(David Harvey/ImageProPhotography.com)

COLORADO SPRINGS — On Tuesday, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) announced the 613-member Tokyo 2020 Olympic Team. Colorado is sending 34 athletes to the games as members of Team USA, which is the third largest state delegation behind California (126 athletes) and Florida (51 athletes). Competition is set to begin in Japan on Wednesday, July 21, with the Opening Ceremony scheduled for Friday, July 23.

Listed below are the 26 athletes on Team USA that attended Colorado high schools.

(Steve Abeyta)

The 2021 MLB Draft was held July 11-13 at Denver’s Bellco Theatre. Below is a profile of the six Colorado products selected.

Last season, two players who played high school baseball in Colorado were taken.

For a list of all previous Colorado players drafted, browse our historical MLB Draft database

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Regis Jesuit graduate and right-handed pitcher Alec Willis became the first Colorado product selected in the 2021 MLB draft, as he was picked in the seventh round, 211th overall, by the St. Louis Cardinals.

The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Willis was MLB.com’s 130th-ranked prospect after a senior season in which he finished 3-1 with a 0.72 ERA and 54 strikeouts (against eight walks) in 29 innings pitched.

Willis has signed his letter of intent to attend the University of Minnesota. With Willis’ selection, a Regis Jesuit grad has been chosen in an MLB Draft 29 times.

Three 2017 Colorado high school graduates were selected next, led by 2017 Heritage grad Casey Opitz, who attends college baseball powerhouse Arkansas. Opitz was selected in the eighth round, 244th overall, by the Chicago Cubs.

Opitz was one of the top backstops in college baseball, being named to the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Watch List in 2019, while also earning Preseason All-American honors. In 2021, he was a team captain for an Arkansas team that entered the NCAA Baseball Tournament as the number one overall seed.

At Heritage, he was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 27th round of the 2017 MLB Draft. His senior season, he was ranked the No. 3 player in the state of Colorado and the top catcher overall.

He is the third Opitz brother to be taken in an MLB Draft, following Shane (2010) and Jake (2008).

Opitz also played basketball and football for the Eagles at times during his high school career.

2017 Lewis-Palmer grad Billy Cook, a 2021 Pepperdine graduate, went next to the Baltimore Orioles in the 10th round, 287th overall.

Cook was a four-year starter at Pepperdine, appearing in 122 games with 109 starts. He finished tied for ninth in all-time home runs in Pepperdine history. In 2021, he was selected first team all-West Coast Conference.

At Lewis-Palmer, Cook was a three-time 4A all-state honoree, while helping the Rangers to a pair of conference championships.

He is the fourth Lewis-Palmer grad to be drafted all-time, and the first since 2008.

Jack Winkler, a 2017 Chatfield grad, was next to go later in the 10th round, 308th overall to the Oakland Athletics.

Winkler was a four year starter for the University of San Francisco, his last three seasons as the primary shortstop. He had a tremendous campaign in 2021, taking home first team all-West Coast Conference accolades. In four seasons at USF, he played in 184 games, making 180 starts. A career .276 hitter, he totaled 186 hits, 43 doubles, 14 home runs, and 104 RBI.

At Chatfield, he was a three-time all-conference honoree, while helping the Chargers to a 5A title in 2015.

Going back to the recent Colorado high school grads, another Chatfield Charger in Quinton Low went in the 13th round, 387th overall, to the Milwaukee Brewers. With him and Winkler selected, they became the 10th and 11th Chatfield alums drafted all-time.

Low was a two-way star for Chatfield, batting .492 with 30 hits and nine home runs in 2021, while making seven pitching appearances with a 3.00 ERA and 56 strikeouts over 35 innings. He helped Chatfield to the 5A quarterfinals in 2021.

He has signed his letter of intent to attend Santa Clara University.

The final Colorado product selected was Ryan Ure of Eaton, taken in the 16th round, 464th overall, by the Texas Rangers.

Ure was Eaton’s ace this past season, pitching to a 2.07 ERA over 44 innings, while compiling a 7-0 record with 83 strikeouts. He helped lead the Fightin’ Reds to the 3A baseball title.

