HIGHLANDS RANCH — Bobby Baltzer scored four goals on five shots to help Class 5A No. 1 Arapahoe boys lacrosse beat No. 6 Rock Canyon 10-8.
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Month: April 2019
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Photos: Chaparral boys lacrosse squeaks by Columbine
PARKER — Tanner Giles scored five goals and Chaparral needed every one of them to get an 11-10 win over Columbine on Wednesday.
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No. 1 Colorado Academy girls lacrosse cruises past No. 3 Denver East
The question in girls lacrosse over recent years remains if anyone will be able to knock off Colorado Academy.
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Brighton hires Jeff Giger, who built Strasburg into a football power
(Alan Versaw) Brighton has named Jeff Giger its next football coach, hiring the two-time state champion away from Class 1A power Strasburg.
The move was first reported by Steve Smith of the Brighton Blade. Brighton athletic director Ty Gordon confirmed the hire to CHSAANow on Thursday afternoon.
Giger built an immensely successful program at Strasburg, winning state championships in 2016 and 2017, and also finishing as runner-up in 2018. He has been at Strasburg since 2008, and was 86-36 in 11 seasons.
Since 2014, Giger’s teams have won at least 10 games four times, and Strasburg was 36-3 over the past three seasons.
In 2016, following the team’s first title since 1990, Giger was named the Denver Broncos coach of the year.
In the three years priors to Giger’s arrival, Strasburg was a combined 3-24.
Brighton, which plays in Class 4A, was 4-6 last season.
Follow all of the season’s coaching movement in our coaching changes tracker.
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George Washington baseball hangs on for victory at Green Mountain
George Washington junior Atticus Swigris attempts to put his bat on the ball as Green Mountain catcher Matthew Hinnen prepares to block the ball in the dirt late Tuesday afternoon at Green Mountain High School. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) LAKEWOOD — George Washington kept slamming the door on Green Mountain late Tuesday afternoon on the baseball field.
The Patriots was able to cling to a one-run lead despite facing plenty of danger in the final three innings on the Rams’ home field. Green Mountain (2-7 record) had the game-tying run at third base with less than two outs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings.
Green Mountain junior Danny Wisor slides over home plate after successfully avoiding the tag of George Washington catcher Quinten Crum during the first inning Tuesday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) However, George Washington (5-1, 3-1 in 5A/4A Denver Prep League) escaped each scoring threat to hang on for a 6-5 victory.
“George Washington played a clean game,” Green Mountain coach Brad Kidwell said. “We had a lot of traffic on the bases and they got out of it.”
Senior Tyler Ray nailed down the victory on the hill for the Patriots. Green Mountain junior Braydon Schulz laced a line-drive single in the bottom of the seventh inning to put a pair of Rams on the bases with no outs. Ray successfully got out of the jam by fielding a sacrifice bunt and then got back-to-back strikes to end the game win the tying run at third and winning run at second.
“Facing a non-conference team that we haven’t beaten in a while we just wanted to come out here and grind with them. We knew they were a good ball club,” said Ray referring to Green Mountain defeating George Washington 3-0 last year. “For us it was about putting more runs up and playing solid defense behind our pitchers. It felt good to get this one.”
Green Mountain senior Michael Busse rips a two-run single for the Rams during the first inning. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) George Washington did its offensive damage in the first and fifth innings, putting up a three spot in both frames. Senior Michael Guber delivered RBIs in both innings for the Patriots.
Green Mountain junior Danny Wisor hammered a solo home run to start the bottom of the fifth inning to pull the Rams within a run, but it would be the final run of the game.
“I think that was a winnable game that we probably should have won,” said Green Mountain senior Michael Busse, who had a two-run single in the bottom of the first inning.
Busse also walked and was hit by a pitch. It has been a long road for the senior third baseman. A hip injury his junior season would eventually require surgery. This winter a serious illness hospitalized Busse.
