AURORA – Girls rugby is in search of varsity sanctioning at the high school level. And it is focusing much of its effort on Colorado.

No state nationally currently sanctions high school rugby — either girls or boys — meaning Colorado could become the first to do so. However, the sanctioning effort is still in the preliminary stages.

CHSAA hasn’t added a sport to its sanctioned list since the 1998-99 school year, when boys lacrosse joined. That was the third of three additions around that time: field hockey joined in the fall of 1997, girls lacrosse in the spring of 1998 and boys lacrosse in the spring of 1999.

So could girls rugby be the newest sport in Colorado? It’s possible, but there are a number of hurdles left to clear.

Already, the effort — spearheaded by varsityrugby.org, which is based in Colorado — has sent out a survey to member schools at the request of the CHSAA’s equity committee. They also presented at Thursday’s Legislative Council meeting.

A total of 134 schools responded to that survey, with five indicating they would be interested in adding a girls rugby program. Nine said they would be interested in adding both boys and girls rugby, and 31 said they would be interested “if supplied more information.”

Currently, rugby in this state is played at the club level. Rugby Colorado fields a league of 12 girls teams — a 13th is being added in 2014 — made up of players from 44 high schools. (There’s a boys league, as well, with 24 teams playing.) Rosters are made up of 25-30 kids per team, with 15 on the field at a time.

The rugby movement has figured out some of the details of sanctioning. Games would be played on existing fields already used for football, soccer, field hockey and lacrosse.

“There’s just a few requirements for marking and barriers and that sort of thing that are very easily accommodated on existing fields,” said Kristin Richeimer, who is part of the varsityrugby.org team. “Rugby is able to be played on both turf and natural grass fields, as long as the turf meets some general specification. At this point, most of them do, because they are being used for multi-sport purposes.”

Fall and spring are both possibilities as far as the season goes. Girls’ club rugby plays in the fall; boys are in the spring.

“It really is flexible as far as what CHSAA and the member schools might decide,” Richeimer said.

“We have no idea at this point,” said CHSAA assistant commissioner Bethany Brookens, who oversees the equity committee.

The sport’s next step would be a league sending a bylaw to the Legislative Council to request the addition of girls rugby. The equity committee would then make a recommendation along with that bylaw.

All this could happen as soon as the next Legislative Council meeting in April, but isn’t likely. A bylaw probably won’t come until girls rugby will be able to field more than 10 teams from member schools. That could mean individual schools fielding programs, or co-ops between schools.

And while boys rugby is another possibility — in fact, varsityrugby.org isn’t pushing girls over boys — girls has become the focus for now.

“I think the interest is there on the girls side,” Richeimer said. “The thing to remember is that girls rugby, because it is a relatively high-roster sport, and a low-cost sport, it can be a fantastic solution — a fantastic add — for a state association in terms of meeting equity requirements.”

Because of the need to maintain equity due to Title IX, it is far more likely that a girls sport would be added by CHSAA rather than a boys sport. (But, according to Brookens, “By adding another girls sport, it would open us up to the possibility of adding a boys sport.”)

“We are fairly compliant” in terms of Title IX, Brookens said, “but the bigger issue comes from schools. I get calls all the time, ‘We’re looking to add baseball. Can we add it?’ At that point, it’s, ‘Let’s look at your proportionality numbers. Let’s look at how many sport opportunities you’re offering.’ So, if we were to offer another boys sport, really the issue is that many of the schools wouldn’t be able to offer it unless they look to offer another girls opportunity.”

Rugby is gaining momentum elsewhere. Men’s and women’s rugby is slated for inclusion at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. Women’s has been classified by the NCAA as an “emerging sport,” meaning it is on a list of sports that are working toward becoming fully sanctioned.

However, this is the second go-round for girls rugby. The sport tried for sanctioning in Colorado in 2008, “and we were able to make some progress,” Richeimer said. “But I just think all of the other momentum wasn’t there. In addition, that was when the economy really took a bit of a turn for the worse. Some districts put freezes on expansion, things like that, so it just made the environment a little bit tougher.

“Now that we have the Olympic inclusion for 2016 and 2020, and some other really exciting developments,” Richeimer said, “it definitely makes a difference.”

The momentum will need to continue to gather to ultimately lead to sanctioning in Colorado. But the effort has made its greatest inroads here.

“(Colorado) would absolutely be the first in the nation (with girls rugby) without question,” Richeimer said. “That’s something that, obviously, never goes away.”

Fruita Monument has rejoined this week’s On The Mat wrestling rankings at No. 9 in 5A.

The No. 1 teams all stayed the same this week: Arvada West (5A), Broomfield (4A), Brush (3A) and Paonia (2A).

Complete team rankings for all classes are below.

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On The Mat Wrestling Rankings

Tim Yount of On The Mat provides weekly wrestling rankings for teams and individuals in all weight classes. To see individual rankings, you can subscribe to On The Mat’s full rankings.

To subscribe via PayPal, choose your subscription option on this page click on the corresponding PayPal button. To subscribe by mail or fax and pay by personal check, click here for a printable subscription form. Email Tim Yount at tim@onthematrankings.com with questions.

