Paonia won last season’s 1A football championship. (Eric Goold)
The nature of small town football is pretty simple when described by Paonia football coach Brent McRae.
As coach of the defending Class 1A state champion Eagles, McRae doesn’t have to look far to detail why his team won the state championship, reeling off 10 dominant wins in a row and eventually topping Centauri in the state championship.
“Everything we do starts up front,” McRae said.
The coach, whose team is ranked No. 1 in the preseason, can again sleep better knowing that one of the toughest front sevens returns nearly everyone.
The Eagles run a double tight set, with seven guys tasked at blocking up front. Most of those guys return this year, led by returning all-staters Josh Kimball (6-foot-2, 270 pounds) and Dylan Geisler (5-11, 205).
The team also returns Joel Simianer, Tyler Denison, Chase Park and Logan Schopp up front.
There is a competition at center, but McRae has a couple of 300-pounders battling for that spot.
“They’re country boys,” McRae said. “They work hard all summer. That’s just the way they are. Put any back behind that line and you’re going to gain some yards.”
That was the case last year as Paonia averaged more than 310 yards a game. It’s low was 149 yards in an early season loss to Centauri. When the running game is working like that, the game becomes a lot easier, McRae said.
The Eagles never threw more than 13 attempts in any game and finished with 4,071 yards rushing and 44 touchdowns.
“They enjoy the time they have up front,” McRae said.
The Eagles, though, will be challenged again. Centauri, Buena Vista, Resurrection Christian, Meeker and Burlington should all be in the conversation as teams to watch.
But don’t count out Paonia, especially with the group it has up front. McRae said they’re in the conversation as a favorite because of what happens with that talented group that opens up holes.
“It’s a good group of kids that want to play football, win football games and just want to enjoy football,” he said.
Manitou Springs is ranked No. 4 in the preseason. (Courtesy of Larry Ferguson/Pikes Peak Bulletin)
The first loss for the Manitou Springs Mustangs couldn’t have come at a worse time last season.
In 2013, the Mustangs ran the table through their regular season schedule and earned the No. 2 seed heading into the 2A playoffs.
They cruised by Jefferson in the first round, then emerged from a tough battle with Kent Denver in the quarterfinals. A week later, it was on their home field that the Mustangs fell for the first time in 2013, losing 13-7 to eventual Class 2A champion Platte Valley.
While the Mustangs have a solid group of returning players in 2014, they’ll enter the season looking nothing like the semifinal team they were last year.
In January, coach Danny Gieck stepped down from the position in order to focus more on his family and overall duties to the district. After an extensive search, the Mustangs — for the first time since the retirement of longtime coach George Rykovich — hired an outsider. Former Palmer Ridge coach Monte Gutowski took the position and looks maintain the level of success the Mustangs found in 2013, but will do so with a different approach.
“I don’t think (anyone else’s expectations) matter, I think that within our team — what our team goals are and us as a coaching staff — are the things that we need to focus on,” Gutowski said. “Everybody external is going to have their own opinion and that’s rightfully theirs but that’s none of my business. I don’t care what their expectations are, I care about what my expectations are for my club.”
New Manitou Springs coach Monte Gutowski. (Courtesy of Larry Ferguson/Pikes Peak Bulletin)
The most notable difference for Gutowski’s Mustangs from those of the past will be the absence of the single-wing offense. The “wildcat” style offense was first utilized by Rykovich and carried on through the short coaching careers of CHSAA hall of famer Justin Armour and Gieck.
Gutowski is a fan of varying formations and uses a lot of pistol in his offense, which he will bring to Manitou.
“Everybody gets all wigged out with the pistol, but it’s still just a short shotgun,” he said. “We’ll have a power running game with zone read-type concepts and things like that involved.”
The new offensive style won’t be hard for the Mustangs to grasp, Gutowski insists. He was able to work with the team during a summer camp and started to implement the necessary components of the offense, which the team responded well to.
