The Colorado High School Activities Association is currently accepting applicants to fill its Finance Director position. The application deadline is Aug. 6.

Please send a cover letter with preferred salary range, resume, and three references with mobile phone numbers (no letters). Send these application materials to svernonbrunner@chsaa.org and clenz@chsaa.org with the job title in the subject line.

Here is a link to the job descriptions and details.

[pdf-embedder url=”https://old.chsaanow.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/CHSAA-Job-Description-Finance-Director.pdf”]

Periodically, The NFHS Voice will be presented in the form of video. As the new school begins, NFHS Executive Director Karissa Niehoff looks forward to everyone being back together, while encouraging schools to take precautions against heat and COVID-19, which would include the opportunity for students to be vaccinated.

 

CHSAA commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green sits down with former assistant commissioner Sharon Wilch to chat about the anniversary of Title IX and the impact it has had on their lives.

The NFHS celebrated its 100^th anniversary two years ago, and among all the events that have occurred since 1920, perhaps nothing had a more positive impact on high school sports than the passage of Title IX of the Educational Amendments in 1972.

Ironically, the landmark legislation signed by President Richard Nixon on June 23, 1972, did not specifically mention high school athletics:

“No person in the United States shall on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

While Title IX may not have been targeted to improving the opportunities for girls to participate in high school sports, the numbers indicate that this historic legislation had everything to do with opening the floodgates. Although sports had been a part of high schools for more than 50 years in 1972, those opportunities overwhelmingly were limited to boys.

In an article in High School Today magazine in 2012, Dorothy McIntyre, former assistant executive director of the Minnesota State High School League and one of the leaders of girls athletics at the state level in the early 1970s, summarized the challenges prior to the passage of Title IX:

“That attitude (that girls don’t play sports) germinated in the 1920s and 1930s when a national attitude swept the country that the lives of girls and women would be better – and more healthy – if they played for fun and not with the pressure of winning, intense coaching and excited crowds . . . Girls sat on the sidelines and watched. The Girls Athletic Association and its recreational activities were deemed to be ‘sufficient’ for girls, or perhaps they could be cheerleaders for the boys teams.”

Opportunity was the key word. After the passage of Title IX, the rapid rise in girls participation in education-based athletics was remarkable. In the last year prior to the passage of Title IX, there were fewer than 300,000 girls who participated in high school sports, or about one in every 27 girls who attended school. In two years, that figure jumped to 1,300,169, and by the 1977-78 school year, girls participation exceeded 2 million – a remarkable increase of almost 1.7 million in just six years.

The number of girls involved in high school sports has continued to increase since those historic years, and currently more than 3.4 million girls are taking advantage of the opportunity to participate in these vital, life-changing programs.

Next year, the 50^th anniversary of Title IX occurs on June 23, 2022, and the NFHS has begun a year-long celebration of this historic event. The lives of millions of girls and women have been positively impacted since 1972, and we will be remembering some of those key individuals and events during the next 12 months.

“Title IX at 50 – Celebrating and Growing Opportunities” will highlight the law’s impact by celebrating the inspirational individuals and landmark moments in the history of Title IX, and continuing to grow the educational and competitive opportunities for the future.

The NFHS has created a page on its website (https://www.nfhs.org/resources/title-ix/) to house information throughout the coming year. The page includes a Title IX Timeline, Title IX Milestones, The History and Importance of Title IX, Title IX Fact Sheet, Title IX Frequently Asked Questions and several Title IX videos.

The most recent post highlights two females who have been hired this year to lead NFHS member state associations – Stephanie Hauser of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association and Colleen Maguire of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.

NFHS member state associations will receive access to a toolkit containing a number of materials to involve their member schools in promoting the upcoming 50^th anniversary of Title IX, including social media graphics, email signatures, website graphics, print ads, fact sheets and videos. Push-to-post social media messaging is planned throughout the year, and the NFHS will highlight Title IX trailblazers each week, along with Moments of Magnitude that have occurred throughout the past 50 years. Articles related to Title IX will appear each month during 2021-22 in High School Todaymagazine.

In addition, a Title IX course has been added to the NFHS Learning Center (www.NFHSLearn.com), and is designed to help interscholastic professionals understand the history and impact of Title IX, as well as the responsibilities held by schools and staff members to maintain an equitable balance between boys and girls programs.

