CHSAANow

Month: January 2017

  • Nearly two decades removed from a state title, Highland boys basketball is on the hunt

    At the conclusion of the 2013-14 boys basketball season, Highland was anything but a dominant team. The Class 2A program based in Ault finished with a disappointing 7-16 record.

    The mighty had fallen.

    The Huskies had seen basketball success before. They had seen the highest of basketball success before. Back in 2000, they beat Weld Central 58-47 in the 3A state title game. They were champions.

    Fast forward 14 years. They won a single Patriot League game. Seven games during the course of the entire season.

    Fast forward three more years. They are undefeated. They are the No. 1-ranked team in the state. They have the chance to accomplish something special only two years after a poor season.

    Highland boys basketball
    Coach Efrin Perez. (Emily Clayton/Highland High School)

    “This is my fifth year here at Highland,” coach Efrin Perez said. “The first few years there were a lot of growing pains.”

    But then something just kind of happened. There was no gradual increase in the number of the wins. They went from 7-16 to going 19-4 in 2014-15.

    Kids like Cole Rouse, who were freshmen on a losing team, decided that no longer would Highland struggle to reach double-digits in the win column.

    “Our freshman year, we didn’t do very well,” Rouse said. “It felt great to start winning.”

    This isn’t something that happened because a particular class just happens to have a talented group of basketball players. This season, the Huskies are seeing contributions from all classes. Rouse, Reese Anderson and Will Overton might be the three senior leaders, but sophomore Koby Anderson and junior Trey Allmon are every bit at vital to the success of the team.

    Perez notes that even freshman Tate Bessire is starting to pull his weight.

    And they all do it on both sides of the ball. Highland can score in bunches, but the players truly believe that defense will ultimately lead to whatever success they finish with this season.

    Highland boys basketball
    Reese Anderson. (Emily Clayton/Highland High School)

    “Everybody is comfortable with this system, they enjoy it,” Perez said. “Defense is what we hang our hat on and it really draws everything. You usually don’t have to work very hard to make everyone love the offensive end, it’s the defensive end that you have to convince them that they can take pride in it.”

    The Huskies give up only 42 points per game compared to the nearly 70 that they’re scoring. They’ve fallen short of the state tournament these last few years, but with more experience under their belt it’s hard not to look at the 2000 state championship banner and believe they can put one up right beside it.

    “We’ve been really focused to get that state tournament,” Rouse said. “We haven’t been there yet. We just realize that we can make it to state and we can play with anybody.”

    They’ll find out if that’s true on Friday night when they host No. 4 Akron. A win of that magnitude will certainly go a long way in giving the Huskies validation of their top ranking.

    “It’s No. 1 vs. No. 4,” Rouse said. “They’re a good team and it’s going to test our ability to be able to play with the best. That’ll help us win come tournament time.”

    Highland boys basketball
    Cole Rouse. (Emily Clayton/Highland High School)

  • C.J. Jennings scores 25 as Sierra boys basketball beats The Classical Academy

    Sierra The Classical Academy boys basketball CJ Jennings
    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    COLORADO SPRINGS — When it comes to defensive looks, C.J. Jennings has seen it all. So when The Classical Academy came out in a 2-3 zone with the intent on double-teaming him when he had the ball, it really didn’t phase him all that much.

    Jennings scored 25 points in less than three quarters of action as Sierra beat TCA 63-35 on Thursday night.

    Sierra’s Class 4A Colorado Springs Metro League winning streak now stands at 36 games. Not that coach Terry Dunn cares.

    “Somebody mentioned that to me and I didn’t know the count,” he said. “We coach one game at a time and we play one game at time. I think if you’re fixated on how many you win and how many you lose, I think you lose perspective about who you’re playing the next game.”

    So he’s all about staying in the moment. And so is Jennings. After DayShawn Tuck got the Stallions (11-3 overall, 7-0 4A CSML) out to a quick 3-0 lead to start the game, Jennings got going.

    He followed up a 3-pointer of his own. He knocked down a short-range jumper to push the lead to 16-3 which is how the first quarter ended.

