THORNTON and AIR FORCE ACADEMY — The 4A and 5A boys state swim meets got underway on Friday. Find full results below.
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THORNTON — If the last two minutes of Friday’s prelims were any indication, the Class 4A boys swim and dive finals are going to be a treat.
It was equivalent to a thrilling overtime in basketball, sudden death in hockey. Just much rarer.
A tie in times in the last individual event of the night forced a swim-off: A head-to-head matchup between Littleton senior Theodore Jensen and Cheyenne Mountain freshman Sheridan Harder closed out the night.
In the 100-yard breaststroke, only 30 minutes prior, the two finished at 1:03:55, the eighth-place time. When they raced again with empty lanes to their left and right, Jensen finished in 1:02:42, Harder at 1:02:49. Seven hundredths of a second gave Jensen the last qualifying spot in finals.
“It was just so cool to even be in a swim-off, to be in the energy of it all,” Jensen said. “I thought I had a good time in the first race and when my coach came over and told me I needed to do a second race, I thought, ‘This will be rough.’ I was really nervous prior to and during the first 50 yards. But in the last 50, I just stopped caring about my arms hurting and went as hard as I could.”
Jensen will swim his last high school breast stroke in the finals Saturday.
Two brothers, Thompson Valley junior Liam Gately and sophomore Lukas Gately, will swim against one another in the 500-yard free final on Saturday. The elder took first place in 2015. Tonight he placed fourth, while his brother made the cut at eighth.
Two freshman finished top in their events this evening: Montrose’s Ryan King in the 500-yard freestyle and Air Academy’s Griffin Ayotte in the 200-yard free. King and Ayotte will swim in both races tomorrow, with a chance to place in either.
The more seasoned Air Academy swimmer, senior Tommy Baker, qualified first in his two events. He currently holds the season record for the 50- and 100-yard freestyle, both of which he beat tonight. Baker opted out of the 200-yard this time around, the event he won last year.
Saturday won’t be an easy feat, though, as Denver South junior Keegan Bundy placed second in both events, right behind Baker. Baker’s season best in the 100-yard prior to the prelims was 45:91, while Bundy’s was 45:92.
“There are so many fast guys out here. Keegan and I are good friends, he’s a fast kid and he pushes me,” Baker said. “It’s good competition and it’s going to be close tomorrow. When I come back tomorrow I just hope the excitement of the finals carries me there to the win.”
Last season, Baker finished third in the 100-yard freestyle, while Bundy missed the podium by one spot in the 50-yard freestyle.
Cheyenne Mountain finished Friday night with 10 qualifying places from eight different swimmers, while Air Academy had six. Cheyenne took first in two of the three relays and Air Academy grabbed the number one spot the 400-yard freestyle relay.
A year ago, Cheyenne Mountain claimed the championship, knocking off three-time champ Air Academy. Baker, Ayotte and the rest of their team plan to finish like they did in 2012, 2013, 2014: in first place, with Baker trying for his third team victory in his high school career.
AIR FORCE ACADEMY — This season, Arapahoe High School’s Griffin Eiber only swam the 200-yard freestyle a few times.
However, if any of his Class 5A competitors thought he lost some speed — they were dead wrong.
Eiber, a junior, clocked a career-best 1:39.94-second time in prelims to grab the No. 1 seed Friday at the Class 5A swim and dive state championships at the Air Force Academy.
For good measure, Eiber also qualified No. 1 in the 100 free (45.37). Eiber also swam legs on Arapahaoe’s 200 and 400 relays teams. The Warriors were second in the 200 free (1:25.77), which qualified them No. 2, and No. 6 in the 400 (3:12.50). Eiber clocked a 20.96-second time in the first leg of the 200, which was quicker than any of the 50 freestyle competitors.
“I have never been under 1:40 before, so that 1:39 felt awesome,” the 6-foot, 145-pound Eiber said. “It felt good and it felt comfortable, and I was just relieved because it was a big goal for me to break 1:40. That was my first good 200 free in almost a year. It wasn’t that good in the spring, at least not where I wanted it to be. My plan for (Saturday) is to just up and race and the time will take care of itself.”
Diving prelims begin at 9 a.m. Saturday and the finals in all events start at 2 p.m. The top 16 placers Friday moved on to Saturday. The top eight finishers in the prelims in each event will swim Saturday in the championships finals. The remaining competitors will compete in the consolation finals.
Eiber clocked his previous personal-best time of 1:41.09 when he placed second in state in the 100 free to Cherry Creek senior Sam Coffman a year ago.
The performance of Eiber didn’t surprise longtime Arapahoe coach Michael Richmond.
“First of all, Griffin was happy to break 40, especially at this altitude (7,285 feet),” Richmond said. “He’s smooth in the water and he’s beautiful to watch. He does a lot of good things. He’s very aware. He’s savvy and he’s a great kid. He’s also very focused and he’s a great student-athlete. We’re glad he’s swimming well and glad he’s only a junior.”
George Farner, Arapahoe’s assistant coach, concurred with Richmond.