In trying to describe the impact of Title IX as it relates to opportunities for girls to be involved in high school sports, Michele Smith, a three-sport standout at Voorhees High School in Glen Gardner, New Jersey, in the early 1980s, who went on to lead the U.S. Olympic softball team to gold medals in 1996 and 2000 and has been the lead college softball analyst at ESPN for more than 20 years, offered the following thoughts during her recent induction into the NFHS National High School Hall of Fame:

“Title IX was life-changing for many women, especially team sports. When President Nixon signed that bill into law in 1972, it truly impacted the ability, especially in high school sports, for girls to have funding to be able to play team sports. In golf and tennis and other sports that were more individualized, there was always a way for girls to be able to compete, but to be able to bring together a group of girls – a basketball team of 10, a field hockey team of 20, a softball team of 20-25 – and be able to fund it and have those opportunities for girls to play organized team sports, it was a game-changer for everybody.

“That’s one of the reasons why the ’96 Olympics was such a big deal for all the team sports that won gold medals because it’s that generation – my generation – of the youth through the ‘80s and early ‘90s that had the opportunity to play teams sports at the high school level and then go on and be elite athletes. Without Title IX, the world of sports for women looks completely different.”

The yearlong celebration will conclude at the 2022 NFHS Summer Meeting, which will be held June 28-July 2 next year in San Antonio, Texas.

ORLANDO – Dave Logan’s father coached him in both little league football and basketball, and that relationship ended up being the primary reason Logan grew up to become a coach himself.

Even at an early age, both of Logan’s parents ingrained in him that should he one day have an opportunity to work with kids that he must take advantage of the chance to guide younger generations and help them grow through sport. Logan took those words to heart and has spent decades doing exactly that.

On Thursday night at the 102^nd annual National Federation of State High School Associations Summer Meeting, Logan was inducted into the NFHS Hall of Fame for the wide-ranging impact he has made over his wide-ranging career in the world of sports.

“The idea of working with kids was ingrained in me when I was very young,” Logan said. “Even when my dad was coaching me, he talked about how, ‘You’re going to grow up and eventually, if you get the opportunity, you give back.’”

Logan was a three-sport standout – football, basketball and baseball – throughout his high school years at Wheat Ridge from 1969-72, and insists he never had a favorite despite his future professional career in football. His favorite sport, Logan says, was whatever he was playing a given time.

One of only three multi-sport players to be drafted by all three major sports organizations, Logan went on to be a two-sport star at the University of Colorado and then played nine years as a wide receiver in the NFL. He played eight of those years with the Cleveland Browns before playing his final season with the Denver Broncos, where he would eventually become the organization’s on-air radio voice on KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM.

Logan has been “the voice of the Broncos” for three decades and in 2019 signed an agreement to continue for another 10 years.

Since he returned to the high school coaching rankings, Logan has won nine state titles and 290 games over 28 years split between four schools, including Arvada West, Chatfield, Mullen and Cherry Creek. Most recently, he guided the Cherry Creek Bruins to an undefeated season and a second straight Class 5A state championship in the fall.

During his NFHS Hall of Fame acceptance speech, Logan reminisced on the many lessons he learned from his own high school coaches and teachers. Now going into his 29^th year coaching high school football, he remarked that he remains focused on imparting those same lessons and principles to the young student-athletes he now coaches.

“I think the life lessons you can learn as an athlete and a high school kid, many of those you carry with you and they shape in a lot of ways who you are and who you became,” Logan said. “They shape how you conduct yourself and what’s important to you, and what’s not important. I loved every single sport. I couldn’t wait when the season ended, the next day I was at whatever the next season was. I was able to carry what I learned from my high school experience into playing both basketball and football in college.

“But I think what we need to be able to recognize, and too often we don’t do this, is the importance and the impact that high school coaches, teachers and administrators – those who deal with our youth – have on young people. And even though it might not seem like it every single day, and I know I leave practice some days thinking, ‘I’m not sure they hear a word I said today,’ they do.

“They do.”

Logan entered the NFHS Hall of Fame 2021 class with a pair of other renowned Colorado athletes in former Colorado Rockies player Matt Holliday and former Denver Nuggets player Alex English.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN (June 21, 2021) – Seven outstanding former high school athletes highlight the 2021 class of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) National High School Hall of Fame, including three who went on to earn gold medals in the Olympics and four others who excelled in professional football, basketball and baseball.

Joining the seven former athletes in this year’s class are three highly successful high school coaches, one former state association administrator and one speech and debate coach in the performing arts area.

