PARKER — Legend contained Kobe Sanders and Bryce Matthews to just 18 combined points and came away with a 56-52 upset win over Class 5A No. 1 Chaparral.
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Month: February 2019
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Photos: Chaparral girls basketball utilizes strong first half to beat Legend
PARKER — Chaparral girls basketball held Legend to just nine points in the first half and hung on to get a 49-35 win.
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Troy Baker elected the next president of CHSAA’s Board of Directors
AURORA — Troy Baker, athletic director at Buena Vista High School, has been elected as the next president of CHSAA’s Board of Directors.
Baker will be introduced to the Legislative Council as president during the meeting in April. He will be the Association’s 62nd president, succeeding Pine Creek’s Jim Lucas.
Baker’s two-year term will cover the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years, which includes the year that Colorado will be hosting the NFHS Summer Meeting. He will begin his role as president in July 2019.
“It’s hard to put into words what it means to me, especially in my short career, how great of an opportunity it is to be a part of the CHSAA, and the staff, and the Board,” Baker said. “I learn so much from everybody I get to work with and value the relationships made statewide. It makes me a better person and I value it as one of the avenues of my on-going professional growth.”
Among his goals as president is to “continue to have relationships evolve, and to meet people and engage in conversation about how we can continue to best serve our membership, and our students.”
“I’m just honored to still be a part of the team,” Baker added. “I’ve got an appreciation and excitement to continue to be able to serve.”
Asked about continuing to work on the state-wide level, Baker said: “There is so much to our unique state — geography, school size. Our schools and communities may be uniquely different in ways and facing different challenges, but ultimately we all have the same purpose. We must continue to see the big picture.
“As a member of the Board, you hear of the statewide challenges. It, too, is the multiple CHSAA committees and staff that engage in listening and working together to bring equity to the association’s activities.”
Baker mentioned that he also would like to continue to support the joint efforts of the CHSAA and CADA in minimizing the turnover of athletic directors around the state.
“It is a demanding job, but one that can be very fulfilling,” Baker said. “It is important to build relationships, lean on others at times, ask questions, and get involved in our state association. We are all in this together.”
Baker currently represents District 7 on the Board, and has since 2015. He will be CHSAA’s first president from Buena Vista.
He started his career in athletics and education as a middle school coach at Mountain Valley in the 1990s. While there, he also served on the school board. He became a representative on the Board of Control (now known as the Legislative Council) in 2003.
Baker and his family moved to Buena Vista in 2005, where he immediately began coaching freshman basketball.
“I always loved being at the freshman level. It’s a great honor to be in a position like that that I think sometimes doesn’t get enough credit,” Baker said. “You’re really instrumental in teaching them the fundamentals, and preparing them for the next level.”
Baker eventually became the school’s JV golf coach, and later the varsity coach. In 2014, he was hired as Buena Vista’s athletic director.
“I really miss coaching, but have gained a bigger appreciation and respect for the great work our coaches do,” Baker said. “I am also grateful for the important role that our game officials play.”
He joined the CHSAA Board of Directors in 2015. Baker is also an active member of the Colorado Athletic Directors Association (CADA) and the NIAAA.
“I greatly value the CADA and what they provide for professional development and support of the state athletic directors, and really the NIAAA, too, in having taken several of their classes that have been very valuable,” Baker said.
Baker is currently a member of CHSAA’s football committee, and he has also served as co-clinic director for the Colorado High School Coaches Association, and also as that association’s golf president.
CHSAA’s Board of Directors, formerly known as the Executive Committee, has been around in some form since the Association was created in 1921.
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No. 9 Wheat Ridge boys basketball wins first league title since 2007
WHEAT RIDGE — It only took one basket in the fourth quarter Thursday night for Wheat Ridge to end a 12-year drought on the boys basketball court.
Senior Blair McVicker’s floater just outside the paint with 20 seconds left in the final quarter gave the Farmers a 57-56 lead against rival Golden. It would be the final points in a strange fourth quarter where Wheat Ridge, No. 9 in the Class 4A CHSAANow.com rankings, scored just two points in the final eight minutes.
