Dylan Paulsen and Gateway coach Brian Dossey. (Courtesy of Gateway HS)
Dylan Paulsen stole his 30th base of the season on Wednesday, a number that is among the highest totals of any Class 5A player in recent seasons.
Paulsen’s figure ranks second among 5A players dating back to 2008, just behind Highlands Ranch grad Nick Shumpert, who stole 33 last season. His figure is ahead of Prairie View’s Caleb Dameron, who stole 24 in 2014.
No official state record book exists for CHSAA baseball — yet, it is being worked on.
This season, Paulsen has had 11 games in which he has stolen at last two bases. His season high came against Westminster on Wednesday, when he swiped four bases.
Beyond that, Paulsen has been thrown out while attempting to steal just twice, making him 30-of-32 in attempts this season. The 30 steals are a Gateway record.
Paulsen is hitting .404 with two home runs and 14 RBIs this season.
Gateway finishes its regular season against Far Northeast on Saturday.
Editor’s note: This story was updated on Friday afternoon after Gateway sent updated stat totals.
Grandview’s Adam Neider celebrates his inside-the-park home run on Friday. More photos. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
DENVER — With one swing of his bat, Tyson Hays woke up a stagnant Grandview lineup.
Hays blasted a pitch over the raised left-field fence at Coors Field on Friday afternoon, giving his team a 3-0 lead over ThunderRidge in an important Class 5A matchup. It proved to be a spark for the fourth-ranked Wolves, who went on to beat the No. 2 Grizzlies 9-1.
“You know, we needed that — going into tomorrow, going into next week,” first-year Grandview coach Scott Henry said afterwards. “We have not been hitting a lot of extra-base hits. We haven’t been hitting for power, so that really got us going a little bit. Tyson’s been swinging it well, and he finally got a pitch he can handle. And holy cow — I can’t even imagine (hitting a home run at Coors Field).”
Hays’ home run came on the first pitch he saw in the third inning, with runners on second and third. It cleared the 347-foot mark in left.
Tyson Hays hit a three-run home run which ignited the Grandview offense. More photos. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
“It felt good, very good,” said Hays, a junior. “I just saw a good first-pitch fastball that was up-and-in, and I just took a swing. I knew there was a chance, but no, I didn’t think it would (get out).”
Grandview (14-4 overall) added another run on a single from starting pitcher Dylan Bowers later in the frame, and held that 4-0 lead until ThunderRidge (13-5) scored in the bottom of the fourth.
The Wolves answered an inning later with a five-run sixth, which included a two-run inside-the-park home run from Adam Neider.
As is typical of a game played at Coors Field, both teams tried to get as many players and pitchers onto the field as possible. Still, the fact that Grandview’s lineup was changing so much during the day and continuing to produce only speaks to the Wolves’ depth.
In all, 10 different Grandview players had hits on Friday. The nine runs was the Wolves’ highest output in its past seven games.
“We have 14 seniors on our team, so we’re fortunate in that regard — this year,” Henry said. “We have kids that are on our bench that would be starters other places, so we’re pretty fortunate.”
“This is what we needed,” Hays said. “We have a big game tomorrow against Mullen.”
Grandview’s pitching was excellent on Friday, as well.
Bowers, one of those 14 seniors, allowed no runs and just one hit in three innings. Nick Morris, another senior, pitched the final three innings and gave up just the one run on five hits. Morris struck out five — including three straight when ThunderRidge had loaded the bases with no one out in the sixth inning.
The game was called with Grandview batting in the top of the seventh inning because the Coors Field management places a two-hour time limit on the high school contests there.
Aside from being a matchup of teams both ranked in the top 5 of this week’s 5A CHSAANow.com rankings, the game also had major implications in terms of the postseason, which will be seeded next Wednesday.
Both teams entered the day in the top 10 of the Class 5A RPI — ThunderRidge at No. 3, and Grandview at No. 8. Grandview’s win will surely have an impact on that race. The top eight teams in the final RPI standings will host districts in 5A.
