CHSAANow

Month: October 2017

  • Legend claims 5A softball championship, school’s first title in any sport

    Legend softball team champions
    (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    AURORA — Legend’s bats were hot all weekend, and they stayed that way during Saturday’s championship game.

    As a result, the Titans are champions of Class 5A softball following a 9-3 win over Fossil Ridge. It is the first team title in any sport for the school, which opened in 2008.

    “It feels like such a dream come true and just doing it for our school was amazing,” Legend junior Payton Lincavage said after the game.

    Legend, the No. 10 seed at the state tournament, scored 38 runs in four games, including a 10-6 victory over Legacy in the semifinals earlier Saturday when the Titans hit three home runs — two by Lincavage.

    In the title game, the Titans’ Hailee Swanson gave her team a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the first inning. They would hold that lead through to the fifth, when their lineup broke the game open.

    Cailey Oldemeyer and Lincavage strung together back-to-back RBI singles to make it 3-0, and then Alyssa Nunn had perhaps the game’s biggest hit with a two-RBI triple that made it 5-0.

    Legend junior Zoey LeCompte, the game’s starting pitcher, added a two-RBI single of her own. That made it 7-0. Breathing room.

    “It really got us going and got us on top and really shut them down for the rest of the game, and I think that’s what won it for us,” Lincavage said.

    Added coach Kristen Shirk: “It kind of allowed us to just relax and be a little looser, and give us some room, some wiggle room.”

    But Fossil Ridge had a potent offense of its own and wouldn’t go away quietly. The Sabercats had earlier hit five home runs in a 20-16 win over Eaglecrest in the semifinals.

    In the bottom of the fifth, Fossil Ridge cut it to 7-3, including a two-run home run from Mia Moddelmog, her second of the day.

    Legend, though, responded with a run in the top of the sixth, and the top of the seventh.

    The title was theirs.

    Legend Fossil Ridge softball
    (Marlee Smith/CHSAANow.com)

    “In the beginning of the year, a lot of people were doubting us,” LeCompte said. “No one even thought we were going to be good this year, and we came back and won it all.”

    Lincavage finished 2-for-5, while Olivia Bradley also had an RBI.

    LeCompte pitched a solid 4 2/3 innings in the title game, after going 6 2/3 in the semifinals.

    Legend finished the season 18-8. At one point in early September, they were 2-5.

    But during state championship weekend, “It all came together,” Shirk said.

    “The girls worked their butts off all year, and we had some uglies,” the coach added, “but this weekend, we were good.”

    Legend softball team champions
    (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
    Legend softball team champions
    (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
    Legend Fossil Ridge softball
    (Marlee Smith/CHSAANow.com)

  • Ralston Valley football on winning streak heading to showdown against Eaglecrest

    ARVADA — Every prep football game in mid-October is important for teams with postseason aspirations.

    The importance of Ralston Valley’s road trip to Legacy Stadium in Aurora for a 7 p.m. kickoff against undefeated and No. 2 Eaglecrest next week could very well completely wash away the Mustangs’ 0-3 start to the season.

    “We have the momentum now,” Ralston Valley junior Brad Roberts said after his 10 carries for 131 yards and two touchdowns performance in a 42-6 victory over Rangeview on Thursday at the North Area Athletic Complex. “It will be a tough game. Hopefully we can get that win.”

    Ralston Valley is on a 5-game winning streak after a 42-6 victory over Rangeview. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    Ralston Valley (5-3, 3-0 in Mt. Wilson League) and Eaglecrest (7-0, 2-0) will likely be playing for the conference title in the Mt. Wilson League, along with the all-important automatic bid to the 16-team 5A state tournament.

    “I try to get our guys each week better regardless of opponent,” Ralston Valley coach Matt Loyd said about heading about next week’s game against the Raptors. “We’ve got to focus on getting better and not who we are playing.”

    A 5-game winning streak for Ralston Valley has put the Mustangs in position to completely forget early losses to No. 5 Columbine, Fountain-Fort Carson and No. 3 Pomona. Ralston Valley can focus going up against a talented Eaglecrest team that returns a lot of players from its state quarterfinal team from last season.