These 12 individuals were selected in March 2020 and were scheduled to be inducted last year; however, the 2020 in-person NFHS Summer Meeting was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, these 12 honorees will be inducted July 1 at the 38^th induction ceremony of the National High School Hall of Fame, which will be held at the NFHS Summer Meeting in Orlando, Florida. The induction ceremony will take place at 6:00 p.m. EST on July 1 at the Orlando World Center Marriott in Orlando, Florida, and will be streamed live on the NFHS Network at: https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/nfhs/evtfb1ffdd8eb

The four high school athletes who went on to professional stardom are Dave Logan of Colorado, Tim Couch of Kentucky, Matt Holliday of Oklahoma and Alex English of South Carolina. Otherathletes in the class are three female stars who landed Olympic gold in the Olympics: Karyn Bye of Wisconsin, Maicel Malone of Indiana and Michele Smith of New Jersey.

Logan was a three-sport standout (football, basketball and baseball) at Wheat Ridge (Colorado) High School in the early 1970s and was drafted by teams in all three professional sports. He was a two-sport star at the University of Colorado and then was a wide receiver with the Cleveland Browns (eight years) and Denver Broncos (one year). In his second career also worthy of Hall of Fame notice, Logan has coached four different Denver-area schools to nine state high school football championships during the past 27 years.

Couch had a record-setting football career as a quarterback at Leslie County High School in Hyden, Kentucky, in the mid-1990s. Couch set three national career passing records – 872 completions, 12,104 yards and 133 touchdowns. He was named National Player of the Year as a senior. Couch also excelled in basketball, leading the state in scoring as a senior with 37 points per game. He had a stellar career at the University of Kentucky and played five years with the Cleveland Browns.

Holliday was a three-sport player – and two-sport star – at Stillwater (Oklahoma) High School in the late 1990s. As a quarterback in football for three years, Holliday passed for 68 touchdowns. He was a four-year starter in baseball and hit .443 as a senior with 12 home runs. He played with four teams during his 20-year professional baseball career, which ended in 2018 with the Colorado Rockies. Holliday was second in the MVP voting with the Rockies in 2007 and won a World Series in 2011 with the St. Louis Cardinals.

English is perhaps the greatest basketball player in South Carolina history. He was a three-time all-state selection and Player of the Year at Dreher High School in Columbia, and he was the leading scorer in University of South Carolina history. English played 16 years in the National Basketball Association, including 10 years with the Denver Nuggets when he scored 2,000 points in eight consecutive seasons.

Bye was a three-sport star at River Falls (Wisconsin) High School in the late 1980s and was a trailblazer for girls in the sport of ice hockey in the state. She was team captain and three-time all-conference while playing on the River Falls boys hockey team. She also played tennis and softball. She later excelled in ice hockey at the University of New Hampshire and played on the 1998 Olympic women’s ice hockey team that won a gold medal.

Malone was a track and field star at North Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana, from 1984 to 1987. She won 11 of a possible 12 state titles in the three sprints (100, 200, 400)   during her four years at North Central.  She set state records in all three events and helped North Central to two state championships. She later won a gold medal in the 1996 Olympics as a part of the 400-meter relay team.

Smith was a three-sport athlete at Voorhees High School in Glen Gardner, New Jersey. She participated in field hockey, basketball and softball, which became her top sport. Smith had a 51-6 record with 11 no-hitters as a pitcher and helped her team to the state title as a junior. She had an outstanding career at Oklahoma State University with an 82-20 record and was the starting pitcher for the U.S. Olympic teams that won gold medals in 1996 and 2000.

Three outstanding high school coaches are a part of this year’s class, including Rickey Baker, who led Hopi High School in Keams Canyon, Arizona, to a national-record 27 consecutive state cross country championships from 1990 to 2017. Another coach in this year’s class is Charles Berry, who retired in 2018 after a 57-year career as a girls and boys basketball coach in Arkansas. With most of his years at Huntsville High School, Berry won 1,377 games as a boys and girls basketball coach. The final coach in the class is Terry Michler, the winningest boys soccer coach in history from Christian Brothers College High School in St. Louis, Missouri. Michler has won 1,004 games and nine state championships during his 48-year career.

Completing the 2021 class are Bill Farney, who served on the administrative staff of the Texas University Interscholastic League for 32 years, including 14 years as executive director, and Robert Littlefield, one of the top speech and debate educators in North Dakota and nationally for 45 years.

Following is biographical information on the 12 inductees in the 2021 class of the NFHS National High School Hall of Fame.

