WESTMINSTER — Mountain Range wrestling topped Longmont in a dual on Wednesday, winning 43-34.
Category: Winter Sports
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Photo gallery: Regis Jesuit boys basketball tops Columbine
AURORA — No. 7 Regis Jesuit had three players in double figures as the Raiders opened their season with a 60-32 win over Columbine on Tuesday. Bryan Staerkel had 16 points for Regis, while Jared Small and Kip Boryla each had 10.
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Photo gallery: Legacy beats rival Broomfield boys basketball in OT
BROOMFIELD — Legacy beat cross-town rival Broomfield in overtime on Tuesday, 64-61.
Four seniors — Nico Ball, Andrew Hebel, Trenton Johnson and Jacob Royer — combined for a total of 45 points.
Broomfield senior Alec McLain finished with 16 points.
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Defending champ Ralston Valley begins hockey season with a bang
Ralston Valley players gather on the ice after a 10-1 victory over Cheyenne Mountain in the Mustangs’ season opener Monday night at Apex Ice Arena in Arvada. (Dennis Pleuss) ARVADA — Ralston Valley hockey started its 2013-14 campaign right were it left off last season.
The Mustangs won its season opener Monday night at the Apex Ice Arena with a dominating performance against Cheyenne Mountain. Ralston Valley skated to a 10-1 victory against the Indians to begin the defense of the state championship it claimed last year.
Ralston Valley outscored its four playoff opponents last year 20-2 on the road to winning the school’s first state hockey championship.
“That is definitely the goal,” Ralston Valley senior Greg Dyba said of attempting to repeat. “The speech earlier in the locker room was about when we have something we are going to defend it with all we have and get that back. We are going to grind and do whatever it takes.”
Ralston Valley senior Greg Dyba celebrates his second of three goals Monday against Cheyenne Mountain. (Dennis Pleuss) Ralston Valley’s top offensive line of Dyba, Victor Lombardi and Austin Resseguie put on an offensive show. The all-senior line produced five goals. Dyba had a hat-trick midway through the second quarter. Lombardi had a goal in each the first and third periods.
The Mustangs put nearly 60 shots on goal and held the Indians to just over 10 shots on goal.
“Those are three big contributors for us,” Ralston Valley coach Matt Schoepflin said of his top line. “They are leaders on and off the ice. I expect a lot out of them.”
Ralston Valley’s second offensive line of Cody Noel, Lincoln Smith and Colton Hellman wasn’t shabby in the opener. Noel scored a pair of goal grinding out in front the of net and Hellman added a goal in the third period.
Noel, a sophomore who transferred from D’Evelyn to Ralston Valley this school year, is playing his first season of high school hockey.
“I was really excited to play with some of my friends on the team,” Noel said. “I want to work hard and try to win another state title.”
Cheyenne Mountain has the most decorated hockey program in the state. The Indians have 14 state hockey titles. Cheyenne Mountain’s last state championship came in 2004.
Ralston Valley forward Lincoln Smith (9) closes in on Cheyenne Mountain junior Tanner Taylor during the first period Monday night. (Dennis Pleuss) Junior Ryan Case scored the Indians’ lone goal Monday night. Seniors Gret Liquori and Keaton Allison assisted on the power-play goal in the second period. Case’s goal cut Ralston Valley’s lead to 3-1, but the Mustangs quickly answered with back-to-back goals from Dyba before the end of the second period.
The Mustangs showed their depth in the third period getting five goals from five different players. Ralston Valley goalie Zack LaRocque picked up the win in net, while Cheyenne Mountain freshman Fyan McCann picked up the loss.
Ralston Valley came so close to winning its first state hockey championship a handful of times before finally hoisting the trophy last winter. Since the Arvada-area school started its hockey program seven years ago, the Mustangs have been in the mix for the state championship almost every single season.
“While winning a state title was great and great experience for our returning players, this is a brand new team,” said Schoepflin, who is in his third year as head coach for Ralston Valley. “It’s different than last year. We want to improve constantly. That is our big goal. We want to peak at the right time like we did last season.”
The Mustangs’ next home game at Apex will come at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 17. Ralston Valley will hang its state banner on that night when the Mustangs face their Jeffco rival Standley Lake. Schoepflin said he hopes to have a lot of graduated seniors back in town during winter break from last year’s state championship squad attend the game.
