ARVADA — Evergreen’s girls soccer team is one win away from capturing another Class 4A Jeffco League champion title.

“League title would be huge for us,” Evergreen senior Myla Stewart said after a 2-1 victory against D’Evelyn at the North Area Athletic Complex on Thursday night. “With COVID last year we call it back-to-back. That league title is almost more important than state (qualifying) because we play in one of the hardest conferences in Colorado.”

Evergreen senior Jocelin Zimmerer (7) gets a pass away as D’Evelyn senior Kendall Dale (2) closes in Thursday night at the NAAC. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

Evergreen won the 4A Jeffco League title in 2019 on its way to a state runner-up finish in the 4A state tournament two years ago. The COVID pandemic completely wiped out the Spring 2020 season.

The Cougars — ranked No. 1 in the CHSAANow.com 4A poll — had to hang on against a desperate D’Evelyn squad that was coming off back-to-back losses to 5A’s No. 3 Valor and Green Mountain. The No. 5 Jaguars was in a must-win situation to have a chance to qualify for the 16-team state tournament.

“Playing D’Evelyn is always my favorite game of the year,” Evergreen coach Peter Jeans said. “I told the girls before the game I don’t believe in my 15 years either team has won by more than a goal. I love this game. It had a playoff feel to it.”

Stewart got Evergreen (9-0, 8-0 in 4A Jeffco) on the board early with a goal in the 16th minute. The ball came to the senior striker in the middle of D’Evelyn’s goal box and Stewart delivered her 9th goal of the season.

“I saw net and I took it,” Stewart said of her goal in the 16th minute. “When I turned around I had all 17 of my teammates cheering me on. I think this was one of the first games this year we’ve fully played as a team.”

Evergreen junior Rami Rapp (10) out runs D’Evelyn senior Kylee Ornstein (15) to the ball during the Class 4A Jeffco League game Thursday night at the NAAC.

The Cougars dominated possession against D’Evelyn (5-3-1, 5-2-1) for the majority of the first half. Evergreen extended its lead to 2-0 late in the first half with a penalty kick goal by senior Jocelin Zimmerer in the 35th minute.

D’Evelyn did make things interesting in the second half. Senior Lauren Cook hit the post off a direct free kick in the opening minutes. Senior Kylee Ornstein then had a header from point-blank range saved by Evergreen junior goalie Aubrey Huerta seconds later.

“Aubrey came off a big injury earlier this season and has been incredible,” Stewart said. “I couldn’t wish for a better keeper. She comes up with big saves when we need them.”

Stewart nearly made it a 3-0 goal lead in the 49th minute, but her shot rocketed off the cross bar. The posts and cross bar became the Cougars’ friend a couple of times in the second half.

“You have to have breaks, but we have also put ourselves in position to win the game,” Jeans said. “I thought we played well the whole game. To D’Evelyn’s credit they hung in there. They got a key goal at the right time.”

Cook ended the chance for Evergreen’s 8th shutout victory of the year after she gathered in an initial shot that hit the cross bar and put it in the back of the net in the 70th minute.

“Soccer is a game of inches,” D’Evelyn coach Reid Bervik said of the Jaguars nearly battling all the way back from a 2-0 deficit despite suffering a few key injuries that left D’Evelyn short-handed against Evergreen. “I’m proud of the girls. They fought their butts off and played with their hearts.”

D’Evelyn senior Eve Dalla (6) and Evergreen senior Lily Maus (14) both go airborne for a ball Thursday night at the NAAC. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

Evergreen was masterful controlling the ball in the corners in the final five minutes to run out the clock to clinch a top-2 spot in the 4A Jeffco League and automatic berth into the postseason.

“At the end we had to dig deep to just finish the game against a really good team,” Jeans said.

The Cougars wrap up their season against No. 7 Wheat Ridge (7-1, 6-1) next week on Wednesday, June 9 at Lakewood Memorial Field. That game will decide the conference championship.

“We know we are going to get a huge game from them,” Jeans said of Wheat Ridge. “I’m expecting another battle. Another playoff-like game.”

D’Evelyn concludes its regular season against Wheat Ridge on Monday, June 7, at Lakewood Memorial Field. Unfortunately for the Jaguars it will likely be a season finale too.

