Three local players were selected during the second day of the MLB Draft on Thursday, bringing the early total to four Colorado products selected.
Lucas Gilbreath, a Legacy alum, Columbine graduate Blake Weiman, and Sand Creek grad Josh Keaton all had their names called. In Keaton’s case, he made school history by becoming the first player from Sand Creek ever selected in the MLB Draft.
Gilbreath, a 2014 graduate of Legacy who just finished his junior season at the University of Minnesota, was selected by the hometown Colorado Rockies in the seventh round with the No. 206 overall pick.
The left-handed starter went 5-2 with a 2.66 ERA this spring, striking out a team-high 92 batters against 32 walks in 81.1 innings. He was a first team All-Big Ten honoree.
In high school, Gilbreath led Class 5A in strikeouts as both a junior and a senior. He was named to the all-state teams as a senior.
Then, in the eighth round, Weiman was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates at No. 238 overall. Weiman, a 2014 graduate of Columbine, recently finished his junior season as a relief pitcher for the Jayhawks.
The 6-foot-4, 200-pound lefty threw 45 innings, striking out 55 against just five walks. He finished the year 5-1 with a 2.80 ERA.
Weiman, who was not drafted out of high school, marks the 16th selection in Rebels’ history. At Columbine, Weiman finished his career with an 11-1 record and a 2.38 ERA.
In the 10th round, Josh Keaton became the first Sand Creek player ever drafted when the Baltimore Orioles took him at No. 308 overall. The school opened in 1997.
Keaton, who graduated from Sand Creek in 2012, was a senior at Adams State this spring. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound right-handed pitcher was 4-5 with a 5.52 ERA in 11 starts and a team-high 75 innings pitched this season.
Tuesday’s selections followed that of Regis Jesuit grad David Peterson (now at Oregon), who went in the first round on Monday.
The MLB Draft concludes with rounds 11-40 on Wednesday.
Cheyenne Mountain football might be getting a bit of an east coast makeover in 2017. Athletic director Kris Roberts announced the hire of Jay Saravis as the program’s new football coach.
He takes over for Willie Roberts, who left the program in late-April.
“I’m excited for the energy, knowledge and passion that Coach Saravis will bring to our program,” Roberts said in a statement. “He is a proponent of multi-sport athletes and has demonstrated the ability to develop a culture of toughness, team work and hard work.
As evidenced by several conversations with former players Jay is invested, committed and consistently builds relationships that have lasted well beyond high school with his student-athletes. His contribution in the speed and strength arena will be a tremendous asset to our football program and entire athletic department.”
Saravis comes from the Massapequa school district in New York. His most recent coaching stop is as the defensive coordinator for Massapequa and has also coached lacrosse, softball and track.
He is a health educator and the strength and conditioning coach as well. But his excitement for a new challenge might be the spark to the program that the Indians are looking for.
“Bring it,” Saravis said. “I’m very excited about this move.”
He said that the second Roberts released the news on Monday, he started getting emails from the Cheyenne Mountain community, including seniors on the football team, welcoming him to the family.
The interactions with everyone from the school administration to some of his soon-to-be-players has him ready to start the season.
But he knows that in order for the Indians to be successful, it’s going to take work. That will work will start on the practice field, a place that he believes holds the most value for a football team.
“I’m all about the quality of practice” he said. “I’m the anti-Allen Iverson. I think practice really dictates how well your team plays. So I’m very organized.”
Saravis is finishing up the school year in New York and Roberts noted that the does not anticipate team training activities to begin prior to July 10.
David Peterson, a 2014 graduate of Regis Jesuit, was selected in the first round of the 2017 MLB Draft on Monday night.
Now the ace at Oregon, Peterson went with the No. 20 overall pick to the New York Mets.
“It’s been a dream of mine since I was 3 years old,” Peterson told GoDucks.com. “To have this come true, it’s an honor and a pleasure, and I’m very excited.”