To purchase individual weeks of the rankings (as opposed to the entire season), you will need to use the printable subscription form and pay by check. The season ranking subscriptions are offered at a discounted rate.

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Go to: 5A | 4A | 3A | 2A

Class 5A
RK	TEAM	PVS
1	Arvada West	1
2	Rocky Mountain	2
3	Ponderosa	3
4	Cherry Creek	4
5	Pine Creek	6
6	Pomona	5
7	Chaparral	7
8	Mountain Range	8
9	Fruita Monument	–
10	Grand Junction	9
Dropped out
Fountain-Fort Carson (10).

Class 4A
RK	TEAM	PVS
1	Broomfield	1
2	Thompson Valley	2
3	Windsor	4
4	Pueblo South	3
5	Discovery Canyon	5
6	Palisade	6
7	Pueblo Central	7
8	Pueblo County	8
9	Montrose	9
10	Mesa Ridge	10
Dropped out
None.

Class 3A
RK	TEAM	PVS
1	Brush	1
2	Valley	2
3	Centauri	3
4	Monte Vista	4
5	Sterling	5
6	Dolores Huerta	6
7	Fort Lupton	7
8	Lamar	8
9	Alamosa	9
10	Buena Vista	10
Dropped out
None.

Class 2A
RK	TEAM	PVS
1	Paonia	1
2	Meeker	2
3	Baca County	4
4	Rocky Ford	3
5	Sedgwick County/Fleming	6
6	Norwood	5
7	Crowley County	7
8	Merino	10
9	Swink	8
10	Center	9
Dropped out
None.

AURORA — The Colorado High School Activities Association inducted its 25th annual class into its Hall of Fame on Wednesday.

AURORA — Ultimately, it never even went to a vote.

A proposal which sought to reduce the maximum number of allowed games in Class 4A basketball from 23 to 19 was withdrawn before any action even took place during Tuesday’s Legislative Council meeting. The Northern League, which originally submitted the proposal, moved to withdraw the proposal during the meeting and there were no objections.

“The basketball committee continues to look at maximum number of games, and sent out a survey to member schools,” said CHSAA assistant commissioner Bert Borgman, who oversees basketball. “By a 60-40 margin, the 4A schools indicated that 23 games is their preferred choice. But more than that, the current bylaw allows for the basketball committee to develop a format that would limit 4A schools to 19 games, if that is the will of the membership.”

Similarly, the Northern League’s proposal which would have reduced volleyball to 19 matches was withdrawn. The sport, too, will stay at a maximum of 23 contests.

“The volleyball committee has worked really hard and is very proud of the current format, including the length of the regular season,” said Bethany Brookens, a CHSAA assistant commissioner who oversees volleyball.

Additionally, the slight alteration to the match order at volleyball’s state championships was approved.

5A football seeding committee removed; 8-man gets rid of cross-divisionals

At December’s football committee meeting, Class 5A programs went away from using Wild Card points to determine playoff qualifiers. Instead, they installed a seeding  committee made up seven administrators, one from each league.

However, that seeding committee was removed at the Legislative Council meeting Tuesday. A replacement solution to determine postseason qualification in 5A football could come at the next Legislative Council meeting in April. If it doesn’t, that would mean returning to Wild Card points and the process used in past years.

The 5A schools will meet prior to the April meeting to determine if another qualification format is better. That could be another seeding committee, or another format altogether.

While discussing the football committee Tuesday, 8-man football changed the way its playoff qualifiers are determined. Instead of using cross-over games, which matched the top four teams from each division against one another, qualifiers will be determined by a new criteria.

Included is automatic qualification for league champions, as well as a complex set of ways to fill out the rest of the 16-team field. For a full breakdown, see this amendment (.pdf), which was passed.

Elsewhere:

• The format for girls soccer’s Class 2A was approved. It will have a 12-team postseason, moving 3A from a 32-team bracket to 24 teams. 2A will begin play in the spring of 2015, meaning girls soccer will have classes 2A, 3A, 4A and 5A. This change does not affect boys soccer, which has 3A, 4A and 5A.
• File this away for later: A proposal passed which gives CHSAA discretion to add a classification “based on the growth of the CHSAA membership.” This paves the way for an additional class, such as 6A, to be added down the road. We wrote about the details of adding a sixth classification over the summer.
• There were two changes to the Classification and League Organizing Committee report: Alameda moved from the 4A Jeffco League to the Colorado 7 League and Valor Christian from the 5A Jeffco to the 4A Jeffco. Both of those moves pertain to non-football sports. In Valor’s case, the move was made because the Eagles are competing in the 4A postseason.
• An amendment to the constitution passed which will not allow schools that offer specialized sport training to become CHSAA member schools. However, students at those schools will be allowed to participate in athletics at other schools.
• Teams that play down a classification based upon a lack of success will still be allowed to compete for a state championship. A proposal sought to not allow that, but was shot down. This issue was originally raised in part because Coronado won the 3A football title while playing down last fall.

LAKEWOOD — It was a playoff-like atmosphere Wednesday night at Green Mountain High School.

