CHSAANow

Category: Baseball

  • No. 5 Columbine baseball stays perfect, takes down No. 6 Ralston Valley

    Columbine senior Austin Anderson dives toward home plate as Ralston Valley players look on from the dugout Thursday afternoon during the Class 5A Jeffco League showdown. The Rebels improved to 13-0 on the season with a 10-4 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)
    Columbine senior Austin Anderson dives toward home plate as Ralston Valley players look on from the dugout Thursday afternoon during the Class 5A Jeffco League showdown. The Rebels improved to 13-0 on the season with a 10-4 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)

    LITTLETON — What should be an intense struggle for the Class 5A Jeffco League baseball championship title over the next few weeks revved up Thursday afternoon.

    Two teams ranked in the top 10 of this week’s CHSAANow.com 5A baseball poll clashed at Frank DeAngelis Field at Columbine High School. No. 5 Columbine (13-0, 2-0 in league) remained undefeated on the season with a decisive 10-4 victory over No. 6 Ralston Valley.

    “It’s a big win for us,” Columbine senior Donny Ortiz said. “We have something special right now. We are just trying to keep it going through league.”

    Columbine senior Patrick Huffaker keeps his on the ball while sprinting out of the batter's box Thursday afternoon. (Dennis Pleuss)
    Columbine senior Patrick Huffaker keeps his on the ball while sprinting out of the batter’s box Thursday afternoon. (Dennis Pleuss)

    The Rebels’ top five hitters in their lineup were special against Ralston Valley senior pitcher Jordan Holloway. Seniors Michael Tait, Oritz, Austin Anderson, Kyle Lopez, along with sophomore Tommy Gillman combined to crank out nine hits, scored nine runs and pilled up eight RBIs.

    Junior designated hitter Cody Wood also picked up a pair of singles in the eight-hole for Columbine.

    “Holloway is a hell of a pitcher, but we got really prepared this week,” said Ortiz of facing Mustangs’ ace that came into the game with a 4-0 record and 0.64 ERA. “It wasn’t anything special. You just have to watch the ball and make good contact.”

    Ortiz’s bat provided the biggest blow off Holloway. The second baseman’s three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning put the Rebels ahead 7-1. Anderson scored on a wild pitch later in the inning to give Columbine an 8-1 lead through four innings.

    “He (Holloway) was off a little bit,” Ralston Valley coach Shane Freehling said. “He was behind in the count on almost every single hitter. If you are in fastball counts like that batters can hit on fastballs. That is a good hitting club.”

    The Rebels managed a dozen hits and was able to get their leadoff batter on base five of six frames.

    Columbine senior Blake Weiman had plenty of run support to work with in improving his record to 4-0 on the mound. The lefty worked five innings, giving up just one run on two hits while striking out five.

    “Blake is awesome,” said Lopez, who knocked in the Rebels’ final run with an RBI groundout in the sixth inning. “He is one of the best pitchers out there. He has great stuff. I’ll take him (on the mound) any day.”

    Ralston Valley loaded the bases on Weiman in the second inning with one out, but Weiman got a strikeout and ground out to get out of the jam.

    Ralston Valley senior pitcher Jordan Holloway fires a pitch during the early innings Thursday at Frank DeAngelis Field at Columbine High School. (Dennis Pleuss)

    Ralston Valley senior pitcher Jordan Holloway fires a pitch during the early innings Thursday at Frank DeAngelis Field at Columbine High School. (Dennis Pleuss)

    Senior Jacob Gallegos got the Mustangs on the scoreboard with a leadoff double in the third inning. He eventually scored on a fly ball by senior Connor Roth. Weiman walked a pair of batters in the fifth inning, but a strikeout and pickoff at first base kept the Mustangs from scoring.

    “Any opportunity we got we kept on shooting ourselves in the foot, or a tough call out in the field,” Freehling said. “It just wiped out any moment we had going. Just couldn’t get anything going today.”

    Ralston Valley’s offense did make a surge with Weiman out of the game in the top of the seventh inning. Roth belted a two-run home run and senior Jacob Knipp hammered a long home run over the centerfield fence.

    Sophomore Taylor Dye took the mound after Knipp’s home run and was able to get the final two out to end the game.

    Columbine will remain on its swing through the north-area Jeffco opponents. The Rebels will travel to Pomona High School to face the Panthers at 11 a.m. Saturday. Next week, Columbine starts off its week at All Star Park in Lakewood against Arvada West with a scheduled 3:30 p.m. first pitch April 21.

