The Season D Class 5A boys swimming state championships took place on Thursday. Complete results are below.
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The best in the state made their way to Jeffco Stadium to in the first day of the 2021 track and field meet.
LAKEWOOD — Fairview and Valor Christian shrugged off elimination to advance to the final day of the Class 5A state baseball tournament.
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By Paul Shepardson
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By Paul Shepardson and Paul DiSalvo
Following an hour-long weather delay, events at the Colorado track and field state championships will resume at 5 p.m. Athletes should return to the track at 4:45 for a 10-minute warm-up prior to the start of the remaining events.
The state meet format has already moved to a rolling schedule.
PUEBLO — The only thing better than having a chance to win a baseball state championship is having two.
That’s exactly what Ponderosa will have on Saturday as the Mustangs beat D’Evelyn 7-3 to advance to Saturday unbeaten. With Holy Family winning earlier in the day, it means that the Tigers will have to take down Ponderosa twice while the Mustangs need just one win to claim the Class 4A state baseball title.
“We’ve talked about this for years and we approached it as another game we had to win” Ponderosa coach Bob Maloney said. “It’s huge for us to go into tomorrow undefeated especially against a quality Holy Family team.”
The Mustangs (20-2 overall) have no desire to fix a game plan that isn’t broken. They advanced to the second weekend of the state tournament without a loss by being steady on the mound and powerfully opportunistic at the plate.
After falling behind 1-0 to the Jaguars (14-5) in the top of the second inning, Ponderosa strung together four quick runs to take control.
In the third, the Mustangs showed off some of the power they had last week in Pueblo as Dom Lopez blasted a solo home run, his third of the state tournament.
“When you’re playing with a lead, it’s so much easier,” Lopez said. “And when you know your sticks are hot, you know you can get away with things you can’t get away with in you’re not hitting as well.”
With plenty of offense in the bag, pitcher Cael Porter maintained a steady hand after entering the game with one out in the second inning. Knowing he would get the necessary run support, Porter was determined to do his job and put the Mustangs in firm control of the state tournament heading into the final day of play.
“I wasn’t sure how our offense was going to do today,” Porter said. “I knew we’d do alright but that run support definitely helped a lot. I was nervous coming in and that made me feel a lot better.”
Holy Family’s championship hopes remain alive after battling back to beat Cheyenne Mountain 5-4 in the day’s first game. The Tigers (19-2) were up 3-0 after the first inning and Izaak Siefken kept the Cheyenne Mountain hitters at bay for most of the game. A three-run pad felt good enough to win as the game reached the later innings.
“I thought it was,” Siefken said. “Cheyenne Mountain fought hard and came back. They beat me in that last inning.”
Trailing 3-1 heading to the 7th, Cheyenne Mountain (17-4) got the tying run across the plate to force the game into extra innings, where it took a 4-3 lead in the top of the 8th.
A base hit and a hit batter put runners on first and second for the Tigers and Ryan Chacon brought them home with a hard hit double, keeping the Tigers in the mix.
It was the kind of win that the Tigers saw Ponderosa get last week and now there is hope a walk-off win could ignite a championship run.
“It could be,” Holy Family coach John Ray said. “Brad Helton threw a heck of a game against us, for all intents and purposes it just came out Holy Family.”
The Tigers and the Mustangs will play at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday at Hobbs Field following the conclusion of the 2A state championship game. Should Holy Family win, the second game will begin at 3 p.m.
Karen Abt has ascended a great deal since she last officiated a high school soccer game in 2009, as she has spent the past seven years as a professional official on the FIFA panel, the world’s highest level of officiating.
A Colorado native, Abt will soon return high school action when she takes the field to referee the Class 5A girls soccer state championship game between Rock Canyon and Broomfield on Saturday at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs.
“I’m really excited to referee one of the Colorado high school state championships because it allows me an opportunity to give back to soccer,” Abt said. “The game and the people I have met over the years have afforded me so many opportunities to travel the world, experience things I had never imagined and make life-long friends. So, it is important to me to give back to the game so that others can enjoy as well, and aspire to achieve what I have.
“I want to encourage and inspire our younger referees, and for them to know that the opportunities are limitless if they put the time and effort into officiating. And just maybe, even get some of the players to consider officiating at some point. There is also a purity about high school soccer. They are playing for the love of the game. I’m looking forward to that.”
Abt grew up in Fort Collins and went to Rocky Mountain High School. She has been on the FIFA panel since 2016. She works at the Colorado School of Mines in the Advanced Steel Processing and Products Research Center and in her minimal free time, trains and referees.
On Saturday, Abt said she is looking forward to an opportunity to help serve the Colorado high school soccer community that helped her get to where she is today.
“I am most looking forward to working at home with my Colorado referee family,” Abt said. “I travel so often that having a weekend at home is a gift. I’m excited to work with those who have encouraged, supported, and helped me along the way. There’s a comfort in coming home to the mountains and my soccer family.”
In 2019, 17-year-old Patricia McCracken officiated the 5A boys state championship game.
