The fields at the Aurora Sports Park are covered in snow Friday morning. (Bert Borgmann/CHSAANow.com)
AURORA — The overnight snow, which was still falling Friday morning at the Aurora Sports Park, has caused the state softball tournament to be postponed a day.
An estimated one inch of snow fell overnight, and the Aurora Sports Park deemed the fields unplayable for Friday because of the amount of moisture on the playing surface. As such, the entire tournament will be pushed back one day.
(Bert Borgmann/CHSAANow.com)
The schedule will remain the same, with Friday’s games moving to Saturday and Saturday’s games to Sunday. Again, no games will be played on Friday.
Because the overnight snow is persisting as of early Friday morning, further delays in the schedule are possible.
“Unfortunately in Colorado, we can’t control what the weather is,” assistant commissioner Bud Ozzello said Friday morning. “This decision is for the safety of the players. Above all, we are always looking out for the safety of our players. But we’re still excited to host our state tournament.”
After weeks of waiting, Lakewood High School students found out today that they are the winners of a private Katy Perry concert which will be held Oct. 25 at the school. Students gathered at 5:30 a.m. to participate in a live, interactive interview with Katy Perry herself.
Sponsored by Good Morning America, Perry encouraged schools from across the country to make their own videos to her new hit song, “Roar.” Lakewood students created a one-shot, one-take video featuring all 2000 students in a lipdub which highlighted pure, genuine, positive energy and spirit showing that they are truly one united family.
Lakewood students are challenging all high schools in America, 39,000 of them, to each raise $1000 to send to charities of their choice, adding up to a potential $39 million. Their message is that this generation has a lot to give and roar about.
Inclusion program includes Positive Coaching Alliance, You Can Play, Colorado!, Valuable Resource Bank
In Colorado, there are differences in the students that make up our schools, just like there are differences that make each community different from the next.
The Colorado High School Activities Association recognizes that each school has a different culture, whether it’s a large metropolitan high school, a school in the mountains, or on the eastern plains.
What isn’t different are students. In light of the one similarity that all schools share — the natural leadership that participants in sports, music, speech and student leadership possess — the Association has developed a program to bring out those natural abilities in students and create a positive, inclusive school culture.
We Are CHSAA: Promoting Positive Leadership
This is an inclusion project for all students in Colorado’s 343 high schools. It requires empowering the natural leadership qualities of our student participants to be more inclusive of their classmates, regardless of social standing, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or any other perceived difference that might make a student feel excluded.
The main focus of the We Are CHSAA campaign will be on an overall training for student leaders and coaches, alike, to help use the people that already are in leadership position to be more tolerant and accepting – in essence, to be role models. It looks to combat all hazing and bullying for any reason and replace that activity with a positive approach to getting all students invested in their high school.
Beyond Sportsmanship: Positive Coaching Alliance
The CHSAA Sportsmanship Program has joined with Positive Coaching Alliance to bring a comprehensive curriculum to schools to help work on positive leadership and sportsmanship not only within the team but the entire school culture. This program will provide tools and resources for student-athletes, coaches, parents, officials, and school communities alike to take the lead in making their school a positive, learning environment where all students are invested in the learning process.
The PCA partnership also allows for work with coaches and parents to help bring the entire fabric of a community together in support of all students.
You Can Play, Colorado!
This piece of the CHSAA campaign centers on a statewide focus on accepting all students, regardless of gender, where their family is from, their race or sexual orientation. The message here is that each student is unique and has something to offer. All students have heart, talent and skill. If a student can player, he/she can play. This segment of the CHSAA campaign empowers students to be inclusive of all their teammates.
You Can Play, Colorado! is planning a video and have participation commitments from the Nuggets, Avalanche and the Rapids. Other professional sports are likely to join because they know they can be role models for You Can Play, Colorado! and We Are CHSAA.
We Are CHSAA has been embraced by a number of education organizations, including:
Colorado Association of School Boards
Colorado Association of School Executives
Colorado Education Association
Colorado League of Charter Schools
Charter School Institute
Colorado School Safety Resource Center
One Colorado Education Fund
Colorado Rural Caucus
Colorado BOCES Association
Positive Coaching Alliance
“We Are CHSAA” begins promoting its positive leadership campaign on October 22 with the launch of a special You Can Play, Colorado! video contest for all CHSAA member schools.
FORT COLLINS — All Fossil Ridge boys soccer coach Shannon Clarke could do was shake his head.
