CHSAANow

Month: January 2014

  • Pine Creek added to 5A girls basketball rankings

    Highlands Ranch Sand Creek girls basketball
    Highlands Ranch (5A) and Sand Creek (4A) are both ranked in their respective polls. (Mark Adams)

    Pine Creek is the lone newcomer to this week’s CHSAANow.com girls basketball poll in 5A. The Eagles (11-0) are No. 10 this week.

    Regis Jesuit remained atop the poll, and continued to be followed by Highlands Ranch. Fossil Ridge moved up one place to No. 3, Grandview is No. 4 and ThunderRidge rounds out the top 5.

    The 4A poll added Glenwood Springs (No. 8), 3A added The Classical Academy (No. 10), 2A added Heritage Christian (No. 10) and 1A added Hi-Plains (No. 10).

    Complete rankings for all classes are below.

    [divider]

    CHSAANow.com Girls Basketball Polls

    Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.

    Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.

    Go to: 5A | 4A | 3A | 2A | 1A

    Class 5A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Regis Jesuit (15) 7-2 159 1 1-1
    2 Highlands Ranch (1) 10-1 139 2 2-0
    3 Fossil Ridge 10-0 115 4 2-0
    4 Grandview 9-2 97 5 2-1
    5 ThunderRidge 7-3 91 3 0-0
    6 Lakewood 11-0 88 6 2-0
    7 Castle View 9-2 51 8 2-1
    8 Rock Canyon 6-3 39 7 1-1
    9 Cherry Creek 10-1 35 9 3-0
    10 Pine Creek 11-0 27 – 3-0
    Others receiving votes:
    Grand Junction 16, Ralston Valley 10, Mountain Vista 4, Rampart 4, Dakota Ridge 2, Denver East 2, Monarch 1.
    Dropped out
    Ralston Valley (10).

    Class 4A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Broomfield (16) 10-0 169 1 2-0
    2 Mesa Ridge (1) 10-0 147 3 3-0
    3 Pueblo South 10-1 143 2 3-0
    4 Elizabeth 9-1 98 5 2-0
    5 Pueblo West 8-2 76 6 1-0
    6 Sand Creek 7-3 67 9 2-1
    7 Valor Christian 9-3 58 4 2-0
    8 Glenwood Springs 9-0 57 – 3-0
    9 D’Evelyn 7-3 41 8 2-0
    10 Palmer Ridge 7-2 25 7 1-1
    Others receiving votes:
    Longmont 17, Green Mountain 11, Silver Creek 10, Pueblo East 7, Pueblo County 6, Palisade 2, Thompson Valley 2.
    Dropped out
    Silver Creek (10).

    Class 3A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Holy Family (11) 9-1 144 1 1-0
    2 Pagosa Springs (4) 8-0 138 2 1-0
    3 Lamar 9-0 118 3 3-0
    4 Centauri 8-1 90 4 1-1
    5 Sterling 7-1 82 6 1-0
    6 Eaton 7-2 67 7 2-0
    7 Strasburg 7-1 35 9 0-1
    8 Peak to Peak 6-2 31 8 1-0
    9 Coal Ridge 7-1 29 10 2-0
    10 The Classical Academy 6-0 25 – 2-0
    Others receiving votes:
    Platte Valley 18, Jefferson Academy 11, Brush 9, Olathe 7, Bishop Machebeuf 6, St. Mary’s 6, Salida 5, Manitou Springs 3, Valley 1.
    Dropped out
    Bishop Machebeuf (5).

    Class 2A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Yuma (5) 6-0 85 1 2-0
    2 Lutheran (3) 7-0 82 3 2-0
    3 Peyton 8-1 76 2 2-0
    4 Akron (1) 5-1 69 4 1-0
    5 Liberty Common (1) 9-0 60 5 2-0
    6 Paonia 6-3 38 8 1-1
    7 Hoehne 6-1 32 7 2-0
    8 Meeker 6-1 28 9 3-0
    9 Simla 7-0 24 6 2-0
    10 Heritage Christian 7-1 18 – 2-1
    Others receiving votes:
    The Vanguard 10, Sangre de Cristo 6, Wray 5, Del Norte 4, Limon 4, Soroco 3, Holyoke 2, Springfield 2, Hotchkiss 1, Sanford 1.
    Dropped out
    Sangre de Cristo (10).

