Saturday, the Holy Family Tigers found a way, and rode it to its second state title in three years.
Buoyed by a first-inning grand slam from junior catcher Abby Edwards, Holy Family withstood a pesky Mead squad to defeat the Mavericks 9-6 in the Class 4A state softball championship.
“They have courage, respect, grit, and they work hard, every single one of them,” said Moriah Nguyen, a first-year head coach for Holy Family who also served as an assistant on the Tigers’ 2018 title team. “They’ve work their tail off all year long, and no one deserves it more than them.”
The fact that Holy Family was in position to win this title is amazing in of itself.
In the semifinals against D’Evelyn early Saturday, the Tigers trailed as much as 6-1, looking listless as D’Evelyn seemed destined for a title game appearance.
Heading into the top of the 7th inning, trailing the Jaguars 6-5, the Tigers did what championship teams do — never say die.
Holy Family threw down a remarkable 7-spot on D’Evelyn in the 7th inning, which featured a pair of three-run home runs from senior Jenna Pfenning and junior Annika Manzanarez, enabling the Tigers to come away with a stunning 12-7 win to boost itself into the title game. At the same time, it allowed the Tigers to exorcize the demons from a semifinal loss to eventual state champion Erie in 2019.
“Every single one of these girls have the grit,” Nguyen said of the team’s comeback. “They fight, scratch, and do whatever they can to score runs.”
That momentum carried over to the championship game, as the Tigers started things off by promptly loading the bases. Junior Abby Edwards — a starter on the 2018 championship team — drove a bomb to left centerfield to give the Tigers an early 4-0 lead, never relinquishing it.
“I saw an inside pitch, and I was so excited that they threw something inside to me,” Edwards said. “When I saw the umpire’s hand go in their air, I just jumped up in the air. It was so exciting to do that for my team.”
While Mead threatened, turning in two home runs as it got as close as 6-5 in the fourth inning, scratched across some insurance runs to seal it. Among those included an inside-the-park home run by Edwards in the 6th inning, which served as a coronation of sorts as Holy Family held on for the state crown.
Nguyen, an assistant for the 2018 championship who was in her first season as head coach, saw up close the senior class’ transformation from freshmen to two-time state champion. It’s a special group, Nguyen said.
“It’s amazing, seeing this group of freshmen since they were seniors, and what an experience and ride it was with these girls,” Nguyen said. “My heart is huge right now.”
COLORADO SPRINGS — It was a milestone day in so many ways for Cheyenne Mountain.
As the school’s namesake loomed large in the near distance, the boys golf team captured the Class 4A state tournament championship Tuesday at the Country Club of Colorado.
In the process, the school became just the second program in Colorado to win 100 state crowns. Cherry Creek High School, with 217, was the first. This is the school’s second boys golf championship, with the first coming in 2004.
Cheyenne Mountain, which trailed Mullen High School by four strokes after Monday’s first round, roared back to win in the final round by five strokes over the Mustangs (459-464).
“I can’t be any prouder of my team and the heart they showed, starting on the back nine yesterday and carrying over into today,” said Cheyenne Mountain head coach John Carricato, now in his sixth year at the helm.
“We don’t talk about the outcome. We talk about being competitively mature and being able to stay in the moment, and they did a great job doing that these past two days. I can’t be any happier for them.”
It was truly a team win for Cheyenne Mountain, which placed three golfers in the top 15.
Sophomore Carter Surofchek (77-75, 152) finished in a tie for sixth place, followed by senior Connor Moberly (80-74, 154) in a tie for ninth place. Another sophomore, Thomas Herholtz (78-78, 156), finished in a five-way tie for 11th place.
“It feels great, especially being the 100th win for Cheyenne Mountain,” Surofchek said. “I’m almost speechless. It’s just a great feeling. We’ve worked so hard. We’ve outworked everyone.
“We really came back in the second round and worked our butts off,” he added. “It was a true team win. We trusted ourselves, we trusted our teammates and everything came together.”
Montrose, which had won the previous three team titles (2017, 2018, 2019), finished third with a score of 472.