The student sections were loud and the Class 4A Jeffco League game between close rivals D’Evelyn and Green Mountain came down to the wire. The D’Evelyn Jaguars, ranked No. 4 in this week’s CHSAANow.com 4A boys basketball rankings, survived the scare with a 66-60 win against the Rams.

“Everyone is going to be gunning for us. Everyone is going to give us their best,” D’Evelyn senior Ty McGee said after the Jaguars (12-2, 7-0 in league) remained alone on top of 4A Jeffco. “This is how the playoffs are going to be. It’s going to be loud. The crowds are going to be crazy. You have to be mentally focused to get the win.”

McGee (14 points) and junior Grant Witherspoon stepped it up in the fourth quarter to prevent Green Mountain (8-7, 5-2) from pulling off the upset. The two leading scorers for D’Evelyn combined for 15 points in the final quarter.

Witherspoon has had the hot-shooting hand lately. The junior put up 30 and 31 points, respectfully, in the Jaguars’ wins over Wheat Ridge and Arvada last week. Foul trouble hampered Witherspoon, but he still managed a team-high 16 points.

Senior Brian Smith had a strong second half for D’Evelyn and sophomore Cameron Brown contributed a pair of big 3-pointers late in the first half that allowed the Jaguars to take a 30-27 lead at halftime. Brown buried a pair from downtown in the final minute of the second quarter.

“We needed someone to step up and Cameron gutted those two,” D’Evelyn coach Troy Pachner said. “That’s what you want out of your sophomore. You want him to be a moment player and that is what he was.”

On the defensive side, D’Evelyn had some issues. Green Mountain’s 6-foot-6 senior Mitch Schafer had a season-high 18 points.

“This is one of my best games honestly,” Schafer said. “They really couldn’t keep up with me.”

Schafer was able to post up and didn’t have to face many double-teams with the Jaguars focused on not letting sophomore sharp shooter Austin Fritts get loose. Fritts finished with only five points, but the Rams had success on the inside with Schafer and senior Daniel Brughelli (13 points).

“We did not do a good job with either interior kids. They were outstanding and we kept on giving them a lot of looks,” Pachner said. “You thought playing Golden, and the like, we would have been prepared for that.”

D’Evelyn has split its first two games against Golden’s effective inside offensive attack.

Green Mountain senior Alex Erickson scored 10 of his 11 points in the second half. The Rams cut the Jaguars’ lead down to four points late, but couldn’t come up with the victory.

“My kids battled so hard. I’m so proud of them. They did a great job,” Green Mountain coach Derek Van Tassel said. “We just came up a little short tonight, but the good thing is we’ll get to play them again.”

The Rams will get another shot at D’Evelyn, but next time it will be in ‘The Jungle’ on Feb. 13.

“At D’Evelyn is going to be a tougher game, but I think we can handle it,” Schafer said. “It’s a smaller gym so it’s going to be way louder. It’s going to be great.”

Pachner believes the tough conference test will serve his squad well.

“Surviving close games in a hostile environment gets you ready for games down the line,” Pachner said.

D’Evelyn puts its nine-game winning streak on the line at home against Alameda at 7 p.m. Friday. Green Mountain looks to get back on the winning track when it hosts Wheat Ridge at 7 p.m. Friday.

Below is a statement from CHSAA relating to the situation regarding Mountain Vista student Bailey Roby:

Update, 5:05 p.m., Jan. 30:

Bailey Roby will be permitted to play in games, so long as there is an agreement in place between both schools involved to ensure the situation on the floor remains safe for all participants. CHSAA will consider approving this participation on a game-by-game basis.

Communication on the safety of the kids is of primary importance. A plan needs to be clearly communicated on when the participation will happen, how the players will remain safe, and ensure that interference and collisions are as remote a possibility as possible. Involved officials need to be notified ahead of time, as well.

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Original post:

According to the National Federation of State High School Association’s basketball playing rules, specifically 3-5-1, under which the CHSAA plays:

The referee shall not permit any team member to wear equipment or apparel which, in his/her judgment, is dangerous or confusing to other players or is not appropriate.

NOTE: Each state association may, in keeping with applicable laws, authorize exceptions to the NFHS playing rules to provide reasonable accommodations to individual participants with disabilities and/or special needs, as well as those individual with unique and extenuating circumstances. The accommodations should not fundamentally alter the sport, heighten risk to the athlete/others or place opponents at a disadvantage.

The Highlands Ranch Herald did not accurately depict the decision.

When permission was requested in early January 2014, the Association had to take in the intent of Rule 3-5-1.

Considering the competitive nature of basketball, it was deemed unsafe for him to be on the court — in the interest of his safety, as well as the safety of other players.

However, when Mountain Vista approached the Association about giving Roby an opportunity to play in a varsity contest (on Jan. 24 against Littleton) if the game situation warranted participation, CHSAA said that if both schools agreed, and they made accommodations for the safety all players involved, Roby could participate. The schools determined how they were going to maintain enough room for both the player and opponents to move safely, and they were required to notify the officials of all of those accommodations for this game.

CHSAA was told that the Littleton game might be the only opportunity that this athlete would have to participate under those restrictions, so we allowed it.