“There is a very slim chance. We’d have to have a lot of cards fall into place,” Bervik said of the Jaguars’ postseason chances with the field limited to 16 teams instead of the normal 32 teams. “It’s definitely a bummer because (4A) Jeffco usually has five or six teams make the tournament. It is what it is. COVID has taken a lot.”

Evergreen senior Jocelin Zimmerer (7) gets boxed in by D’Evelyn freshman Camille Kollar, left, along with seniors Lauren Cook (18) and Eve Dalla (6). Zimmerer scored on a penalty kick in the 35th minute to give Evergreen a 2-0 lead. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

Poudre School District held its Coaches of Character professional development day on Saturday, hosting more than 250 high school and middle school coaches and athletic directors.

“The Coaches of Character day gives coaches throughout the district the opportunity to come together and celebrate, collaborate, plus learn more about establishing a culture of educationally-based coaching, and using character and integrity as the foundation for the athletic experience we strive to deliver to the student-athletes in the Poudre School District,” said Russ McKinstry, the district’s athletic director.

It was the second year of the event, and featured a training session from Dr. Jeff Duke, one of the most highly sought-after presenters and trainers in the nation who specializes in helping coaches at all levels learn and utilize education-based coaching principles.

The day also featured panel discussions led by Rich Yonker, Wayne Moddelmog, Tom Lopez, as well as current head coaches in Poudre School District.

Only a couple of days after he took over as the Aurora Public Schools Athletic Director, Casey Powell’s office looked like he’d had it forever.

Read the full story here.

Kent Waryan, Laura Probst, Chris Peterson, Liz Armbrustmacher and Kevin Williams (not pictured) were inducted into the Jeffco Athletic Hall of Fame on Thursday at the Arvada Center. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

ARVADA — Laura Probst never won a state championship.

The 2002 graduate of Arvada West High School finished runner-up 11 times in state cross country and track individual races. However, 16 years after leaving Jeffco and after a stellar soccer career at Texas A&M University, Probst was inducted into the Jeffco Athletic Hall of Fame on Thursday afternoon at the Arvada Center — along with Chris Peterson, Liz Armbrustmacher, Kevin Williams and Kent Waryan.

“It’s incredibly special. Part of the reason it was so unexpected,” said Probst, who is now a primary care doctor at a Veterans Hospital in Albuquerque, NM. “Being a student-athlete in Colorado and Jefferson County was such an important time in my life, but it seem so far in the past.”

Despite all the second-place finishes, Probst’s attitude was always positive.

“I think you have to remember why you are doing it and what it is all about,” said Probst, who won the coveted Freddie Joe Steinmark Award in 2002. “For me I was competing against myself. As long as I knew I gave my best and left it all out on the track I was satisfied.”

Chris Peterson

The Jefferson High School graduate might have been a little ahead of his time. The sharp-shooting basketball guard led the state in scoring his senior year in guiding the Saints to an appearance in the Final 4 of the state tournament.

Peterson’s youngest son —Lakewood High School graduate Kolton Peterson — broke the all-time Class 5A 3-point record just a few years ago. All the scoring Chris Peterson did in his time in the mid-1970s came without the 3-point line in existence.

“I thought it was going to be a roast at first,” Peterson said during his speech. “My boys were all sitting around last tonight and said I would probably be the first basketball player to go into the (Jeffco) Hall of Fame who never made a 3-point shot.”

Peterson went on to coach softball at Green Mountain, along with boys basketball at Arvada West.

Liz Armbrustmacher

This Evergreen High School graduate was apart of the volleyball juggernaut the Cougars build under coach Lo Hunter in the 1980s, which included a 182-match winning streak.

Armbrustmacher went on to play Indiana University before returning to Jeffco. She led Lakewood High School to a remarkable run starting in the late 1990s.

“All of us in this room understand the impact of sports and activities,” said Armbrustmacher, who is still a teacher at Lakewood. “The lessons learned and taught on the field, the court, the pitch, the diamond and the track that those lessons learned expand far more than the game.”

Kevin Williams

Williams was a seven-time state champion in cross country and track at D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School. He still holds the Class 4A state record in the 3,200-meter run that he set his senior year in 2008 with a time of 9:06.27.