But the team still had reason to celebrate afterwards thanks to Jordan Jennings.
(Paul Soriano)
The senior carded a 3-under-par 68 to win the state championship by four strokes over Mario Dino of Mullen.
Jennings, who was tied with five other players for second place after the first round, started the final round hot as he posted three straight birdies after a par on the first hole.
“I got off to a great start. I knew that I had to,” he admitted. “I was making some good putts and hitting the ball a lot better.”
Jennings made the turn at 1-under par, then scorched the back nine, going bogey-free along with two birdies to win going away.
“I think I was three-strokes back going into the back nine, and I just told myself to keep my head up. It’s not over yet, and I’ve got a lot of golf left,” he added. “I stayed positive, made a few putts coming down the stretch and got it done.”
For Montrose head coach Steve Skiff, it was a mission accomplished.
“Jordan has been playing this way all year. He’s been a really steady golfer for us,” Skiff said. “We wanted him to win a state championship his senior year, and he went out and played an awesome round today … really the last two days.
“It couldn’t happen to a better kid,” Skiff added. “He’s the rock of our program, and has been for the last four years. I just couldn’t be more proud of him, and I’m so happy to coach him.”
Jennings, who is headed to Colorado State next season, had some encouraging words for his teammates after watching Cheyenne Mountain snap the Indians’ streak of three-straight titles.
“We fell short this year,” said Jennings. “Obviously, I’m so excited to win as an individual, but those young kids definitely have a few state titles coming their way if they just keep working.
“They’re great players and great kids. I think they’re going to do well in the future.”
And as happy as he is for his Cheyenne Mountain golfers, Carricato is also excited about the future.
“It’s hard to describe, but the reason [my team] accomplished what they did is because there are about 10 other kids in this program that push them,” he said. “Those other players are good enough to be on a state team.
“Our depth is one of our biggest strengths, and we’re lucky to be able to build that program with that depth,” Carricato added. “We’re looking forward to what’s going to happen in the next couple of years, too.”
ARVADA – He didn’t know it at the time, but Lucas Schulte captured one of the biggest moments in Colorado high school boys golf history on Tuesday.
On the final hole of his two-round state tournament at The Club at Rolling Hills, the Valor Christian senior sank a seven-foot putt to make eagle on the par-5 18th. The emphatically clutch finish capped an excellent 1-over day to wrap up his prep career.
Schulte was thrilled to go out the way he did.
(Brad Cochi)
He was even more thrilled when he found out afterwards the eagle ended up winning him the Class 5A individual championship and also clinched the team title for the Eagles.
“It’s special,” Schulte said. “The individual title is really special, obviously. But the team, we got fourth in league and I have to admit I was on the fence about our chances even though one of our teammates, Jack Armstrong, was super confident. All of our guys played really well and when that putt went in, I was shaking pretty good because I knew we might have a chance.”
Schulte didn’t win an event all season until Tuesday and never led throughout the state tournament. That lead largely belonged to Arapahoe senior Graham Dzengelewski, who eagled the first hole of the tournament on Monday and was the frontrunner the rest of the way until he made a double bogey on the par-4 16th of Day 2.
In a close home stretch that at one point included a three-way tie for the lead, Schulte’s dagger eagle putt and 72 were just enough to hold off late charges from Ralston Valley senior Trey Kirschner and Regis Jesuit senior Ryan Occhionero, who shot 69 and 70, respectively, to tie for second place.
The team title was also settled by Valor Christian chasing down Arapahoe with the latter leading after a brutally windy first day.
Down three strokes with two holes to play, the Eagles had two players on the course after junior Jack Armstrong had come in earlier with a tone-setting round of 74. Sophomore Colin Young had to punch his ball out of the trees on No. 18 but was able to get up and down for birdie and card a 78 and set up Schulte’s winning eagle.
That big point swing allowed the Eagles to win with a final team score of 452, which was just two strokes ahead of Arapahoe.
“I shared with them after our practice round that the team that is OK with not always being OK is going to manage to get through the rest of the round,” Valor Christian head coach Justen Byler said. “These are difficult greens and these are difficult courses they put you on for the state championship. I think it’s important to point out, too, that the Jeffco League is phenomenally competitive and playing some of the best teams in the state every week really has prepared us for moments like these.