“We’ve been in communication with the parents on this. We talked, we had a meeting,” Mountain Vista athletic director Pat McCabe said. “We had a meeting with Bailey. He understood what the situation was. In the end, the safety of Bailey is the No. 1 concern. His safety can’t be a popularity issue.”

HIGHLANDS RANCH — No. 4 Mountain Vista boys basketball nipped No. 5 Regis Jesuit at the buzzer on Tuesday night, 60-58.

Playoff season is an exciting time of the year. As fans, we appreciate the hard work that players exert in order to perform as competitively as they do, but do you ever wonder what the training and nutrition success plan is for these players?

The following is a list of things professional athletes may consider when making healthy choices, with insight from David Bruton, safety for the Denver Broncos:

BUSY PRACTICE SCHEDULE: For professional athletes, nutrition and training are of high importance – in football that can mean starting in the heat of the summer and lasting (hopefully) into the dead of winter. Bruton says that during the football season, the Broncos practice two and a half hours, three days a week with team workouts one and a half hours, two days a week on top of playing their scheduled games. Even during the off-season, Bronco athletes are training and working out anywhere from one and a half to three hours, at least four days a week. 

HIGH-CALORIE NEEDS: Over 10 hours a week of high-intensity training is nutritionally demanding for professional athletes. Each football player has specific nutrition needs based on their position and activity level. Running backs and wide receivers, for example, tend to require additional calories and carbohydrates because they burn a lot of energy in their positions. Lineman often need more calories simply to maintain their healthy weight. During double days, when athletes are practicing twice a day in the heat of the summer, the average player typically demands about 5,000 calories, some athletes may require as much as 10,000 calories a day!

PROPER MEAL PLANNING: The majority of professional sports teams work with registered dietitians who carefully meal plan healthy foods for these athletes to consume. It is easier to eat 10,000 calories through less healthy choices, but ensuring a balance of nutrients from all Five Food Groups is important for all athletes. Team dietitians help athletes plan ways to get the correct servings of each type of food through meals and snacks based on their specific needs. Some athletes find it helpful to eat the MyPlate way, using guidelines provided at choosemyplate.gov. Bruton is a great example, in fact, when it comes to breakfast, Bruton’s main goal is “making sure to try to eat from all Five Food Groups.” Yogurt parfaits are one of his favorites. A cup of yogurt, sprinkled with blueberries, strawberries, peaches or any favorite fruit, granola and crushed nuts provides four of the Five Food Groups and tastes great, too.

NUTRITION KEYS TO SUCCESS: For professional athletes, staying hydrated, refueling muscles and eating the right foods to recover is the key to success. Drinking enough water is absolutely critical as some players can lose up to 10 pounds of sweat during a hot summer day practice. In fact, many teams require their players to weigh themselves before and after practices to make sure they stay hydrated. Refueling and recovering is done through eating healthful foods off the field. Food choices that are rich in nutrients, vitamins and minerals help the body repair. Chocolate milk is a healthy choice many athletes choose because it provides nine essential nutrients, including protein, which helps repair the body after a tough workout; plus, dairy foods fit well into a well-balanced diet fit for an athlete. Bruton states it simply, “eat right and stay active” for success.

Athletes can train harder and perform better with proper nutrition. Visit this site to read more about milk as an exercise recovery beverage and learn how to eat for peak athletic performance. 

For the past 25 years, the Colorado High School Activities Association has honored the state’s top contributors to high school activities. Tonight, the Association inducts ten more representatives of the countless individuals who have helped shape the growth of the organization.

The CHSAA Hall of Fame is a great source of pride for the Association because it recognizes the people who make up high school activities.

Within the CHSAA Hall of Fame there is representation from small schools and large, from the Western Slope, Southern Colorado, Eastern Plains and the Front Range. Although most members are retired, several continue to serve the students with a youthful enthusiasm.

The inductees tonight join with 156 other members representing many years of outstanding leadership, high moral character, outstanding citizenship and the ideals embodied by the CHSAA.

Nominations are accepted in the following categories: Participant, Coach/Sponsor, Administrator, Official, Team and Contributor. Induction ceremonies are held each January.

Nominations are due on August 15 for induction consideration by the committee in September.

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Class of 2013 inductees

Evergreen Volleyball

(1979 State Champions)

Hall of Fame Team Inductee

There are legends and there are legendary teams. It becomes really special when the legends are a part of the legendary teams.

For Evergreen High School, the initial step toward legendary status came when a legend took over the program. Lo Hunter, a member of the CHSAA Hall of Fame (1996) and the National High School Hall of Fame (2000), took over the program.

The 1976 team won the first of the school’s eight state championships, but it was the 1979 team cemented the foundation for legacy to come.

Resplendent with players like Tanya Haave (CHSAA Hall of Fame 1993, NHSHoF 2001), Lorie Culp and Liz Edy, the team boasted now fewer than six players that went on to play Division I volleyball.

The third team to be recognized by the CHSAA Hall of Fame, the 1979 Evergreen High School team is recognized as THE team in the string of 8 state titles out of 10 from 1976 to 1986 by athletes who were members of those teams.

