CHSAANow

Month: March 2015

  • Rock Canyon, The Classical Academy new top-ranked teams in girls soccer

    Rock Canyon is the new No. 1 team in this week’s Class 5A girls soccer ranking. The Jaguars received six of the 10 first-place votes from CHSAANow.com’s voters.

    But that turned out to be just the start of the upheaval in 5A, where five teams received at least one first-place vote.

    Arapahoe jumped from No. 9 to No. 2, and four newcomers joined the poll this week. Those new teams: No. 4 ThunderRidge, No. 6 Broomfield, No. 7 Grandview and No. 10 Fairview.

    Mountain Vista is No. 3 this week, and Pine Creek is No. 5.

    Things weren’t much more stable in 4A, where The Classical Academy vaulted from unranked to No. 1. Evergreen went from sixth to second, Valor Christian from eighth to third and Ponderosa from unranked to fourth.

    Wheat Ridge (No. 9) also joined the 4A poll this week.

    The No. 1 teams in 3A (Colorado Academy) and 2A (Front Range Christian) did stay put this week.

    The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association.

    Complete rankings for both classes are below.

    [divider]

    CHSAANow.com Girls Soccer Polls

    Voted upon by coaches and select 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

    Class 5A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Rock Canyon (6) 3-0-0 98 3 3-0-0
    2 Arapahoe (1) 4-0-0 67 9 4-0-0
    3 Mountain Vista 2-2-0 63 2 2-2-0
    4 ThunderRidge (1) 2-0-0 53 – 2-0-0
    5 Pine Creek 2-1-0 52 5 2-1-0
    6 Broomfield (1) 3-0-0 43 – 3-0-0
    7 Grandview 2-0-1 42 – 2-0-1
    8 Fossil Ridge 3-1-0 41 6 3-1-0
    9 Columbine (1) 2-1-0 35 1 2-1-0
    10 Fairview 2-0-0 30 – 2-0-0
    Others receiving votes:
    Ralston Valley 28, Rocky Mountain 19, Cherokee Trail 14, Smoky Hill 9, Heritage 6, Cherry Creek 4, Doherty 4, Fort Collins 4, Boulder 3, Liberty 1.
    Dropped out
    Ralston Valley (4), Cherry Creek (7), Fort Collins (8), Smoky Hill (10).

    Class 4A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 The Classical Academy (4) 3-0-0 93 – 3-0-0
    2 Evergreen (4) 3-0-0 90 6 3-0-0
    3 Valor Christian (1) 3-0-0 88 8 3-0-0
    4 Ponderosa (1) 5-0-0 72 – 5-0-0
    5 Cheyenne Mountain (1) 2-2-0 57 1 2-2-0
    6 Green Mountain (1) 3-0-0 47 2 3-0-0
    7 Niwot 0-1-0 38 5 0-1-0
    8 Lewis-Palmer 2-1-0 36 3 2-1-0
    9 Wheat Ridge 3-1-0 35 – 3-1-0
    10 Battle Mountain 3-0-0 23 7 3-0-0
    Others receiving votes:
    Vista Ridge 18, Mullen 17, Air Academy 16, Pueblo South 7, Elizabeth 4, Littleton 3, Palmer Ridge 3, Discovery Canyon 2, Durango 1, Falcon 1, Holy Family 1, Steamboat Springs 1.
    Dropped out
    Sand Creek (4), Air Academy (9), Palmer Ridge (10).

    Class 3A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Colorado Academy (6) 3-1-0 96 1 3-1-0
    2 Kent Denver (4) 3-0-0 92 2 3-0-0
    3 Jefferson Academy 0-0-0 70 3 0-0-0
    4 The Academy 2-0-0 63 5 2-0-0
    5 St. Mary’s 0-2-0 62 4 0-2-0
    6 Coal Ridge 1-2-0 36 6 1-2-0
    7 Liberty Common 0-0-0 29 9 0-0-0
    8 Sterling 0-0-0 24 10 0-0-0
    9 Manitou Springs 0-1-0 18 8 0-1-0
    10 Peak to Peak 2-0-0 17 – 2-0-0
    Others receiving votes:
    Frontier Academy 11, KIPP 9, Faith Christian 6, Alamosa 5, Estes Park 5, St. Mary’s Academy 3, Fountain Valley 2, Machebeuf 1.
    Dropped out
    Frontier Academy (7).