“I’m super proud of our guys because they managed to have a lot of resolve and grind their way through. We had all four of the guys score at some point this weekend and as a result, a team truly won. Wow, what a special moment.”
Led by Occhionero, the Regis Jesuit boys made a Day 2 charge to finish third in the team competition after opening the final round in ninth place. Ralston Valley moved up four spots on the second day to finish fourth and Rock Canyon was fifth.
Individually, Prairie View’s Jeff Nelson, as well as Pine Creek’s Wesley Erling and Dzengelewski, who were tied for the lead after Day 1, finished in the three-way tie for fourth place.
GUNNISON — Through the course of the entire back nine on Tuesday at the Dos Rios golf club, Aspen’s Nic Pevny hit just a single fairway. And he made bogey on the hole.
Fairways and greens are often preached as the keys to shooting a solid round, but with the way Pevny played to capture Aspen’s first Class 3A boys golf individual champion fairways are overrated.
Pevny finished his round shooting an even-par 71 to end his tournament at 2-under total, good enough to be the last man standing.
“The front, I wasn’t hitting my approach shots too well but I got out of there at 2-under so I was happy,” Pevny said.
He should be. He opened the day just one shot ahead of Montezuma-Cortez’s Thayer Plewe. They both made bridie on No. 1 but Pevny stuck his tee shot on two and stretched his lead out to two strokes.
A two shot swing on the next hole tied the two at the top of the leaderboard. Plewe hit the flagstick on No. 3 and tapped in for birdie while Pevny lipped out a near gimme.
On No. 6, Plewe, a lefty, pushed his drive left while Pevny pounded driver down the relatively tight fairway. Pevny made birdie while Plewe made bogey and the two-shot lead for the Aspen junior.
On the back, he shot 2-over but hit two definitive shots that locked up his championship. He made a clutch 10-foot birdie putt to make par on 14 and stuck his second shot on the par-5 16th to about 20 feet for eagle. At that point, he knew the championship was well within his grasp.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
“I had that up-and-down which kind of got the round back. That was really big, that up-and-down,” Pevny said. “I knew (after 16) that if I just made pars, that if I made par on 17, it was probably over.”
As Pevny was busy holding on to his individual lead, Colorado Academy was busy taking over the team race. The Mustangs entered the day in second place behind Kent Denver which didn’t bother them a bit. Rather than dealing with the pressure of holding onto a lead, they had the freedom to chase it down and it was a challenge they happily accepted.
“There was a part of not being in first that was nice,” coach Beth Folsom said. “The expectation wasn’t out there for us to hold it. We just had to make up some ground.”
Sophomore JT Timmers led the way and completely took apart the back nine at Dos Rios. He made birdies on 10, 12, 13 and 16 and only bogeyed 18. He ended his day with a 72 and finished in 7th place.
The key for the Mustangs was Timmers and really everyone, just not allowing mistakes to derail the team title hunt early.
“Bo (Turnage) got a par on the first hole which he doubled yesterday,” Timmers said. “On the back, Jack (Pashel) and I were just feeling like it was going to be a good day. We were playing well coming into this tournament. We all held it together.”
Pashel shot a 74, Turnage shot a 76 and TJ Giordano shot an 86 to help the Mustangs claimed their first boys golf team championship in school history.
PUEBLO — In reality, Niwot’s Class 4A boys tennis championship hopes were pretty simple. With three positions advancing to finals, the main priority was getting wins in No. 1 and No. 3 singles. That was going to be enough.
Luke Weber took care of No. 3 singles as he was the first match off the court during Saturday’s finals at Pueblo City Park. For the rest of the afternoon it was Cheyenne Mountain and Mullen jockeying for position with hopes of coming out on top.
The Cougars just needed the hammer to drop. And when the hammer is defending No. 1 singles champion Neil Wilcox, it’s going to drop hard.
Just like he did a year ago, Wilcox dropped the first set but rallied to beat Greeley West sophomore Nico Jamison to give himself a second individual title while also giving Niwot its first boys tennis championship in program history. Cheyenne Mountain and Mullen ended tied for second.
