MONTROSE — Fourth-ranked Durango boys soccer scored twice in the second half to come away with a 3-2 win over Montrose on Wednesday.
Montrose went up 1-0 just 3:20 into the game on a goal from Sean Alex, but Durango quickly gathered itself and tie the game up eight minutes later when Jack Beattie scored of an assist from Lance Townsend. The game went into halftime tied at 1.
Leland Heineke scored midway through the second half to give Durango a 2-1 lead, and Corbin Miller made it 3-1 in the 73rd minute.
Montrose cut it to a one-goal advantage when Sean Alex scored, but Durango was able to hold on.
“It’s a good road win for us,” Durango coach Aaron Champenoy said. “It’s a very hard-working Montrose team. They came out extremely fast and caught us by surprise early in the match. I though we responded well after making some adjustments and controlled the rest of the half.”
“We carried the momentum in the beginning of the second half and were able to get the go-ahead goal, but Montrose fought back and put us under a lot of pressure for a good spell of the second half,” Champenoy added. “I felt our midfield controlled a lot of the tempo of the match and Leland Heineke gave us a boost when we needed it with the go-ahead goal.
“Freshman goalkeeper Levi Larson came up with some big saves in the second half to help us get the win.”
Durango, now 8-1 this season, returns home to face Fruita Monument on Saturday. The win also pushed the Demons to 3-0 in the Southwestern League.
Montrose (3-5, 1-1) will host Mitchell that same day.
There were three individual champions out of the Southern Region of Class 5A boys golf on Wednesday after a massive thunderstorm caused the cancellation of a playoff.
Arapahoe’s Jack Tickle and Riley Rottschaefer, and Liberty’s Brandon Bervig all finished their rounds at 1-under. The region was in a lightning delay, and further bad weather forced the decision to not play a playoff. As a result, Tickle, Rottschaefer and Bervig were each named individual medalists.
Arapahoe captured the team championship in the region, finishing at 3-over as a group. Liberty was second at 10-over.
In 4A Region 3, held at the Olde Course in Loveland, TJ Shehee became the first golfer from Mead to win a region championship. Shehee was 1-under. Evergreen’s Nolan Miller placed second at 1-over.
“The course was playing pretty tough because it had punched greens and that made it hard to putt,” Shehee told BoCoPreps.com. “I missed a few short putts but I didn’t get mad and let it ruin my round. I just tried to hit it well all day and give myself opportunities. It means a lot to me to win because I haven’t played well at regionals before.”
Miller’s performance helped lead the Cougars to a win as a team in the region. They were 17-over. Northridge was second at 22-over.
WHEAT RIDGE — Golden senior Cassidy Paulson doesn’t fear facing softball rival Wheat Ridge … anymore.
It was a scary start for the Demons’ four-year varsity pitcher against the Farmers. Paulson pitched against Wheat Ridge in a Class 4A Jeffco League game as a freshman back in 2015. Paulson pitched 1.1 innings giving up 10 runs on 10 hits while getting touched up for four home runs.
“My freshman year I got skyrocketed,” Paulson admitted talking about her outing as a freshman against the Farmers. “Those girls smacked it over the fence on me like nobody’s business.”
Golden senior Elena Goodspeed gets the ball in from left field as Wheat Ridge coach Jamie Heflin directs traffic on the bases. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
A lot has changed since the Farmers’ handed Paulson a 19-2 loss three years ago. On Tuesday, Golden managed to make it back-to-back conference victories in back-to-back seasons at Pennington Softball Field in Wheat Ridge. The Demons defeated the Farmers 13-3 last season to break a long losing streak against Wheat Ridge.
“Last year was very emotional,” Paulson said after Tuesday’s 5-2 victory over Wheat Ridge, No. 7 in this week’s CHSAANow.com 4A softball rankings. “To do it two years in a row is very special.”
Paulson was key on the hill and at the plate Tuesday.
After giving up two runs on six hits as the Farmers (10-5, 0-2 in league) took an early 2-0 lead, the veteran pitcher settled in.
Wheat Ridge sophomore Carly Storrer and junior Izzy Quezada had RBI singles in the first two innings. However, Paulson retired 10 straight Wheat Ridge batters, gave up just one hit over the final five innings and didn’t allow a Farmer past first base after the second inning.
