Three new teams dot this week’s CHSAANow.com boys lacrosse rankings in 5A.
Joining are No. 7 Monarch, No. 9 Fort Collins and No. 10 Highlands Ranch.
Arapahoe stayed on top of the 5A ranking, while Regis Jesuit bumped up one place to No. 2. Cherry Creek is third, Kent Denver is fourth and Colorado Academy rounds out the top five.
There were no newcomers to the 4A ranking, though Aspen did make a large jump in going from No. 7 to No. 2 following a 4-0 start. That includes wins over preseason No. 10 Alexander Dawson and preseason No. 2 Air Academy.
Castle View 12, Columbine 9, Arvada West 7, Chatfield 7, Eaglecrest 7, Grandview 7, Smoky Hill 6, ThunderRidge 3, Arapahoe 1, Greeley West 1, Horizon 1, Legend 1, Liberty 1, Mountain Range 1.
Dropped out
Liberty (8).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Cheyenne Mountain (8)
2-0-1
99
1
2-0-1
2
Valor Christian (2)
3-0-0
86
4
3-0-0
3
Broomfield
1-1-1
64
2
1-1-1
4
Lewis-Palmer
2-0-2
48
9
2-0-2
5
Green Mountain
2-1-0
37
10
2-1-0
6
Evergreen
2-1-1
36
–
2-1-1
7
Palmer Ridge
1-1-0
34
3
1-1-0
8
Sand Creek
2-0-0
33
–
2-0-0
9
Battle Mountain
4-0-0
32
–
4-0-0
10
Wheat Ridge
2-1-0
22
6
2-1-0
Others receiving votes:
Centaurus 14, Falcon 14, Palisade 14, Windsor 10, Englewood 9, Ponderosa 9, Pueblo Centennial 8, Air Academy 6, Mead 6, Silver Creek 6, John F. Kennedy 5, Longmont 5, Skyview 4, Golden 2, Mullen 1, Thompson Valley 1.
Dropped out
Air Academy (5), Mullen (7), Centaurus (8).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Colorado Academy (7)
1-2-0
85
1
1-2-0
2
Kent Denver
1-2-0
70
4
1-2-0
3
St. Mary’s (2)
1-0-0
59
6
1-0-0
4
Holy Family
0-0-0
52
5
0-0-0
5
The Classical Academy
0-3-0
50
2
0-3-0
6
Coal Ridge
2-0-0
42
8
2-0-0
7
Frontier Academy
0-0-1
34
7
0-0-1
8
Peak to Peak
0-1-1
25
3
0-1-1
9
Manitou Springs
2-1-0
17
9
2-1-0
10
Fountain Valley
3-0-0
15
–
3-0-0
Others receiving votes:
The Academy 10, Liberty Common 9, Faith Christian 7, Grand Valley 6, Bayfield 5, Jefferson Academy 4, The Pinnacle 3, St. Mary’s Academy 2.
AIR FORCE ACADEMY — What a way for the Holy Family girls basketball team to finish its run in Class 3A.
The Tigers, who move up to 4A next school year, capped off a string of six state titles in seven seasons on Saturday with a 52-45 victory over Pagosa Springs.
The Pirates made them work for it, however. They forced an uncharacteristic seven turnovers from Holy Family in the second quarter, allowing them to increase a 14-11 lead to 23-15 by the half.
The Tigers erased that lead by the end of the third, then retook it with a Lindsey Chavez 3-pointer 20 seconds into the fourth.
“(Coach Ron) Rossi said, ‘It’s not over (at halftime),’” sophomore point guard Katie Chavez said. “We did not want to give up.”
From there, Holy Family sealed the deal at the free throw line, converting 18 of 23 tries in the final quarter to edge away.
Key at the line was Katie Chavez. The sophomore point guard scored nine of her 15 points from the stripe
For Chavez, who struggled from the line in Friday’s semifinal win over Lamar, it was vindication.
“During our shootaround (Saturday) I worked on my form,” she said.