    Class 1A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Caliche (7) 7-0 79 1 2-0
    2 Norwood (1) 7-0 72 2 2-0
    3 Idalia 7-0 66 3 2-0
    4 Eads 7-1 62 4 2-0
    5 Kit Carson 6-2 52 5 2-0
    6 Prairie 7-1 39 6 1-1
    7 Dove Creek (1) 7-1 33 9 1-1
    8 Cheraw 5-1 24 8 0-1
    9 McClave 5-3 21 7 0-2
    10 Hi-Plains 4-2 8 – 1-0
    Others receiving votes:
    Belleview Christian 6, Gilpin County 6, Centennial 5, Liberty/Stratton 4, Walsh 4, Holly 3, Liberty 3, Peetz 3, South Baca 3, Genoa-Hugo 1, Kim 1.
    Dropped out
    Liberty/Stratton (10).

  • Fossil Ridge takes over atop 5A boys basketball rankings

    Fossil Ridge is the new No. 1 team in 5A. (Courtesy of Matt Johannsen)
    Fossil Ridge is the new No. 1 team in 5A. (Courtesy of Matt Johannsen)

    Fossil Ridge, unbeaten and with a number of impressive wins under its belt thus far, is the new No. 1 team in this week’s CHSAANow.com Class 5A boys basketball poll.

    The SaberCats, off to a 10-0 start, edged Denver East — which had held the No. 1 spot since the preseason — despite having one fewer first-place vote. The Angels are No. 2 this week.

    Regis Jesuit moved up one spot to No. 3, while Cherry Creek made the week’s biggest gain by going from No. 10 to No. 4. Overland rounds out the top 5.

    Eaglecrest is sixth and is followed by Arapahoe, Mountain Vista, Monarch and Grandview.

    The 4A ranking continued to be led by Valor Christian and added two new teams: No. 7 Pueblo South and No. 10 Denver South.

    3A added Aspen (No. 8), while 2A got a new No. 1 team in unbeaten Ignacio. The 1A ranking added Primero (No. 10).

    Complete polls for all classes are below.

    [divider]

    CHSAANow.com Boys Basketball Polls

    Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.

    Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.

    Go to: 5A | 4A | 3A | 2A | 1A

    Class 5A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Fossil Ridge (9) 10-0 180 2 2-0
    2 Denver East (10) 10-3 177 1 2-1
    3 Regis Jesuit 10-1 151 4 2-0
    4 Cherry Creek 9-2 114 10 2-0
    5 Overland 8-3 110 3 2-0
    6 Eaglecrest 8-3 73 6 1-1
    7 Arapahoe 8-1 69 7 1-1
    8 Mountain Vista 10-1 66 5 2-0
    9 Monarch 9-1 45 9 2-0
    10 Grandview 8-3 32 8 1-1
    Others receiving votes:
    Rangeview 18, Chatfield 4, ThunderRidge 4, Dakota Ridge 1, Grand Junction 1.
    Dropped out
    None.

    Class 4A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Valor Christian (15) 10-3 165 1 2-0
    2 Thompson Valley (1) 9-1 142 2 2-0
    3 Sand Creek 8-1 110 5 2-0
    4 D’Evelyn (1) 7-2 90 8 2-0
    5 Air Academy 9-2 81 6 2-0
    6 Thomas Jefferson 7-3 73 3 0-2
    7 Pueblo South 8-2 72 – 1-0
    8 Longmont 8-1 67 9 3-0
    9 Pueblo East 9-3 66 4 0-1
    10 Denver South 8-5 38 – 3-0
    Others receiving votes:
    Golden 12, Cheyenne Mountain 11, Glenwood Springs 4, Greeley Central 2, Montrose 2, Mountain View 1.
    Dropped out
    Golden (7), Cheyenne Mountain (10).

    Class 3A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Holy Family (11) 10-0 119 1 2-0
    2 Colorado Academy (1) 8-0 101 2 2-0
    3 Jefferson Academy 10-0 99 3 3-0
    4 Faith Christian 7-3 85 5 2-0
    5 Colorado Springs Christian 3-3 46 9 2-0
    6 Kent Denver 6-1 45 8 2-0
    7 The Pinnacle 5-2 33 10 2-0
    8 Aspen 5-2 28 – 2-0
    9 Brush 4-4 26 6 1-3
    10 Moffat County 4-2 25 7 0-1
    Others receiving votes:
    Bishop Machebeuf 11, Centauri 11, St. Mary’s 10, Monte Vista 9, Classical Academy 6, Denver Science & Tech 2, Platte Valley 2, Alamosa 1, Sterling 1, Strasburg 1.
    Dropped out
    Bishop Machebeuf (4).