He’ll use the time between the start of official practices and the Mustangs’ first game (Aug. 29 against state runner-up Faith Christian) to fine-tune his offense and hopefully work out any kinks the Mustangs may have. Gutowski remains confident that the Mustangs will have few issues transitioning into a new system, mostly because of the athleticism he has found in his team.
“Skill-wise, a lot of the skill guys that are back have really good overall team speed,” he said. “I think it fits them, being able to do some of the things I’m asking them to do and letting them be the athletes they are not over-coaching them.”
The Mustangs, ranked No. 4 in the preseason, hope to repeat as Tri-Peaks league champions, but face a tough non-league schedule in Faith Christian, Woodland Park, Buena Vista and Eaton. Their first league game will be played on Sept. 26 when they host La Junta.
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Class 2A football
Defending champion: Faith Christian
Runner-up: Platte Valley
Returning All-State players: Caleb Creech, Sr., Platte Valley; Jonathan Cretti, Sr., Bennett; Ryan Fitzgerald, Sr. Aspen; Jaden Franklin, Sr., Kent Denver; John Jordan, Jr., Bennett; Connor McCain, Sr., Faith Christian; Ethan Rose, Sr., Sterling; Kyle Rosenbrock, Sr., Brush; Jacob Smith, Sr., Strasburg
Dayspring Christian’s Kylar Mai is back, but he’s moving to halfback this season. (Dennis Pleuss)
Considering the consistency Dayspring Christian Academy has exhibited in the past decade, it’s safe to say the Greeley school has some things figured out.
“You’re asking 8,555 questions about (the state championship) and we don’t talk about it,” Eagles coach Mick Holmes said.
OK coach.
But how are things changing after an undefeated season last year?
Pretty strikingly, actually.
All do everything quarterback Kylar Mai — he of 1,458 yards passing and 22 touchdowns and 2,308 yards rushing and another 37 touchdowns — returns but won’t be under center.
He’s making a full time switch to halfback.
“He’s our best ball carrier, but he struggled at times to throw the ball,” Holmes said. “He did adequate throwing the ball.”
In his place the Eagles are trying out a trio of different quarterbacks to fill in. The move, Holmes said, started being discussed this summer among the staff.
As the chats continued, it continued to make more sense.
It’s also partly because Mai hopes to play beyond high school and Holmes said his future isn’t as a quarterback but as a running back.
The move though is risky.
Mai was a one-man, 8-man wrecking machine last year, saving possibly his best game for the state championship game against Caliche.
There Mai threw for 147 yards and three touchdowns, while adding 28 carries for 295 yards and another two touchdowns.
“I can’t answer if it will work out,” Holmes said. “The jury is still out. We have two kids that throw the ball better than him.”
If nothing else, Dayspring knows what it takes to have playoff success. Coming out the Plains League — the toughest in 8-man — Dayspring consistently is a contender for a state title.
Having won two of the past three, though, Holmes said 8-man can be fickle. He points to a 2012 first round exit in the playoffs where the Eagles had eight turnovers and to last year’s 35-28 win against Caliche in the state championship.
There, Caliche had the ball in the red zone three times and came away with three turnovers.
“My philosophy is this: We don’t talk about the state championship ever,” Holmes said. “We talk about working hard and taking care of things we control.”
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8-man football
Defending champion: Dayspring Christian
Runner-up: Caliche
Returning All-State players: Brody Donoho, Dayspring Christian, senior; Kylar Mai, Dayspring Christian, senior; Jon Wiseman, Dayspring Christian, senior
In a neat showing of sportsmanship, four Class 5A Highlands Ranch-area football teams will meet Thursday to watch When The Game Stands Tall, a movie based on a high school football team in California.
Players from Mountain Vista, ThunderRidge, Rock Canyon and Highlands Ranch will gather at the AMC Highlands Ranch 24 to watch the movie on Thursday night. The event was organized by the schools’ head football coaches — Ric Cash, Joe Johnson, Brian Lamb and Mark Robinson, respectively.
