CHSAANow

Category: History

  • 3A boys golf: Lutheran’s Westin Pals claims title, and so does his team

    (Alan Versaw/CHSAANow.com)

    AIR FORCE ACADEMY — Starting a tournament four strokes behind on the final day is not a high percentage road to success.

    It got worse when Westin Pals struggled to start his day at the Class 3A boys golf state tournament, bogeying his opening hole and falling five strokes behind Prospect Ridge Academy’s Walker Franklin.

    The wind was gusting fairly heavily as Pals and Franklin began their days, one in each of the final two threesomes to take the course. Both Pals and Franklin struggled a bit with the wind, but Pals was quicker to settle into his groove.

    By the end of the ninth hole, Pals was 1-under and Franklin 2-over. Franklin still held the lead, but by only a single stroke. And the winds had calmed down measurably since the gusts of the morning.

    Pals’ threesome was playing one ahead of Franklin’s threesome, giving Franklin the advantage — if that is what is was — of knowing what Pals had shot on each hole ahead of him.

    The battle see-sawed through multiple lead changes over the final nine holes. Pals sank a long put to birdie 12. Franklin answered with a birdie on 13. Back and forth. Never more than a stroke of difference between the two.

    A bogey for Pals on 16 proved costly, however, allowing Franklin to take a one-stroke lead with his birdie on the same hole. Both Pals and Franklin parred 17. Pals parred 18 after a magnificent approach shot tried to settle then caught the slope and rolled several meters away from the pin.

    All Franklin had to do to secure the win was par hole 18. Franklin had been parring holes all day long, but the par eluded him on this hole. Franklin three-putted for a bogey, sending the contest into a playoff.

    The playoff didn’t last long. Franklin’s tee shot hit the rough, and he could not make up the lost ground. Pals calmly parred the hole and the contest — one which spanned the last ten or so holes with seemingly every spectator in sight checking their phones for updates on scoring with each hole.

    Golf was probably a little less stressful before the advent of live scoring.

    Pals’ approach to the day reflected the demeanor of one not given to adding pressure to stressful situations.

    “I saw the forecast, and it was pretty windy, so I knew I wouldn’t have to go crazy low,” he said. “I didn’t get off to the greatest start. I was two-over through four or five, and I just said, ‘This is my last golf tournament, let’s go out there and see what we can do.’”

    But there was still the 18th hole to conquer.

    (Alan Versaw/CHSAANow.com)

    “I thought he [Walker Franklin] was going to make it,” Pals said. “Walker’s been my buddy for years now. I know the feeling of missing a three-footer to win the tournament, but at the end of the day we were tied and went to the playoff.”

    Pals was still keeping things calm for the playoff. Surrounded by purple shirts rooting him on, Pals reflected, “Well, I’m color-blind, so everything looks the same.”

    Even so, he was making a conscious effort to tune out the crowd.

    “When we were on the first tee of the playoff, I kept telling myself, ‘Don’t look behind me; don’t look behind me!’” he said.

    And the strategy worked well enough for a win Pals is unlikely ever to forget.

    A lot of folks at Lutheran won’t forget it any time soon, either. As it turns out, Lutheran got a twofer on the day. Not only did Pals win individual honors, but a team with three players, a team that made it to state as a team only because those three players qualified as individuals, won a state title. And they won it rather convincingly.

    As Pals and Franklin were doing their thing over the last several holes, Pals’ teammates Jackson Lowe and Owen Deas were enjoying solid days, as well. Lowe shot six-over for the day and 11-over for the tournament to place 12th. Owen Deas shot 14-over for the day and 23 over for the tournament to place 36th.

    On a day when the wind was messing with player’s games all morning long, that was enough for the win. One by one, the teams in the title hunt fell by the wayside or struggled to close the gap, leaving Lutheran alone at the top.

    Aside from Lutheran, Holy Family had easily the best day and finished five back of the Lions. But the Tigers never could get close enough to catch Lutheran. Aspen, the co-leader at the end of the first day, finished 13 strokes behind Lutheran.