ATHLETES

Tim Couch

During his football career at Leslie County High School in Hyden, Kentucky in the mid-1990s, Tim Couch set three national career passing records – 872 completions, 12,104 yards and 133 touchdowns. He helped Leslie County to a 13-1 record as a junior while completing an amazing 75 percent of his passes – a national record that stood for 15 years. As a senior, he passed for 42 touchdowns and led his team to an 11-3 mark, and he was named Gatorade and USA Today National Player of the Year while earning Mr. Football honors in Kentucky. ESPN.com selected Couch the sixth-best high school athlete in history. Couch was equally dominant on the basketball court. He scored 3,023 points in his career, leading the state in scoring as a senior at 37 points per game. He was two-time all-state in basketball. Couch’s football prowess continued at the University of Kentucky, where he passed for 8,159 yards and 73 touchdowns in his final two seasons. He led Kentucky to the Outback Bowl after his junior season and was fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting. Couch was the No. 1 pick in the 1999 NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns and passed for more than 11,000 yards and 64 touchdowns in his five years with the Browns.

Karyn Bye

Karyn Bye was a three-sport star at River Falls (Wisconsin) High School in the late 1980s and was a trailblazer for girls in the sport of ice hockey in the state. Amazingly, Bye was a three-time all-conference and team captain of the boys ice hockey team at River Falls. With the formation of girls hockey teams still almost 20 years down the road, Bye became one of the state’s top players on the boys team. She also earned four letters in tennis and was a three-time state qualifier, and she was captain of the River Falls softball team and was three-time all-conference and all-state as a senior. She batted over .500 in both her junior and senior seasons. Bye was the leading scorer all four years on the women’s ice hockey team at the University of New Hampshire and was team captain in her final two seasons. Bye was a member of the USA National Ice Hockey Team for many years and was Player of the Year in 1995 and 1998. She was a member of the U.S. Olympic teams that earned a gold medal at the 1998 Games in Japan and a silver medal at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City.

Alex English

Prior to his stellar college and professional careers, Alex English was one of the top high school basketball players in South Carolina history during his days at Dreher High School in Columbia. English was a first-team all-state selection three consecutive years, Player of the Year in South Carolina in 1971 and 1972, and he was a two-time all-American. He set the all-time scoring records at Dreher, and his No. 22 jersey was later retired. English stayed home for his college career and is still known as the greatest player in the University of South Carolina history. He ranks first in scoring and third in rebounding in Gamecocks’ history and was a two-time all-American, and he had his second No. 22 jersey retired by USC. While he played for four teams during his 16-year professional career, English will always be remembered for his decade of the 1980s with the Denver Nuggets. He was the NBA’s leading scorer in the 1980s with 19,682 points and was the first player in league history to score 2,000 points in eight straight seasons. English set 31 records in 10 seasons with the Nuggets and is the team’s all-time leader in points (21,645) and assists (3,679). English was an eight-time all-star – all with the Nuggets – and was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997.

Maicel Malone

As a member of the girls track and field team at North Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana, from 1984 to 1987, Maicel Malone was one of the most decorated athletes in Indiana high school track and field history and was, perhaps, the first superstar in any Indiana girls sport. She was an 11-time state champion in the 12 sprint events during her four years of competing in the state track and field meet. She won the 100 and 400 meters all four years and the 200 meters three years (finished second as a sophomore). She is still the Indiana state record holder in the 200 (23.12 in 1986) and the 400 (52.42 in 1986), and her 100-meter state record (11.52 in 1986) stood until 2015. She is the only Indiana female athlete to set three state records (100, 200, 400) in the same meet (1986). Malone (now Maicel Green) helped North Central to two state championships – as a freshman in 1984 and in her senior season in 1987. She was a four-time NCAA champion in the 400 meters (three indoor, one outdoor) at Arizona State University, and she was a member of the 400-meter relay team that won a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. She won five other gold medals in international competition and was inducted into the Indiana Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1993.

