BROOMFIELD — Top-ranked Holy Family beat No. 2 Colorado Academy in a top 3A boys basketball game on Wednesday night.
Month: February 2014
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Falcon’s Kalen Ballage picks Arizona State football
Falcon’s Kalen Ballage. (Tim Visser/MaxPreps) FALCON — It was no secret during the 2013 football season that University of Colorado head coach Mike MacIntyre wanted Falcon standout Kalen Ballage to be a Buff.
MacIntyre’s eyes would light up at the mention of the designated athlete from just east of Colorado Springs. Thursday, MacIntyre got his answer and is now forced to move on without him.
“I spoke with him today. He really didn’t have much to say,” Ballage said. “He just kind of congratulated me and told me that I should go far in life. I thanked him for that. He’s a really good guy and good coach and I think CU’s going to do good things with or without me.”
Ballage, like so many other high school athletes, was allowed to sign his National Letter of Intent to continue his football career on Wednesday. But the weather had other ideas. Snow and sub-zero temperatures cancelled all activities for Falcon school district No. 49 on both Wednesday and Thursday.
Falcon’s Kalen Ballage, pictured at a signing ceremony on Thursday. (Dan Mohrmann) Not wanting to keep everyone in the dark any longer, Ballage sent in his commitment to Arizona State. He and the rest of Falcon’s student athletes officially signed during a private ceremony at the Woodmen Hills Rec Center in Falcon.
“I kind of went back and forth for a couple of months but at the end of the day (Arizona State) is where my heart was at,” Ballage said. “I visited a lot of different schools but Arizona State is the place to be.”
Ballage lined up at running back, wide receiver and linebacker for Falcon, making him one of the top versatile players in this year’s class. Listed at 6-foot-2 and 216 pounds, he has the size and the speed to contribute for the Sun Devils right away, which is what he hopes to do.
The plan going into his freshman year is for him to be used primarily as a running back, which will give him plenty of chances to score with ASU’s explosive offense.
“That’s the plan is to come in and play right away,” he said. “I need to stay healthy and work hard and I don’t see I won’t be able to do that. It’s definitely a blessing.”
Although he had plenty of options on the table including CU and UCLA, the further in to the recruiting process he got the more he felt the pull from Arizona State. He cited the connection he made with the players down there as a big reason. He had been receiving text messages from those players as signing day neared, but not to pressure him into making a decision.
It turned out the guys he had grown close to on his visit just wanted to check in on him and talk about things other than football. That attitude resonated with him and when decision time came, it made things much easier for him.
His putting it off a day had more to do with wanting to go through the signing day event with his friends and teammates than the uncertainty of the path he was about to take. And despite social media reports that he was on campus in Boulder, Ballage never had a doubt that he was bound for Tempe.
“I was not in Boulder on Wednesday (laughs),” he said. “Whoever saw that must be seeing things, but it’s been a wild ride and I’m glad it’s coming to an end.”
Ballage and ThunderRidge offensive lineman Sam Jones were the only two Colorado prospects to sign with Arizona State. The state of Colorado as a whole accounted for 46 Division I signings in 2014, making it a banner year for the state.
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Basketball committee recommends reducing 4A tournament fields to 32 teams
AURORA — The Class 4A basketball tournaments are likely soon headed for 32-team fields.
CHSAA’s basketball committee on Thursday recommended the change to the postseason format in 4A in hopes the early rounds will be more competitive. It would mean moving from 48 teams in the boys and girls state tournaments to 32.
“The information from the survey indicated that many administrators thought there were too many teams in the tournament,” said committee chair Paul Cain, the district athletic director at Mesa County Schools. “The diversity of 4A, with the travel across the state, and the competition levels of the games, I think were all factors in going from 48 to 32.”
To compile the field of 32, 27 slots will go to automatic qualifiers and five will be at-large berths picked by a selection and seeding committee. That committee will have representatives from each league for both boys and girls.
The change to 32 would leave 5A with the biggest state tournament field at 48 teams.
The Denver Coliseum. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com) Additionally, the committee recommend moving the Great 8 from the Denver Coliseum to home sites. Those home site will need to seat at least 1,500 people.
