(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

THORNTON — On a day that finally felt normal, the boys swimmers and divers made themselves extraordinary.

After Regis Jesuit’s Quinn Henninger put together the best diving performance in state history, the swimmers decided they weren’t going to be shown up. Cherry Creek started the day off with a state record in the 200-yard medley relay and the momentum kept rolling.

The Bruins finished the day with 530 points to claim the Class 5A boys swimming championship and put together an overall dominant performance at the Veteran Memorial Aquatic Center.

“We thought 2019 was a very dominating team, but this team was more dominating,” coach Chris Loftis said. “Not to mention 2020 that didn’t even take place.”

The two-year gap between state swim meets was tough on all teams, not just the state champions. But Thursday finals felt like a normal day. The stands were packed and the fans were loud.

And they had plenty of reason to be.

Following the diving and medley relay marks falling, the third state record of the day to fall might’ve garnered the biggest reaction throughout the VMAC. Heritage senior Alex McMahon didn’t just set a record in the 50 freestyle, he did it by achieving a major milestone for all Colorado boys swimmers. His 19.82 was the first time that the 20-second mark had been broken in the event.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

“It’s always been a goal of mine,” McMahon said. “I used to be a distance swimmer and I switched to sprints maybe a little less than a year ago and since I made that transfer, I knew that I wanted to go for a 19.”

Right on his heels was Cherry Creek’s Bryce Ortanes who was just over 20 seconds at 20.02. But Ortanes wasn’t going home empty-handed. Far from it. He was a big part of the winning medley relay team then anchored the 200 freestyle relay team that also set a state record at one minute, 22.05 seconds.

“I couldn’t ask for anything more,” Ortanes said. “I’m swimming by the people I call my family. It’s been great having four years under (Loftis) and with the brothers behind me. It’s been great.”

This is the 12th state championship for the Cherry Creek boys team. They held off a tough Regis Jesuit team who finished with 400.5 points.

And perhaps the best part for the coaches and the competitors was being able to do it with friends and family in the stands, rooting them on every step of the way.

“Once we knew that this was open to spectators, the meet was different,” Loftis said. “Our guys – and a lot of alumni know – that there is not a more high pressure meet in Colorado than this one. Those fans bring out the best in everyone, but especially our guys today.”

It’s hard to argue that swimmers across the board weren’t at their best. In all, five state records fell from the start of the day to the time that Columbine’s 400 freestyle relay team finished the race in 3:00.37.

It all started early when Regis Jesuit’s Henninger got things rolling with his diving performance in which he finished with 642.8 points, almost 31 points better than Regis alum Kyle Goodwin.

“My goal was just to 11 dives and not miss on one of them,” he said. “Consistency was the biggest goal for me.”

And it paid off for him. His diving display set the tone for a record-setting day that everyone in attendance likely won’t forget anytime soon.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

AURORA – The Colorado Academy girls lacrosse team has done it again.

On Wednesday at Legacy Stadium, the top-seeded Mustangs won 14-3 over No. 2 Valor Christian to claim the Class 5A state championship. Colorado Academy has now won the last six 5A state championships and boasts seven in total.

For as long as the Mustangs have dominated Class 5A, this current group of seniors hardly remembers what it feels like to lose. When playing for their high school team, in fact, they never have.

“It’s been crazy, but this is so nice,” Mustangs seniors defender Mya Rutherford said. “We lost our season last year but we brought everybody back together, got back on the road and it just feels so good to be back on the field together and playing. And winning the state championship, it’s unbeatable.”

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Unbeatable is a good way to describe Colorado Academy girls lacrosse in recent years. The last time the Mustangs lost a game was April 20, 2017.

On Wednesday against Valor Christian, a team they beat 15-12 during the regular season, the Mustangs rode a flurry of late first-half goals to an 8-2 halftime advantage. They followed up that early-game performance by holding Valor Christian to one goal in the second half.