Matt Holliday

Matt Holliday would rank high on a list of the top high school athletes in Oklahoma history, thanks to his days as a three-sport player and two-sport star at Stillwater High School in the late 1990s. He was a three-year starter at quarterback in football and led his team to a 30-6 record while passing for 6,211 yards and 68 touchdowns. In baseball, he was a four-year starter at third base and he also was a pitcher. He hit .438 as a junior and .443 as a senior with a combined 18 home runs. In between those sports, he was a three-year starter on the basketball team. Holliday was highly recruited in both football and baseball by a number of top universities, including his hometown choice of Oklahoma State University, but he was drafted in the seventh round of the 1998 Major League Baseball draft and embarked on a 20-year professional baseball career that ended in October 2018. Holliday played for the Colorado Rockies, Oakland A’s, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees and returned to the Rockies to close his career. In 15 major league seasons, Holliday hit 316 home runs and finished with a .299 career average. His best season was 2007 when he hit .340 with 36 home runs and 137 runs batted in for the Rockies and finished second in the MVP voting. He was a member of the 2011 Cardinals team that won the World Series.

Dave Logan

In a state rich with standout high school athletes, Dave Logan was second to none during his days as a three-sport star at Wheat Ridge (Colorado) High School from 1969 to 1972. And with his eight state championships as a high school football coach the past 26 years, Logan has become the face of high school sports and activities in Colorado. He was two-time all-state in football as a wide receiver and defensive back and received the Gold Helmet Award as a senior as the state’s top senior player, scholar and citizen. He was a three-year starter in basketball and was Colorado Sidelines Player of the Year after averaging 24.1 points per game. In earning three letters in baseball, Logan hit .380 and was 7-2 as a pitcher as a senior and claimed all-state and team MVP honors. And if that wasn’t enough, Logan was a trombone player in the school band. He was one of only three multi-sport players who was drafted by all three major sports organizations. Logan was a two-sport star at the University of Colorado and then played nine years as a wide receiver in the National Football League, including eight years with the Cleveland Browns and his final season with the Denver Broncos. Logan has coached four schools to nine state football titles, including the 2020 championship with Cherry Creek High School in metro Denver. Finally, Logan is the radio voice of the Denver Broncos and hosts a popular midday radio talk show.

Michele Smith

Michele Smith was an accomplished three-sport athlete at Voorhees High School in Glen Gardner, New Jersey, in the early 1980s. As a pitcher in softball, she was 51-6 and recorded 11 no-hitters. She helped her team to the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Group 3 state softball title as a junior with a 23-1 record, 0.17 earned-run average and 229 strikeouts. She was selected to the all-state softball team three consecutive years. In field hockey, Smith was named first team all-conference as a junior and senior, and in basketball, she scored 1,114 points in her career and was a two-time all-conference selection. At Oklahoma State University, Smith compiled an 82-20 record as a pitcher, and her career batting average was .343 with 15 home runs. She was a three-time All-Big Eight Conference selection and was a two-time Division I All-American. She was a member of the U.S. Olympic softball teams in 1996 and 2000, and she was the starting pitcher for both gold-medal winning teams. She also played on three gold-medal winning World Championships teams and two teams that won gold medals at the Pan American Games. Smith joined ESPN in 1995 and has been the lead college softball analyst since 1998. In 2012, she was the first woman to serve as commentator for a nationally televised Major League Baseball game.

COACHES

Rickey Baker

Rickey Baker has become one of the most successful boys cross country coaches in the nation since his arrival at Hopi High School in Keams Canyon, Arizona in 1987. Three years later, Baker led Hopi to its first state boys cross country championship, and his teams didn’t lose another state title until 2017 – a streak of 27 consecutive team championships. The 27 consecutive state cross country titles is a national record and is third all-time when considering all sports (girls swimming and boys swimming). Baker’s 1999 team scored a perfect 15, which means Hopi runners finished 1-2-3-4-5. Perhaps most amazing about the streak is that Hopi continued to win despite moving into larger classifications. Hopi won 11 straight 2A titles (1990-2000), six consecutive 3A titles (2001-2006) and 10 straight 4A titles (2007-16). Since the streak ended, Hopi has finished runner-up the past three years. Baker started coaching the girls cross country team three years ago and has led his teams to two second-place finishes. He has also coached Hopi’s boys basketball team for 18 years, with a 2A state title in 1997, and the girls and boys track and field teams for the past 10 years. Nine of his track and field athletes have won individual state titles. During his days as a high school athlete, Baker was Arizona’s one-mile champion in 1977 while attending Winslow High School, and he was a member of Winslow’s state cross country team in 1976.