Peterson recently finished his junior season at Oregon, where he went 11-4 with a 2.51 ERA and 140 strikeouts against just 15 walks. On May 1, he tied the school record with 20 strikeouts in a game against Arizona State.
Peterson becomes the 24th first-round pick in Colorado history, and the first since Thomas Jefferson alum Kyle Freeland went No. 8 overall in 2014.
This is the highest a Regis Jesuit alum has ever been drafted, topping the selection by Peterson’s former classmate Max George, who went No. 173 overall in 2014.
The Raiders have a long draft history, and now have had 26 former players drafted — second only to Cherry Creek in state history. In fact, they’ve had multiple alums selected every year since 2012, and have had at least one player drafted every year since 2009.
David Peterson at Regis Jesuit. (Dennis Pleuss)
At Regis Jesuit, Peterson finished his career 13-5 with a 2.23 ERA as a three-year varsity player.
He fractured his fibula just before his senior season, but returned a month-and-a-half later to help his team reach the Final 8. Peterson was a second-team all-state selection that season even though he appeared in just seven games.
Coming out of high school, Peterson was drafted in the 28th round by the Boston Red Sox. He opted not to sign, and instead enrolled at Oregon.
That decision has paid off with a first-round selection.
Bryan Perry is going out on top. The longtime Cherry Creek boys lacrosse coach is retiring just after leading them to another championship, according to Bruins athletic director Jason Wilkins:
BIG NEWS IN BRUINLAND, Coach Bryan Perry has stepped down as the head lacrosse coach. Tremendous coach who molds young boys into men.
Perry has been Cherry Creek’s coach since the 2003 season, and ends his career with 258 wins. He also coached at Arapahoe from 1999-02.
“Bryan Perry will spend time with his family and will enjoy some well earned rest after 20 years coaching,” Wilkins tweeted. “Can’t thank him enough.”
A 1987 graduate of the school, Perry led the Bruins to five state championships, including the Class 5A title this past spring. Cherry Creek beat Regis Jesuit to win the championship.
His teams also finished as runner-up in five seasons, meaning they made the championship game 10 times.
As it stands, Perry leaves the high school level as perhaps the boys lacrosse coach in the sanctioned history of the sport. He is believed to be the sport’s all-time wins leader since it was sanctioned in 1999.
Palisade has hired Nate Porter to be its next baseball coach, Bulldogs athletic director Gregg Hawkins announced on Monday.
Porter played collegiate baseball at what is now Colorado Mesa University, and also has previously been an assistant at Grand Junction Central, where he was part of the 2002 team that won the Class 5A championship.
Porter replaces Aaron Howard, who resigned in May. He inherits one of the Western Slope’s best teams, one that went 16-4 and hosted a Class 4A regional this past season.
“He is excited to be a part of the winning tradition at Palisade High School,” Hawkins said in a statement.
Already, Porter has named Kiel Roling as an assistant.
Roling, who graduated from Grand Junction Central in 2005, played at Arizona State and was later selected by the Rockies in the sixth round of the 2008 draft. Roling retired from professional baseball in 2014.
The Regis Jesuit star, who only started playing organized basketball 21 months ago, helped the United States’ under-16 women’s national team win the gold medal at the 2017 FIBA Americas U16 Championships in Argentina on Sunday.
The American team beat Canada 91-46 in the championship game to finish the tournament 5-0. Belibi played nine minutes, scoring two points, pulling down two rebounds, and she also had two steals.
“Gold is great, especially getting gold while representing our country,” Belibi said after the game, according to USA Basketball. “There was a lot of tough competition in Argentina and Canada, and for us to come out with this gold is really a testament to how hard we worked and how hard we played throughout the whole tournament.”
During the course of the tournament, Belibi averaged 4.8 points and 5.8 rebounds.
Her best game came against Mexico during the group stage in which she had 12 points, seven rebounds, one assist, a block and a steal.