Ure is signed to play in college with Oklahoma State. He continues Eaton’s rich MLB Draft tradition, as he is the ninth Eaton grad selected all-time, and the first since 2012.

Local selections in the 2021 MLB Draft

(Boise State Athletics)

Justinian Jessup, a 2016 graduate of Longmont High School, was selected in the NBA Draft on Wednesday night.

Jessup, who went on to star at Boise State and played this summer in the Australian National Basketball League, was selected by the Golden State Warriors in the second round with the No. 51 overall pick.

Jessup is the 25th former Colorado high school basketball player to be selected in the NBA Draft, and the first since Legend alum Derrick White was taken in 2017. Jessup is the first Longmont alum to be drafted.

At Longmont, Jessup was a two-time first-team all-state selection, including the Class 4A player of the year in 2015. He averaged 14.6 points per game during his career, including 18.3 as a senior. His 309 career steals rank seventh all-time.

Upon graduating, Jessup moved on to Boise State, where he ultimately set school and conference records for three-pointers made in a career with 325. He also set a school record with 98 three-pointers in 2019-20.

Jessup is the only player in Boise State history to collect 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, 250 assists, 150 steals and 50 blocked shots.

(Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

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.

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

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.

Highlands Ranch alum Kyle Pearson. (Morgan Dzak/CHSAANow.com)

(Photo courtesy of Abby Bartolotta)

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.

(Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

Two former Colorado high school baseball players were selected in the MLB Draft on Thursday evening.

Douglas County senior Case Williams and Pueblo West alum R.J. Dabovich were each drafted in the fourth round, four selections apart.

Williams, a right-handed pitcher, went to the hometown Colorado Rockies with the 110th overall pick. This is the 10th time a Douglas County product has been drafted, and the first time since 2006.

A Santa Clara commit, Williams was 8-1 with a 1.81 ERA for the Huskies during his junior season, and tossed a no-hitter. In 50 1/3 innings, he struck out 79 against 23 walks. His senior year, of course, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Williams is the first Colorado player to be drafted straight out of high school since 2018.

Dabovich, a right-handed pitcher, was drafted by the San Francisco Giants with the No. 114 overall pick.

He appeared in nine games for Arizona State before his junior season was cut short this spring. Dabovich had a 0.77 ERA in in 11 2/3 innings, and allowed just one earned run and three hits. He had 17 strikeouts against nine walks. As a junior, he was 7-1 with a 4.75 ERA, and started nine games.

At Pueblo West, Dabovich helped build the foundation of a great baseball program, including an appearance in the Class 4A state championship game in 2016.

Dabovich became the first Cyclone alum taken in the MLB Draft in 2018 when he was taken out of Central Arizona College in the 18th round.

The pair join the more than 750 former Colorado high school baseball players who have been selected throughout history. Browse a database of each selection here. Colorado has had at least two products selected every year since the draft started in 1965.

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, this year’s MLB Draft has been shortened to five rounds from its usual 40.

(Photo courtesy of Wake Forest Athletics Communications)

It wasn’t long ago that Jennifer Kupcho wasa going through a list of her proudest accomplishments with her swing coach. The Jefferson Academy alum has quite the list to get through as she has won championships at several levels of her career.

She won an NCAA championship at Wake Forest in 2018. In 2019 she made history by winning the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, the first organized women’s tournament to be held at the annual site of the Master’s.

As she went through her list, her coach, Ed Oldham, acknowledged that her high school state championships were every bit as important in her journey.

High school golf for Kupcho is where she started to gain momentum toward becoming the nation’s top-ranked amateur and a star in the making on the LPGA Tour.

“He told me that it was the big stepping point in getting to the national level and moving on to where I could compete in college,” Kupcho said. “I never really thought about it that way, but it’s definitely true right now.”

It was the first of many stepping stones Kupcho used to evolve into the elite player she is today. The first title came on May 20, 2014 at the Country Club of Colorado. She navigated her way around the Pete Dye design and overcame a tricky set of greens to finish the tournament at 2-over-par.

She won the tournament by 14 strokes.

(Courtesy of Mike Kupcho)

She made her way to River Valley Ranch in Carbondale the next year to defend her championship. By then she knew she was headed to Wake Forest to play for the Demon Deacons and looked every bit the part of a Division I golfer.