After entering the state tournament with a first-round bye, the Mustangs outscored their three postseason opponents 51-10 and did not allow more than four goals in any playoff game. The Mustangs defense, anchored by Rutherford, was as stout as ever in Season D’s final game. Against it, Valor Christian’s talented scoring leaders Tess Osburn (45 goals) and Regan Digby (39), Eliza Osburn (30), Kaley Kakac (29) and Lauren Rismani (23 goals, 46 assists) combined for combined for just two goals.

“Tonight, we played really well,” Mustangs senior Jessie Bakes said. “All of our hard work throughout the season has helped us clean up all of our little mistakes. In practice, we’re playing the best defense and they’re playing the best offense because we’re playing each other. We just gave it our all and left it all out on the field.”

Bakes, who finished the season with a team-high 54 goals, scored twice on Wednesday. Teammates Zoe Martin and Katharine Merrifield each recorded a hat trick in the title game.

Wednesday’s title game was the first 5A championship game that didn’t include Cherry Creek since the sport was sanctioned in 1998.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

AURORA – The Class 4A state tournament was anything but a made for television event. There wasn’t one ounce of drama after Day 1 for either Holy Family’s Jessica Mason or the Discovery Canyon Thunder.

Both had sizable leads after Monday’s first round, and both expanded on them on a blazing Tuesday afternoon at CommonGround Golf Course.

Mason kept the medalist honors at Holy Family, following her teammate Hailey Schalk’s three-year hold on the event from 2017-19. She won by 10 shots and of the three subpar rounds that were shot over the two days, she had two of them, going 69-71, for a two-day total of 140. She was 10 shots better than Mullen’s Sofia Choi, whose eagle on No. 18 to close out her second round helped her match Mason’s 71.

Discovery Canyon’s foursome of Emily and Christina Cheng, Mena Song-Lew and Lauren Jaworowski were even better on Day 2 and blew out the field by 34 shots over a Windsor team that rallied from a tough first day to earn some hardware.

Emily Cheng (74), Lauren Cheng (78) and Song-Lew (78) all placed in the top 15 and Joworowski was 23rd for the Thunder, who claimed their first state title in the sport and the first girls title for the school that opened in 2007.

“This means everything,” said an emotional Thunder coach Mark Liggett, whose wife Susan begged her husband to join his team on Tuesday after missing Day 1 to be by her side in the hospital in Colorado Springs as she recovered from multiple surgeries.

“They are all really serious about their games and they came out here and they got down to business.”

It was a brilliant run for Discovery Canyon, which graduates just Christina Cheng, and will return its full compliments including several up and coming freshmen. The Thunder rolled through regionals and with their No. 1 ranking through iWanamaker, had their sights firmly set on proving to those north of I-70 that good golf was being played down south.

“We don’t deal with the Northern teams that much (especially this year), so we didn’t really know what they were thinking,” Liggett said.

Tuesday may very well have been the perfect elixir for Liggett’s soul.

“Just being up here and being with them, I didn’t want to miss it,” said Liggett, who has been married to his lovely for 35 years.. “She was feeling a little better and she told me last night to go, you can’t do anything else for me at the hospital.

“I love being able to cheer them on and watch them play their game and watch them break through.”

As for Mason, she was in control from the start. She just kept making pars and her nearest playing competitors — Mead’s Timbre Shehee and Emily Cheng — were making random bogeys to fall further behind.

“I wasn’t super nervous on No. 1 because I knew I had an eight shot lead and I just kept telling myself ‘I’m not going to blow it today and if I do, I’m going to be very upset,” Mason said. “When the lead  continued to grow, I just had to keep doing what I was doing, but don’t be arrogant about it. Be who you are and play your game.”

Mason was fearless throughout the day and the highlight of her day came at the 451-yard par-5 No. 11. She hit 8-iron in from 196 yards and just missed the elusive albatross by inches as the ball rolled over the cup and settled 2 feet behind it for a tap in eagle that took her to 6-under for the tournament.

“This means a lot, because freshman year (after finishing fifth) I was just kind of behind (Hailey) and now that I’m not, it’s nice to say that I’ve always been here,” Mason said. “It’s just coming to grips with my game and getting better.