    (Alan Versaw/CHSAANow.com)

  • 4A boys golf: Stangebye goes low again as Montrose claims state title

    4A boys golf state tournament
    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    MONTROSE — Micah Stangebye is the ultimate hustler when it comes to invite others into his home and beating them at his game.

    This week, The Bridges served as his home. And golf was his game. And his two rounds in the Class 4A boys golf state tournament will be the talk of the club’s members for years to come.

    Stangebye put together a round of 5-under-par 66 to go with Monday’s 67. It was a good enough week that he won his second straight state championship while he and his Montrose teammates celebrated a third consecutive title.

    “Obviously it was an advantage being able to play this course every day this summer,” Stangebye said. “You know where you can miss it and where you can’t. You know how the putts break and overall I probably hit the ball better than I have any tournament this year starting on the first hole and all the way to the 18th green.”

    4A boys golf state tournament
    Kaden Ford. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    On Monday he made just one birdie on the entire front nine. He didn’t wait that long to get going on Tuesday. After Discovery Canyon’s Kaden Ford made a birdie on No. 2 to cut Stangebye’s lead to two strokes, the defending champion got going. He made a birdie on No. 3 and then kept getting look after look.

    Something coach Dave Woodruff talked about after Monday’s round was that he wanted his team to really take its time and appreciate everything that would happen on Tuesday. That message was received for Stangebye as he rushed a short birdie putt on No. 6 and missed it left. On the par-3 seventh, he missed the green to the right but made a fantastic up and down to keep his tournament bogey-free.

    “The winner is always going to be the guy with the smallest misses,” Stangebye said. “It came down to me having only one bogey in 36 holes.”

    That came on the par-3 12th when he flew the green and had little room to work with when trying to get on.

    But he rebounded with a birdie on 13.

    Meanwhile, his teammates were doing what they needed to do to ensure that the team came away with its desired three-peat.

    “Everyone says it’s hard to win at home,” Woodruff said. “You have the crowd and all your fans here. Ryan Lords, our other senior stepping up and making all-state, finishing top-10 was huge.”

    Lords finished the tournament 5-over while Jordan Jennings finished 9-over.

    The leaderboard was stacked with players that will be returning next year. Ford, a junior, finished in a tie for second with Northfield sophomore Hunter Swanson. Lewis-Palmer sophomore Gregory Lewis finished fourth.

    Palisade senior Ethan Aubert finished fifth at 3-over and Cheyenne Mountain senior Gabe Marmon finished 4-over to come in sixth.

    The next couple of years are shaping up to be very competitive for the 4A field.

    “Knowing how close I was to winning, it motivates me and lets me know I can win. I can do this this,” Ford said.

    Pueblo West, behind a strong performance from freshman Noah Wagner, finished second as a team. All four Cyclones golfers will return next season.

    The conclusion of the state golf tournaments marks the beginning of fall championship season. And the tales that will come out of Montrose will live on for years. Bridges general manager Eric Feely made sure that his tournament – and unofficially the start of championship season – started with the biggest party of the fall.

    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

  • Mountain Vista alum Mallory Pugh wins Women’s World Cup with United States national team

    (Jamie Smed/Flickr)

    Mallory Pugh has helped the United States Women’s National Team win the 2019 Women’s World Cup.

    The Americans beat the Netherlands 2-0 in the final in France on Sunday to secure their fourth Women’s World Cup crown, the most of any country. They set a tournament record with 26 goals scored.

    Pugh, a 2016 graduate of Mountain Vista, played in three matches during the tournament, and scored in the win over Thailand. She also had an assist in that game.

    Golden graduate Lindsey Horan is also a member of the U.S. squad, though she didn’t play soccer for her high school.

    The tournament also featured two others representing Colorado: Rocky Mountain graduate Estelle Johnson represented Cameroon, and Valor Christian alum Janine Beckie represented Canada. Both were four-year letter winners and all-state players during their high school careers.

    Pugh starred at Mountain Vista, and was named the national high school soccer player of the year as a junior. As a high school senior, Pugh was called up to the senior national team. Though she no longer played for the Golden Eagles as a result of that, Pugh continued to be part of the Mountain Vista’s team that spring, attending every practice and game that her schedule allowed to cheer her teammates on.