Coached by Hunter and led by Haave, Edy and Culp, the Cougars were a part of a string of 182 consecutive wins from 1978-1986.

The members of the team remember Hunter as a tough task master, but fair, citing her work in creating opportunities for young women in the early days of girls’ athletics.

Haave remembers the team as being talented, close and focused on what they wanted to accomplish, she also noted that they practiced morning and afternoon, practicing more than any boys’ team.

Edy and Culp noted that playing for Hunter was a true exercise in patience and humility. They said that the players had to trust her, but the coach made them better women.

At the time it was hard, but she loved each player to the core. She spent her own money on uniforms. Her heart and soul was all in the end product.

Edy said the team wanted to win it for Evergreen and for the team.

It was always about the team, never about the stats, Culp noted.

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Gary Ambrosier

(Grand Junction Schools)

Hall of Fame Inductee

Gary Ambrosier retired as the Music Coordinator for Mesa County Valley District 51 schools eight years ago and is busier today than he ever was in his position for the school district. Much of that activity is serving as the chairman of the CHSAA’s Music Adjudication Association.

A 1968 CSU graduate in music education, Ambrosier started his teaching career at the Bayfield High School before moving to Rudyard, MI, where he was band director for eight years.  While in Michigan, Ambrosier earned his master’s degree in music education.

Returning to Colorado, he was band director at Glenwood Springs High School (1976-79) and band director at Central High School in Grand Junction (1979-94) when he was named assistant principal for Grand Mesa Middle School for two years before taking over as music coordinator for the district.

Ambrosier has a love of swimming and has coached the sport and taught water safety throughout his career.  He also coached baseball and basketball in his career.

It is Ambrosier’s music expertise that has him on center stage here tonight.  Ambrosier is one of the architects of the CHSAA Music Adjudication process where large group and solo and ensemble contestants are measured in an educationally objective manner, rather than a traditional subjective format.

The key to the adjudication process is proper judges’ education and a strong measuring tool.  The CHSAA Music Advisory Committee, with major input from Ambrosier, developed a rating form that focuses on a numeric measurement, rather than a subjective one.

Ambrosier has been responsible for developing the educational process for the adjudicators and helps in assigning the adjudicators to the CHSAA large group festivals.

He was recently awarded the 2012-2013 NFHS Outstanding Educator Award.

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Tonya Beaber Hanks

(Deer Trail High School)

Hall of Fame Inductee

One of Colorado’s top small school athletes, Tonya Beaber’s prep career included participation in volleyball, basketball, track, spirit and student council.

She was her class valedictorian, was a member of the National Honor Society and won numerous academic awards during high school. Tonya guided her volleyball and basketball teams to state titles in 1986, the first ever at Deer Trail High School.

During her four year career, though, Deer Trail was a regular visitor to the state playoffs.

A four-year letter winner in all three sports, Beaber was the 1988 Steinmark Award runner-up, made the All-State teams three times in volleyball and basketball and was a place winner in track in long jump, triple, jump, shot and discus.

When she graduated from DTHS, she held school basketball records for career points (1,619), points in a season (423), points in a game (34), career steals (234), points per game (17.8), career field goal percentage (46.9%), career free throw percentage (70.5%) and career assists (365).

Her CHSAA ranks upon graduation included the following career marks: seventh in scoring, eighth in field goals made, fourth in free throws made, third in free throw attempts and sixth in field goal attempts. She also ranked third in total points at the state tournament (210). Her college team was 49-7.

The Colorado native went on to play at Western Nebraska and graduated from Northern Colorado. She earned All-region honors playing at WN and was second nationally in free throw percentage. She went on to coach high school volleyball and softball.

The Colorado State Board of Education recognized her in 1988 for her perfect attendance through 13 years of schooling. She is currently an assistant basketball coach at Strasburg and has coached at Elbert. Well, she did take a half day to go meet with the Board and get her recognition.

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Jerome Biffle

(Denver East High School)

Hall of Fame Inductee

Jerome Biffle was one of the nation’s top student-athletes, playing football and running track for Denver East High School.

A three-time all-state track star, and winner of the 100- and 220-yards sprints each year and the high jump and long jump, Biffle went on to win a Gold Medal at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics in the long jump with a leap of 24-10.03.

He also participated in football for Angels. As a halfback in the vaunted “single wing” offense under the guidance of legendary coach Adolph “Pat” Panek (CHSAA HoF 1991/NFHS HoF 1996), he helped East to an undefeated 1945 season in city play.

Biffle was the first black athlete at the University of Denver, enrolling after a four-year stint in the US Army.

Biffle captured first place finishes at theKansas, Drake, and West Coast Relays, which were known as the “big three” of college track events during that period, as well as winning the NCAA long jump title. In that same year, Biffle was named Track and Field News top collegiate track star.

Biffle earned a teaching certificate and a master’s degree in guidance and counseling. He started out at Cole Elementary School before getting a job at his alma matter, East, just as it was beginning the desegregation process and looking for black teachers and counselors.

