The state gymnastics meet continued at Thornton high school where Elizabeth was crowned the Class 4A team champion.
Category: Fall Sports
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4A Gymnastics: Elizabeth claims third state title in four years
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com) THORNTON — Elizabeth just knew that there was so little margin for error this year. That was evident as The Cardinals found themselves in an extremely close battle with both Palmer Ridge and Niwot for the Class 4A state gymnastics championship.
But the team put together a clean competition and at nights end, won its third state championship in the last four years. The Cardinals finished with 177.550 points to stay just ahead of Palmer Ridge who finished with 173.175
“We knew after the first event that we were behind,” Bethany Breikss said. “We had to pull it back together.”
The girls got refocused and put together a championship worthy effort. Breikss came away with the top performance in the vault, scoring a 9.5 with her teammate Sydney Kissinger right behind her at 9.1.
Each of them grabbed another top-three finish as Breikss scored a 9.1 on the balance beam and Kissinger score 9.575 on the floor.
Overall, the Cardinals have five competitors coming back for Saturday’s individual finals as Megan and Madison Montoya and Samantha Davison also placed in the top 12 of preliminary events.
It was a true team performance that resulted in a team championship.
“We went through it all as a family,” Kissinger said. “It brought us closer together and it brought home the victory.”
It was a victory that was initially tough to judge. The dynamic of the meet changed because of COVID-19 protocols, but the girls were both grateful for the chance to compete and willing to do what was needed to claim a third title in four years, even battling through several other teams that were every bit as hungry.
“I think everybody put in a ton of work,” Elizabeth coach Stacey Folmar said. “Nobody outworked anyone else, but I just can’t even talk about (my team’s) work ethic, their consistency, their commitment to the sport and their commitment to each other.”
At one point in the meet, it was actually Niwot holding a slim lead, sitting five-one hundredths of a point ahead of the Cardinals in the standings. And that’s when Elizabeth took on the vault.
Both Breikss and Kissinger had solid first attempts which set the tone for the team. And the results worked themselves out.
This is the sixth overall team title for Elizabeth and the school is now tied with Niwot and Loveland for the fourth most in state history. It’s a great accolade to boast about, but they didn’t care about it being the sixth title, they just wanted the next one.
And even after claiming state last year and performing well in their minds, they were still somewhat stunned to the hear the announcement that they were champions once again.
“I was kind of speechless, quite honestly,” Kissinger said. “I couldn’t believe it happened, but I knew we could do it.”
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5A Gymnastics: Overland’s Dolan shines to take All-Around title
(Brad Cochi) THORNTON — Her initial performance at the Class 5A gymnastic individual events helped Overland win a state title. After that, Mattea Dolan was putting on a show more than worthy of individual accolades.
Dolan claimed the 5A All-Around championship and the sophomore put forth a solid effort to try and claim individual titles at Saturday’s finals. And even if she get individual gold medals, the finals were still very much a show for Overland as Bailey Rodriguez claimed medalist honors on the balance beam, Mabry Robinson took first in the vault and Autumn Ivester won gold in the floor competition.
Dolan was in the mix in both events, taking second in the vault and forth in the balance beam. Even without those gold medals, she was proud of the effort that she and her teammates put forth, especially coming of the emotional high of winning a team championship.
“I want (my teammates) to get all that they deserve,” Dolan said. “They deserve the world and it’s so great to see them get that and they worked so hard. I got to be with them through all of that and they did amazing.”
The Trailblazers finished a remarkable state meet that included three individual gold medals, the all-around championship and the team state title, the sixth in program history.
“That’s definitely the best that we’ve ever done,” coach Lisa Sparrow said.
What she was most proud about was the way her team bounced back from a draining Thursday session and still competed a high level in going for the individual crowns.
In acquiring four straight team runner-up titles, Sparrow has seen firsthand how her team puts its energy into the team competition. That was no different this year so for them to come back on Saturday and win three individual gold medals was an accomplishment that will not go unnoticed.
“These ladies are so fatigued,” Sparrow said. “They got up and went to school yesterday after getting out late from the Thursday competition and they put everything they have into that team competition. They’re extremely gassed today. It is so much more special that they were able to fight through that and continue to do the great things they did.”
Mabry Robinson claimed the team’s only gold medal last year when she won the floor so the 2021 results represent a total team growth.
The lone event the Trailblazers didn’t win was the uneven bars competition. First place went to Thornton’s Haley Like who won the balance beam and the vault last year.
With two more years to go, Dolan will certainly have a chance to create many more state gymnastics memories, but for now she can’t discount just how memorable this season was.
“Honestly, I’ll always think about the memories I made with my team,” she said. “It was such a great experience to share with them.
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Denver North boys soccer punches its ticket to the 4A state semifinals
Denver North senior Alex Martinez celebrates after scoring the Vikings’ first goal in the 47th minute Saturday at Denver North High School. The Vikings defeated Golden 2-0 in the Class 4A state quarterfinal game to advance Denver North into the state semifinals Wednesday, April 28, at Legacy Stadium in Aurora. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) DENVER — Denver North has taken a step toward another shot at winning the school’s first boys soccer state championship title.
The No. 5-seeded Vikings dominated No. 13 Golden in a Class 4A state quarterfinal match Saturday at Denver North High School. Seniors Alex Martinez and Aaron Cendejas put in second-half goals for Denver North to give the Vikings a 2-0 victory over the Demons.