“Feels good to keep the legacy going and hopefully next year too.”

(Max Potter)

ENGLEWOOD – Back-to-back goals from Kevin Papa helped Cheyenne Mountain overcome a two-goal deficit in the fourth quarter to topple Evergreen, 5-4, in the Class 4A boys lacrosse state championship on Tuesday evening at Englewood High School.

Cheyenne Mountain, which won the state title in 2018, earned the second state title in program history and avenged a 10-9 loss to Golden in the 2019 finals.

Kevin Papa was the hero for the Indians, scoring the last two goals, a turnaround strike off the far post with just under four minutes left in the game, then again with 48 seconds left in the contest as he streaked across the face of goal from a Zak Paige pass.

“It was an awesome game,” Papa said. “All of my boys put me in a good position to score and we just made it happen in the second half. We were getting our shots all game, just some of them weren’t falling. We just played like we know how and tried to move the ball faster than they could move their feet.”

Not to be understated was the tremendous effort by Cheyenne Mountain. Goalkeeper Matthew Kelleher came up with eight terrific saves to hold the Cougars well below their scoring average.

“It was a tough, physical game out there today, the refs definitely let us play, but I thought they called a great game,” Kelleher said. “We just kept our composure and playing like we know how.”

The defenses excelled on both sides, as Andrew Morris stifled the Cheyenne Mountain offense in goal for the most part, tallying seven saves. Defensemen Mike Crane and Jared Stiller played a hard, physical game in the trenches. Stiller even recorded a pair of long-stick goals.

Cheyenne Mountain head coach Mike Paige felt a special connection to this group in Season D.

“Last year, we had to let some seniors go and we had a phenomenal team,” Paige said. “This year’s seniors felt like that was an opportunity missed, but they weren’t going to let this one slip by. I’ve been coaching these guys since they were 4- and 5-year-olds. To see this season come together the way it did, these guys worked hard and it all magically happened.”

Evergreen made history with its first appearance in the title game and the Cougars played their hearts out, holding Cheyenne Mountain scoreless for just under 32 minutes.

It was also the second-lowest scoring game since 2006 when Cherry Creek beat Denver East, 6-2. It was the lowest scoring contest in a 4A title game since the two classifications started having separate championships in 2013.

(Max Potter)

ENGLEWOOD – Dillon Pless found the back of the net 40 seconds into the overtime period to lift Mountain Vista over Valor Christian, 10-9, in the Class 5A boys lacrosse state championship.

It was the first state title game appearance in the Mountain Vista program’s history, and the Golden Eagles capitalized on it to win their first state championship.

Pless led the charge on offense for the Golden Eagles, netting three goals, but the teams fought for 48 minutes, as neither team had a lead larger than three. The score was even at nine after Gunnar Fellows struck for his third game and brought Valor Christian to even.

As the whistle sounded, Valor took possession but a turnover gave Mountain Vista a chance to seal it. Taking the ball in from the left side, Pless shot on the near post and connected to send Vista home victorious.

“We have been here all tournament, so this was nothing new to us,” Pless said. “I knew I had the matchup, so I just took him to the net and was able to finish. I cannot describe the feeling when I saw it go in, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am so happy I could come through for my teammates.”

The Golden Eagles have been in similar situations before. Mountain Vista posted three overtime winners just to get reach the championship game.

“This is huge for us as a program,” Mountain Vista head coach Matthew Plitnick said. “We have eight seniors that we are losing, but all eight played an incredible role for our team, it is going to be tough to see them go. We have some great freshman coming in and our sophomore class is the best in the state, so we are in pretty good shape going forward.”

Plitnick said the key to the winner was staying calm.

“We knew if we got it around to the back side, we would have a great look and he just buried it, I couldn’t be prouder,” Plitnick said.

Both teams were scoreless in the first quarter because of the terrific goalie play on both sides. Valor Christian keeper Mitch Gutsgall made save after save in goal for the Eagles and Nate Kopec kept pace, standing as a brick wall in net for Vista.

