COLORADO SPRINGS — Palmer basketball coach Jimmy Grantz is a graduate of Doherty High School. More than a lot of people, he sees the crossover of students and athletes from both schools and understand that has truly evolved into one of the most intense rivalries throughout the state of Colorado.
But it wasn’t always this way. Back in his day, Doherty’s big rival was Mitchell, a different District 11 school.
“This rivalry didn’t really start to pick up until the early 90’s,” Grantz said.
And picked up it has. Saturday marked the first meeting of the D-11 foes this season. The bleachers at Doherty were so packed that athletic director Chris Noll had to rope off a few rows so game workers had room to navigate.
The administrations of the two schools promote the game as a “rivalry with respect.” Grantz points out that the has coached several Doherty players in various phases of their life.
Before Alijah Bates dropped 18 points in the Spartans 66-53 win, he played middle school football for Grantz. Kyrele Benfrod, who knocked down a big 3-pointer to put the Spartans (11-2 overall, 2-0 Class 5A Colorado Springs Metro League) up 12 in the first, has knows the Terrors coach since he was in seventh grade.
They’re all buddies. They all cross paths. There is certainly respect there.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
But at the end of the day, there is also an intensity level that always comes when competing against a rival.
“The intensity is always up,” Doherty senior Joe Golden said. “Palmer always gives us their best game and it’s always a great, fun atmosphere to be in.”
Golden matched Bates for a game-high 18 points in the win, 10 of them coming in the first quarter. Gone are the days of Brevin Brimble and the threat of 3-point shots falling en mass.
The offensive plan was cut and dry early and that was to work the ball into the post where Bates and Golden were able to thrive and help Doherty grab the lead after the first quarter.
“I just try to do whatever I can to help my team,” Golden said. “Sometimes shots aren’t falling and someone has to pick it up so I try to be that guy.”
The Terrors (6-8, 0-3) had to get points from everyone if they wanted to a chance to down the defending CSML champs. Isaiah Robinson scored 15 and Darrien Meyers scored 14.
Palmer connected on eight total 3-pointers, but it just wasn’t enough to keep pace.
“We played a lot better tonight than we did against Liberty last Tuesday,” Grantz said. “That’s encouraging because we don’t match up and at all. Not many teams do.”
On the other bench, Doherty coach Eric Steinert got his first taste of this rivalry. With just two losses on the season, Steinert has done a good job keeping the 5A No. 7 Spartans focused on the task at hand. But it was unexpected for him when he felt like his guys got a little too caught up in the atmosphere of this specific game.
“We talk about culture, we talk about mindset, we talk about being in the moment,” Steinert said. “I thought we lacked a little bit in that tonight.”
He’ll have just under a month to get his boys ready for the same game, but in a hostile environment. Doherty will travel to Palmer on Feb. 10.
Coming off a loss in the rivalry on Saturday, when kids fill the halls at the corner of Nevada and Platte in downtown Colorado Springs, they’ll be looking ahead for their chance at redemption.
“I don’t know what it’s like (at Doherty), but three weeks before the game kids will ask me when do we play Doherty,” Grantz said. “We have six games before we play Doherty, but (the intensity) is always there.”
And judging from the handshakes and hugs at the conclusion of Saturday’s game, so is the respect.
Valor’s Brandon Smith (24) and Luke McCaffrey (2) put defensive pressure on Dan Brady on Friday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
DENVER — Hunter Shkapich calmed Valor Christian’s boys basketball coach Troy Pachner at halftime Friday night as the Eagles faced a 26-25 deficit at halftime.
“Hunter came to me at halftime and said, ‘Coach don’t sweat it. I’ve got this.’ And you know what he did,” Pachner said after the Eagles’ 61-53 road victory against D’Evelyn in the Class 4A Jeffco League game. “He (Shkapich) was on it. He hit some big ones.”
Shkapich was actually the only Valor player to reach double-digits scoring. The junior guard finished with 20 points, including five 3-pointer in the second half. Shkapich had just two points at halftime.
