The Season D all-state boys lacrosse teams honor the best players in the sport as judged by the leagues and coaches.

They are created by the Colorado High School Boys Lacrosse Coaches Association.

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Class 5A

Player of the year: Trey Digby, Valor Christian; Dillon Pless, Mountain Vista

Coach of the year: Matt Kelley, Fairview

Honorable mention:

• Jack Colwell, Junior, Mountain Range, Attack
• Brandon Hane, Senior, Mullen, Attack
• Gunnar Fellows, Junior, Valor Christian, Attack
• Andrew Merrell, Senior, Lewis-Palmer, Midfield
• Duke Benson, Junior, Kent Denver, Midfield
• Evan Gibbs, Junior, Cherokee Trail, Midfield
• Fletcher Sullivan, Junior, Regis Jesuit, Midfield
• Jackson Cutter, Junior, ThunderRidge, Midfield
• Kevin Pickford, Junior, Denver East, Midfield
• Tyler Olson, Sophomore, Mountain Vista, Midfield
• Eliot Rutherford, Sophomore, Colorado Academy, Defense
• Logan Murray, Senior, Lewis-Palmer, Defense
• Reed Roughton, Junior, ThunderRidge, Defense
• Ty Scheckenbach, Sophomore, Arapahoe, Defense
• Dax Smestad, Senior, Smoky Hill, Goalie
• Ian Thompson, Sophomore, Arapahoe, Goalie
• Jackson Marshall, Senior, Mountain Vista, F/O Midfield
• Nate Morris, Senior, ThunderRidge, LSM
• Connor Wiederrich, Sophomore, Mountain Range, Def. Midfield

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Class 4A

(Lance Wendt/wendt5280.com)

Player of the year: Griffin Meyer, Cheyenne Mountain

Coach of the year: Andrew Trietley, Ponderosa

Honorable mention:

• Colby Erdossy, Senior, Cheyenne Mountain, Attack
• Grayden Easton, Senior, Evergreen, Attack
• Nolan Williamson, Senior, Windsor, Attack
• Grant Webster, Senior, Littleton, Attack
• Joe Yoder, Junior, Northfield, Attack
• Mackay Pattison, Senior, Vail Mountain, Attack
• Nick Schreiber, Senior, Littleton, Attack
• Rhasan Brown, Junior, Northfield, Midfield
• Connor Dries, Senior, Evergreen, Midfield
• Danny Joy, Junior, Bear Creek, Midfield
• Carter Cassin, Senior, Evergreen, Midfield
• Kellen Adams, Junior, Steamboat Springs, Midfield
• Jeff Lowe, Senior, Glenwood Springs, Defense
• Joe Elliott, Junior, Ponderosa, Defense
• Ben Gladstone, Freshman, Northfield, Defense
• Blake Skramstad, Senior, Lutheran, Defense
• Trenton Koser, Senior, Thomas Jefferson, Defense
• Tyler Morrison, Senior, Eagle Valley, Defense
• Sam Gottesfeld, Junior, Northfield, Goalie
• Peter Zimmer, Senior, Glenwood Springs, Goalie
• Evan Shanks, Junior Jefferson Academy, F/O Midfield
• Zachary Zabel, Sophomore, Thomas Jefferson, F/O Midfield
• Nicholas Kazenske, Senior, Denver North, Def. Midfield

(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.

ENGLEWOOD — The boys lacrosse season came to a thrilling end as Mountain Vista and Cheyenne Mountain claimed state championships.

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Mountain Vista 10, Valor Christian 9

Story | Bracket

By Steve Abeyta

• Link to gallery

(Steve Abeyta)

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Cheyenne Mountain 5, Evergreen 4

Story | Bracket

By Steve Abeyta

• Link to gallery

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

ENGLEWOOD – Four teams took the field at Englewood High School on Saturday to decide which two would battle for the Class 4A state championship in Season D. At the end of a long and sweltering and occasionally rainy day, Cheyenne Mountain and Evergreen emerged victorious.

Next Tuesday, those two teams will face one another in the championship game at 5 p.m. back in the same stadium where they shined in the semifinals.

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(1) Cheyenne Mountain 9, (4) Erie 8

Cheyenne Mountain boys lacrosse is back in the Class 4A state championship game.

