Month: May 2017

3A girls state tennis: Dawson’s Berry riding streak into No. 3 singles final

(Cannon Casey/CHSAANow.com)

GREELEY — Dawson senior Maggie Berry has has not lost a set all year, and she’s determined to keep that streak.

“It’s definitely been in my mind,” Berry said. “When you’re on a roll, if I lose a set it’s okay, but there’s a part of me that’s like, ‘I’ve got to keep up this streak.’ People normally tell me that I play like I’m in a rush to get somewhere.”

If Berry keeps the streak during the Class 3A state tournament, she will do something no player at Dawson has done before — win an individual girls tennis state championship.

“That would be amazing and very humbling to be the first champion,” Berry said. “I’d love to be that, so hopefully I can rest up and play my best tomorrow.”

Well, Berry is already doing something she herself has never done before.

“It’s going really well,” Berry said. “I’m really enjoying being here with the team and having their support and supporting them. Everyone that I’ve played has been so nice. Overall, it’s been a joyous experience.”

This is the first year Berry has qualified for state, and what a ride it has been.

(Cannon Casey/CHSAANow.com)

She took down St. Mary’s Academy’s Sarah Emmanuel 6-1, 6-1 and Fountain Valley’s Delaney DeMott 6-0, 6-1 to get to the semifinals.

“What’s working for me, I think, is not letting the other players and cheers get to my mind,” Berry said. “Just sort of isolating myself. Also, analyzing my opponent’s plays early on in the game and adjusting mine to oppose theirs.”

Berry then beat Holy Family senior Lindsey Bovine 6-1, 6-3 to advance to the finals of No. 3 singles.

“That match was all about consistency. She was a very consistent player,” Berry said. “I tend to be a consistent player as well, so it was really long games. It bubbled down to who could last longest. Who could keep it in the longest. And, occasionally getting up to the net and sneaking in those slice valleys.”

At times, Berry had to stop serving to wait and give Bovine time to get set.

“I play fast,” Berry said. “I don’t know why because there’s no rush, but it’s how I play. I like to be speedy.”

Berry’s speedy play has Dawson in a great position. She’ll play Rachel Molnar from D’Evelyn for the No. 3 singles title.

Freshman Bridget Bell also has a shot to be the first individual champion after she advanced to the No. 2 singles finals over Steamboat Springs’ Maddie Thompson.

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(Cannon Casey/CHSAANow.com)

D’Evelyn leads team race heading into final day

D’Evelyn distanced itself from the field early on Friday after three teams were locked at the top to start the day, but Colorado Academy stormed back in playbacks to close the lead.

Heading into the final day of the 3A girls tennis state tournament, D’Evelyn is in the lead with 51 points. Colorado Academy and Dawson are in second and third with 49 and 44, respectively.

Colorado Academy will need to do some work Saturday to steal the team title from D’Evelyn as the Jaguars have a firm grip on the competition. The Mustangs have three players in the finals, while D’Evelyn has five. The two teams will face off in No. 4 doubles as Charity Perks and Keri Jennings take on Alexandra Ford and Story Wolf-Tinsman.

(Cannon Casey/CHSAANow.com)

Steamboat Springs’ Mae Thorp will face off against Colorado Academy’s Sammy Moore-Thomson for the No. 1 singles title. Both Thorp and Moore-Thomson are freshmen.

In No. 1 doubles, it’s Eaton’s Courtney Leafgren and Shelby Naill vs. D’Evelyn’s Angi Reed and Taylor Whatley.

Eaton has not had a doubles champion since 1996.

The No. 2 singles matchup is set with Colorado Academy junior Savannah Mease vs. Bell.

The last singles champion for Colorado Academy was Jessika Mozia in 2012.

D’Evelyn’s No. 2 doubles tandum Cammy Lee and Elisa Dean face Holy Family’s Maren Steiner and Caroline Smolky.

Holy Family has two runner-up finishes in doubles, but has not been able to break through to win the title. Brianna Barlett and An Tran were the last tandem to make it to the title.

D’Evelyn and Holy Family will again be matched up in the No. 3 doubles title with Maggie Hime/Olivia Sanders vs. Leah Schwartz/Camilla Ruiz.