“Looking back at my athlete career a feel very lucky to have attended Jefferson County and D’Evelyn,” Williams wrote in a statement read by his high school track coach Micah Porter. “When I arrived at D’Evelyn in 7th-grade and I no idea I would become a distance runner and how big of a role that would play in my life.”

Williams went on to run at the University of Oklahoma from 2008-13 where he had three consecutive top-10 finishes at the NCAA Cross Country National Championships. He is currently the head cross country coach at North Texas University and assistant track coach for the Mean Green.

Kent Waryan

Waryan came to Jeffco in the mid-1970s. He was a teacher, coach and administrator at a number of schools before retiring a handful of years ago from the district. He spent his final years at Jeffco at the athletic director at Wheat Ridge and Lakewood before sharing duties with Kevin Land as the Executive Director of Athletics and Activities in Jeffco.

Jim Thyfault, current Executive Director of Athletics and Activities, said that Waryan served as a mentor to so many current athletic directors in Jeffco.

“The scoreboard is not the most important thing and communication,” Waryan said of the two valuable things his wife has taught him over the years.

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Pomona graduate Ryan Marquez, middle, stands with family members after receiving the 5A Jeffco Male Athlete of the Year and Freddie Joe Steinmark Award at the 32nd Annual Jeffco Athletics Hall of Fame Banquet on Thursday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

Jeffco Athletics 2017-18 Awards

Athletes of the Year
Jeffco 5A Male: Ryan Marquez, Pomona
Jeffco 5A Female: Camilla Emsbo, Lakewood
Jeffco 4A Male: Adam Thistlewood, Golden
Jeffco 4A Female: Kristina Schreiber, Evergreen

Coaches of the Year
Jeffco 5A Coach of Male Sports: Jay Madden, Pomona
Jeffco 5A Coach of Female Sports: Tracey Boychuk, Pomona
Jeffco 4A Coach of Male Sports: Brian Kula, Valor Christian
Jeffco 4A Coach of Female Sports: Amy Bahl, Evergreen

Assistant Coaches of the Year
Jeffco 5A Asst. of Male Sports: Shane Fugita, Dakota Ridge
Jeffco 5A Asst. of Female Sports: Steve Hadley, Lakewood
Jeffco 4A Asst. of Male Sports: Brian Zehnder, Standley Lake
Jeffco 4A Asst. of Female Sports: Ali Meyers, Evergreen

Fred Steinmark Team Award
Jeffco 5A: Ralston Valley
Jeffco 4A: D’Evelyn

Paul Davis Sportsmanship Award
Jeffco 5A: Bear Creek
Jeffco 4A: Golden

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

Mike Krueger, the district athletic director at Aurora Public Schools who has had an incredible level of involvement in CHSAA over the years, has accepted a job with USA Football.

Krueger has agreed to become the Director of Coaching for USA Football.

“USA Football has been absolutely amazing and I am very honored to be joining an organization who truly shares our same values, mission, and vision,” Krueger wrote in an email. “I am also excited that I will still be working with Colorado, just from a different address.”

His last day at APS will be in early June, and he will be relocating to Indianapolis, site of the USA Football headquarters.

“I feel such a sense of pride as I take this step knowing that I am from a state that is leading the way, in so many ways, to promote what is best for educationally-based athletics and activities for every child,” Krueger wrote.

Krueger has served as the chair of CHSAA’s football committee for the past few years, helping to guide the process of realignment, and the new practice and calendar schedule, among other revolutionary ideas.

In December, he received an NFHS Citation Award at the NIAAA conference. NFHS Citations are presented annually to outstanding athletic directors in recognition of contributions to interscholastic athletics at the local, state and national levels.

Krueger has also been heavily involved with the Colorado Athletic Directors Association, serving on their Executive Board, and also a two-year term as president.

Prior to joining APS in 2014, Krueger was the athletic director at Palisade.

A roundup of Jeffco prep highlights from January with Dennis Pleuss, Jeffco Public Schools’ Communication Specialist. This month’s edition features early Class 5A boys basketball action between Bear Creek and Dakota Ridge. Also, early girls basketball action featuring Golden in a non-league game against Heritage and D’Evelyn squaring off with Valor Christian. Arvada’s boys basketball team opened up its Colorado 7 League action against Skyview. We close with Pomona grabbing a trio of individual wrestling titles at the annual Arvada West Invitational.

