Three teams joined hockey’s rankings this week: Pueblo County, Steamboat Springs and Chaparral.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, the poll will release each Monday.
Two teams — Centauri and Pueblo West — have taken over the top spots in their respective classifications of the girls basketball rankings this week.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, they are released each Monday.
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
First-place votes are in parentheses.
Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.
Class 5A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Grandview (7)
2-0
97
1
2-0
2
Highlands Ranch (3)
4-1
86
5
4-1
3
Ralston Valley
3-1
76
6
3-1
4
Regis Jesuit
3-2
66
3
3-2
5
Fairview
3-1
43
9
3-1
6
Horizon
4-0
36
7
4-0
7
Cherry Creek
2-1
35
2
2-1
8
Lakewood
6-2
32
4
6-2
9
Castle View
4-0
28
10
4-0
10
Fossil Ridge
2-2
24
8
2-2
Others receiving votes:
Mountain Vista 11, Fruita Monument 6, Fort Collins 4, Denver East 3, Arapahoe 2, Broomfield 1.
Dropped out
None.
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Pueblo West (9)
5-0
145
3
5-0
2
Golden (4)
5-0
140
4
5-0
3
Evergreen (2)
4-1
108
1
4-1
4
Mesa Ridge
4-2
85
5
4-2
5
Holy Family
3-1
82
9
3-1
6
Valor Christian (1)
3-1
79
7
3-1
7
D’Evelyn
6-1
63
8
6-1
8
Pueblo South (1)
2-3
54
2
2-3
9
Air Academy
5-1
50
10
5-1
10
Windsor
2-1
33
6
2-1
Others receiving votes:
Thomas Jefferson 21, Discovery Canyon 19, The Classical Academy 17, Berthoud 11, Pueblo County 9, Rifle 5, Centaurus 4, Pueblo East 4, Palmer Ridge 3, Fort Morgan 1, Littleton 1, Sierra 1.
Dropped out
None.
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Centauri (5)
6-0
89
2
6-0
2
St. Mary’s (1)
4-0
79
3
4-0
3
Colorado Springs Christian (2)
3-0
74
4
3-0
4
Lamar (2)
3-1
65
1
3-1
5
Pagosa Springs
2-1
60
5
2-1
6
Moffat County
4-2
27
9
4-2
7
Eaton
4-1
21
–
4-1
8
Kent Denver
4-1
20
–
4-1
9
Cedaredge
4-0
17
–
4-0
10
Alamosa
4-2
15
–
4-2
Others receiving votes:
Manitou Springs 13, Resurrection Christian 11, Weld Central 10, Colorado Academy 9, University 7, Liberty Common 6, Brush 5, Delta 5, Lutheran 5, Sterling 5, Grand Valley 4, Jefferson Academy 2, Gunnison 1.
Dropped out
Sterling (6), Lutheran (7), Manitou Springs (8), Faith Christian (10).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Yuma (7)
5-0
95
1
5-0
2
Swink (2)
3-1
75
4
3-1
3
Wray
3-2
68
3
3-2
4
Del Norte (1)
4-3
49
2
4-3
5
Limon
3-0
44
7
3-0
6
Ignacio
3-0
37
9
3-0
7
Simla
2-0
35
8
2-0
8
Paonia
3-1
31
5
3-1
9
Holyoke
3-0
26
–
3-0
10
Haxtun
3-0
25
6
3-0
Others receiving votes:
Vail Christian 17, Akron 9, Sanford 9, Ellicott 8, Soroco 5, Denver Christian 4, Burlington 3, Highland 3, Hotchkiss 2, Peyton 2, Clear Creek 1, Lyons 1, Rocky Ford 1.
Dropped out
Lyons (10).