Ralston Valley senior Greg Dyba fires a wrist shot during the second period Monday in the Mustangs’ 10-1 victory against Cheyenne Mountain. (Dennis Pleuss) 
Cheyenne Mountain freshman goalie Fyan McCann is able to make a pad save on a shot by Ralston Valley senior forward Victor Lombardi during the first period Monday night at the Apex Ice Arena in Arvada. (Dennis Pleuss) 
Ralston Valley forward Evan Lukens, right, puts a hit on Cheyenne Mountain junior Casey Kosley during the second period Monday night at the Apex Ice Arena. (Dennis Pleuss) -
Photo gallery: Mountain Range boys basketball opens season with win
WESTMINSTER — Mountain Range led 42-20 at the half, then cruised to a 72-31 win over Prairie View on Monday as the season opened.
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Monday marks the start of the winter sports season
(Pam Wagner) The winter sports season kicks off Monday, and schools are wasting no time in getting things started. Among scheduled events on the first day of the season are 25 boys basketball games, 22 girls basketball games and four hockey games.
There are also a number of wrestling and girls swimming meets throughout the week.
(Pam Wagner) “We are very excited to kick off our winter sports today, and are looking forward to great competition and sportsmanship throughout the season,” CHSAA commissioner Paul Angelico said on Monday.
Boys and girls skiing will have the first championship of the season on Feb. 13-14. Girls swimming is next with its state meet on Feb. 14-15, and wrestling’s state meet is Feb. 20-22. Hockey’s title game is March 1, while basketball’s state championships are March 13-15.
Important dates to keep in mind for the season:
Boys/girls basketball:
- Regular season ends: 1A-4A, Feb. 22; 5A, Feb. 21
- 4A/5A brackets released: Feb. 23
- 1A-3A districts completed by: March 1
- State finals, all classes: March 13-15
Hockey:
- Regular season ends: Feb. 15
- Playoffs begin: Feb. 21
- State championship: March 1
(Pam Wagner) Boys/girls skiing:
- State championship: Feb. 13-14
Girls swimming:
- State meet: Feb. 14-15
Wrestling:
- Regular season ends: Feb. 8
- Regionals completed by: Feb. 15
- State meet: Feb. 20-22
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Denver East leads preseason 5A boys basketball poll
Denver East begins the season ranked atop the 5A poll. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com) Denver East, Valor Christian, Holy Family, Sanford and Caliche are the preseason boys basketball favorites in their respective classifications.
Those teams were the No. 1 picks in the 5A through 1A CHSAANow.com rankings released Monday morning.
Denver East received 19 of 20 first-place votes in the 5A poll. The Angels return their top five scorers from last season’s runner-up squad, including University of Colorado commit Dominique Collier and his 20.1 points per game.
Overland is No. 2 in the 5A ranking, and is following by defending champion Eaglecrest at No. 3. Highlands Ranch is fourth, and Rangeview rounds out the top 5.
Fossil Ridge is sixth in the 5A poll, Regis Jesuit is seventh, Mountain Vista is eighth, Chaparral is ninth and Legend is tenth. Monarch narrowly missed the top-10.
A total of 23 teams appeared on preseason ballots in the 5A ranking.
Valor Christian is 4A’s preseason No. 1 team. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com) Another runner-up from a season ago, Valor Christian, heads the 4A preseason ranking. The Eagles return their top eight scorers from last season. That includes Chase Foster, who averaged 20.0 points per game last season.
Pueblo East is second in the 4A ranking, and is followed by No. 3 Cheyenne Mountain, No. 4 Denver South and No. 5 Thomas Jefferson. Two-time defending champion Lewis-Palmer is ranked 10th to begin the 2013-14 season.
Holy Family heads the 3A poll, though No. 2 Brush received an equal amount of first-place votes (five). The Tigers reached the Great 8 last season.
Defending 3A champion Pagosa Springs is unranked to begin the year.
In 2A, Sanford is the No. 1 pick. The Indians reached the Final 4 last season. Denver Christian, last season’s champion, is ranked third.
Caliche heads the preseason 1A poll. The Buffaloes were in last season’s semifinals. Defending champion McClave is ranked fifth.
Complete rankings for all classes are below.
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CHSAANow.com Boys Basketball Polls
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.