He went on to become a golf coach at East and was a school counselor there from 1962-1992. He also was an assistant track coach at EHS.

Biffle, along with Jesse Owens, was inducted into the Drake Relays Hall of Fame in 1959. Biffle passed away in 2002.

For the thousands and thousands of students he counseled at East High School between 1962 and 1992, Biffle will be remembered for his caring and guidance.

For sports fans, he will be remembered as Colorado’s gold medal winning long jumper.

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Pauline Carochi

(Canon City High School)

Hall of Fame Inductee

Pauline Carochi was nominated by the Colorado Speech “Community,” not just the CHSAA Speech Committee. That’s the respect she holds within the activities.

She has been at Canon City High School for 37 years. During that time, she was the school’s speech coach (37 yrs.), Student Council Sponsor (22) and Newspaper sponsor (30).

Thirteen of her students have won state championships, including two that won national championships, and hundreds more have qualified to the state meet.

Carochi was a member of the CHSAA Speech Committee for more than 12 years and chaired the state speech tournament five times. She has been recognized many times in speech for her work, including being inducted into the National Forensics League Hall of Fame (2010) and receiving the Sharon Wilch Lifetime Achievement Award. Including the previous two awards, Carochi has been honored 10 additional times for her speech work.

Her life’s work has been wrapped up in students, and speech. She has chaired the CHSAA speech tournament five times, chaired the committee that rewrote the CHSAA Speech Handbook in 2000 and still continues to serve on that committee.

Carochi started providing and teaching judges training in 1980 and continues to do so today. She, in turn, has served as a tournament official for the State Speech Tournament every year since 1980.

She has also served a role with the National Forensics League (the REAL NFL) as a national tournament official since 1985, chairing Debate since 1997 for the national group.

Carochi has been published numerous times in speech and debate publications.

The versatile teacher also sponsored student council at the school from 1990-2012 and was the schools newspaper advisor from 1997-2006 during which time the publication won numerous awards.

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Manuel Gonzales

(Granada High School)

Hall of Fame Inductee

Claire Bee once said “Good coaching may be defined as the development of character, personality and habits of players, plus the teaching of fundamentals and team play.”

For Manuel Gonzales and the hundreds of athletes he has coached at Granada High School that may be the essence of what has done day in and day out for the past 40-plus years.

Gonzales has coached three sports – football for 40 years, basketball for 39 and baseball for 25 – and is still on the sidelines today. His teams have won three football titles (1979, 1988, 2006), two basketball titles (1989, 1991) and three baseball crowns (1991, 1995, 2009).

The Arkansas Valley native and a graduate of Granada High School, Gonzales said it was his dream to return to his alma mater to teach and coach.

Gonzales has been named Coach of the Year numerous times in each sport and has had his teams finish as runners up in the state championships several times.

He was a driving force behind the addition of the 1A baseball classification in 2007, citing increased popularity of the sport and the number of 1A sized schools playing the sport.

He notes that receiving a college degree is what he considers his greatest accomplishment because it allowed him to become a teacher and coach. Graduation and continuing education are goals he continues to teach while coaching his athletes. He also coached two sons and a daughter who attended GHS.

Gonzales has retired from teaching but remains passionate about coaching. And 40 years later, he says he can’t pick a favorite sport. He loves them all.

Gonzales was inducted in to the Colorado High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2002) and the National High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2006). He was recognized by the Colorado Dugout Club in 2009 for his contributions to high school baseball.

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Sam Pagano

(Fairview High School)

Hall of Fame Inductee

Sam Pagano is an iconic figure in Colorado football annals. He coached at both the high school and the professional levels during his career.

He was football coach at Fairview for 25 years, from 1969-1994 where his teams went 164-58-4 and won state titles in 1978, 1979, 1987.

He was Colorado’s Coach of the Year in 1978 and 1979. In 1978, Pagano won the Colorado High School Coaches Association’s Ed Lesar Award as the Outstanding Teacher/Coach in the state.

Pagano headed the Colorado High School Coaches Association from 1974-75 and served as the head coach of the Colorado All-State Game. He was inducted into the Pueblo Sports Hall of Fame in 1978. He was a National Coach of the Year nominee in 1990.

Pagano ran the Mile High Football Clinic, a camp he started in 1975 until 2012. The clinicians for that camp included such football luminaries as Vinnie Testaverde and Peyton Manning.

The Mile High Football Camp served over a thousand young football players and helped establish Colorado as a football hotbed. College coaches from across the country would serve as clinicians and guest coaches.

Following his high school coaching career, Pagano took on the challenge of coaching football in Europe at the professional level.

During his career, he has also coached professional football in Europe. He coached teams in Bergamo, Italy; Berlin, Germany; and, Paris, France. He was an assistant coach for the UFL team in Taiwan.

His Bergamo Lions (Italy) won the 2002 Euro Bowl Champions after winning the Italian title at 16-0. His 1992 Bergamo team was runners-up in the Euro Bowl, finishing at 14-1.

His son, Chuck, is head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, while another son, John, is the San Diego Chargers defensive coordinator.

