Pine Creek remains No. 1 in 4A football. (Josh Watt/CHSAANow.com)
Pine Creek is still the king of the Class 4A CHSAANow.com football rankings. The Eagles received 14 of 16 first-place votes this week. This is the last set of regular season rankings, which saw the Eagles hold on to the top spot from start to finish.
No new teams were added to this week’s 4A poll, and with the exception of a few teams falling or rising one spot, the overall poll was pretty consistent with last week. Regular season play for 4A ends this week and the playoff bracket will be released on Sunday.
Like Pine Creek, the Pueblo East Eagles also helped on to their place in the 3A rankings. For the first time this season, however, they don’t have Fort Morgan right behind them. Roosevelt climbed to No. 2 and Fort Morgan fell to No. 3, despite a 56-7 win over Elizabeth that kept them undefeated on the year.
The 3A rankings did see the addition of two new teams as D’Evelyn (No. 9) and Discovery Canyon (No. 10) made the cut this week.
Regular season play for 3A also ends this week and the 16-team playoff bracket will be released on Sunday.
The state playoff brackets in 5A, 2A, 1A, 8-man and 6-man were released on Sunday, and as such, they will not have any further rankings this season.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. These will serve as the final polls of the regular season.
Chatfield volleyball is the No. 1 seed in the 5A regional field. (Matt Daniels/MattDanPhoto.com)
The regional volleyball brackets were released Monday morning, signaling the start of postseason play. Chatfield, Cheyenne Mountain and Eaton are the top seeds in their respective classifications.
Classes 5A through 3A feature 36 teams competing in 12 regions for a shot at the state tournament. Each winner of a regional will advance to the state tournament.
In 2A and 1A, the regional fields is 24 teams, who play in eight regions. Regional champions earn an automatic berth to state. The remaining four spots are filled based upon standing in the MaxPreps rankings published the Monday after regionals.
In Class 5A, Chatfield was given the No. 1 overall seed. The Chargers went 21-2 this season and didn’t lose a match until Oct. 7 when they were upset by Ralston Valley. The Chargers edged out Cherokee Trail Friday night at the Ponderosa Mustang Classic which helped lift them to the top seed.
The Cougars will also host and came in with the No. 3 seed.
Two-time defending champion Grandview is seeded No. 8 and will also host.
No. 2 Mountain Vista, No. 4 Chaparral, No. 5 Rock Canyon, No. 6 Legend, No. 7 Rocky Mountain, No. 9 Castle View, No. 10 Ralston Valley, No. 11 Highlands Ranch and No. 12 Cherry Creek round out the host teams in 5A.
The Indians went 21-1 this season with their only loss coming to Eaton, a team that coach David Barkley said afterward would compete in any classification this year.
Lewis-Palmer, the two-time defending champion, is the No. 2 seed.
Rounding out the host teams in 4A are No. 3 Ponderosa, No. 4 Holy Family, No. 5 Montrose, No. 6 Longmont, No. 7 Windsor, No. 8 Steamboat Springs, No. 9 Delta, No. 10 Evergreen, No. 11 Berthoud and No. 12 Air Academy.
The undefeated Eaton Reds top the 3A field as they eye a third-straight state title.
Eaton is the top seed in 3A. (Brock Laue/CHSAANow.com)
They are one of four Patriot League teams to host a region as No. 2 University, No. 3 Platte Valley and No. 7 Valley all received high enough seeds to earn the right to play at home.
The Tri-Peaks League features three hosts as No. 5 Colorado Springs Christian School, No. 8 Manitou Springs and No. 11 St. Mary’s were seeded in the top 12.
No. 4 Alamosa, No. 6 Lutheran, No. 9 Middle Park, No. 10 Coal Ridge and No. 12 Pagosa Springs make up the remaining 3A host teams.
The regional brackets for 2A and 1A were also released on Monday, though those fields were filled following district play last week. There was no seeding committee involved with the placement of teams in those classes.
DENVER — It turns out there was gold on the end of the rainbow that was the 70-game unbeaten streak for the Colorado Academy field hockey team.
The Mustangs topped Cherry Creek 1-0 Saturday night to win the 2015 state championship. It is the fourth-straight state title for the Mustangs.
“It’s definitely not routine,” Colorado Academy coach Veronica Scott said. “It’s beautiful for the seniors because there’s eight girls here who have not lost a game in four years. It’s their fourth championship. For them, that’s extra special.”
It was a tough night for either offense to get anything going. The best opportunity for either team came with about five minutes left in the first half as Colorado Academy was given a corner opportunity and the ball was played right in front of Cherry Creek keeper Sara McGuire.
She was able to kick it out of immediate danger, and the Bruin defenders were able to clear the ball away from the net, preserving the 0-0 tie.
The Mustangs got another corner opportunity with about 20 seconds left in the half, but Clara Petch’s shot was deflected and time ran out. The teams went into halftime at a scoreless tie and began making adjustments, hoping something would give.
“We tried to change up a few things,” Cherry Creek coach Taylor Silvestro said. “The main thing was keep up the intensity and try to beat C.A. to the ball.”
The Bruins came out in the second half trying to press a little more on the offensive end, but turned the ball over to the Mustangs and then committed a foul inside the circle, leading to another Colorado Academy corner. Emma Richards played the ball in and then received a pass with a great shot at the net.
Bu like she had for most of the night, McGuire turned the ball away and kept the Bruins in the game.
But the Mustangs began to feed off the momentum from that shot. They consistently played in the Cherry Creek zone and put pressure on McGuire and the Cherry Creek defense.
Colorado Academy thought they had a goal on a Petch shot, but the officials deemed it a dangerous ball and the goal was waived off.
But the Bruins wouldn’t be as fortunate only minutes later. Sammy Little played her way behind McGuire and a received a pass leaving her with a wide open net. She buried the shot home, giving the Mustangs a 1-0 lead and inching them closer to championship gold.
“I think it was a very even game and that’s why it took a while for the opportunity to come,” Little said. “Luckily we were in the right place at the right time and it worked out for us.”
And that it did. Being in the right place at the right time once again had the Mustangs lifting championship gold. Colorado Academy had beaten Cherry Creek 2-1 earlier in the season and the Bruins felt they also could have won that game.
At half, with the game scoreless, it seemed that the title of champion was in play for either team, but it was the Mustangs who kicked up the intensity in the last 30 minutes to come away as winners.
“Our nerves started to kick in during the first half,” Little said. “In the second half we were able to relax and get into the swing of things and trust our teammates and trust ourselves.”
