CHSAANow

Month: May 2019

  • Boys swimming and diving’s schedule for the 2019 state meets

    Coaches Invite Boys Swimming
    (Ray Chen/ArrayPhoto.com)

    Below are the state meet schedules for boys swimming this season. Both the Class 5A and 4A meets run May 16-18.

    Tickets can be purchased on GoFan. Online ticket buyers will enter the venue 30 minutes early.

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    Class 5A

    Site: VMAC, Thornton (map)

    Thursday, May 16: Dive prelims
    Team packets available 8 a.m.
    Pool doors open to athletes 8 a.m.
    GoFan tickets early entry 8 a.m.
    Dive coaches meeting 8:15 a.m.
    Warm-up 8:30-9:45 a.m.
    On-site tickets on sale 8:30 a.m.
    Begin dive prelims 10 a.m.
    Pool deck & stands cleared Immediately upon completion
    Thursday, May 16: Swim prelims
    Team packets available 2 p.m.
    Pool doors open to athletes 2:15 p.m.
    GoFan tickets early entry 2:30 p.m.
    Warm-up 3-4:15 p.m.
    On-site tickets on sale 3 p.m.
    Coaches meeting 4 p.m.
    Begin swim prelims 4:30 p.m.
    Friday, May 17: Finals
    Team packets available 2 p.m.
    Pool doors open to athletes 2:15 p.m.
    GoFan tickets early entry 2:30 p.m.
    Warm-up 3-4:15 p.m.
    On-site tickets on sale 3 p.m.
    Coaches meeting 4 p.m.
    Begin finals 4:30 p.m.

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    Class 4A

    Site: VMAC, Thornton (map)

    Friday, May 17: Swim prelims
    Team packets available 7:30 a.m.
    Pool doors open to athletes 7:45 a.m.
    GoFan tickets early entry 8 a.m.
    Warm-up 8:30-9:45 a.m.
    On-site tickets on sale 8:30 a.m.
    Coaches Meeting 9:30 a.m.
    Begin swim prelims 10 a.m.
    Pool deck & stands cleared Immediately upon completion
    Saturday, May 18: Dive prelims
    Team packets available 7 a.m.
    Pool doors open to athletes 7 a.m.
    Dive coaches meeting 7:15 a.m.
    GoFan tickets early entry 7:30 a.m.
    Warm-up 7:30-8:45 a.m.
    On-site tickets on sale 8 a.m.
    Begin dive prelims 9 a.m.
    Pool deck & stands cleared Immediately upon completion
    Saturday, May 18: Swim & dive finals
    Team packets available 1 p.m.
    Pool doors open 1:15 p.m.
    GoFan tickets early entry 1:30 p.m.
    Warm-up 2-3:15 p.m.
    On-site tickets on sale 2 p.m.
    Coaches meeting 3 p.m.
    Begin finals 3:30 p.m.

  • Freshman helps Wheat Ridge girls soccer nets 4A quarterfinal berth

    LAKEWOOD — Emily Browne didn’t play like a freshman Saturday afternoon at Lakewood Memorial Field.

    The Wheat Ridge freshman scored a pair of goals (15th and 44th minutes) to guide the No. 4-seeded Farmers to a 3-1 victory over No. 13 Holy Family in second-round game of the Class 4A girls soccer state tournament.

    Wheat Ridge freshman Emily Browne (3) scored a pair of goals for the Farmers’ 3-1 victory over Holy Family on Saturday at Lakewood Memorial Field (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    “She (Browne) is a great player, a special player,” Wheat Ridge coach Dan Watkins said. “Players like that want moments. She came through. She has been working hard for us all year long.”

    Wheat Ridge moves into the state quarterfinals where it will host No. 21 Cheyenne Mountain next week. Cheyenne Mountain upset No. 5 Air Academy 2-1 in double-overtime Saturday afternoon in Colorado Springs.

    Browne’s first goal came off a direct free kick from senior Molly Kratzer in the first 20 minutes of the opening half. Kratzer’s kick sailed over a host of Farmers and Tigers, before finding Browne on the back post.

    The ball bounced just in front of Browne and she half-volleyed a shot into the open net.