When The Game Stands Tall focuses on De La Salle High School’s success over 12 years, which included 151 straight wins from 1992-2003. It is based on a 2003 book of the same name.
In recognition, said Pat McCabe, athletic director at Mountain Vista, “These programs have collectively earned the Continental League Sportmanship Award for the month of August.”
Here’s a trailer for the movie:
Short stuff
With the season starting, we’ve completed our previews of every classification of every sport. You can find them all here.
Plenty of good news coming down the pipe for hockey. Stay tuned.
Our weekly live chat will be heading on the road to kick off the football season this Friday. We’ll be at Montrose vs. Grand Junction.
There was an intriguing meeting at the CHSAA office on Wednesday night where a panel of experts sought to find solutions to the arm injury problems which have plagued youth baseball of late.
Quarterback Dante Sparaco, who is just set to start his sophomore season at Glenwood Springs, has received a scholarship offer from Colorado State, according to the Glenwood Springs Post-Independent. He’s already 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds. According to the Post-Independent, Sparaco has also been receiving interest from Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Arizona, USC and Florida State. Sparaco threw just five passes last season, but is expected to start this season, according to the paper.
Erie has new turf for its all-purpose field. The old turf was damaged in last September’s flooding.
MaxPreps compiled the longest road trips of the 2014 football season. Trips to Florida for Littleton, Dakota Ridge and Columbine check in at No. 7. (Other Colorado schools, such as Monarch and Chatfield on Thursday, are also going to Florida, but they did not make the list.)
The NFHS released 2013-14 participation numbers this week. As excepted, they grew once again, this time to 7.8 million. Our Bert Borgmann did some research and found that while Colorado ranks 25th in number of member schools, the state is 20th in students who participate in high school sports.
Here’s a nice feature on Regis Jesuit graduate Missy Franklin in The New York Times.
Two Colorado products were named to Athlon Sport’s preseason All-Freshman Team. JK Scott, a 2014 graduate of Mullen, is the first-team punter, while Daniel Carlson, a 2013 graduate of The Classical Academy, is the first-team kicker. (The team includes redshirt freshmen, as well.) In a somewhat related note, Mullen has new goalposts.
High praise (I think?) for former Denver South standout Phillip Lindsay: CU football coach Mike MacIntyre said “he is the Tasmanian Devil.” Lindsay is turning heads during fall camp, according to the Denver Post. Here’s another detailed feature on Lindsay.
Montrose football is seeking a return trip to Sports Authority Field at Mile High. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
Mike Rocha is redefining the role of a fullback.
At 6 feet, 212 pounds, the senior-to-be at Montrose presents a plethora of problems for opposing defenses. Rocha does enough damage helping pave the way for the team’s other backs, but he’s most dangerous when he has the ball in his hands.
“He’s got enough speed where he really can hurt you,” Montrose coach Todd Casebier said. “It’s pretty unique to have a fullback have 1,600 yards rushing.”
That’s putting it lightly. Rocha was one of the driving forces behind Montrose’s punishing rushing attack last fall, piling up 1,572 yards on the ground to go along with 27 touchdowns. As a team the Indians accrued more than 4,600 rushing yards on their way to the Class 4A state championship game before falling to Pine Creek 49-14 at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver last November.
Montrose’s Mike Rocha, left, rushed for 1,600 yards last season. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
“It was a whirlwind tour,” said Casebier, whose squad traveled over the mountains on five occasions last fall and made two more hour-long trips to Grand Junction. “Having the opportunity to play where the Broncos do and for a state championship, those are special things that don’t happen very often.
“At the same time we’re disappointed with how we played against Pine Creek, but they had a lot to do with that.”
Headed into the 2014 season, which Montrose kicks off Aug. 22 at home against Grand Junction, the mission is to find a way back to Sports Authority once again. The Indians are ranked No. 2 to begin the year.
