CHSAA assistant commissioner Bert Borgmann sent the following email to schools on Tuesday regarding the forecast snowstorm this weekend:
Many weather forecasters are predicting a major snowstorm that will impact the state from Friday to Sunday of this week.
While the impact of the storm is still being debated by the professionals, I wanted to provide the contingency plan in the event their current forecasts prove true. Should the snowstorm come to fruition, we will postpone all games for Saturday and move them to Monday, then move Tuesday’s games to Wednesday.
By cancelling all games on Saturday, and moving to Monday and Wednesday, it allows for the day between contests we have planned originally.
The decision to postpone will not be made until Thursday evening, or Friday morning. We will be monitoring the weather conditions and forecasts, and will let you know the decision as early as we can.
In the meantime, it appears that our games tonight and Thursday should be able to proceed without weather interruption.
With the regular season concluding over the weekend, the boys and girls basketball state tournament brackets were released on Monday morning by the CHSAA office.
Play in all classifications begins on Tuesday.
The brackets were determined via four pieces of seeding criteria which were released Monday morning, prior to the release of the brackets themselves.
Games will be played at home sites of the higher seed until the state championship games which will be held at the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs on March 19 and 20.
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(PaulDiSalvoPhotography.com)
Class 5A
Cherry Creek enters the boys tournament as the No. 1 overall seed. The Bruins went 14-0 in the regular season and are looking to claim their first boys basketball title since 1996.
Regis Jesuit claims the No. 2 spot on the bracket. The Raiders were undefeated until the last game of the regular season where they suffered a 61-59 overtime loss to Chaparral.
Rangeview, the last 5A team to claim a boys basketball title, is the No. 3 seed and ThunderRidge enters the tournament as the No. 4 seed.
Valor Christian claims the top seed on the girls side. The Eagles ran the table to win the 5A Jeffco League title. The Eagles advanced to last year’s semifinals and are hoping for another deep tournament run this season.
Regis Jesuit takes the No. 2 seed. The lone loss for the Raiders this season was a 67-45 defeat at the hands of top-seeded Valor Christian.
After spending all season as the No. 1 team in the coaches poll, Grandview enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed. Highlands Ranch gets the No. 4 spot.
A solid regular season gives Windsor the No. 1 seed heading into the postseason. The Wizards lost just one game on the year, falling to Erie 71-59 on Feb. 15.
Longmont spent most of the year near the top of several rankings as well. As a result, the Trojans enter as the No. 2 seed and are hoping to match their 2018 season where they claimed the 4A title.
Montrose gets the No. 3 seed while Lewis-Palmer, the 2019 state champion, gets the No. 4 seed.
After advancing to the state championship game a year ago, Holy Family takes the top seed heading into the 4A girls tournament. The Tigers lost the season opener to Lutheran and then rattled off 10 straight wins, including a 65-63 overtime win against No. 3 Windsor.
Green Mountain dominated the regular season at 14-0 to earn the No. 2 seed. Along with Holy Family, the Rams have the opportunity to host every game through the semifinals.
Windsor has the No. 3 seed and Mullen, the 2019 4A state champion gets the No. 4 seed.
St. Mary’s takes the No. 1 seed for the 3A boys postseason after completing an undefeated regular season. The fast pace the Pirates played during the regular season got them over the 100-point mark three times during the regular season.
Lutheran comes in with the No. 2 seed. The Lions lone loss of the season came to Regis Jesuit, the No. 2 seed in the 5A tournament.
Sterling enters as the No. 3 seed and Manitou Springs takes the No. 4 spot.
The Vanguard School takes the No. 1 spot for the girls to give the Tri-Peaks League the top seed in both the boys and girls tournaments. The Coursers finished the regular season at 13-0.
Centauri takes the No. 2 seed after playing its way to a 13-1 record. The lone loss of the season for the Falcons was to No. 1 Vanguard in Colorado Springs.
Platte Valley is the No. 3 seed and Lutheran is No. 4.
A 12-0 regular season has Wray in the driver’s seat for the 2A boys tournament. That record includes a 72-66 win over Limon who grabs the No. 2 seed. Both teams will host all the way through the semifinals, should they remain alive in the state tournament.
Peyton grabs the No. 3 seed after winning the Black Forest League title. The lone loss of the year for the Panthers was to 3A No. 4 Manitou Springs.
Yuma takes the No. 4 seed and will get the chance to host two games in the pit as long as they are alive in the tournament.
Holyoke ran the table in the regular season to secure the top seed in the 2A girls tournament. That included a close win over Wray, who also grabbed a top-10 seed for the postseason.
Cedaredge takes the No. 2 seed thanks to a nearly unblemished record. The lone loss of the season came against Paonia, but the Bruins rebounded with a win over the Eagles just 12 days later.
