(Jack Carlough)

COLORADO SPRINGS – The highest scoring state championship game in CHSAA girls soccer history went in favor of the Dawson Mustangs, as they took down Telluride, 15-4, on Saturday at Weidner Field to win their second Class 2A title.

Senior Degen Miller, who was a member of Dawson’s 2018 title team, scored four goals in her final high school hoorah. Miller didn’t have to do it all by herself, as Lauren Muniz, Elise Freedman and Helen Leon each netted a hat trick as well.

Head coach David Criswell, who will soon move to Chicago, could tell early on that his final team at Dawson was different.

“Since the first practice we had and the first game we had, I could tell this was a special group,” Criswell said. “Forget their technical skills, I think those stand for themselves, they’re just such a cohesive team.”

The second-seeded Mustangs capped off a 12-1 season with their only loss coming against 4A Northridge. Telluride, meanwhile, came in as the No. 1 seed but fell to 12-1.

The big stage wasn’t an unfamiliar one for Dawson, which has played in every title game since 2A soccer’s conception in 2015. Following a canceled 2020 season, this year’s title game was hosted by the newly-minted Weidner Field in Colorado Springs.

Despite producing the largest goal differential in a Colorado state title game, the Mustangs fell behind early when Telluride freshman Brooke Duncan scored the game’s opening goal. The relinquished goal made for just the second time all year the Mustangs fell behind. Criswell said his team didn’t lose confidence and quickly answered with five straight goals.

Dawson held an 8-3 lead at the half and didn’t let off the gas pedal much in the final 40 minutes. Freedman and senior Maddy Timms each scored to open the second half and induce a running game clock. Madison Shaw also scored in the game.

With just over 10 minutes remaining, Miller scored her fourth goal to put Dawson up 12-4. Her Season D playoff run totaled 14 goals including six against Front Range Christian in Round 1. Miller credited her midfield for fueling the offense.

“Our midfield played great today. I think they had great balls,” Miller said. “They were able to find spaces between Telluride’s defense and slip some balls in.”

For both Miller and Criswell, their final game together was bittersweet.

“It (was) our coach’s last game with this team, which means a lot to all of us,” Miller said. “We really wanted to win it for him and we’re all just so happy that we were able to do that.”

(Nick Jurney)

FREDERICK – Chocolate frosted donuts.

That’s the breakfast that fueled a championship performance from Eaton High School’s Logan Moser, as the senior hurler helped guide his team to the Class 3A state baseball title Saturday at Frederick High School.

Moser pitched a complete game and racked up 13 strikeouts from the bump and also drove in a run to help the cause in Eaton’s 4-1 win over The Classical Academy. It was just one of those days where he woke up feeling like he had the sweet stuff.

“From the first pitch in the bullpen I knew it was going to be a good day,” Moser said. “Our team scoring runs really helps. You just calm down and focus, knowing you’re here for a reason and you’re doing a job.”

The championship represents the 12th in Eaton baseball’s storied history, and first since 2015, adding to the school’s state record. The team’s energy as they attempted to make that feat a reality was apparent.

Junior Jaden Stone led off the game with a single and scored the first run after a deep drive to center field by sophomore Walker Martin turned into an RBI triple.

Martin scored after the next batter, senior Ryan Ure – the star pitcher from Friday’s semifinal victory – drove him home on a fielder’s choice, making Eaton’s lead 2-0 early. Moser added to the insurance pot with an RBI single in the second, driving home junior Dirk Duncan after he reached base from a leadoff double.

“Our guys all year long, with the exception of the tournament actually, have done a great job of scoring in the first inning,” head coach Todd Hernandez said. “We talked about that as coaches, if we could get Logan two or three runs early and give him a cushion to let him go to work, we’d be in good shape.”

While it was ultimately a wire-to-wire victory for the champs, it certainly didn’t come without drama. A fifth-inning rain delay prolonged Eaton’s quest for their 12th title, but it didn’t damper anyone’s spirits. Moser came back from the delay and struck out six of the next eight batters he faced, and TCA’s lone run scored in the bottom of the seventh during a much-too-late rally attempt.

“That (rain delay) is one of those things where I just kept thinking, ‘Well we’ve waited this long, we can wait another half-hour’,” Hernandez said with a smile. “We knew all along that Logan wasn’t going to come out of the game. We knew we could finish it.”