    Class 2A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Front Range Christian (7) 3-0-0 35 1 3-0-0
    2 Colorado Rocky Mountain 2-0-0 28 – 2-0-0
    3 Cornerstone Christian 1-0-0 18 4 1-0-0
    4 Denver Christian 1-1-0 12 2 1-1-0
    5 Evangelical Christian 0-1-0 4 5 0-1-0
    Others receiving votes:
    Belleview Christian 2, Vail Mountain 2, Center 1, Clear Creek 1, Dawson School 1, Rocky Mountain Lutheran 1.
    Dropped out
    Telluride (6), Resurrection Christian (7).

  • Photos: 4A and 5A boys basketball’s championship games

    BOULDER — The championship games of Class 4A and 5A boys basketball are on Saturday at the Coors Events Center.

    Find photos from each game below.

    More coverage:

    Go to:


    [divider]

    4A: (2) Air Academy 64, (1) Longmont 59



    [divider]

    5A: (1) Overland 55, (1) ThunderRidge 42

  • Photos: 3A state basketball championship games

    GOLDEN — The Class 3A boys and girls basketball state championship games were Saturday at the Colorado School of Mines.

    Find photos from both games below.

    More coverage:

    Go to:


    [divider]

    Girls: (1) Pagosa Springs 39, (2) Sterling 36



    [divider]

    Boys: (2) Colorado Springs Christian 55, (4) Colorado Academy 52

  • Pagosa Springs girls hoops closes out perfect season with first title

    Pagosa Springs Sterling girls basketball
    Pagosa Springs won the 3A girls basketball championship on Saturday. More photos. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

    GOLDEN – This wasn’t just about capping off an undefeated season with the program’s first-ever state championship.

    For the Pagosa Springs girls basketball team, Saturday evening’s crowning moment was – in the words of one individual – vindication.

    One year after falling in the Class 3A state championship game, the Pirates returned to Lockridge Arena and finished off what they started last winter. Pagosa Springs broke open a close game in the final two minutes of play on its way to a 39-36 victory over Sterling to claim the 3A crown.

    “It feels absolutely amazing. I’ve been to the state tournament every year since I can remember with my Dad,” Pirates senior Shannel Wilson said. “Seeing those other teams go win the state tournament and have these great games, it’s an indescribable feeling. Winning the state tournament, a perfect season with people doubting us, it just felt great.”

    Pagosa Springs (26-0) rebounded nicely from its offensive struggles through the first three quarters. The Pirates had only 19 points headed into the fourth, but poured in 20 points in the final quarter alone.

    Taylor Lee Hammer led the way with 15 points, all of which came in the second half. She hit two big 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter and added two key layups in the final two minutes of play.

    “We freed her up a little bit and we got her open,” Pagosa Springs coach Wes Lewis said. “She’s a great shooter, and shot the ball with confidence. Big players make big-time plays in big games.”

    Pagosa Springs Sterling boys basketball
    More photos. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

    A first half that was sloppy at times ended with a 10-10 tie and a combined 17 turnovers. Sterling’s Jenna Knudson and Kylie Chavez opened the second half with a quick 6-0 run, but back-to-back 3-pointers from Madison Lewis and Hammer tied it back up.

    Even after Hammer’s consecutive treys to open the fourth, the Tigers (26-1) surged back to take a 28-27 lead with 2:32 remaining on a Chavez bucket. But Wilson knocked down a 3-pointer for Pagosa Springs and Hammer picked off a pass and went the length of the court for a layup to make it 32-28.

    “We’ve always believed that if we want to be a good team we have to dig down and dig through all those holes we’re put in,” Wilson said. “That’s exactly what we did. We’ve been preparing for this game all season. We dug down, came out of it and got on a roll there.”

    Pagosa Springs’ boys team captured the 3A state championship in 2013, a feat their counterparts on the girls side had been trying hard to match.

    “Last year, it was absolutely horrible. We all broke down crying because we thought we had it,” Hammer said. “This year it’s just bubbling over with joy.”

    Lewis said the championship wasn’t just about the girls celebrating in the locker room Saturday night.

    “It’s hard to put into words right now. We’ve worked so hard for this, this is our eighth year with the program on the girls side,” Lewis said. “I want to give a lot of

    credit to the girls who came before these that kind of helped build our tradition and our program. We have a ton of them out there tonight that came up here to support us.”

    Payton Shahan and Lewis scored eight points each for the Pirates. Knudson led Sterling with 16 points and Chavez added eight.

    The Tigers graduate four seniors off a team that went to the semifinals a year ago before making the title game this season. Two of them started Saturday – Kenzie Chrisman and Maggie Adney.