“We have 22 guys on this team that can all play great lacrosse and my teammates mean everything to me,” Kopec said. “It was a battle all game and my defense and I stepped up when we needed to, but this was a team effort.”

Not lost in the game was the effort put forth by both Griffin Mallory and Jake Likes, along with Gunnar Fellows, these three scored eight of the VCHS goals.

Valor Christian played in its first championship game at the 5A classification. The Eagles have a pair of Class 4A state championships already.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

GREELEY — Less than 20 days ago, Holly baseball coach Dayne Eaton made a crucial decision that would greatly shape the ending of his team’s season.

Flatirons Academy was on its way to Holly for a doubleheader and Eaton had to decide whether or not a regular season win was more important than gambling on a pitching matchup for a potential state championship showdown. By the time the decision was made, Eaton had decided that Brigden Parker, the team’s ace, wouldn’t pitch in that regular season doubleheader.

He wanted to save him for state.

The gamble paid off in a big way as Parker threw a complete game shutout and Holly beat the Bison 1-0 to win the program’s second Class 1A state baseball crown and first since 2016.

“Our strength is our depth in pitching,” Eaton said. “So I left (the regular season games) up to those other guys and we were going to save Brigden. The Limon coach (Rocky Rockwell) told me we were on a collision course with them for the state title. Limon beat them by one and beat us by one and both games could have gone either way.”

It was a much bigger gamble considering that Eaton was determined not to throw Parker until the state title game and left the semifinal showdown up to his son, Dakota.

The Wildcats (16-4 overall) helped him out in a big way. Home runs from Parker and Jose Magallanes led the way to a 9-1 win, setting up that showdown between Holly and Flatirons Academy.

That collision course came to a head and right in the middle of it was a pitchers duel. Both Parker and Bison (12-3) starter Trenton Rowan were fantastic throughout the day.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

In seven innings, Rowan allowed just four hits and walked one hitter. He struck out 13 batters that he faced. He made just one mistake. He left a pitch over the plate enough that Magallanes blasted it over the left field fence to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead in the sixth inning.

“He told me it was an inside changeup and he wondered how I got it,” Magallanes said. “He was really confused with how I got it.”

It didn’t matter. A 1-0 lead with the way Rowan and Parker were throwing might as well have been a 10-0 lead. When he saw the ball disappear over the fence, Parker accepted the challenge of finishing the game with a one-run lead.

“I knew it was up to me to shut it down,” Parker said. “Once he hit that, I knew. We got this one.”

His pitch count was creeping up there and his goal was to finish the game. Evan Moll reached base on a throwing error by Parker, but he responded by striking out the next two hitters with a combined 10 pitches.

He needed just one pitch to induce a groundout from Blake Swearingen that gave the Wildcats the state title. He finished the day with 13 strikeouts and worked ahead of hitters very often. Of the 26 batters he faced, he threw 19 first pitch strikes. Overall, he can’t remember a better performance he’s ever had on the mound.

“That has to be No. 1,” he said.

And it all goes back to that June 5 decision from Eaton. He could’ve thrown Parker that day and given his team a mental edge should they play each other for state. But he decided he would save Parker’s best performance for the last game of the year.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

PUEBLO — As a freshman, Aubri Braecklein trotted around Elmwood Golf Course and finished at 19-over in the Class 3A girls golf state championship. She, like every other competitor that year, watched as Holy Family’s Hailey Schalk grabbed a six-stroke win.

Her sophomore year, she faced a four-stroke deficit to Colorado Academy’s Caroline Jordaan but the second day of the tournament at Eagle Valley Ranch was wiped out by weather.

In 2021, after her junior season was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Braecklein decided that she wouldn’t be denied a third time. She entered the day trailing St. Mary’s Academy freshman Maddy Bante by three strokes but fired a 2-under-par 69 to battle back and win the state championship in her final high school competition.

“This is really special,” Braecklein said. “I’ve had a rough season. I hurt my wrist and I’ve been trying to battle back from that so that made today really special.”

