State University. Being a multi-sport athlete played a big role in that and it’s a lesson that has trickled down to Emily and even beyond.
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(Photo courtesy of Lilly Lavier)
Question: How have you gotten to the point in your life where playing multiple sports became essential to you?
Lilly: I always thought it was essential. I think for me running is more my thing and so it was always really nice for me to have a break from that. That break for me was basketball and so it was always nice to be able to still be getting fit in a different way and move some different muscles and I really think it helps the body overall.
And I think it helps with injury prevention. You’re getting to use different parts of your body for different things and I really think it helps to be taking a break from doing one repetitive motion and running to be able to do some different ones in basketball. I think it’s helped a lot.
Q: It’s not exactly like you’re taking a break because you’re still playing basketball at such a high level. How important is it to you when you’re not focusing on running and you’re focusing on basketball to make sure that you’re competing at the absolute highest level you can?
Lilly: It’s very important to me and I do kind of see it as a break for myself just in the sense that it’s a whole other world. Even if it’s mentally being able to take a break and move to something so different. It’s something that I really enjoyed over the past few years.
Q: Both sports have their own set of skills, but how much do you find yourself focusing on each skill set?
Lilly: I’ve graduated now and so now I haven’t been doing any work with basketball. I’ll probably be done with that because I’m mostly just going to be running from here on out. However, in high school there were lots of times where Emily and I would both go to the gym or go to our backyard on the weekend and we’d just shoot and kind of work on the things we needed to work on. We definitely took it seriously in the offseason and would do our part to try to get better.
But for myself, from here on out, it’s not really as essential as it was in high school just because I’m moving onto the next chapter, which for me is running. But it was always important to get in that work during the offseason for us.
Q: How much did it appeal to Oklahoma State that you were a multi-sport athlete?
Lilly: That was one of the things that my coach directed at me that he really liked. And that was one thing I really appreciated from him was that one of the first things he said on my home visit was how much he appreciated and knew how much it helps that I was a multi-sport athlete.
That’s something he really liked and he thinks that’s something that made me special and unique and that’s something I really appreciated and liked that he saw.
That absolutely was very important to me and it drove me to kind of help him make the decision I made.
Q: As a big sister, was it a big deal for you to make sure Emily was involved in multiple sports?
Lilly: Absolutely. I actually have another sister younger than Emily. She’s going to be a sophomore. For both of them it was very important to make sure that you’re staying fit year-round. An easy way to do that is just be keeping yourself in sports in every season and just keeping busy.
It was easier for me to get Emily to do some other sports like cross country in the fall than it was our other sister. That’s one thing that both of us kind of worked on with her, but it was essential to have her doing multiple sports and just staying fit.
It kind of gets you ready to transition from one season to the other.
Q: Emily, did you feel like playing multiple sports was something you had to do watching Lilly both do it and excel in it?
Emily: Oh yeah, 100 percent. I just remember when we were little and like growing up, I’d be like here in the house and Lilly would be outside and she’d like pull me outside and we go, all of our siblings, we go outside and we’d be active whether it’s like playing soccer, playing basketball, just like finding something to do. And then once she got to middle school and I saw her doing multiple sports and excelling, it definitely like inspired me to want to do that too.
Q: How much has that pushed you to try and be the best you can be at everything, whether it’s running or basketball?
Emily: A lot. Growing up, I’d always hear, “You’re Lilly’s sister.” She’s an all-star runner. I want people to know my name too and that just like pushed me to work hard and try to be the best that I can be and also excel at what I do just like she did.
Q: What are the benefits that you’re finding in being a multi-sport athlete?
Emily: I think a lot of it is like how she said like transitioning from one sport to the other. A big reason that I do cross country is to get me in shape for basketball, which is kind of my main sport.
If it wasn’t for her, I definitely wouldn’t have gotten into cross country. But I’m glad I did because that transition from running all fall in cross country to running in basketball, it definitely keeps me in shape and it helps me out a lot with that. And then basketball keeps me in shape for track the next season.
So it’s definitely beneficial, playing all these sports.
Q: How much fun is it to be able to share the basketball court with your sister and then also be able to stand on a championship podium with her at track?
Emily: It’s so much fun. That was probably one of my favorite memories, honestly from high school is getting to do it not once, but twice. I definitely think it’s something special that not a lot of people can say they got to do.
It’s also special because I’m the one handing off the baton to her going into the final lap — the anchor leg. So I think for me that was always something that stood out. Those 4×400 championships; I just thought that was super special.
Q: How many assists did Lilly give to you on the night that you said the 3-point record?
Emily: She actually had 11 of 12 assists, almost all of them.