“At the end of the day she (Paulson) relaxed and got comfortable with her defense, trusting them,” Golden coach Chad Herbers said. “She shoved it in there and let the defense make the plays.”
Paulson had just three strikeouts, but recorded two Ks in the final inning to close out the victory.
“I think we really saw what (Wheat Ridge batters’) strengths and weaknesses were,” Golden catcher Marla Goodspeed said. “That really helped with pitch calling.”
Wheat Ridge sophomore Ya Mei Wilson fires to the plate Tuesday at Pennington Softball Field. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Golden’ offense needed just one big inning and that came in the top of the fourth inning. Paulson, Makenzie Middleton and Goodspeed started the 4-run fourth with three straight singles. Goodspeed and Haley Prey both had RBI singles to tie the game at 2-2.
“Up and down the line-up they did their job,” Hebers said. “The top half set the table to allow the bottom half to drive them in today. That is what we had to have. It was amazing.”
Seven-hole hitter Katherine Dunson delivered with a go-ahead single to left field that dropped and eventually scored a pair of runs to put the Demons (9-6, 2-0) up 4-2.
Paulson helped herself out adding an insurance run in the top of the seventh inning with an RBI single to drive in Makayla Middleton, who had doubled with two outs.
“I was really focused on getting the baserunners over,” Paulson said of her three consecutive singles after striking out her first at-bat. “I wasn’t going to hit if over the fence. I just wanted to move the baserunners.”
The victory was the sixth straight for the Demons. They have outscored their opponents 46-3 during the current winning streak.
“We started out with a lot of losses,” Paulson said. “We worked really hard because we didn’t want to lose anymore.”
While getting out to a 2-0 start in conference play is nice, Herbers knows the road is still long and treacherous. Golden faces Evergreen (Thursday) and Green Mountain (Saturday) later this week.
“We know Wheat Ridge is still going to be battling for the top of the league,” Herbers said. “We are in the driver’s seat for league if we take care of business. There are teams out there that we can’t go to sleep on.”
Golden junior Makayla Middleton throws to first base after fielding a ball at shortstop Tuesday during the Demons’ 5-2 victory over rival Wheat Ridge. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Dillon Stewart stole the show on the second day of boys golf regionals around the state on Tuesday.
The Fossil Ridge senior, who finished second at the Class 5A state state championship last season, shot a 9-under 63 to win the Class 5A Northern Regional, held at Murphy Creek Golf Course in Aurora.
His performance helped the Sabercats win the regional by 11 strokes, as they finished at 6-under as a team. Lakewood (+5) was second.
Stewart wasn’t the only one under par at that regional, though: Lakewood’s Ryan Liao and Cherokee Trail’s Beam Boonta each were 4-under, and Stewart’s Fossil Ridge teammate Owen Cornmesser was 1-under.
Elsewhere, in 4A Region 4, Montrose teammates Jordan Jennings and Micah Stangebye battled for the individual regional crown after both finished at 3-under through their round. Stangebye won in a seven-hole playoff.
Montrose, the defending 4A champions, also won the region at 2-under. Mullen was second at 1-over.
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In the loaded 3A Region 2, Holy Family’s Jacob Mason won the event by finishing at 4-under, two strokes ahead of defending 3A champion Davis Long of Peak to Peak.
“When you are trying to qualify for something as big as the state championship, its always in the back of your mind that you could be close to the cutline,” Mason told HFAthletics.com. “There is always that chance of putting more pressure on yourself, but I like the pressure and I think our team lived up to it today.”
Prospect Ridge Academy’s Walker Franklin, last year’s runner-up, finished in a tie for third with Kent Denver’s Jackson Klutznick at 1-under. Klutznick finished in a tie for fourth at state last season.
Kent Denver, last year’s runner-up as a team, won the event. Holy Family placed second. Peak to Peak, the defending champions who beat Kent in a playoff last season, was third.
At 3A Region 1, La Junta’s Cody Schrock was the individual champion at 1-under. Lutheran’s Westin Pals (+1) was second.
Colorado Academy won the region by shooting 16-over. La Junta (+20) was second.
In 4A Region 1, Cornado’s Andrew Merz finished first at 6-over. Discovery Canyon’s Scott Ieveque was second at 9-over.
Coronado (+39) also won the team championship. Lewis-Palmer (+41) was second.
Boys golf regionals conclude on Wednesday with two more events.