Asked what she was going to take away from the tournament, Belibi said, “Leadership roles. On a team like this, there are so many great players, I might not necessarily need to be the leader. But, I will definitely take this experience back to my club team and to my school team.”
Legacy senior Tajon Buchanan added to his list of accolades on Monday when he was selected as Colorado’s boys soccer player of the year by Gatorade.
Buchanan, who was named the Class 5A boys soccer player of the year last fast as part of the all-state teams, had 21 goals and 10 assists for Legacy. He now becomes a finalist for the national player of the year award, which will be announced later this month.
“Tajon has a knowledge of soccer you can see in the first touch he takes,” Poudre coach Erik Eckhoff said in a statement. “His body movement gets opponents to bite when he wants and retreat when he wants.”
He is the first boys soccer player from Legacy to win the Gatorade award.
Buchanan, a native of Canada, has signed to play at Syracuse in the fall.
Annie Kunz, Peter Horvath, Don McGatlin, Frank DeAngelis and Matt Rillos were inducted into the Jeffco Athletic Hall of Fame on June 9. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
ARVADA — The names conjure up thousands of memories of athletic accomplishments for those familiar to Jeffco Public Schools.
Annie Kunz, Matt Rillos, Don McGatlin, Peter Horvath and Frank DeAngelis were permanently immortalized Friday at the Arvada Center. The five former Jeffco athletes and coaches were inducted as the Class of 2017 to the Jeffco Athletic Hall of Fame.
“I get to come in with so many of your heroes,” McGatlin said of his entry into the hall of fame. “I appreciate so much Jim Thyfault (Executive Director of Athletics) and Jefferson County for allowing me to be apart of this wonderful group of people. It’s emotional today.”
Don McGatlin (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
McGatlin was one of the highlights in one of the strongest induction classes ever for the hall of fame. The longtime Green Mountain High School football and track coach guided the Rams to five state titles from his tenure from 1981 to 2005. Even after leaving Green Mountain, McGatlin hasn’t stopped coaching.
He is currently an assistant football coach at Chatfield High School under his son and head coach Bret McGatlin, along with being a track coach at Calhan High School.
“I can’t get away from it,” McGatlin said of coaching. “I’ll coach until I feel like I’m not doing a good job. Right now I could see coaching into my 70s.”
Kunz is also still chasing her athletic passions. The 24-year-old — arguably one of the best female athletes to come out of the Jeffco and maybe Colorado — is currently training at the Olympic Training Center in San Diego. She placed 8th in the Heptathlon at the 2016 Olympic Trails and holds the school records at Texas A&M University in both the Pentathlon & Heptathlon.
“2020 is the ultimate goal,” the Wheat Ridge High School graduate said about the Olympics three years from now in Tokyo. “Building up to that and hopefully peaking at the right time.”
The spring belonged to Kunz during her time at Wheat Ridge. She not only was a track star, but led the Farmers to three straight Class 4A girls soccer state championship games with Wheat Ridge winning two state titles.
Despite going on to Texas A&M where she helped the Aggies women’s soccer team advance to the NCAA National semifinals her senior year and being a two-time All-SEC first team selection, Kunz was a surprised when she got the call that she had been selected for induction.
“Definitely not so soon,” Kunz said about being one of the youngest Jeffco Athletic HOF inductees ever. “I joked with my mom that I don’t feel like I’ve done anything yet to deserve to be in the hall of fame. I’m definitely just grateful, honored and humbled to be apart of such a wonderful group. Being apart of the Jeffco community means the world to me.”
It was the 32nd year Jeffco has added to its athletic hall of fame that started in 1986. The names of nearly the 100 athletes, coaches and contributors who have been inducted are displayed on plaques at the atrium at Jeffco Stadium.
Matt Rillos
A four-sport (football, basketball, track and baseball) athlete at Golden High School from 1992-1996. Was Golden’s valedictorian his senior year, along with winning the Freddie Steinmark, Gold Helmet (The Denver Post) and Jeffco Male Athlete of the Year honors.