(Max Potter)

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 12^th state title overall for Douglas County.

(Brian Livergood)

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

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.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

AURORA – The Colorado Academy girls lacrosse team has done it again.

On Wednesday at Legacy Stadium, the top-seeded Mustangs won 14-3 over No. 2 Valor Christian to claim the Class 5A state championship. Colorado Academy has now won the last six 5A state championships and boasts seven in total.

For as long as the Mustangs have dominated Class 5A, this current group of seniors hardly remembers what it feels like to lose. When playing for their high school team, in fact, they never have.

“It’s been crazy, but this is so nice,” Mustangs seniors defender Mya Rutherford said. “We lost our season last year but we brought everybody back together, got back on the road and it just feels so good to be back on the field together and playing. And winning the state championship, it’s unbeatable.”

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Unbeatable is a good way to describe Colorado Academy girls lacrosse in recent years. The last time the Mustangs lost a game was April 20, 2017.

On Wednesday against Valor Christian, a team they beat 15-12 during the regular season, the Mustangs rode a flurry of late first-half goals to an 8-2 halftime advantage. They followed up that early-game performance by holding Valor Christian to one goal in the second half.

After entering the state tournament with a first-round bye, the Mustangs outscored their three postseason opponents 51-10 and did not allow more than four goals in any playoff game. The Mustangs defense, anchored by Rutherford, was as stout as ever in Season D’s final game. Against it, Valor Christian’s talented scoring leaders Tess Osburn (45 goals) and Regan Digby (39), Eliza Osburn (30), Kaley Kakac (29) and Lauren Rismani (23 goals, 46 assists) combined for combined for just two goals.

“Tonight, we played really well,” Mustangs senior Jessie Bakes said. “All of our hard work throughout the season has helped us clean up all of our little mistakes. In practice, we’re playing the best defense and they’re playing the best offense because we’re playing each other. We just gave it our all and left it all out on the field.”

Bakes, who finished the season with a team-high 54 goals, scored twice on Wednesday. Teammates Zoe Martin and Katharine Merrifield each recorded a hat trick in the title game.

Wednesday’s title game was the first 5A championship game that didn’t include Cherry Creek since the sport was sanctioned in 1998.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

AURORA – The Class 4A state tournament was anything but a made for television event. There wasn’t one ounce of drama after Day 1 for either Holy Family’s Jessica Mason or the Discovery Canyon Thunder.

Both had sizable leads after Monday’s first round, and both expanded on them on a blazing Tuesday afternoon at CommonGround Golf Course.

Mason kept the medalist honors at Holy Family, following her teammate Hailey Schalk’s three-year hold on the event from 2017-19. She won by 10 shots and of the three subpar rounds that were shot over the two days, she had two of them, going 69-71, for a two-day total of 140. She was 10 shots better than Mullen’s Sofia Choi, whose eagle on No. 18 to close out her second round helped her match Mason’s 71.

Discovery Canyon’s foursome of Emily and Christina Cheng, Mena Song-Lew and Lauren Jaworowski were even better on Day 2 and blew out the field by 34 shots over a Windsor team that rallied from a tough first day to earn some hardware.

Emily Cheng (74), Lauren Cheng (78) and Song-Lew (78) all placed in the top 15 and Joworowski was 23rd for the Thunder, who claimed their first state title in the sport and the first girls title for the school that opened in 2007.

“This means everything,” said an emotional Thunder coach Mark Liggett, whose wife Susan begged her husband to join his team on Tuesday after missing Day 1 to be by her side in the hospital in Colorado Springs as she recovered from multiple surgeries.

“They are all really serious about their games and they came out here and they got down to business.”

It was a brilliant run for Discovery Canyon, which graduates just Christina Cheng, and will return its full compliments including several up and coming freshmen. The Thunder rolled through regionals and with their No. 1 ranking through iWanamaker, had their sights firmly set on proving to those north of I-70 that good golf was being played down south.

“We don’t deal with the Northern teams that much (especially this year), so we didn’t really know what they were thinking,” Liggett said.

Tuesday may very well have been the perfect elixir for Liggett’s soul.