Wheat Ridge junior Dominic Bronk (00) puts defensive pressure on Golden sophomore Nathan Wiggins (10) during the Class 4A Jeffco League game Thursday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) “He (McVicker) has really been our go-to guy when we need to get a basket,” Wheat Ridge coach Tom Dowd said after the 1-point victory against the Demons clinched the Class 4A Jeffco League title.
The last conference title for the Farmers came in 2007 when Wheat Ridge was playing at the 5A level.
Wheat Ridge (18-4, 10-1 in league) held a 55-43 lead when sophomore Wes Miller drained his fourth 3-pointer of the game with 50 seconds left in the third quarter. However, Golden (11-11, 7-4) went on a 13-0 run and grabbed a 56-55 lead when senior Ilja Bubukin scored with 1:50 left in the fourth quarter.
“That would have been an easy fourth quarter to quit on,” McVicker admitted with the Farmers going scoreless for more than eight minutes. “We said no. We wanted this too much and wanted to lock up the league title.”
McVicker beat Golden junior Kevin Mulligan off the dribble on what was the game-winning play. Before Golden’s David O’Connell and Jack Anderson could rotate over on the defense the senior transfer from Faith Christian Academy got off the shot.
“He (Mulligan) pushed up on me before we were going to run a play,” McVicker said of the eventual game-winning shot. “That’s how you play basketball. If someone is in your grill you go by him. (O’Connell) tried to draw the charge. I just got the pull-up off in time. Thankfully it went in and we were able to hold on from there on out.”
Miller, son of Wheat Ridge baseball coach Adam Miller, had a huge game off the bench. The sophomore drained back-to-back 3-pointers in the span of 11 seconds in the third quarter.
Wheat Ridge sophomore Wes Miller squares up for a 3-pointer during the Farmers’ 57-56 victory over rival Golden. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) “That was one of the coolest basketball plays I’ve ever seen in my life,” McVicker said of Miller scoring essentially a 6-point play that gave the Farmers their biggest lead of the game at 48-35.
Miller hit the first 3-pointer from the top of the key and was fouled after the shot. The Farmers got the ball back and found Miller on the wing for another quick 3-pointer.
“He (Miller) was a huge spark for us tonight. He has been streaky,” Dowd said. “He is confident and isn’t afraid to shoot it.”
Miller finished with 14 points and McVicker poured in 10 points. Senior Julian Claussen led the way with 16 points for the Farmers in the historic win.
“I’ve been watching Wheat Ridge basketball for about 16 years and I’ve never seen them beat Golden on this court with my own eyes,” Miller said. “This game means so much for me.”
The win also washed away a tough home loss to Evergreen on Tuesday. Wheat Ridge closes out the regular season with a 1 p.m. tipoff Saturday, Feb. 16, on the road against Standley Lake.
Golden junior Kevin Mulligan, left, is guarded by Wheat Ridge senior Isaiah Lucero in front of a great crowd Thursday night at Wheat Ridge High School. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) “We need to get our rhythm back on offense. We have hit the wall a little bit with some guys. We are a little beat up and a little tired,” Dowd said. “It will be nice to have a playoff game here at Wheat Ridge. We’ve been pretty good in the playoffs at home since I’ve been here.”
The 48-team 4A state tournament begins next week with first-round games Wednesday, Feb. 20. The Farmers — No. 12 in the RPI standings heading into Thursday’s game — likely will receive a top-16, get a first-round bye and host a second-round game Saturday, Feb. 23.
Dowd gave a lot of credit to his son and assistant coach Vince Dowd after the Farmers celebrated taking photos with the conference trophy.
“We wouldn’t be here without Vince,” Dowd said. “He has the guys ready and always has stuff during timeouts. Without him I’d be lost.”
Golden hopes to find its way in a regular-season finale on road against Green Mountain at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Demons have dropped two in a row this week after an overtime loss Tuesday to D’Evelyn and tough loss to Wheat Ridge.
“We have to get back up and battle against Green Mountain,” Golden coach Lou Vullo said. “We can be a dangerous team. If we play like that for 32 minutes we are going to beat a lot of teams for sure.”