The full bracket is updated, live on CHSAANow.com.

May 12, 2017
5A girls state tennis: Poudre’s Ecton returns to final after winning marathon match
Ky Ecton. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

DENVER — Ky Ecton had a tough path to return to the final. But she fought her way through it, earning every bit of her trip back.

The Poudre junior, runner-up in No. 1 Singles at the Class 5A girls tennis state tournament last season, won a marathon match against Mountain Vista senior Casey Zhong in Friday’s semifinals. After dropping the first set 7-6, she rallied to win the final two 6-4 and 6-0.

The match lasted two-and-a-half hours.

“I don’t like to listen to all the pressure,” Ecton said of the expectation that she get back to the final. “I’m here to play tennis. I’m here to do what I like to do, and to have fun. And having my team behind me, just being like, ‘You’re just Ky,’ it brings me back down to Earth.”

Ecton actually had leads of 4-1 and 5-2 in the first set before Zhong rallied to win it.

“Casey played amazing,” Ecton said. “(When she started to come back), I really couldn’t do anything. She was playing awesome. But I was like, ‘I can come back.’”

Ecton trailed 3-2 in the second set but eventually took a 4-3 lead before winning 6-4.

“Throughout my season, I’ve had quite a few three-setters at invitationals, so I know how to come back from losing the first set,” Ecton added. “I was down 2-3, and I was like, ‘Oh no.’ Going up 4-3 was huge, and winning that second set really gave me confidence going into the third.

“I feel like once you go into the third set, it’s pretty much a whole new match. You never know what’s going to happen out there. I just kind of forgot about it and tried to restart.”

Anshika Singh. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

In that third set, Ecton cruised to a 6-0 win to secure her spot in the final for a second-straight season. She will face a fellow junior in Smoky Hill’s Anshika Singh.

Singh beat ThunderRidge freshman Veronika Bruetting 6-1, 6-2 in the semifinals as she seeks to become her school’s first individual champion since 1987.

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Team race tightens

The race for the 5A team championship this spring is one of the closest in recent memory.

Perennial power Cherry Creek entered the day atop the leaderboard, but at various times on Friday, Ponderosa and Mountain Vista took turns at the top.

After the second day of competition, the Bruins ended up in the team lead with 51 points. Mountain Vista is in second with 45, and Ponderosa (37 points) is third. Denver East (24 points) and defending champ Fairview (17) round out the top five.

Cherry Creek has three positions playing in finals on Saturday, while Mountain Vista and Ponderosa each have two. Mountain Vista and Ponderosa face one another in the No. 2 Singles final, and the No. 1 Doubles final.

Mountain Vista and Cherry Creek each also have players in contention in three third-place matches, and Ponderosa has one.

Cherry Creek and Mountain Vista are both in play for the overall championship on Saturday, while Ponderosa can finish as high as second.

Each individual championship is worth three points in the team race, and each third-place finish is worth two points.

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Notables
- Ponderosa senior Claire Cox won her semifinal match 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (6) at No. 2 singles. She was down 5-1 in the third set at one point. Cox will face Mountain Vista’s Madi Allen in the final.
- Mountain Vista stayed in contention in the team race thanks to Casey Zhong’s win in the No. 1 Singles consolation semifinals. She earned the Golden Eagles seven points with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Ponderosa’s Hana Kimmey.
- All finals and third-place matches will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday at Gates Tennis Center.
May 12, 2017
4A girls state tennis: Cheyenne Mountain duo seeking fourth title

Cheyenne Mountain’s Ally Arenson. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

PUEBLO — KRDO sports director Rob Namnoum has dubbed Cheyenne Mountain’s No. 1 doubles group the Law Firm of Ahrendsen and Arenson.

It’s not hard to understand why.

Forget about Mike McDivitt or Frank Azar for one weekend each May. Casey Ahrendsen and Ally Arenson run the courts in Pueblo.

“It’s funny,” Arenson said. “But we’re not going to (practice law). She wants to go into biology and I want to go into engineering.”