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Kit Carson (11)
2-0
110
1
2-0
2
Briggsdale
3-0
89
3
3-0
3
Kim/Branson
4-0
84
5
4-0
4
Fleming
1-1
66
2
1-1
5
Sangre de Cristo
4-0
36
–
4-0
6
Antonito
4-1
33
4
4-1
7
Wiley
2-1
30
9
2-1
8
Heritage Christian
4-0
28
–
4-0
9
Cheraw
4-1
24
–
4-1
10
McClave
3-1
22
–
3-1
Others receiving votes:
Eads 20, Holly 20, La Veta 12, Springfield 11, Centennial 6, North Park 6, Prairie 5, Arickaree/Woodlin 2, Hi-Plains 1.
Dropped out
Eads (6), La Veta (7), Holly (8), Springfield (10).
There were plenty of changes as the first boys basketball rankings of the regular season were released. Included: Lewis-Palmer is now the new No. 1 team in Class 4A.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, they are released each Monday.
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
First-place votes are in parentheses.
Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.
Class 5A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Rock Canyon (9)
5-0
108
1
5-0
2
Denver East (1)
6-0
74
6
6-0
3
Smoky Hill
3-2
73
2
3-2
4
George Washington
4-1
72
3
4-1
5
ThunderRidge (1)
6-1
58
5
6-1
6
Chaparral
4-0
54
8
4-0
7
Grandview
3-0
44
10
3-0
8
Regis Jesuit
4-1
42
7
4-1
9
Rangeview
4-1
18
–
4-1
10
Overland
0-3
15
4
0-3
Others receiving votes:
Rampart 13, Doherty 10, Eaglecrest 7, Cherokee Trail 4, Arvada West 3, Douglas County 3, Broomfield 2, Fruita Monument 2, Cherry Creek 1, Horizon 1, Legacy 1.
Dropped out
Eaglecrest (9).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Lewis-Palmer (14)
4-0
157
4
4-0
2
Golden (1)
5-1
128
1
5-1
3
Pueblo South
5-1
107
2
5-1
4
Silver Creek
1-0
84
6
1-0
5
Holy Family
3-1
73
5
3-1
6
Pueblo West
2-1
71
3
2-1
7
Windsor
3-0
50
–
3-0
8
Valor Christian
1-2
38
8
1-2
9
Longmont
2-1
30
9
2-1
10
Falcon
4-1
28
10
4-1
Others receiving votes:
Evergreen 24, Widefield 23, Thompson Valley 19, Mead 11, Cheyenne Mountain 9, Ponderosa 7, Littleton 6, Summit 5, Mesa Ridge 3, Pueblo East 2, Roosevelt 2, Thomas Jefferson 2, Glenwood Springs 1.
Dropped out
Widefield (7).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Sterling (15)
6-0
159
1
6-0
2
Kent Denver (1)
5-0
110
3
5-0
3
Platte Valley
4-0
86
–
4-0
4
Alamosa
5-1
72
7
5-1
5
Faith Christian
2-2
54
2
2-2
6
DSST-Stapleton
3-2
51
5
3-2
7
Grand Valley
4-0
41
–
4-0
8
Resurrection Christian
3-2
38
4
3-2
9
The Vanguard
4-0
36
–
4-0
10
La Junta
6-0
34
–
6-0
Others receiving votes:
Colorado Springs Christian 26, Lutheran 24, Coal Ridge 21, Frontier Academy 20, Centauri 17, Strasburg 15, Fort Lupton 12, Bayfield 10, Roaring Fork 10, Manitou Springs 8, The Pinnacle 8, Buena Vista 7, Arrupe Jesuit 6, Pagosa Springs 5, Peak to Peak 4, Brush 3, DSST-Green Valley Ranch 3, Colorado Academy 2, Jefferson Academy 2, Ridge View Academy 2, The Academy 1, Eaton 1, Jefferson 1, Manual 1.