    “We’ve got to stay humble,” Lopez said. “This is just another step of where we’ve got to go. We’ve got to get ready for Pomona on Saturday.”

    Looming for the Rebels is a showdown April 23, against Chatfield (13-0, 2-0).

    “It all starts with Pomona and A-West, but (Chatfield) is our rival,” Ortiz said. “We’ve got to get those two wins first, but Chatfield is definitely one that we want.”

    Ralston Valley (10-2, 0-1) continues its trek through its 5A Jeffco schedule with an 11 a.m. home game April 19. The Mustangs start next week by hosting Bear Creek at 4 p.m. April 21.

    Columbine senior Kyle Lopez throws to the plate during the sixth inning Thursday against Ralston Valley. Rebels' starting pitcher Blake Weiman picked up his fourth win on the season pitching five inning and giving up just one run on two hits. (Dennis Pleuss)
    Columbine senior Kyle Lopez throws to the plate during the sixth inning Thursday against Ralston Valley. Rebels’ starting pitcher Blake Weiman picked up his fourth win on the season pitching five inning and giving up just one run on two hits. (Dennis Pleuss)

  • Photos: Faith Christian over Lutheran in 3A vs. 2A baseball game

    ARVADA — Spencer Mochal had a two-RBI triple, Faith Christian pitchers combined for 11 strikeouts and the No. 3 Eagles from 3A beat 2A No. 7 Lutheran in baseball on Thursday.

    Gavi Wygant got the win for Faith, and struck out five in three innings. Noah Brown (two strikeouts) and AJ Stephens (four) each pitched two innings.

    Tyler Livermont was 2-for-4 with an RBI for Lutheran.

  • Notebook: Sedgwick County’s Dunker tosses perfect game, strikes out 19

    Chase Dunker Sedgwick County
    (Courtesy Dunker family)

    Trying to hit Chase Dunker? Good luck.

    The Sedgwick County senior threw his second no-hitter of the season on Thursday, this one a perfect game against Holyoke in which he struck out 19 batters in a seven-inning game. Two balls were put into play — one a groundout to second, another a groundout to third. He threw just 82 pitches.

    He was also 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored.

    Dunker, 5-foot-9 and 147 pounds, is now 5-0 with 77 strikeouts against just four walks. In fact, Dunker has faced 99 batters this season, meaning he’s striking them out more than three-fourths of the time.

    Dunker hasn’t allowed an earned run in 28 2/3 innings so far this season, and has given up just two total runs — and four hits. He also no-hit Wray on April 5, striking out 14 of the 16 batters he faced that game and throwing only 56 pitches.

    Sedgwick County is now 11-1, and ranked No. 6 in CHSAANow.com’s latest 2A poll.

    In his career, Dunker is now 17-3 with a 1.01 ERA. He hasn’t allowed an earned run since last May.

    Dunker has signed with Northeastern Junior Collge in Sterling.

    Short stuff

    • Regis Jesuit, already likely to move into Class 5A baseball’s No. 1 spot next Monday following ThunderRidge’s loss to Mountain Vista, got a big piece back Thursday when left-handed pitcher David Peterson returned to the mound in an 8-1 win over Ponderosa. He threw just one inning. Peterson, an Oregon recruit, fractured his right fibula before the season and was originally expected to miss the entire season. “Great to get back on the mound last night for the first time. Can’t thank my team enough for being the most supportive guys through all this,” he tweeted. Regis, meanwhile, has won eight-straight games.
    • On its Facebook page, Castle View announced it has hired Russ McKinstry as boys basketball coach. The move could shake up the Continental League a bit, where Castle View hasn’t been much of a contender in recent years. The SaberCats are just 29-62 since the 2010-11 season, including 9-32 in the Continental. They haven’t ever finished higher than eighth in the league. McKinstry led Lewis-Palmer to back-to-back 4A titles in 2012 — that team included CU’s Josh Scott — and 2013, but resigned last summer. “I’ve always felt like there was a very high ceiling for potential growth in Castle View’s boys basketball program,” McKinstry told the Facebook page.
    • Another big boys basketball coaching move: Douglas County tabbed former Nugget Earl Boykins, according to Basketball Colorado. Boykins played in Denver from 2003-07, and played in the NBA for 16 seasons.
    • MaxPreps’ computer rankings have made their spring debut in many sports. Included are baseball, boys lacrosse and girls lacrosse. Girls soccer‘s rankings were already up and running. Because the computer rankings uses a complex algorithm, a certain number of games are needed before the data is unveiled.