They have Rocha and quarterback Kameron Devincentis back, along with experience up front in all-state lineman Matt Maestas, tackle Andrew Doney, guard Kaden James and tight end Kolby Martinez.
“I call them the dogs up front,” Rocha said. “Without them I wouldn’t be at 1,600 yards. They’re the base of our offense and without them we’d be nothing.”
Montrose did graduate a key offensive weapon in Angelo Youngren, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards and 13 TDs, but the team has Nick Foster and Dalton Wright ready to fill his shoes.
Devincentis threw for 1,054 yards and 14 touchdowns and rushed for 374 more yards.
“He’s kind of the catalyst that makes things go,” Casebier said of his quarterback. “He had a really good season as a junior and we’ll ask him to do more as a senior. He’s a savvy kid who makes plays.”
Maestas and Donny Adams return on the defensive line, where they will be joined by Kadin McPherson and Cayden James. Foster and Mitch Freismuth anchor the secondary.
Montrose’s Kameron DeVincentis during practice this fall. (Tom Hoganson)
Lucas Ruiz-Diaz returns at kicker, where he was 6-for-6 on field goals as a sophomore.
The Indians make the move from the Southwestern League to a Foothills League that includes five schools from the Colorado Springs area. The travel won’t change, but the competition will be just as fierce.
“We’re happy the Foothills League allowed us to be in with them,” Casebier said. “We know it’s going to be a good challenge.”
That league slate and a tough non-league schedule should help prepare Montrose as it attempts to make a return to the title game.
“I think it was a big move for Montrose and just the whole program. Last year was just a Cinderella story,” Rocha said. “I think everybody thought it can’t happen, but now it shows it can — a small team from the Western Slope can go all the way and make it.
“Last year was crazy but now it’s just an inspiration to get back and actually pull through.”
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Class 4A football
Defending champion: Pine Creek
Runner-up: Montrose
Returning All-State players: Avery Anderson, Sr., Pine Creek (1st); Connor Durant, Sr., Standley Lake (1st); Tommy Lazzaro, Sr., Pine Creek (1st); Matt Maestas, Sr., Montrose (1st); Mike Rocha, Sr., Montrose (1st); Kidd Soole, Sr., Monarch (1st); Nathan Spinuzzi, Sr., Pueblo South (1st); Braxton Thais, Sr., Dakota Ridge (1st).
Regular Season begins: Aug. 21
Playoffs begin: Nov. 8
Championship: Nov. 29 at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver
Chatfield coach Bret McGatlin, far left, will guide the Chargers high-powered offense led by returning starting quarterback Kyle Winkler, middle, and running back Michael Callahan-Harris, far right. The Chargers averaged nearly 40 points per game last year as Winkler threw for 2,176 yards and 25 touchdowns. Callahan-Harris rushed for 1,296 yards and 15 touchdowns during their junior seasons. (Dennis Pleuss)
LITTLETON — Chatfield appears primed to join the group of Class 5A football state title contenders this season.
The Chargers come into the fall with one of the most explosive offenses in the state headed by three-year starting quarterback Kyle Winkler and returning running back Michael Callahan-Harris. Chatfield’s quick-paced offense averaged nearly 40 points per game last season.
“We found something that both coaches and players enjoyed,” Chatfield coach Bret McGatlin said. “When you play fast you are able to utilize all the athletes you have. Our goal is the find the little things we didn’t do well and improve on those. The sky is the limit I think.”
Winkler threw for 2,176 yards and 25 touchdowns during last year’s 8-3 campaign that ended with a second-round playoff loss to Pomona. While statistics are nice, Winkler is focused on the big prize his senior season.
Chatfield senior quarterback Kyle Winkler put up some impressive passing numbers last season. Winkler was 188-of-276 for 2,176 yards and 25 touchdowns during his junior campaign. (Dennis Pleuss)
“Obviously I just want to win a state championship,” said Winkler, who is looking at possibly continuing his football career at an Ivy League school after graduation. “The individual stuff really doesn’t matter to me as long as we win.”