(Photo courtesy of Erik Melgoza/Alamosa Athletics)
Q: Wow, how much fun was that? Your name’s in that record book, but you and your teammates know that your sister had a big hand in helping you there.
Lilly: It’s actually kind of a funny story. We were actually scrolling through the CHSAA page on Instagram the night before that game. And I said, “Oh look, these girls had a new 3-point record,” and it was 11, I told her “Oh, you can definitely do that.” I thought she could get 12 or 13.
So the night before I told her she should try it, really just kind of making fun of her to get her to take a shot at it and then sure enough, it happened. I would look at her and just kept throwing her the ball and they just kept going in.
Emily: So, it was kind of a funny story just for the two of us to know that it was possible. A lot of people like to say that we planned that out, but I don’t think we really did. We just knew it was in the realm of possibilities.
And then she kept making fun of me during the game: “You’re at six, you’re at seven now.”
Lilly: It was just a joke because the night before we were joking about it and we share a room. Before we went to bed, before the game, I was just poking fun at her. And sure enough, she went out and was having a heck of a game and I was just keeping track.
At halftime, I told her, “You’re halfway there, you might as well just go for it.” So it’s just kind of a fun backstory for both of us to know that and then to know that it happened.
Q: How much of an example do you think underclassmen, need to see in watching you girls be multi-sport athletes and see the benefits pay off, whether it’s a scholarship to Oklahoma State or a state record for 3-pointers?
Lilly: I think it’s very important and I feel like both of us have taken a good deal of responsibility for setting an example for people below us. Speaking for myself, I knew that was always a goal. I wanted to leave a good impression on the high school and for the younger girls to kind of see that you don’t have to be going to this big school in Denver to do some pretty amazing and special things.
And I think Emily’s done a really good job at following that and kind of getting that same attitude because I wanted to make Alamosa a place where people felt proud to be going to school. I want people people to look at it and say, “Oh my gosh, there’s Alamosa, they have this (certain) reputation.”
We have a lot of good girls coming up and who are already at the high school who very capable of doing things like that. Having us to show people that it’s okay to be able to have big goals and go for it and set records and do things like that and to kind of even inspire people to do that, is very important. I think we’ve both done a good job at showing people that.
Emily: It’s important to me to have a good relationship with like the underclassmen and just like make sure that you’re talking to them. Whether it’s in practice or on game day or at meets or whatever it is, including them in everything and just like being a role model for them to look up to.
It inspires me to want to do my best so that maybe I can be someone to them that they look up to so they can also do great things.
JEFFERSON COUNTY — It was a day for celebrations across Jeffco on Wednesday, Feb. 5.
Nearly 100 student-athletes from 11 different schools across the school district signed their National Letter of Intent on Wednesday. Feb. 5 marked the start of the Division I and II, along with the football regular signing period.
There is still one more signing period ahead that begins on April 15.
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Arvada West High School
Conner Bickford, soccer, Northeast Community College
Shayla Erickson, softball, Otero Junior College
Olivia Henkel, volleyball, Cornell College
Jay Lambert, baseball, Midland University
Justin Lepke, football, Western Colorado University
Noah McCandless, baseball, Garden City Community College
Nicholas Nuher, track, University of Colorado
Shelby Robb, softball, Metro State University
Isabelle Schwein, softball, Friends University
Addison Southwick, baseball, Augustana College
Braden Thomson, baseball, Feather River College
Josh Yago, lacrosse, Air Force Academy — Preparatory School
Bear Creek High School
Jose Ramos, football, Colorado State University-Pueblo
Josh Alejo, football, Harding University
Chatfield High School
Daniel Moore, baseball, University of Dubuque
Hayden Cross, baseball, McCook Community College
Cole Nash, cross country & track, University of Alaska-Anchorage
Abby Wilkinson, soccer, North Dakota State
Jacob Roybal, baseball, Mesa Community College
Jordan Ramirez, baseball, Northeastern Junior College
Garrick Levesque, baseball, Ventura Community College
Kyle Koppelmaa, baseball, Orange Coast College
Columbine High School
Ally Distler, softball, Colorado Mesa University
Annika Schooler, golf, South Dakota School of Mines
Makenna Riotte, lacrosse, Adams State University
Jackie Mudd, swimming, Biola University
Aden Sievert, lacrosse, Hood College
Adam Harrington, football, Middlebury College
Andrew Gentry, football, University of Virginia
Andrew Lauritzen, football, Missouri Western State