His SaberCats have spent the season dominating the run of play, yet had very little to show for it. Their 7-5-1 overall mark and 5-3-1 Front Range League mark entering Wednesday nights season finale against crosstown rival Poudre had them on the outside looking in as far as an automatic bid to the 32 team Class 5A playoff field.
They still might need a few things to go their way, but the SaberCats did themselves a huge favor at J. Ray French Field by dispatching Poudre 1-0. If anything, it’s a win that could impress the selection committee and earn them an at-large bid.
“Like every game this season, I felt like we completely dominated the play and had a gagillion chances to their very few, and finally tonight we get the winning stroke,” Clarke said. “So many times it has gone the other way for us, just like that.”
Fossil Ridge completely dominated the run of play and out-shot the Impalas 12-1, including 10-0 in the second half. Yet, they had nothing to show for it for the first 75 minutes of the game.
Finally, in the 76th minute, the SaberCats lined up for a corner kick and Elliot Weber sent a well-placed ball to the near post and senior midfielder Jarrett Pugh finished with his head past goalie Hector Torales.
“We just had to keep with our system and we had a couple of calls go against us and we were pushing to get that goal the whole game,” said Pugh, who proudly wore the captain’s band. “We just kept working hard, serving in those balls and we were finally able to get one. This was a good team win.”
Torales was brilliant in net for the Impalas, who scored a huge win for the playoffs chances on Tuesday night against Fort Collins. The senior, who had never played soccer before this year, finished with 11 saves — none bigger than midway through the second half on a Gage Clifton shot.
“He’s an athletic kid and he’s got great hands,” said Poudre coach Erik Eckhoff of his goalie. “He’s a humble kid and he likes to work and he’s been huge for us.”
Poudre drops to 10-4 overall and now 5-4 in a very deep league. Eckhoff thinks his team has done enough to warrant a shot at postseason play.
“But a game like that and the game against Collins (Tuesday) night definitely helps us, even though this was a 1-0 loss, it’s still a 1-0 loss to one of the better teams in the state and a team that dominated us for most of the game,” he said. “Based on last night and tonight, people don’t look at 1-0 losses to Fossil and say they are totally out. They are going to say ‘Wow, they busted their butt.’”
Also on the line Wednesday night were Choice City bragging rights. Between the four 5A schools in the city of Fort Collins, it is the SaberCats — who beat Rocky Mountain and Poudre and tied Fort Collins — that will hold the crown for another season.
“City games, you can just throw the records out the window,” Pugh said. “We all play with each other in club and we all know each other really well and we have these rivalries in the fall, so it’s always nice to get a win against a city team.”
The CHSAA will announce all three classifications of state brackets on Sunday afternoon.
Arvada West junior Drew Bender, far right, and his teammate sophomore Bradley Day joins the chase along with Ralston Valley sophomore Ryan Jones (2) and senior Nathan Huber (7) during the Class 5A Jeffco League finale for both teams Wednesday night at the North Area Athletic Complex. A-West clinched its third straight conference title with a 1-0 victory over Ralston Valley. (Dennis Pleuss)
ARVADA — Arvada West’s boys soccer team had a flare for the theatrical in the final week of conference play.
On the same day (Monday) A-West entered the Class 5A CHSAANow.com poll at No. 10, the Wildcats dropped their first 5A Jeffco League game of the season against Bear Creek at the North Area Athletic Complex.
“Last game we had breakdowns and didn’t play our normal game,” A-West senior captain Cruz Marquez said of the 1-0 loss to Bear Creek. “All good teams have bad games, but we took it to heart and didn’t want that feeling again. We knew tonight meant a lot.”
The league finale Wednesday night at NAAC against rival Ralston Valley now had the conference crown riding on it. A-West took care of business this time around with a 1-0 victory.
Marquez scored the lone goal on a direct free kick from about 35 yards out in the 70th minute. The shot deflected off a defender and Ralston Valley sophomore goalie Daniel Black got a piece of the shot, but not enough to keep it from trickling into the net.
“When it left my foot I thought I could have hit it a little better,” Marquez said. “I saw it go in and it was the happiest feeling I’ve ever had.”
Arvada West sophomore Bradley Day (2) tries to keep his balance as Ralston Valley junior Samuel Yevak closes in Wednesday during the final Jeffco League game of the season at the North Area Athletic Complex in Arvada. (Dennis Pleuss)
It’s the third straight 5A Jeffco title for the Wildcats (11-3, 7-1 in league). Chatfield (10-3-1, 6-1-1) and Ralston Valley (10-4-1, 5-3) are the other two automatic qualifiers from Jeffco for the 32-team tournament. The state tournament bracket will be released Sunday.