She had her moments where her round was looking spectacular. She got her first birdie of the day on the par 5 third hole then landed her tee shot on No. 6 within two feet of the cup. But it was her shot on the par 3 seventh that truly made it feel like it was going to be her day.

Aubri Braecklein’s putt on 18 falls into the cup to give her the 2021 3A girls golf state title. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

The ball landed on the right side of the green then started rolling forward and banking left, toward the direction of the pin. She was a foot away from a hole-in-one, but felt like she had every bit of momentum at that point.

“I knew I was close, but I didn’t think it was tap-in range,” Braecklein said. “It was a lot closer than I thought.”

Bante did her best to keep up with Braecklein’s pace, but the course wasn‘t as favorable to her Tuesday as it was in Round 1.

Too many times it looked as though her putts were going to fall but they ended up missing the cup by inches on either side. She didn’t quite finish her hunt to become the first freshman to win the 3A title since Schalk in 2017 but competing on that stage gave her valuable experience that she’ll look to apply in the future.

“I need to stay the course and not think too far ahead,” Bante said. “I have to think about the next shot and follow what I think is right and just do what I need to do.”

She’s far from going away empty-handed. Bante and teammate Natalie Tatar finished second and third on the individual leaderboard and Mallory Hopper finished in a tie for 11th after firing an 86. Those scores were good enough to win a team state title, the first girls golf title in school history, the second overall team championship in school history and the first since a field hockey title in 2008.

“It’s really special because I know that I made a difference that helped our team win,” Bante said. “I couldn’t have done it without the other three players we had in Reese (Brown), Natalie and Mallory.”

They also did it for their coach. Ann Wolta Blackstone is in her third battle with breast cancer and watching the way her team battled through two days of competition had her fighting back tears when trying to process the weight that the accomplishment carried.

“It’s such an amazing feat,” Wolta Blackstone said. “In all these years we’ve never won state and we’ve never even won regionals. I’m so proud of my girls. It was such an amazing and beautiful thing to watch.”

And they’ll have a chance to do it again. Bante and Brown are freshmen, while Tatar and Hopper are both juniors.

All of them will be back looking to win more gold in the spring of 2022.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Katelyn Lehigh accomplished several personal goals in spectacular fashion while winning the Class 5A girls golf individual state championship on Tuesday.

The junior golfer opened the final day at City Park Golf Course in a tie for the lead with teammate Taylor Bandemer and turned in a 4-under 66 that tied the 18-hole course record during her closing round and clinched her first state title. It was a championship effort over two years in the making. Lehigh’s two-day score of 138 added a third individual title to her family name – her older sister Lauren Lehigh won state titles in 2019 and 2018 (4A).

While she accomplished each of those things, Katelyn Lehigh’s focus remained elsewhere.

From the start, Lehigh was invested in helping Loveland win its first team title since moving up to 5A and second overall in the program’s history, which the Loveland girls accomplished collectively on Tuesday with a team score of 450.

“The team title always comes first and we did it together,” Lehigh said. “It has always been the goal to win it as a team and win it individually. But playing for the team title is the most important thing and it took all of us. If Reece (Bandemer) and Taylor (Bandemer) and Maryn (Harlow) didn’t play well, it wouldn’t have really mattered what I did.”

Taylor Bandemer tied for eighth with a 154. Reece Bandemer shot a 77 on Day 2 and finished in 14th place. Harlow tied for 50th with a score of 181.

After overcoming her fear of a blow-up opening round on Monday to position herself as the frontrunner for Day 2, Lehigh said her nerves disappeared when it came time to seal the deal on Tuesday. She split six birdies equally between the front and back nines for a 66.

“I was super nervous about everything yesterday,” Lehigh said. “Today, being paired with Olivia (Steen), it felt like pretty much every other high school tournament because we pretty much played together pretty much every single high school tournament. So, I was surprisingly calm today.”

Chasing Lehigh for most of the tournament, Prairie View junior Lily Nelson finished runner-up. She shot a 1-under 69 on the second day. It was the first tournament round under par of her prep career, and it came at a good time.