Sanford is the No. 3 seed and Rye grabs the No. 4 seed.
A dominant regular season has Belleview Christian as the top team in the 1A boys bracket. The Bruins outscored their opponents by nearly 500 points on the year and ended the season with a 12-0 record.
Merino battled its way through a 2A/1A Lower Platte League and gets the No. 2 seed as a result. The Rams will play at home through the semifinals as long as they remain in the tournament.
De Beque takes the No. 3 seed in the bracket while Granada is the No. 4 seed.
Briggsdale had a couple of tough tests this season, but finished the regular season undefeated to claim the No. 1 seed in the 1A girls tournament. The Falcons scored twice as many points as they surrendered this year and look strong heading into the postseason.
Kit Carson also had a solid regular season performance and finished with a 13-0 record heading into the state tournament, good enough for the No. 2 seed.
Sangre de Cristo is the No. 3 seed while Flatirons Academy takes the No. 4 seed in the bracket.
The final girls basketball coaches polls of season are out as part of the process for seeding the state basketball tournaments.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches, are the official polls of the Association. They are a factor in the postseason. Each vote went through an audit process.
Fruita Monument 23, Fountain-Fort Carson 22, Columbine 19, Horizon 18, Castle View 12, Ponderosa 10, Broomfield 10, Arvada West 8, Pueblo West 7, Poudre 5, Lakewood 5, Westminster 4, Air Academy 2, Rocky Mountain 1, Mountain Vista 1, Vista PEAK Prep 1
Dropped out
Fruita Monument (14)
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Holy Family (5)
10-1
311
2
2-0
2
Green Mountain (4)
14-0
307
1
2-0
3
Mullen (13)
12-2
293
3
3-0
4
Windsor
12-1
263
6
3-0
5
Falcon
13-1
250
4
2-1
6
George Washington (1)
12-1
231
5
2-0
7
Erie
11-3
166
13
3-0
8
The Classical Academy
12-2
153
7
1-0
9
Palmer Ridge
10-3
110
11
1-0
10
Grand Junction Central
11-3
96
10
2-1
11
Canon City
10-2
88
8
0-1
12
Weld Central
12-2
83
14
2-0
13
Northridge
12-2
78
8
2-1
14
Thompson Valley
11-3
72
12
2-1
15
Mead
7-3
71
–
2-1
Others receiving votes:
D’Evelyn 48, Roosevelt 45, Glenwood Springs 17, Coronado 16, Berthoud 10, Thornton 9, Pueblo County 7, Battle Mountain 7, Palisade 7, Severance 6, Rifle 4, Evergreen 3, Lewis-Palmer 3, Littleton 2, Aurora Central 1, Frederick 1, Durango 1, Northfield 1
Dropped out
D’Evelyn (15)
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
The Vanguard School (18)
13-0
298
1
3-0
2
Centauri
13-1
263
2
2-0
3
Lutheran (2)
12-1
250
3
2-0
4
Platte Valley
12-1
239
4
3-0
5
Delta
12-2
207
6
2-1
6
Eaton
10-2
196
5
1-1
7
University
10-4
169
7
2-0
8
The Academy
9-1
147
8
4-0
9
Brush
11-3
144
8
2-1
10
Pagosa Springs
10-3
108
10
0-1
11
St. Mary’s
12-2
98
11
3-1
12
Kent Denver
9-3
69
12
1-1
13
Moffat County
9-3
48
15
2-0
14
Resurrection Christian
10-4
42
–
3-0
15
Coal Ridge
11-3
30
–
3-0
Others receiving votes:
Manitou Springs 21, Lamar 18, Peak to Peak 13, Ellicott 9, Sterling 9, Basalt 7, Faith Christian 5, Colorado Academy 3, The Pinnacle 2, Valley 2, Prospect Ridge Academy 1, Salida 1, Middle Park 1
Dropped out
Peak to Peak (13), Manitou Springs (14)
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Holyoke (3)
14-0
258
3
2-0
2
Sanford (5)
13-1
253
1
2-0
3
Cedaredge (6)
13-1
250
2
2-0
4
Rye (3)
13-1
232
4
2-0
5
Heritage Christian (2)
13-1
196
6
2-1
6
Rocky Ford
11-2
186
5
1-0
7
Paonia
12-2
154
7
2-0
8
Wray
10-3
153
8
1-0
9
Sedgwick County
12-2
130
11
1-0
10
Limon
11-3
117
8
2-1
11
Ignacio
9-4
77
10
1-2
11
Soroco
10-2
77
12
1-1
13
Lotus School for Excellence
13-0
55
13
3-0
14
Burlington
10-4
43
14
1-1
15
Del Norte
9-5
36
15
1-1
Others receiving votes:
Olathe 19, Center 19, Mancos 9, Sargent 7, Gilpin County 6, Monte Vista 1, Hotchkiss 1, Fowler 1
Dropped out
None.
