PARKER — The Class 5A girls lacrosse championship game is set as Colorado Academy and Valor Christian will meet on Wednesday.
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By Steve Abeyta & Paul DiSalvo
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By Paul DiSalvo
PUEBLO — As a freshman, Aubri Braecklein trotted around Elmwood Golf Course and finished at 19-over in the Class 3A girls golf state championship. She, like every other competitor that year, watched as Holy Family’s Hailey Schalk grabbed a six-stroke win.
Her sophomore year, she faced a four-stroke deficit to Colorado Academy’s Caroline Jordaan but the second day of the tournament at Eagle Valley Ranch was wiped out by weather.
In 2021, after her junior season was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Braecklein decided that she wouldn’t be denied a third time. She entered the day trailing St. Mary’s Academy freshman Maddy Bante by three strokes but fired a 2-under-par 69 to battle back and win the state championship in her final high school competition.
“This is really special,” Braecklein said. “I’ve had a rough season. I hurt my wrist and I’ve been trying to battle back from that so that made today really special.”
She had her moments where her round was looking spectacular. She got her first birdie of the day on the par 5 third hole then landed her tee shot on No. 6 within two feet of the cup. But it was her shot on the par 3 seventh that truly made it feel like it was going to be her day.
The ball landed on the right side of the green then started rolling forward and banking left, toward the direction of the pin. She was a foot away from a hole-in-one, but felt like she had every bit of momentum at that point.
“I knew I was close, but I didn’t think it was tap-in range,” Braecklein said. “It was a lot closer than I thought.”
Bante did her best to keep up with Braecklein’s pace, but the course wasn‘t as favorable to her Tuesday as it was in Round 1.
Too many times it looked as though her putts were going to fall but they ended up missing the cup by inches on either side. She didn’t quite finish her hunt to become the first freshman to win the 3A title since Schalk in 2017 but competing on that stage gave her valuable experience that she’ll look to apply in the future.
“I need to stay the course and not think too far ahead,” Bante said. “I have to think about the next shot and follow what I think is right and just do what I need to do.”
She’s far from going away empty-handed. Bante and teammate Natalie Tatar finished second and third on the individual leaderboard and Mallory Hopper finished in a tie for 11th after firing an 86. Those scores were good enough to win a team state title, the first girls golf title in school history, the second overall team championship in school history and the first since a field hockey title in 2008.
“It’s really special because I know that I made a difference that helped our team win,” Bante said. “I couldn’t have done it without the other three players we had in Reese (Brown), Natalie and Mallory.”
They also did it for their coach. Ann Wolta Blackstone is in her third battle with breast cancer and watching the way her team battled through two days of competition had her fighting back tears when trying to process the weight that the accomplishment carried.
“It’s such an amazing feat,” Wolta Blackstone said. “In all these years we’ve never won state and we’ve never even won regionals. I’m so proud of my girls. It was such an amazing and beautiful thing to watch.”
And they’ll have a chance to do it again. Bante and Brown are freshmen, while Tatar and Hopper are both juniors.
All of them will be back looking to win more gold in the spring of 2022.
Katelyn Lehigh accomplished several personal goals in spectacular fashion while winning the Class 5A girls golf individual state championship on Tuesday.
The junior golfer opened the final day at City Park Golf Course in a tie for the lead with teammate Taylor Bandemer and turned in a 4-under 66 that tied the 18-hole course record during her closing round and clinched her first state title. It was a championship effort over two years in the making. Lehigh’s two-day score of 138 added a third individual title to her family name – her older sister Lauren Lehigh won state titles in 2019 and 2018 (4A).
While she accomplished each of those things, Katelyn Lehigh’s focus remained elsewhere.
From the start, Lehigh was invested in helping Loveland win its first team title since moving up to 5A and second overall in the program’s history, which the Loveland girls accomplished collectively on Tuesday with a team score of 450.
“The team title always comes first and we did it together,” Lehigh said. “It has always been the goal to win it as a team and win it individually. But playing for the team title is the most important thing and it took all of us. If Reece (Bandemer) and Taylor (Bandemer) and Maryn (Harlow) didn’t play well, it wouldn’t have really mattered what I did.”
Taylor Bandemer tied for eighth with a 154. Reece Bandemer shot a 77 on Day 2 and finished in 14th place. Harlow tied for 50th with a score of 181.