“I had no idea until I walked off the court after my match,” Wilcox said. “Everyone was screaming and I just looked at them and asked what happened. When they told me, I couldn’t believe it.”
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
Wilcox’s second title looked nearly identical to his first. Jamison took the first set in a tiebreaker, but Wilcox rallied and dominated the last two to win the match 6-7, 6-1, 6-2. Jamison had reached last year’s 5A semifinals an dbeat Mullen’s Mac Caldwell in the 4A semis Saturday morning to advance to his match against Wilcox.
After battling heavey through the first two sets, Jamison started dealing with a leg cramp that clearly bothered him in the third and final set. But he never once thought of quitting. Although Wilcox and Jamison have known each other for a long time, the now two-time champ has more respect for the Greeley West sophomore than he did a day ago.
“It was incredible,” Wilcox said. “It takes amazing spirit to be out there, win the first set and then start cramping. A lot of people would have quit. That’s tough to deal with mentally.”
As the boys all players took turns hold the team trophy and recounting the experience of the week, and even the season overall, coach Mikka Keronen couldn’t help but let his emotions show through his sunglasses and mask. He’s spent years coaching the boys through good and bad trips to state and couldn’t be happier for the kids that got to share in the experience of bringing a school its first state title.
And while the day ended with cheers around Wilcox’s second title, Keronen was quick to point out just how much Weber’s win meant to the whole experience.
“I think Luke was our biggest surprise,” Keronen said. “He’s a very good No. 3 and he just needed to get a little bigger and stronger and he’ll be a great singles player next year.”
As is tradition at each state tournament, the Vicky Matarrazo Sportsmanship Award was also handed out to acknowledge the team with standout sportsmanship through the course of the event. This year’s recipient was Durango who despite only winning a match in two positions on Friday, showed respect to each opponent and gratitude toward tournament staff and tournament director Ed Francis.
DENVER – Morgan Schilling’s serve was simply electric Saturday afternoon.
The Regis Jesuit senior was ripping off aces with ease at Gates Tennis Center as he defended his Class 5A boys tennis No. 1 singles championship. Schilling unloaded 16 aces in his title match with Cherry Creek’s George Cavo, including the final one on match point to secure the 6-1, 6-2 victory and his second consecutive state title.
“I’ve never seen a junior (player) with a serve like his,” Cavo said. “He trains super hard, works super hard, and he’s a great player. I’ve got to give my hat off to him.”
Cavo and his Bruins teammates did come away with the team trophy Saturday, the school’s 43rd overall, but the first since 2016. All seven positions reached the finals, and all four doubles team won state championships. Cherry Creek finished with 59 points, followed by Regis Jesuit at 55 points.
Schilling didn’t drop a set over the two days at Gates. He rolled past Ralston Valley’s Dayton Fisher 6-2, 6-1 in Saturday morning’s semifinal round, then had to wait while Cavo gutted out a 7-6, 6-2 victory over Fairview’s Luke Silverman. Schilling defeated Silverman in last year’s title match.
Cavo, who rallied from a 5-3 deficit in the first set of his semifinal match with Silverman, wasn’t able to break Schilling’s serve in any game in the finals. The Regis Jesuit senior fired off four aces in the final game, and after the last one tucked inside the line and past Cavo, the two friends walked to the net and embraced.
“I saw it bounce and my stomach dropped,” Schilling said. “I was so relieved – all this weight off my shoulders. I just took a deep breath.”
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Schilling is the first player to defend his No. 1 singles title since Chatfield’s Christian Holmes did in 2017-18.
Ironically it was Holmes who ended Schilling’s season at the state tournament his first two years. Homes defeated Schilling in the first round of his freshman year, and then again in the state championship match in 2018 – even after Schilling jumped out early against him.
“Christian dealt with pressure really well,” Schilling said. “He just didn’t give up, and that’s what I’m taking away – never give up.”