Valor’s Hunter Shkapich poured in a team-high 20 points in the Eagles’ 5th straight win. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“First half I was off,” Shkapich admitted. “I made an adjustment to use my legs more and following through. I knew I was good.”
Valor, ranked No. 9 in the latest CHSAANow.com Class 4A boys basketball poll, won its fifth straight game after a 2-6 start to the season for the defending 4A state champions.
“We have to stay humble with it and stay confident,” Shkapich said of the current roll Valor is on.
The Eagles (7-6 record, 4-0 in league) took over the game in the third quarter thanks to some pressure defense. Pachner, former D’Evelyn coach, implemented a full-court press that caused a number of Jaguar turnovers. Valor outscored D’Evelyn 23-13 in the third quarter.
“Valor’s pressure is legitimate pressure. They do a great job with that,” D’Evelyn coach Dan Zinn said. “In the third quarter they took advantage of our mistakes and us not stepping up to that pressure. We definitely had our chances.”
Seniors Charles Dinegar and Cole Clifton combined to score 43 of 53 points for the Jaguars (5-7, 1-3). D’Evelyn held the lead early in the game and later in the second quarter, but turnovers and missed free throws took their toll.
D’Evelyn senior Charles Dinegar (0) had a game-high 22 points against Valor. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“It’s not the first time. It’s probably our sixth or seventh loss where we handed it away with missed free throws, turnovers and mental mistakes,” said Dinegar, who finished with a game-high 22 points. “This one hurts just as much as any of them.”
The Jaguars went 12-for-27 from the free-throw line in what was D’Evelyn’s fifth single-digit loss on the season. D’Evelyn is looking to find some footing in the league after a 1-3 start in conference play. Losses to No. 4 Golden and Evergreen are the other two defeats the Jaguars have suffered in conference play.
“It’s the toughest league in 4A for a reason,” Zinn said. “We’ve been through some tough games already and we’ve got three tough more before we start all over again. We just need to come out and do the little things that we’re capable of doing.”
It will be a busy week coming up for the Jaguars. D’Evelyn has a non-league home game Class 3A’s No. 3 ranked Faith Christian before a pair of conference road games. The Jaguars are at Standley Lake (Wednesday) and Littleton (Friday) as they continue the 14-game league schedule.
Valor sophomore Roger Rosengarten (44) goes up strong. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“We need to get some wins to get ready for playoffs and the end of the season,” Dinegar said. “We need three wins next week to get going.”
Valor has a pair of home conference games next week with Wheat Ridge (Wednesday) and a big showdown against Evergreen (10-2, 3-0) at 7 p.m. next Friday night.
There is a chance Valor and Evergreen could both come into next week’s game still undefeated in conference play. The Cougars do face Wheat Ridge and Green Mountain before the showdown in Highlands Ranch against the Eagles.
Despite having the early driver’s seat in the conference, Pachner believes the league has more parity this year.
“I think last year you had four super teams and then there was some separation,” Pachner said. “I think teams have closed the gap from the bottom and frankly, those top teams have come to that mid-line. It’s imperative to win these kind of games on the road.”
D’Evelyn and Valor continue their 14-game Class 4A Jeffco League schedule next week. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“My teammates just got me open, and I scored,” she said.
At this point of the season, every win in the Centennial will prove to be a vital one. The Bruins were able to take care of business at home, something that will always prove vital in a hunt for a league title.
“It means a lot, this win puts us into second place by ourselves in the league,” Cherry Creek coach Chris Curneen said. “Now we just have to keep fighting.”
Van Gytenbeek has also taken the reigns as the leader for the Bruins, in only her sophomore season.
“It is easy to lead a good team, with a good coach,” Van Gytenbeek said. “We always have good practices, it’s not hard to lead this team.”
And a self leading team the Bruins are with three athletes committed to play at the next level, and more to come with four mature underclassmen all playing an impact role in a balanced Cherry Creek team.
“We have the potential to go just as far (as we did last year),” forward Carly Thompson said. “I think we work together as a team and can do it again.”
At first glance the low ages of Bruin players may raise some concern but the Bruins are proving that age is just a number.
“We work really well together, on the court we have really good communication,” Thompson continued. “We also execute our plays really well and play solid defense which gets the rest of the game going. Defense wins championships.”
