Pomona senior pitcher Makaila Chadwick helped the No. 7 ranked Panthers to a 14-1 victory Tuesday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

ARVADA — Pomona softball coach Jim Biddle says his team doesn’t have a chip on its shoulder after a remarkable run to the Class 5A state championship game last season.

“Honestly, I don’t sense that,” Biddle said Tuesday after the CHSAANow.com preseason No. 7-ranked Panthers improved to 3-1 on the season. “We have nine new girls straight up from JV. We don’t have a chip on our shoulder. Last year was last year. This year is this year. We have a new set of kids and I’m excited.”

Pomona finished in a three-way tie for third in the 5A Jeffco League and was the No. 14 seed in last year’s 16-team state tournament. That didn’t matter after the Panthers defeated Broomfield, Grandview and Fossil Ridge to reach the state championship. Mountain Range ended the Cinderella story defeating the Panthers 12-2.

“It’s a little different. We have to work a lot harder,” Pomona junior Jessica Espinoza said. “Last year we had a lot of talent, but this year I think we have a lot of heart too.”

Pomona junior Jessica Espinoza lays off a high pitch against Standley Lake. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

With last year in the rearview mirror, Pomona’s focus is now on the present and future. The Panthers took care of business Tuesday in the non-league game against 4A Jeffco’s Standley Lake with a 14-1 victory.

Pomona used an 11-run first inning which included taking advantage of eight walks and four hit batters. Espinoza had a two-run double for the Panthers in the inning that saw the first nine batters reach base. Seniors Gracie Cordova and Abriana Ramirez both had run-scoring singles as the Panthers quickly erased a 1-0 lead for the Gators (0-7 record).

“I knew we could come back right away with some strong hits and get right back at them,” said Espinoza, who doubled in the bottom of the third inning and walked her other two plate appearances.

Biddle admits his offense will look a little different this season.

“We are going to have to manufacture a lot more runs and play more small ball,” Biddle said. “We don’t have the big bangers we’ve had the last couple of years.”

Pomona does have a wealth of choices when it comes to pitching. Senior Makaila Chadwick got the start against Standley Lake. She gave up a run on three hits through two innings. Senior Allie Hufford pitched the final three innings before the 10-run mercy rule ended the game after the top of the fifth inning. Huffed gave up just one hit that was erased with a game-ending double play.

“We’ve got four quality pitchers right now,” Biddle said. “We have a lot of options in the circle.”

Pomona gears up for the always competitive Erie Festival Tournament on Thursday and Saturday, Sept. 1 and 3. The Panthers will face a team from Oklahoma, Legacy, Pine Creek, Loveland and Heritage during the two-day tournament.

Standley Lake sophomore Brianna Ynostroza (38) slides under the tag to score the Gators’ lone run Tuesday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

“We’ve been doing it every year during my 12 years here. It’s absolutely the best thing,” Biddle said of the Erie Festival. “We get five quality opponents that lead us right into our league play. It’s very important for us to go and play top-quality competition.”

Pomona opens 5A Jeffco League play Sept. 20 at home against Bear Creek.

Standley Lake closed out its 2016 season with a three-game winning streak. However, wins have been hard to come by this season so far for the Gators.

“We are in a building stage,” Standley Lake coach Al Valdez said. “We are working with our pitchers and working on doing the essential things — hitting and scoring runs. The girls are starting to play like a team. We have a great group of girls. They don’t give up.”

Valdez gave a lot of credit to his freshman pitcher Danessa O’Blia that pitched against Pomona. Despite her struggles, O’Blia hung in after the 11-run first inning to allow just three runs on four hits in the final three innings.

“Some kids don’t want to come out and (O’Blia) never looks at me wanting to come out of a game,” Valdez said. “She just battles in there. She is going to be good.”

Standley Lake’s next game will be at home Saturday, Sept. 3, against Mesa Ridge. The Gators open 4A Jeffco League play Sept. 22 against Evergreen.

Pomona junior Alexus Spinks and the Panthers will play in the Erie Festival Tournament later this week. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

GREENWOOD VILLAGE — Aubrea Leikam had three RBIs to lead Cherry Creek softball to an 11-1 win over Denver East on Tuesday.

The Bruins’ Meg Joyce allowed just one run in five innings of work. She struck out three.

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ARVADA — Pomona boys soccer beat Denver South 5-1 on Tuesday.

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The start of the high school boys race during Jeffco Public Schools’ Adapted Athletics cross country meet Aug. 30 at Gold Crown Field House. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

LAKEWOOD — Jeffco Public Schools kicked off its 2016-17 school year of Adapted Athletics events Tuesday.