While Cavo didn’t come away with an individual title, he still had something to celebrate. With Cherry Creek and Regis Jesuit engaging in a tense back-and-forth for first place after the first day, the Bruins took a 12-point lead into the finals. Despite Regis Jesuit sweeping the Bruins in each of the singles matches, Cherry Creek locked up the crown after its No. 4 doubles team of Blake Holst and Matt Hu defeated Valor Christian in a three-set thriller.
“I haven’t been able to experience a state title with the team,” Cavo said. “It’s a great feeling for sure.”
Brothers Kiril and Kristian Kostadinov got the ball rolling for Cherry Creek at No. 1 doubles, taking care of Valor Christian’s David Bomgaars and Luke Beukelman 6-4, 6-3, to cap an unbeaten season.
For Kiril, it was his second consecutive title at No. 1 doubles. As a freshman, he teamed with Aram Izmirian to win a championship.
Getting to do it again Saturday, this time with his brother, was that much sweeter.
“It was a good experience,” Kostadinov said. “We’ve tried playing together in the past and it hasn’t worked out. This year we did really good.”
Ainsley Elliott-Beagle and Casey Dennis won the No. 3 doubles crown 6-2, 7-6 over Regis Jesuit, and the No. 2 tandem of Braden Meyer and Nathan Henden rallied to top Fossil Ridge 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3) in the final match of the day.
Regis Jesuit’s Conor Kaczmarczyk took home the No. 2 singles crown with a hard-fought 6-1, 1-6, 6-0 victory over Cherry Creek’s Matt Batnunkh. The Bruins junior was coming off a three-set victory in the semifinals that went to a tiebreaker in the third set.
In a battle of sophomores at No. 3 singles, Cameron Kruep topped Izmirian 6-3, 6-3, to win his second title.
The state tournament was the first to decide a state champion since ice hockey last February, with the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down the state basketball tournament and wiping out the spring sports season.
The players were thrilled with the opportunity to get to compete this fall and finish things off in a shortened-season.
“Even in July I was like no way we would have a tennis season with all the COVID cases going up and up,” Schilling said. “We are all really fortunate that tennis is a social-distant sport; you’re on opposite sides of the court.
In a field that features an LPGA future star, a Denver Broncos kicker and the grandson of one of the greatest players of all-time, the Colorado kids held their own.
Doherty girls golf coach and Palmer High School alum Colin Prater leads the field of Colorado high school golf alum playing in the Colorado Open as amateurs. He shot a 7-under-par 65 to head into the clubhouse in a tie for fourth place at the event.
Regis Jesuit’s Calvin McCoy – a current University of Denver player – carded a 67 to get inside the top 15 as of Thursday afternoon. Prater, McCoy, Lakewood alum Griffin Barela and Highlands Ranch’s Kyle Pearson were all comfortably under par after the first round. Barela (a University of Wisconsin player) and Pearson (Colorado Mesa University) both shot 68.
Prater is coming off a win at the CGA’s Colorado Match Play and started his day at the Colorado Open on the 10th hole. He made three birdies through his first nine holes and four birdies on his second nine.
He went 3-under on a four-hole stretch beginning on No. 4 and was bogey-free all day. McCoy was also bogey-free on his day and played the back nine at 4-under, tied for the second best effort for the day.
Perhaps the most notable entrant into the even is Jefferson Academy’s Jennifer Kupcho. She claimed the title at the Colorado Women’s Open which will go down as her first professional win. She was invited back to Green Valley Ranch Golf Club for this week’s event.
She made a birdie on No. 2 and got to 2-under before making bogey on No. 7 and No. 8. She was paired with her brother, Steven. The elder Kupcho also played at Jefferson Academy and placed fourth at the 2010 Class 3A state championship.
Fairview’s Brennan Dolan and Silver Creek’s Jackson Solem finished their days at 2-under. Eaglecrest grad and 2017 5A champion Davis Bryant started his round by going 2-under on the front nine.
Bryant made the cut at last year’s Colorado Open and finished at 20-under which put him in a tie for 20th. His college teammate AJ Ott, a Fort Collins grad, finished last year as the low amateur at 11-under.