  • Photos: Horizon gets late run to edge Legacy in baseball

    BROOMFIELD — Horizon scored in the top of the seventh inning to beat Legacy, 2-1.

  • Mountain Vista upsets top-ranked ThunderRidge in 5A baseball

    Mountain Vista ThunderRidge baseball
    More photos. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

    HIGHLANDS RANCH — This was an old-fashioned pitchers’ duel.

    It ultimately came down to one inning — in effect, one pitch.

    Nick Leonard got the best of Wednesday’s duel as he outlasted ThunderRidge’s AJ Jones to help his Mountain Vista team defeat the Grizzlies 3-0.

    The win was significant for the Golden Eagles. First, it was on the Grizzlies’ home field. Second, it helped Mountain Vista maintain a perfect Continental League record at 4-0 (11-1 overall) and handed ThunderRidge its first league loss (3-1, 8-3).

    Mountain Vista ThunderRidge baseball
    Mountain Vista’s Nick Leonard. More photos. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

    And, finally, it meant No. 7 Mountain Vista had knocked off the defending Class 5A champion Grizzlies, currently the No. 1 team in the state.

    But perhaps more important for Leonard, it helped him avenge a loss to the Grizzlies in last year’s playoffs.

    “They got to me for seven runs (in the playoff game),” Leonard said. “I don’t think I even made it out of the first inning.”

    He and Jones were the men in the spotlight on Wednesday. At one point, the two combined to retire 20 straight batters.

    Jones gave up four hits and struck out eight.

    “That was a phenomenal performance by him,” Leonard said, tipping his cap to his counterpart.

    But Leonard was even more dominant. Leonard, who is headed to Washington State this fall on a scholarship, recorded 13 strikeouts, including the final out.

    The teams were scoreless through the first five innings. Leonard wasn’t worried.

    “I had no doubt in these guys,” he said of believing his teammates would eventually produce at the plate.

    Jones’ difficulty came in the top of the sixth. Although he only walked four batters, two of them came to lead off the inning. With one out, he then intentionally walked a batter to load the bases and set up a potential double-play ball. That set the table for Michael Dunnebecke.

    Mountain Vista ThunderRidge baseball
    More photos. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

    “I was thinking, put the ball in play,” Dunnebecke said of his thought process of having the bases loaded in a scoreless game.

    He did, hitting the left-centerfield cap for a run-scoring triple for the only runs the Golden Eagles needed.

    Mountain Vista coach Ron Quintana was elated to escape the Grizzlies’ field with the victory.

    “That was a great high school game,” he said. “It shows that one game in our league is huge.”

    Dunnebecke got the key hit, but he passed out the compliments.

    “This shows how good of a team we are,” he said.

  • Photos: No. 7 Mountain Vista baseball beats No. 1 ThunderRidge

    HIGHLANDS RANCH — Seventh-ranked Mountain Vista upset No. 1 ThunderRidge in 5A baseball on Wednesday.

  • Baseball’s Wild Card point standings, April 17

    Wild Card points help determine the postseason fields in 3A, 4A and 5A, with 4A and 5A also using them for seeding. Find a more detailed breakdown here.

    Baseball’s Wild Card point standings for April 17 are below.

    [divider]

    Go to: 5A | 4A | 3A | 2A | 1A

    Class 5A
    Rank School Points
    1 Chatfield 114.833
    2 Regis Jesuit 110.538
    3 Fairview 110.333
    4 Columbine 108.833
    5 ThunderRidge 108.000
    6 Mountain Vista 107.462
    7 Chaparral 104.385
    8 Arapahoe 104.083
    9 Ralston Valley 101.727
    10 Pine Creek 100.833
    11 Grand Junction 100.786
    12 Rock Canyon 100.538
    13 Cherry Creek 100.167
    14 Brighton 99.833
    15 Grand Junction Central 99.769
    16 Monarch 99.636
    17 Fruita Monument 98.588
    18 Prairie View 98.500
    19 Castle View 96.333
    20 Arvada West 95.917
    21 Northglenn 95.417
    22 Rocky Mountain 95.000
    23 Dakota Ridge 94.500
    24 Mountain Range 94.333
    25 Grandview 92.417
    26 Douglas County 91.154
    27 Fossil Ridge 90.917
    28 Horizon 90.750
    29 Lincoln 90.571
    30 Denver East 89.692
    31 Bear Creek 89.545
    32 Eaglecrest 88.900
    33 Lakewood 88.833
    34 Liberty 87.909
    35 Mullen 86.545
    36 Heritage 85.462
    37 Greeley West 85.333
    38 Westminster 85.154
    39 Cherokee Trail 84.583
    40 Legend 84.231
    41 Rangeview 83.667
    42 Doherty 83.333
    43 Palmer 82.667
    44 Boulder 82.538
    45 Fort Collins 82.400
    46 Aurora Central 82.000
    47 George Washington 81.333
    48 Legacy 80.833
    49 Standley Lake 80.727
    50 Smoky Hill 80.500
    51 Highlands Ranch 79.385
    52 Pomona 79.154
    53 Fountain-Fort Carson 78.692
    54 Poudre 78.182
    55 Overland 77.000
    56 Littleton 74.667
    57 Montbello 72.333
    58 Loveland 70.833
    59 Rampart 70.273
    60 Gateway 70.000
    61 Hinkley 69.286
    62 Adams City 64.385
    63 Thornton 56.667

