HIGHLANDS RANCH – Douglas County is Colorado’s first ever high school boys volleyball champion.
On Saturday at Rock Canyon High School, the Huskies won 25-15, 25-17, 25-18 over Legend to finish off a perfect season with 18 wins at the end of a momentous campaign for the emergent sport in its first season with CHSAA sanctioning.
There will be many more boys volleyball champions to come in Colorado. But this year’s Douglas County group will always be able to say it was the first.
“It was a tremendous feeling first to know we are going to get to play,” Douglas County coach Jason Fitzgerald said. “This team wanted this moment from Day 1. This lays the groundwork not only for our team but for teams in the rest of the state. We are looking forward to the growth of the boys game, everyone we saw this tournament has improved greatly this season and I can only imagine the level of play in this state will be going up from here.”
The Pascua brothers dominated in the match, just as they had all season with Jayden Pascua recording 14 kills and his brother Jensen Pascua notching 25 assists.
(Brian Livergood)
“I don’t even know what to say, it is just so cool that I get to be here and play with my brother,” Jayden Pascua said. “We have always had a strong relationship and it definitely helped on the court today, playing volleyball has brought us together in so many ways and I am happy to get to have this moment with him.”
Connor Shumate also played a big role for the Huskies with 10 kills and an ace that invigorated the Douglas County faithful.
“We couldn’t have done it without the fans all season long. They brought the energy we needed every time,” Shumate said. “It was so nice to play in front of that crowd, especially for boys volleyball in our first season. It is special to get to play the first season a sport is sanctioned and I am so glad I got to be a part of this team and we won the state title as a team.”
To reach the championship game, Douglas County won 25-20, 25-19, 25-16 over Eaglecrest in the semifinals of the eight-team Season D state tournament. In the opposite semifinal, Legend won 25-23, 25-21, 25-20 against Valor Christian.
With the COVID-19 pandemic canceling the first season of boys volleyball in the state, this championship means a lot to a lot of different people. But for the players, that special feeling is something that will never go away.
“We worked so hard to get to get here,” Fitzgerald said. “Each time we accomplished something, be it the league champion or regional champion, we were the first to do it and that meant a lot to this group. The energy in this building was terrific and the coaching of these players before coming to high school was incredible. I am blessed to have such a talented team.”
The championship marks the 12th state title overall for Douglas County.
LAKEWOOD – Perfect weather led to a record-breaking day for the top pole vaulters in Class 4A on Thursday at the state meet at Jefferson County Stadium.
Thompson Valley’s Becker Ell and Silver Creek’s Megan Kelleghan both broke Class 4A state meet records en route to winning their first state titles.
Ell cleared 16 feet to cruise to the title and top the previous mark of 15-8.5, set by Sam Pierson of Pueblo South in 2006.
“It feels kind of surreal, especially because I’ve been trying at it for the last two or three meets and just getting closer and closer,” said Ell, a senior. “It just feels unreal, to be honest. I’m so stoked.”
(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)
Ell had been the heavy favorite, coming in with a previous best of 15-7, nearly two feet ahead of anyone else. Still, he had to perform on the biggest stage.
“Nerves at the state meet your last year, it’s always kind of iffy and nerve-wracking, but I just went out there and wanted to have some fun and try to do as best as I could,” he said.
Kelleghan, just a sophomore, was also a heavy favorite and delivered with a vault of 13-4.5, a half inch above the previous mark of 13-4 by Andrea Willis of The Classical Academy in 2016.
“That was great,” she said. “It was very exciting because I’ve been so close. … Today it just pieced together. I was scared at first because there was supposed to be rain and wind. It ended up being perfect weather, so I’m very relieved with it and happy I was able to clear that.”
Kelleghan had a previous best of 13 feet, with nobody else better than 10-9 coming in. If there was pressure, however, she didn’t feel it.
“More pressure on myself, personally,” she said. “Even when I’m with people who vault close to me I try to stay in my own little bubble around myself. You can’t compete against people in this because it’s all about the bar, it’s all about your form. It’s you and your own self. That’s what I try to think about.”
(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)
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Class 5A
(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)
Poudre’s Rhys Travis was the star on what is typically a light day for the state’s largest classification.
Only four state titles were awarded in 5A boys on Thursday, but Travis took two of them.