The Indians’ top doubles team beat Discovery Canyon’s Hunter Jones and Lizzie McCurdy on Friday to advance to the No. 1 doubles final of the Class 4A state tennis tournament. Saturday morning, they’ll take the courts at Pueblo City Park looking to claim their fourth state title together.

And as odd as it may sound, playing well at state still isn’t routine for them. Each time they take the court, they understand that the wins don’t come if they aren’t working in sync and consistently performing at a high level.

Casey Ahrendsen (left) and Ally Arenson. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

“Each day is a new day and each match is a new match,” Ahrendsen said. “Every point is completely different. It’s not a daily thing.”

Typically, just as focused as they are on themselves, they also keep their focus on the overall team title. That won’t be a worry on Saturday.

In a three-set thriller on Friday, Corey Patton Lossner beat Niwot’s Julia Pentz, putting the Indians at 66. At the conclusion of semifinals, no other team could score more than 58. Cheyenne Mountain clinched its ninth-straight team championship with a day to spare.

“There’s a lot of pressure off everybody,” Indians coach David Adams said. “But as always, everybody wants to finish on a high note.”

Meaning everybody needs to be playing on Saturday. It took Morgan Hall winning in playbacks to get there, but Cheyenne Mountain has all seven positions competing on the final day.

Hall was the only one not to reach a final as she fell to Kent Denver’s Josie Schaffer 6-2, 6-0 in the semis.

Schaffer, the defending No. 1 singles champion, gets a shot to go back-to-back. She beat Hall in the semifinals last year, so she knew going in that advancing was no easy task.

“It was really hard,” Schaffer said. “My game plan was just to play my game and whatever happens, happens. I know Morgan, I play with her all the time. She’s a great player so I just wanted to go out and have fun.”

Schaffer will square off against Durango’s Mavis Edwards, a freshman making her first appearance in the state tournament.

It will be a unique feeling heading into Saturday as most matches will have individual focus rather than a focus on team standings.

It takes pressure off players like the Law Firm and allow them to concentrate on what they need to do for themselves and not get wrapped up in what is happening on the surrounding courts.

The problem is that Cheyenne is proving to be tight group of kids. It’s nearly impossible to not stress out about each other and keep an eye on what else is going on.

“We want them to do just as well,” Arenson said. “Once we step off the court – even when we’re on the court – we’ll be looking at our other team members’ matches and we really want them to win.”

May 12, 2017
Photos: the second day of the 4A girls state tennis tournament

PUEBLO — The semifinal rounds were completed at the second day of the Class 4A girls state tennis tournament on Friday.

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May 12, 2017
No. 9 Chaparral boys lacrosse edges No. 8 Lewis-Palmer in 5A first round

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

MONUMENT — The weather was gloomy and only getting worse as the night went on. But Chaparral didn’t seem bothered by it.

The Wolverines had too much to play for. They had too much at stake.

And in the end, a 9-8 win over Lewis-Palmer at Don Bresse Stadium fueled an emotional start to the Class 5A state playoffs.

The Wolverines (11-5 overall) were down a man all night. Not on the field, but in their hearts. Koby Stevens would have been a senior this season and would have been on the field for Wednesday’s win. But he passed away two years ago.

Chaparral lost in the first round of the 2016 playoffs, so they knew they had to make this year count.

“We didn’t talk about it today,” Chaparral coach Kevin Graefe said. “But we talked about it periodically during the season.”

But he added that they played this game for him. And it looked like it from the start.

They struck first on a Nichols Neff goal four and a half minutes into the first quarter. Dalton Ziegler got it back for the Rangers (14-2) about six minutes later.

Three minutes into the second quarter, Chaparral regained the lead on a laser shot 15 yards out from Trevor Orndoff. Jake McIntyre added one soon after and Lewis-Palmer was back on its heels.

“It was really important to get that fast start,” Neff said.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

The Rangers finally got some offense, albeit from the midfield, as Nate Bjurstrom scored back-to-back goals to even the score.

Each side added another before halftime.

Starting with another Neff goal in the third, the Wolverines grabbed a three-goal lead. Mullins had no choice but call timeout and calm his guys down.