Bubukin and Mulligan combined for 30 points against the Farmers. Junior Carter Thompson added 10 points in the loss.
“We had several chances to win it there in the end,” Vullo said referring to going 1-for-4 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter. “The boys fought, scraped and crawled back into it. This team plays hard for me. I love them all.”
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No. 10 Doherty hockey beats No. 9 Pine Creek to cap undefeated regular season
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com) COLORADO SPRINGS — Down a goal early and with Alexander Brooks – the state’s points leader – on the other bench, Doherty hockey coach Will English wasn’t the slightest bit worried.
He had brought his team too far to let panic and concern creep into his head. He knew that his boys would bounce back simply by playing the way they had all year. Early in the second period, those boys rewarded his faith.
The No. 10 Spartans scored two goals in the first four minutes of the period and eventually came away with a 4-1 win over No. 9 Pine Creek.
“Normally yes (I’d be worried about being down early),” English said. “Tonight, no. I wasn’t concerned. Leading into the game my coaches were giving me a hard time. Once we got on the bench on got going it just went away.”
A year ago, Doherty hockey didn’t record a win all season. English had previously coached at Doherty and was successful, so he was brought back to change the culture and get the team back to winning.
And he has done just that.
It was a night of celebration for the Spartans (17-0-2 overall). After celebrating the final game for this season’s seniors, they celebrated arguably one of the best turnarounds for any high school athletics team this season.
“It’s completely different,” Jordan Cornelison said. “It’s a completely different culture and Coach has helped out with that a lot.”
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com) Mitchell Cole put the Eagles (15-2-1) up 1-0 near the end of the first period. Pine Creek took advantage of a Thomas Hollon tripping penalty and scored on the power play.
Cornelison scored the tying goal in the opening two minutes of the second period and Tanner Chapman scored on a Doherty power play shortly after to give the Spartans their first lead of the game.
“We stuck to our guns and played true to our identity,” Cornelison said. “We just played hard. We weren’t worried and we knew what we were capable of.”
The intensity picked up just a couple minutes later. A lot of post-whistle activity led to some tempers flaring and players from both teams heading toward the penalty box. By the time things got sorted out, the Spartans were going to have a man advantage for three minutes. But they couldn’t capitalize.
“Unfortunately in those situations it can make or break a team,” English said. “We stayed strong with it and we got sucked in a little bit when we shouldn’t have.”
Cornelison padded the Doherty lead four minutes and 46 seconds into the third period. In the final 17 minutes, Pine Creek had two power play opportunities but the Spartans were able to limit opportunities and kill off both penalties.
“For us, we’ve been penalized frequently,” English said. “That is a huge momentum boost for us because we can get through those adverse states and that’s what we talk to with the guys. Don’t let adversity be an issue. Let’s handle those things and keep everything in our favor.”
Nicolas Hernandez left no doubt for Doherty with about two minutes left in the game. His goal pushed the lead to 4-1 and secured an undefeated year for the Spartans. Now they’ll see how the final games play out across the state before the state tournament bracket is announced on Sunday.
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Wrestling rankings: County Line, Pueblo South and Poudre join
Below are this week’s wrestling rankings from On The Mat.
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On The Mat Wrestling Rankings
Tim Yount of On The Mat provides weekly wrestling rankings for teams and individuals in all weight classes. To see individual rankings, you can subscribe to On The Mat’s full rankings.
To subscribe via PayPal, choose your subscription option on this page click on the corresponding PayPal button. To subscribe by mail or fax and pay by personal check, click here for a printable subscription form. Email Tim Yount at tim@onthematrankings.com with questions.
To purchase individual weeks of the rankings (as opposed to the entire season), you will need to use the printable subscription form and pay by check. The season ranking subscriptions are offered at a discounted rate.