Even though Eaton’s game today technically didn’t have the inherit pressure of an elimination game, the Reds still played with all the desperation one would expect from a team whose season is on the line.
Eaton — the second seed in the eight-team Class 3A state baseball tournament — grinded its way to a 2-1 win against top-seeded Lutheran in a semifinal game today at Frederick High School.
The Reds (20-1) will face No. 4 The Classical Academy (13-7) in the first of possibly two finals games at 10 a.m. Saturday in Frederick.
After today’s win against Lutheran (19-2), Eaton improved to 4-0 in the double-elimination tournament. With the Reds being the only team still unbeaten in the tournament, The Classical Academy would have to defeat Eaton twice Saturday — including in a second finals game at 12:30 p.m. — to wrestle the title from the Reds’ firm grasp.
Eaton needs to win just once Saturday to add on to their state record 11 state baseball championships.
And, just like the approach toward today’s semifinals game, the Reds will look to secure that one win in just one game Saturday.
“It’s been the same intensity all year; we ramped it up this game,” said Eaton senior pitcher Ryan Ure, who will pitch for Oklahoma State University next year. “We came out here wanting to win. We never want to lose. So, we were ready.”
Ure’s focus level on the mound showed signs from the get-go of the Reds’ intention to play today’s game as if it were must-win.
In a 113-pitch, six-inning outing, he allowed just one earned run on three hits, striking out 10 and walking three.
Arguably the biggest surprise of the state tournament’s final four kept its Cinderella story alive for at least another game, as fourth-seeded The Classical Academy edged No. 3 Faith Christian 5-4 today in the other semifinal game.
The Titans upset top-seeded Lutheran 12-2 in the second round of the tournament June 18 before taking a late lead but faltering in the last 1 1/2 innings to lose to second-seeded Eaton 11-10 in the third round this past Sunday.
TCA didn’t allow today’s semifinals game to slip away in similar fashion, despite some tense moments late in the game.
The Titans erased an early 2-0 deficit with three runs in the bottom of the third. TCA then tacked on a pair of runs in the sixth. Those insurance runs would prove critical moments later.
Trailing 5-2 heading into the final inning, Faith Christian scored a pair of runs to pull within 1 but was ultimately denied the late-game comeback.
At four different sites, Colorado’s top high school girls soccer teams spent Wednesday afternoon and evening battling it out in order to decide which of them would square off for their respective classification championships on Saturday at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs. The championship matchups are now set in all four classes.
Class 2A – No. 2 Dawson vs. No. 1 Telluride – 9 a.m.
Class 4A – No. 12 Holy Family vs No. 2 Evergreen – Noon
Class 5A – No. 2 Broomfield vs. No. 4 Rock Canyon – 3 p.m.
Class 3A – No. 1 Kent Denver vs. No. 10 Colorado Academy – 6 p.m.
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The Rock Canyon girls soccer team has never won a state championship but the Jaguars have will have a chance to change that now that they have pushed their way into the state Season D state title game.
Getting past the No. 1 overall seed, No. 4 Rock Canyon (12-1) won 1-0 over top-seeded Valor Christian (11-1-1) in the Class 5A state semifinals on Wednesday. The Jaguars are on a 12-game win streak and will be looking to take home a trophy with lucky win No. 13 at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs on Saturday.
Sophomore Raegan Kotschau’s goal just before halftime turned out to be a big one, as it ended up being the lone score in a defensive battle against Cherry Creek that sent Broomfield into the Class 5A state championship game.
With both teams entering the semifinals without a loss, the Eagles (12-0-1) and Bruins (11-1) had allowed a combined 15 goals in 24 games before meeting up at Englewood High School on Wednesday. For the most part the constest played out as expected, with both defenses and goalkeepers stifling their opponents’ offenses until one team or the other finally put a ball in the back of the net.
That team, Broomfield, will now have the opportunity to play for its first state title since 2006.
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The lowest seed remaining in the Colorado high school girls soccer postseason made a big move on Wednesday night.
Twelfth-seeded Holy Family (10-2) knocked off No. 1 Northridge (12-1), 1-0, in the Class 4A state semifinals and will play for a state championship at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs on Saturday. Jaelen Giron put the stamp on the biggest upset of the Colorado semifinals with a goal in the 62nd minute to give the Tigers an opportunity to play for a state title in Season D.
On Saturday, the Holy Family girls soccer team will play for the program’s first state title.
Wednesday evening certainly wasn’t a bad one for Evergreen athletics.
While the Cougars’ girls lacrosse team was in Aurora stamping the school’s name on the first ever Class 4A girls lacrosse trophy, the Evergreen girls soccer team was at Frederick High School crafting a 1-0 semifinal victory over No. 3 The Classical Academy (12-1-2). The second-seeded Cougars (13-0) remain unbeaten in Season D and will play for the 4A title on Saturday.
Through 13 games, the Cougars have allowed just four goals this season. Wednesday’s defensive shutout dealt The Classical Academy its first loss of the campaign.
Evergreen girls soccer has won two state championships, but has not taken home a first-place trophy since 1997.
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Kent Denver remains unbeaten in Season D. More importantly, that undefeated record has now earned the team an opportunity to play for a the Class 3A state championships.