A junior, Travis won the boys high jump and triple jump. He was favored coming into state. In the high jump, Travis had a season-best leap of 6 feet, 7 inches, topping his previous best by two inches. In the triple jump, he was under his season best, but still had a leap of 46 feet, 3 inches to win the title.
Travis wasn’t the only athlete from Fort Collins to win a state title on Thursday.
(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)
Brooke Naughton of Fort Collins won the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 7 inches. The junior was the favorite coming in.
In the boys shot put, Braiden Dishman of Fossil Ridge was projected to win and he came through. The senior had a throw of 52 feet, 3.25 inches to claim his title.
Also in field event, Lakewood senior Amanda Opp had a season-best throw of 40 feet, 9.5 inches to win the girls shot put, while Grandview senior Melody Nwagwu had a leap of 39 feet, 9 inches to win the girls triple jump.
On the track, just one event – the 3,200-meter relay – had a final in Class 5A. Cherry Creek cruised to the title on the girls side, with a time of 9 minutes, 5.73 seconds, while Mountain Vista won the boys title, in 7:57.13.
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Class 4A
(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)
At the most recent state track and field meet, in 2019, Niwot swept the boys and girls team titles. The Cougars are aiming for a repeat performance this year and got off to a great start Thursday.
Senior Lucca Fulkerson won the girls 3,200 meters, with teammate Mia Prok finishing second. That duo then led the Cougars to a win in the 3,200 relay.
“Everybody has trained so hard, so it’s definitely within grasp,” Fulkerson said of a team championship. “Every day everybody is out there running as hard as they can, especially in the heat right now.
“I’m so proud of our whole team. Everybody deserves it and they work so hard. I’m so glad that they’re my teammates and I get to race with them.”
Fulkerson, who had three top-seven medals as a sophomore in 2019, won her first individual title in the 3,200.
(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)
“It was definitely amazing,” she said. “I didn’t really think about anything until the last 20 meters, because I didn’t want to think with the last lap to go. It was really amazing and I was so excited.”
Niwot had four top-eight finishers in the girls 3,200 and scored 35 points on the day.
The boys, meanwhile, were led by junior Zane Bergen, who won the 3,200 meters and anchored the Cougars’ victory in the 3,200 relay.
In the 3,200, Niwot’s Simon Saia was second, with Grayden Rauba fourth. The Cougars closed the day with 34 team points.
“Kind of the plan going in was try to set up the race so that we could score as many team points as possible,” Bergen said. “We’re going for the team championship and we needed to score a decent amount of points in the two-mile to make that happen.
“It’s really, really cool (to win an individual title), but, like I said, I just came here to score the most points for the team as possible. I’m happy that we did that today in both events.”
The girls also set a 4A state meet record in the 800-meter relay prelims, posting a time of 1:39.72.
In the boys discus, Avery Shunneson of Thomas Jefferson won the title and set a new 4A state meet record. The Princeton-bound Shunneson had a throw of 192 feet, 6 inches to shatter the record of 188-6 previously set by Pueblo East’s Kain Medrano in 2019.
In other events, Mitchell’s Daryon Wilson won the boys long jump with a leap of 23-5.25; Mullen’s Agur Dwol won the girls long jump with a leap of 18-11.25; and Northfield’s Giovanna Meeks won the girls discus with a throw of 141-2.
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Class 3A
(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)
Jefferson Academy’s Crisly Kelly-Cannon’s freshman track and field season was supposed to be in 2020, but the pandemic prevented that from happening. Based on what the sophomore has done so far in is state meet debut, it would have been fun to see what he could have done as a ninth-grader.
On Thursday, Kelly-Cannon won the first finals event he has competed in as a high schooler and qualified for several others throughout the meet. His mark of 23 feet, 1.5 inches in the long jump was also a Class 3A state meet record.
(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)
“My freshman year was cancelled so I haven’t been to a state meet before,” Kelly-Cannon said. “It was weird because I went into my freshman year all hyped up and everything. I was ready to get started and then I had to take a year off. That threw us all off but I just hit the gym and started getting better and better.
“I’m feeling really good. I started off with the 100 today and PR’d in that. So that set me up for the long jump and energized me. In the 200, we ran into some headwind so that’s alright. It was a pretty good first day.”