“It went really well,” Nelson said. “My putting was really good today and I was able to get some up-and-downs. My driver was also pretty good. I’m more confident because I’ve gotten better over the season and I’m looking forward to doing it again next season.”

Fossil Ridge’s Olivia Steen placed third, going 2-over on Tuesday for an overall 146. Eaglecrest’s Emma Bryant, who won the 5A individual title as a freshman in 2018, carded a 147. Valor Christian’s Grace young placed fifth at 149.

Rock Canyon was second in the team scoring. The Jaguars were 25 strokes behind Loveland and Cherry Creek was third with a score of 492.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow.com)

DENVER – The Cherry Creek girls tennis team isn’t used to waiting long between state championships.

The Bruins won three straight Class 5A team titles from 2017-19. But when an unexpected newcomer in COVID-19 blocked them from a title in 2020, the Bruins were forced to sit idle and wait for another shot at extending their streak. On Saturday at Gates Tennis Center, an unusually hungry Cherry Creek girls amassed 66 team points to run away from Fairview – the 2016 champion – to leave the 5A state tournament with the trophy once again.

Even for decorated Bruins like senior Halley Mackiernan, who has never lost a match at state and has now been part of three team titles amidst the Bruins’ seemingly endless run of winning 22 out of the last 23 championships, this most recent victory was exceptional.

“We’ve all been waiting for this for so long, especially not being able to play the season last year,” Mackiernan said. “It’s finally here and it’s a great feeling unlike any other state championship. I’m so sad to leave the team, but I’m so happy we were able to come back out here and win this one after wanting it for so long.”

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow.com)

The individual gold went to Boulder’s Lily Chitambar, but not without a fight from Smoky Hill’s Valerie Negin. After defeating 2019 No. 2 singles champion Alexis Bernthal in the semifinals, Negin pushed Chitambar to the brink during a three-set match that included a first-set comeback from being down 5-0 to win a tiebreaker before the Boulder junior eventually prevailed, 6-7, 6-0, 6-4.

“I just tried to stay as mentally tough as I could,” said Chitambar, who placed fourth as a freshman in 2019. “It was super hot and after she came back from 0-5, I was a little shaken up. I just tried to go one point at a time and stay tough. It felt really good and it was definitely more exciting to win the championship because she’s such a good player and it was such a good match.”

The rest of Saturday’s finals resembled a head-to-head dual match between the Bruins and the Fairview Knights, who trailed the eventual champions by just two points to start Day 2. Cherry Creek advanced to the finals at six of the seven total ladder spots and played Fairview head-to-head in five of those matches.

At No. 2 singles, Cherry Creek’s Lorena Cedeno beat Fairview’s Natalie Stone, 6-2, 4-6, 6-0. At No. 3 singles, Cherry Creek’s Anika Sharma edged Fairview freshman Alexis Bernthal, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow.com)

Cherry Creek twins Eliza Hill and Nicole Hill, who played together for the first time this season, won 6-3, 6-1 over Fairview’s Virginia Gomulka and Elizabeth Roth at No. 1 doubles. In the No. 2 doubles finals, Mackiernan and Anna Fusaris won 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 against Fairview’s Jane Roth and Maya Brakhage. The No. 3 doubles title match went in favor of Cherry Creek’s Victoria Moldovan and Jisele Boker, who beat Fairview’s Mia Grayson, 6-2, 6-2. At No. 4 doubles, Cherry Creek’s Ella Barclay and Vivienne Bersin won 6-2, 6-0 over Fossil Ridge’s Katie Sollenberger and Avery MacKenzie.

The Bruins have now won 37 championships in total.

“The girls just persisted and they were intent on spending time together this season,” Cherry Creek head coach Chris Jacob said. “They bonded in a great way in a short amount of time and I think that made a huge difference. Our senior leadership was tremendous and when I see matches like two singles and three singles where the girls are cheering each other on and our girls are nervous but that helps them fight through it, I know a lot of that has to do with that connection they’ve made with one another.

“To do that in six weeks is pretty impressive.”

Fairview finished runner-up with 39 team points.

Heritage won the sportsmanship award.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow.com)