“That’s something that’s kind of out of our control, so I try not to worry about it too much,” Henry said. “But (ThunderRidge is) a good team, and for us to play well — that’s kind of what I was hoping for, was for us to play well — so that was exciting.”
ThunderRidge was led by senior star Jake Eissler on Friday. Eissler went 2-for-3 with a double.
Grandview closes its regular season at Mullen on Saturday. The Mustangs beat the Wolves on Thursday, 5-1.
ThunderRidge has the weekend off before hosting No. 8 Rocky Mountain on Monday to finish its regular season.
HIGHLANDS RANCH — After suffering its first loss of the season, the Mountain Vista boys lacrosse had been sent a message: They needed to play better.
Message received.
The Golden Eagles came out aggressive on Wednesday and sent a message of their own with a 15-7 win over Palmer to clinch the Douglas County League championship.
“Our league is stronger than most as far as how many playoff teams it will get,” Golden Eagles coach Jamie Munro said. “But it doesn’t have the elite teams that will just kick the (snot) out of you like a Regis, (Cherry) Creek or Arapahoe. We needed to get beat down, so it was good.”
The Golden Eagles (13-1 overall, 10-0 Class 5A Douglas County) came into the game ranked No. 2 in the final CHSAANow.com boys lacrosse rankings with only Regis Jesuit standing above them. And unlike in the game against the Raiders, Mountain Vista came out aggressive and put four quick goals on the Terrors (12-2, 8-2).
Sophomore attacker Jake Govett accounted for two of those four quick scores and was one of two Golden Eagles players to finish the day with a hat trick. Jake Harvey also scored three times, including a laser at the halftime buzzer to give Mountain Vista a 12-1 lead.
“We knew (Palmer) was a tough team and just came out strong,” Govett said. “We’re getting into the playoffs soon so we just had to get the fire rolling going in.”
If anything, the win may serve as an eye-opener to teams across the state. The Terrors had climbed up to No. 5 in the state and boast one of the premiere goaltenders in all of lacrosse in Caleb Espinoza.
But a series of quick strikes put Palmer on its heels and they faced a deficit that soon was too much to overcome.
“I don’t know what it was,” Palmer coach Sequoia Bowan said. “We picked the wrong day to not play our game, that’s for sure. We need to have a short memory, hit the reset button and get ready to go.”
A team that will win games based on the strength of its defense, the Terrors went scoreless for the first 18:24 of the first half and had already surrendered nine goals. It was Noah Smith who finally got them on the board.
But even with an eight-goal lead and momentum on their side, the Golden Eagles didn’t feel like they had the game well in hand.
“It’s easier to protect a lead then to play from behind,” Mountain Vista goalie Paxton Boyer said. “At the end of the day, no matter how many goals we’re up by, I still have a job to do and the defense still has a job to do.”
The Golden Eagles have one more crucial non-league game remaining. They host Arapahoe on Friday night at Shea Stadium. The Warriors are right in the mix of the top four teams and with the added pressure of the seniors playing their final game, it will make for a rough night.
“It’s going to be an emotional one with senior night,” Boyer said. “But we’re going to get back to work tomorrow and be ready.”
Palmer will also honor its seniors Friday as they host Valor Christian at Garry Berry Stadium.
More photos. (Tim Visser/TimVisserPhotography.com)
AURORA — Two of Colorado’s top girls soccer teams went toe-to-toe Wednesday night and the match certainly didn’t disappoint.
CHSAANow.com No. 2-ranked Columbine almost delivered No. 1 Grandview its first loss in a contest that exuded a playoff atmosphere. Almost.
After trailing 1-0 heading into halftime, the Grandview remained persistent, and that paid dividends as it led to a hard-fought 2-1 victory in extratime for the top-ranked squad in Class 5A.
For most of the game, Grandview (12-0-1 overall) seemed to be in control, particularly early on as the Wolves dominated time of possession. Fortunately for Columbine (12-1-2), great possessions from the Wolves left them empty-handed as they couldn’t find the back of the net despite having a few solid attacks.