    “I think we played really tough opponents at the very beginning. Each week we’ve just got better and better,” Roberts said. “We need to contain (Eaglecrest’s) athletes and make sure everyone does their job.”

    The Mustangs lost to the Raptors 38-21 last season. That allowed Eaglecrest to take the conference title.

    Ralston Valley got off to a slow start in the 4 p.m. kickoff Thursday against Rangeview (1-7, 0-3). A 45-yard touchdown run by sophomore Chase Wilson late in the first quarter got the scoring going.

    Three Ralston Valley touchdowns in the final 4 minutes of the first half opened up a 28-0 lead. Senior Kohlton Pribble had a pair of short touchdown runs and junior quarterback AJ Jergensen scrambled in for a 41-yard touchdown.

    Chase Wilson, right, and Jake Nishida celebrate a Mustang touchdown against Rangeview. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    Roberts got it to a running clock with his pair of touchdowns in the second half. The junior, who was slowed by an ankle injury early this season, had touchdown runs of 3 and 24 yards.

    “I’ve been getting better each week. I’m feeling stronger and better. I need to get my conditioning up and my endurance back,” Roberts said after his largest output of the season. “I think we are doing well as a team. We’re rolling.”

    Rangeview prevented the shutout with a 29-yard touchdown run by senior Joshua Hollins in the final minute.

    “It was a good game for us, but I think we can improve on a lot of stuff,” Ralston Valley senior linebacker Brayden Hartley said. “There was a lot of fundamentals that we did wrong. We’ll get better every week.”

    Loyd emphasized that his teams need to get better as the regular season comes to a close.

    “We’ve got to get better on some fundamental things,” Loyd said. “Obviously, scoring points is nice and holding them almost to a shutout is nice, but you have to be fundamentally sound.”

    Ralston Valley sophomore Chase Wilson brakes off a 45-yard touchdown run Thursday at NAAC. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

  • Photos: Vanguard among big winners at Cross Country region 2

    COLORADO SPRINGS — The Vanguard School won the Class 2A Region 2 girls cross country championship to qualify for next week’s state meet. The boys took third at the event, which also featured regional races in 4A and 5A.

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  • Cross country roundup: State field clearing up after Thursday’s regionals

    Cross Country regionals
    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    Palmer Ridge’s Isabella Prosceno has a solid plan when embarking on her races.

    She starts strong, paces herself with the head of the pack and then pulls away for the win. That’s the plan she utilized on Thursday at the Class 4A region 2 cross country meet. She got the desired result.

    “I tend to run as hard as I can in every race,” Prosceno said. “Even though it gets hard on certain things, I just go hard every time.”

    Prosceno took the win for the Bears, but it was Air Academy who grabbed the overall team win for 4A girls. The Bears didn’t come away empty-handed though as the boys team took first.

    It was also a good day for the Vanguard School. The girls team grabbed first place while Nick Lovato won the overall 2A boys race.

    “My hope was that I would run my fastest to get my team to state,” Lovato said. “I decided the best way to do that was to take first.”

    Peyton won the 2A boys team title.

    At the same venue, Mountain Vista swept the 5A team titles.

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    Monarch took three of the top four spots at the 5A Region 3 boys cross country meet to win the region.

    The Coyotes had 40 team points.

    “We wanted our team to win this regional,” Charlie Perry said. “The best way for us to do that is, I have to go out and get one point. So, my mind was on what I’m going to do, because I know the rest of the guys will take care of their job.

    “As you just saw, they came through in the spots they needed to as well.”

    Perry took first with a time of 15:50.

    “I felt pretty good today, so I figured it wouldn’t be too bad to go out on my own for a little bit,” Perry said. “This is a starter for the postseason so it’s a big deal to come out and win.”

    In the girls race, Legacy sophomore Brynn Siles beat out the field with a time of 18:28.

    Fairview won the team title with 64 points.