The 4A has only held its Great 8s at the Coliseum since last season. The event will be there again this year. Prior to 2013, it was held at the Colorado School of Mines for eight seasons.
“We’re hoping for better attendance and a better atmosphere,” Cain said. “We’re hoping that it will generate some more revenue.”
Because of the need to play eight games (four boys, four girls) in one day at the Coliseum, early-morning tipoffs were a necessity. Those would go away.
“You’re not playing in the middle of the day where you wouldn’t have a crowd,” Cain said.
These changes need to be approved at April’s Legislative Council meeting.
Short stuff.
- The basketball committee gave the 5A seeding committee guidance in that it should use league finish above head-to-head results when determining the tournament field. Once the field is determined, however, head-to-head results may be considered ahead of league finish for seeding.
- 3A kept its postseason at 32 teams, but adjusted the number of qualifiers for each league based upon the new alignment. The classification also had a long discussion about the future of the consolation bracket the state tournament, but retained the format for the upcoming two-year cycle.
- The committee is recommending a format in 2A where boys and girls teams from the same school will be able to stay at the same regional site. It also paired up 2A’s eight districts for regionals. Those regionals will be true seeded by a seeding committee represented by the districts in that region.
- There were no changes the 1A’s postseason format.
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5A Region 4 wrestling tournament moved from Arvada West to Bear Creek
The 5A Region 4 wrestling tournament, set to be held on Feb. 14-15, has been moved from Arvada West to Bear Creek.
With all but one of the Arvada West wrestling coaches remaining on restriction from coaching in the postseason, the board of directors felt it was appropriate to change the regional site.
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No. 10 Chatfield downs Arvada West boys basketball, stays in control of Jeffco League
Chatfield senior Andrew St. Germain, left, keeps the ball out of reach of Arvada West senior Marcus Culhane during Tuesday night’s Class 5A Jeffco League game at Chatfield High School. The Chargers won their fifth straight conference game with a 65-57 victory. (Dennis Pleuss) LITTLETON — Arvada West’s boys basketball team had the opportunity Tuesday night to do a favor for the rest of the Class 5A Jeffco League.
The Wildcats’ mission: Reel in the Chatfield Chargers.
However, Chatfield didn’t want any part of giving up its two-game lead in the loss column to the rest of its pursuers in the balanced conference. The Chargers (14-3, 9-1 in league), ranked No. 10 in this week’s CHSAANow.com 5A boys hoops poll, came away with a 65-57 home victory over A-West.
Chatfield senior Thomas Walker, left, looks for a way around Arvada West senior Jacob Gillan on Tuesday night. (Dennis Pleuss) “(A-West) was fighting for a league championship tonight, too,” said Chatfield senior Andrew St. Germain, who led the Chargers in scoring with 17 points. “They are right there in the running. It was definitely a big game for both of us.”
The Wildcats (11-7, 7-4) were coming off a tough loss last Friday to Bear Creek. It didn’t look good early for A-West as the defending conference champions jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first few minutes.
Chatfield forced three early turnovers and senior Darius Reiter (14 points) scored the first six points of the game to get the Chargers going. It didn’t help matters that A-West was without guard Luke Neff. The sophomore suffered a hit to the head in the loss to Bear Creek and wasn’t in the lineup Tuesday.
“Our press is definitely our strength. Them not having one of their great players (Luke Neff) and top ball handlers was something we had to take advantage of,” St. Germain said.
Despite the early lead, Chatfield coach Stephen Schimpeler knew A-West’s shooting capabilities would keep the Wildcats a threat to bounce back.
“(A-West) is so dangerous. I think they are probably the best shooting team in the state,” said Schimpeler after Chatfield’s fifth-straight win. “I didn’t see the 8-0 run we had was a big deal.”
The Wildcats found their shooting touch from long range quickly. A-West poured in seven 3-pointers by halftime and finished with a cool dozen on the night. Junior’s Thomas Neff (21 points) and Jesse Porter (17 points) did most of the damage with five 3-pointers each.