It paid off as she finished with 15 points.
“Without one of us playing strong, we’re not the best we can be,” Chavez said.
Equally effective was her sister Lindsey, who led all scorers with 19 points, 10 coming from the line.
Defense helped turn the tide for the Tigers in the second half.
“This is the best defensive team I’ve had,” Rossi said, which is saying something for a six-time title winner.
It was Holy Family’s second straight state title.
“Our philosophy las year was, Together we are better. This year, it’s, Together we are better, Part II,” Rossi said.
Katie Chavez was part of last year’s state title team as a freshman.
“It may be even sweeter this year,” she said of winning the gold ball emblematic of the state title.
PUEBLO — For one day — March 15 — the Lutheran girls basketball team was the queen of 2A.
Kristen Vigil and Chandler Sturms scored 10 points each, propelling the Lions to a 47-35 victory over Yuma Saturday in the Class 2A state championship game at Colorado State University-Pueblo’s Massari Arena.
“It’s not real yet,” Lutheran coach Mark Duitsman said moments after his team won state. “It belongs to the girls. It belong to all the coaches. I couldn’t be happier for my team.”
Lutheran finished its magical season at 24-1, and won its first girls basketball state championship since Denver Lutheran and Lutheran-Parker consolidated, beginning in the 2011-2012 school year.
“This definitely feels really good to be state champions,” said Vigil, who had a team-high two 3-pointers. “We’ve been working hard for this all season to reach this goal.”
The loss was especially difficult for Yuma since it also lost in the finals a year ago to Akron (57-49). The Indians were trying to win their first girls state basketball championship since 1997.
“I think the girls just wanted it too bad and they were trying to do too much,” Yuma coach Mike Neill said. “We weren’t playing within ourselves. The girls tried hard and did their very best and it just wasn’t our night. Both losses (in the state championship) are equally hard to take, especially for the girls because they just wanted it so bad. You want to be the one at the end of the year who raises that gold ball, but I couldn’t be more proud of my girls.”
Lutheran set the pace early, taking a 10-3 lead following Sturms’ layup with 4:38 remaining in the first quarter.
The Lions kept roaring and when Vigil converted an old-fashion 3-point play Lutheran was up 20-10 with 3:26 left in the second quarter.
Yuma’s Logan Hixon countered with a trey at 2:12 to get the Indians within 20-13, but Yuma trailed 22-13 at halftime.
“We wanted to set the tone in the state championship game,” Vigil said.
On Friday night, Lutheran saw its state championship dreams slipping away before Vigil sank a clutch 3-pointer and Sturms made two free throws in the final 38 seconds in a dramatic 39-38 win over Meeker.
“I think that semifinal game was a real tough one,” Vigil said. “There was a lot of pressure coming in as the No. 1 seed. Once we got to the championship game we let loose and played like we had nothing to lose.”
In the final 16 minutes, Lutheran kept pushing the tempo.
Kaleigh Paplow’s 3-pointer in left corner gave the Lions a 27-15 edge and Cara Thomas’ inside bucket put Lutheran up 29-15 at 5:40 of third.
The sharp-shooting Vigil then nailed a trey, putting the Lions ahead 32-17 with 3:50 left in the third.
“I knew our defense would show up because our defense always shows up,” Duitsman said. “So far in the tournament, the lid was on the hoop and we had not been scoring and we were due for a good shooting night. We got off to that good start and that kept our confidence going. The girls played confident and we are at our best when we play with confidence.”
Yuma could get no closer than 46-35 before the game ended.
“I give Lutheran credit,” Neill said. “They played hard and they played good.”
AIR FORCE ACADEMY — The Class 3A boys state basketball championship game lived up to its billing Saturday night.
Like two heavyweight boxers, Holy Family and Colorado Academy traded shots and counter-shots.
In the end, Holy Family had the shot that counted as the Tigers held off the Mustangs to win the state title 53-52.
The teams had played earlier in the season with the Tigers winning by four.