Denver North senior Lorenzo Hernandez (6) goes up for header above Golden senior Tamas Delmonico (11) during the Class 4A state quarterfinal game Saturday at Denver North High School. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) “Coming in as an underdog a lot of teams don’t take us seriously,” Martinez said. “Sooner or later we’ll get more respect to our name. If not, we are going to make a name for ourselves.”
Denver North has been one of the most consistent 4A boys soccer programs over the past four seasons. The Vikings have advanced to the state quarterfinals each of the past four years, including a berth in the 4A championship game in 2018. Air Academy defeated Denver North 2-0 a few seasons ago.
With seven seniors that have experienced so much success, the Vikings weren’t about to drop a state playoff game on their home field. Despite being a scoreless game through the first half, Denver North controlled the run of play and coach Clay Porter knew if his team stuck to its game the goals would eventually come against Golden.
“These guys have been doing this for four years now,” Porter said. “I put club teams together so these guys can play year-round together. The style we play gets everyone involved. I think that gets everyone more excited to play.”
Denver North junior Gavin Shary (14) races after the ball with Golden sophomore Alex Chaffee (5) closing in during the Class 4A state quarterfinal game Saturday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) Martinez brought the excitement with a goal in the 47th minute to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead. Junior Ian Najar fed a long pass ahead as instructed by Martinez.
“I noticed that (Golden’s) back line was pushing up and leaving a wide gap,” Martinez said. “I told my center back Ian to play my through. I was able to control it and volleyed it into the side of the net. It gave us the momentum we needed and we finished off strong.”
Martinez, along with fellow seniors Axel Ruiz and Cendejas combined to make it a 2-goal lead in the 61st minute. Martinez fired a pass to Ruiz, who found Cendejas open in front of the Demons’ net. Cendejas tucked the ball into the back of the net for the final goal of the game.
“We talk about composure a lot,” Martinez said. “Calming down and finishing. We took that into the second half. We slowed things down and started playing our game.”
Golden (6-5-1 record) never got many scoring chances. The Demons were coming off a first-round road upset victory against No. 4 Skyview on Thursday, but couldn’t find their offense against Denver North.
Denver North sophomore Cyrus Tracy (12) and Golden junior Ian Segur battle for a ball during the first half Saturday at Denver North High School. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) “They did not give us an inch,” Golden coach Larry Harding said of the Vikings. “They are technical. They have a very good team. Our boys played as hard as they could. Denver North is just the better team.”
Harding graduates a dozen seniors and he won’t get much time to reflect on the season. Harding turns around Monday with tryouts as the head coach for Golden’s girls soccer team.
Denver North (11-1) continues its quest for a state title when it faces No. 8 Lewis-Palmer (10-2) in the semifinals Wednesday, April 28, at Legacy Stadium in Aurora. The Rangers scored a 4-0 victory Saturday against top-seeded Battle Mountain.
No. 2 Windsor and No. 3 Niwot will square-off in the other semifinal Wednesday night at Legacy Stadium.
The Vikings are two wins away from capturing the school’s first team state championship in any gender or sport since 1977. Denver North’s last state title was the AAA baseball crown 44 years ago.
“It’s not about one player. The whole team is what brings us together,” Martinez said. “Everyone has their own skill set that brings us closer as a team.”
Golden senior Nate Swanson (17) head a ball out of danger during the second half Saturday at Denver North High School. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) -
4A gymnastics: Niwot’s Curry repeats as all-around champion
(Brad Cochi) THORNTON – Mia Curry’s high school gymnastics career continues to unfold ahead of schedule.
The Niwot junior won the Class 4A all-around state championship as a sophomore in 2019, surpassing her personal expectation of competing for the top spot as an upperclassman. On Saturday, it was revealed that Curry’s performance while leading the Cougars to a third-place team finish on Friday was good enough for a second all-around gold.
Curry’s repeat bid at Thornton High School wasn’t an easy one, as 4A team champion Elizabeth’s Bethany Breikss (36.675) and Standley Lake’s Tessa Grudle (36.6) gave her a run for her money. But Niwot’s star gymnast posted a 36.9 all-around score to edge her talented competitors and hold on at the pinnacle of her classification.
“This one, I think I was actually more surprised than the last one,” Curry said. “It’s a different kind of surprised because last time, I was like, ‘Oh, I’m a sophomore, it’s improbable because I haven’t had as much experience as other people. But this one, there was such a great amount of competition between all the girls that were in the top eight. It was crazy, so it was really surprising that I got to compete against all these girls that are just as good, if not better, than me and I was able to overcome and fight to get that first place.”
In Saturday’s individual events, Curry won the balance beam and uneven bars with scores of 9.45 and 9.05, respectively, and was top five in the other two events. She won individual floor championship last season and now has three individual golds in her prep career.
Helping her finish runner-up in the all-around, Breikss won the 4A vault individual title with a score of 9.35. It was her first individual title.
“I’m just so amazed that I could be here in the first place, so I wasn’t even worried about what everybody else was doing and just focused on doing what I needed to do,” Breikss said. “With COVID, we weren’t sure if we’d even get a season at all. But we got to be here through everything. And I got the championship in vault. After getting third last year, I really brought it so I could get first.”
Grudle won the floor routine individual championship with a score of 9.625. She was second in both beam and bars.
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