A-West actually pulled even with Chatfield at 34-all early in the third quarter when Porter drained a 3-pointer with 6:23 left in the quarter.
Arvada West junior Thomas Neff, right, drives past Chatfield senior Darius Reiter on Tuesday night. Neff had a game-high 21 points, including five 3-pointers, in the Wildcats’ second straight league loss. (Dennis Pleuss) “I told our guys it’s hard to beat a team when they hit 12 3-pointers on you,” Schimpeler said. “It says a lot about our guys. I was proud of how we played defensively.”
Chatfield senior Alec Wray was key in the fourth quarter. Wray poured in nine of his 14 points in the final quarter. The Chargers were 13-for-15 from the free-throw line in the final eight minutes to keep A-West at arm’s length.
Chatfield’s defense creating turnovers offset A-West 3-point bombardment.
“We just have to cut way back on turnovers. We had way too many,” Thomas Neff said. “We had 13 in the first half. That is really what hurt us the whole game.”
Ralston Valley (13-5, 8-3) and Dakota Ridge (12-5, 7-3) are the closest threat to catching Chatfield in the league standings with a handful of conference games remaining.
“Coach (Schimpeler) keeps saying we control our own fate,” St. Germain said. “That’s definitely a good position to be in, but we’ve got some big games coming up that we are all looking forward to.”
Chatfield will have a quick turnaround. The Chargers host Bear Creek at 7 p.m. Wednesday. A-West’s next conference game will also be at home. The Wildcats host Standley Lake at 7 p.m. Friday.
“Our league is about as good as it has been top to bottom in a long time, which is good,” Schimpeler said. “You’ve got to be ready to go every night.”
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Signing Day Central: Where are Colorado kids headed?
National Signing Day is Wednesday, meaning it is the first day high school football, field hockey, soccer and track athletes can ink national letters of intent with their chosen colleges.
Wednesday marks a celebration on campuses across Colorado. Most high schools recognize each of their college-bound athletes, even those players who signed during the early period in November.
Here’s what you’ll need for today:
Columbine and CU alum Ryan Miller, now with the Denver Broncos, tweeted words of congratulations to the local products:
Also, congrats to the CO kids signing their LOIs, all you’ve gotta do is get your foot in the door. Sky is the limit. #KeepminCO #copreps
— Ryan Miller (@Rmiller73) February 5, 2014
[divider]News of the day
Monarch’s Jay MacIntyre. (Pam Wagner) Among the burning questions today are where Falcon’s Kalen Ballage and Monarch’s Jay MacIntyre will sign.
Update: MacIntyre, the son of CU coach Mike MacIntyre, has picked the Buffs, according to buffstampede.com’s William Whelan. He’ll play safety.
“At first it was a tough decision of whether I should play with my dad or if I shouldn’t,” MacIntyre told BoCoPreps.com this morning. “I just decided my heart’s with the Buffs and I love the Colorado family they have going there.”
Update: Falcon is closed today, and the school has pushed its signing day ceremony to Thursday at 3:30 p.m., according to athletic director Randy Hinson. So that means Ballage’s decision won’t come until tomorrow.
If you missed our story yesterday on Wiggins’ Dalton Risner, check out how he ended up signing with Kansas State.
The winter weather has caused the cancellation of some schools, meaning their signing ceremonies are affected, as well. Other schools are running on delays, pushing those ceremonies.
Postponed signing ceremonies:
- Cheyenne Mountain
- Falcon
- Doherty
- Discovery Canyon
- Fountain-Fort Carson
- Liberty
- Palmer Ridge
- Vista Ridge
- Woodland Park
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Photo gallery: Signing Day across Colorado
A number of Colorado high school athletes signed national letters of intent with colleges on Wednesday. Others signed in November, but were honored Wednesday.
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Signing Day puts a bow on banner year for 2014 football class
Valor Christian running back Christian McCaffrey. (Mark Adams) HIGHLANDS RANCH — When looking at the hotbed states for Division I football recruits, Colorado is not the first state that comes to mind. States like California and Texas often take the spotlight and are highlighted as the areas that are deepest in talent.