“We were pleased with the 1:39, but he thinks he can go faster than that, so we will see how it goes (Saturday),” Farner said. “He’s a great kid for our team. He’s a leader on the team and does what he needs to do. He’s also really in tune in what he needs in the way of training. He didn’t swim the 200 much this season because he wanted to sort of focus on it here at state.”
Eiber, 17, has already looked at some NCAA Division I schools to continue his swimming career, including in the Ivy League, but he hasn’t made any decisions yet.
“I would really like to swim in college, but I haven’t really thought about too many places yet,” said Eiber, who began swimming at age 4.
Eiber’s main concentration is the task at hand Saturday. Eiber also is one of the state’s top 50-freestyle swimmers, but he is only able to compete in two individual events at state and chose the 100 and 200 free.
“I’ve never won a state championship, and if I could win a state championship it would mean a lot,” Eiber said. “It would mean the hard work I’ve been putting in would’ve finally paid off. The 50, 100 and 200 free are tightly-knit for my top three events, and it is just kind of goes around (which one is best) as the season changes.”
Richmond knows state glory is clearly within Eiber’s reach.
“Potential (to win state) is a big word, but certainly when you place first you’re in the money,” Richmond said. “You have to come back and do it (Saturday), but he knows that and he will be good.”
DENVER – With a four-goal lead slowly being whittled away Friday night, Regis Jesuit senior Joey Chott stepped in and gave the Raiders a much-needed shot of adrenaline.
After Arapahoe pulled to within two goals of Regis Jesuit to start the fourth quarter of the Class 5A boys lacrosse state championship, Chott ignited a five-goal outburst with two scores in a span of 33 seconds. That helped spark the Raiders to an 11-6 victory over the Warriors at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, giving Regis Jesuit its second title in three years.
“It’s what we’ve been working for all year,” Chott said. “It’s our final run. Our motto was ‘finish’ this year and we finished out the season with a state championship. It’s amazing.”
After falling to Cherry Creek in the 2015 title game, the Raiders (17-2) were all about finishing. That’s exactly what the team did in the fourth quarter, pulling away with four goals in just more than four minutes.
Arapahoe (15-4) trailed all night, but was slowly chipping away at the lead. David Babb’s length-of-the-field sprint was capped off with a goal to make it a 6-4 game, but Chott responded less than a minute later with a score of his own.
He struck again 33 seconds later, ripping a long attempt past Warriors goalie Ethan Ferrie to make it 8-4.
“It was a big push for our team,” Chott said. “Then we could settle down and waste some clock.”
Reed Babcock made it 9-4 with seven minutes, 24 seconds remaining, and Alec Barnes’ second goal of the game pushed the lead to six goals. Joey Soran added his second goal soon after that.
That was more than enough for the Raiders’ defense, which allowed only 11 goals in four playoff games. Junior goalie Braden Host, who gave up less than four goals a game this season, notched six saves.
“My defense in front of me has just been locked down. We’ve got a lot of great defenders; even our second-string are phenomenal,” Host said. “I trust all of them. They give up the shots I want to see. They really just protect me, and it just works.”
Senior Keenan Moffitt scored a pair of goals for Arapahoe and Chase Douglas, Ryan Carlson and Babb also added goals. Ferrie finished the night with seven saves.
The Raiders jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in the first quarter behind a hat trick from senior attack Mikey Bealer. Chott scored his first goal of the night to make it a 4-1 game at halftime.
“That’s huge to get the momentum,” Chott said. “Then we could just play with the lead and play smart. Our defense – best defense in the state, only giving up five goals in the state championship.”
While the semifinal victory over Cherry Creek was a nice bit of redemption for Regis Jesuit, the only win that truly mattered was the one that came Friday night.
“Honestly this is just huge, coming back from that state loss last year,” Host said. “The big motto the whole year was ‘finish.’ Really, that was just to finish what we started last year: Get to the ‘Ship and finish.”
DENVER — The Class 5A state baseball tournament kicked off Friday with games at Bishop Machebeuf and All-City Field.
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GREELEY — Faith Christian capped a good day with a 15-5 win against Faith Christian on Friday in the Class 3A baseball tournament.
The Eagles also beat Lamar 5-0 to begin the day.
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DENVER — Lance Tillman scored the game winner as Valor Christian beat Dawson School 10-9 to claim the Class 4A boys lacrosse championship Friday night.
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DENVER — Regis Jesuit boys lacrosse won the Class 5A championship with an 11-5 victory over Arapahoe on Friday.
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(6) Mountain Vista 4, (2) Columbine 1
Katie Joella scored what ended up being the game-winning goal goal in the 17th minute of the game as the Golden Eagles advanced to the Class 5A state championship game. Mountain Vista fell a game short last season as they lost 2-0 to Broomfield in the semifinals.
The 5A state championship game will be played at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Wednesday.
(1) Grandview 1, (12) Broomfield 0
Grandview got the lone goal of the game in the second half as the Wolves get into the 5A title game. They face Mountain Vista on Wednesday. The teams played to a 0-0 draw earlier in the season.