    “I do my best to get to the back post. That’s always my run,” Browne said. “I know there is always a chance it’s going to get over.”

    Wheat Ridge senior Molly Kratzer (9) tries to get some space against Holy Family sophomore Lauren Clingman on Saturday afternoon. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    Kratzer said it’s the second time this season she has been able to hit Browne on a free kick in similar fashion.

    “I just wanted to hit it far post and see if Emily could get it,” Kratzer said. “She has such good touch on the ball with any part of her body. She did all the work. I just kicked it.”

    Browne gave the Farmers a 2-0 lead early in the second half on a laser shot past Holy Family junior goalie Sally Napierkowski. Kratzer said she was even more impressed by Browne’s second goal.

    “That second goal was amazing,” Kratzer said of Browne’s goal early in the second half. “I was waiting for the goal kick. She kept on work. That is the thing about Emily. She brings the energy and works.”

    Kratzer played with Emily’s older sister — Macie Browne — before having the chance to share the field with another Browne.

    Wheat Ridge heads into the Class 4A girls soccer state quarterfinal next week against Cheyenne Mountain. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    Kratzer put the Farmers ahead 3-0 with a penalty kick with less than 15 minutes to play in regulation-time.

    Holy Family (10-6 record) did prevent the shutout. Senior Nicolette Sandoval scored in the 76th minute to make the final score 3-1.

    “It was nice to have a little bit more flow to the game today,” Watkins said about playing in much better conditions than the Farmers’ first-round game Tuesday night against Discovery Canyon. “I’d be OK with having good weather going forward however long that lasts.”

    The Farmers (14-2-1) would like the season to last until May 22 the date of the state championship game at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

    “We came in game … do we want to practice more? Do we want to be playing next week? That is what we wanted to do,” Browne said.

    Wheat Ridge sophomores Whitney Clark, left, and Emelia Probst (8) converge on Holy Family sophomore Jaelen Giron. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

  • 3A girls tennis: Peak to Peak wins team title

    (Adam Hothersall/CHSAANow.com)

    GREELEY — As the two-day Class 3A girls tennis state championship came to a close Saturday afternoon, Peak to Peak emerged as the team champion, and the Pumas’ Trisha Somasundaram picked up her second No. 1 singles championship in as many seasons.

    As Somasundaram dominated her way through the bracket, her opponent for the second-straight postseason, Mae Thorp (Steamboat Springs) brought everything she had left from the three-hour affair with Aspen’s Mary Williams the round before. However, clutch shots and control from the crafty lefty proved too much.

    “It’s amazing,” Somasundaram said. “I really didn’t think I was going to pull it off, but I just stayed calm and thought to myself, ‘This is my senior year I’ll just try my best.’ I had to be really consistent hitting the ball deep and just make sure if I get it over that she may not make the play Mae is a really good player, last year I played her in state as well. She’s always a good sport.”

    Somasundaram’s sister, Trini (Peak to Peak) captured her second consecutive state championship in No. 2 singles. University’s Elizabeth van der Torre (6-1, 6-1) earned the title at No. 3 singles.

    “They have been amazing,” Peak to Peak first-year coach Eric Carlson said of the Somasundaram sisters. ”We did captain voting at the beginning of the season, and their peers voted them as their captains. It just means they have their teammates respect. They have been wonderful for us.”

    With 60 total points, Peak to Peak defeated D’Evelyn by eight to claim the crown. Dawson came in at third at 36 while Colorado Academy and Steamboat tied for fourth with 33.

    In doubles, D’Evelyn dominated. Olivia Sanders and Emily Reschl won No. 1 doubles, while Maria Christoffersen and Maddie Dietzler won No. 4. Also winning No. 4, the Jaguars rode the success of Cheranne Wang and Ella Whatley to 7-5 and 6-4 set wins over Peak to Peak.

    Dawson’s Sarah Devereux and Julia Garfinkel won No. 2 doubles.

    “It’s awesome. We always think staying on top of the mountain is even harder than climbing the mountain, to begin with,” Carlson said. “We didn’t sneak up on anybody this year, so all of the hard work paid off.”