But in 2014, those Friday night lights are shining a little brighter than usual in the Rocky Mountains. On National Signing Day 46 high school seniors from Colorado committed to play for Division I schools (FBS and FCS). This is the highest total for the state since 2008 when 38 kids signed with D-I schools.
It’s hard to point to a single factor as to the reason for the increase in signees this year as opposed to a year ago. The logical explanation seems relatively simple, that this class is simply more talented than those before it.
“It’s incredible. I’ve been saying for the longest time now that I don’t think Colorado gets enough respect at the high school level,” Valor Christian running back Christian McCaffrey said. “It’s just so exciting to look back and see how far Colorado football has come and now we’re right there with everyone else in competition.”
But the reality of it just being an exceptional class may not be that clear cut. In recent years, there have been many factors that have led to the rise of talent in Colorado high school football. Specifically in the Denver region, the high school growth has become obvious in the last decade. Schools such as Valor Christian and ThunderRidge that have become dominant in the last several years have also regularly produced college-level talent on an annual basis.
“As (the state’s) population increases, yes I think Colorado is going to produce more and more college-bound football players,” Cherokee Trail head coach Monte Thelen said. “It’s the work of the young men, whether it be at a high school or a workout facility or wherever that work happens, it puts them in a position to earn Division I scholarships.”
Matt McChesney, right, pictured during the broadcast of the 5A football title game in December. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com) Specialized training regimens have also found their place when it comes to college recruits. On top of training current NFL players, Niwot High School alum and former CU Buff and Denver Bronco Matt McChesney also trains and looks for opportunities for Colorado high school football players.
McChesney’s connections through his time at CU and in the NFL has made him a lifeline for players to turn to when it comes to seeking out opportunities to continue playing at the next level. As a Colorado kid himself, he is perhaps one of the biggest advocates for the players in his home state.
“I personally think every class is underrated because people look at Colorado high school football — from a national perspective — and they think it’s about five to 10 years behind from what I’ve heard from Division I head coaches that I have talked to,” McChesney said. “But the development of players in this state has gotten better through my facility and a couple of others out there with guys who know what it takes to play at that level.”
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Colorado’s college signees is the diversity that this deep class provides on the field. Offensive line is by far the deepest position this season with 15 players signed to Division I schools, but the rest class is spread out pretty evenly as it amounts to positions.
Christian McCaffrey speaks at Valor’s signing day ceremony on Wednesday. (Dan Mohrmann) Players like McCaffrey and Evan White out of Cherokee Trail might put spotlights on running backs and defensive backs respectively, but the overall field contains balance. That includes several designated athletes throughout the class such as Kalen Ballage (Falcon) and John Freismuth (Loveland).
Simply put, this class is not just deep in the number of commitments, but outside of the offensive line it’s deep in talent across the board. Many factors have led to the impressive numbers for this class, but it all has to start with an opportunity to be seen.
“There are so many kids that can play that (in the past) get overlooked because of opportunity,” McChesney said. “Maybe a coach didn’t go to that high school or maybe their high school coach didn’t think they were a D-I kid when he really is.”
For the players themselves, they’re happy to get the opportunity to continue their football careers, but are aware of just how special this class is.
“There are a lot of good players from not around the metro area,” White said. “There are some great athletes from Colorado Springs and a lot of other great players throughout the state.”
Time will tell whether or not there is something special about this class or the state of Colorado as a whole is trending upwards in terms of Division I talent. The commits this year are spread out among several successful college programs ranging from Navy to Alabama. The in-state schools are doing a great job at keep talent within Colorado as well. It’s becoming a foundation that both high schools and colleges can build on and benefit from, should the upward trend continue.
“I think (the trend will continue), I really do,” McCaffrey said. “I think our class has done a great job at setting the tone of hard work ethic. I know at Valor, our senior class takes pride in really developing our younger guys into becoming possible Division I players and that is just attributed to how hard they work and that aspect of the game.”