“Just being up here and being with them, I didn’t want to miss it,” said Liggett, who has been married to his lovely for 35 years.. “She was feeling a little better and she told me last night to go, you can’t do anything else for me at the hospital.

“I love being able to cheer them on and watch them play their game and watch them break through.”

As for Mason, she was in control from the start. She just kept making pars and her nearest playing competitors — Mead’s Timbre Shehee and Emily Cheng — were making random bogeys to fall further behind.

“I wasn’t super nervous on No. 1 because I knew I had an eight shot lead and I just kept telling myself ‘I’m not going to blow it today and if I do, I’m going to be very upset,” Mason said. “When the lead  continued to grow, I just had to keep doing what I was doing, but don’t be arrogant about it. Be who you are and play your game.”

Mason was fearless throughout the day and the highlight of her day came at the 451-yard par-5 No. 11. She hit 8-iron in from 196 yards and just missed the elusive albatross by inches as the ball rolled over the cup and settled 2 feet behind it for a tap in eagle that took her to 6-under for the tournament.

“This means a lot, because freshman year (after finishing fifth) I was just kind of behind (Hailey) and now that I’m not, it’s nice to say that I’ve always been here,” Mason said. “It’s just coming to grips with my game and getting better.

“Feels good to keep the legacy going and hopefully next year too.”

(Max Potter)

ENGLEWOOD – Back-to-back goals from Kevin Papa helped Cheyenne Mountain overcome a two-goal deficit in the fourth quarter to topple Evergreen, 5-4, in the Class 4A boys lacrosse state championship on Tuesday evening at Englewood High School.

Cheyenne Mountain, which won the state title in 2018, earned the second state title in program history and avenged a 10-9 loss to Golden in the 2019 finals.

Kevin Papa was the hero for the Indians, scoring the last two goals, a turnaround strike off the far post with just under four minutes left in the game, then again with 48 seconds left in the contest as he streaked across the face of goal from a Zak Paige pass.

“It was an awesome game,” Papa said. “All of my boys put me in a good position to score and we just made it happen in the second half. We were getting our shots all game, just some of them weren’t falling. We just played like we know how and tried to move the ball faster than they could move their feet.”

Not to be understated was the tremendous effort by Cheyenne Mountain. Goalkeeper Matthew Kelleher came up with eight terrific saves to hold the Cougars well below their scoring average.

“It was a tough, physical game out there today, the refs definitely let us play, but I thought they called a great game,” Kelleher said. “We just kept our composure and playing like we know how.”

The defenses excelled on both sides, as Andrew Morris stifled the Cheyenne Mountain offense in goal for the most part, tallying seven saves. Defensemen Mike Crane and Jared Stiller played a hard, physical game in the trenches. Stiller even recorded a pair of long-stick goals.

Cheyenne Mountain head coach Mike Paige felt a special connection to this group in Season D.

“Last year, we had to let some seniors go and we had a phenomenal team,” Paige said. “This year’s seniors felt like that was an opportunity missed, but they weren’t going to let this one slip by. I’ve been coaching these guys since they were 4- and 5-year-olds. To see this season come together the way it did, these guys worked hard and it all magically happened.”

Evergreen made history with its first appearance in the title game and the Cougars played their hearts out, holding Cheyenne Mountain scoreless for just under 32 minutes.

It was also the second-lowest scoring game since 2006 when Cherry Creek beat Denver East, 6-2. It was the lowest scoring contest in a 4A title game since the two classifications started having separate championships in 2013.

(Max Potter)

ENGLEWOOD – Dillon Pless found the back of the net 40 seconds into the overtime period to lift Mountain Vista over Valor Christian, 10-9, in the Class 5A boys lacrosse state championship.

It was the first state title game appearance in the Mountain Vista program’s history, and the Golden Eagles capitalized on it to win their first state championship.

Pless led the charge on offense for the Golden Eagles, netting three goals, but the teams fought for 48 minutes, as neither team had a lead larger than three. The score was even at nine after Gunnar Fellows struck for his third game and brought Valor Christian to even.

As the whistle sounded, Valor took possession but a turnover gave Mountain Vista a chance to seal it. Taking the ball in from the left side, Pless shot on the near post and connected to send Vista home victorious.