Class 5A RK TEAM W-L PTS 1 Denver East (19) 0-0 199 2 Overland 0-0 148 3 Eaglecrest (1) 0-0 106 4 Highlands Ranch 0-0 100 5 Rangeview 0-0 87 6 Fossil Ridge 0-0 79 7 Regis Jesuit 0-0 72 8 Mountain Vista 0-0 52 9 Chaparral 0-0 51 10 Legend 0-0 44 Others receiving votes: Monarch 41, Chatfield 22, Fort Collins 19, Cherokee Trail 17, ThunderRidge 11, Montbello 10, Abraham Lincoln 9, Grandview 9, Fairview 7, Cherry Creek 6, Dakota Ridge 5, Grand Junction 5, Arapahoe 1. Class 4A RK TEAM W-L PTS 1 Valor Christian (12) 0-0 151 2 Pueblo East 0-0 101 3 Cheyenne Mountain (2) 0-0 100 4 Denver South (1) 0-0 87 5 Thomas Jefferson 0-0 84 6 D’Evelyn 0-0 63 7 Longmont 0-0 59 8 Thompson Valley 0-0 58 9 Sand Creek (1) 0-0 48 10 Lewis-Palmer 0-0 32 Others receiving votes: Broomfield 25, Falcon 13, Ponderosa 9, Windsor 9, Mesa Ridge 8, Elizabeth 6, Sierra 5, Durango 4, Frederick 4, Pueblo West 4, Greeley Central 3, Pueblo South 3, Green Mountain 1, Kennedy 1, Palisade 1, Widefield 1. Class 3A RK TEAM W-L PTS 1 Holy Family (5) 0-0 100 2 Brush (5) 0-0 85 3 Colorado Academy (1) 0-0 84 4 Faith Christian 0-0 66 5 Colorado Springs Christian 0-0 54 6 Kent Denver 0-0 32 7 Moffat County 0-0 31 8 Eaton 0-0 28 9 Jefferson Academy 0-0 27 10 Aspen 0-1 21 Others receiving votes: Sterling 14, Denver Science & Tech 12, Manitou Springs 12, Pagosa Springs 12, The Pinnacle 12, Bishop Machebeuf 5, Centauri 5, Fort Lupton 2, Alamosa 1, Frontier Academy 1, Roaring Fork 1. Class 2A RK TEAM W-L PTS 1 Sanford (8) 0-0 130 2 Lutheran (1) 0-0 124 3 Denver Christian (3) 0-0 110 4 Resurrection Christian (1) 0-0 77 5 Yuma (1) 0-0 74 6 Ignacio 0-0 69 7 Akron (1) 0-0 59 8 Limon 0-0 50 9 Simla 0-0 34 10 Swink 0-0 30 Others receiving votes: Peyton 18, Paonia 9, Crowley County 6, Rocky Ford 6, Meeker 5, Rye 5, Byers 4, Hayden 4, Sierra Grande 4, Haxtun 3, Heritage Christian 3, Sangre de Cristo 1. Class 1A RK TEAM W-L PTS 1 Caliche (3) 0-0 48 2 Hi-Plains (1) 0-0 39 3 Norwood 0-0 34 4 Shining Mountain 0-0 30 5 McClave (2) 0-0 26 6 Holly 0-0 25 7 Fleming 0-0 23 8 Vail Christian 0-0 22 9 Otis 0-0 19 10 Granada 0-0 18 Others receiving votes: Prairie 8, Denver Jewish Day 6, Pawnee 6, Elbert 5, Primero 5, Jim Elliot Christian 4, La Veta 4, Bethune 3, Stratton 3, Deer Trail 2. -
Regis Jesuit on top of 5A girls basketball’s preseason ranking
Regis Jesuit begins 2013-14 atop the 5A girls basketball poll. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com) Regis Jesuit is the unanimous No. 1 selection in CHSAANow.com’s preseason girls basketball ranking in 5A.
The poll, released on Monday, featured 18 first-place votes. The Raiders received each one. And it makes sense: Regis Jesuit did not graduate any players from last year’s team which won the title. The squad also has six seniors committed to Division I schools, including Diani Akigbogun (Texas) and Justine Hall (Purdue).
Highlands Ranch, last season’s 5A runner-up, is No. 2 in the preseason ranking. Arapahoe is third, Grandview is fourth and Rock Canyon rounds out the top-5.
Monarch, with coach Gail Hook returning from a one-year hiatus, is sixth. Castle View is seventh, ThunderRidge is eighth, Cherry Creek is ninth and Poudre is tenth.
Holy Family is ranked No. 1 in 3A girls basketball. Broomfield is No. 1 in 4A. (Pam Wagner) In 4A, Broomfield heads the preseason poll. The Eagles reached last year’s semifinals, where they lost to eventual champion Pueblo South by three points. Pueblo South begins the season ranked No. 2.
Holy Family is on top of the 3A ranking. The Tigers won last year’s championship.