“I told them we just have to keep playing our game and keep shooting the ball and following,” Grandview coach Tari Wood said. “We know that goalkeeper is talented, but we just had to keep shooting and keep attacking.”
As the first half came to a close, it seemed as if both teams would be content to go into half deadlocked at a 0-0 tie, but Columbine senior Kelcey Cavarra had other plans as she scored on a 25-yard free kick that snuck past Reagan McCombs’ outstretched hands in the 32nd minute.
And for Grandview, the frustration was beginning to set in.
“(It was) very frustrating, they have an amazing keeper and I really think that’s what kept them in it,” Grandview junior Jessica Hixson said. “We had some great opportunities (early on) and she had some amazing saves.”
The promising opportunities on the attack would continue in the second half for the Wolves and it wasn’t long before the they broke through after chipping away all night.
In the 69th minute, the Rebels played a ball in the box on a corner from the east end of the field which dropped in for mosh pit-like scrum as Columbine had three shots on goal within 5 yards.
However, McCombs was cat-like with her reflexes as she made multiple saves, one coming while on the ground.
Following the bevy of saves, the ball was cleared out on the west wing of the field in the direction of Wolves’ senior Mandi Duggan and from there it was a foot race as she tracked the ball down with sophomore teammate Morgan Szarka streaking down the middle for a chance to get a play on the ball. Duggan crossed it into the box on a one-hop pass allowing Szarka to put it away as she finished with contact.
After tying it up, the game again fell into a stalemate with both teams showing fatigue as the final horn of regulation sounded. Extra time was on the way.
Both teams began the overtime period a bit slow and the match seemingly felt as if it would be won by the team that didn’t make a crucial mistake. Unfortunately for the Rebels, one mental error sealed their fate.
Trying to work the ball up field, Columbine forced a pass on the east wing near the benches, allowing for Grandview’s Jessica Hixson to intercept it. Hixson then turned the steal into a near 50-yard scamper as she eluded defenders and worked the ball in the box for a strike past the Rebels’ keeper, giving her team the win.
“At first when I won the ball down here, I thought, ‘Where are my options’ and just as I kept dribbling, I saw the space and I went for it,” Hixson said. “As soon as I saw that it was just me and the keeper, I knew it was going in.”
Although it was a grinder, Grandview was somewhat thankful for this type of game as the postseason is right around the corner.
“This game prepares us greatly because now we know where we stand. After losing some great players, from last year, we know that we can still do it this year,” Hixson stated.
Columbine finishes the season at 12-1-2, while Grandview has one more game slated for Thursday where they’ll face Colorado Academy.
The state track meet is a few weeks away, and the process for declaring athletes’ qualifying marks begins on Thursday.
The following message was sent from Jenn Roberts Uhlig, CHSAA’s Assistant Commissioner in charge of track, to schools:
The process for declaring your student-athletes opens at 3 p.m. today, May 5th and will closes midnight Saturday, May 14th. THERE WILL BE NO EXCEPTIONS, OR ANY LATE ENTRIES ACCEPTED. Please plan accordingly.
We ask that if you have athletes who you are not intending to run or participate at the state meet in a particular event(s) in which they have qualified in, please DO NOT declare those student-athletes in those events. We do realize there will be alternates for relays, but we need to remember why we are here and allow those students who have worked just as hard as your students to advance, if your student-athlete is not planning on filling that spot. NO ONE WANTS TO SEE OPEN LANES AT THE STATE COMPETITION!
Coaches can enter the qualifying marks into MaxPreps, the official stat provider of CHSAA.
CHSAA is also seeking students to sing the national anthem at state track. Interested parties should submit a video to the CHSAA office by emailing jboudreau@chsaa.org.
Heat sheets, as well as a schedule, for the state track meet will be available on CHSAANow.com by Monday, May 16.
State track will be held again this season at Jefferson County Stadium in Lakewood. Tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for students and seniors. They can be purchased on-site, or on TicketLeap.