“We were pretty sure that I wouldn’t play again,” Busse said. “To be out here is an absolute blessing.”
Kidwell is optimistic his team can turn things around during Class 4A Jeffco League play.
George Washington junior Aidan Franklin, left, eyes a pop fly during the Patriots’ 6-5 victory Tuesday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) “There is more heart on this team and they are working hard,” Kidwell said. “We just have to figure out how to win. I like the future of the program. We just have to put it together.”
Green Mountain starts its 12-game conference schedule next week against Evergreen. The Cougars are coming off back-to-back appearances in the 8-team 4A state tournament.
“I think a lot of those games are winnable,” Busse said heading in conference play that begins Tuesday, April 9, against Evergreen. “Having a winning record in league is a big expectation.”
Ray believes George Washington can content for the conference title in the Denver Prep League.
“We want to prove we can win that division (Denver Prep League) too,” Ray said.
Green Mountain junior pitcher Ethan Shallenberger fires to the plate Tuesday against George Washington. The Rams suffered a 6-5 loss. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) -
Rules changes approved in spirit
(Marlee Smith/CHSAANow.com) INDIANAPOLIS — Rules related to minimizing risk of injury to dance and cheer team members are among 29 rules revisions for the 2019-20 high school spirit season.
The rules changes were recommended by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Spirit Rules Committee at its March 2-4 meeting and subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.
“We’re trying to create a safer environment for activities to occur in cheer and dance and make the rules book as clear as possible,” said James Weaver, director of performing arts and liaison to the NFHS Spirit Rules Committee.
Rule 3-3-3 was changed to make it consistent with other braced inversion rules. It now allows for the inverted person to be caught by new catchers as long as the new catchers remain close to the original bases, are in place before initiation of the inversion, and do not pose increased safety risk to the top person.
Rule 3-3-5 was changed to allow a braced front flip to be performed just as it is on the ground while using one bracer behind the top person holding both hands. Both of the top person’s hands/arms must be in continuous contact with a bracer and the bracer must be in a multi-base prep with a spotter. The top person must be to the side or in front of the bracer, and only one bracer is necessary. This allows similar visuals for smaller teams and removes the need for an additional bracer to hold the wrist of the top person.
Another change related to inversions was made to Rule 3-3-6, which now restricts releasing from an inversion with a stunt that has twists at any level, even in the presence of a spotter. Previously, inversions could release with a stunt at prep level or below.
“This change affects how someone moves from upside down. This change is significant because of risks [associated with twists],” Weaver said.
Rule 2-1-5 now states that props made of hard material or sharp edges cannot be released by a top person and must be placed by someone on the ground. This reduces risk of injury from falling props.
In other changes, Rule 3-5-5 was revised to clarify the intent of the rule and better describe the connection between the bracer and the top person. Rule 4-3-3 was also changed to clarify that as long as someone is gripping, it is not important whether it is the top person or the bracer.
A complete list of spirit rules changes is located on the spirit page of the NFHS website, www.nfhs.org, under “Activities and Sports.”
According to the 2017-18 NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, competitive spirit is the ninth-most popular sport for girls with 162,669 participants in 6,877 schools around the country.
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Basalt girls tennis ready for second year at varsity with larger team
A lot has changed for the Basalt High School girls tennis team in two years. In that time — which accounts for the entirety of its existence — it’s gone from a small junior varsity group to a full-fledged varsity team.
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Highland girls track finds room for improvement in 2019
Even with a state title in 2018 and two wins in its first three meets this spring, the members of the Highland girls track and field team believe the Class 2A Huskies can be even better in 2019.
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Highlights: No. 1 Grandview and No. 2 Arapahoe girls soccer battle to tie
It’s rare the two top ranked teams meet in the regular season, but the No. 1 Grandview Wolves and No. 2 Arapahoe Warriors took the pitch on Tuesday evening at LPS Stadium for a showing between Colorado’s best.