After overcoming her fear of a blow-up opening round on Monday to position herself as the frontrunner for Day 2, Lehigh said her nerves disappeared when it came time to seal the deal on Tuesday. She split six birdies equally between the front and back nines for a 66.
“I was super nervous about everything yesterday,” Lehigh said. “Today, being paired with Olivia (Steen), it felt like pretty much every other high school tournament because we pretty much played together pretty much every single high school tournament. So, I was surprisingly calm today.”
Chasing Lehigh for most of the tournament, Prairie View junior Lily Nelson finished runner-up. She shot a 1-under 69 on the second day. It was the first tournament round under par of her prep career, and it came at a good time.
“It went really well,” Nelson said. “My putting was really good today and I was able to get some up-and-downs. My driver was also pretty good. I’m more confident because I’ve gotten better over the season and I’m looking forward to doing it again next season.”
Fossil Ridge’s Olivia Steen placed third, going 2-over on Tuesday for an overall 146. Eaglecrest’s Emma Bryant, who won the 5A individual title as a freshman in 2018, carded a 147. Valor Christian’s Grace young placed fifth at 149.
Rock Canyon was second in the team scoring. The Jaguars were 25 strokes behind Loveland and Cherry Creek was third with a score of 492.
The Season D girls golf state championships are Monday and Tuesday. Find live leaderboards below or download the CHSAA Golf app.
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The list of the qualifiers for the Season D boys and girls state track and field meet. The state meet runs from June 24-26 at Jefferson County Stadium. This list of qualifiers is tentative until heat sheets are released no later than Tuesday night.
More info: Schedule of events
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Download: PDF
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PUEBLO — Sometimes perspective can provide the proper inspiration. That’s certainly the case for the St. Mary’s Academy girls golf team. Like any team playing in the Class 3A state tournament at Elmwood Golf Course in Pueblo, the Wildcats are looking for a state title. But there is so much more on the line for them.
A state championship isn’t just an achievement. It’s a thank you. They want to thank coach Ann Wolta Blackstone for the time that she dedicates to them to help them improve their game. Especially when she has a life-changing battle of her own.
Wolta Blackstone is going through her third battle against breast cancer. But even in the midst of fighting off a life-threatening disease, she’s coaching her girls through their swings and seeing the best results she can.
Led by freshman Maddy Bante’s even-par 71, the Wildcats came out of the first day of the state tournament with the team lead.
“It’s amazing,” Wolta Blackstone said. “I’ve coached for six years at St. Mary’s Academy, and this is the first time I’ve had three really good golfers. It’s just so fun. It’s fun to watch them compete and have a good time.”
Having a good time can certainly help when the scores are favorable.
The Wildcats have three players inside the top 10 on the leaderboard. Bante’s 71 was the low round of the day at Elmwood and she’ll go into Tuesday’s final round with a three-stroke lead over Jefferson Academy’s Aubri Braecklein.
She never let herself get into too much trouble. She made a bogey on the par 4 fifth hole then regained the stroke by sinking a long birdie putt on the par 5 ninth.
On the back nine, she made bogeys on 13 and 17 but got a huge emotional and confidence boost as she chipped in for eagle on 16.
Bucket for Bante on the par 5 16th and all of a sudden she’s 1-under for the tournament. #copreps pic.twitter.com/rwMxmWInUJ
— Daniel Mohrmann (@DanMohrmann) June 21, 2021
“I definitely was not expecting that,” Bante said. “I just wanted to get it to within a few inches. It will bring me a lot more confidence on that hole and get me to thinking I can get there in two.”
Her tee shot veered left on 18, but she escaped the trouble and got up and down for a par and the best round of her life. As she walked off the green, she and Wolta Blackstone embraced and allowed the emotions of the round and situation at hand wash over them.
Prior to heading to the course, the team had surprised their coach with a fresh set of golf shirts for everyone. The St. Mary’s Academy logo was in pink and a pink ribbon along with “Coach Ann” were stitched on the right sleeve.
It was the idea way for them to remember to play with their emotions on their sleeves as they hunt the first girls golf title in school history.
“I really wanted to do something special for her,” junior Mallory Hopper said. “This year I thought we would make it all about her because she inspires us with her strength every single day. It was a way to honor all that she does for us.”
Hopper’s 83 has her in 10th place on the leaderboard while Natalie Tatar shot 77 to sit in fourth. With Bante sitting in first heading into Tuesday, the Wildcats have a chance to take both the individual title and the team championship.
And there’s nothing they’d like more than to play their way to those championships for their coach.