The second round of the tournament will take place on Friday with Bryant, Ott and those players who teed off in the afternoon taking to the course early. Prater and McCoy will be among those teeing off later in the day.
Eaglecrest alum Davis Bryant is no stranger to Green Valley Ranch Golf Club. The 2017 Class 5A boys golf champion practically grew up on the course and even volunteered at the course during the annual Colorado Open Golf Tournament.
Now he’s poised to attack the course as a player in that very same tournament. Bryant is among several Colorado high school golf alums ready to take on the biggest annual tournament in Colorado. Like most golfers this summer, competitive tournaments have not been as plentiful as they have in years past.
Bryant is hoping to return to Colorado State with a competitive battle under his belt and the Colorado Open is the best level of competition that he’ll get to see.
“I obviously want to play well,” Bryant said. “I don’t want to go out there shoot 75 a couple of times and miss the cut. If I can use this right way and build off the people that are supporting I can take advantage of this.”
Each player in the field feels that way, especially the amateur players that grew up playing golf in Colorado.
Colin Prater. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
Among the other Colorado high school alums playing in the Colorado Open are Griffin Barela (Lakewood), Jack Castiglia (Lakewood), Brennan Dolan (Fairview), Jackson Klutznick (Kent Denver), Joshua McLaughlin (Thompson Valley), AJ Ott (Fort Collins), Kyle Pearson (Highlands Ranch), Colin Prater (Palmer), Beau Schoolcraft (Kent Denver), Jackson Solem (Silver Creek), Marcus Tait (Columbine) and Dylan Wonnacott (Silver Creek).
The field is also packed with notable names around Colorado, especially within the golf world. Jefferson Academy alum Jennifer Kupcho will also be teeing it up and after conquering the boys’ club at Augusta National last spring, she’s embarked on a professional career. Her first professional win came earlier this summer at the Colorado Women’s Open.
Fort Collins resident Sam Saunders, the grandson of the late Arnold Palmer is in the field along with Denver Broncos kicker Brandon McManus.
The real key to the event are the older players that can inspire someone like a young Davis Bryant. He can remember working the event as a volunteer and being amazed when he saw what some of the players can do.
“I remember I saw a guy from Arizona way back in the day, probably 10 years ago and he hit a golf shot on hole No. 13, the par 3, and I had no idea how he did what he did with a golf ball,” Bryant said. “Now I can hit a similar golf shot, maybe nothing that good, but I just remember picking up on things. Watching them and watching how they handled themselves.”
Everyone is looking to someone close to help them through the event. Each player might turn to a friend or family member to provide caddy support. Bryant is turning to his father, Matt, the general manager at GVR.
“He’s going to talk to me about some yardages,” Bryant said. “Not club choice per se but but he’s also going to help me on the mental side to keep my mind off golf.”
Bryant, Ott and the rest of the Colorado high school alums begin play at Green Valley Ranch on Thursday with the final round being played on Sunday.
When coming up with a list of who’s who in Colorado girls high school basketball, Abby Waner (now Bartolotta) has to be on that list.
A premier player amongst a talented class of athletes, Abby helped ThunderRidge claim three straight Class 5A state championships. She has 43 individual entries in the state record book, including records for points in a game (61), state tournament points in a season (163) and career (515), and field goals attempted in a season.
She and her sister Emily both played at Duke University, where Abby once again proved herself as not just a great player on her team, but a great player in the entire nation.
She won two gold medals in international competition and even got a taste of playing in the WNBA.
Now married to former Heritage standout Jimmy Bartolotta, Abby Bartolotta is tackling life as a mother to two girls.
But there is always a part of her that will be connected to basketball. She took time to chat about what high school basketball meant to her and how it things have changed since she dominated the floor at ThunderRidge.
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Question: When you think back to your high school basketball days, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?
(Barry Gutierrez/Denver Public Library, Rocky Mountain News Photo Collection)
Abby: My teammates. Without fail. I was pretty fortunate in that I had my sister paving the way, so it kind of starts with her. It’s an answer you get a lot and there’s a reason for that. Some of my closest friends and still some of my closest friends today are two of my teammates, Megan McCahill, I actually just went to her drive by baby shower last week, and Emily Fox is expecting her baby girl in October so I dropped off a stroller at her house the other day.