Dropped out
Colorado Springs Christian (6), Lutheran (8), Bayfield (9), Strasburg (10).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Sedgwick County (7)
3-0
83
1
3-0
2
Crowley County (1)
5-0
80
9
5-0
3
Yuma (2)
4-1
72
–
4-1
4
Del Norte
4-2
60
3
4-2
5
Sanford
3-1
51
7
3-1
6
Ignacio (1)
1-0
33
10
1-0
7
Meeker
3-0
30
–
3-0
8
Highland
2-2
26
4
2-2
9
Simla
2-0
24
–
2-0
10
Cripple Creek-Victor
5-1
19
–
5-1
Others receiving votes:
Hoehne 16, Hotchkiss 12, Limon 12, Sargent 11, Fowler 10, Plateau Valley 10, Byers 9, Haxtun 9, Vail Christian 9, Twin Peaks 6, Dawson 5, Mancos 5, Merino 2, Paonia 2, Dolores Huerta 1, Evangelical Christian 1.
Dropped out
Holyoke (2), Paonia (5), Fowler (6), Akron (8).
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Holly (4)
5-0
68
1
5-0
2
Cheyenne Wells (1)
3-0
59
2
3-0
3
Peetz (2)
4-0
51
6
4-0
4
Cotopaxi
2-1
49
–
2-1
5
Kit Carson
2-0
37
7
2-0
6
Longmont Christian
3-1
32
8
3-1
7
South Baca
1-1
25
10
1-1
8
Front Range Baptist
3-1
22
5
3-1
9
Sierra Grande
3-2
20
9
3-2
10
Heritage Christian
3-1
18
–
3-1
Others receiving votes:
Primero 15, Cheraw 9, DeBeque 9, Fleming 9, Creede 8, Sangre de Cristo 3, Shining Mountain 3, Arickaree/Woodlin 1, North Park 1, Rocky Mountain Lutheran 1.
“It’s crazy. I’ve been here every year we’ve won, because my older sisters were both on the team,” Vail Christian captain Isabelle Carlson said. “How far this team has come this year is really inspiring. We pulled it together and got it done.”
Patti Carlson — in her seventh year as the coach of the Saints — has a state championship for every year dating back to 2011. Vail Christian has not won a title in any other sport.
“I’m so proud of these girls,” Patti Carlson said. “These kids did everything. They’re smart, they work hard. We’re here, and we won.”
The championship win puts the Saints in a tie for the eighth-most spirit spirit titles in state history.
Vail Christian turned in a score of 76.9833 to beat out Sanford, who finished with a final score of 68.9333. The Saints made it to the finals with a score of 77.3833 in Friday’s competition.
“Our school is small, so it feels like a family,” Patti Carlson said. “We’ve had so many sisters on our team. It’s family support.”
Elsewhere in poms, Bayfield took the 3A title over Aspen with an impressive score of 84.9167. Bayfield finished runner-up at last year’s competition.
Wheat Ridge claimed a repeat title in 4A with its score of 88.4333. Valor Christian edged out Erie to take second place with an 85.0333.
ThunderRidge won its first title in 5A poms with a score of 94.2333. Grandview finished in second for a second straight runner-up finish.
Cherokee Trail won the school’s first title in 5A cheer, beating last year’s champion Rock Canyon.
Valor Christian won the 4A championship by virtue of a tiebreak over Thompson Valley. The two teams tied with 83.0500 points, but Valor had a higher average score from the cheer judges, which gave them the title.
Valor Christian won the 2016 title, while Thompson Valley finished runner-up.
In 3A, The Academy topped Pinnacle and Prospect Ridge with a score of 80.35. That’s the school’s first 3A cheer title.
Highland won a second-straight title in 2A cheer, finishing ahead of Cheyenne Wells.
[divider]
Co-ed Cheer
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Castle View won its fourth-straight title in 4A/5A, topping Mountain Vista and Vista Ridge.
St. Mary’s claimed the title in 2A/3A for a third-straight championship. Coal Ridge, Bayfield and Salida finished behind the Pirates.