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Briggsdale (19)
12-0
326
1
2-0
2
Kit Carson (3)
13-0
306
2
2-0
3
Sangre de Cristo
10-2
266
3
0-1
4
Kim/Branson
13-1
202
6
2-0
5
Flatirons Academy
10-4
199
4
3-1
6
South Baca [Campo/Vilas/Pritchett]
12-2
185
5
1-1
7
Fleming
9-3
176
12
3-0
8
Shining Mountain
11-3
142
10
1-2
9
Simla
11-3
134
8
2-0
10
McClave
10-3
132
8
1-2
11
Cotopaxi
12-2
128
11
2-0
11
Dove Creek
13-0
128
13
3-0
13
Elbert
8-3
93
7
0-2
14
Merino
9-5
65
14
3-0
15
Lone Star
9-4
46
15
3-1
Others receiving votes:
Haxtun 32, Kiowa 12, Sierra Grande 12, Springfield 12, Belleview Christian 11, Idalia 9, Eads 9, Evangelical Christian 8, North Park 5, Cheraw 1, Longmont Christian 1
LITTLETON — It’s not how you start the season, it’s how you finish.
Columbine girls basketball team had a tough start to the season missing the first week of the regular season due to a COVID quarantine. The Rebels held a 4-4 record after back-to-back Class 5A Jeffco League losses to Valor Christian and Chatfield two weeks ago.
However, the Rebels (8-4 record) grabbed its fourth straight victory Friday night with a come-from-behind 44-36 road victory in the rematch against rival Chatfield, ranked No. 13 in the CHSAANow.com 5A girls basketball rankings.
Columbine junior Jessica Bollwahn (12) scored a game-high 19 points for the Rebels in their 44-36 victory over No. 13 Chatfield. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“You never know what you are going to get walking in here,” Columbine coach Greg Bolding Jr. said. “They (Chatfield) is missing two of their big players and I think mentality we weren’t ready for that.”
The Chargers (11-3) were without leading scorer Grace Talbot and fellow junior Peyton Shepard in the regular-season finale for both squads. However, Chatfield held a 20-10 lead when senior Madison Shepard buried a 3-pointer midway through the second quarter.
Shepard and junior Millie Hubbell combined for 18 points in the first half to pace the Chargers, but the Rebels went on a 9-0 run to close out the final 3 minutes of the first half to cut Chatfield’s lead to 23-22 at halftime.
“It was just desire,” Bolding said of the Rebels turning things around after falling behind 20-10. “Our base is our defense. We had to be more disciplined on the defensive side. We had some young kids come in and change the tempo a little.”
Junior Jessica Bollwahn was the huge difference maker for Columbine. The junior forward scored a season-high 19 points to bolt the Rebels past the Chargers.
Bollwahn’s biggest basket came with 5:29 left in the fourth quarter. The junior spun the ball off the backboard for a layup from a tough angle and was fouled. She completed the 3-point play to give the Rebels their largest lead of the game at 40-27.
“Honestly, when it went in I was like, ‘Thank god.’ We really needed that,” Bollwahn said of the 3-point play. “We have really been focusing on finishing our shots.”
Chatfield senior Courtney Bidwell spots up from 3-point range Friday night against rival Columbine. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Bollwahn had one more strong basket inside the paint before senior Adrienne Harnum had a steal and layup to seal the victory for the Rebels.
“I’ve been on her about the finish mindset,” Bolding said of Bollwahn. “It took the air of out Chatfield I thought when that went in. She leads us on and off the court.”
Shepard finished with a game-high 13 points for Chatfield. Hubbell finished with four 3-pointers for her dozen points off the bench for the Chargers. The hope is Talbot will be back for the playoffs next week.
The Chargers and Rebels now await the state brackets, which are scheduled to be released by CHSAA on Monday, March 8.
“Of course you are hoping for a home game no matter what,” Bolding said of the playoff seeding. “We have no control over that. I’ve been preaching to these kids to play defense. We can control that.”
The state bracket was trimmed down to a 32-team tournament in 5A this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and shortened season. The state tournament is normally a 48-team bracket with the top 16 seeds getting first-round byes. There will be no first-round byes this season. All teams will have first-round games Tuesday, March 9.
“Beating Chatfield on their home court is a big goal for us,” Bollwahn said. “This good mentality and adrenaline will help us going into playoffs.”
Chatfield senior Madison Shepard (3) drives between Columbine freshman Elizabeth Gentry, left, and junior Jessica Bollwahn in the regular-season finale for the Chargers and Rebels on Friday night. Columbine won 44-36 for the Rebels’ 4th straight win going into next week’s Class 5A state tournament. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