    “I don’t have much to say really,” Titans coach Kevin Wenger said. “We thought we had a good game plan on him. Even trying to double-team him at the start, but we couldn’t keep the ball out of his hands.”

    He found his groove in the second quarter as the game began to really get away from the Titans (6-6, 3-3).

    He scored 11 points in the quarter, including the final seven for the Stallions.

    “When we rush our shots, it’s what they want us to do so they can get back on offense,” Jennings said. “We were patient enough to make the defense work they’ll be openings for an easy layup or an open jumper.”

    And as good as Sierra was defensively, they were every bit as good on the defensive side. Senior Erik Cilek came in averaging just under 19 points per game, but didn’t get his first field until close to midway through the second quarter. He was held to eight points on the night.

    “If we keep a defense-first mentality, we’ll be very hard to beat,” Jennings said. “Our defense will be able to create for our offense and that’s how we get fast break buckets.”

    They didn’t get as many transition points as they wanted, but with the lead growing as fast as it did, they weren’t needed as much.

    Jennings was out of the game before the end of the third quarter, but Dunn is always looking for execution to be sharp, regardless of time remaining in the game or score.

    “Execution and being able to defend (are important),” Dunn said. “(We can’t) become sloppy with the basketball or with play.”

    For Wenger’s squad, it’s focus is to learn from Thursday’s loss and apply it to the remainder of games left on its schedule.

    “We talked in the locker room,” he said. “There’s a lot we can learn from this and hopefully moving forward we can learn from some mistakes and learn from some breakdowns and make some corrections and build on them.”

    Next up for Sierra is Mesa Ridge, a team that has also yet to lose in Metro League play.

    From the second the Stallions entered the locker room after Thursday’s win, Dunn turned the focus to what they needed to do next.

    “We’re just trying to get ready for the next,” Dunn said. “We talked briefly about finishing strong and how to take care of the details and small things.”

  • Jefferson wins wrestling dual against Wheat Ridge

    Jefferson senior Kyle Cisneros, top, works on pinning Wheat Ridge junior Angelo Vecchiarelli on Thursday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    WHEAT RIDGE — It was all about being aggressive and not wasting time on the mat Thursday night at Wheat Ridge High School.

    Jefferson, Class 3A’s No. 5 ranked team in the current On the Mat rankings by Tim Yount, defeated Wheat Ridge 48-36 on the Farmers’ home mat. The dual ran a total of 32 minutes thanks to some aggressive wrestling on both sides.

    “It’s that time of year. You have to get after it,” Jefferson coach Oscar Fonseca said. “There is no time for holding back.”

    While there were five total forfeits — three by Jefferson and two by Wheat Ridge — the remaining nine matches ended all with pins. Not a single match even got into the third period.

    “For our side, it’s just being young and inexperienced,” Wheat Ridge coach Dave Osse said of the quick matches. “We are excited and want to get into the match. Sometime we get the (early) takedown, but sometimes we are so excited we put ourselves in a bad situation.”

    Jefferson’s Cruz Ortega has the upper hand on Wheat Ridge’s Joell Ortivez. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    Jefferson’s Cruz Ortega (106), Kyle Cisneros (132), Nick Gallegos (138), Brandon Onofre (152), Giovanni Lopez (170) and Oscar Lopez (220) were all victorious by pin for the Saints. Cisneros, Gallegos, Onofre, Lopez, along with freshman Jimmy Ramirez III (120) — won by forfeit — are all ranked in the top-8 of their 3A weight classes.

    Cisneros had the distinction of being a returning state champion.

    “In the beginning of the season was a little rough, but I think I’m back on track for a second state title,” Cisneros said talking about his season so far.

    Cisneros had a scare at the Arvada West Invite last Saturday. He cruised to a quarterfinal victory in one of the toughest tournaments in the state, but injured his ankle in the semifinals. Thursday was his first match back and he didn’t look hampered by the injury. Cisneros pinned Wheat Ridge junior Angelo Vecchiarelli in the second period.