“I’m so blessed with Coach Ann,” Bante said. “We are so thankful for her so doing this for her is just a small thing compared to what she’s done for us.”
Tuesday’s goal of winning a state title is a goal for both players and coach. It’s no longer about any of them doing anything for each other. It’s all about doing something together.
Between Classes 5A and 4A, Lauren Lehigh won a pair of girls golf state championships during her time at Loveland and was the last high school player to win a 5A state title in Colorado.
Her younger sister, Katelyn Lehigh, had designs on extending the Lehigh family’s reign over Class 5A but the global pandemic cancelled the 2020 season, leaving the Loveland junior with a long while to heap expectations upon herself for when her opportunity would finally come. On Day 1 of the 5A state tournament at the newly redesigned City Park Golf Course, Lehigh didn’t succumb to the pressure of living up to her family name in the final days of Season C.
Carding a two-over 72 on Monday, Lehigh will open Tuesday’s final round in a tie for the lead with senior teammate Taylor Bandemer. The duo’s first-day effort positioned their Loveland team with a 10-stroke lead in the team competition.
“My freshman year, we had state at Harmony and it got rained out to one day,” Lehigh said. “So, that’s the only state experience I’ve had because COVID cancelled last year. So, I was definitely really nervous coming into today. I feel like I set expectations for myself over the past couple of years to play well. I’ve played well all high school season and I just tried to settle down and play my game because you can’t win it on the first day.
“The fear going in was that I would do something, it would blow up, and everything I’ve been working towards for the past two years would just suddenly be gone. That’s not the case, so I’m really happy.”
Both Lehigh, who tied for eighth in 2019, and Bandemer stayed steady throughout Monday’s opening round. Bandemer birdied No. 8 and No. 13 to lower her score after starting 3-over through the first five holes. Lehigh birdied No. 9 to make the turn at 1-over and posted a lone bogey on the back nine to stay at 2-over on a mild-weather June day that didn’t see any player go low.
“I played pretty solid golf. I hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens,” Lehigh said. “I couldn’t seem to get a put to the hole but my midrange putting really saved me today. I made a lot of five- and 10-footers for par. But nothing went drastically wrong, so I’m good.”
It has been over two years since the last girls golf state championships and since 2018 that Eaglecrest’s Emma Bryant won the 5A title as a freshman. Still in the hunt to reclaim the title from the Lehigh sisters, Bryant shot a 5-over 75 and will be three strokes behind the co-leaders when play resumes on Tuesday morning.
Right on the heals of the Loveland pair, Prairie View junior Lily Nelson sits third after carding a 73. Fossil Ridge junior Olivia Steen, who was fourth in 2019, is currently fourth at 74. Rock Canyon’s Grace Dunkleberger, who tied Lehigh for eights place in 2019, and Mountain Vista’s Abby Aeschleman are tied at 75 with Bryant in fifth place.
Ten strokes behind Loveland (225) in the team competition, Rock Canyon (235) will begin the second day in second place. Arapahoe (248) is third 23 strokes behind the front-running team.
“I think our girls were really tough and I’m really proud of how they played,” Rock Canyon coach Ron Saul said. “They had some adversity out there and I really expect that they’re going to make a run at it tomorrow. We’re 10 shots back but you can make that up in a heartbeat. And they’ve got the talent to do it.”
Fossil Ridge won the team title in 2019. Loveland was second, just one stroke back. Cherry Creek was third.
Pairing and tee times for Day 2 will be released Monday night.
ENGLEWOOD – Four teams took the field at Englewood High School on Saturday to decide which two would battle for the Class 4A state championship in Season D. At the end of a long and sweltering and occasionally rainy day, Cheyenne Mountain and Evergreen emerged victorious.
Next Tuesday, those two teams will face one another in the championship game at 5 p.m. back in the same stadium where they shined in the semifinals.
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Cheyenne Mountain boys lacrosse is back in the Class 4A state championship game.
At Englewood High School on Saturday, top-seeded Cheyenne Mountain held off a late charge from No. 4 Erie to win 9-8 in the state semifinals and punch its ticket to a third straight title game appearance. For players like senior Griffin Meyer, who remembers the sweet taste of winning a championship back in 2018, the chance to play for another has been something they have eagerly awaited.
“We just can’t wait. It’s time,” Meyer said. “I was there and it’s the most unbelievable feeling when you win a state championship and I want to experience that with all the fellas on this year’s team.”