    Class 2A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Ignacio (9) 8-0 129 2 1-0
    2 Sanford (4) 7-1 123 1 1-1
    3 Yuma (1) 6-1 105 3 2-0
    4 Lutheran 4-3 85 4 1-0
    5 Akron 5-1 82 5 1-0
    6 Resurrection Christian 8-2 77 6 2-0
    7 Rye 8-1 54 7 2-0
    8 Simla 6-1 38 8 2-0
    9 Haxtun 6-1 26 10 1-0
    10 Peyton 6-2 16 9 1-0
    Others receiving votes:
    Denver Christian 10, Rangely 10, Custer County 7, Holyoke 5, West Grand 2, Sangre de Cristo 1.
    Dropped out
    None.

    Class 1A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Caliche (8) 7-0 80 1 2-0
    2 Hi-Plains 6-1 65 3 1-0
    3 McClave 7-2 59 2 0-2
    4 Vail Christian 5-1 52 4 1-0
    5 Holly 5-2 51 5 1-0
    6 Cheyenne Wells 6-1 38 6 1-0
    7 Shining Mountain 7-1 34 7 2-0
    8 Norwood 5-2 15 8 2-0
    9 Cheraw 4-1 10 10 1-0
    10 Primero 7-1 9 – 2-0
    Others receiving votes:
    Peetz 8, Briggsdale 5, Jim Elliot Christian 4, Liberty 3, South Baca 3, Prairie 2, Stratton 2, Fleming 1.
    Dropped out
    Peetz (9).

  • Heritage joins hockey ranking at No. 10

    Cherry Creek Ralston Valley hockey
    Ralston Valley and Heritage play Tuesday in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

    Heritage, which is 4-0-0 in its division, has joined this week’s CHSAANow.com hockey poll.

    The Eagles are ranked No. 10 this week. They replaced Pueblo County, which dropped out from No. 9.

    Elsewhere, Ralston Valley remained atop the ranking following a 3-0-0 week which included a 4-3 overtime win over No. 3 Mountain Vista.

    This week, the Mustangs get a No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown: they play Monarch on Tuesday. The two teams are the last remaining unbeatens in the state.

    Complete rankings are below.

    [divider]

    CHSAANow.com Hockey Poll

    Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.

    Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.

    Hockey
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Ralston Valley (6) 8-0-0 60 1 3-0-0
    2 Monarch 7-0-0 51 2 3-0-0
    3 Mountain Vista 8-1-0 46 3 3-1-0
    4 Regis Jesuit 7-1-0 40 4 4-0-0
    5 Cherry Creek 7-2-1 36 5 2-0-1
    6 Lewis-Palmer 9-1-0 31 6 1-0-0
    7 Columbine 7-2-1 25 8 2-1-0
    8 Dakota Ridge 6-1-3 17 7 1-1-2
    9 Standley Lake 5-2-1 16 10 2-0-1
    10 Heritage 4-4-0 4 – 1-1-0
    Others receiving votes:
    Doherty 2, Steamboat Springs 2.
    Dropped out
    Pueblo County (9).

  • Photo gallery: Girls swimming’s Valor Christian Invitational

    GOLDEN — Valor Christian’s girls swimming Invitational was held at the Colorado School of Mines on Saturday.

  • Photo gallery: Highlands Ranch tops Sand Creek in battle of ranked girls hoops teams

    HIGHLANDS RANCH — Highlands Ranch girls basketball, ranked No. 2 in 5A, topped 4A No. 9 Sand Creek 68-34 on Saturday evening.

  • Photo gallery: Regis Jesuit wins Mustang Swim Inviational

    THORNTON — A total of 24 teams participated in the two-day Mustang Swim Invitational held at Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center. The top ten schools and their scores:

    1. Regis Jesuit: 363
    2. Fairview: 297
    3. Fossil Ridge: 292.5
    4. Arapahoe Warriors: 263.5
    5. Lewis-Palmer: 206
    6. Loveland: 145
    7. D’Evelyn: 118
    8. Chatfield: 105
    9. Monarch: 103
    10. Brighton: 89

  • Photo gallery: Horizon boys basketball beats Mountain Range

    THORNTON — The Horizon Hawks beat the Mountain Range Mustangs 76-61 on Friday night to a packed house of fans from both schools.