Ralston Valley had a few chances on A-West senior goalie Shazz Heale in the second half. The Mustangs’ best chance game on a direct free kick with 18 seconds left in regulation time. Heale was able to corral the shot from junior Taylor Mazza to preserve the sixth 1-goal victory of the season for A-West.
“It’s a young group and they are taking a lot of learning curves from every game,” A-West coach Troy Gette said. “It’s a team that really rises to play the big games.”
The goal now for the Wildcats is to avoid a third straight first-round exit from the state tournament. Gette is confident this team’s makeup will help achieve that goal.
“This team is a little different because it doesn’t have the one or two superstars,” Gette said. “It’s a good group that works hard and defends well.”
Colorado Academy is the No. 1 seed in this year’s state playoffs. (Courtesy photo)
This group leads by example, and if they have it there way, the number of girls following in their footsteps will continue to grow.
Now in its 16th season, field hockey has proven a popular sport among young women across thirteen state high schools. Recently, the sport has grown in Colorado schools — thanks to members of the class of 2013.
“Every summer there is a summer league where you can come back and play,” said Colorado Academy captain Mandy Weeks. “Alumni, current high schoolers, young kids and adults all come and play during the summer.”
In Colorado, there are three premier field hockey clubs that girls can get involved in: Denver Field Hockey Club, and Colorado Field Hockey Association and Club Lewy located in Colorado Springs. Weeks has gotten involved in Denver’s club, along with a handful of other girls from local high schools.
At Smoky Hill, Jessica Schnitzer first got involved in the game in middle school when the varsity team came down to promote their team.
“They came down and passed out flyers and taught us how to play,” said Schnitzer. “They kind of told us about the team.”
Now part of the varsity team, Schnitzer and her teammates have gotten involved in the community. Smoky Hill, along with a handful of other schools, have started programs that raise awareness about their teams at the seventh- and eighth-grade levels.
“I try to make sure the people at our school know about field hockey and what we’re all about,” Schnitzer said. “The team makes sure we get involved in school activities like participating in the homecoming parade and going down to the middle school and working with the younger kids.”
Kent Denver’s Chloe Dikeou. (Courtesy photo)
Players and coaches have both contributed to field hockey’s growth at Kent Denver.
“Field hockey wouldn’t be possible without our coach, Kathy James,” the Sun Devils’ Chloe Dikeou said. “She has helped develop our program tremendously. We have the second largest sports program at our school behind boys lacrosse.”
Some players have gotten so involved in the game that they hope to coach after graduating this summer. Bailey Taber of St. Mary’s Academy and Hannah Coburn of Mountain Vista plan to return as coaches.
“I want to come back next year and help coach — I love sports, encouraging my teammates and teaching the newbies,” Taber said. “At St. Mary’s, it’s very unique. We get to have a ton of fun while staying competitive. Our teammates become our family.”
Coburn has seen the program grow over her time at Mountain Vista.
“I am going to play field hockey in college and it would be my dream to coach when I come back during the summer at the middle school, high school or club level,” Coburn said. “I have been a part of Denver field hockey for four years but have been coaching and mentoring for two. I’m really proud of our school and the passion it has for the sport. I’m really excited to see where the program goes in the future.”
Taber has also helped the sport grow internationally. During a two-week service trip to Uganda last summer, she brought field hockey to an orphanage.
“We brought plastic field hockey sticks and taught some of the kids down there how to play,” Taber said. “I ran camps and we did a bunch of projects for the community on a two-week service trip to an orphanage. I hope to go back next summer with the same organization and help work with them some more.”
(Courtesy photo)
Kayla Wayne, of Grandview, has reached out to the athletic community through social media.
“I usually tell people to come out to our games over Facebook or Twitter, and talk to other friends who don’t play,” said Wayne. “A lot of my friends notice how close we are on and off the field and that brings them to games.”
In 2013, Daelynn Demello of Palmer Ridge leads the league in points (55) and goals (20), and is tied for first in assists with 15. She and her team lost to Colorado Academy in last season’s championship game.
“This year we’re hoping to make it to (the state final) again, it will help the sport continue to grow at our school,” Demello said.
This season’s state championship bracket was released Tuesday morning Colorado Academy once again claimed the top seed and will play Cheyenne Mountain in the first round.
The semifinals of will take place on Oct. 23, and a state champion will emerge on Oct. 28 in the finals at All-City stadium in Denver.
Laura Willems and Nikki Kennedy each had 10 kills as Legend beat Chaparral’s volleyball team for the first time in school history, 3-1 (29-27, 25-23, 18-15, 25-21).