Senior transfer Emma Wrede has stepped into the Cherry Creek system without missing a beat.
“It isn’t much different, other than the styles of play, Jana is out of this world, it was hard transitioning at first with a new coach, new ways of play, but I like it and it is going really well.” Wrede said.
Wrede has emerged as one of the primary shooters for the Bruins.
“I just knock down shots when I’m open, which is all thanks to my teammates. I know what my role is and what I need to do every night.” Wrede said.
Wrede has postseason experience from last year at Regis Jesuit which will help bolster the Bruins when the playoffs begin.
“I’m hungry, we are hungry for more, once you get a taste of it you want more and this year, I know we have a good chance.” Wrede finished.
Cherry Creek improved to 8-3, while the Arapahoe Warriors dropped to 7-6.
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In the very back seat of the District 14 activity bus, Manitou Springs senior Cole Sienknecht sits alone. His feet are stretched out and headphones are jammed in his ears.
The sounds of Eminem and Kendrick Lamar are helping him both pass the time and get him in the right frame of mind.
The Mustangs have a league game. But they have a 1 p.m. departure time. They’ll head south on I-25 until they get to Pueblo. Then Ken, the typical bus driver for the boys, will turn them east and cut through the southeast plains of the state.
A showdown with the La Junta Tigers is looming.
When fans think of games between league opponents, the traditional thinking is that they come with geographically friendly trips.
That might be true when looking at some of the bigger schools in metro areas. For Centennial League teams in Denver, the kids might spend a half hour on a bus ride depending on traffic. The same logic can apply to the Colorado Springs Metro League.
But not the Class 3A Tri-Peaks.
On this day, the Mustangs will be crammed on the bus for two hours. This is far from uncommon for the small schools throughout the state. At some point they’ll go to Lamar, a full hour farther east on Highway 50 than La Junta.
Lamar is also a school that travels long stretches at times to try and improve in the league standings. A trip to Buena Vista totals nearly 250 miles one way. It can take a toll. But it’s also part of the fun that separates the small schools from the big ones.
Bus trips that are measured in hours rather than minutes give players time to develop relationships and grow as a team beyond their allotted time on the court each day.
“Usually, it’s the time when teams really come together,” Sienknecht said. “It’s when you get that camaraderie that you can’t get on the court and when you really become good friends.”
The bus ride is only part of the overall experience. On Jan. 5 the Mustangs loaded up and journeyed southwest in search of their first league win.
[divider]
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
12:30 p.m.
The good news for Manitou is that this is the last day that the students are on Christmas break. To take advantage, coach Ken Vecchio calls them in for a film session prior to the 1 p.m. scheduled departure.
The Tigers and the Mustangs had actually played each other earlier in the year. They met for the championship of the Trinidad State Junior College tournament, a game that the Tigers won.
The Mustangs gathered around a screen in the school’s gym and looked at that game trying to figure out what went wrong and what needed to happen in order to generate a different result.
12:55 p.m.
The buses are outside and it’s time to load up. Both the girls and boys teams are traveling, something that will provide a small complication later.
As the players, coaches and managers file out of the school commons, a single cell phone is left on a table as it charges. Vecchio notices the phone and tells a girls assistant coach to ask her players if it might be one of theirs.
It is.
One of the girls darts back into the commons to retrieve it.
1 p.m.
The buses are away on time. It takes time for Sienknecht and the others to get settled, as is the nature of teenagers. He claims one of the back seats along with the team’s only other senior, Jace Gwynn.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
The coaching staff settles in up front, chatting about whatever is on their mind. Vecchio coaches alongside his son, Brian, and the duo has taken more of these long rides together than they’d care to count.
As the bus merges on to I-25 heading south, a pretty common picture of traveling high school kids begins to emerge.
Some of the kids are trying to grab some sleep. Others are listening to whatever music they have downloaded to their phones.
A couple of kids even have their heads buried in paperback novels, a welcome sight for those feeling that reading is a hobby that might be falling off in today’s youth.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
2:10 p.m.
Cows. Fields. Plains.