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Class 2A RK TEAM PVS 1 Wray 1 2 Rocky Ford 2 3 Paonia 3 4 Cedaredge 4 5 Centauri 8 6 John Mall 6 7 Hotchkiss 9 8 Highland 5 9 County Line – 10 Crowley County 7 Dropped out Lyons (10). Class 3A RK TEAM PVS 1 Alamosa 1 2 Jefferson 3 3 Eaton 2 4 Pagosa Springs 5 5 Eagle Valley 4 6 Valley 8 7 Brush 9 8 Lamar 6 9 Fort Morgan 7 10 Berthoud 10 Dropped out None. Class 4A RK TEAM PVS 1 Pueblo East 2 2 Pueblo County 3 3 Windsor 1 4 Broomfield 4 5 Pueblo Centennial 5 6 Grand Junction Central 7 7 Pueblo South – 8 Thompson Valley 8 9 Longmont 9 10 Pueblo West 10 Dropped out Cheyenne Mountain (6). Class 5A RK TEAM PVS 1 Pomona 1 2 Ponderosa 4 3 Grandview 2 4 Grand Junction 3 5 Brighton 5 6 Legacy 8 7 Rocky Mountain 7 8 Poudre – 9 Monarch 6 10 Castle View 9 Dropped out Arvada West (10). -
Photos: No. 1 Lewis-Palmer boys basketball shines in win over No. 7 Cheyenne Mountain
COLORADO SPRINGS — Matthew Ragsdale led the way with 27 points while Ethan Forrester and Joel Scott each scored 21 as Class 4A No. 1 Lewis-Palmer beat No. 7 Cheyenne Mountain 88-47 on Thursday.
The Rangers finished the regular season with a perfect 23-0 record.
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Board of Directors votes to implement eSports as a pilot activity
(Pittou2/Flickr) AURORA — Colorado is dipping its toe into the realm of high school eSports.
CHSAA’s Board of Directors on Wednesday voted to approve eSports as a pilot activity, a first step along the road to potential sanctioning.
“eSports has the potential to provide opportunities for more students to become engaged in their school and communities,” said CHSAA commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green. “Many of these participants may not be involved in any other activity in their school. eSports will provide the same opportunity to this population that many other traditional sports and activities have provided to other students in their schools.”
The Board heard presentations from Sean Collins, an assistant principal at Arvada West, and Laz Alberto, the vice president of PlayVS, which is the official eSports league of the NFHS and a leading authority in the genre.
eSports would be treated as a competitive activity under the CHSAA umbrella, if all hurdles along the way to sanctioning are approved. If all steps along the process are completed, it could become sanctioned in 2022.
“Gaming pares down boundaries,” Collins said. “This is who I have on my team: A varsity wrestler, a varsity baseball player, a cheerleader, I have kids from marching band, I have kids who aren’t on any other teams. And they are all playing on the same team, competing against kids from the other Jeffco area.”
The first of the pilot seasons will begin this fall.
eSports teams will be co-ed. There will be no classifications, and the fact that matches are played online means there are no travel costs associated with the activity.
“If adopted, this would be the first competitive activity that has no boundaries or classifications,” Blanford-Green said. “A kid in rural district, such as Springfield, could easily compete against a kid from a metro school, for example, a Cherry Creek.”
CHSAA’s pilot will be run by PlayVS, which recently completed an initial season with five states. During that initial season, 41 percent of students on eSports teams had never participated in a school-sponsored activity.
This season, PlayVS will run competitions in 15 states.
“Kids are already playing eSports,” Alberto said. “Your kids care about eSports. Us entering into this field will be a meaningful opportunity.”
PlayVS has partnership agreements with various publishers, and offers the following games: League of Legends, Rocket League and Smite. The setup calls for fall (October to January) and spring (February to May) seasons, but CHSAA would look to combine the two into one season during the winter, if sanctioned.
“We believe that it would be more impactful as a standalone during a winter season showcase,” Blanford-Green said.
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Columbine boys basketball wraps up 5A Jeffco League title
LITTLETON — Columbine’s boys basketball had no interest in sharing during its run through the Class 5A Jeffco League this season.
Columbine and Arvada West finished conference play with 10-4 records last year. The Rebels and Wildcats split their two head-to-head meeting that resulted in both sharing the 5A Jeffco title in 2018.
Columbine junior Luke O’Brien (0) posts up Arvada West senior Joseph Call during the Rebels’ 59-53 win that wrapped up the 5A Jeffco League title. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) “It feels really good and feels a bit better,” Columbine coach Clay Thielking said after the Rebels cut down the nets in celebration Wednesday night.