Callahan-Harris became the Chargers’ workhorse at running back by midseason when starting back Brendan Murphy was limited because of injury.
“I knew once Murphy got hurt I was going to have to step it up and play at the level that he did for the past two seasons,” Callahan-Harris said. “I knew I could do it.”
Callahan-Harris did do it, carrying the ball 157 for 1,110 yards and 14 touchdowns in Chatfield final six games in 2013.
“To be honest, I wasn’t surprise at all,” McGatlin said. “We knew when Michael came in as a freshman he was extremely talented. He has the greatest vision I’ve ever seen. He has a burst of speed you don’t see from many backs.”
Chatfield returns seniors Sean O’Dell and Brayden Gilbert to lead the receiver core. McGatlin believes O’Dell is one of the top all-around athletes in the state and Gilbert has been playing football with Winkler since the fifth grade.
While the offense has the potential to be even better than last season, McGatlin knows it takes more than just a high-powered offense to make a run at a state title. The Chargers are ranked No. 6 in the preseason poll.
Chatfield senior Michael Callahan-Harris had a remarkable final six games last season carrying the ball 157 times for 1,110 yards and 14 touchdowns. (Dennis Pleuss)
“More than anything else we want to step up our defense and special teams. I think our expectations are to make sure we aren’t just a one-dimensional team,” McGatlin said. “We realize to compete in our league having a great offense is wonderful, but looking at last year it didn’t win us a state championship or even a league championship.”
Three-year starter Matt Gaiter and junior Maurice Barley will anchor the defensive line for the Chargers.
“Both kids (Gaiter and Barley) had a great off-season in the weight room,” McGatlin said. “You realize that if you don’t have a defensive line you are going to struggle on defense.”
McGatlin expects Jake Carstensen to be the leader of the defense that will focus getting the ball back to the offense more often this season.
“We are going to play a lot more aggressive on defense,” McGatlin said. “We are going to run more three-men fronts and bring more pressure to force more turnovers.”
Chatfield will play in the newly formed 5A Jeffco League that features seven Jeffco squads and Mullen.
“We know that we have a long ways to go. This is a good core group of guys, but you have to beat those guys. Those teams have all made deep runs into the playoffs,” McGatlin said of Chatfield’s conference foes. “We’ve had some big wins and had some wins in the playoffs, but we haven’t made that deep run into the playoffs yet. That’s the next step.”
The Chargers’ first step this regular season will be a trip to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida during Zero Week to face Everglades High School on Thursday.
Football fans attending Chatfield’s home football games at Jeffco Stadium in Lakewood should get their money’s worth this upcoming season. Running back Michael Callahan-Harris (far left), quarterback Kyle Winkler (middle) and coach Bret McGatlin is hoping to get the Chargers in contention for a 5A state football championship run. Chatfield’s lone state football title came back in 2001 when the Chargers were coached by Dave Logan. (Dennis Pleuss)
Delta football spent most of 2013 lighting up the scoreboard on their way to a 9-4 record and the Class 3A state semifinals, where they fell to eventual runner-up Silver Creek 28-17.
Though they came oh-so-close last season, the good news for the Panthers, and head coach Ben Johnson, is that the team has plenty of talent returning from an offense that averaged over 35 points per-game during the regular season.
That doesn’t mean, according to coach Johnson, the road can’t and won’t get bumpy — especially in the early going.
“We’ve got a lot of good kids returning, but I think our schedule’s very tough. We open up with (The Classical Academy) and then we have Montrose,” said Johnson, who’s in his sixth season at Delta. “The most important thing is to just get through our schedule and get into the playoffs, and then anything can happen there.”