    Class 4A
    Rank School Points
    1 Niwot 103.250
    2 Montrose 101.909
    3 Wheat Ridge 101.000
    4 Evergreen 100.400
    5 Lewis-Palmer 99.583
    6 Elizabeth 98.500
    7 Durango 97.385
    8 Ponderosa 96.462
    9 Windsor 96.385
    10 Valor Christian 94.357
    11 Longmont 93.182
    12 Delta 92.615
    13 Pueblo East 91.833
    14 Green Mountain 91.667
    15 Palisade 91.583
    16 Thomas Jefferson 91.462
    17 Palmer Ridge 90.750
    18 Canon City 90.455
    19 Kennedy 89.000
    20 Mesa Ridge 87.929
    21 Skyview 87.385
    22 Rifle 87.308
    23 Pueblo Centennial 86.417
    24 D’Evelyn 86.333
    25 Erie 86.091
    26 Eagle Valley 86.000
    27 Pueblo South 85.846
    28 Golden 85.364
    29 Air Academy 85.200
    30 Thompson Valley 83.667
    31 Mead 83.455
    32 Widefield 82.154
    33 Fort Morgan 82.071
    34 Northridge 81.917
    35 Frederick 81.917
    36 Falcon 81.500
    37 Cheyenne Mountain 80.500
    38 Skyline 80.417
    39 Glenwood Springs 79.500
    40 Mountain View 79.417
    41 Steamboat Springs 79.385
    42 Denver North 79.364
    43 Vista PEAK Prep 78.786
    44 Montezuma-Cortez 78.714
    45 Greeley Central 78.500
    46 Roosevelt 77.000
    47 Coronado 76.091
    48 Denver West 75.778
    49 Pueblo Central 75.167
    50 Sand Creek 74.917
    51 Broomfield 74.769
    52 Berthoud 74.083
    53 Pueblo West 73.667
    54 Conifer 73.167
    55 Discovery Canyon 73.000
    56 Pueblo County 72.000
    57 Silver Creek 71.538
    58 Englewood 70.455
    59 Woodland Park 69.818
    60 Summit 69.444
    61 Vista Ridge 68.833
    62 Battle Mountain 68.000
    63 Centaurus 67.083
    64 Arvada 65.091
    65 Alameda 64.800
    66 Denver South 60.462
    67 Weld Central 59.889
    68 Sierra 55.900
    69 Mitchell 50.500
    70 Harrison 48.222