    The Knights’ Isabella Bowland finished with a time of 19:16, good for a fifth-place finish.

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    2A

    • Region 1: Lyons’ Isaac Roberts took first in the boys race with a time of 17:03. Heritage Christian won the team title. Nederland’s Helen Cross won the girls race with a race of 19:34, helping Nederland to the team title.
    • Region 3: Cody Danley of Rocky Ford won at 17:24. The Meloneers won both girls and boys team titles. Emilee Haefeli (Del Norte) and Camille Ruggles (Center) tied in the girls race at 21:54.

    3A

    • Region 2: Blake Davis (Lamar) won with a time of 17:10.9. The Classical Academy took both team titles. Colorado Springs Christian’s Rachel Ingram turned in a first place time of 20:19.4.
    • Region 3: Holy Family’s Kyle McCabe took first with 16:42. Faith Christian won the boys team race. Peak to Peak’s Quinn McConnell won with 18:05. The Pumas took the top three spots to win the team race.
    • Region 4: Platte Valley’s Andrew King turned in a first-place time of 16:21. Frontier Academy won the team titles at boys and girls. Hannah Ellis’ time of 18:31 gave her the top spot.

    4A

    • Region 1: Wheat Ridge’s Drew Seidel turned in a time of 17:50.18 to win the boys race. Evergreen took the boys team win. Naomi Harding of Battle Mountain paced the Huskies with a time of 19:56.76 to win the team and individual title.
    • Region 3: Valor Christian’s Cole Sprout topped the field at 16:00. Centaurus won the boys team race. In the girls race, Niwot freshman Taylor James took first with 19:16. Valor Christian won the girls team race.
    • Region 4: Silver Creek’s Logan Simington turned in a time of 16:14 to push the Raptors to the team title. Kenadi Krueger of Thompson Valley won the girls race with 18:57. Silver Creek won the girls team race.
    • Region 5: Cole Munoz of Widefield ran to a time of 16:05 to win the boys race. Durango won the boys and girls team races. Durango’s Madeleine Burns won the individual girls race at 19:10.

    5A

    • Region 1: Denver East’s Harrison Scudamore won the boys race at 15:50.2. Dakota Ridge won the boys team race. Stephanie Carrasco of Thornton’s time of 17:58.5 was good for first place. Arvada West took the team race.
    • Region 2: Gateway’s Yonas Mogos took first at boys with 16:13.7. Grandview took the boys race. Isalina Colsman of Regis Jesuit won the girls race with 18:31.9. Cherokee Trail won the team race.
    • Region 4: Broomfield’s Michael Mooney won the boys race at 15:28.2. Poudre won the team race. Katelyn Mitchem’s time of 17:59.1 was enough to earn her and the Eagles wins in the girls race.

  • Photos: Dakota Ridge football beats Heritage

    LITTLETON — Dakota Ridge football improved to 5-3 this season with a 42-21 win over Heritage on Thursday.

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  • Replay: State softball’s first day for 3A, 4A and 5A

    AURORA — The state softball tournaments in all three classifications begin on Friday.

    Brackets:

    [divider]

    Live Blog State softball’s first day
     

  • Glenwood Springs football forfeits four wins due to ineligible player

    Glenwood Springs football has forfeit four wins from this season due to use of an ineligible player.

    As a result, the football team is no 0-7 this season.

    The school released the following statement on Friday:

    Due to an administrative oversight, a Glenwood Springs High School student-athlete participated while ineligible in the first seven games of the 2017 football season. The school will be forfeiting its four wins during those seven weeks.

    Craig Denney, athletic director at GSHS, said, “It is a difficult situation as it involves so many people. Players, coaches, families have been greatly affected and we truly regret the mistake. Systems are being reviewed to make sure that this does not occur again.”

    The Demons will forfeit wins against Conifer, Kennedy, Steamboat Springs and Battle Mountain.