These are the views the kids get on the majority of the ride. Once they hit Pueblo and head east populated towns become few and far in between.
They’ll pass through Fowler, Rocky Ford and Swink amongst others. There’s still a way to go.
For the most part, the kids are either locked on to their music or carrying on conversations about school, the upcoming game or general life.
For the most part there is little, if any horseplay going. Not that there hasn’t been.
“One time, (2017 grad) Davyn (Adamscheck) when we were going out to Buena Vista and he was sliding underneath the seats and messing with guys as they slept,” Sienknecht said. “That was hilarious.”
The Mustangs have struggled at times this year, so they can’t get away with the jokes that they were able to pull off in recent years. With Sienknecht and Gwynn the only seniors on the team, they tend to set the tone for a more focused experience on the road.
“A lot of times, Jace and I just sit in the back and talk while people sleep,” Sienknecht said.
3 p.m.
The bus pulls into the parking lot of La Junta Middle School. On this particular day, the boys junior varsity will play here before jumping back on the bus and being shuttled over to Otero Junior College.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
The girls JV and varsity teams are already over at Otero. They’ll play there, avoiding the shuffling that is necessary sometimes when a school hosts a boys/girls double-header.
Former La Junta athletic director and current principal Dan Nuschy is on-site at the middle school to greet the Mustangs. He checks with Vecchio to make sure the ride went okay and show him where the boys locker room is.
The JV game went the way of the host Tigers. At the conclusion of the game, the players hurry to change and jump back on the bus to get to the site of the varsity game. The Manitou freshman team is scheduled to play at the middle school so Ken will take the JV, varsity and coaching staff over to Otero and then come back to get the younger kids.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
5:30 p.m.
The first varsity action of the night is underway. Both La Junta and Manitou are in search of their first league win.
The Mustangs jump out quick, scoring 33 points in the first quarter alone.
As halftime nears, the boys varsity is in gear and ready to go. After two hours on the bus and watching two games, they’re itching to get underway.
6:45 p.m.
The Manitou girls walk away victorious. As they filter off the court a few of the boys offer high-fives but jump right on the court for pregame warmups.
By the time warmups have started, the Manitou freshman team has also wrapped up a win and hitched a ride on the bus over to Otero.
It’s not always the case, especially on the long trips, but all indications are that the varsity game will begin at it’s scheduled start time.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
7 p.m.
It’s go time. The Tigers and Mustangs are underway for the second time this season. As the first time, it turns into an intense battle between two teams very familiar with each other in terms of style and playing preferences.
The players are familiar with each other as well. Sienknecht and Gwynn have played against La Junta’s Jon Nuschy and Dyson Oquist on the football field as well as the basketball court.
When the final buzzer eventually sounds the Mustangs come away with a 10-point win, evening the season series with their Tri-Peaks adversaries.
The Mustangs have to hurry in the locker room as they have to stop for food and start making their way back west.
The Tigers won’t be too far behind. The next day, they’ll make a three-hour trek to Salida. It’ll be another league showdown, but this time it’ll be on the road.
Like the Manitou kids, the Tigers don’t necessarily mind. They’ve come to embrace the trips as a chance to bond in a way that a lot of teams can’t on their cross-town trips.
“They’re good. I like that we like to be together as a team and be brothers,” Nuschy said. “It’s a good atmosphere and I like it. I like our team.”
8:30 p.m.
The Mustangs are loaded on the bus and on the move. The first order of business is stop and get something to eat.
They hit a McDonald’s on the east edge of town. The de facto babysitter of over two dozen teenagers, Vecchio instructs them to get ordered and eat quickly since there is still a long trip ahead.
Over the course of the next half hour, they recap the events of the night. A 10-point win is sure better than the 15-point loss that they suffered earlier in the year.
“There’s more of a reflection period after a loss,” Sienknecht said. “The first time we lost to La Junta, we watched filmed and picked out our mistakes. Getting a big win then heading back is nice.”
The bus gets loaded back up and the kids, still amped over the win, take a few minutes to settle down. Over the next few days some specifics of the game will be cleared up.