    Horizon’s leading scorer was junior Matt Ramos with 23 points.

    James Potter and Ben Egan both scored 14 points for Mountain Range.

  • Photo gallery: Dakota Ridge girls basketball tops Columbine

    LITTLETON — Lauren Wood scored 19 points, Jessica LeBaron added 16 and Jae Farrin 14 as Dakota Ridge cruised to a 64-43 win over Columbine in girls basketball on Friday.

  • D’Evelyn gets revenge on Golden in top-10 boys hoops showdown

    D'Evelyn Golden boys basketball
    D’Evelyn senior Brian Smith (2) elevates over Golden sophomore Nick Capaul during the second half Friday night during the Class 4A Jeffco League showdown at D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School. The Jaguars pleased the home crowd with a 68-50 victory over the rival Demons. (Dennis Pleuss)

    DENVER — D’Evelyn’s one-two punch of junior Grant Witherspoon and senior Ty McGee was enough to win Round 2 with rival Golden on Friday night in boys hoops action.

    Witherspoon and McGee combined for 37 points in a 68-50 victory in a Class 4A Jeffco League showdown of two teams ranked in the top-10 of the 4A boys basketball CHSAANow.com poll on D’Evelyn’s home court.

    “When we got off Christmas Break we didn’t look ahead from anyone we had to play, but we’ve been talking about Golden for three weeks straight,” Witherspoon said. “We worked our butts off for this moment.”

    Golden scored a 77-67 victory from D’Evelyn in the championship game of the 2013 D’Evelyn/Golden Preview Classic back on Dec. 7.

    D'Evelyn Golden boys basketball
    Golden junior Cole Greff (22) tries to get a shot off as D’Evelyn senior Ty McGee, left, goes for a block on Friday night. (Dennis Pleuss)

    Early on Friday night it looked like it could be a repeat with Golden jumping out to an early lead just like it did a month ago.

    “For some reason Golden always comes out so focused and we not really there. I’m not sure what it is,” D’Evelyn coach Troy Pachner said. “I think today it wasn’t lack of effort. We just were a little overhyped. It was a great crowd for the first time this year and guys were a little tight.”

    After trailing 8-4 after the first quarter, D’Evelyn picked it up offensively with Witherspoon leading the charge. The junior scored 11 points in the second quarter as the Jaguars took a 25-24 lead going into halftime.

    It was more of the same in the third quarter. McGee scored eight of his 17 points and Witherspoon added seven of his game-high 20 points in the third quarter. D’Evelyn outscored Golden 24-11 in the third quarter.

    It wasn’t all McGee and Witherspoon. Senior Brian Smith finished with 11 points, including two 3-pointers. Seniors Nate Flack, Trent Walker and junior Christian Denton finished with five points each.

    “We have two exceptional players (McGee and Witherspoon), but I think the fallacy is that is all we have,” Pachner said. “They might set the table, but we had other kids hit shots. I’m proud of how we played tonight.”

    Sophomore Nick Capaul’s 17 points off the bench led Golden. Sophomore Ryan Blodgett had a quick start scoring all eight of the Demons’ first quarter points, but he cooled off and finished with 10 points.

    “We could have had a pretty good lead in that first quarter,” Golden coach John Anderson said. “We just tried to force it inside too many times. We were too impatient.”

    Another thing that hurt the Demons was the loss of junior guard Ryan Thistlewood, who didn’t play in the second half after suffering an injury. Thistlewood scored six points before leaving the game.

    It’s highly likely Golden and D’Evelyn will be in the mix for the Class 4A Jeffco League title when the conference schedule winds down six weeks from now. Golden (8-3,1-1 in league) was ranked No. 7 in this week’s CHSAANow.com 4A boys basketball poll, while D’Evelyn (7-2, 2-0) sat in the No. 8 slot.

    D'Evelyn Golden boys basketball
    D’Evelyn junior Grant Witherspoon, right, drives on Golden junior Phil Katzman on Friday night. Witherspoon scored a game-high 20 points in the Jaguars’ 68-50 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)

    Friday night was the second of what will for sure be at least three meetings on the hardwood between Golden and D’Evelyn.

    The third meeting and second league battle will be Feb. 11 at Golden High School.

    “Our goal is obviously a league championship,” Anderson said. “We’ve got to take care of business for that game to mean something toward the end of the year. The rubber match will be back at our place and we’ve got to be a lot better.”

    Of course there is always a chance the two rivals could face each other in the 4A state tournament.