Kelly-Cannon’s teammate Sierra Haberman won the 3A girls high jump, clearing 5-4.
In one of the most exciting races of the season, the Liberty Common 3,200-meter relay team edged The Classical Academy (8:15.11) in a photo finish to claim the title with a time of 8:15.08.
Holy Family’s Brody Welch won the 3A boys shot put with a mark of 50-4.5.
“They were getting close and I knew they could pop one as far as I did,” said Welch, who finished ninth as a freshman in discus and will try and improve on that tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. “Once I saw the last guys throw, I knew I had it.”
The Berthoud girls won the 3,200-meter relay with a time of 9:26.23.
(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)
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Class 2A
(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)
Dayspring Christian’s Eboselulu Omofoma didn’t waste any time in winning her first state title.
Still just a freshman, Omofoma cleared a personal best 5-3.5 in the Class 2A high jump to win the state championship. It was an exciting opening day to her first state meet, but Omofoma also hopes her early-career victory is a sign of things to come.
(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)
“I totally thought these other girls would come in and take first, second, third place,” Omofoma said. “But I PR’d by half an inch, so that’s great. God gave me the strength to do it. That’s it. I hope I can do better in the next years.”
Over on the track, Thursday was a good day for Buena Vista. Demons girls picked up a win in the 3,200 courtesy of Zaila Smith, who finished first with a time of 12:00.18.
The Wray girls won the 3,200-meter relay title with a time of 10:30.38.
Hayden’s Alison Rajzer won the girls triple jump, clearing 35-7.
On the boys side, Peyton won the 3,200-meter relay with a time of 8:29.76. Custer County’s Micah Zeller won the 3,200 with a time of 9:47.00.
Yuma’s Braden Smith cleared 13-01 to claim the pole vault gold.
True to his name, Limon’s Jeremiah Leeper won the triple jump with a mark of 42-6.75.
Wray’s Bryant Schoenthal won the 2A boys discus with a mark of 173-8.
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Class 1A
(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)
There were no preliminary races in Class 1A on Thursday, but several state titles were claimed in the classification.
In the 800 medley relay, Springfield won the gold with a time of 1:57.77.
(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)
Heritage Christian’s Ainsley Stanton won the girls 3,200 in 12:44.87.
Lone Star’s Alivia Weathers won the 1A girls pole vault, clearing 10 feet.
Elbert’s Olivia Lay wont the discus with a mark of 127-5.
On the boys side, Heritage Christian runner Jack Nauman’s 10:27.15 was plenty fast enough to win the 3,200.
DeBeque’s Jaden Jordan won the long jump with a mark of 21-6.50.
Granada’s John Hainer threw 45-0.25 to win the discus.
THORNTON — On a day that finally felt normal, the boys swimmers and divers made themselves extraordinary.
After Regis Jesuit’s Quinn Henninger put together the best diving performance in state history, the swimmers decided they weren’t going to be shown up. Cherry Creek started the day off with a state record in the 200-yard medley relay and the momentum kept rolling.
The Bruins finished the day with 530 points to claim the Class 5A boys swimming championship and put together an overall dominant performance at the Veteran Memorial Aquatic Center.
“We thought 2019 was a very dominating team, but this team was more dominating,” coach Chris Loftis said. “Not to mention 2020 that didn’t even take place.”
The two-year gap between state swim meets was tough on all teams, not just the state champions. But Thursday finals felt like a normal day. The stands were packed and the fans were loud.
And they had plenty of reason to be.
Following the diving and medley relay marks falling, the third state record of the day to fall might’ve garnered the biggest reaction throughout the VMAC. Heritage senior Alex McMahon didn’t just set a record in the 50 freestyle, he did it by achieving a major milestone for all Colorado boys swimmers. His 19.82 was the first time that the 20-second mark had been broken in the event.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
“It’s always been a goal of mine,” McMahon said. “I used to be a distance swimmer and I switched to sprints maybe a little less than a year ago and since I made that transfer, I knew that I wanted to go for a 19.”
Right on his heels was Cherry Creek’s Bryce Ortanes who was just over 20 seconds at 20.02. But Ortanes wasn’t going home empty-handed. Far from it. He was a big part of the winning medley relay team then anchored the 200 freestyle relay team that also set a state record at one minute, 22.05 seconds.