    “It was the first time I’ve been injured during my high school career,” Cisneros said. “I’m just focused on getting as healthy as I can and getting back (to state). I already know what I have to do. I’ll be a lot more confident down at Pepsi Center. On finals night I’ll have the upper hand.”

    Fonseca believes Cisneros will be ready when the state-qualifying regional tournament rolls around in a few weeks.

    The key dates ahead for all wrestlers in the state is regionals — Friday and Saturday, Feb. 10 and 11 — where the top four placers in each weight class will earn the right to wrestle at the state tournament Feb. 16-18 at Pepsi Center.

    Jefferson is slated for the Class 3A Region 4 tournament at Elizabeth High School.

    “The guys who qualify are going to be very competitive at the state tournament,” Fonseca said. “We are doing 6 a.m. practices in the morning and then in the evening. It’s showing.”

    Wheat Ridge earned victories by pin Thursday from Josh Moler (145), Jayce Chea (160) and the Farmers’ lone senior Nikolos Schnebly (285). Schnebly was initially slated to win by forfeit in the final match of the night, but the Saints inserted 220-pound freshman Anthony Lozano to allow Schnebly to wrestle on Senior Night.

    Wheat Ridge junior Josh Moler, top, puts the finishing touches on his pin. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    “It’s hard when it’s your last match in your home gym and you don’t have anyone to wrestle and take a forfeit,” Osse said. “It was a nice gesture on Jefferson’s part.”

    Schnebly is also the Farmers’ lone returning state qualifier, but there is hope that Wheat Ridge can get a few more down to Pepsi Center next month.

    “I’ve got to work a lot more on setting up takedowns,” said Moler, who scored a first-period pin. “I’m much better than where I was at last year. I think I have a much better shot this year.”

    Wheat Ridge is slotted for the Class 4A Region 3 tournament at Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs for its state-qualifying tournament in a couple of weeks.

    “I think we are in a really good situation going into the last month of the season,” Osse said.

    Jefferson senior Brandon Onofre works on turning Wheat Ridge freshman Lex Crowder to his back. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

  • Photos: Baer has hat trick as Resurrection Christian hockey beats Pine Creek

    MONUMENT — Blake Baer scored all three of his goals within three minutes and five seconds of each other as Resurrection Christian beat Pine Creek 9-0 on Thursday.

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  • This week’s wrestling rankings from On The Mat

    Below are this week’s wrestling rankings from On The Mat.

    [divider]

    On The Mat Wrestling Rankings

    Tim Yount of On The Mat provides weekly wrestling rankings for teams and individuals in all weight classes. To see individual rankings, you can subscribe to On The Mat’s full rankings.

    To subscribe via PayPal, choose your subscription option on this page click on the corresponding PayPal button. To subscribe by mail or fax and pay by personal check, click here for a printable subscription form. Email Tim Yount at tim@onthematrankings.com with questions.

    To purchase individual weeks of the rankings (as opposed to the entire season), you will need to use the printable subscription form and pay by check. The season ranking subscriptions are offered at a discounted rate.

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    Class 2A
    RK TEAM PVS
    1 Rocky Ford 1
    2 Meeker 2
    3 Hotchkiss 3
    4 Norwood/Nucla 4
    5 Paonia 5
    6 Highland 6
    7 John Mall 7
    8 Sedgwick County/Fleming 9
    9 Limon 10
    10 Ignacio 8
    Dropped out
    None.
    Class 3A
    RK TEAM PVS
    1 Alamosa 1
    2 Valley 2
    3 Centauri 3
    4 La Junta 4
    5 Jefferson 5
    6 Platte Valley 7
    7 Eaton 9
    8 Buena Vista –
    9 Sheridan –
    10 Lamar 10
    Dropped out
    Brush (6), Fort Lupton (8).
    Class 4A
    RK TEAM PVS
    1 Pueblo County 1
    2 Pueblo East 2
    3 Greeley Central 3
    4 Windsor 4
    5 Cheyenne Mountain 5
    6 Pueblo West 6
    7 Mesa Ridge 7
    8 Grand Junction Central –
    9 Discovery Canyon 8
    10 Canon City 10
    Dropped out
    Pine Creek (9).
    Class 5A
    RK TEAM PVS
    1 Pomona 1
    2 Grand Junction 2
    3 Grandview 3
    4 Poudre 4
    5 Brighton 5
    6 Adams City 9
    7 Castle View 6
    8 Coronado 7
    9 Cherokee Trail 8
    10 Monarch 10
    Dropped out
    None.