    D’Evelyn continues its 14-game league schedule on the road against Alameda at 7 p.m. Jan. 15.

    “It’s going to be a tougher league this year than last year, but we feel real good about ourselves,” Witherspoon said.

    Golden gets back into action when it hosts Conifer at 7 p.m. Jan. 15.

    D'Evelyn Golden boys basketball
    Golden sophomore Ryan Blodgett rips down a rebound during the Class 4A Jeffco League game against D’Evelyn. (Dennis Pleuss)

  • D’Evelyn girls hoops extends league streak to 31 wins after edging Golden

    D'Evelyn Golden girls basketball
    D’Evelyn senior Rachel Olson (15) looks for an open teammate while being guarded by Golden junior Alex Ambrozic (22) on Friday night at D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School. The Jaguars extended their 4A Jeffco League winning streak to 31 games with a 34-27 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)

    DENVER — It’s 31 and counting for D’Evelyn’s girls basketball team.

    To say D’Evelyn has dominated the Class 4A Jeffco League in recent years is an understatement. The Jaguars extended their conference-winning streak to 31 games Friday night with a 34-27 home victory against rival Golden (5-6, 1-1 in league).

    “We’ve talked about having a target on our back,” D’Evelyn coach Chris Olson said. “We are a lot of other teams’ measuring stick.”

    The last league loss for D’Evelyn came to Wheat Ridge nearly three years ago on Jan. 21, 2011. Mallory Seemann was a freshman playing varsity for the Jaguars three years ago and still remembers the loss to the Farmers.

    “We know we are going to get every team’s best,” said Seemann, who had seven points in the defensive struggle Friday night against Golden. “Hopefully we can keep it up and keep winning.”

    The Jaguars — 4A state runner-up the previous two years — ended the 2010-11 season with a five-game league-winning streak. D’Evelyn racked up conference marks of 10-0 and 14-0 the last two seasons.

    Despite losing standout Laura Tyree to graduation, D’Evelyn (7-3) is ranked No. 8 in the CHSAANow.com 4A girls basketball poll this week and are off to a 2-0 league record.

    D'Evelyn Golden girls basketball
    D’Evelyn senior Mallory Seemann, left, drives toward the basket as Golden senior Haley Blodgett closes in Friday night. (Dennis Pleuss)

    Tyree was a key component in D’Evelyn’s success and hasn’t missed a beat at the Division II level. The true freshman is averaging 11.5 points and 3.2 assists per game for Colorado School of Mines.

    It was a struggle at times against Golden in the first game of a girls/boys varsity doubleheader Friday. The Demons jumped out to any early 11-4 lead early in the first quarter.

    A slight change in D’Evelyn’s full-court pressure defense allowed the Jaguars to go on a 9-0 run to take a 13-11 lead late in the second quarter. Senior Emily Garnier scored on three layups off turnovers during D’Evelyn’s run and senior Rachel Olson hit a 3-pointer for the Jaguars.

    “One thing I’ve learned this year is you have to make those little adjustments,” Coach Olson said. “Everyone is really prepping for us. We’ve really worked on a couple of different (defensive) zones. We might not score in the 60s and make 10 3-pointers. We’ll rely on our defense.”

    It was a tough shooting night for the Jaguars. D’Evelyn’s leading scorer, senior Malia Shappell, was held scoreless in the first half. Shappell rebounded with a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter and was 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to finish with a team-high 10 points.

    Golden pulled within a point midway through the fourth quarter, but could never manage to take the lead.

    “We were right there,” Golden’s first-year coach Shea Scarlett said. “We missed some layups and had our chances. We can play with (D’Evelyn) and we know it. We’ll see them again.”

    Golden’s 6-foot-3 senior Haley Blodgett, who has signed to play at Montana State University, was held in check scoring four points. Senior Jessica King led the way for the Demons with 10 points.

    “I’m thinking big picture,” Scarlett said. “We just have to get better each game. I’d much rather win a bunch of games in March then this one.”

    Golden hits the road for a conference game at 7 p.m. Jan. 14 at Conifer.

    D’Evelyn attempts to keep its league-winning streak alive with a home game at 7 p.m. Jan. 14 against Alameda.

    D'Evelyn Golden girls basketball
    D’Evelyn senior Emily Garnier goes up for a layup in the second quarter Friday night against Golden. Garnier scored six points, all off turnovers, during a key 9-0 run for the Jaguars. (Dennis Pleuss)