“I couldn’t ask for anything more,” Ortanes said. “I’m swimming by the people I call my family. It’s been great having four years under (Loftis) and with the brothers behind me. It’s been great.”
This is the 12th state championship for the Cherry Creek boys team. They held off a tough Regis Jesuit team who finished with 400.5 points.
And perhaps the best part for the coaches and the competitors was being able to do it with friends and family in the stands, rooting them on every step of the way.
“Once we knew that this was open to spectators, the meet was different,” Loftis said. “Our guys – and a lot of alumni know – that there is not a more high pressure meet in Colorado than this one. Those fans bring out the best in everyone, but especially our guys today.”
It’s hard to argue that swimmers across the board weren’t at their best. In all, five state records fell from the start of the day to the time that Columbine’s 400 freestyle relay team finished the race in 3:00.37.
It all started early when Regis Jesuit’s Henninger got things rolling with his diving performance in which he finished with 642.8 points, almost 31 points better than Regis alum Kyle Goodwin.
“My goal was just to 11 dives and not miss on one of them,” he said. “Consistency was the biggest goal for me.”
And it paid off for him. His diving display set the tone for a record-setting day that everyone in attendance likely won’t forget anytime soon.
Following an hour-long weather delay, events at the Colorado track and field state championships will resume at 5 p.m. Athletes should return to the track at 4:45 for a 10-minute warm-up prior to the start of the remaining events.
The state meet format has already moved to a rolling schedule.
PUEBLO — The only thing better than having a chance to win a baseball state championship is having two.
That’s exactly what Ponderosa will have on Saturday as the Mustangs beat D’Evelyn 7-3 to advance to Saturday unbeaten. With Holy Family winning earlier in the day, it means that the Tigers will have to take down Ponderosa twice while the Mustangs need just one win to claim the Class 4A state baseball title.
“We’ve talked about this for years and we approached it as another game we had to win” Ponderosa coach Bob Maloney said. “It’s huge for us to go into tomorrow undefeated especially against a quality Holy Family team.”
The Mustangs (20-2 overall) have no desire to fix a game plan that isn’t broken. They advanced to the second weekend of the state tournament without a loss by being steady on the mound and powerfully opportunistic at the plate.
After falling behind 1-0 to the Jaguars (14-5) in the top of the second inning, Ponderosa strung together four quick runs to take control.
In the third, the Mustangs showed off some of the power they had last week in Pueblo as Dom Lopez blasted a solo home run, his third of the state tournament.
“When you’re playing with a lead, it’s so much easier,” Lopez said. “And when you know your sticks are hot, you know you can get away with things you can’t get away with in you’re not hitting as well.”
With plenty of offense in the bag, pitcher Cael Porter maintained a steady hand after entering the game with one out in the second inning. Knowing he would get the necessary run support, Porter was determined to do his job and put the Mustangs in firm control of the state tournament heading into the final day of play.
“I wasn’t sure how our offense was going to do today,” Porter said. “I knew we’d do alright but that run support definitely helped a lot. I was nervous coming in and that made me feel a lot better.”
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
Holy Family’s championship hopes remain alive after battling back to beat Cheyenne Mountain 5-4 in the day’s first game. The Tigers (19-2) were up 3-0 after the first inning and Izaak Siefken kept the Cheyenne Mountain hitters at bay for most of the game. A three-run pad felt good enough to win as the game reached the later innings.
“I thought it was,” Siefken said. “Cheyenne Mountain fought hard and came back. They beat me in that last inning.”
Trailing 3-1 heading to the 7th, Cheyenne Mountain (17-4) got the tying run across the plate to force the game into extra innings, where it took a 4-3 lead in the top of the 8th.
A base hit and a hit batter put runners on first and second for the Tigers and Ryan Chacon brought them home with a hard hit double, keeping the Tigers in the mix.
It was the kind of win that the Tigers saw Ponderosa get last week and now there is hope a walk-off win could ignite a championship run.
“It could be,” Holy Family coach John Ray said. “Brad Helton threw a heck of a game against us, for all intents and purposes it just came out Holy Family.”
The Tigers and the Mustangs will play at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday at Hobbs Field following the conclusion of the 2A state championship game. Should Holy Family win, the second game will begin at 3 p.m.