  • Photos: Regis Jesuit boys basketball edges Douglas County in OT

    AURORA — Regis Jesuit boys basketball got a thrilling victory over Douglas County on Thursday, 68-67 in overtime.

    Sam Bannec and Connor Hobbs each had 13 points, and Justin Lamb added 11 for the Raiders.

    Cam’ron Dunfeee led all scorers with 18 points for Douglas County.

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  • Photos: Sierra boys basketball cruises to 4A CSML win over The Classical Academy

    COLORADO SPRINGS — C.J. Jennings scored 25 and Sierra boys basketball cruised to a 63-35 win over The Classical Academy on Thursday.

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  • Chatfield set to host girls-only wrestling tournament on Jan. 28

    Chatfield is preparing to host a second girls-only wrestling tournament next weekend.

    This comes on the heels of the highly-successful female tournament put on by Frederick last weekend. That event, the first of its kind, drew 80 girls from 42 different schools.

    Chatfield’s event is slated for Jan. 28. Previously-announced girls-only tournaments planned for Highlands Ranch and Silver Creek have been cancelled, so this is the next opportunity for girls to compete at this type of event.

    Just like with the Frederick tournament, girls interested in attending the event must be members of their high school teams. But they do not have to have been members since the beginning of the season — they need to have five practices in prior to competing.

    Coaches interested in the event should contact Michael George (michael.george@kiewit.com) or Paul Peronard (peronard.paul@epa.gov).

  • No. 7 Eaglecrest boys basketball makes a statement with dominating win over No. 5 Cherry Creek

    Cherry Creek Eaglecrest boys basketball
    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    CENTENNIAL — Last Friday, Eaglecrest had jumped out to a 36-16 lead over Grandview before ultimately losing the game.

    Coach John Olander was going to make sure that didn’t happen again.

    The CHSAANow.com No. 7 Raptors dominated defensively, allowing zero points in the fourth quarter, to beat No. 5 Cherry Creek 69-32.

    Eaglecrest (10-3 overall, 4-1 Centennial) looked much more like that team that came into the season with a No. 1 ranking rather than the team that has let a couple of games slip away from them

    “Tonight it showed that when we play together, we’re a great team,” senior Colby Ross said. “If we get lazy, we showed what can happen against Grandview.”

    Ross led all scorers with 16 points. He scored the first five points of the game, helping the Raptors jump out to a 16-10 lead after the first quarter.

    The Bruins (12-2, 4-1) had difficulty on both sides of the ball. They had trouble countering Eaglecrest’s zone press which led to turnovers and even when they could get the ball down the floor, had difficulty getting open looks and knocking down shots.

    “It was a good test,” Cherry Creek coach Kent Dertinger said. “And we failed. I think it shows we have a long way to go. But it’s a long season and it’s a character builder.”

    Already down 18 at halftime, the Bruins couldn’t stop the Raptors from starting the third quarter on a 12-4 run. A game that was supposed to feature a marquee matchup was suddenly getting out of hand.

    “That’s what we focus on in practice is putting pressure on people,” Ross said. “I just think everyone stepped up tonight.”

    Eaglecrest also got double-digit scoring efforts from Ikenna Ozor (14) and Josh Walton (10). The group of seniors that have experienced heartbreak in two Final 4s and a Great 8 seem poised to make a run at a state title this season.

    “Our guys accepted the challenge,” Olander said. “We have a lot of guys who can come in and make plays on the offensive end and rebound.”

    But the Centennial League should be paying close attention to Eaglecrest’s defensive effort. Jalen Meeks led the Bruins with 14 points, but no other Cherry Creek player scored more than five.