“I learned in the first game against them (a 7-6 LP win) that we were going to be in a daggone fist fight with them,” Rangers coach Dan Mullins said. “They’re tough kids, they’re very athletic.”

Goals from Cade Ziegler and Andrew Manney regained the momentum for the Rangers and pulled them to within a goal. They had a prime chance to pull even as a penalty on Hunter Jacobson gave them a man advantage, but they were unable to capitalize on it.

Orndoff found the net again and seven seconds later, Brett Bolls added another one to give the Wolverines their second three-goal lead of the night.

As the clock ticked down, Manney and A.J. Barnes once again made it a one-goal game. Lewis-Palmer still had a chance. And they were once again with a man advantage. But as the penalty expired Ty Kaley rushed toward an unsuspecting Cade Ziegler, knocked the ball lose and recovered it to give the Wolverines possession.

“I saw him get that pass and I knew if I went hard enough, I would get it,” Kaley said. “That’s all I did and I got the ball.”

The Rangers didn’t get another look at the net and Chaparral was able to come away with the win, setting up a weekend showdown with No. 1 Cherry Creek.

“We’re really excited,” Neff said. “Especially since we get the chance to play such a great team like Creek. That’ll be a big one for us.”

It was Cherry Creek who beat Chaparral last year’s first round. When the buzzer sounded and the score was final, the Wolverines were well aware of the matchup awaiting them and they are not lacking in confidence.

“We’re going to have to be real solid on offense and defense,” Kaley said. “But I think we can get them.”

May 11, 2017
No. 2 Wheat Ridge girls soccer grinds out playoff win over Thompson Valley

Wheat Ridge senior Cori Wing (16) give a hug to Macie Browne after her 1st-half goal Wednesday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

LAKEWOOD — Rain was about as consistent as Wheat Ridge’s defense on the soccer pitch Wednesday night at Lakewood Memorial Field.

Through a steady rain, No. 2-seeded Wheat Ridge and its sophomore goalie Logan DuFord bagged the Farmers’ ninth shutout victory of the girls soccer season. Not bad timing being it was a Class 4A girls soccer first-round playoff game against No. 31 Thompson Valley.

“Thompson Valley is a good team. They are good in transition,” Wheat Ridge coach Dan Watkins said after the Farmers’ 3-0 victory. “We had to stay organized. We got one (goal) early and that let us dictated the play a little. They (Thompson Valley) gave us all we could handle.”

Wheat Ridge junior Macie Browne hammered home the lone goal of the first half in the 7th minute. The Eagles (8-8 record) failed to clear a corner kick out of their own goal box and Browne eventually got a foot on the ball to put it past Thompson Valley goalie Alyssa Chase.

Wheat Ridge’s Alex Nillen tries to turn a get off a shot against Thompson Valley. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

“It was a just a mess in the box,” Browne said of the goal. “I just kept working to get it in. I was lucky to get a good touch on it.”

Wheat Ridge juniors Emily Abo (42nd minute) and Kyra Midroy (74th minute) added goals in the second half to give the Farmers (14-2) some breathing room in the tough conditions.

It was the first goal of the year for Abo, who has filled in at several positions this season.

“What I like about Emily is she is a grinder and a go-getter. She will do whatever we ask her to do,” Watkins said. “I’m so excited for her to get rewarded, what a fantastic finish.”

Abo’s goal sailed into the top right corner to put the Farmers up 2-0.

One downer for the Farmers was losing their leading goal scorer in the first half. Senior Alex Nillen exited the game in the first half and didn’t return.

Wheat Ridge’s Melissa Browne (4) and Thompson Valley’s Anna Mihaly battle for a loose ball. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

“She (Nillen) came off and is banged up,” Watkins said. “We’ll have to evaluate her tomorrow to see if she is ready for Saturday.”

Wheat Ridge will face No. 15 Niwot in the second round of the state tournament Saturday, May 13, at Lakewood Memorial Field. The Cougars defeated Erie 4-3 in double-overtime Wednesday night.

“It’s a team we don’t know a lot about,” Watkins admitted. “They have obviously had a very good season and some very good results. When you get into the tournament you have to play very well to advance. Hopefully we’ll be ready to go Saturday.”