[divider]
Jazz
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Ponderosa won the Jazz title, moving the Mustangs into a tie for the most spirit titles in state history. Ponderosa now has 11 state spirit championships after turning in a 95.2.
Mountain Vista finished in second place with 93.5833 points.
[divider]
Hip Hop
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Broomfield rocked the house with it’s hip hop performance and took the state title.
Eaglecrest finished in the runner-up spot, while Overland gave longtime coach Becky Grasser a solid sendoff with a third-place finish.
Monarch, which won back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2016, finished in fourth.
DENVER — Athletics is a world full of superstitions. Ask any coach or player and they’ll rattle off countless little things that they do ahead of a big game or while they’re on a winning streak.
For the Grandview cheer team, it’s no different.
The night before the start of state spirit, the entire team goes through the same ritual that has preceded a top-five finish for them in each of the last three years.
The process is fairly straight-forward. The night before the start of the meet, the Wolves all gather for a team meeting where they building they annual state books. Each member of the team has to make a card for every other member on the team. All told, the books take close to 12 hours to assemble.
They are all then given a pinecone. When they go to sleep each night, they have to be wearing a green t-shirt and the pinecone must be placed underneath their pillows.
But before they get to the point where they are getting ready to go to sleep, they must flush ice cubes down the toilet.
“The pinecone and the green shirts go back years,” coach Christina Maccarrone said. “It’s a Grandview tradition. It goes back to before I started coaching here.”
Maccarrone said that she added flushing the ice cubes down the toilet because it’s something that kids do when they want a snow day. So why not add something else that results in kids being happy?
It might seem a little quirky, but with the way the team has performed in recent years they figure they shouldn’t fix what isn’t broken.
“At first I thought it was silly,” Graycee Carlton. “But after doing it for a long time you start think it really does work.”
If there is any evidence that it’s all mental and it doesn’t matter if the girls actually do it or not, look no further than Karsyn Yovanovich.
She didn’t buy it. Going into state last year, she did not sleep in the green t-shirt and the results show in her performance. She was the only member of the Wolves squad that fell during the performance.
“I didn’t think the superstitions were real,” she said.
After what happened last year, she quickly pointed out that she made sure to check every superstition off the list heading into Friday’s preliminaries at the Denver Coliseum.
But there is something more important going on for them this year than the green shirts and the pinecones. Through each competition this year, they have hearts in their shoes. They believe that the hearts help them hit in the competitions.
They also have special hearts for a past cheerleader that passed away in July. Each member of the squad has a yellow heart to honor Phoebe Lester and keep her close to the team.
Unfortunately, the Wolves did not advance to Saturday’s finals. But the results won’t stop them from making sure their rituals stay the same heading into next year.
The prestigious national award honors high school seniors who give back to their communities, treat people with respect, seek to continue their education, and excel in athletics.
Gaylord was one of five national female finalists for the award. Longmont’s Brandon Staple was one of the five male finalists. The male winner was Jackson Destine of Delray Beach, Fla.
(Courtesy of Wendy’s HS Heisman)
For winning, Gaylord will receive a $10,000 college scholarship. Staple will receive a $5,000 scholarship for being a finalist.
Gaylord is the first Colorado winner of the Wendy’s High School Heisman since Wiggins’ Kyle Pollock won in 2009.
Gaylord is a multi-sport athlete who competes in track and cross country, and is also the student body president at Telluride.
She is the two-time defending champion in both the 1,600 and 3,200-meter races at the 2A state track meet, and also finished second in the 800 last season. Gaylord was also part of Telluride’s championship-winning 4×800 relay.
Gaylord finished second at last month’s 2A state cross country championships, and was named first-team all-state earlier this week. She was fifth as a junior, third as a sophomore, and seventh as a freshman.
Outside of high school athletics, Gaylord has also competed in the World Mountain Running Championships, and is a World Champion snowshoe runner.