    They held a 56-32 lead heading into the fourth quarter, but refused to let up on that side of the ball. The pressure and the building frustration from the Bruins were good enough keep Cherry Creek scoreless in the final eight minutes of the game.

    “(They have) five seniors on the floor that played for a state championship last year,” Dertinger said. “We knew what we were getting into and we just didn’t handle it as well as we should have.”

    The Bruins will try to bounce back against No. 4 Grandview on Saturday, the same team that erased a 20-point Eaglecrest lead last week.

    The Raptors face a tough three-game stretch with all of them on the road. They’ll head to Smoky Hill on Friday before heading to Denver East and Cherokee Trail next week.

    “We have five out of the last seven at our place,” Olander said. “So if we can get through the next couple ones and we’re feeling good, then I like our chances in the second half of the season.”

  • No. 5 Golden boys hoops slams down road win at Green Mountain

    Golden junior Adam Thistlewood toes the free-throw line Wednesday night on his way to 23 points. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    LAKEWOOD — Golden’s boys basketball coach John Anderson felt his Demons needed a bit of a mid-season tweaking.

    “We kind of realized it in the last couple weeks that this team needs more possessions and to do that we need to play a little more uptempo,” Anderson said after the Demons took a 64-48 road victory against Green Mountain on Wednesday night.

    A little bit of a different full-court pressure defense and Golden’s trademark half-court trap allowed the likes of junior Adam Thistlewood and senior Kayden Sund to get going early.

    Thistlewood and Sund each had dunks off turnovers within 20 seconds of each other in the first quarter. Sund opened up the second half with an impressive slam over a Ram defender and converted the following free-throw after a foul, pushing the Demons’ lead to double-digits.

    Golden junior Joe Madsen (22) slips past Green Mountain senior Justin Booher. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    “We were on a roll,” said Thistlewood, who had 20 points by halftime. “It was great to see Kayden do that kind of work. That and-one dunk was impressive, mind-boggling. It was a good start for us.”

    Thistlewood (23 points) and Sund (14 points) looked to juniors Jack Moore and Joe Madsen in the second half with the Demons on cruise control. Moore (nine points) his a pair of 3-pointers as Golden pushed its lead to 24 points midway through the third quarter.

    “That’s what my role is to hit the shot when they (Thistlewood or Sund) go inside and the defense collapses on them,” Moore said. “They are the focal points of the team. When they get going the defense focuses on them. That’s where I come in.”

    Madsen did his work on the inside and from the free-throw line to finish with nine points.

    Green Mountain had stretches of getting things together offensively. Junior Alex Telles (12 points) made four 3-pointers in the second half. After a quiet first half, senior Justin Booher finished with 10 points.

    The Rams’ shooting just wasn’t reliable enough to upset the No. 5 ranked Golden (12-2, 4-1 in Jeffco) in the current CHSAANow.com Class 4A boys hoops poll.

    “We are going to have to and we can,” Green Mountain coach Derek Van Tassel said of the Rams’ shooting needing to be better. “We just need to be more consistent. We need to play better.”

    Senior Jake Haertl started hot early for the Rams with 11 of his team-high 15 points in the first half.

    Green Mountain senior Jake Haerti had 15 points Wednesday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    “He (Haerti) was the one being aggressive,” Van Tassel said. “That is why it was working for him so well.”

    Green Mountain (7-5, 2-2) has its first of two conference match-ups against league-leading and No. 4 D’Evelyn on the Jaguars’ home court 7 p.m. Friday night. Everyone is attempting to chase down the D’Evelyn in the conference standings. The Jaguars (12-2, 5-0) have a 1-game lead nearing the midway point in the league schedule.

    Wednesday’s win was the start of a tough week-long stretch for the Demons. Golden has road games at Evergreen (7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20) and D’Evelyn (7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25).

    “Evergreen is one of those sleepers,” Thistlewood said. “They can shoot lights out. That will be a big one for us.”

    No. 3 Valor Christian took a 64-51 win over Evergreen (9-4, 2-2) on Wednesday night.

    Golden senior Kayden Sund, middle, celebrates his second-quarter dunk with Riley Stoner, left, and Adam Thistlewood. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)