In Wednesday’s semifinal round, the top-seeded Sun Devils (11-0-2) won 2-1 over No. 4 Jefferson Academy (10-2-1) and will head down to Colorado Springs for one more game on Saturday. After getting past a similarly defensively-talented Jaguars team on Wednesday, the Sun Devils will arrive at Weidner Field having outscored their Season D opponents 68-5.
With a pair of first-half goals and two more in the second half, No. 10 Colorado Academy (10-2-1) flew past No. 3 Vail Mountain (12-1) in the Class 3A state semifinals on Wednesday night at Stutler Bowl in Aurora.
The victory continued an impressive postseason run for the Mustangs, who have now outscored their three playoff opponents 11-1 and have not allowed a goal since the opening round. Colorado Academy girls soccer won its fifth state title in 2019 and will be looking to add a sixth when the Mustangs take the field in Colorado Springs on Saturday.
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Ayla Kanow wasn’t ready to officially start her summer break just yet, so she made sure the Telluride girls soccer team stuck around for the Class 2A championship game.
The junior scored three goals in a 4-1 victory over No. 4 Crested Butte (9-3) in the state semifinals on Wednesday afternoon to help the top-seeded Miners (12-0) punch their ticket to the final match of Season D. Wednesday’s game was tied 1-1 at halftime before Telluride exploded for three goals in the second half.
In Saturday’s state championship game, the unbeaten Miners will be playing for their program’s first state title.
Dawson has played in every single Class 2A girls soccer championship game since the classification was introduced in 2015. That’s five in a row and the Mustangs will make it six when they take the field at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs on Saturday.
In the semifinals on Wednesday evening, No. 2 Dawson (10-1) won 9-3 over No. 3 Denver Christian (10-1), the same program they have face in each of the past three state title tilts. While that championship rivalry won’t continue in Season D, the Mustangs will have a chance to keep their own streak of championship appearances alive when they face Telluride for the trophy.
The Mustangs led 4-2 at halftime and continued to pour it on in the second half to pull away to a safe distance. The Mustangs’ only loss of the season to date came on June 10 against Northridge, the top overall seed in the 4A state tournament.
Dawson senior Degen Miller leads all of Class 2A in goals scored.
AURORA — Rachel Sanford knew when she took over Evergreen’s girls lacrosse program three years ago the Cougars could win a state championship.
“It’s crazy,” Evergreen senior Margo Miller said. “Rachel (Sanford) when she first came to our school she looked at the (trophy) wall and said one day you are going to be state champs. I was a sophomore then and we all kind of laughed, but today is that day.”
Top-seeded Evergreen finished off its historic season by winning the first-ever Class 4A girls lacrosse state championship Wednesday night at Legacy Stadium in Aurora. The Cougars took a 19-5 victory over No. 10 Castle View.
“This is awesome,” Evergreen sophomore Bella Reece, who had six goals in the state title game. “To make a name for Evergreen. This is so big. All of our seniors they hyped us up and brought our team together this year. I’m so excited.”
The Cougars (11-2 record) never trailed in the title game. Evergreen scored 10 unanswered goals in the final 13 minutes of the first half to grab a commanding 14-2 lead after halftime.
For the second straight playoff game Evergreen induced a running-clock with a 10-goal lead in the first half.
“We had to come out super strong and look for that extra pass,” Reece said. “We were hyped. We were able to get that running-clock before halftime.”
The Cougars had one of the most potent offensive attacks in 4A this season. Miller, along with sophomores Averi Gardner and Reece all finishing the season with 40-goal seasons.
“That’s pretty sweet,” Miller said about the three 40-goal scorers. “ Bella and Averi are studs. I’m so excited to see what they do in the future with this program. It was so great to have so many offensive threats.”
Senior goalie Lauren Spence and Evergreen’s defense held all opponents under double-digit goals during the Cougars’ 11-game winning streak to finish the year. Spence will head to continue her playing career at Loyola University Maryland.
The Cougars had defeated the Sabercats earlier this season. Evergreen took a 14-7 win against Castle View back on May 28.
Castle View actually entered the state tournament with a 5-5 record, but the Sabercats went on a remarkable run in the state tournament. They upset Golden, Aspen and Grand Junction to make Castle View’s first girls lacrosse season a memorable one, but the Cougars ended the Sabercats run in the title game.
“We have really been building to the level of play that we are showing now all season long,” Sanford said. “We have prepared all week and pretty much all season to show up today and they did.”
Evergreen got off a bit of a rough start this season with opening losses to 5A programs ThunderRidge and Fairview. However, the top-seeded Cougars hit their stride winning 11 straight games to close out the season. Eight of those victories were by double-digit margins.
“After the first two game we really learned what we needed to do,” Reece said of the 0-2 start. “We got to play two amazing 5A teams and were able to grow from that. Our team has developed so much.”
Evergreen becomes the first Jeffco Public School to ever win a girls lacrosse state title.
“It’s so great to end it like this,” said Miller, who will play lacrosse at Cornell University.
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.”
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.