At Englewood High School on Saturday, top-seeded Cheyenne Mountain held off a late charge from No. 4 Erie to win 9-8 in the state semifinals and punch its ticket to a third straight title game appearance. For players like senior Griffin Meyer, who remembers the sweet taste of winning a championship back in 2018, the chance to play for another has been something they have eagerly awaited.

“We just can’t wait. It’s time,” Meyer said. “I was there and it’s the most unbelievable feeling when you win a state championship and I want to experience that with all the fellas on this year’s team.”

The 2018 champion, Cheyenne Mountain lost to by one goal to Golden in 2019 and had to wait longer than usual for another shot at state, as the global pandemic cancelled the spring season in 2020.

In their return to the state semifinals against Erie on Saturday, Cheyenne Mountain pulled out to a 5-1 lead at halftime. Erie, however, cut the lead to 7-5 with six minutes left and 9-7 with 1:46 remaining in the contest. The Tigers cut the lead to one goal with 16.4 seconds left and despite a strong attacking effort off a reset, could not find the net for an equalizing goal that would have sent the two teams into overtime against one another for the second time this season.

Cheyenne Mountain defeated Erie, 11-10, in double overtime on May 6 during the regular season.

“They’re a really good team and they have some great offensive players,” Cheyenne Mountain senior defender Carver Ward said. “We did a good job of controlling the possession early on, but it also felt like a battle against the heat as much as against them. We wore down and bit and once they got the possession, it was their game right down to the last shot. But I think we did a good job on defense because as far as settled opportunities, they didn’t score much.”

When Cheyenne Mountain faces Evergreen in the title game on Tuesday, the team will be playing for the program’s second state championship.

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(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

(2) Evergreen 14, (11) Eagle Valley 5

On Saturday, the No. 2-seeded Evergreen boys lacrosse team showed up to Englewood High School determined to play its way through to the Cougars’ first-ever appearance in a boys lacrosse state championship game.

So, they did.

Facing 11^th-seeded Eagle Valley in the state semifinals, Evergreen started slow but used an hour-plus lightning delay to regain its form. Following the delay, the Cougars outscored the Devils by a margin of 11-4 to run away with the victory, 14-5. As a result, and for the first time ever, the Cougars have the opportunity to play for a state title.

“This team is special in so many ways,” Evergreen head coach Jay Egger said. “We didn’t start off well, so I’m really proud of the discipline and the character they showed in order to adjust. We’re going to state. Oh my gosh. This is the first time our program has ever won a conference, let alone go to the championship game. We’ve just got really good dudes and it’s been a special season.”

In Tuesday’s championship game, the Cougars will face a Cheyenne Mountain team that has played in the last two title games and claimed its own first-ever state championship in 2018. Cheyenne Mountain beat Evergreen, 12-6, during the regular season.

Despite being underdogs on paper, the Cougars don’t appear to be intimidated by their upcoming opponents’ recent success.

“We’ve just got to come in and outwork a really good Cheyenne Mountain team that we played earlier in the season,” Evergreen’s Jack Fairbanks said. “This time we’ll be ready for them, ready to put up a really good fight, and hopefully win this thing.”

Tuesday’s Class 4A state championship between the tournament’s top two seeds will begin at 5 p.m.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

ENGLEWOOD – Four teams took the field at Englewood High School on Saturday to decide which two would battle for the Class 5A state championship in Season D. The potential for several firsts was established when Mountain Vista and Valor Christian emerged victorious.

Next Tuesday, those two teams will return to Englewood to one another in the championship game at 7:30 p.m. It will be both teams’ first appearance in the Class 5A title game.

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(4) Mountain Vista 13, (1) Cherry Creek 12

There have been many big moments in Mountain Vista boys lacrosse history, but arguably the biggest of the them all now belongs to Cam Brown.

With his team battling defending state champion Cherry Creek in overtime of a state semifinal game at Englewood High School on Saturday, Brown shouldered his way past his defender and scored from the left side to send his team home with a 13-12 victory. Thanks to the senior’s golden goal, the Golden Eagles will play for a golden trophy when they make their first Class 5A state championship appearance on Tuesday.

“I knew as soon as we got the ball in overtime, the game was over,” Brown said. “Our offense is good and we were playing Vista lacrosse all-around. I got by my guy and I just did what I had to do. We’re the hardest working team in the state and we knew we had a shot at state. Now, we’re here.”