So it’s just fun because that’s what started these lifelong friendships and that’s just, that’s something I’ll never forget about that period of time.
Q: It seems like now girls basketball in Colorado has kind of become a little bit of a hotbed when it comes to national recruiting. We have so many girls going to Stanford and so many other D-I players, what was that whole recruiting scene like when you were in high school, especially when it came to a university like Duke coming after you?
Abby: It’s funny you say that because last weekend we were at my parents’ for just a family dinner and my dad was talking about how when we were my daughter’s age was when he started taking us to games at Highlands Ranch High School. That’s pretty wild to think about. We started talking about some of the players that we actually remember watching and we’d just sit in the stands and he would tell us to pick out a player that we wanted to be like and just watch them the whole game.
We started doing that from a young age and the next thing you know, I’m playing college basketball and high school basketball against Ann Strother and Ambrosia Anderson and Elizabeth Sherwood, Susan Walters. You can go back a little bit further to some of the older Heritage players that went to UConn and Tennessee.
I think what happened is it just became an expectation. When you play against those type of players every single day, your team is going to get elevated and your expectations are going to get elevated. The best thing that could have happened could have happened to all of us was that we started playing together because you practice far more than you playing games.
At ThunderRidge every single day, I was playing against Emily Fox who went on to be one of the best players in Minnesota history. That for sure made me a better player.
And then what happens is it’s just product of the community and college coaches came to know that there was a community here that does it right. These players feed off of each other and they’re going to have similar qualities and similar goals. It was something that I don’t think we ever necessarily took it for granted, but I don’t think we realized at the time how unusual it was.
I think back to like my club team and every single player got a Division I scholarship at one point, which is wild. It just doesn’t happen. It definitely was that atmosphere of competition that we had playing against each other every day and the scholarships, the notoriety, it really was all just a byproduct. First and foremost, we’re all competitors and that’s what made us all raise the level of our game.
Q: How much of an adjustment was it when you got to Duke?
Abby: It was a big adjustment. You go out in high school thinking you’re a good defender because you can get 10 steals a game by playing pretty poor defense. You get to college and you actually learn what good defense means and how discipline is part of it and what staying in a stance actually means. You’re not going to just out-athletic anybody. Defense was definitely the biggest adjustment.
To be honest, I grew up in a culture where we were in the gym all the time. If you weren’t in the gym, somebody else was and they were getting better than you. My sister and I really brought that mentality to Duke and because of that, I think it helps that adjustment.
The amount of basketball, the amount of working out, that didn’t change for us. It was more how we did it, the mechanisms, the strength and conditioning, that was probably one of the bigger adjustments. We were fortunate in that we came from an environment and a culture that really prepared us. We had coaches that knew what they were doing and knew what was coming our way.
Q: Is there a comparison in the amount of pressure that you felt then to the amount of pressure that some of the kids might be feeling now? I feel like before they step on a middle school gym, there’s a recruiting profile on some website of every potential, big-time basketball player.
Abby: I am so grateful that we weren’t a part of this era with the access that coaches have to players. I’ve been out of it for long enough that I don’t know what all the rules are now surrounding recruiting, but it goes two ways.
I was really lucky in that college coaches were coming to us. We really didn’t have to solicit that because they found their way to our gym. I realize that’s the exception and that most players end up reaching out to coaches and recruiters themselves and that’s how they get that. That’s how they get their name out.
Understand that my experience was different than the norm. So in terms of the pressure, I think that is a negative byproduct that comes from the access of the internet and social media. But if you can use it for the positive and turn around and say now these kids have access to college coaches that they didn’t have before. I talked to a girl the other day and she said that she’s just been direct messaging every college coach the link to her Hudl video. That’s amazing.
Before it was such a process to track down the college coaches’ contact information so you can email and get them to reply to you. Now there’s this immediate response, which I think if channeled properly it can be used for good. It’s probably more important now than ever that parents are highly involved, that they can help their kids still just be kids while using that to their advantage, to get, the attention that they merit.