  • Idalia claims 1A girls basketball crown

    (Logan Borgmann/CHSAANow.com)
    (Logan Borgmann/CHSAANow.com)

    LOVELAND — After visits to the Class 1A state tournament the previous two years with no hardware to show for it, the Idalia girls basketball team had a different outlook this time.

    This year, “We came with a purpose,” junior wing player Reagan Shaffer said.

    She and her teammates completed a 21-2 season by capturing the state title with a 59-50 victory over Sangre de Cristo.

    The Wolves entered the tournament as the fourth seed. With most of the team having experienced a state tournament atmosphere, Idalia came into the tournament confident but relaxed.

    The Wolves held the lead through most of the first half, but the Thunderbirds turned a five-point deficit into a five-point lead.

    Idalia used free throw shooting, inclucing a pair from Susana Herrera with no time on the clock, to retake the lead 27-26 by halftime.

    They maintained a slim edge through most of the third quarter

    Despite foul trouble by a couple of key players, the Thunderbirds inched back to tie the game at 48 with just under three minutes remaining.

    Idalia’s Susana Herrera responded with a 3-pointer to give the Wolves the momentum again.

    “She is a big-game player,” Idalia coach Cory Zion said.

    It was Shaffer playing a large role. In addition to her 19 points, she had five blocks, all in the first half, to take control in the lane, and pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds. She also handled Sangre de Cristo’s full-court press.

    “She can play all five positions,” Zion said of the 5-10 Shaffer.

    “We never came in with the mind-set that we weren’t going to win,” Shaffer said of knocking off the top seed, which came into the game with just one loss, to Trinidad, during the regular season.

    Shaffer was joined for team-high scoring honors by Herrera. Jennay Terrell capped of a balanced scoring effort with 13.

    The Wolves helped their cause by capitalizing on their free throw opportunities, converting 27.

    Sangre de Cristo was led by point guard Karleigh Cooley, who had 14 points.

    Four Idalia starters return next year for their senior seasons. Shaffer, for one, said the team won’t rest on its laurels.

    “It’s back at it (during the offseason),” she vowed.

    Kit Carson took the third-placed trophy with a 58-33 victory over Flagler. Norwood won the consolation title, defeating Plateau Valley for the third time this season, this time 34-27.

  • Akron girls basketball wins third state title in four years

    (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
    Akron claimed the 2A girls basketball championship on Saturday. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

    PUEBLO — With a possible state championship slipping away, Akron’s Karli Christensen and Jordan Baer saved the day.

    The seniors combined to make four free throws in the final 45.8 seconds, vaulting the Rams to a 53-48 win over Yuma in the Class 2A state championship game Saturday before a capacity crowd at Colorado State University-Pueblo’s Massari Arena.

    “I was really nervous,” said Christensen about when she stepped to the line with 32 seconds left. “After practice we work on our free throws and I just thought I was at practice and I got my arm under the ball and followed through straight. This is the best feeling in the world.”

    Baer concurred with her teammate.

    “We have always been taught to play hard defense and make free throws at that’s what we did,” Baer said. “This is definitely the best state championship yet, and we did this as a team.”

    Akron, which also won state in 2012 and 2013, finished the season with a 25-2 record. The Rams also finished the season with a 3-1 record against Yuma, winning the last three in a row.

    “This has been an unbelievable year and very emotional,” said Akron coach Alan Baer, Jordan’s father. “I’m so proud of our kids. We have a bunch of seniors that wanted it from Day 1 and they bought into a system a long time ago and I’m so happy for them.”

    Baer is serving as Akron’s interim coach. He took over the program when Rick Agan, who had a 94-11 record guiding the Rams, left the team right before the season began.

    While Akron was celebrating another state crown, Yuma was dealing with its third-consecutive loss in the state title game.

    The Indians (21-5) lost to Akron (2013), Lutheran (2014) and Akron in the finals the last three years. The Indians were trying to win their first girls state basketball championship since 1997.

    Yuma was trailing 49-42 with 3:28 to play and then it made a frantic comeback.

    When Logan Hixon made three free throws at the 1:03 mark, the Indians cut the deficit to 49-48, but could get no closer.

    “The girls worked hard and we knew we had to try and get some shots up and score,” Yuma coach Mike Neill said. “We also knew we had to get some steals and then foul them and have them try and make free throws and it was working, and we ended up having to foul one too many times, and we ran out of time.