The 2A poll is headed by Yuma, even though the Indians received three first-place votes to Akron’s four. Akron beat Yuma in last season’s title game, and is ranked second.
Caliche is the preseason No. 1 team in 1A. The Buffaloes lost in last season’s quarterfinals. Defending champion Wiley is unranked to begin the season.
Complete rankings for all classes are below.
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CHSAANow.com Girls Basketball Polls
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.
Class 5A RK TEAM W-L PTS 1 Regis Jesuit (18) 0-0 180 2 Highlands Ranch 0-0 145 3 Arapahoe 0-0 115 4 Grandview 0-0 85 5 Rock Canyon 0-0 75 6 Monarch 0-0 69 7 Castle View 0-0 53 8 ThunderRidge 0-0 51 9 Cherry Creek 0-0 41 10 Poudre 0-0 34 Others receiving votes: Horizon 30, Chaparral 22, Denver East 21, Lakewood 18, Ralston Valley 16, Palmer 14, Fossil Ridge 10, Rampart 8, Legacy 2, Heritage 1. Class 4A RK TEAM W-L PTS 1 Broomfield (8) 0-0 137 2 Pueblo South (5) 0-0 123 3 D’Evelyn (2) 0-0 119 4 Mesa Ridge 0-0 109 5 Sand Creek 0-0 74 6 Pueblo West 0-0 44 7 Montrose 0-0 42 8 Palmer Ridge 0-0 28 9 Canon City 0-0 19 10 Air Academy 0-0 17 Others receiving votes: Silver Creek 16, Windsor 15, Mullen 14, Valor Christian 14, Elizabeth 12, Pueblo County 9, Centaurus 8, Golden 5, Rifle 5, Evergreen 4, Greeley Central 4, Glenwood Springs 3, Thompson Valley 2, Berthoud 1, Conifer 1. Class 3A RK TEAM W-L PTS 1 Holy Family (14) 0-0 140 2 Pagosa Springs 0-0 107 3 Denver Science & Tech 0-0 101 4 Lamar 0-0 70 5 Centauri 0-0 68 6 St. Mary’s 0-0 63 7 Eaton 0-0 42 8 Valley 0-0 35 9 Peak to Peak 0-0 30 10 Sterling 0-0 26 Others receiving votes: Bishop Machebeuf 21, Kent Denver 15, Manitou Springs 11, Olathe 8, Coal Ridge 7, Grand Valley 7, Clear Creek 6, Platte Valley 4, Salida 3, Trinidad 3, Moffat County 2, Buena Vista 1. Class 2A RK TEAM W-L PTS 1 Yuma (3) 0-0 82 2 Akron (4) 0-0 74 3 Lutheran (2) 0-0 67 4 Peyton 0-0 66 5 Sangre de Cristo 0-0 33 6 Holyoke 0-0 27 7 Paonia 0-0 26 8 Rye 0-0 18 9 The Vanguard 0-0 17 10 Meeker 0-0 16 Others receiving votes: Ignacio 11, Del Norte 9, Hoehne 9, Simla 8, Las Animas 5, Liberty Common 5, Swink 5, Limon 4, Sanford 4, Burlington 3, Calhan 3, Heritage Christian 2, Springfield 2, Center 1, Highland 1. Class 1A RK TEAM W-L PTS 1 Caliche (4) 0-0 57 2 Eads 0-0 56 3 Stratton 0-0 40 4 Idalia 0-0 39 5 Norwood (2) 0-0 35 6 Kit Carson 0-0 31 7 Hi-Plains 0-0 30 8 Kim 0-0 23 9 Pawnee 0-0 19 10 Walsh (1) 0-0 18 Others receiving votes: Dove Creek 13, Wiley 9, Belleview Christian 4, Prairie 4, Cheraw 3, Otis 3, McClave 2, Jim Elliot Christian 1. -
Preseason On The Mat wrestling rankings released
Arvada West, which placed eighth at last season’s Class 5A state wrestling tournament, begins the season atop the On The Mat rankings.
Defending champions Broomfield (4A) and Paonia (2A) also open the season as preseason No. 1s. Brush, a fifth-place finisher last season, is atop the 3A ranking.
Pomona, the defending 5A champion, opens the season at No. 4.
Alamosa won the 3A title last year, and is No. 5 in that preseason ranking.
Complete team rankings for all classes are below.
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On The Mat Wrestling Rankings
Tim Yount of On The Mat provides weekly wrestling rankings for teams and individuals in all weight classes. To see individual rankings, you can subscribe to On The Mat’s full rankings.