Braeden Hogan, football, Western Colorado University
Justin Lohrenz, football, Washington State University
Justyn Classen, football, St. Olaf College
Tanner Hollens, football, Colorado State University
Stephen Hughes, football, Concordia University-Nebraska
Joel Basile, baseball, Scottsdale Community College
Evan Johnson, volleyball, Trinity Christian College
Mark Thurman, baseball, Northeastern Junior College
Erica Mock, tennis, Whitman College
Conifer High School
Josey Nichols, softball, West Texas A&M
Kassidy Butler, lacrosse, Florida Southern College
Jordyn West, soccer, University of Nebraska-Omaha
Adie Brake, softball, Vernon College
Megan Wilkins, swimming, Arcadia University
Denali Douglas, volleyball, Union College
Dakota Ridge High School
Caley Akiyama, softball, Cottey College
Brianna Binder, volleyball, McKendree University
Luke Brandt, football, Bethel University
Kyle Cannon, football & track, Dakota State University
Matthew Heitmann, football, Air Force Academy
James Hess, football, Colorado School of Mines
Tia Krats, lacrosse, Regis University
Faith Lawson, softball, Oklahoma Wesleyan
Izaak McWilliams, football, Bethel University
Madeleine Nightengale-Luhan, volleyball, Colorado School of Mines
Connor Ohlson, cross country & track, Air Force Academy
Adam Rodriguez, golf, Loras College
Samantha Schmidt, lacrosse, Colorado State University-Pueblo
Green Mountain High School
Hunter Grogan, fencing, Vassar College
Kasey Klocek, cross country & track, South Dakota State
Sofia Parisi, beach volleyball, Concordia University
Braydon Schulz, baseball, North Dakota University of Jamestown
Trey Towndrow, football, Colorado Mesa University
Lakewood High School
Josh Beattie, baseball, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Olivia Desso, tennis, Chapman University
Caden Link, baseball, Pacific University
Faith Zehnder, volleyball, Holy Family University
Pomona High School
Sanjay Strickland, football, Colorado State University
Garrett Bishop, football, New Mexico State University
Adam Karas, football, Air Force Academy
Kyle Moretti, football, Central Michigan University
Chase Lopez, football, University of South Dakota
Trevor Baskin, basketball, Colorado Mesa University
Zoe Hendrix, soccer, Doane University
Ashlyn Mathers, softball, Augustana-Illinois
Bethany Tiscareno, softball, Otero Junior College
Ralston Valley High School
Payton Roberts, diving, University of Idaho
Riley Dmytriw, cross country & track, Colorado Christian University
William Wall, baseball, Whitman College
Paul Stone, swimming, Midland College
Braden Siders, football, University of Wyoming
Chase Wilson, football, Colorado State University
Caleb Rillos, football, Air Force Academy
Alexandrya Jacobs, soccer, Hastings College
JJ Galbreath, football, University of South Dakota
Ben Lenahan, golf, Whitman College
Ben Takata, football, Colorado School of Mines
Mitchell Morehead, football, Colorado School of Mines
Tanner Lallman, volleyball, University of the Southwest
Elizabeth Schweiker, cross country & track, Rice University
Parker Dorrance, baseball, Northeastern Community College
Walker Brickle, football, Colorado State University
Kaleb Tischler, football, South Dakota School of Mines
Ben Sampson, swimming, Colorado Mesa University
Standley Lake High School
Julianne Pelletier, cross country, Regis University
Jaren Cosby, football, Western Colorado University
Kevin Starnes, football, Nebraska Wesleyan University
AURORA — The cross country committee is recommending a new scoring format for the Class 2A state meet, one where teams can get points for their top four runners.
Currently, 2A teams can run six athletes with three of them scoring. The proposal is to run six and score four.
The recommendation, which was unanimous, came out of the committee meeting which was held last week.
This is the third time since 2016 that the committee has voted in favor of the proposals. The past two recommendations have been voted down at Legislative Council.
This approved proposal, too, needs to be approved by Legislative Council when it meets next April.
“We encourage the 2A schools to continue the conversation and outreach to ensure the Legislative Council can make an informed decision on what’s best for 2A,” said CHSAA assistant commissioner Jenn Roberts-Uhlig, who oversees cross country.
“This time around, the scoring proposal sparked a second conversation around whether or not it is time to add a 1A classification of cross country,” she added.
Additionally, the committee voted to extend the Norris-Penrose Event Center/Bear Creek Park as the site of the state meet for an additional four years, which would keep the event there through at least 2023.
“We are excited to partner with the Cheyenne Mountain and Colorado Springs communities for the next four years,” Roberts-Uhlig said. “Norris-Penrose and Bear Creek Park continue to elevate the event and be an outstanding venue to showcase student-athletes, schools and the sport of cross country.”
COLORADO SPRINGS — Saturday, as Basalt High School junior Sierra Bower looked into the stands of the Norris Penrose Events Center following her Class 3A state cross country championship, she couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face.