They used the impetus of a strong first half by David Sommers to stay close. Sommers scored 13 first-half points on the way to 24 in pacing the Tigers.
“I was nervous,” he admitted at the start.
The senior guard showed his veteran moves, however.
“I think I’ve been around enough,” he said of handling the pressure of a state title game.
The game see-sawed back and forth with the Tigers holding their biggest second-half lead at 53-47 with 2 1/2 minutes remaining.
Colorado Academy got five points in a minute from Justin Bassey, who finished with 22 points.
After a missed Tiger free throw, the Mustangs trailed by one and had the ball, They ran down the clock and put it in the hands of Bassey, but Sommers defended him well and forced an off-balanced shot that bounced off the rim.
“David Sommers is such a competitor,” Tigers coach Pete Villecco said.
Mustangs coach Steve Hyatt said he couldn’t have asked for a better situation at the end.
“It was perfect,” he said of having a try on the last possession.
Villecco expected a tough game from the Mustangs.
“They’re such a hard guard,” he said of defending them.
Holy Family won the title in its last year in 3A as the school moves up another classification next season.
As for the Mustangs, who have just three seniors, “We’ll be back.” Hyatt vowed.
PUEBLO — Making free throws isn’t easy especially in a pressure-packed state championship environment.
The atmosphere obviously didn’t rattle the Sanford boys basketball team.
The Indians made 17 free throws in the fourth quarter to muscle past Akron 58-53 to capture the Class 2A state championship Saturday night at Colorado State University-Pueblo’s Massari Arena.
“We practice free throws every night before we leave the gym,” said Sanford senior guard Dalton Rodriguez, who made 3-of-4 free throws in the final quarter and scored 13 points for the game. “Coach (Rhett) Larsen has us make our free throws and that’s one thing we concentrate on and we have confidence that we can make our free throws.”
Sanford finished the season with 26-1 record and claimed the school’s sixth state boys basketball title. Sanford made 17-of-20 free throws in the final quarter, including a team-high six from Calder Larsen.
“We played our type of basketball,” said the veteran coach Larsen, who won his first boys state basketball crown at Sanford. “(Brady) Baer got his points and you can’t hardly stop a guy like that, but our kids played tough and we had a good team effort. “We played hard and played a good game. We shot well and defended well.”
Akron (25-2) was trying to win its first state boys basketball championship since 1989. Brady Baer, who became the Colorado High School all-time boys basketball scoring leader on Thursday, finished with 34 points, 14 of which came in the third quarter.
“We live and die on the 3-pointer and that’s exactly what happens,” said Akron coach Greg Clarkson about what doomed his team in the fourth quarter. “That wasn’t one of Brady’s best shooting nights (Saturday night) and everybody else was tentative. When he (Brady) has to do it all, he gets tired and he was so tired tonight. We came up short, but I’m very proud of my guys.”
The game came down to the final eight minutes as Sanford held a slim 43-41 lead. In the fourth, neither could generate much offense.
When Jared Clarkson made a driving layup with 2:20 left in the game, Akron trailed 44-43.
That’s when the Indians started their free throw shooting clinic.
Larsen’s two free throws at 2:05 stretched Sanford’s lead to 46-43. Rodriguez added a free throw for Sanford and when Miles Caldon sank two free throws at 1:07, the Indians held a 49-43 advantage.
On Akron’s next possession, Baer missed a long-range trey, and Larsen was fouled. The senior proceeded to make two more free throws with 58.9 seconds left, pushing Sanford ahead 51-43.
Akron’s Clarkson answered with a bucket with 50.3 ticks on the clock to get the Rams within 51-45. Rodriguez was immediately fouled and he made two more free throws at 48.6 seconds giving Sanford a 53-45 edge.
Baer followed up with a trey from the top of the key with 40.5 seconds on the clock to cut the deficit to 53-48.
With Akron pushing the tempo, Sanford didn’t wilt.
Chance Canty was fouled at 38.6 seconds and made two free throws giving his team a 55-48 advantage.