Cherokee Trail’s Evan White (3). (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com) -
Eating for peak performance
Whether it’s practice before the big game, a rehearsal for tomorrow’s spirit competition, or an all-day track meet, good nutrition is key for optimal athletic performance.
However, research shows that athletes don’t need a diet different from what is recommended by the Dietary Guidelines and MyPlate. Eating a variety of foods from all Five Food Groups will help you get adequate fuel, in addition to essential vitamins and minerals.
Build a healthy plate at every meal with these tips:
- Make half of your plate colorful fruits and vegetables.
- Choose low-fat or fat-free dairy products. They have the same essential nutrients as whole-milk varieties, but less fat and fewer calories.
- Make at least half of your grains whole by choosing 100-percent whole-grain bread, cereal, pasta and crackers, and opt for brown rice.
- Enjoy a wider variety of protein-rich foods by including seafood, beans, eggs and nuts in addition to lean meats and poultry.
Young athletes must concentrate on both fueling athletic performance and ensuring they are getting adequate energy and key nutrients such as protein, calcium and vitamin D for healthy growth of muscles and bones. For more information, visit ChooseMyPlate.gov.
While balance is key for all athletes, here are a few additional things to think about before, during and after activity:
1. Eating before exercise is necessary to prevent hunger. The meal that you eat before exercise helps you stay physically comfortable and mentally alert during the event. The timing of this meal will depend on the duration, intensity and type of event you will be participating in.
A good rule of thumb is to have your last meal one to three hours before exercise. Food choices at a pre-exercise meal should include carbohydrates which supply fuel to working muscles and fluids to hydrate the body. Avoid meals high in fat and protein; these meals will likely slow down digestion.
2. Water is the most important part of any athlete’s diet. During activity you lose fluid in the form of sweat; the harder you exercise, the more fluid you lose. For most activities, water is the best choice. However, for training camps and all-day events or any strenuous activity lasting longer than one hour, sports drinks provide a beneficial energy boost. They are designed to replace fluid and provide needed energy. Many also contain electrolytes such as sodium and potassium which are lost in sweat.
3. Tournaments where an athlete is competing in several events or heats over the course of one or more days can present nutritional challenges. Some athletes may be short on time or not feel like eating between events; however, maintaining energy stores and staying hydrated is critical to performance.
If you have:
- One hour or less between events or heats, choose fluids or high-carbohydrate foods:
- Sports drinks
- Fruit
- Whole-grain toast or bagel
- Graham crackers
- Granola bar
- Yogurt
- One- to three-hour breaks, try high carbohydrate foods with lean protein:
- Bowl of cereal with low-fat milk
- Fresh berries on top of vanilla- or fruit-flavored yogurt
- Peanut butter and crackers
- String cheese and a banana
- Three or more hours, a meal is the way to go:
- Pancakes topped with yogurt and berries, scrambled eggs and 100-percent fruit juice
- Turkey and cheese sandwich, baby carrots and low-fat milk
- Peanut butter and banana wrapped in a whole-grain tortilla, and low-fat chocolate milk
4. Eating for peak athletic performance includes recovery from workouts and competitions. Milk, both white and chocolate, is an excellent choice after exercise as it provides carbohydrates which help refuel muscles, high-quality protein to reduce muscle breakdown, and fluids and electrolytes to rehydrate the body.
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.
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Top-ranked Valor Christian boys hoops rallies to beat No. 4 D’Evelyn
Valor Christian senior Garrett Baggett (23) take a charge on D’Evelyn senior Ty McGee in front of Valor’s student section Monday night in Highlands Ranch. The top-ranked Valor came away with an 80-70 victory against D’Evelyn in the non-league game. (Dennis Pleuss) HIGHLANDS RANCH — Monday night might have been a preview to what a Class 4A boys basketball state semifinal or even title game might look like.
D’Evelyn, ranked No. 4 in this week’s CHSAANow.com poll, traveled to face top-ranked Valor Christian on the Eagles’ home court Monday night. Valor (15-3) faced a rare deficit in the first half, but used a huge spark off its bench for an 80-70 victory.