    A few months later, represented the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics games, and became the youngest American to score.

    Pugh follows in the footsteps of former Colorado great April Heinrichs, becoming only the second former Colorado high school soccer player to win a Women’s World Cup.

    Heinrichs, a 1982 graduate of Heritage who is a member of the CHSAA Hall of Fame, was the captain of the U.S. team that won the first-ever Women’s World Cup in 1991, and she later coached the Americans from 2000-04, leading them to a gold medal in the Olympics in 2004.

    Another former Colorado product came close: Marian Dougherty, who starred for Green Mountain before graduating in 2003, played in the 2007 World Cup as the U.S. finished third.

    (@USWNT/Twitter)

  • Palmer boys golf alum Colin Prater qualifies for U.S. Amateur

    (Brian Tirpak/UCCS Athletics)

    Colin Prater is heading to Pinehurst No. 2 in just over a month. The 2013 Palmer grad shot a 4-under-par 68 in both rounds at Columbine Country Club on Monday to qualify for the U.S. Amateur tournament next month.

    Prater played in the 2016 U.S Amateur, but missed the cut into match play by three strokes. Valor Christian alum Wyndham Clark advanced to the round of 32 in that year’s tournament.

    After graduating from Palmer in 2013, he played his freshman year at Colorado Mesa University where he won national freshman of the year honors and played in the NCAA tournament.

    He then transferred and played his final three years at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs where he made the NCAA national tournament in and 2018.

    As a senior during the 2012 boys golf season, he finished fifth at the Class 5A state tournament at Rolling Hills Country Club.

    He received national recognition as the caddy for Atlanta Braves hall of fame pitcher John Smoltz in the 2018 U.S. Senior Open at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs.

    He won a U.S. Open local qualifier at CommonGround Golf Course this past May, but did not advance through sectionals in California.

    A Colorado Springs native, Prater will be teaching at Doherty High School this fall.

  • Doherty girls basketball alum Aubri Noti’s commitment to Utah tells a deeper story

    Doherty Liberty girls basketball
    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    As the saying goes, the fastest way from Point A to Point B. The problem with that theory is that while the straight line is the fastest way to get there, it’s not always the best.

    Doherty girls basketball alum Aubri Noti is a walking example of wandering off that straight line only to take pride and joy in finally arriving at Point B.

    And her story is a lesson that should serve current high school athletes well.

    Last week, Noti announced her commitment to the University of Utah’s women’s basketball program. She graduated from Doherty in the spring of 2017. When trying to figure out her path to continue her basketball career, the string of offers from Division I programs that are so often glorified on social media weren’t coming in.

    And not once did she think that meant that she would never get that opportunity.

    “I was getting basically all D-II offers,” Noti said. “There were a few D-IIs from Colorado and mainly some JuCos. There weren’t that many (offers).”

    Noti’s career with the Spartans was as good as anyone could have hoped for. In her final two seasons with the team she averaged a double-double. She scored 13.7 points per game to go with her 10.2 rebounds in her junior year.

    Doherty Liberty girls basketball
    (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

    She was even better in her senior campaign as her scoring average jumped to 14.4 while grabbing 11.3 boards. She averaged over two blocks per game in both seasons.

    “The crazy thing is she didn’t even start playing basketball until she was in eighth grade,” Doherty coach Patrick McKiernan said. “She was about 5-10 or 5-11 which for the Colorado Springs area was huge. When we brought her in and started going through drills, for her to not be able to do much to where she is now is absolutely amazing.”

    Doherty made the 2016 Class 5A state tournament and won their first-round game against Rocky Mountain before losing to Ralston Valley.

    The next year was a memorable one as the Spartans went 24-2 and advanced to the 5A Great 8 at the Denver Coliseum. They ran into a buzzsaw in Grandview, but Noti had done enough by then to warrant Iowa Western Community College giving her a scholarship.

    And with that, she believed in herself.

    “When I came in, I wasn’t in shape and my skill level wasn’t ready for college yet,” she said. “Taking the JuCo route was going to help me not just as a basketball player, but as a person. It made me appreciate the game so much more.”