Baer answered with another 3-pointer at 28 seconds cutting the deficit to 55-51. Larsen was fouled again and he proceeded to make two more free throws putting Sanford up 57-51.
Baer fired another 3-pointer the next time down the court, but missed and the Rams would get no closer.
“This feels so great to win a state championship,” Rodriguez said.
BOULDER — Pueblo East coach Dave Ryder is going out on top.
After 29 years of teaching, 10 years as Pueblo East’s boys basketball head coach and four years before that as a volunteer coach, Ryder coached his last game for the Eagles on Saturday night at the Coors Events Center in Boulder. And what a Class 4A state championship game it was for Pueblo East.
The Eagles claimed the school’s first basketball state title with a 58-51 victory over Denver South.
“You couldn’t have scripted it any better,” Ryder said. “I’m so happy and proud of these kids. The work they put in. It’s hard not to be emotional.”
Ryder guided Pueblo East to the 4A title game in 2010. The Eagles lost the championship game four years ago. Saturday was only the third trip to the championship game for the program. Pueblo East was also runner-ups in 1977.
“It feels crazy,” Pueblo East senior TJ Gradisar said. “To do it with this group of guys is a dream come true.”
Gradisar was instrumental in sealing the victory in the fourth quarter. The senior guard had a huge 3-pointer to give Pueblo East a 47-46 lead with 4:55 left in the fourth quarter. He was 5-for-9 from the free-throw line in the final quarter as the Eagles outscored the Rebels 14-5 in the final five minutes.
“We wish we could have hit some more of those free throws so we could breath a little easier,” Gradisar could say with a smile about the Eagles missing 10 free throws in the fourth quarter. “Our defense was able to make up for those misses.”
A defensive play by Pueblo East senior Jimmy Valdez in the final minute really closed the deal for the Eagles. Valdez picked the pocket of Denver South senior Ibrahim Sylla on a drive to the basket with 36 seconds left. Sylla committed his fifth foul after Valdez grabbed the steal.
Valdez hit one of two free throws to extend Pueblo East’s lead to 56-49 with under a minute to play. The senior struggled in the first half going 0-for-6 from the field and being held scoreless.
“I didn’t want to let it get to me. I didn’t want it to bother me,” said Valdez, who was 5-for-5 from the field in the second half and finished with 13 points. “I wanted to come out and attack the rim, get some open shots. I made the right cuts and the right time.”
Senior Dylan Gavin had a solid game for Pueblo East with a game-high 16 points and also grabbed 12 rebounds.
Pueblo East got off to a great start with senior Alex Jara leading the way. Jara poured in seven points in the opening quarter. The Eagles led 15-4 with 1:20 remaining in the first quarter.
“You couldn’t have asked for a better start,” Ryder said. “Denver South is really, really good and they came back. That’s why they are in the championship game. We kept responding and being resilient.”
Denver South answered with 9-0 run and took the lead on a 3-pointer from senior Tyson Purifoy midway through the second quarter at 18-17. The teams traded baskets before halftime. The Eagles managed to take a 23-22 lead into half.
Sylla finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds for Denver East. Purifoy had 16 points in his final game for the Rebels. Denver South struggled shooting the ball (38.9 percent) and also had issues at the free-throw line making just 5 of 12 for the game, including going 2-for-8 in the fourth quarter.
“I guess you could say it was tightness. I’m sure that played a part in it,” Denver South coach Malik Fletcher said of the rough free throw shooting. “We just didn’t make the shots that we normally make.”
Seven state basketball trophies are encased at Denver South, but the Rebels haven’t won a championship since 1970, which was also the team’s last trip to the championship game.
“Our mission was to win the championship. It’s still disappointing,” said Fletcher, who completed is first year at South. “In retrospect, a second-place finish will be good for the school, for morale and the program itself. Still, you want to win a championship.”
Pueblo East was able to attain its ultimate goal of hoisting the championship trophy for the first time in school history.
“It’s a great feeling,” Valdez said. “It’s a great win for the city and most of all for us.”