On the par-5 second hole, her drive landed in the middle of the fairway and she casually stepped up and knocked it on the green in two shots to give herself an eagle put. It seemed ordinary at the time, but looking back Kupcho knows that the biggest flaw in her game at that time made it crucial for her to get to the green as efficiently as possible.

“I was much more aggressive player then,” she said. “I was always going for greens and trying to make each shot as short as possible because my wedges weren’t that good and my overall short game wasn’t that good. So when I went for greens and I missed it, it was not a good combo.”

She claimed her second title with a 10-stroke win over Cheyenne Mountain’s Kylee Sullivan and tied a bow on a remarkable high school career.

(Photo courtesy of Wake Forest Athletics Communications)

She continued making a name for herself at the collegiate level and battled her way to the individual NCAA championship in 2018.

It was an additional stepping stone on the path that had been laid out to her by Oldham. It was clear in high school that she had conquered girls golf in Colorado and now the focus started getting a little wider.

“I remember him saying to me at a young age, you’re the best in Colorado, now let’s get to the best in the country,” she said.

She worked her way up to become the top-ranked amateur in the United States.

“Once I got to the best in the country, now let’s get to the best in the world,” she added.

All indications are she’s on her way. Kupcho made perhaps her biggest historical impact last year as she claimed the first Augusta National Women’s Amateur championship.

Augusta National was long known for not allowing women to become members. That policy ended in 2012 when the club admitted Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore as its first female members.

The founding of the ANWA was intended to fuel the growth of women’s golf. The first 36 holes of the tournament were played at the Champions Retreat Golf Club in Evans, Georgia with the final 18 holes being contested between the top two players on the leaderboard. The two were Kuchpo and Arkansas’ Maria Fassi.

Kupcho shot five-under over the final six holes of the tournament to get the four-stroke win, forever placing her name in golf history.

“I’m starting to understand it more than I did,” Kupcho said. “Fast-forward a year, the week it was supposed to happen I was getting a bunch of media requests and I told my agent I didn’t understand why it was such a big deal, it happened a year ago.”

Her agent had to remind her that she had literally made history.

“Going through that week and reliving the day over after they replayed the event (on TV), it definitely sunk in a little bit more,” Kupcho said.

The next step was turning pro. She had earned her LPGA Tour card in November 2018, but delayed actually turning pro until she finished college. She made her professional debut at the 2019 U.S. Women’s Open.

She later made her way to France to compete in the 2019 Evian Championship which plays as a major on the LPGA Tour. In the final round of the tournament she carded a five-under-par-66 to finish in a three-way tie for second. At 13-under on the tournament, she finished two strokes behind champion Ko Jin-young out of South Korea.

But the second-place finish was just another sign of her growth as a golfer. It started when she was young, it continued when she won state championships at Jefferson Academy and hasn’t slowed down one bit.

(Photo courtesy of Wake Forest Athletics Communications)

Sitting at home with his family, Dalton Keene witnessed a dream become a reality. The Chatfield alum and former Virginia Tech tight end is headed to the NFL after he was selected in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Keene went to the New England Patriots with the 101st overall selection.

Keene joins a long list of Colorado high school products to be taken by an NFL team. Two were taken last year as Wiggins’ Dalton Risner went to the Denver Broncos in the second round and Bear Creek’s Olabisi Johnson was a seventh-round selection of the Minnesota Vikings.

A hybrid tightend/H-back style player at Chatfield, Keene ended his high school career with 2,093 rushing yards and 479 receiving yards. He scored 31 offensive touchdowns.

He is the third Chatfield alum to be drafted, following LenDale White in 2006 and Zac Robinson in 2010.

He made his way to Blacksburg where he totaled 748 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. He made his way to the NFL Combine and has been working out at home recently due to the unique circumstances surrounding this year’s draft.

“This year is kind of new for everyone,” Keene told CHSAANow.com this week. “I don’t know what to expect to be honest with you, but I’m really excited to have this opportunity and to be able to spend time with my family. My parents, brother and sister will all be here.”

Keene becomes the 170th Colorado high school football player to be drafted into the NFL.

With the NFL Draft underway, go back through history to search our database of former Colorado high school football players who have been selected.