    Class 3A
    Rank School Points
    1 Bayfield 95.000
    2 Eaton 91.889
    3 Holy Family 87.769
    4 Valley 87.000
    5 Brush 86.889
    6 Faith Christian 85.545
    7 The Classical Academy 83.400
    8 Gunnison 82.000
    9 University 80.700
    10 Lamar 79.750
    11 Cedaredge 79.667
    12 Kent Denver 78.667
    13 Arrupe Jesuit 77.400
    14 St. Mary’s 74.636
    15 Platte Valley 74.300
    16 Florence 74.273
    17 Sterling 73.364
    18 Basalt 72.778
    19 Olathe 72.300
    20 Peak to Peak 71.250
    21 La Junta 70.083
    22 Alamosa 68.750
    23 Fort Lupton 68.500
    24 Manitou Springs 68.455
    25 Bennett 68.333
    26 Bishop Machebeuf 66.786
    27 The Academy 66.333
    28 Colorado Springs Christian 64.818
    29 Moffat County 64.692
    30 Sheridan 64.667
    31 Clear Creek/Gilpin County 63.154
    32 Colorado Academy 63.111
    33 Trinidad 63.077
    34 Coal Ridge 62.778
    35 Buena Vista 62.636
    36 Jefferson Academy 62.250
    37 Centauri 62.143
    38 Roaring Fork 60.364
    39 Estes Park 59.556
    40 Strasburg 58.778
    41 Pagosa Springs 58.727
    42 Bruce Randolph 58.375
    43 Monte Vista 56.333
    44 Ellicott 56.182
    45 Platte Canyon 54.818
    46 Manual 54.545
    47 Grand Valley 54.364
    48 Dolores Huerta Prep 52.000
    49 Middle Park 49.364
    50 Denver Science & Tech Stapleton 48.833
    51 Jefferson 46.429
    52 Aspen 45.556
    53 Salida 42.100
    54 KIPP Denver Collegiate 39.286

    Class 2A
    Rank School Points
    1 Rye 79.800
    2 Resurrection Christian 77.364
    3 Swink 76.667
    4 Hotchkiss 75.231
    5 Peyton 74.200
    6 Kiowa 73.250
    7 Sedgwick County 70.600
    8 Lyons 69.727
    9 Lutheran 67.600
    10 Holyoke 66.400
    11 Limon 65.400
    12 Rocky Ford 64.417
    13 Custer County 64.375
    14 Paonia 64.100
    15 Haxtun 63.455
    16 Nucla 63.400
    17 Denver Christian 63.375
    18 Front Range Christian 62.000
    19 Ignacio 62.000
    20 Byers 60.750
    21 Calhan 60.700
    22 Rangely 59.455
    23 Las Animas 58.833
    24 Center 58.700
    25 Crowley County 58.700
    26 Merino 58.400
    27 Alexander Dawson 58.300
    28 Yuma 57.000
    29 Dolores 56.444
    30 South Park 53.636
    31 Burlington 53.000
    32 Evangelical Christian 51.800
    33 Fowler 51.800
    34 Dayspring Christian Academy 51.111
    35 Sargent 50.375
    36 Sierra Grande 50.143
    37 Wray 50.111
    38 Highland 48.800
    39 Springfield 47.333
    40 Akron 47.200
    41 Simla 46.857
    42 County Line [Wiley/McClave] 45.833
    43 Sanford 45.500
    44 Liberty Common 44.833
    45 Antonito 44.143
    46 John Mall 43.500
    47 Meeker 38.889
    48 Longmont Christian 36.100
    49 Wiggins 35.000
    50 Denver Academy 34.000
    51 Pikes Peak Christian 29.000
    52 Cripple Creek-Victor 25.909

    Class 1A
    Rank School Points
    1 Stratton 59.167
    2 Elbert 57.857
    3 Granada 55.800
    4 Dove Creek 52.875
    5 Community Christian 49.333
    6 Fleming 45.125
    7 Caliche 43.636
    8 Cotopaxi 43.429
    9 Manzanola 42.800
    10 Eads 42.583
    11 Peetz 36.400
    12 Holly 34.857
    13 Cornerstone Christian Academy 31.000
    14 Briggsdale 28.778
    15 Rocky Mountain Lutheran 26.909
    16 Cheyenne Wells 23.571
    17 Primero 20.000
    18 Weldon Valley 19.000
    19 Denver Jewish Day 19.000
    20 Walsh 15.000

  • Photos: No. 6 Ralston Valley baseball beats Smoky Hill at Coors Field

    DENVER — Daniel Jurney was 1-for-2 with a triple and three RBIs, Jordan Holloway also tripled and had two RBIs and No. 6 Ralston Valley beat Smoky Hill 8-3 at Coors Field.

  • Photos: Clarke homers twice, No. 4 Fairview baseball beats Legacy

    BROOMFIELD — Fairview, ranked No. 4 in the most recent CHSAANow.com 5A baseball poll, beat Legacy 11-0 on Tuesday.

    It was the fifth-straight game the Knights’ lineup had produced dougle-digit runs, led by Jeff Clarke’s two home runs and four RBIs. Tim Ryan was 4-for-4 with two doubles.

    Ryan Kokora threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings in picking up the win, and gave up just three hits. He struck out six against five walks.