Delta will be led by returning senior quarterback Cade Gafford, a three-sport athlete who tossed 25 touchdowns versus just five interceptions last season. Gafford will be without all-state wide out Ryan Whiteside, who pulled down 76 catches for 1213 yards as a senior last season — but Johnson already believes he has a good candidate in mind to replace Whiteside’s production.
“Gafford threw for like 2,300 yards last year and had a really good year,” Johnson said. “We do have some good receivers. We have a six-foot-five receiver, senior Eian Baier, who I think is very good.”
Baier caught 10 passes for 147 yards as a junior last year.
Johnson doesn’t see the Panthers as a one-dimensional offense either — running back Johnathan Ponce, who rushed for 1,702 yards and led the team in all-purpose yards, returns for his junior season. Paving the way for Ponce will be big senior left tackle Marcus Garcia.
Together with Gafford, Ponce and Garcia make up what Johnson calls, “our big three," and compromise the backbone of what looks to be another potent Panthers’ attack.
In all, Johnson envisions a versatile game-plan capable of putting up points anyway possible — just like last season.
“We really try and be very balanced. We want to throw the ball, we want to run the ball, and keep teams’ off-balance,” said Johnson. “If they load the box we’ll throw it, if they play off we’ll run it.”
That kind of diversity pays off come playoff time.
The 3A state football playoffs are wild — six out of eight playoff teams were upset by a lower seed in the first round alone last year — so it pays to be able to put points on the board in every possible way. After two straight seasons with a winning record, and after coming within inches of playing for a championship in 2013, Johnson just hopes his team gets another chance to reach the summit in 2014.
“We have a pretty experienced group, so we just want to make sure we get our chance to get in (to the playoffs) and try to do some good things," he said.
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Class 3A football
Defending Champion: Coronado (moved up to 4A)
Runner-up: Silver Creek
Returning All-State players: Ouray Ocanas, Fort Morgan, Sr. (1st); Isaiah Young, Vista PEAK, Sr. (1st)
Lyons junior Paul Roberts performance last year at the Class 2A cross country meet should have come to the surprise of no one.
Running to the Roberts family is first nature.
“I’ve ran since I was 2,” Paul said. “I remember running a Turkey Trot. Then a mile in or 20 minutes. The thing in the family is to go out and run. We were home schooled so it was our PE. I was always interested in it a little. Then I can remember being 7 or 8 and liking it a lot. I started racing my older sister in lots of races. Then all I wanted to do was beat her.”
Paul, and the rest of the Roberts clan, have certainly shown that they are a running family.
Paul won the boys Class 2A meet last year, setting a course record last at the Norris Penrose Event Center in Colorado Springs, finishing in 16 minutes, 19 seconds.
Paul’s sister, Miriam, won the girls meet.
“We’ve been blessed with great kids,” said Mark, the Roberts’ father and Lyons head cross country coach. “I feel like it’s a culture of kids that want to get better, and just enjoy hanging out with each other. It’s helped out with my own children getting involved with that.”
Paul’s 2014 season is setting up to be even better. The Class 2A field returns a stable of top runners, including Roberts’ teammate Joel Such and Telluride’s Jack Plantz. Returning all-stater Ben Butler from SkyView Academy will move up to Class 3A.
With Paul competing with Such on a nightly basis in practice, though, Lyons looks poised to again be the team to beat.
For Paul, a return to the state championships and a sub 16-minute time are definitely goals, but the junior’s eyes are on the Nike Cross Regional. After struggling and failing to qualify for the national Nike meet, Paul said his focus is on that.
But the state championships are a big part of that training.
With the state championships taking part on the same course, and with Mark’s knowledge of racing, Paul understands he’s got a big bull’s-eye on his back.
“I remember what it’s like,” Paul said. “I know how to run it. We know it’s going to work out and set up well for us this year.”
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Class 2A boys cross country
Defending individual champion: Paul Roberts, Lyons
Defending team champion: Lyons
Returning All-State athletes: Roberts (junior), Lyons’ Joel Such (junior), Telluride’s Jack Plantz (junior).