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(1) Lewis-Palmer 1, (13) Mullen 0
Brianna Alger scored a golden goal in the 45th minute to send Lewis-Palmer back to the 4A championship game for the second year in a row.
The Ranger lost to Cheyenne Mountain in penalty kicks last year.
(7) Valor Christian 2, (3) Windsor 2
Savanna Hunzicker and Cori Dyke connected on goals for the Eagles as they advance to the 4A state title game to take on Lewis-Palmer.
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(1) Kent Denver 2, (4) Jefferson Academy 0
A goal in the 18th minute is all the Sun Devils needed as they would go on to win 2-0, reaching the 3A championship game.
Kent Denver had lost three straight semifinal games before Saturday’s win.
(2) Colorado Academy 0, (3) The Academy 0 (CA wins 4-3 in PKs)
Colorado Academy will get a chance to avenge a 1-0 extra time loss to Kent Denver as the Mustangs beat the Academy in penalty kicks.
No goals were scored in regulation or in extra time and Colorado Academy got the 4-3 edge in PKs to advance to the 3A title game.
DENVER — Bridget Sutter came up huge for Colorado Academy in the final minutes, and helped her team secure a return trip to the girls lacrosse championship game.
Sutter, the Mustangs’ junior goalie and the reigning player of the year, made two key saves in the final minute-and-a-half of 9-8 a semifinal win against Kent Denver on Saturday at DU’s Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium. Colorado Academy, the top seed and defending champion, has now won 28 consecutive games.
“We have 100 percent confidence in Bridget,” Colorado Academy coach Steph Sanders said after the game. “I think she is one of our best leaders. So to have the ball on the defense and feel really good about the ball being down there is kind of a nice thing for a coach.”
First, Sutter made a save on Kent Denver star Erin O’Shaughnessy as she broke in alone toward the crease with 1:22 remaining. Then, with 55 seconds remaining, she held off a free-position attempt.
“I was thinking, ‘If I save it, then that’s a good thing. If they score, then it’s probably overtime, so we can have another chance,’” Sutter said. “I wasn’t too worried about that, but it was in the back of my mind that it could have possibly been our last game.”
The two teams met earlier this season, a 14-5 Colorado Academy win in April. But this time, in the semifinals with so much on the line, was different.
Kent Denver led 5-3 late in the first half before the Mustangs’ Claire Wright scored with 12.9 seconds remaining to cut it to 5-4 at the break.
“Throughout the first half, we weren’t working as a team,” Sutter said.
Added Sanders: “We made some adjustments on our attack. A lot of it was just dropped balls. We were just kind of having some stick-work issues that we needed to work out. I think the girls were nervous. I just told them, ‘Calm down. This is it, so put everything out there.’”
The adjustments worked. Colorado Academy opened the half with five consecutive goals to build a 9-5 lead with 11:32 to play.
But Kent wasn’t done. The Sun Devils battled back, and eventually made it 9-8 with five minutes remaining. They had a number of chances to even the game, including the two attempts in the final minutes, but Sutter and the CA defense turned away each one.
Maddie Webster led Colorado Academy with three goals, while Sydney Prokupek added two goals and an assist.
Rachel Cowan led Kent Denver with three goals of her own, and goalie Gabby Kinney had an outstanding day.
With the win, Colorado Academy heads back to the title game with a chance to defend their championship. And yet, that’s not how the Mustangs see it.
“As our coach says every time, we’re not defending a championship — we’re going after another,” Sutter said. “So we’re not focusing on the streak, because we don’t really know about it. But we’re not defending anything. We’re going after our own title.”
Said Sanders: “What I’ve told them is that it doesn’t matter what’s happened in the past, it doesn’t matter who you are, it doesn’t matter your ranking, how many goals you’ve scored. It’s all about how you show up for that game.
“And for us, all season long, we’ve seen every team’s best game. We have a huge target on our back, and we just need to focus on ourselves and getting our team to the best team we can be. And if we’re the best team we can be, we’ll have positive results.”
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Cherry Creek girls lacrosse reached the state championship game for the 19th-consecutive season with a narrow 10-9 win over Mullen on Saturday. It means the Bruins continued their streak of reaching the championship in every season of the sanctioned history of the sport.
Pearl Schwartz led the Bruins with three goals, while Eliza Radochonski added a pair.
The win avenged Cherry Creek’s only loss this season — a 9-7 defeat to Mullen in their regular season finale. Now, the Bruins get a chance to avenge another loss: Colorado Academy beat Cherry Creek in last year’s championship.
After a low-scoring start to Saturday’s semifinal, Cherry Creek grabbed a 5-4 lead at halftime. They pushed that lead to 7-5 early in the second half, but Mullen responded to take an 8-7 lead with 15:42 to play.
Cherry Creek took a timeout at that point, and Schwartz tied the game on a free-position goal a minute-and-a-half after that. She then gave her team the lead for good with another goal with 11:24 to play.
Mullen’s Payton Gabriel and Emme Johnson each had a hat trick to lead the Mustangs, who were in the semifinals for the first time in program history.
The girls lacrosse championship is at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at DU.