Ralston Valley football and track coach Matt Loyd, left, and Golden graduate Matt Rillos. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“He (Rillos) had an unbelievable senior year,” said current Ralston Valley football coach Matt Loyd who coached Rillos at Golden.
That incredible senior year included Rillos coming out for baseball. It was his first year playing high school baseball and Loyd joked about how Rillos showed up for the first practice with a borrowed glove and wood bat. However, he turned out to be the best player on the team that season and was an all-conference selection.
Rillos went on to play football at the Air Force Academy. He was a running back on the Falcons’ 1998 team that were Western Athletic Conference champions with a 12-1 overall record while finishing No. 8 in the nation.
Currently, Rillos is the owner of Financial Counsel Associates in Golden.
Peter Horvath
Horvath was the boys and girls head varsity soccer coach at Columbine High School from 1983-2008.
During his 25 years of coaching the Rebels’ soccer programs Columbine won 19 Jeffco League titles, grabbed eight state runner-up trophies and the boys team won three state championships (1986, 1993 and 2002).
Ed Woytek hugs former Columbine soccer coach Peter Horvath. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Horvath talked during his induction speech about his goal when he first began coaching — “To create an experience and environment for our players and athletes that wasn’t just based on soccer. It was about life experiences and developing our players into people, not just players. It was about character and values. I think I did a good job doing that.”
Horvath was named coach of the year several times and was inducted into the Colorado High School Coaches Hall of Fame in 2016.
Frank DeAngelis
While being remember mostly as Columbine High School’s principal for 18 years, DeAngelis has a rich background in athletes.
Frank DeAngelis (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
He was an assistant football coach at Columbine and the head baseball coach for the Rebels from 1981-1994. Three times he was selected at the Jeffco’s baseball Coach of the Year.
During his acceptance speech, DeAngelis said being a coach for so many years before stepping into the role of principal helped him lead the school and community after the tragic shooting at Columbine High School in 1999.
Fittingly, just before DeAngelis retired as principal at Columbine the Rebels’ girls soccer team won the first girls state team title in the school’s history claiming the 2014 Class 5A state championship.
The CHSAA Board of Directors released the following the statement with regard to the RPI percentages to be used in determining postseason qualification:
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In August 2015, this group adopted a policy of using an RPI formula in determining postseason qualification in order to create consistency throughout the state. The RPI formula adopted is (¼ × WP) + (½ × OWP) + (¼ × OOWP).
The Board’s intent with that directive was to keep methods used in postseason qualification as consistent as possible across all sports.
When the soccer committee opted to make a change to the percentages used in the RPI formula for the upcoming fall season, there was not enough data nor rationale to justify making the change. The ensuing confusion from the membership has caused the Board to invoke bylaw 810.6:
The Board of Directors shall meet at the call of the President. It shall have the authority to make decisions necessary to insure the smooth functioning of the Association and the interscholastic program. Its authority does not include the legislative power delegated to the Legislative Council, except that by a two-thirds vote of those members voting it may alter a ruling of the Legislative Council in order to resolve conflicting legislation or to correct unanticipated problems created by Legislative Council action.
Because there is not two years of data available to support a change in the formula, and due to the ensuing confusion within the membership that would result, changing this formula violated the original intent of our policy. As a result, we have overturned the committee’s decision to change their RPI formula, and are keeping it where originally set.
At the end of this two-year cycle, the Board will research the data and determine how best to move forward with a consistent postseason qualification approach. As a result, until two years’ worth of data can be examined, no changes to the RPI percentages shall be made by any sports committees.
This policy excepts football, due to the issues its limited number of games caused last season. Baseball will be entering the second year of a two-year cycle of using different percentages, and will be allowed to keep its current formula.
Eddie Hartnett
President, CHSAA Board of Directors