Regular season begins: Aug. 21
Regionals: Oct. 16 and 17
State meet: Oct. 25, Norris-Penrose Event Center, Colorado Springs
Alamosa High School, nestled in the San Luis Valley in south-central Colorado, is in a prime distance running location.
Alamosa is home to the most successful Division II running program in the country, Adams State, and is fertile training ground at 7,500 feet. The area also has several strong running programs at the high school level. The Mean Moose are one of them.
Alamosa is led by legendary coach Larry Zaragoza, an Adams State alum who ran and learned under one of the best distance running coaches in American history, Joe Vigil.
Zaragoza, entering his 38th season at the school, also coached at Centauri in the 1970s. He is the only cross country coach in Colorado history to claim both boys and girls team state titles at two different schools. Zaragoza has won several championships over the years, but says his program’s focus isn’t solely on the end results each season.
“We don’t chase trophies,” Zaragoza said. “That’s one thing that’s convinced in my mind. I’m not going to try and inform a team to just try and go out and chase a trophy. I don’t want disappointment; I want enjoyment, no matter what happens at the end of the season.
"I want them to appreciate it and reflect on all the hard work that’s brought them to this point, no matter where it brings us. Be proud of your efforts and be proud of your achievements.”
Zaragoza’s boys team had another season to be proud of in 2013 with a third place finish at the 3A cross country state championships despite not having a single senior in the state lineup. The Alamosa boys have placed in the top four each of the past four seasons at the state championships and look to be one of the state title favorites in 2014, but Zaragoza never takes anything for granted.
“We’re in a tough region,” the long-time Alamosa coach said of 3A Region 2, arguably the most challenging boys region in the classification. “Vanguard School just moved up and Lamar’s back with a solid team.
"One of our goals is to increase the mileage in a smart way and keep people healthy, because we do have a fine group of young men and they’re going to be competing in some really good meets throughout the season. We do have quality, but we don’t have a lot of depth. We have six pretty outstanding runners and after that, it kind of drops off, not drastically, but compared to what our front-runners have, it would drop off a little bit.”
Alamosa, like most small schools, may struggle for depth, but their top-flight talent is excellent.
Alamosa’s Isaiah DeLaCerda. (Eric R. Flores)
Isaiah De La Cerda is one of the best talents in Colorado for his age. He placed seventh at state cross country as a freshman last season and ran a 10:03 3,200-meters at the 3A state track championships, good for ninth place.
De La Cerda is talented enough to challenge for an individual state title this fall. The sophomore is the son of Peter, a second place finisher at the 2000 Olympic trials in the marathon, and Ronda De La Cerda. Both of Isaiah’s parents were standouts at Adams State. Peter has been an assistant coach at Alamosa for several years.
“It’s a blessing to have Peter on the program,” Zaragoza said. “He occasionally runs with the team. He takes the A group and he’ll run with them on their long runs. He likes to get out and do the hill workouts with them. I think that’s a plus having a coach like Peter, especially for his son Isaiah, because Isaiah is quite a talented young man.
"He seems to be mature beyond his years," Zaragoza added. "He seems so composed at meets. Again, he’s one of those who has no fear. He’s not afraid of anybody. He respects, along with our team and coaching staff — we respect our opponents, but we fear no one. We want to compete and we want to compete against the best.
"Isaiah’s always visiting with top runners. Last year, he would go speak with Bailey Roth out of Coronado High School and the young man that ran for Denver East (Cerake Geberkidane). Isaiah likes to be a student of the game.”
Jericho Ulibarri, a senior, could be nipping at De La Cerda’s heels again this fall. Ulibarri finished one second behind De La Cerda at last year’s state cross country meet in a strong eighth place effort.
Miguel Baltazar was the second-fastest freshman in the classification last year, placing 22nd at the state meet, and Chance Canty, Caleb Palmer, and Austin Chavez are fine runners in their own right.