“We have been here all tournament, so this was nothing new to us,” Pless said. “I knew I had the matchup, so I just took him to the net and was able to finish. I cannot describe the feeling when I saw it go in, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am so happy I could come through for my teammates.”

The Golden Eagles have been in similar situations before. Mountain Vista posted three overtime winners just to get reach the championship game.

“This is huge for us as a program,” Mountain Vista head coach Matthew Plitnick said. “We have eight seniors that we are losing, but all eight played an incredible role for our team, it is going to be tough to see them go. We have some great freshman coming in and our sophomore class is the best in the state, so we are in pretty good shape going forward.”

Plitnick said the key to the winner was staying calm.

“We knew if we got it around to the back side, we would have a great look and he just buried it, I couldn’t be prouder,” Plitnick said.

Both teams were scoreless in the first quarter because of the terrific goalie play on both sides. Valor Christian keeper Mitch Gutsgall made save after save in goal for the Eagles and Nate Kopec kept pace, standing as a brick wall in net for Vista.

“We have 22 guys on this team that can all play great lacrosse and my teammates mean everything to me,” Kopec said. “It was a battle all game and my defense and I stepped up when we needed to, but this was a team effort.”

Not lost in the game was the effort put forth by both Griffin Mallory and Jake Likes, along with Gunnar Fellows, these three scored eight of the VCHS goals.

Valor Christian played in its first championship game at the 5A classification. The Eagles have a pair of Class 4A state championships already.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

GREELEY — Less than 20 days ago, Holly baseball coach Dayne Eaton made a crucial decision that would greatly shape the ending of his team’s season.

Flatirons Academy was on its way to Holly for a doubleheader and Eaton had to decide whether or not a regular season win was more important than gambling on a pitching matchup for a potential state championship showdown. By the time the decision was made, Eaton had decided that Brigden Parker, the team’s ace, wouldn’t pitch in that regular season doubleheader.

He wanted to save him for state.

The gamble paid off in a big way as Parker threw a complete game shutout and Holly beat the Bison 1-0 to win the program’s second Class 1A state baseball crown and first since 2016.

“Our strength is our depth in pitching,” Eaton said. “So I left (the regular season games) up to those other guys and we were going to save Brigden. The Limon coach (Rocky Rockwell) told me we were on a collision course with them for the state title. Limon beat them by one and beat us by one and both games could have gone either way.”

It was a much bigger gamble considering that Eaton was determined not to throw Parker until the state title game and left the semifinal showdown up to his son, Dakota.

The Wildcats (16-4 overall) helped him out in a big way. Home runs from Parker and Jose Magallanes led the way to a 9-1 win, setting up that showdown between Holly and Flatirons Academy.

That collision course came to a head and right in the middle of it was a pitchers duel. Both Parker and Bison (12-3) starter Trenton Rowan were fantastic throughout the day.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

In seven innings, Rowan allowed just four hits and walked one hitter. He struck out 13 batters that he faced. He made just one mistake. He left a pitch over the plate enough that Magallanes blasted it over the left field fence to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead in the sixth inning.

“He told me it was an inside changeup and he wondered how I got it,” Magallanes said. “He was really confused with how I got it.”

It didn’t matter. A 1-0 lead with the way Rowan and Parker were throwing might as well have been a 10-0 lead. When he saw the ball disappear over the fence, Parker accepted the challenge of finishing the game with a one-run lead.

“I knew it was up to me to shut it down,” Parker said. “Once he hit that, I knew. We got this one.”

His pitch count was creeping up there and his goal was to finish the game. Evan Moll reached base on a throwing error by Parker, but he responded by striking out the next two hitters with a combined 10 pitches.

He needed just one pitch to induce a groundout from Blake Swearingen that gave the Wildcats the state title. He finished the day with 13 strikeouts and worked ahead of hitters very often. Of the 26 batters he faced, he threw 19 first pitch strikes. Overall, he can’t remember a better performance he’s ever had on the mound.

“That has to be No. 1,” he said.

And it all goes back to that June 5 decision from Eaton. He could’ve thrown Parker that day and given his team a mental edge should they play each other for state. But he decided he would save Parker’s best performance for the last game of the year.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

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.

Aubri Braecklein’s putt on 18 falls into the cup to give her the 2021 3A girls golf state title. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

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.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)