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

INDIANAPOLIS — The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) will award NFHS Citations to eight high school athletic directors December 11 in Phoenix, Arizona, during luncheon festivities at the 48th annual National Athletic Directors Conference sponsored jointly by the NFHS and the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA).

NFHS Citations are presented annually to outstanding athletic directors in recognition of contributions to interscholastic athletics at the local, state and national levels. State associations nominate athletic directors for NFHS Citations, and the NFHS Board of Directors approves recipients.

Among the honorees is Mike Krueger, the district athletic director of Aurora Public Schools.

Also being honored are Marc Haught, CMAA, executive director, Kansas Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association; Wendy Malich, CAA, district athletic director, Franklin Pierce School District, Tacoma, Washington; Jon Payne, CMAA, assistant principal/director of athletics, Reading (Ohio) High School; Colin Roy, CAA, athletic director, Hall-Dale High School, Farmingdale, Maine; Jamie Sheetz, CMAA, athletic director, Park City (Utah) High School; Jeffrey Sitz, CMAA, director of athletics, Lutheran High School, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Myles Wilson, CAA, district athletic administrator for athletic facilities and operations, Spartanburg (South Carolina) School District.

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Michael Krueger, CMAA

Aurora, Colorado

In just 11 years as an athletic administrator, Michael Krueger, CMAA, has become one of the most respected in the state of Colorado as the district athletic director of Aurora Public Schools.

Krueger recently finished a two-year term as the Colorado Athletic Directors Association (CADA) president after serving two years as vice-president and another two as CADA secretary. Overall, he has served on the CADA Executive Board since 2009. He presented at every CADA Annual Conference from 2009 to 2014 and currently is a Leadership Training instructor.

Krueger is equally involved with the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA), having been a voting member of its Legislative Council since 2006. He also currently serves as chair on the CHSAA Football Committee and is a member of the CHSAA Sports Medicine Advisory Committee and the Reclassification Committee.

Krueger’s service extends to the NIAAA as a member of the national teaching faculty for Leadership Training Course 710, for which he has been an instructor at four National Conferences. He has represented the state of Colorado three times in the NIAAA Delegate Assembly and has been a workshop presenter three times. In 2012-13, Krueger earned the NIAAA State Award of Merit.

Locally, Krueger was president of the Western Slope League from 2010 to 2014, and works as the Aurora Public School’s Unified Sports Program director.

In 2015-16, Krueger was honored by CADA with the Kurby Lyle Service Award and in 2011-12 was named the CADA Athletic Director of the Year. Krueger, who is an associate professor at Metro State University in Denver, recently was named to the Board of Directors for Colorado Special Olympics.

Annie Kunz, Peter Horvath, Don McGatlin, Frank DeAngelis and Matt Rillos were inducted into the Jeffco Athletic Hall of Fame on June 9. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

ARVADA — The names conjure up thousands of memories of athletic accomplishments for those familiar to Jeffco Public Schools.

Annie Kunz, Matt Rillos, Don McGatlin, Peter Horvath and Frank DeAngelis were permanently immortalized Friday at the Arvada Center. The five former Jeffco athletes and coaches were inducted as the Class of 2017 to the Jeffco Athletic Hall of Fame.

“I get to come in with so many of your heroes,” McGatlin said of his entry into the hall of fame. “I appreciate so much Jim Thyfault (Executive Director of Athletics) and Jefferson County for allowing me to be apart of this wonderful group of people. It’s emotional today.”

Don McGatlin
(Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

McGatlin was one of the highlights in one of the strongest induction classes ever for the hall of fame. The longtime Green Mountain High School football and track coach guided the Rams to five state titles from his tenure from 1981 to 2005. Even after leaving Green Mountain, McGatlin hasn’t stopped coaching.

He is currently an assistant football coach at Chatfield High School under his son and head coach Bret McGatlin, along with being a track coach at Calhan High School.

“I can’t get away from it,” McGatlin said of coaching. “I’ll coach until I feel like I’m not doing a good job. Right now I could see coaching into my 70s.”