Alamosa certainly has a talented team returning. The Mean Moose are still youthful, but certainly have a fine example of running success in their own backyard.
“Our kids do get to rub elbows every now and then,” Zaragoza said of sharing the town with Adams State. “For example, there’s a meet that they host here called the Joe I. Vigil. It’s a middle school race, a high school race, and then a collegiate race. Our kids know who the Adams State athletes are, whether they are male or female. I have had over the past years, the head coach Damon Martin come and speak to our team and share some knowledge and some motivational thoughts.
“They’re aware of Adams State’s success and I think them being from Alamosa, they want to be equally representative of the running community.”
Alamosa is expected to be one of the state champion favorites along with Lamar, a region rival and second place finisher in 2013.
Frontier Academy, the defending state champions, graduated its top three boys, but have a strong enough program to put them in the team race again.
Salida’s Taylor Stock, the top 3A returner after a second-place finish as a sophomore, is expected to battle Basalt’s Zach Walsh, Alamosa’s De La Cerda and Ulibarri, and Lamar’s Jake Rogers for the individual crown.
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Class 3A boys cross country
Defending individual champion: Jacob Benson, Platte Canyon (graduated)
Defending team champion: Frontier Academy
Returning All-State athletes: Taylor Stack, Salida; Zack Walsh, Basalt; Isaiah De La Cerda, Alamosa
Regular season begins: Aug. 21
Regionals: Oct. 16 and 17
State meet: Oct. 25, Norris-Penrose Event Center, Colorado Springs
The Classical Academy’s Everett Johnson. (Courtesy of Alan Versaw)
There is one guarantee about the upcoming boys cross country season: there will be a new Class 4A state team champion.
That’s became a reality when last year’s state champ Broomfield moved up to 5A this season.
Although the Eagles are gone, there’s no shortage of talented 4A teams in 2014 — led by The Classical Academy.
The Colorado Springs-based school was the state runner-up last year, but veteran coach Alan Versaw knows nothing will come easy for his squad.
“We have our work cut out for us,” Versaw said. “There are plenty of good teams. Palmer Ridge, at least on paper, is probably the best team. They lost very little to graduation and they had a pretty strong team last year and all indicators are that they are going to be really good. I also think Thompson Valley, Air Academy, Cheyenne Mountain and Durango are going to be very good.”
The Titans won five Class 3A boys cross country titles, but have yet to win any in 4A since moving up to that class in 2012.
Versaw expects his team to be led by senior Everett Johnson, junior Michael Oldach and sophomore Tanner Norman.
“We are very established and very experienced three-deep, but in cross country you have to go to five,” Versaw said. “We will see what happens with (No.) 4 and 5 and that will probably tell a big deal of the story of our season right there.
Michael Oldach. (Courtesy of Alan Versaw)
"We have one freshman coming in who could be an impact freshman and we will wait because I’m not sure on that," he added. "Then, we have probably five or six guys who ran mostly JV last year and were freshmen and sophomores and they will have a shot at filling those positions. We have lots of possibilities.”
That’s why Versaw uses the regular season to mold his team.
“I don’t load up with big meets,” Versaw said. “There are a couple of times during the season we will try and go pretty hard, but the invitational season is more about learning than winning meets.”
The state meet returns to the Norris-Penrose Event Center which Versaw knows is a challenge.
“It’s kind of a roll the dice kind of course where there is very little margin for error on that course the way it is setup,” Versaw said.
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Class 4A boys cross country
Defending individual champion: Broomfield (moved up to 5A)
Returning All-State athletes: Michael Duran, Pueblo Centennial, Jr. (1st); William Mayhew, Cheyenne Mountain, Sr. (1st); Eric Hamer, Palmer Ridge, Sr. (1st)
Regular season begins: Aug. 21
Regionals: Oct. 16 and 17
State meet: Oct. 25, Norris-Penrose Event Center, Colorado Springs