Q: If you think back to all the levels of basketball you played, what was the most fun?
(Barry Gutierrez/Denver Public Library, Rocky Mountain News Photo Collection)
Abby: That’s such a hard question. I’m not saying this just because it’s a CHSAA interview, but it was high school. I think that was when it was the most raw. College was a job. I was there on a scholarship and I was getting essentially a free education to play basketball. So I took that seriously. And I wanted to win, so I’m not saying that it was just a job in college.
Something that was always a driving factor for me in high school, college and otherwise was this insatiable desire to win. That was there in high school. It was there in college, but in high school, we were kids. We were sheltered from some of the pressure you talked about in your last question. We were just really, really good basketball players and that was fun.
Playing for Team USA were just some incredible experiences. I also met some of my lifelong friends through USA. What I wish looking back on that was that I had a better grasp of getting to travel the world in that way and see different cultures and see basketball through different lenses.
At age 16 and 17, we were just there to hoop and we were happy when we found a TGIFriday’s in Moscow, instead of really thinking about the cultural experience as the most important part of it.
It’s hard to pinpoint, but if I had to go back in time, I think I would probably get back to my days as a Grizzly.
Q: What would you tell someone maybe like a Jana Van Gytenbeek and a Fran Belibi who are at Stanford or a Lauren Betts who ESPN just labeled as a top recruit in the nation? What would you tell those girls about a college experience and life post-college that you didn’t know about 10 years ago?
Abby: College is a full experience and as a women’s basketball player at some of these elite institutions, they’re going to have avenues that your everyday kid doesn’t get, and I’m not just talking about basketball.
One of my regrets and this might seem small, but I wish I had tried to be a writer for the Duke Chronicle. I never did those extracurricular things. Well, I did, but not to the extent that I think I probably could have because I was so head down in basketball. It’s easy to say that now that I’m not in it, but they should take advantage of the full college experience by way of education and programs, the adults that are going to be there supporting them.
My sister did a great job of that at Duke. She was part of the CAPE program, which is the collegiate athlete pre-med experience. And that was a big part of her becoming a doctor. She did that while playing basketball. If I had a regret, it would be that I wish I had stretched myself a little bit more to partake in some programs and activities that Duke had to offer.
I don’t want to be cliche, but there’s a reason people say that it goes fast. Be there for every summer school, be there for every voluntary workout, take advantage of having the gym to yourself because before you know it, the four years are going to be up and it’s true, it goes quickly.
Q: How much is basketball still a part of your life today?
Abby: So my mom sends me a picture. She was watching my daughter, Ella, the other day, and Ella’s two and a half. I think we have a plastic hoop out back, but outside of that we really haven’t done much by way of basketball with her, nor do we expect to. But the other day my mom was watching her and sent me a picture of her sitting in her stroller, watching what I think it was a high school team practicing outside. She was just rapt with attention and that meant so much to me to see these high school aged girls are setting an example for my daughter. It was a pretty out of body out of body moment for me.
A lot of what’s important now for me is coming through the lens that I have two daughters two years apart, just like me and my sister. I hope that they can have similar experiences. I don’t care if it’s through sports or through music or through theater, but being able to find the same source of competition and friendship and confidence that I got from basketball. That’s probably what will make me check in more than anything.
I was watching last year, the Final Four and watching Sabrina Ionescu from Oregon and that girl is a competitor. I wish I was able to watch every single one of her games. So I texted my college coach Coach (Gail) Goestenkors and said “I love watching her play.” And she said, “She reminds me of you.” It was such a compliment. And I felt kind of silly cause it was a girl that’s, I don’t know, 15 years younger than me. It was just fun to feel re-connected in a way and see a similar type competitor. She’s far more talented than I ever was. I’m not saying there was a comparison there, but I really enjoyed following her career.
My husband played at Heritage and he’s just as appreciative as I am of the opportunities that CHSAA gave us. We are really looking forward to being in the stands for state championships moving forward and supporting our local high schools like ThunderRidge and Mountain Vista. I think we’re both really looking forward to that next part of our life where we can just be fans and cheer on the next generation.