The 2018 champion, Cheyenne Mountain lost to by one goal to Golden in 2019 and had to wait longer than usual for another shot at state, as the global pandemic cancelled the spring season in 2020.
In their return to the state semifinals against Erie on Saturday, Cheyenne Mountain pulled out to a 5-1 lead at halftime. Erie, however, cut the lead to 7-5 with six minutes left and 9-7 with 1:46 remaining in the contest. The Tigers cut the lead to one goal with 16.4 seconds left and despite a strong attacking effort off a reset, could not find the net for an equalizing goal that would have sent the two teams into overtime against one another for the second time this season.
Cheyenne Mountain defeated Erie, 11-10, in double overtime on May 6 during the regular season.
“They’re a really good team and they have some great offensive players,” Cheyenne Mountain senior defender Carver Ward said. “We did a good job of controlling the possession early on, but it also felt like a battle against the heat as much as against them. We wore down and bit and once they got the possession, it was their game right down to the last shot. But I think we did a good job on defense because as far as settled opportunities, they didn’t score much.”
When Cheyenne Mountain faces Evergreen in the title game on Tuesday, the team will be playing for the program’s second state championship.
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On Saturday, the No. 2-seeded Evergreen boys lacrosse team showed up to Englewood High School determined to play its way through to the Cougars’ first-ever appearance in a boys lacrosse state championship game.
So, they did.
Facing 11th-seeded Eagle Valley in the state semifinals, Evergreen started slow but used an hour-plus lightning delay to regain its form. Following the delay, the Cougars outscored the Devils by a margin of 11-4 to run away with the victory, 14-5. As a result, and for the first time ever, the Cougars have the opportunity to play for a state title.
“This team is special in so many ways,” Evergreen head coach Jay Egger said. “We didn’t start off well, so I’m really proud of the discipline and the character they showed in order to adjust. We’re going to state. Oh my gosh. This is the first time our program has ever won a conference, let alone go to the championship game. We’ve just got really good dudes and it’s been a special season.”
In Tuesday’s championship game, the Cougars will face a Cheyenne Mountain team that has played in the last two title games and claimed its own first-ever state championship in 2018. Cheyenne Mountain beat Evergreen, 12-6, during the regular season.
Despite being underdogs on paper, the Cougars don’t appear to be intimidated by their upcoming opponents’ recent success.
“We’ve just got to come in and outwork a really good Cheyenne Mountain team that we played earlier in the season,” Evergreen’s Jack Fairbanks said. “This time we’ll be ready for them, ready to put up a really good fight, and hopefully win this thing.”
Tuesday’s Class 4A state championship between the tournament’s top two seeds will begin at 5 p.m.
ENGLEWOOD – Four teams took the field at Englewood High School on Saturday to decide which two would battle for the Class 5A state championship in Season D. The potential for several firsts was established when Mountain Vista and Valor Christian emerged victorious.
Next Tuesday, those two teams will return to Englewood to one another in the championship game at 7:30 p.m. It will be both teams’ first appearance in the Class 5A title game.
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There have been many big moments in Mountain Vista boys lacrosse history, but arguably the biggest of the them all now belongs to Cam Brown.
With his team battling defending state champion Cherry Creek in overtime of a state semifinal game at Englewood High School on Saturday, Brown shouldered his way past his defender and scored from the left side to send his team home with a 13-12 victory. Thanks to the senior’s golden goal, the Golden Eagles will play for a golden trophy when they make their first Class 5A state championship appearance on Tuesday.
“I knew as soon as we got the ball in overtime, the game was over,” Brown said. “Our offense is good and we were playing Vista lacrosse all-around. I got by my guy and I just did what I had to do. We’re the hardest working team in the state and we knew we had a shot at state. Now, we’re here.”
Saturday’s penultimate-round game may have ended in favor of Mountain Vista, but it began quite differently. The defending champions raced out to a 4-0 lead before the Golden Eagles scored five unanswered goals to get back in front. The contest was tied eight different times.
“We knew it was going to be an absolute dogfight,” Mountain Vista head coach Matthew Plitnick said. “They’ve got great coaches over there. They’ve got great players. We dug ourselves a huge hole early that I was not very happy with, but then we started to have confidence in the way that we were prepared. We started executing a lot better and this is the first time Vista has ever played for a state championship in lacrosse. We have about 18 kids on the team, so we have a real small roster and I’m real proud of the eight seniors we have to the team because they all play a big role for us.”