She had plenty to he happy about, even beyond the fact that she was a brand spanking new state champion, the first state cross country champ in Basalt High School history.
She crossed the finish line at an unbelievable pace, besting the 3A state course record by an amazing 20 seconds at nearly 18 minutes flat, even claiming the fastest girls time at Saturday’s state meet regardless of classification.
“I’m just so shocked,” Bower said. “My freshman and sophomore year, I wasn’t even in the top 20, so I just feel thankful to be out here with my team and I’m so excited.”
That’s right, Bower wasn’t even in the top 20 last season.
She finished 24th overall in the 2018 state championships with a mark of 20:12, nearly two minutes off the state title pace.
Then in a remarkable jump, Bower cut more than two minutes from that state mark in one season. In fact, she was two-tenths of a second away from an exclusive club, as her 18:00.1 mark was tantalizingly close to the sub-18-minute club, which had only been accomplished by seven runners in the history of the state meet.
She felt every bit of that yearlong whirlwind throughout the race Saturday, as everybody along the track knew what was happening.
“I obviously knew what the record was and had my sights set on it,” Bower said, “but it definitely was not my main concern coming into the race. I heard people yelling ‘course record’ along the course, and I definitely tried to keep that pace up.”
She set that pace immediately, trying take it coast-to-coast as the leader. She took that approach by knowing her own limitations.
“For my race plan, I was just hoping to go crazy right from the get-go,” Bower said. “I’m not so strong in the kicking department, so I definitely knew that I had to build my lead from the beginning.”
In the team competition, The Classical Academy put together its first back-to-back state crown since rattling off eight straight from 2003-10. The Titans boasted two top-five finishers, Sawyer Wilson (2nd) and Kennedy McDondald (4th).
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
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Class 2A: Lyons’ lions good enough for title
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
Katie Fankhouser was gunning for her second straight state championship Saturday.
The Lyons High School senior certainly had a wide smile on her face after the 2A race concluded, but it wasn’t because she ascended to the top of the podium. She looked up at her teammate, sophomore Quin Gregg, at the top of the podium, and it filled her with just as much happiness.
“I could not be prouder of this girl,” Fankhouser said of Gregg. “She was amazing.”
Gregg’s excellence was on display with the way she pushed across the finish line, collapsing as she crossed, cramps and the joy of winning overwhelmed her.
“I was wondering how much I actually had left,” Gregg said. “Then I started cramping, wondering if I could even do this.”
But she did it, as Gregg, freshman Jamieson Legh, and Fankhouser finished first, third, and fifth, respectively to deliver a second straight 2A team title for Lyons.
Fankhouser said it was a great way to go out.
“This one was really important to me because I actually got to run with (Gregg and Legh),” Fankhouser said. “It’s something I’ve been looking forward to all season.”
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Class 4A: Niwot gets a clean sweep
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
Don’t get her wrong, Niwot senior Samrawit Dishon was thrilled to cross the finish line as the 4A state champion Saturday, barely outlasting Eagle Valley’s Samantha Blair by just over three seconds.
But it was the team title – the second straight state crown for Niwot – that thrilled Dishon the most.
“It feels awesome (to win the individual title),” Dishon said, “but I think the best feeling was seeing my teammates when I turned around, seeing all five of them. It was an incredible feeling.”
Niwot placed five on the top 12, Dishon joined by Amelia Philofsky (5th), Madison Shultz (9th), Taylor James (10th) and Joelle McDonald (13th). It was the definite highlight, Dishon said, as Niwot ran as a team the whole way, relying on pack running before Dishon kicked at the end.
“I really like pack running,” Dishon said, “because it’s so fun to listen to everybody’s footsteps and breathing, feeling that emotion next to you. Nobody’s speaking, but everyone is one the same page.”
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Class 5A: Stewart finishes dominant campaign with state title
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
For most of the season, Cherry Creek’s Riley Stewart was the clear-cut top girls cross country runner in 5A.
Saturday, Stewart proved it once and for all with an impressive race, getting a mark of 18:12, 12 seconds faster then her closest competition in Cherokee Trail’s Cameron McConnell, to win her first state title and the second ever in Cherry Creek history.
Last season as a freshman, Stewart finished fifth, coming back to best her 2018 state mark by 30 seconds.
“It feels really good because last year, I didn’t have my best race here,” Stewart said. “It’s great to come back and win it. Just an amazing feeling.”
With three top-12 finishes, Arapahoe stepped up to win its first ever cross country state title and just its fourth top-five state finish in school history.
Freshmen Ava Escorcia and Ava Mitchell duked it out down the stretch, Escorcia edging her teammate by just 0.3 seconds to highlight the team state title run.