    She redshirted her freshman year, but once she hit the court this past season, she made it count. Her season averages looked very similar to what she had done her final two years at Doherty.

    She averaged 10.9 points and 9.5 rebounds per game with the Reivers this past winter. And now, the Pac 12 is calling.

    “My coach pushed us really hard,” Noti said. “She pushes us as hard as a D-I coach would and it helped me realize that it’s not a bad thing to go that JuCo route.”

    The message is clear and it’s one that McKiernan preaches to his players the second they enter his program. Playing college basketball means getting a free education.

    Big Division I offers and commitments are always going to be the ultimate goal. After all, athletes are competitors by nature and always want validation of being great,

    But it doesn’t need to happen on Day 1. Noti remained patient and took an avenue that she believed was best suited for her to reach that goal.

    “It was sudden and came out of nowhere,” Noti said. “They had contacted my coach, my coach told me and I scheduled my visit about a week and a half after that.”

    It’s funny how much can change in just two years. As she was getting looked at by Metro and other JuCos, McKiernan knew she was capable of doing great things. But her offer and commitment to Utah surprised even him and it was something he was happy to have guessed wrong on.

    “As far as Utah, maybe not,” McKiernan said. “I thought maybe small D-I. I just didn’t see her playing a post in D-I but I knew she had the work ethic and the athleticism.”

    She also had a long-term vision of what could happen. The road that was the straight line was closed to her. At no point did that mean the destination was unreachable. She just found another way to get there, even if it took a little longer.

  • The championship database has been updated to include all 2018-19 titles

    We’ve updated our championship database with every champion from the 2018-19 school year.

  • Jeffco Athletics inducts four new members into Hall of Fame

    Mary Anderson, Ron Castagna, Sue Ellis and Rudy Martin were inducted into the Jeffco Athletics Hall of Fame on Thursday, June 6, at the Arvada Center. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    ARVADA — Jeffco Public Schools held is 33rd annual Hall of Fame banquet Thursday, June 6, at the Arvada Center.

    Mary Anderson, Ron Castagna, Sue Ellis and Rudy Martin joined the Jeffco Athletic Hall of Fame that now numbers 208 members. The hall of fame started in 1986 with the charter class of Darrel Hafling, Tom Hancock, Vernon Heaston, Bill Lewis and Mel Schwartz.

    This year’s class includes several groundbreaking athletics, coaches and administers who have helped shape the long and rich athletic tradition in Jeffco.

    MARY ANDERSON

    Anderson was a physical education teacher at Wheat Ridge High School and North Arvada Middle School from 1983 to 2005. She was the Farmers’ varsity volleyball coach from 1983 to 1989.

    In 1987, Anderson coached Wheat Ridge to the Class 4A state champion. Wheat Ridge was ranked 13th nationally by Volleyball Magazine. Anderson was named the Jeffco Volleyball Coach of the Year, Colorado High School Volleyball Coach of the Year and was the Volleyball All-State Coach in 1987.

    In 2005, the new secondary gymnasium at Wheat Ridge High School was named the “Anderson Gymnasium”.

    RON CASTAGNA

    Castagna was the principal at Lakewood High School from 1996 to 2014. During his tenure at Lakewood there was tremendous growth in enrollment and the creation of the International Baccalaureate program.

    Castagna always should his passion and support for his athletic programs that had several much success on and off the fields and courts during his nearly 20 years at Lakewood High School.

    SUE ELLIS

    Ellis was a trailblazer for female high school student-athletics in the 1970s when Title IX went into effect. The Golden High School graduate excelled in volleyball and basketball where she was a two-time all-state player in both sports.

    During the 1975-76 basketball season, Ellis led the Demons to the AAA state championship title. It was the first year that girls basketball was a sanctioned sport by the Colorado High School Activities Association.

    Ellis went on to play basketball at Colorado State University where she was a four-year starter and three-time captain. She also went on to coach in Jeffco for several years.

    RUDY MARTIN

    Martin first made a name for himself at Lakewood High School on the baseball field as an all-state catcher on the Tigers’ AAA state championship team in 1970.

    He then went on to the University of Northern Colorado where he went into education with a focus on special education and physical education. Martin had a long coaching career that spans more than 40 years.