Saturday’s penultimate-round game may have ended in favor of Mountain Vista, but it began quite differently. The defending champions raced out to a 4-0 lead before the Golden Eagles scored five unanswered goals to get back in front. The contest was tied eight different times.

“We knew it was going to be an absolute dogfight,” Mountain Vista head coach Matthew Plitnick said. “They’ve got great coaches over there. They’ve got great players. We dug ourselves a huge hole early that I was not very happy with, but then we started to have confidence in the way that we were prepared. We started executing a lot better and this is the first time Vista has ever played for a state championship in lacrosse. We have about 18 kids on the team, so we have a real small roster and I’m real proud of the eight seniors we have to the team because they all play a big role for us.”

Cherry Creek’s Dakota Johnson and Thomas Power each scored four goals. Mountain Vista’s Dillon Pless, Caleb Bonjean and Brown each recorded a hat trick.

In Tuesday’s championship game, the Golden Eagles will face No. 2 Valor Christian. Mountain Vista dealt Valor Christian its sole loss of the season back on May 14.

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(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

(2) Valor Christian 10, (6) Regis Jesuit 7

The Valor Christian boys lacrosse team has won two Class 4A state championships in the last six years and the Eagles would certainly love to add a 5A trophy to their growing collection.

They’ll soon get their chance.

In the state semifinals on Saturday at Englewood High School, No. 2 Valor Christian won 10-7 over No. 6 Regis Jesuit to reach the 5A state championship game for the first time. After missing out on what they believed to be a promising season when the global pandemic shut down high school sports in 2020, the Eagles are even more motivated to get the job done in Season D.

“It means everything,” Eagles senior Griffin Mallory said. “Last year was devastating because we had a great senior class. These guys this year, we really came together and we knew what our goals were from the beginning. We wanted to go to state. It didn’t stop with a day of work. We came out every single day and this is the result.”

With two familiar conference rivals squaring off, Saturday’s game went back and forth throughout the bulk of the contest with both defenses setting the tone early on. The score was tied four times before Valor Christian became the first team to pull ahead by more than a goal in the third quarter. The Eagles led 6-5 going into the fourth quarter and scored four unanswered goals to start the fourth quarter to distance themselves from their opponents.

Valor Christian led by as many as five goals in the final frame before Regis Jesuit was able to mount a late comeback attempt and cut the led to three before the final buzzer. Valor Christian’s Jake Likes led all scorers with four goals, while teammate Gunnar Fellows and Mallory each had two. Will McFadden led Regis Jesuit with a pair of goals.

In the championship game, Valor Christian will face a Mountain Vista team that beat the Eagles, 12-10, during the regular season. The blemish stands as Valor Christian’s only loss to date in Season D.

“We’re excited. We really were hoping for Vista,” Valor Christian head coach Josh Hoffman said. “That’s our only loss for the year, so we’ve been wanting to play them and we’re excited to play them again. Hopefully, we’ll be ready to go.”

Tuesday’s 5A title game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Englewood High School.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

ENGLEWOOD — The boys lacrosse championship games are set after Mountain Vista, Valor Christian, Evergreen and Cheyenne Mountain all advanced through the semifinals.

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Coverage:

Class 5A:

• Bracket
• Mountain Vista and Valor Christian to play for state title

Class 4A:

• Bracket
• Cheyenne Mountain and Evergreen advance to title game

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Mountain Vista 13, Cherry Creek 12

By Paul DiSalvo

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(Paul DiSalvo/PaulDiSalvoPhotography.com)

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Valor Christian 10, Regis Jesuit 7

By Paul DiSalvo

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(Paul DiSalvo/PaulDiSalvoPhotography.com)

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Cheyenne Mountain 9, Erie 8

By David Harvey

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(David Harvey/ImageProPhotography.com)

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Evergreen 14, Eagle Valley 5

By David Harvey

• Link to gallery

(David Harvey/ImageProPhotography.com)

A fast start gave No. 4 Erie a quick lead and the Tigers beat No. 5 Golden 17-5 to move on to the Class 4A boys lacrosse semifinals.

No. 2 Valor Christian executed a steady game plan to beat No. 7 Arapahoe 8-3 and advance to Athe Class 5A boys lacrosse semifinals.

Eight first quarter goals set the tone as No. 6 Regis Jesuit topped No. 11 Fruita Monument 18-4 in the Class 5A boys lacrosse tournament.