Here’s what went right. Here’s what went wrong. This is what needs to be better in order to keep growing as a team and winning.
But that’s a tomorrow issue.
The players get back to their music. Vecchio pours over the score book and even dives into game film.
The assistant coaches join the players in listening to music, watching movies on their phones or sleeping.
There is no mistaking her goal. Cayden Condit wants to become the first female wrestler to ever place at the state tournament.
And Condit, a freshman at Conifer, is off to a blazing start in her quest to do so.
“This is years in the making,” said Dustin Condit, Cayden’s father.
Condit picked up wrestling at the age of four. Dustin Condit is a youth and high school wrestling coach. Cayden’s older brother, Zander, also started wrestling young. So Cayden often found herself in a wrestling room.
“The first year. she was just sitting on the side watching for a little while, and I was like, ‘Well, you might as well be out here, too,’” said Dustin Condit, who is also a volunteer assistant coach for Conifer.
She entered her first tournament when she was 5.
“When she was little, she beat up a lot of little boys, and it was fun, so we stuck with it,” Dustin Condit said.
(Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Said Cayden Condit: “This is the only sport I’ve ever done. It’s just part of my life now. … I like that you have to work towards it. It’s not just given to you (in wrestling). The more you put in, the more you get out.”
She’s had all kinds of success ever since. Recently, that includes championships at girls nationals in freestyle, and placing in boys brackets for both Greco and freestyle.
That success has continued into her first high school season, where she wrestles in the 106-pound division for Conifer.
Condit opened the year by going 6-0 in dual meets, including three pins, a tech fall, and two forfeits.
She placed fourth in her first tournament, at the Columbine Invitational in early December, and then tackled one of the toughest events of the regular season: The annual Northern Colorado Christmas Tournament in Loveland.
Condit went 4-2 in the 106-pound bracket which featured 45 entrants. She pinned three opponents during her run, but fell two matches short of placing.
“It was a really good preparation for state, because it’s like a mini-state,” Condit said of the tournament. “It was good to kind of see what I’m going to go up against, what kids are at my weight, and what I do need to do.
“In a few of those matches, I made some silly mistakes that I need to correct before state.”
After the winter break, Condit placed third at the Mullen Invite, pinning three opponents. Following two more wins on Wednesday in a triangular meet with Alameda and Standley Lake, she’s now 17-5 this season. Her 17 wins are the most of any female wrestler in the state in 2017-18, according to TrackWrestling.com.
Based upon this, Tim Yount of On The Mat has ranked Condit 10th in 3A’s 106-pound division. She is the only girl that is ranked at this point. The top six finishers will place at the state tournament.
Yet, of the 13 times a girl has qualified, only two have won a first-round match. Grand Valley’s Cody Pfau came the closet to placing when she became the first girl to win two matches at state, but Pfau lost in the consolation quarterfinals — one match away from the podium.
The challenge she’ll face is clear to Condit.
“I’m trying to be the first girl to place, and possibly win, at state,” she said. “It’s very difficult, I have learned that. For a few matches I have gone against the kids that I will go against at state, and it’s helped me prepare for what I will see there. Because there’s going to be some juniors and seniors who cut down more who are really strong.
“I realize wrestling guys at an older age, they’re a lot stronger than me,” she added. “So I have to work more on my speed and my technique, more than just trying to overpower them, because that’s not going to happen.”
Condit will have plenty of experience around her to help in her quest. In addition to her father on the Conifer staff, first-year Lobos head coach Trenton Watson was an assistant at Arvada West, and is a former two-time state champion at Pine Creek and Coronado.
And Zander Condit, her older brother, placed sixth at 3A 126 last season. Zander is now ranked No. 2 in 3A 132 this season by On The Mat — it’s likely that they’re the only brother/sister pair ranked this season.
Each of them has faith in Cayden as she chases the podium.
“She’s very goal-oriented, and she seems very focused this year,” Dustin Condit said.
“She definitely has the capability and the potential to do it,” Watson said. “I wrestled in Colorado high school when a couple of the good girls were coming up, and she’s just as good, if not better, than those girls who were pretty close (to placing).”