Cherry Creek’s Dakota Johnson and Thomas Power each scored four goals. Mountain Vista’s Dillon Pless, Caleb Bonjean and Brown each recorded a hat trick.
In Tuesday’s championship game, the Golden Eagles will face No. 2 Valor Christian. Mountain Vista dealt Valor Christian its sole loss of the season back on May 14.
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The Valor Christian boys lacrosse team has won two Class 4A state championships in the last six years and the Eagles would certainly love to add a 5A trophy to their growing collection.
They’ll soon get their chance.
In the state semifinals on Saturday at Englewood High School, No. 2 Valor Christian won 10-7 over No. 6 Regis Jesuit to reach the 5A state championship game for the first time. After missing out on what they believed to be a promising season when the global pandemic shut down high school sports in 2020, the Eagles are even more motivated to get the job done in Season D.
“It means everything,” Eagles senior Griffin Mallory said. “Last year was devastating because we had a great senior class. These guys this year, we really came together and we knew what our goals were from the beginning. We wanted to go to state. It didn’t stop with a day of work. We came out every single day and this is the result.”
With two familiar conference rivals squaring off, Saturday’s game went back and forth throughout the bulk of the contest with both defenses setting the tone early on. The score was tied four times before Valor Christian became the first team to pull ahead by more than a goal in the third quarter. The Eagles led 6-5 going into the fourth quarter and scored four unanswered goals to start the fourth quarter to distance themselves from their opponents.
Valor Christian led by as many as five goals in the final frame before Regis Jesuit was able to mount a late comeback attempt and cut the led to three before the final buzzer. Valor Christian’s Jake Likes led all scorers with four goals, while teammate Gunnar Fellows and Mallory each had two. Will McFadden led Regis Jesuit with a pair of goals.
In the championship game, Valor Christian will face a Mountain Vista team that beat the Eagles, 12-10, during the regular season. The blemish stands as Valor Christian’s only loss to date in Season D.
“We’re excited. We really were hoping for Vista,” Valor Christian head coach Josh Hoffman said. “That’s our only loss for the year, so we’ve been wanting to play them and we’re excited to play them again. Hopefully, we’ll be ready to go.”
Tuesday’s 5A title game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Englewood High School.
PUEBLO — Peyton is a well-balanced baseball team and if there was any doubt about that, the Panthers erased them all on Saturday at the Runyon baseball complex in Pueblo.
In the two games they played, Peyton showed strength in both pitching and on offense as it grabbed a 15-0 win over Denver Christian and an 8-1 win over Buena Vista to advance to the Class 2A championship game next Saturday.
In the first game, as strong as the Panthers (17-1) overall were offensively, it was the arm of CJ Lashley that was perhaps the most impressive part of their game. Lashley threw a four-inning no-hitter which gave his team a huge mental boost not just for their second game of the day but for the remainder of the 2A state baseball tournament.
“We’re an all-around team,” Lashley said. “Throwing that no-hitter definitely gave us a lot of confidence and helped us save some arms for the next game. It shows that it’s not one player on the team, we have balance throughout the whole roster.”
Lashley helped his own cause early in the first game as he ripped a 3-RBI triple in the second that pushed the Peyton lead to 6-0 over Denver Christian. They added nine more runs to finish off the game in the bottom of the 4th, just before Runyon went into a lightning delay for close to an hour.
When they took the field against Buena Vista, the Panthers showed no sign of slowing down. They again jumped on the board early and Brennen Meyers pitched five solid innings.
The Panthers will have a chance at avenging their only loss of the season as they’ll head back to Pueblo next Saturday to face No. 1 Limon. The Badgers beat St. Mary’s 8-1 then rallied in a big way to beat Rye 16-6 to advance to the state championship game.
A four-run first inning for Rye put Limon (19-0) in an early hole, but they responded in a big way in the bottom of the 2nd. Kory Tacha tied the game with a 2-RBI single and then the Badgers added five more in the inning to take firm control.
“We’ve been down like that before,” Tacha said. “We had to battle back in games earlier in the season and we’re good at that. We’re a team that can battle through adversity and come out on top.”
Limon and Peyton met earlier in the year, back on May 21, when the Badgers got a 4-2 win. That game featured a pitching matchup of Lashley and Tacha and it wouldn’t be shocking to see the same matchup in a week’s time.
The 2A baseball state championship game will begin at 9:30 a.m. on June 26 at Hobbs Field.