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Robert Plank

(Sterling)

Hall of Fame Inductee

One of the top officials in the state of Colorado, Bob Plank officiated 32 years in football and basketball. He was a teacher, coach and administrator at Fleming and Sterling high schools for 33 years as his “real” job, but was also one of the state’s finest officials after school.

Plank earned numerous awards as a basketball official, including the inaugural Al Schalge Award for professionalism and service to the sport. Plus, he called a number of championship games.

While refereeing basketball, Plank served in many capacities for the officials’ association, including as President of IAABO Board #4 in 1973. He was also a member of the Board #4 Executive Committee.

He served as a rules clinician for countless conferences and was an important mentor for literally hundreds of younger officials.

In football, he was a noted on-field official who called many playoff and state championship games.

He was an Executive Committee member for the Colorado Football Officials Association for 10 years and served as a rules clinician for many clinics. Again, like basketball, he was active with numerous CFOA clinics.

In support of his avocation – officiating – he regularly wrote articles on rules, rule changes and sportsmanship and took those topics on local radio.

One of the unique opportunities that come for officials is the ability to referee games in multiple classifications. Plank noted that many “special” games he called, including the first girls’ basketball championship game and the 1976 title game between Manual and Cherry Creek in 1976.

Plank was an instructor of officiating and rules for Northeastern Junior College, Western State and Adams State colleges.

He is a member of the IAABO Board #4 Honorary for Officials and a member of the Colorado High School Football Officials Association Hall of Fame.

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Mike Provenzano

(Palmer High School)

(Cheyenne Mtn. High School)

Hall of Fame Inductee

Colorado ice hockey can thank Colorado Springs Coaching legends Gib Funk (CHSAA HOF 1991) and Garry Berry for inspiring Mike Provenzano to become a teacher and coach.

Provenzano cites both his former coaches for planting the seed that would grow into the state’s moist successful ice hockey coach.

Provenzano noted that majoring in science and physical education was a natural lead in to teaching and coaching. Funk was Provenzano’s high school coach, while Berry gave Provenzano his first teaching and coaching job upon graduation from Colorado State in 1967. The coach added a master’s degree in 1985 from Colorado College.

His teams won three state championships at Palmer High (1992, 1993, 1998) during a 30-year reign as hockey coach. Then, his teams won another in 2004 when he coached Cheyenne Mountain High to the championship. He spent nine years with the Indians’ program.

“Coach Pro’s” Palmer teams made 18 consecutive state ice hockey Final Four appearances and were second three times. At CMHS, his teams played in the state tourney nine times.

Provenzano’s teams compiled a 267-159-9 mark at Palmer and 127-41-6 at Cheyenne Mountain for an overall prep coaching record of 394-200-15.

Twenty of the last 21 years as coach, Provenzano’s teams were in the CHSAA Frozen Four. Provenzano was named the Colorado Coach of the Year six times, including 1984, 1987, 1992, 1998, 2004 and 2009.

In addition to his high school coaching, Provenzano was active in non-school ice hockey programs, coaching the Pike Peak Miners (Midget AAA) team from 1994-97 and 2000-02. Those teams won the 1995 and 1996 Colorado Amateur Hockey Titles and his teams made appearances in the USA Hockey National Championships three times.

He was the first president of the Colorado Ice Hockey Coaches Association.

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Mark Randall

(Cherry Creek High School)

Hall of Fame Inductee

It’s hard to say that Mark Randall’s selection to the CHSAA Hall of Fame was based solely on his basketball ability. Nor, was it based solely on his work with Kroenke Sports in the community. Frankly, it was based on the character, integrity and person that Randall is and demonstrates each day.

Randall is no stranger to followers of Colorado basketball. He was a McDonald’s and Parade All-American (1986) and went on to star at the University of Kansas where his team won a NCAA title (1990).

Randall led his 1986 Cherry Creek team to the state championship game before losing to George Washington. Both teams were unbeaten coming into the game and the Patriots top the Bruins by one point in that title game.

His CHSAA Hall of Fame letters of recommendation came from Irv Brown (CHSAA HOF 2005), Roy Williams (KU, UNC), Bill Self (KU) and Larry Brown (NBA, KU).

Randall cites his father and early coaches for giving him the foundation in basketball and life. They taught him the fundamentals and basics of the game. He played for many great coaches, including Larry Brown.

He says that his college coaches helped shape who he is, but credits North Carolina’s Roy Williams with teaching him “the game, components of the team and individuals” and taught him how to be a man.

He played on the US National Team (1990) that won the FIBA Championships that year.

A first round pick of the Chicago Bulls, he played for the Pistons, Timberwolves and Nuggets, as well.

Randall is currently the Nuggets Community Ambassador and is active among Colorado’s youth basketball community.

In his role as Nuggets Community Ambassador, Randall speaks to over 30,000 students a year about the importance of education, making good choices, and respecting peers, teachers and parents.

HIGHLANDS RANCH — “The play wasn’t originally designed for me,” he said. “It was originally supposed to be a 3-pointer. The way Regis was guarding us, I happened to split through at the last second and Ray found me. It was money the moment it left my hand.”