    Martin coached Columbine High School’s boys basketball team to the Class 5A state title in 1997. He racked up 226 wins during his head coaching stint with the Rebels. Martin spent time at Green Mountain High School where he was the head boys basketball coach for four years and four more years as the head girls basketball coach.

    Paul Davis Sportsmanship Award
    Jeffco 4A: Wheat Ridge
    Jeffco 5A: Columbine

    Varsity Achievement Award
    Valor Christian

    Fred Steinmark Award
    Jeffco 4A: Evergreen
    Jeffco 5A: Ralston Valley

    Assistant Coaches of the Year
    Jeffco 4A
    Coach of Female Sports: Crystal Reed, Littleton
    Coach of Male Sports: Scott MacDonald, Golden
    Jeffco 5A
    Coach of Female Sports: Gary Lash, Lakewood
    Coach of Male Sports: Ray Barron, Columbine

    Coaches of the Year
    Jeffco 4A
    Coach of Female Sports: Liz Hudd, Evergreen
    Coach of Male Sports: Jesse German, Green Mountain
    Jeffco 5A
    Coach of Female Sports: Tracey Boychuk, Pomona
    Coach of Male Sports: Mark Stenbeck, Dakota Ridge

    Athletes of the Year
    Jeffco 4A
    Female: Claudia Dillon, Evergreen
    Male: Ryan Burdi, Green Mountain
    Jeffco 5A
    Female: Anna Hall, Valor Christian
    Male: Logan DeArment, Columbine

  • Seven more Colorado products selected on the final day of the 2019 MLB Draft

    On the final day of the 2019 MLB Draft, former Colorado high school baseball players continued to hear their names called.

    Chris Givin

    On Wednesday, seven alumni were drafted out of college: Chris Givin (Rock Canyon), Chad Bell (Rocky Mountain), Jack Strunc (Mountain Vista), Alex Achtermann (Cherokee Trail), Bryan King (Ponderosa), Trevor Kehe (Lakewood), and Jake Eissler (ThunderRidge).

    That brings the total of Colorado high school products drafted this season to nine. No high school seniors were selected for the first time since 1984 — it is only the second time since 1965 that has happened.

    Givin, a 2015 graduate of Rock Canyon, was selected in the 19th round at No. 563 overall by the San Diego Padres. He recently finished his senior season at Xavier. The shortstop hit .306 with seven home runs and 35 RBIs this season. He led the team with four triples.

    Givin was a first-team all-Big East selection this season.

    At Xavier, he finished with 249 career hits, which are the third-most in school history.

    As a senior at Rock Canyon, he helped lead the Jaguars to the Class 5A championship, and he was named first-team all-state.

    This marks the fourth time a former Rock Canyon player has been selected in the MLB Draft, and it is the third consecutive season they’ve had someone drafted.

    Chad Bell

    Bell graduated from Rocky Mountain in 2015. He was also selected in the 19th round, at No. 585 overall, by the New York Yankees.

    He just finished his senior season at Louisiana-Monroe, where he hit .333 with 21 home runs and 61 RBIs this season.

    His 21 home runs set a single-season school record, and rank in the top ten nationally.

    A third baseman, Bell was named first-team all-conference in the Sun Belt, and also made the league’s all-tournament team.

    At Rocky Mountain, Bell was part of Rocky Mountain’s 2014 5A championship team, and was part of the all-state teams as a senior.

    This is the 16th time Rocky Mountain has had a former player selected in the MLB Draft.

    Jack Strunc

    Strunc went in the 25th round to the Miami Marlins, at No. 741 overall.

    A 2014 graduate of Mountain Vista, he helped Creighton reach the NCAA regional final this season, which was his redshirt senior year.

    Strunc hit .294 with four home runs and 34 RBIs this season as Creighton won the Big East Tournament. Strunc hit a grand slam in that game to help the Blue Jays clinch the title. He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.

    At Mountain Vista, he helped the Golden Eagles reach the Final 4 in 2014.

    He is the sixth former Mountain Vista player to be drafted, and the first since 2015.