Columbine (16-6, 7-0 in 5A Jeffco) won the conference title outright with a win against the same team it had to split the league championship last year. The Rebels defeated A-West 59-53 to officially clinch back-to-back league titles and won’t have to share this season.
Ralston Valley (16-5, 5-1) holds second place in the conference, but Columbine’s head-to-head victory over the Mustangs gives the Rebels the tiebreaker even if Columbine loses its regular and league finale at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 15, at rival Chatfield.
“Friday night is a big game for us, but we are going to enjoy this one tonight,” Thielking said. “This is a big accomplishment. These guys have got everyone’s best shot and they have responded. We’ve had our share of adversity. These guys have shown a lot of resilience to achieve this goal.”
While junior Luke O’Brien turned things on in the second half pouring in 14 of his team-high 18 points, it was senior Nehemiah Nua (10 points) and sophomore Treyvaughn Williams (12 points) who really sparked the second-half rally for the Rebels.
Columbine junior Justin Lohrenz (23) battles down low with Arvada West senior Oliver Lindeblad (32). (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) “By far,” Williams said when asked if it was his best game of the season. “I was really mentally prepared. It was a big game for us. We needed everyone to step up and be there as a team for each other.”
Williams admitted it has been a “wild and crazy” two years. He didn’t play basketball last year, but showed how his talent on the basketball court can lift the Rebels to another level.
“When he (Williams) plays his game he is scary to stop,” O’Brien said. “He is another big piece to our team.”
The Rebels were No. 10 in the RPI standings before Wednesday’s win and will likely grab a first-round bye for the 48-team state tournament that begins Wednesday, Feb. 20. Columbine should host a second-round game Saturday, Feb. 23.
“When everyone is locked in, buys in mentally and physically we are one of the top teams in the state,” Williams said. “It’s fun to be apart of.”
Columbine took a 37-33 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Rebels held A-West to just three points in the third quarter to retake the lead.
“We just had to pride ourselves on defense,” O’Brien said of what turned things around. “We went out there and did our things defensively.”
Arvada West senior Oliver Lindeblad, left, looks for a way around Columbine senior Cody Ramming (21) during the second half Wednesday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) O’Brien finished the win in style with a pair of dunks and sealed the victory with a pair of late free throws.
A-West (16-6, 5-2) played extremely well defensive in the first half and used a trio of made 3-pointers during a span of a minute in the first quarter to take a led that the Wildcats held for most of the first half.
The Wildcats finished with eight 3-pointers on the night.
“Arvada West is a really good shooting team,” Williams said. “We tried to get out on shooters and make them go to the basket.”
Seniors Joseph Call (20 points) and Oliver Lindeblad (12 points), along with junior Josh Yago (11 points) led the way for the shorthanded Wildcats. A-West senior and leading scorer Josh Rogers missed his second straight game with a wrist injury.
Last year’s 5A Jeffco League MVP was hoping to get back on the court this week, but found out early this week that he has two broken bones in his wrist. The injury ends the season for Rogers.
“Jeff (A-West coach Jeff Parriott) is a great coach,” Thielking said. “We knew it would be a grind and it was.”
The Wildcats has showdown against their rival before the playoffs begin next week. A-West host Ralston Valley at 7 p.m. Friday night.
A year after sharing the Class 5A Jeffco League title with Arvada West, Columbine basketball players celebrate winning the conference title outright Wednesday night with a 59-53 victory over A-West. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) -
Brighton football coach Casey Pelton resigns
(@bhsreflections/Twitter) Brighton football coach Casey Pelton has resigned.
In an email, Brighton athletic director Ty Gordon said that Pelton announced his resignation on Tuesday afternoon, saying that “his priority right now is to spend more time with his family.”
Pelton led the Bulldogs for the past three seasons, going 11-19 in Class 4A.
“Brighton High School is grateful for everything Coach Pelton has done for our athletic program and our student athletes,” Gordon said.
The school has already started its search for its next coach. Application details can be found on the Coaches Wanted page.
Follow all of this season’s coaching movement in our coaching changes tracker.