  • Notebook: Chatfield baseball hires coach in February, No. 1 in Wild Card points in April

    Chatfield Horizon baseball
    (Pam Wagner)

    In mid-February, Chatfield sent out a release announcing the hire of baseball coach Brandon Stone.

    Stone was up against it. Chatfield’s first game was exactly 30 days away.

    Well, Stone’s Chargers are now 11-0, and sit atop Class 5A baseball’s Wild Card points by a sizable margin. Through the weekend’s games, Chatfield has 114.091 points; second-place Regis Jesuit is at 111.364, third-place ThunderRidge has 109.000.

    We’re only at the midpoint of the 2014 season, but Chatfield is just two wins away from matching its entire total from all of last season, when the Chargers went 13-10.

    Still, that record is somewhat deceiving. Chatfield cruised through the district round to reach the final eight last year (where they went 0-2). Now, they’re carrying the momentum on through to this spring.

    Leading the way has been junior Kyle Winkler, who is batting .559 with a team-high 18 RBIs, five doubles and a home run. It’s a dangerous lineup, which features seven players hitting .390 or above, and five kids with double-digit RBIs. The latter group doesn’t even include Blake Moore, who has three home runs.

    The staff, led by a trio of seniors, has been good, too. Nick Chamberlain has a 1.33 ERA in a team-high 21 innings pitched. Patrick Barder carries a 2.58 ERA in 19 innings, while Travis Schnoor is at 3.50 in 12 innings.

    Chatfield hasn’t won a game in the final eight since 2008. Does that change this year?

    Pomona OL commits to CU

    Pomona senior-to-be Dillon Middlemiss committed to the University of Colorado on Saturday.

    It had apparently been a goal of his since middle school. From his Twitter account:

    He’s the third local football player from the class of 2015 to commit publicly thus far. Pine Creek defensive back Avery Anderson and Valor Christian defensive back Eric Lee have both pledged to Nebraska.

    Middlemiss is 6-foot-5 and 275 pounds.

    Valor Christian football’s national schedule

    (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
    (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)

    Next season, Valor Christian football will play against East High School out of Salt Lake City, Utah, according to NationalHSFootball.com.

    East went 13-1 last season, with the lone loss coming in the Class 4A championship game. The Leopards feature senior-to-be Christian Folau, a linebacker who has committed to Stanford.

    The two teams will play on Sept. 5 at Valor.

    It is the third out-of-state team the Eagles will play next season. They’ll open up at Bonneville, Idaho, on Aug. 22 (Zero Week), before returning home to play Pomona on Aug. 29. The East game is the following week, and then Valor — a five-time defending champion across classes 5A, 4A and 3A — hosts Chandler (Ariz.) on Sept. 12.

    Denver East’s Carey gets his own day

    Gov. John Hickenlooper and Rep. Angela Williams proclaimed April 10 “Rudy Carey Day” for the Denver East coach.

    Here’s a picture our Tom Robinson snapped at the announcement last week:

    (Tom Robinson/CHSAANow.com)
    (Tom Robinson/CHSAANow.com)

    Short stuff:

    • Denver East guard Dom Collier was an honorable mention All-American pick by MaxPreps.
    • On a related note, Collier’s Angels finished at No. 10 in MaxPreps’ national rankings. It’s the highest finish for a boys team in this state since the ranking started in 2005-06.
    • Regis Jesuit’s girls basketball team finished at No. 11 in those same rankings. It, too, is the highest finish ever for a girls team from Colorado. That ranking started in 2005-06, as well.
    • Cherry Creek baseball coach Marc Johnson won the 700th game of his career on Wednesday. Friday, the Bruins’ Brian Perry won his 200th as boys lacrosse coach.
    • Here’s a quick roundup of recent football coaching hires. Included: Rod Dobbs at Chaparral, Jeff Krumlauf at Doherty, Brian Tinker at Fossil Ridge and Craig Ball at Gilpin County. As always, here’s our football coaching changes tracker.
    • Manitou Springs may be the next to fill its vacancy, according to our Dan Mohrmann. The school interviewed candidates on Friday.
    • April’s Legislative Council meeting is Thursday. This post will take you through the ins and outs of what will be voted on and discussed. Among the topics are a potential 5A football seeding committee. Find the full agenda, including PDFs of all proposals, here.
    • Here’s an interesting take on youth sports from Changing The Game Project, where they examine “an adult driven, hyper competitive race to the top in both academics and athletics that serves the needs of the adults, but rarely the kids.” This culture, they argue, “produces bitter athletes who get hurt, burnout, and quit sports altogether.”