That hand belonged to senior guard Jonathan Moore, Mountain Vista’s sixth man who buried a game winning 7-footer with 1.5 seconds left to clinch a 60-58 win over Regis Jesuit in a battle between two contenders in the always competitive Continental League.

The gym erupted and Mountain Vista’s enormous student section, certainly one of the best student sections in all of Colorado, rushed the court and celebrated with Moore, who yelled out in joy.

“I was yelling, ‘Let’s go! Let’s go!'” Moore said. “Because everyone always says, ‘Mountain Vista isn’t all that, Mountain Vista doesn’t play really good people,’ but we played really great tonight and we got the W.”

Mountain Vista coach Robert Wood broke down the play after the game.

“Our best playmaker (Jake Pemberton) fouled out of the game, so we took Ray Beresford, who’s normally a forward, but he’s pretty good at beating guys on the dribble,” Wood said. “We put him at the point and ran 1-4 low and we wanted him to get penetration and he could either shoot the jumper or kick it to the open man. We thought maybe they would leave Brady (Subart) open in the corner. They didn’t, but when he penetrated, Jon’s man stepped in to take the charge and he kicked it to Jon. Jon made a nice calm shot. That’s a lot of pressure shooting for the game. It was nothing but net.”

The matchup between the Mountain Vista Golden Eagles and the Regis Jesuit Raiders Tuesday night looked to be a possible wire-to-wire game between the No. 4-ranked Eagles — in this week’s CHSAANow.com poll — and the No. 5 Raiders. For a half, this on-paper scenario didn’t play out.

Mountain Vista used smothering defense and a scoring attack led by athletic junior swingman, Ray Beresford, and slashing guard Carson Simon to take a commanding 36-20 lead into the half at home. Simon had 10 points, Beresford had nine points, and big man Graham Smith chipped in eight points in the first half.

Regis, a team with a perimeter-oriented attack that relies on several shot makers and versatile players on offense, was ice cold shooting the ball in the first half. The Raiders average six-and-a-half made threes per game, but didn’t knock down their first triple until 30 seconds remained in the half. They only went 3-of-16 on three-pointers on the night and needed to find another way to ignite their offense.

Junior guard Bryan Staerkel had nine first-half points and fourteen for the game, but needed help on offense. Kip Boryla, Taylor Kallsen and Devin Kadillak provided that in the second half by attacking the rim, knocking down mid-range jumpers, and getting to the free-throw line. They outscored the Golden Eagles 19-10 in the third quarter and slowly chipped away at the lead until they were within a few points late.

Regis cut the deficit to one a few times in the fourth and tied the game at 58 with 28 seconds remaining. Mountain Vista called timeout with 12 seconds left and set up the play that proved to be game-winning.

Coach Wood was pleased with the win, but was a little nervous in the second half.

“They never led in the second half, so that helped,” he said. “We got tight a couple of times. We kept scoring enough to stay in the lead until they tied it on that last foul. Then, you’ve got one chance. I can guarantee you we wanted to win it in regulation, because we didn’t really want to go to overtime with Jake (Pemberton) fouled out.”

“I thought we played a great first half,” the coach added. “Defensively, we played really well. We were all over their shooters, we stopped penetration. We had one of our guys, whose normally in our rotation, get hurt in the first half and I think we got fatigued. We didn’t have our normal rotation, so basically in the second half we played six guys.

“But, we made enough plays to win it.”

The win moves Mountain Vista to 15-1, 4-0 in the Continental League. The Golden Eagles hit the road to take on Douglas County on Friday night at 7 p.m.

Regis is 13-3 with one of their losses out of-state, but dropped their second game in a row after a 63-48 home defeat to Chaparral last Friday night. The Raiders are 2-2 in conference play. They take on Legend at home this Friday at 7 p.m., a team that shares the Continental League lead with Mountain Vista and Highlands Ranch at 4-0.

Simon and Beresford led the Golden Eagles with 12 points apiece. Smith scored 10 points and the Denver recruit, Pemberton, only scored seven points but contributed five rebounds, five assists and four steals, and impacted the game with his court vision and passing ability.

Staerkel led all scorers with 14 points and pulled down nine rebounds in the loss. Kadillak finished with 10 points, Kallsen had nine, Boryla had seven, and Jared Small, an athletic 6-foot-5 sophomore, also scored seven. Eljiah Sanford grabbed 10 rebounds for the Raiders.

In the meantime, Mountain Vista can enjoy a win over one of 5A’s powerhouse programs before taking on Douglas County.

“It honestly means everything,” Moore said. “I’ve been at Mountain Vista for four years playing basketball and I’ve never had a big hand in beating Regis. It feels amazing to beat them in my last year of high school.

“I talked to the guys before the game — you beat Regis, Regis is maybe first or second (in the league),” explained Wood. “I think they placed first four of the last five years and second the other time. That’s a two-game gap on them so that’s big, but there are other teams in the conference that are very capable of winning the conference.

“We come down the stretch with Chaparral, Legend and Highlands Ranch. That’s our last three, so there’s nothing decided. We’ve got a lot of games that we have to win. There’s a lot of people in between. There’s no gimmes in this league, so we have to be ready every night.”