To subscribe via PayPal, choose your subscription option on this page click on the corresponding PayPal button. To subscribe by mail or fax and pay by personal check, click here for a printable subscription form. Email Tim Yount at tim@onthematrankings.com with questions.
To purchase individual weeks of the rankings (as opposed to the entire season), you will need to use the printable subscription form and pay by check. The season ranking subscriptions are offered at a discounted rate.
Class 5A RK TEAM PVS 1 Arvada West – 2 Rocky Mountain – 3 Ponderosa – 4 Pomona – 5 Cherry Creek – 6 Coronado – 7 Chaparral – 8 Fruita – 9 Fountain Fort Carson – 10 Grand Junction – 11 Greeley West – 12 Pine Creek – 13 Fossil Ridge – 14 Mountain Range – 15 Lakewood – Class 4A RK TEAM PVS 1 Broomfield – 2 Thompson Valley – 3 Discovery Canyon – 4 Pueblo South – 5 Windsor – 6 Pueblo Central – 7 Palisade – 8 Montrose – 9 Weld Central – 10 Mead – 11 Mesa Ridge – 12 Longmont – 13 Air Academy – 14 Pueblo East – 15 Erie – Class 3A RK TEAM PVS 1 Brush – 2 Valley – 3 Dolores Huerta – 4 Lamar – 5 Alamosa – 6 Centauri – 7 Fort Lupton – 8 Monte Vista – 9 LaJunta – 10 Bennett – 11 Jefferson – 12 Strasburg – 13 Buena Vista – 14 Sterling – 15 Holy Family – Class 2A RK TEAM PVS 1 Paonia – 2 Meeker – 3 Baca County – 4 Swink – 5 Rocky Ford – 6 Sedgwick County/Fleming – 7 Akron – 8 Merino – 9 Wray – 10 Center – 11 Dove Creek – 12 Highland – 13 Norwood – 14 Holly – 15 Crowley County – -
CHSAA begins 93rd winter sports season
Eaglecrest celebrates winning the 2013 5A boys basketball championship. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com) AURORA — The 93rd year of Colorado High School Activities Association practice for winter sports begins just as most of the fall sports are just winding down. Official practice starts Wednesday, November 13 for basketball, wrestling, ice hockey and girls’ swimming. Please note the first day of practice and other information for Skiing on CHSAANow.com.
Teams may begin interscholastic scrimmages on November 19 in these sports, while the first contests may begin on Monday, December 2.
In May, 1921, a group of superintendents and principals met in Boulder and organized the Colorado High School Athletic Conference. The purpose of this organization was to better regulate and develop the interscholastic school athletic program.
There were nine leagues by the time the first constitution was published, including the Northern, North Central, Western Slope, Suburban, Southeastern, Arkansas Valley, South Central and San Juan Basin leagues.
The first champions crowned that school year were Colorado Springs in football, Greeley in basketball, and Fort Collins in track and field.
In 1924, the Colorado High School Athletic Conference joined the National Federation of State High School Associations and has remained an active member of that organization ever since.
Loveland’s R.W. Truscott was the Association’s first president and Eaton’s J.C. Casey its first secretary (commissioner). Truscott replaced Casey as secretary in December, 1926 and held that post until July, 1948 when Glenn T. Wilson became commissioner. Ray C. Ball took over the commissioner’s post in 1966 and remained in the office until August, 1986 when Ray Plutko assumed the duties. Bob Ottewill became the Association’s sixth commissioner in July, 1990, followed by Bill Reader who served as Commissioner from 2002 until 2010. Angelico assumed the reins on July 1, 2010
The CHSAA has had 58 presidents dating back to 1921. Its current president, Centauri High School Principal Curt Wilson, is in the first year of a two-year term as president.
Defending Winter State Champions Sport 1A 2A 3A 4A 5A First Champ* B. Basketball McClave Denver Christian Pagosa Springs Lewis-Palmer Eaglecrest Greeley (’21) G. Basketball Wiley Akron Holy Family Pueblo South Regis Jesuit Golden (’76) G. Swimming – – – Thompson Vly. Regis Jesuit Cherry Crk (’74) B. Skiing – – – – Summit Middle Prk (’65) G. Skiing – – – – Summit Middle Prk (’75) Ice Hockey – – – – Ralston Vly Littleton (’76) Wrestling – Paonia Alamosa Broomfield Pomona Greeley (’36) * – Large school champion listed.