Valor Christian senior Chase Foster (22) goes up for a shot over D’Evelyn junior Christian Denton on Monday night. (Dennis Pleuss) “D’Evelyn is a great team. It was great to see where we compare to them,” said Valor senior Chase Foster, who had 15 points in the Eagles’ seventh straight win. “They are definitely a team we’ll see further down the road in the 4A playoffs.”
The Jaguars (13-3, 8-0 in 4A Jeffco League) had their fill of seeing Valor senior Garrett Baggett make shot-after-shot in the non-league game. Coming off the bench, Baggett poured in 28 points to match a season high for the 6-foot guard.
“(Baggett) had a little slump Saturday night,” Foster said. “He came out with fire and passion in this game. He wasn’t going to let anyone stop him. That is what we needed.”
Baggett sealed the victory with 13 points in the fourth quarter, including going 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.
“It wasn’t a demotion or anything to have (Baggett) come off the bench,” Valor coach Ronnie DeGray said. “I felt, as far as offensively, he could do more for us coming off the bench as the sixth-man. He proved it tonight.”
Along with Foster and Baggett, seniors Marcus Wilson (11 points) and Christian McCaffrey (10 points) were key down the stretch as D’Evelyn attempted to rally in the final quarter.
Defensively, the Eagles turned it up a notch after holding on to a slim 40-38 lead at halftime.
“I tell these kids we can score the basketball, but we’ve got to stop the other team from scoring,” DeGray said. “Defense wins games. We had to dig deep and we did in the second half.”
D’Evelyn senior Nate Flack (3) guards Valor Christian senior Brandon Pleiman (34) during the first half Monday. (Dennis Pleuss) The first half was a scoring fest. Lead by D’Evelyn seniors Ty McGee (17 points), Brian Smith (17 points) and junior Grant Witherspoon (21 points), the Jaguars held a 27-23 lead after the first quarter.
D’Evelyn coach Troy Pachner believed his team had a great shot at handing Valor its first lost to an in-state program, but a lack of defensive intensity was the Jaguars’ downfall. The 80 points given up by D’Evelyn was a season high.
“That was pretty exciting, but we decided we weren’t going to play any ‘D’ all night long,” said Pachner of the first half. “Valor is too good not to guard. I just didn’t like our second half at all. We certainly weren’t intimidated. We just weren’t up for the challenge.”
Valor pushed its second-half lead into double-digit points early in the fourth quarter. The Eagles’ largest lead of the game was 15 points.
Smith got hot for the Jaguars in the final quarter, draining a pair of 3-pointers on his way to a 10-point quarter, but it wasn’t enough. The Eagles made 14-of-16 free throws in the final eight minutes to keep D’Evelyn at bay.
Valor Christian senior Chase Foster, left, and D’Evelyn senior Ty McGee — two of the premier players in Class 4A — squared off Monday. Foster finished with 15 points, while McGee had 17 points as the Jaguars saw their 10-game winning streak come to an end. (Dennis Pleuss) “(Valor) is the team to beat, but we know we are close. We are right there,” Pachner said. “I’d love another opportunity to face them.”
The three losses Valor has suffered this season came to out-of-state teams at the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas.
The one downer for the Eagles on Monday was an ankle injury to senior Paden Mueller. The starting guard had to be helped off the court and didn’t return.
The Eagles won’t play until they travel to Colorado Springs to face Cheyenne Mountain at 7 p.m. Saturday.
D’Evelyn controls its own destiny in the 4A Jeffco League. The Jaguars hold a game lead over the Golden Demons (14-3, 7-1). D’Evelyn travels to Golden next week on Feb. 11 where the Jaguars could all but clinch the conference title.
D’Evelyn must first take care of business this week in league games against Conifer (7 p.m. Wednesday at D’Evelyn) and Evergreen (7 p.m. Friday at Evergreen).
Valor Christian senior Marcus Wilson attempt to hang on to the ball as D’Evelyn junior Christian Denton, left, tries to rip it away Monday night. (Dennis Pleuss) 
D’Evelyn senior Cameron Brown (10) dribbles past Valor Christian senior Keegan Wynja on Monday night. (Dennis Pleuss)