She is passionate about the environment. From the release announcing Gaylord as a finalist:
She presents to her town government two times a year about a native species garden that she designed and maintains on 500 acres of protected land. She also founded a program to save and rebuild Telluride’s Monarch butterfly population, and works in her school’s greenhouse to promote healthy eating and supply low-income families with fresh produce. In everything she does, Soleil passionately believes in putting in the hard work. As her long list of accomplishments shows, the rewards are well worth the effort.
Horizon’s Justin Nitura (33) has the ball slapped away by Ralston Valley’s Kyle Zigich on Friday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
ARVADA — Horizon boys basketball got its money’s worth when it came to its entrance fee to play in the annual Ralston Valley RoundUp.
In the final game of the tournament, the Hawks defeated host Ralston Valley 58-52 in triple-overtime. Horizon senior Sawyer Cirbo poured in 8 of 12 points scored by the Hawks in the three 4-minute overtime periods, including going 6-for-8 from the free-throw line.
Legacy was crowned the tournament champion going 3-0 with victories over Ralston Valley, Westminster and Standley Lake during the 3-day tournament.
“Sawyer is all over the floor all the time, in practice too,” Horizon coach Chad Wilson said. “He dives on the floor. Running into walls. Diving into the bleachers. That is how he plays. He sets a tone.”
Ralston Valley’s Isaac Townsend (31) looks for room to work against a pair of Horizon defenders. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
The Hawks (5-1 record) trailed 46-41 after a 3-pointer by Ralston Valley senior Isaac Asquith and a pair of free throws by sophomore Caden Gigstad. However, Horizon answered with junior Kaden Bennet making a pair of free throws and Cirbo drained a 3-pointer with 34 seconds left to ties things up at 46-46 and force overtime.
Horizon held the ball for the majority of the first scoreless overtime period. The Hawks took a 49-46 lead in the second overtime, but Gigstad canned a 3-pointer with 43 seconds left in the second overtime to force yet a third extra session.
“They are trying,” first-year Ralston Valley coach Chris Braketa said. “We just have to figure some things out offensively. Defensively it was a good effort.”
Horizon was able to pull away in the third overtime where it became a battle at the free-throw line. The Hawks went 7-for-12 from the charity stripe in the third overtime. The Mustangs were 3-for-4, which included a lane violation that cost Ralston Valley (1-4) a point.
“To be in this kind of situation and learn from our mistakes and what we did right,” Wilson said. “It’s a great learning tool early in the season.”
It was a good bounce-back win for the Hawks after a 56-54 loss to Standley Lake in the second round of the tournament Thursday. Horizon is back in action at home against Mountain Range at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 11.
Chris Braketa is in his first season at the helm of Ralston Valley’s boys basketball program. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
After three straight losses to begin the season. Braketa got his first victory Thursday with a 44-39 victory over Mountain Range.
Braketa, 1999 Pomona High School graduate, is in his first year at the helm of the Mustangs. He took over for the only head coach Ralston Valley’s boys basketball team had ever known — Mitch Conrad.
“Being with a new coach we have to be able to believe in what he has and what he is giving to us,” said Gigstad, who finished with 13 points. “It’s five games. We’re going to be able to do it.”
Asquith had a game-high 17 points and junior Jordan Stratch pitched in 11 points for the Mustangs before he fouled out in the third overtime period.
Ralston Valley has plenty of size this season with 6-foot-7 junior Isaac Townsend, 6-foot-6 Stratch, 6-foot-5 junior AJ Jergensen and 6-foot-4 Asquith.
“That is where our strength is, our size,” Braketa said. “We’ve just got to keep looking inside with our guards and having our bigs work. That is definitely going to be our strength and something we have to use once we get into (5A Jeffco) league for sure.”
The Mustangs have more than a week break before their next game. Ralston Valley hosts ThunderRidge, No. 5 in the CHSAANow.com 5A boys basketball preseason poll, at 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16.
Horizon senior Sawyer Cirbo (15) scored the final 6 points for the Hawks in their 58-52 triple-overtime victory. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