Kunz is also still chasing her athletic passions. The 24-year-old — arguably one of the best female athletes to come out of the Jeffco and maybe Colorado — is currently training at the Olympic Training Center in San Diego. She placed 8th in the Heptathlon at the 2016 Olympic Trails and holds the school records at Texas A&M University in both the Pentathlon & Heptathlon.

Wheat Ridge girls soccer coach Dan Watkins, left, introduces Annie Kunz. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

“2020 is the ultimate goal,” the Wheat Ridge High School graduate said about the Olympics three years from now in Tokyo. “Building up to that and hopefully peaking at the right time.”

The spring belonged to Kunz during her time at Wheat Ridge. She not only was a track star, but led the Farmers to three straight Class 4A girls soccer state championship games with Wheat Ridge winning two state titles.

Despite going on to Texas A&M where she helped the Aggies women’s soccer team advance to the NCAA National semifinals her senior year and being a two-time All-SEC first team selection, Kunz was a surprised when she got the call that she had been selected for induction.

“Definitely not so soon,” Kunz said about being one of the youngest Jeffco Athletic HOF inductees ever. “I joked with my mom that I don’t feel like I’ve done anything yet to deserve to be in the hall of fame. I’m definitely just grateful, honored and humbled to be apart of such a wonderful group. Being apart of the Jeffco community means the world to me.”

It was the 32nd year Jeffco has added to its athletic hall of fame that started in 1986. The names of nearly the 100 athletes, coaches and contributors who have been inducted are displayed on plaques at the atrium at Jeffco Stadium.

Matt Rillos

A four-sport (football, basketball, track and baseball) athlete at Golden High School from 1992-1996. Was Golden’s valedictorian his senior year, along with winning the Freddie Steinmark, Gold Helmet (The Denver Post) and Jeffco Male Athlete of the Year honors.

Ralston Valley football and track coach Matt Loyd, left, and Golden graduate Matt Rillos. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

“He (Rillos) had an unbelievable senior year,” said current Ralston Valley football coach Matt Loyd who coached Rillos at Golden.

That incredible senior year included Rillos coming out for baseball. It was his first year playing high school baseball and Loyd joked about how Rillos showed up for the first practice with a borrowed glove and wood bat. However, he turned out to be the best player on the team that season and was an all-conference selection.

Rillos went on to play football at the Air Force Academy. He was a running back on the Falcons’ 1998 team that were Western Athletic Conference champions with a 12-1 overall record while finishing No. 8 in the nation.

Currently, Rillos is the owner of Financial Counsel Associates in Golden.

Peter Horvath

Horvath was the boys and girls head varsity soccer coach at Columbine High School from 1983-2008.

During his 25 years of coaching the Rebels’ soccer programs Columbine won 19 Jeffco League titles, grabbed eight state runner-up trophies and the boys team won three state championships (1986, 1993 and 2002).

Ed Woytek hugs former Columbine soccer coach Peter Horvath. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

Horvath talked during his induction speech about his goal when he first began coaching — “To create an experience and environment for our players and athletes that wasn’t just based on soccer. It was about life experiences and developing our players into people, not just players. It was about character and values. I think I did a good job doing that.”

Horvath was named coach of the year several times and was inducted into the Colorado High School Coaches Hall of Fame in 2016.

Frank DeAngelis

While being remember mostly as Columbine High School’s principal for 18 years, DeAngelis has a rich background in athletes.

Frank DeAngelis
(Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

He was an assistant football coach at Columbine and the head baseball coach for the Rebels from 1981-1994. Three times he was selected at the Jeffco’s baseball Coach of the Year.

During his acceptance speech, DeAngelis said being a coach for so many years before stepping into the role of principal helped him lead the school and community after the tragic shooting at Columbine High School in 1999.

Fittingly, just before DeAngelis retired as principal at Columbine the Rebels’ girls soccer team won the first girls state team title in the school’s history claiming the 2014 Class 5A state championship.