    “Akron has a great team and this was a good game and they were a little better than us (Saturday night). I told the girls there is nothing wrong with second place. They are winners in my mind.”

    With 1 minute left, Yuma had the ball, but couldn’t get off a shot before Akron senior Lizzie Holtorf got a steal. With 45.8 seconds showing on the clock, Hixon fouled Baer and fouled out. Baer made one free throw to put the Rams up 50-48.

    Yuma’s next time down the court the Indians fumbled the ball, which resulted in a tie up and the possession arrow went to Akron at 36.4 seconds. Christensen was fouled at 32 seconds and she proceeded to nail her two attempts.

    “I probably delayed too early, and I was a little nervous, but we shoot free throws really well and it paid off,” Coach Baer said. “I’m so proud of Karli Christensen. She is the ultimate role player and without our role players we don’t win state.”

    When Yuma’s Tara Traphagan missed a jumper with 11 seconds left, Baer was fouled and made one more free throw to ice the game.

    In the first half, Yuma jumped out to an early 9-1 lead after Traphagan’s inside bucket at 3:53 of the first quarter. Moments later, the Indians went up 14-5 following Mallory Noble’s basket with 1:58 left in the first.

    The lead didn’t last.

    Akron came storming with a 24-9 run to end the half and went to the locker room with a 29-23 edge.

    The Rams’ charge was fueled by A.J. Miller and Jordan Baer, who finished the half with 13 and 11 points. Miller, a junior, had a trio of treys, including back-to-back 3-pointers on the Rams’ final two possessions of the second quarter.

    Miller finished with a game-high 23 points and Baer added 21. Katrina Terrell (15 points) and Hixon (12) paced Yuma in the loss.

  • Holly boys basketball wins 1A, first title in 64 years

    (Logan Borgmann/CHSAANow.com)
    (Logan Borgmann/CHSAANow.com)

    LOVELAND — It had been 64 years since a Holly boys basketball team had won a state title.

    The school will get another gold ball in its trophy case after Saturday’s thrilling 33-32 win over Fleming in Saturday’s Class 1A state championship game.

    “We did it,” coach Dusty Heck said as he hugged his point guard, Yaniel Vidal.

    It took everything the team had.

    Though Holly led through most of the game, Fleming would not go away.

    With four minutes remaining and nursing a two-point lead, Holly went spread with its offense, hoping to get an open basket underneath. Fleming stayed packed in the lane.

    Tristan Nelson finally had a layup opportunity but missed it.

    His team up by four after two Vidal free throws, Nelson got another chance. This time he powered his way to the layup.

    “I told myself if I got another chance I’m not going to miss,” he said.

    He didn’t. With his team up by four after two Vidal free throws, Nelson got another chance. This time he powered his way to the layup.

    Still, Fleming battled back, getting a three-point play from Alex Vandenbark and a steal in the backcourt to pull to within 33-32.

    Heck called a timeout. During the entire game, his team had played a zone defense. This time, he called a man-to-man to try and confuse Fleming.

    “Thank god we did,” he said as Fleming’s attempt to set up a play resulted in the ball rolling past the end line as time expired.

    “We have a lot of heart on this team,” Vidal said.

    Heck, a Holly grad, set the bar high during his first season as a head coach.

    “We sure did,” he said with a smile, relishing the challenge.

    “We just made history,” Nelson said.

    Sangre de Cristo bounced back from Friday’s loss to Fleming to earn the third-place trophy, downing Jim Elliot Christian 57-43. South Baca County came back to take the consolation title, defeating Ouray 61-52.

  • Mohrmann: Air Academy basketball title brings a feeling of tradition

    Longmont Air Academy boys basketball
    (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    BOULDER — Air Academy’s locker room used to be plain white. There’s not much tradition to that. So Barry Clark began having his team paint specific bricks to highlight the accomplishments of past basketball teams.

    “The first one we painted was the 1989 state championship team,” Clark said in the bowels of the Coors Events Center. That brick was the only one designated for a state championship.

    Hopefully there’s room next to it.

    The Kadets are state champions. They beat undefeated Longmont 64-59 in overtime Saturday night to earn that moniker. They’ll have a brick in the locker room dedicated to them.

    “During timeouts I was asking my players if they were having fun,” Clark said. “The score wasn’t a factor to them. They just thought (the game) was awesome.”