Charles Berry

Charles Berry retired in 2018 after an amazing 57-year career as a boys and girls basketball coach in Arkansas. After four years in the Hector School District and two years in Plemerville, Arkansas, Berry moved to Huntsville in 1967 and remained for 51 years. He resurrected a dormant boys basketball program upon his arrival and coached the boys team for the next 20 years. In 1978, he established the girls basketball team, which he coached until his retirement in 2018. Berry’s overall combined record as a high school boys and girls coach was 1,377-686, with a 1,116-619 record at Huntsville. Along the way, he won two Arkansas Activities Association state girls basketball championships (1997, 2008), and his girls teams finished second two other times (1984, 2013). Berry’s teams made 30 appearances in the state tournament, and they won 16 conference championships and six regional titles. The Huntsville High School gym was renamed Charles H. Berry Gymnasium in 2006, and Berry was inducted into the Arkansas Coaches Hall of Fame in 2016.

Terry Michler

Terry Michler is the winningest boys high school soccer coach in history, and in 2019, he eclipsed the 1,000-victory mark in his 48^th season at his alma mater, Christian Brothers College High School in St. Louis, Missouri. After graduating from Rockhurst College in Kansas City and playing professional soccer for three years, Michler returned to CBC in 1972 to direct the soccer program. After the 2019 season, Michler’s career coaching mark stands at 1,004-284-117. His CBC teams have claimed 31 district championships and have won nine Missouri State High School Activities Association State Soccer Championships in 15 appearances. Michler’s state titles have been distributed throughout his career, with his first in 1983 and his last in 2018. His teams have been ranked nationally in 13 different seasons, and he has had about 300 former players who played at the college level and more than 30 who played professionally. Michler has written – or helped to write – four books on soccer, and he has been inducted in numerous other halls of fame, including the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame and the CBC Sports Hall of Fame.    

ADMINISTRATOR

Bill Farney

Bill Farney retired as executive director of the Texas University Interscholastic League (UIL) in 2009 after leading the nation’s largest state association staff for 14 years. Farney joined the UIL in 1977 and served as an assistant director and athletic director for 18 years before assuming the executive director’s position in 1995. During his tenure at the UIL, Farney developed the academic and fine arts programs into the most expansive offerings of any state association. He also helped to expand more opportunities for girls by adding team tennis, soccer, softball and wrestling as sanctioned sports. Farney also developed a waiver process to help disadvantaged students with unavoidable circumstances, and he also implemented the Coaches and Officials Positive Expectations (COPE) course for coaches and players to learn proper sportsmanlike conduct. Farney was a teacher, coach, principal and superintendent at schools in Oklahoma and Texas for 15 years before joining the UIL, including the final seven years as superintendent of schools in Crawford, Texas. Farney earned his bachelor’s degree from Tulsa University and his master’s and doctorate from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. He was a member of the NFHS Board of Directors, NFHS Basketball Rules Committee, NFHS Swimming and Diving Rules Committee and the NCAA Football Rules Committee.

PERFORMING ARTS

Robert Littlefield

Robert Littlefield has been one of the top speech and debate educators in North Dakota and nationally for more than 45 years. After beginning his career as director of forensics and fine arts in the Barnesville (Minnesota) Public Schools in 1974, Littlefield worked at the high school and college levels in North Dakota until 2016, when he moved to the University of Central Florida. In addition to serving as debate coach at Shanley High School in Fargo, North Dakota, for eight years, Littlefield was the state planner and coordinator for speech clinics for high school teachers and students for more than 20 years. He also coordinated summer speech and debate camps for high school students and was founder and executive director of the Valley Forensic League. During his time at Shanley, Littlefield revitalized the program and had teams regularly place at regional, state and national competition. Littlefield has been involved in national leadership positions with both Pi Kappa Delta National Forensic Honorary and the National Speech and Debate Association. In addition to service on boards and committees with these organizations, Littlefield’s research, development and publication in scholastic journals and instructional workbooks has been extensive. During most of his time in North Dakota, Littlefield was a professor at North Dakota State University and directed the NDSU Speech and Debate Invitational for 25 years.

The following are the playoff formats and sites for Season D sports. State titles are slated to be awarded in girls tennis, boys and girls lacrosse, boys swimming and diving, boys and girls track and field, girls soccer, and baseball. Finally, boys volleyball will crown its first ever CHSAA state champion on June 26.

“We are excited to culminate all 31 CHSAA-sanctioned activities and athletics for the 2020-2021 competitive year with Season D championships,” said CHSAA Commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green.