A roundup of Jeffco prep highlights, interviews and schedules with Dennis Pleuss, Jeffco Public Schools’ Communication Specialist. This month’s edition features baseball action between Columbine and Pomona, along with an extra inning battle on the diamond between Arvada West and Dakota Ridge. Also, Columbine girls soccer defeats Ralston Valley to take a step closer to a fourth straight 5A Jeffco League title, Pomona student-athletes sign their National Letter of Intent, lacrosse returns to the North Area Athletic Complex and footage from Jeffco’s Adapted Athletics Softball Day from the Gold Crown Field House.

Trailblazer Stadium in Jeffco will host more than 100 lacrosse games this spring. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

LAKEWOOD — For more than 20 years, Trailblazer Stadium has morphed with the changing demands of prep sports in Jefferson County.

The most evident change came in the summer of 2008. The stadium located just south of Jeffco Stadium in Lakewood had synthetic turf installed due to the increasing demand of one of the quickest growing sports — lacrosse — in Colorado.

It’s the only all synthetic turf at Jeffco’s four stadium complexes — North Area Athletic Complex, Lakewood Memorial Field, Jeffco Stadium and Trailblazer Stadium.

“The growth of lacrosse was the driving force to make Trailblazer a synthetic surface,” said Ezra Paddock, Manager of Stadium Operations for Jeffco Public Schools. “The popularity of the sport lead to more and more schools adding lacrosse programs, which meant we would host more games.”

Ten years ago, Trailblazer hosted 35 boys lacrosse games on its then natural grass surface. This spring, the stadium that opened in 1996 will host more than 100 boys and girls lacrosse games during just more than a 60-day stretch.

Trailblazer Stadium set up for Jeffco’s Adapted Athletics Soccer Day in the fall of 2016. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

“Couple that with the time of year lacrosse is played (March & April), synthetic surface was definitely the right choice for our schedule,” Paddock said. “Our synthetic surface has also been a great tool for our athletic department. We have been able to host additional rentals and juggle our schedule around when necessary.”

While Trailblazer has been the workhorse when it comes to the spring lacrosse, the stadium is also busy during the fall hosting nearly 30 football games. The facility was originally planned to replace the old Reed Street Stadium in Wheat Ridge that was demolished in the mid-1990s to make way for the Stevens Elementary/Wheat Ridge Middle School campus.

Trailblazer also had numerous rentals throughout the year which includes Colorado Christian University men’s and women’s soccer programs. However, the first priority for the facility is to serve the students who attend Jeffco Public Schools.

The Adapted Athletics program run by Bryan Wickoren, Adapted Physical Education Coordinator for Jeffco Public School, had utilized Trailblazer with the growth of its district-wide program.

Jeffco’s Adapted Athletics Football Day at Trailblazer Stadium. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

“The student-athletes with special needs that participate in the Jeffco Adapted Athletics benefit greatly in the availability of having an outstanding facility such as Trailblazer Stadium,” Wickoren said.

Trailblazer is the site of Jeffco’s Adapted Athletics’ Soccer Day and Football Day.

“The facility allows for multiple games to be played at once which allows students with physical ability to participate alongside their peers,” Wickoren said. “The artificial turf allows students in manual wheelchairs, power wheelchairs and walkers to participate with success. Trailblazer Stadium is a facility that was constructed in mind to allow maximum participate with minimal barriers for students with disabilities. It’s a first class facility.”

Green Mountain High School graduate Tyler Dirschl has been the stadium manager at Trailblazer since July 2015.

“It’s kind of my dream job,” said Dirschl, who graduated from Green Mountain in 2012.

Dirschl started working for the school district as a hurdle boy for track meets at Jeffco Stadium when he was 15. He stayed within the athletic department at Jeffco after graduating from Green Mountain.

So what does the future hold for Trailblazer Stadium?

Jim Thyfault, Executive Director of Athletics, hopes that seating expansion will be possible. Paddock and Dirschl agree that there could be some upgrades for the versatile athletic complex. Adding more bleachers, building a new press box and restructuring the team building to include locker rooms, restrooms and concessions all in one building are some of the future modernizations hopefully in store for Trailblazer down the road.

NOTE: This is the third part of a four-part series this school year on Jeffco Public Schools’ stadium venues — North Area Athletic Complex, Lakewood Memorial Field, Trailblazer Stadium and Jeffco Stadium.

It’s been almost nine years since Trailblazer Stadium’s synthetic surface was put in. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)