Nearly 250 high school and middle school students from 15 different Jeffco schools descended on at All Star Park in Lakewood for a cross country meet for special need students. Cross country, along with track and field, was added last year to the growing schedule of events for the nearly decade-long program.

Bryan Wickoren, Adapted Physical Education Coordinator for Jeffco Public Schools, started the program in 2007. He modeled Jeffco’s program after Minnesota’s success Adapted Athletes program that has been established since the 1970s.

“We just kept expanding,” said Wickoren who began the program with basketball games at Fletcher Miller School with students from Miller, Alameda International, Arvada West and Conifer high school participating. “We’ve just slowly evolved.”

Nearly ten years later, the Adapted Athletics program in Jeffco has at least one scheduled event every month through the school year. The sports include cross country, soccer, flag football, bowling, volleyball, basketball, hockey, softball, along with track and field.

More than 200 students took part in Jeffco’s Adapted Athletics cross country meet. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

“We always want to focus on their ability, not their disability,” Wickoren said as student-athletes started to arrive at All Star Park. “We want to empower them to enjoy physical activity.”

Wickoren said there has been an alarming increase in obesity for students with disabilities. The hope is to give students an experience in athletics that they can do with family and friends now and in the future.

Basketball is still the most popular sport in the Adapted Athletics program. Arvada West High School will host the north-area tournament and the Gold Crown Field House will host the south-area tournament. There will also be the addition of the I-25 Basketball Tournament in January at Gold Crown where schools from Fort Collins to Pueblo will be invited to participate.

“I think we are leading,” Wickoren said of Jeffco in the forefront of providing these opportunities for special need students. “Everyone is looking at us. That is one of the reasons we are doing the I-25 Adapted Basketball Tournament.”

Aurora, Brighton, Greeley and Grand Junction are some other Colorado school districts that have come to one of Jeffco’s Adapted Athletics events to get ideas of how to run their own.

Jeffco’s Adapted Athletics has a scheduled competition every month during the school year. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

“The unique thing about Jeffco is we have a big population of schools to be able to do it,” Wickoren said. “It’s nice to be a leader.”

Down the road Wickoren’s dream is to have state competitions in basketball, soccer, softball along with track and field. He would also like some of the Jeffco high schools to host some of the events like Arvada West does with basketball.

“There is still growth to be had,” Wickoren said. “The positive feedback from staffs is wonderful. They look forward to having these every month. They have gotten the tie-in with PE teachers to work on upcoming events so they can have success at these events. A day like today is like their test day.”

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Jeffco Public Schools’ Adapted Athletics

The Gold Crown Field House will be the site of the I-25 Adapted Basketball Tournament in January. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

• Monday, Sept. 26, at Creighton MS & Trailblazer Stadium — Soccer
  
• Wednesday, Oct 19, at Creighton MS & Trailblazer Stadium — Flag Football
• Friday, Nov. 18, at TBA — Bowling
• Thursday, Dec. 1, at Gold Crown Field House — Volleyball
• Thursday, Jan. 19, at Gold Crown Field House — Basketball (1-25 Adapted Tourney)
• Friday, Jan. 20, at Gold Crown Field House — Basketball
• Thursday, Feb. 16, at Gold Crown Field House — Hockey
• Wednesday, March 22, at Arvada West High School — Basketball (north schools)
• Thursday, March 23, at Gold Crown Field House — Basketball (south schools)
• Tuesday, April 18, at Gold Crown Field House — Softball (middle schools)
• Wednesday, April 19, at Gold Crown Field House — Softball (high schools)
• Friday, May 5, at Jeffco Stadium — Track and field
• Wednesday, May 10, at Gold Crown Field House — Tournament of Champions

PARKER — Ponderosa volleyball won a big-time cross-classification matchup with Grandview in five sets on Tuesday.

The Mustangs, ranked No. 4 in 4A, rallied to beat the 5A No. 7 Wolves 26-25, 22-25, 14-25, 25-19, 15-10.

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BROOMFIELD — Taylor Gilmore allowed just one run and struck out five in leading No. 6 Broomfield softball to a 13-1 win over No. 9 Ralston Valley on Tuesday.

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BRIGHTON — Rocky Mountain softball scored three runs in the seventh inning to seal a 7-3 win over Brighton on Tuesday.

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MONTROSE — Delta softball used a 12-run second inning to defeat Montrose 15-5 on Tuesday.

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A complete schedule and scoreboard for football’s top-10 teams during Week 1 of the 2016 season.

• Live scoreboard
• Complete CHSAANow.com rankings
• Full schedule and scoreboard of this week’s games
• Follow all the action live beginning at 6:30 p.m. Friday

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MANITOU SPRINGS — For the first time in three years, Manitou Springs opened its season with a win as the Mustangs topped Atlas Prep 4-1 on Tuesday.

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