    (Adam Hothersall/CHSAANow.com)

  • 4A girls tennis: Niwot’s Lu repeats as Cheyenne Mountain reclaims team title

    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    PUEBLO — Even if it feels like Niwot sophomore Lucy Lu enters the match as an underdog, there is something about playing at Pueblo City Park that just brings out her best on the tennis court.

    That was the case when she handed Kent Denver’s Josie Schaffer a loss in last year’s No. 1 singles championship match and the same held true this year in a 7-5, 6-1 to claim her second-straight gold medal in the Class 4A state tennis tournament.

    “It’s just the environment,” Lu said. “I just get excited and I think it just pumps me up more. But it was a great match. I enjoy playing here and it’s a great site to play at.”

    Last year, Lu’s win was an exclamation mark on a remarkable season in which Niwot knocked off Cheyenne Mountain, who was a nine-time defending state champion. Coach Aimee Keronen said this week that she had come to be jealous of the target that Cheyenne had because of the standing that came with it.

    In the Cougars’ turn as defending champs, they got everything and then some from each opponent. But it was the Indians who clinched the 4A team title, scoring 76 points on the weekend, just out of reach of Niwot’s 71.

    “We knew it was going to be a close thing and we knew there would be a lot of, what I call, snakes in the grass,” Cheyenne Mountain coach Dave Adams said. “It wasn’t necessarily going to be Niwot knocking people out.”

    As the finals and third and fourth-place matches began, it became clear that each match was going to count in the team race.

    Cheyenne Mountain delivered the first blow as a win in No. 1 doubles from Emma Delich and Sydney Wagner added crucial points to the team total.

    Morgan Hall worked her way through playbacks, earned a key nine points that played a major factor in the final standings. The Indians officially clinched the title when Ariana Arenson got a 6-3, 6-0 win in the No. 3 singles third-place match.

    That win put the Cheyenne Mountain point total at 72 points. There was no way for the Cougars to match that number.

    “We just let everything fall, but of course we were hungry for redemption,” Arenson said. “We called this a redemption year. When we huddled before the matches, we said we were just going to leave it all out there.”

    Last year it was Niwot who ended Cheyenne Mountain’s run of nine title wins in a row. Adams is more than happy to be a winner of 10 of the last 11 state titles and noted that the way Cheyenne Mountain won this year was far more rewarding than rolling through the tournament as it had at times during that stretch.

    “It has to be,” Adams said. “To be able to compete and have the good fortune of coming out on top of a funky tennis season as a whole and a funky tournament. I mean people were playing three matches in a day. It’s been very rewarding.”

    For all the winners it was a rewarding day. As Schaffer exited the court for the final time in her high school career, Lu couldn’t help but think that things won’t get any easier in the next two years. The Kent Denver star won in her first two tries at state, so the experience of the last two tournaments is something the Niwot sophomore hopes to take note of. Because as of now, she’s going to have the best gunning for her the way she took aim at Schaffer’s spot.

    “I think it’s an honor to have that target,” Lu said. “She’s motivated me to work hard and having people put a target on my back will make me want to work harder too.”

    As team awards were handed out, Evergreen was awarded the Vicky Matarrazo Sportsmanship Award. Assistant commissioner Bethany Brookens noted during the ceremony that eight team received nominations for that award this year.

    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

  • D’Evelyn traveling a familiar 4A girls soccer postseason path

    D’Evelyn players celebrate a goal by sophomore Peyton Fritchie in the first half Saturday at Lakewood Memorial Field. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    LAKEWOOD — The territory is starting to look very similar to D’Evelyn’s girls soccer team.

    The top-seeded Jaguars (13-1-2 record) advanced to the Class 4A state quarterfinals next week with a 3-0 shutout victory over No. 17 Erie on Saturday at Lakewood Memorial Field. D’Evelyn is on a familiar path when the Jaguars won the 4A state title in 2017.

    D’Evelyn sophomore Peyton Fritchie, left, races down the field before scoring the Jaguars’ first goal in a 3-0 victory Saturday over Erie. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    “For all of the seniors it’s a lot of motivation,” D’Evelyn senior Laryssa Hamblen said of getting back to the 4A state title game. “We know the feeling and we know what it’s like. We are trying to really express how it is and how it was for the younger players.”