  • Continental/Centennial/Colorado Springs League on 10/18/2017

    Team scores
    Rank School Score
    1 Overland 184.825
    2 Elizabeth 176.65
    3 Ponderosa 175.9
    4 Cherry Creek 174.5
    5 Heritage 167.575
    6 Palmer Ridge 166.15
    7 Rock Canyon 165.575
    8 Rampart 165.5
    9
    10
    Vault
    Rank Name School Score
    1 Ana George Cherry Creek 9.575
    2 Katherine Compton Ponderosa 9.525
    3 Anastasia Buzalsky Elizabeth 9.3
    4 Sara Libratore Overland 9.25
    5 Mackenzie French Overland 9.25
    6 Natalie Wilson Overland 9.125
    7 Sam Demoss Overland 9.1
    8 Aumni Ashby Cherry Creek 9.1
    9 Drew Morrissey 9.075
    10 Maddie Gotlieb 9
    Bars
    Rank Name School Score
    1 Ana George Cherry Creek 9.475
    2 Anastasia Buzalsky Elizabeth 9.325
    3 Sam Demoss Overland 9.225
    4 Delenn Steffes Overland 9.1
    5 Natalie Wilson Overland 8.825
    6 Macey Fry Rock Canyon 8.8
    7 Katherine Compton Ponderosa 8.75
    8 Gabby Peltier Rampart 8.65
    9 Grace Whitacre 8.625
    10 Drew Morissey 8.575
    Beam
    Rank Name School Score
    1 Sam Demoss Overland 9.75
    2 Ana George Cherry Creek 9.675
    3 Elena Reiffen Overland 9.6
    4 Anastasia Buzalsky Elizabeth 9.45
    5 Delenn Steffees Overland 9.35
    6 Riley Masten Rock Canyon 9.3
    7 Christie Yee Overland 9.225
    8 Aliyah Atunez Elizabeth 9.225
    9 Bailey Rodriguez 9.2
    10 Aumni Ashby 9.075
    Floor
    Rank Name School Score
    1 Christie Yee Overland 9.75
    2 Delenn Steffes Overland 9.675
    3 Ana George Cherry Creek 9.675
    4 Anastasiz Buzalsky Elizabeth 9.625
    5 Sara Libratore Overland 9.55
    6 Sam Demoss Overland 9.45
    7 Maddie Gotlieb Ponderosa 9.375
    8 Aumni Ashby Cherry Creek 9.325
    9 Elena Reiffin 9.275
    10 Grace Whitacre 9.15
    All-Around
    Rank Name School Score
    1 Ana George Cherry Creek 38.4
    2 Anastasia Buzalsky Elizabeth 37.7
    3 Sam Demoss Overland 37.575
    4 Katherine Compton Ponderosa 36.3
    5 Maddie Gotlieb Ponderosa 35.525
    6 Grace Whitacre Ponderosa 34.8
    7 Macey Fry Rock Canyon 34.675
    8 Aliyah Malik Cherry Creek 33.7
    9 Isabel Telez 33.575
    10 Aspen Fredericks 33.525

    ****************************

  • Replay: Week 8 football games around the state

    Links

    The live event will begin at the scheduled time on Friday.
    [divider]