    Achtermann graduated from Cherokee Trail in 2014. He’s an infielder and right-handed pitcher at Pittsburg State, having just completed his senior season.

    He threw 89 2/3 innings this season, and went 7-5 with a 3.51 ERA and 99 strikeouts. He hit .286 with four home runs and 26 RBIs.

    Achtermann is the third draft pick out of Cherokee Trail.

    King, who graduated from Ponderosa in 2015, made 13 starts at McNeese State this season, going 3-5 with a 6.94 ERA.

    He just completed his senior season there, helping them reach the regionals this season.

    King is Ponderosa’s sixth draft pick.

    In the 36th round, at No. 1068 overall, Kehe, a 2015 Lakewood grad, was drafted by Baltimore out of Colorado School of Mines.

    A redshirt junior, he hit .431 with 18 home runs and 58 RBI this season.

    He is the ninth player to be drafted from Lakewood.

    Two rounds later, in the 38th, 2016 ThunderRidge graduate Jake Eissler was selected by Cleveland with the 1150th overall pick.

    Eissler, a junior, was 4-4 with a 6.33 ERA and 50 strikeouts against 12 walks in 48 1/3 innings as he helped TCU reach the regionals.

    At ThunderRidge, Eissler was the 2016 5A player of the year as part of the all-state teams.

    He is the seventh draft pick from ThunderRidge in school history.

    We are tracking all the local selections in the 2019 MLB Draft on this page.

  • Mullen alum Maverick Handley, Regis Jesuit alum Quin Cotton selected in the MLB Draft

    (Chris Martin/Flickr)

    Maverick Handley, a graduate of Mullen, and Quin Cotton, who graduated from Regis Jesuit, were both selected in the 2019 MLB Draft on Tuesday.

    Handley, a 2016 graduate of Mullen, was selected in the sixth round, going No. 168 overall to Baltimore.

    He is the first former Colorado high school baseball player selected in the 2019 MLB Draft.

    Handley is a junior at Stanford, where he has helped the Cardinal reach the Super Regionals. He is hitting .293 with five home runs and 24 RBIs in 56 games this season as the team’s starting catcher. In the regional final against Fresno State on Monday, Handley homered twice.

    At Mullen, Handley was named first-team all-state as a senior.

    He is the first Mullen alum drafted since 2015, when Sam Haggerty was selected by Cleveland.

    Cotton was selected two rounds later, in the eighth, by the Cincinnati Reds at No. 234 overall.

    A junior center fielder, he hit .331 with four home runs and 37 RBI this season. He earned all-Western Athletic Conference honor for the second consecutive season after leading his team in hits (83) and doubles (21).

    As a senior at Regis Jesuit, he was also named first-team all-state. After his senior season, he was drafted by the Rockies in the 38th round, but opted to head to college.

    We will be tracking locals selected in the MLB Draft on this page.

  • List of Colorado products selected in 2019 MLB Draft

    The 2019 MLB Draft is June 3-5. Below is a list of Colorado products selected.

    Last season, 13 players who played high school baseball in Colorado were taken.

    For a list of all previous Colorado players drafted, browse our historical MLB Draft database.

    Coverage:

    [divider]

    Local selections in the 2019 MLB Draft

    Alumni
    RD OVR Team Name POS High School Grad College
    6 168 Baltimore Orioles Maverick Handley C Mullen 2016 Stanford
    8 234 Cincinnati Reds Quin Cotton CF Regis Jesuit 2016 Grand Canyon
    19 563 San Diego Padres Chris Givin SS Rock Canyon 2015 Xavier
    19 585 New York Yankees Chad Bell 3B Rocky Mountain 2015 Louisiana-Monroe
    25 741 Miami Marlins Jack Strunc SS Mountain Vista 2014 Creighton
    30 909 Colorado Rockies Alex Achtermann RG Cherokee Trail 2014 Pittsburg State
    30 912 Chicago Cubs Bryan King LHP Ponderosa 2015 McNeese State
    36 1068 Baltimore Orioles Trevor Kehe OF Lakewood 2015 Colorado School of Mines
    38 1150 Cleveland Indians Jake Eissler P ThunderRidge 2016 TCU