It the Farmers get past Niwot on Saturday they will get a face a very familiar foe in the state quarterfinals Wednesday, May 17.

No. 23 Standley Lake and No. 7 Evergreen advanced with wins Wednesday night and face each other Saturday, May 13, likely at Lakewood Memorial Field. The winner of Standley Lake/Evergreen would square off against the winner of Niwot/Wheat Ridge.

Wheat Ridge’s girls soccer playoff road continues Saturday, May 13, against No. 15 Niwot at Lakewood Memorial Field. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

May 11, 2017
No. 4 D’Evelyn girls soccer wastes no time to start postseason run

D’Evelyn’s Shiloh Miller and Emma Denton embrace after Denton’s goals 35 seconds into the first half. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

LAKEWOOD — D’Evelyn’s girls soccer team knew how to get off on the right foot in the postseason Wednesday night at Lakewood Memorial Field.

The Jaguars scored 35 seconds into their Class 4A first-round playoff game against No. 29-seeded George Washington. After halftime it took No. 4 D’Evelyn 32 seconds to find the back of the net.

“Getting the first (goal) usually is a sign that it’s going to go well the rest of the game,” D’Evelyn sophomore Laryssa Hamblen said after the Jaguars’ 5-1 victory.

Senior Emma Denton scored D’Evelyn’s first goal off an assist from sophomore Shiloh Miller.

“We always try to score first,” Denton said. “We have such good forwards who play good balls in. I was just on the end of it.”

D’Evelyn’s Tianna Wright scored the final goal of the night for the Jaguars. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

It took the Jaguars (12-3-1 record) awhile to get their second goal. Junior Alexis Miller buried a penalty kick in the 26th minute as the Jaguars took a 2-0 lead into halftime.

“At the beginning we might have scored too early. We had a lot of energy in the beginning,” D’Evelyn coach Paul Moline said. “To get a quick goal in the second half was almost the same thing. The one in the second half really settled the nerves.”

Hamblen got the goal 32 seconds into the second half with the first of two second-half goals by D’Evelyn’s leading goal scorer. The sophomore’s 18th and 19th goals of the season were both on rebounds that George Washington goalie Elizabeth Price couldn’t gather in.

“We just needed to shoot, follow, shoot, follow tonight,” Moline said as a steady rain fell the entire game. “Anything can happen in this wet stuff.”

D’Evelyn’s Alexis Miller settles down a ball in the first half. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

D’Evelyn junior Tianna Wright scored the Jaguars’ fifth goal in the 58th minute. The Patriots (10-6) prevented being shut out when sophomore Catherine Bakken put in a penalty kick in the 64th minute.

The Jaguars will face the winner of No. 20 Ponderosa and No. 13 Pueblo County on Saturday, May 13, back at Lakewood Memorial Field. Ponderosa and Pueblo County had its first-round game postponed because of weather Wednesday. The two are scheduled to play at 4 p.m. Thursday, May 11, at Pueblo County High School.

Hamblen is excited about the Jaguars’ seed. All three of D’Evelyn’s losses came against 4A Jeffco teams (Valor, Wheat Ridge and Evergreen). The Jaguars wouldn’t face a Jeffco team until the state semifinals if D’Evelyn keeps winning.

“I’m pumped. Hopefully we’ll get a chance to play them (4A Jeffco teams) again,” Hamblen said. “We got a good (seed) in the end. In the long run I think we got one of the better seeds.”

D’Evelyn’s Laryssa Hamblen (5) scored a pair of goal Wednesday night at Lakewood Memorial Field. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

May 11, 2017
Photos: Wheat Ridge girls soccer cruises into second round of 4A tourney

WHEAT RIDGE — No. 2 Wheat Ridge girls soccer shutout No. 31 Thompson Valley 3-0 in the first round of the Class 4A state tournament.

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May 11, 2017
Green Mountain and Valor set to maneuver through 4A baseball playoffs

Green Mountain junior JD Wadleigh (22) and senior Matthew Ramirez gives the Rams a solid 1-2 punch on the mound heading to the playoffs. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

LAKEWOOD — On the surface, Valor Christian taking a 19-11 victory over Green Mountain on the baseball diamond in both teams’ regular-season finale looked a little shocking.