    It seems that the Kadets have all the makings of a calm, cool and collected bunch, but that hasn’t been the case all year. During a 65-53 loss against Sand Creek on Jan. 9, Clark was upset with his players for taking too many 3-pointers. Their full-court press wasn’t working and they looked like a team that was going to struggle in the Pikes Peaks Athletic Conference. They did’t look like a team ready to hoist a state title.

    It wasn’t until Air Academy traveled to Sand Creek that they looked like the squad that was on display Saturday.

    “I think we were better (than some teams that had beat us) and we weren’t getting settled,” Clark said. “(At Sand Creek) we went up big, they came back and we stopped it. At that point we thought ‘It’s over, it’s done. We’re going all the way.’”

    Knowing that they could go on the road and beat a team like Sand Creek gave them the confidence they needed to get through a tough 4A field. The meat grinder that was the PPAC this season helped prepare them for that, but to even get to a state title game, they had to face a familiar foe.

    Friday night, they stood face-to-face with the Lewis-Palmer Rangers who had split their season series with the Kadets.

    “We had beaten them pretty badly (earlier this year) so we knew we could do it,” Kadets guard James Sims said. “We just knew that we had to give it our all.”

    But Clark reminded them that they needed to have fun. It’s how this team got to where they were. In fact, he was so insistent that his guys go out and just play to have fun that he let them in on the secret of how they could lose.

    “I told them if if they play to win, they would struggle,” he said.

    What he saw during Saturday night’s thriller was a team that was having fun. Even after the Trojans started clawing their way back from a 10-point deficit, the Kadets were enjoying every minute of it.

    The extra four minutes of play only added to the legacy of this team.

    “It’s a better story to tell your kids,” Clark said with a smile. “If you look at James Sims and he’s smiling, you’re in trouble because that’s how he plays with intensity. He’s out there laughing and having a good time.”

    That’s the kind of environment Clark has created and hopes and maintain at Air Academy. If he’s successful, his team will be painting a lot more bricks in the future.

  • CS Christian emerges from deep 3A boys hoops field with first title in 11 years

    (Brian Miller/CHSAANow.com)
    (Brian Miller/CHSAANow.com)

    GOLDEN – Walking around with a piece of net around his neck, the smile on the face of Colorado Springs Christian senior Chris Hildenbrand could not have grown any bigger.

    It was simply that kind of night for every member of the Lions program. Having come up empty so many times, Colorado Springs Christian put the past to rest Saturday night at Lockridge Arena in a big way. Samuel Howard scored 21 points and the Lions withstood a late surge from Colorado Academy to emerge with a 55-52 victory and the team’s first Class 3A state championship since 2003.

    “I’m just beyond belief,” Hildenbrand said. “We worked so hard for this and it’s unbelievable. I just thank God for blessing this team and keeping us healthy. I’m so thankful – I wouldn’t want to win this with any other guys.”

    After four consecutive years of seeing its season come to an end at the hands of a Metro League opponent – including last season in the state semifinals – Colorado Springs Christian had to knock off a pair of Metro foes in two nights for the right to lift the championship trophy.

    “After losing to Holy Family last year, we knew we had to be more mentally tough,” Hildenbrand said. “Coming out here (Friday) and beating Lutheran – a great team that shoots lights out – we knew it wasn’t over. Defense wins championships, and that’s what we practice day in and day out.”

    The Lions (26-1) seemed to have the game well in-hand after taking an 11-point lead midway through the fourth quarter. But much as it did Friday night in a semifinal victory over top-seeded Faith Christian, Colorado Academy (20-7) fought back.

    The Mustangs closed the gap to five points on a couple of occasions, but the Lions hit a few key free throws and did enough to hold Colorado Academy at bay.

    “We saw what they were able to do firsthand when I was a freshman. We were up seven points in the regional championship game with a minute left, and they came back and won,” Howard said. “Our coach told us ‘they’re not going to quit … we’ve got to keep our heads and execute to the very end.’”

    Justin Engesser added 13 points for Colorado Springs Christian, which did a solid job of holding Colorado Academy junior Justin Bassey in check for much of the night. Bassey had only two points in the first half and drew three charging fouls, but he did finally get untracked with 12 points in the fourth quarter.

    Bassey finished with 16 points and Christian Hyatt added 15, including a deep 3-pointer that made it a two-point game with one second to go. Howard closed out the scoring with a free throw and the Mustangs were unable to get a final shot off.

    Hildenbrand drew the task of trying to mark Bassey for much of the night.

    “(Justin) is one heck of a player. I just trusted my help, and if he got by me, I knew we had our ‘twin towers’ in the back,” Hildenbrand said in reference to the 6-foot-7 Howard and the 6-9 Nic Doherty. “I just tried my best and trusted my teammates.”