    Live coverage

    Live Blog Football’s Week 8
     


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    Live games
    Class Game Time Notes
    4A Wheat Ridge vs. Denver South 4 p.m. Video
    4A (6) Fruita Monument vs. Standley Lake 4 p.m. Video
    4A Grand Junction Central vs. (1) Ponderosa 6 p.m. Audio
    4A Montrose vs. Coronado 6 p.m. Audio
    2A (5) The Classical Academy vs. Lamar 6:30 p.m. Audio
    3A Discovery Canyon vs. (9) Canon City 6:30 p.m. Audio
    2A Florence vs. Manitou Springs 6:35 p.m. Audio
    8-man (6) Holly vs. McClave 6:45 p.m. Audio
    4A (2) Pine Creek vs. Air Academy 7 p.m. Audio
    1A (9) Burlington vs. Wiggins 7 p.m. Audio
    1A (6) Paonia vs. (2) Meeker 7 p.m. Audio
    8-man Del Norte vs. Sangre de Cristo 7 p.m. Audio
    2A (4) La Junta vs. (9) Salida 7 p.m. Audio
    8-man (7) Fowler vs. Swink 7 p.m. Audio
    5A (8) Highlands Ranch vs. (1) Valor Christian | Alternate 7 p.m. CET Sports
    5A Poudre vs. Lakewood 7 p.m. Video
    5A Westminster vs. Douglas County 7 p.m. Video
    5A Chaparral vs. Rock Canyon 7 p.m. Video
    2A Denver West vs. (7) Faith Christian 7 p.m. Video
    5A Cherokee Trail vs. Hinkley 7 p.m. Video
    5A Smoky Hill vs. horizon 7 p.m. Video
    2A (3) Platte Valley vs. Brush 7 p.m. Video
    5A Aurora Central vs. (4) Regis Jesuit 7 p.m. Video
    5A Smoky Hill vs. (7) Grandview 7 p.m. Video
    4A Air Academy vs. (2) Pine Creek 7 p.m. Video
    5A (9) Fairview vs. (10) Mullen 7 p.m. Video
    1A Holyoke vs. Wray | Alternate 7 p.m. Video/Audio
    8-man Akron vs. (5) Haxtun 7:30 p.m. Audio
    8-man Caliche vs. (1) Sedgwick County 7:30 p.m. Video
    Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show 9:30 p.m. Audio

  • 4A state softball: Silver Creek knocks off defending champ Valor Christian

    Silver Creek softball team
    (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

    AURORA — Everyone in the state knew Valor Christian had it’s ace in Ali Kilponen. Silver Creek knew it had an ace of its own in Jetta Nannen.

    “Just a warrior there to keep plugging away and not get rattled,” Silver Creek coach Ryan Beavers said after his team advanced to the Class 4A semifinals. “An outstanding effort by her. I think she showed she’s one of the better pitchers in the state. Maybe not known as much because she doesn’t throw 65-68 miles an hour, but she’s a competitor.”

    Nannen held Valor Christian down with a solid outing, while the Silver Creek offense got to Kilponen early in a 5-1 quarterfinal win.

    “Our gameplan was to jump on them early,” Nannen said. “To do our thing, do things our way and not be pushed by how they play. Play our game.”

    The loss was Valor Christian’s first of the season. It broke a 28-game winning streak for the Eagles.

    “They realized that she’s a great pitcher, but she puts on her pants just like they do,” Beavers said on Kilponen. “She’s a human.”

    Nannen hit a solo homerun in the top of the fifth inning to extend the Raptor lead to 4-1.

    “It was really our energy. We had energy, we had passion, we wanted to win it really badly,” Nannen said. “I think we came together as a team. We had to work on that the whole season and it’s finally coming together when it’s supposed to.”

    Silver Creek softball
    (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

    “It wasn’t just me who hit the homerun. It was the whole team picking me up. It was a team effort.”

    Then, Taylor Nielson followed in the sixth with a solo shot of her own that cemented the score at 5-1.

    “It brings us up,” Nannen said. “It pumps us up more to keep going and not be satisfied with anything less than winning it. We’re going to put all of our passion and heart into it.”

    Nannen went seven innings and allowed one run.

    “The biggest thing was executing the gameplan as far as spinning the ball and hitting spots,” Beavers said. “She’s certainly not a power pitcher, but she’s able to spin the ball and move it around.”

    Silver Creek will face Pueblo Central in the semifinals for a chance to play for a Class 4A championship.

    “They’ve really come together as a unit where kids don’t care if they don’t start the game,” Beavers said. “They want their teammate to excel and do well. They found that identity — playing loose and fast.”

    In the other semifinal, No. 10 Mullen and No. 11 Mountain View will face off. The Mountain Lions beat third-seeded Discovery Canyon 4-3 to move on to day two of the state tournament.

    Mullen beat Elizabeth, who upset No. 2 Golden earlier in the day, 11-1 to move into the semifinals.