 

Baseball

Class 1A

Districts Completed – June 12

Seeding Meeting – June 13

Regional Tournaments – June 19

Semifinals/Finals – June 23 – University High School, Greeley

Format: 12 teams to regionals; top two from each district and the remaining two by RPI. District champions will be seeded by RPI 1-5, with the top four serving as regional hosts. The fifth district champion will be seeded fifth. The remaining teams will be seeded by order of RPI, avoiding first-round district matchups.

 

Class 2A

Regular Season Ends – June 12

Seeding Meeting – June 13

Regional Tournaments – June 15

Quarterfinals/Semifinals – June 19 – Runyon Complex, Pueblo

Championship Game – June 26 – Runyon Complex, Pueblo

Format: 24 teams to regionals based on RPI. Single elimination

 

Class 3A

Regular Season Ends – June 12

Seeding Meeting – June 13

Regional Tournaments – June 14

3A Games 1-11 – June 18-19 – Site 1 – Frederick High School/Site 2 – Niwot High School

3A Games 12-15 – June 25-26 – Frederick High School

Format: 24 teams to regionals based on RPI with eight regional winners advancing to double elimination

 

Class 4A

Regular Season Ends – June 12

Seeding Meeting – June 13

Regional Tournaments – June 14

4A Games 1-6 – June 18 – Runyon Baseball Complex, Pueblo

4A Games 7-11 – June 19 – Rawlings Field, CSU-Pueblo

4A Games 12-15 – June 25-26 – Runyon Baseball Complex, Pueblo

Format: 24 teams to regionals based on RPI with eight regional winners advancing to double elimination

 

Class 5A

Regular Season Ends – June 12

Seeding Meeting – June 13

Regional Tournaments – June 14

Games 1-11 – June 18-19 – Site 1 Cherry Creek High School/Site 2 – Eaglecrest High School

Games 12-15 – June 24-25 – Keli MacGregor Field @ Coca-Cola All-Star Park, Lakewood

Format: 24 teams to regionals based on RPI with eight regional winners advancing to double elimination

 

Girls Golf

Regional Tournaments – June 7-11

State Tournament – June 21-22

3A – Elmwood Golf Course, Pueblo

4A – Common Ground Golf Course, Aurora

5A – City Park Golf Course, Denver

Format: 36 holes, stroke play, plus team championship

 

Boys Lacrosse

June 12 – Season completed

June 13 – State pairings/seedings announced

June 15 – 4A/5A First Round Games (higher seed hosts)

June 17 – 4A/5A Quarterfinal Games (higher seed hosts)

June 19 – 4A/5A Semifinal Games – Englewood High School Stadium

June 22 – 4A/5A Championship Games – Englewood High School Stadium

Format: 12-team bracket, single elimination

 

Girls Lacrosse

June 15 – Season Completed

June 17 – 4A/5A First Round Games (higher seed hosts)

June 19 – 4A/5A Quarterfinal Games (higher seed hosts)

June 21 – 4A/5A Semifinal Games – 4A at Shea Stadium, Highlands Ranch, 5A at Echo Park Stadium, Parker

June 23 – 4A/5A Championship Games – Legacy Stadium, Aurora

Format: 12-team bracket, single elimination

 

Girls Soccer

June 12 – Season Completed

June 13 – State pairings/seedings announced

June 15 – 5A First Round Games (higher seed hosts)

June 16 – 3A/4A First Round Games (higher seed hosts)

June 18 – 5A Quarterfinal Games (higher seed hosts)

June 19 – 2A, 3A, 4A Quarterfinal Games (higher seed hosts)

June 23 – Semifinal Games

2A – Home Sites

3A – Stutler Bowl, Aurora

4A – Frederick High School

5A – Englewood High School Stadium

June 26 – Championship Games – Colorado Switchbacks Weidner Field, Colorado Springs

Format: 2A 8-team bracket, single elimination; 3A, 4A, 5A 16-team bracket, single elimination

 

Boys Swimming & Diving

June 19 – Season completed

June 24 – 5A State Meet – Veterans Memorial Aquatics Center, Thornton

June 25 – 4A State Meet – Veterans Memorial Aquatics Center, Thornton

Format: 30 qualifiers (plus ties) per event for timed finals. State qualifiers based on time from the regular season. Maximum of four entries per team for each event.

 

Girls Tennis

June 5 – Regionals Completed

June 11-12 – State Championships

3A – Memorial Park, Colorado Springs

4A – Pueblo City Courts, Pueblo

5A – Gates Tennis Center, Denver

Format: 16-player brackets, single elimination tournament. No third/fourth place match will be played.