    On the other end of the floor, Colorado Springs Christian did a good job of working the ball inside to Howard. When the Lions tried to converge on the junior, his teammates hit some big shots from the perimeter.

    “We always like to get the ball inside because that makes it easier to get open shots for the outside guys,” Howard said. “I don’t know what their gameplan was, but we executed ours.”

    Colorado Academy, which advanced to the 3A state title game for the second year in a row, graduates only two seniors in Chris Kuelling and Grant Sapkin. The Lions lose four, but Hildenbrand said he’s confident the players coming back will make another deep run.

    “I’m so proud of every single guy on our roster, from the 12th man to our top guy. They just worked so hard to get back. They worked so hard in practice, they worked so hard in the offseason,” CSCS coach Mark Engesser said. “I’m very proud of every single one of our guys.”

  • Air Academy boys basketball claims first crown since 1989

    (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
    Air Academy won the 4A boys basketball championship on Saturday. More photos. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)

    BOULDER — While this group of Kadets hadn’t reached the Coors Events Center for the Final 4 in hoops, they don’t lack for championship experience.

    First cousins James Sims, Austin Dewing, and David Louthan, along with  Henry Yocum and Mark Beatty, capped off a perfect 20-0 season with the Class 4A soccer state championship in the fall. The core got their chance to add to their sports legacy with a basketball crown and delivered by beating previously undefeated Longmont 64-59 to claim the 4A boys basketball crown in a sensational overtime battle.

    Air Academy (24-4), a No. 2 seed, jumped out to a rather shocking 26-8 early lead as they broke Longmont’s vaunted trapping zone defense with layup after layup. The Kadets shot an incredible 11-for-12 from the field in the first half and took a 30-20 lead into the break.

    Then, things got out of control wild as Longmont (27-1) tied the game at 34 late in the third as Blake O’Grady scored 8 points in the frame. The Kadets and Trojans went back and forth the rest of the way, but Air Academy’s grit, composure and will to win allowed them to sneak past the No. 1 ranked team in the state.

    Of course, it doesn’t hurt when David Louthan goes 7-for-8 from the charity stripe in the final minute of regulation and into overtime.

    “At the end of the game the ball always goes to David,” Air Academy coach Barry Clark said. “We know that he’ll make the right decisions. He knows how to win and that’s really our play. Give David the ball and we roll with it. We put a lot of pressure on that kid and it doesn’t bug him at all. He’s amazing.”

    “I was thinking about my release, staying relaxed, and focusing on anything but the fact this is the state championship,” Louthan said of how he stayed composed at the line.

    Longmont Air Academy boys basketball
    More photos. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    Louthan finished 9-for-12 from the line, scored 21 points, went 5-of-6 from the field, and had six assists and five rebounds. He wasn’t alone in timely baskets as the entire team played together and for one another as Paul Ambuul scored 19 points, going 7-for-7 from the line, and James Sims chipped in 13.

    “Each and every guy made a huge contribution,” Louthan said. “It was a team effort.”

    Air Academy finished 20-for-28 from the field and 21-31 from the line. Longmont shot 20-for-50 and 5-for-17 from three. They only made 14-of-23 freebies, as O’Grady went 5-of-11 with several critical misses. In a game with so many twists and turns, Air Academy’s poise in a state championship setting proved to be the difference.

    “Most of us had already played in two state championships,” Louthan said of losing in the soccer finals two seasons ago and winning last fall. “I think it helped us stay more composed. We were used to the pressure.”

    The trust in one another was evident for the Kadets, as well.

    “If I were to look at it, if you get a core group to believe in each other and you might not win the state championship, but if they fight for each other, they are going to be successful,” Clark raved. “This game is not for me. It’s for those guys playing for each other.”

    Air Academy won their second state championship in boys basketball, their first since 1989 when they defeated Greeley West in the second largest classification at the time, class 3A.

    Justinian Jessup, a talented lanky guard who should be in the mix for 4A player of the year honors, hit a couple enormous three-pointers late to give the Trojans life. He scored 16 points before fouling out in the final minute of regulation.

    Kevin Mitchell added 17 points and O’Grady had 11 for Longmont in defeat. Longmont was playing in their first state finals since 1997 when they lost to Columbine in 5A. The Trojans last won it all in 1942. They do return nine juniors, including Jessup, so Longmont could be the preseason No. 1-ranked team.