However, digging a little deeper into the May 5 meeting at Green Mountain High School between the top two teams in Class 4A Jeffco League is needed. Defending 4A state champion Valor (15-4 overall) wanted to get back on track after dropping a 10-9 decision to Littleton two days earlier.

“Our offense has really been playing well. We’ve been hitting the ball hard,” said Valor senior Joel Pierce, who went 3-for-3 with a pair of home runs and three RBIs. “Coming off the loss against Littleton we really wanted to come out and make a statement.”

Green Mountain (15-3) on the other hand was coming off victories over Littleton and Golden to cement a top-10 seed for the district tournaments Saturday.

Rams’ coach Brad Madden elected to throw his two best pitchers — senior Matthew Ramirez and junior JD Wadleigh — earlier in the week in victories over Littleton and Golden.

“We wanted to make sure we took care of business the first two games of the week,” said Madden, who threw four different pitchers against Valor in the loss. “Our league has been so up and down. We didn’t want to slip up and give one (win) to someone we shouldn’t.”

Brad Madden has three Class 4A baseball state championships under his belt. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

Madden knows a little about how to go about getting ready for the playoffs. He has coached three teams — Golden (2003) and Green Mountain (2014 and 2015) — to 4A baseball state titles.

“In the big picture you have to get yourself into a good position for the playoffs. Hopefully we did that,” Madden said. “It always comes down to seeding, who you get and who you have to face. I definitely think these are two very good teams (Green Mountain and Valor). I hope we get to play them again because that would mean are in the final eight.”

Green Mountain, Valor and the rest of the 32-team district tournament field was released Wednesday. While the Rams finished No. 7 in the RPI standings they won’t host a district tournament Saturday.

CHSAA’s Legislative Council voted last January that the top eight league champions would host the eight district tournaments. Since Green Mountain placed second to Valor in 4A Jeffco the Rams slipped down to the No. 9 seed and will head to Canon City High School for the Region 2 tournament.

“Laser focus on Saturday,” Wadleigh said of the upcoming state playoffs. “We aren’t trying to play comfortable. We are trying to play every game like it’s our last. That way you don’t get content about where you are at.”

Wadleigh not only shined on the mound with a 7-0 record and 2.48 ERA. The lefty is batting .500 with 28 hits, 22 RBIs and five home runs. He belted a home run off Valor ace Luke Ziegler in the loss May 5.

“We are two of the best teams in the state and today it was a battle of the bats,” Wadleigh said. “They came up on top today and hopefully we see them again.”

No. 3 overall seed Valor can lean on its state title experience, along with its bevy of talent, when it hosts the Region 7 tournament.

Valor senior Joel Pierce leads a potent Eagles’ offense. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

“It’s good to have some guys returning from that state championship team who can guide us in that process. They can put their arms around the new guys and let them know the (playoff) intensity,” Valor coach Brian Bonn said. “We trust every guy in our dugout. We’ve got 20 guys that can contribute and we’re going to get better because we have 20 guys who can help us.”

The Eagles were nearly eliminated during the single-elimination district tournament last year. Valor needed to rally in the bottom of the seventh inning in its district title game against Northridge a year ago. The Eagles got a run in the seventh to tie things up and got the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning to advance to the 8-team double-elimination state tournament.

“We’ve been there before and last time we almost lost. It was a scary situation,” Pierce said. “We don’t want to put ourselves in that situation again. We are going to do everything we can to prepare.”

Green Mountain and Valor Christian has combined to win the past three Class 4A baseball state titles. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

May 11, 2017
Photos: Daley leads Regis Jesuit girls lacrosse over Battle Mountain in first round

AURORA — No. 15-seeded Regis Jesuit girls lacrosse rolled to a 13-2 win over No. 18 Battle Mountain in the first round of the state tournament on Wednesday.

Mariah Daley had five goals to lead the Raiders, Sidney Weigand added four, and Maeve Moran also scored twice.

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May 11, 2017