 

Boys & Girls Track & Field

June 24, 25, 26 – Jefferson County Stadium, Lakewood

Format: In 1A, nine qualifiers in most events and 12 in the 800 meters, 1600 meters, 3200 meters, 4X800 relay, and 10 in each field event. In 2A, 3A, 4A and 5A, there will be 18 qualifiers in each event. All based on MaxPreps rankings.

State Meet Schedule

 

Boys Volleyball

June 12 – Season Completed

June 19 – Regionals Completed

June 21 – State Bracket announced

June 25-26 – State Championships – Rock Canyon High School, Highlands Ranch

Format: 8 teams advance to state from regionals, single elimination bracket

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 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.”

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.”

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.”

As local and statewide restrictions continue to loosen across Colorado, the CHSAA staff and all of its assistant commissioners continue to work tirelessly in the interest of providing more opportunities for high school activities fans and participants.

Justin Saylor, CHSAA assistant commissioner in charge of boys swimming, has been working with Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center, swim committee chair Scott Cohen, and Adams 12 Five Star administrators, and in conjunction with Tri-County Health, for several weeks on the possibility of increasing the number of spectators for the boys swim and dive state championships.

That recent effort resulted in several significant and positive changes to the Season C state meet.

There will now be no limits placed on spectator capacity and athletes, spectators and coaches will all be allowed to remain inside the venue for the duration of the event.

“Over the past few weeks, in conjunction with Adams 12 Schools and Tri-County Health, the CHSAA has advocated for the expansion of both spectators and participants at the 2021 boys swim and dive state championships,” Saylor said. “After careful planning with all parties, including swim and dive committee chair Scott Cohen, I am pleased to announce the addition of additional qualifiers in each event across all classifications. The update to the format achieves the goal of increasing opportunities while keeping the integrity of the meet and qualifying processes.”

For both the Class 4A and 5A state finals on June 24-25, the number of qualifying swimmers has also been increased by 50 percent to 30 qualifiers per event.

Luke DeWolfe, athletic director at Steamboat Springs High School, has been elected to serve as the next president of the CHSAA’s Board of Directors.

For the next two years, DeWolfe will lead the Board, which represents member schools, leagues, districts and associations with the collective goal of fostering the health and development of high school activities in Colorado. With his term set to cover the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years, DeWolfe said he is ready to help guide the CHSAA and its membership towards a shared vision of the future.

“First and foremost, I’m just honored and humbled to have the opportunity to be a part of the organization in this role,” DeWolfe said. “I have such respect for the membership, the CHSAA staff and for our schools and families that to be able to step into this role is just an honor for me. It’s really about rebuilding and reinforcing trust and relationships, and fostering communication throughout the membership.

“It’s really important to have strong relationships between the CHSAA staff, the membership and the board, and to make sure we have a unified voice.”

DeWolfe added that his specific goals are to support CHSAA member schools, the CHSAA staff and the CHSAA Board as he takes over to help guide the Association into the post-pandemic era.

“I will continue to strive to find new and creative ways to meet the needs of an ever-changing and diverse membership,” DeWolfe said. “I will work hard to build bridges and strive to build communication and trust.”

DeWolfe has served as athletic director at Steamboat Springs since 2009 and was the Sailors’ head boys basketball coach for seven years. He still coaches junior varsity hoops and prior to his tenure at Steamboat Springs, he was a teacher and a coach at Highland High School dating back to 2001.

Finishing up his third year on the Board, DeWolfe has also been on the CHSAA handbook committee since its inception and is currently the chair of the ski committee. He has served as league president for the Western Slope League, has been a CHSAA Legislative Council member, and has been on the committees for boys lacrosse, basketball and football, as well as several seeding and appeals committees.

 

“As a valued and engaged Board member, Luke has been a vocal advisory member that has ensured that the mission, decisions and fiduciary responsibilities made on behalf of the Association and our stakeholders have been in the forefront of the duties and operations of the CHSAA staff,” CHSAA commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green said. “We are looking forward to working for and with him as he leads the Association, the Board and our staff through the recovery and reset after this unprecedented year where the pandemic has disrupted our traditional norms.

“His credentials, credibility and forward thinking transcends the myopic vision of ‘what best for me or mine.’ In this role, Luke will bring impactful discussions to the table to address increased communication and relationships while challenging archaic operations and advising leadership in successfully enhancing service to education-based and equitable participation for all Colorado students, members, school communities and programs.”