    Hamblen scored the lone goal two years ago in the 1-0 state championship victory over Evergreen at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

    There are a handful of seniors remaining from that championship squad who were instrumental in D’Evelyn winning its first girls soccer state title in the school’s history.

    “It helps so much,” D’Evelyn coach Reid Bervik said of the experience from the core of seniors who were huge factors two years ago. “Laryssa (Hamblen), Bella (Scaturro), CC (Leoni) and Kiera (Hess) are just so savvy. They don’t let moments become to big for them.”

    The moment wasn’t too big for D’Evelyn sophomore Peyton Fritchie on Saturday. Fritchie broke a scoreless tie midway through the first half with a rocket shot past Erie junior goalie Zoe Hatch.

    “I just let it rip basically,” Fritchie said of the Jaguars’ first-half goal. “We knew Erie could hang with us and that first goal is so big for us.”

    It was the seventh goal of the season for the sophomore.

    “Fritchie has been such a stud for us all year,” Bervik said. “To see her get one like that gives her so much confidence going forward.”

    Erie sophomore Maddy Hays (4) makes a turn during the Class 4A second-round game Saturday at Lakewood Memorial Field. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    D’Evelyn leading scorer — Hamblen — added an insurance goal in the 71st minute to finally give the Jaguars’ a 2-0 lead. D’Evelyn had a number of scoring chances that didn’t find the back of the net.

    “It was a game honestly that we could have had four, five or six goals,” Bervik said. “I was a little surprised that some of the shots we normally finish went the other way, but I believed in my girls the whole time. They are fighters.”

    Hamblen scored her 18th goal of the season on a breakaway that started at midfield. The senior admitted she has been sick and it was a struggle to make such a long run that resulted a one-on-one chance against the goalie. Hamblen eventually tucked a shot into the corner of the net.

    D’Evelyn sophomore Lauren Cook added another goal three minutes later to seal the victory. Senior goalie Kiera Hess — starting goalie for the Jaguars in their state title run — recorded her eighth shutout victory of the season and fourth in a row.

    “It’s nice to get a clean sheet (shutout) the first two (playoff) games,” Bervik said. “Our defense has been so solid all year long. They have just continued that.”

    D’Evelyn joined Jeffco League’s No. 3 Evergreen, No. 4 Wheat Ridge and No. 11 Green Mountain in grabbing second-round playoff wins Saturday. Half of the state quarterfinal field in 4A will come from the Jeffco League.

    “I there must be something in the water,” Bervik said. “It’s a testament to our league and how strong we are. It’s a great group of coaches as well that do a great job.”

    D’Evelyn hosts No. 8 Silver Creek and Wheat Ridge gets a home game against No. 21 Cheyenne Mountain in the quarterfinals. Evergreen and Green Mountain face off against each other with a state semifinal ticket on the line.

    “It’s insane,” Hamblen said of the strength of the 4A Jeffco conference. “The Jeffco League is impressive. It’s insane how good the teams are.”

    D’Evelyn senior Laryssa Hamblen (23) is helping lead the Jaguars back into state title contention. Hamblen scored the game-winning goal for D’Evelyn in the Class 4A girls soccer state championship game in 2017. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

  • Photos: Top-seeded Valor Christian boys lacrosse reaches the semifinals by beating Regis Jesuit

    AURORA — No. 1 Valor Christian boys lacrosse jumped out to a 7-2 halftime lead, then withstood a big rally from No. 9 Regis Jesuit en route to an 11-9 win in the Class 5A quarterfinals.

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  • Photos: Kent Denver boys lacrosse tops Rock Canyon in 5A quarterfinals

    AURORA — No. 5 Kent Denver boys lacrosse jumped out to a 6-0 lead after the first quarter, and went on to beat No. 4 Rock Canyon 12-9 in the Class 5A quarterfinals.

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  • Photos: No. 3 Cherry Creek boys lacrosse beats No. 6 Grandview in 5A quarters

    AURORA — No. 3 Cherry Creek boys lacrosse punched its ticket to the Class 5A semifinals with a win over No. 6 Grandview in the quarters.

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  • Photos: No. 10 Highlands Ranch upsets No. 2 Arapahoe in 5A boys lacrosse quarterfinals

    AURORA — Tenth-ranked Highlands Ranch pulled off the upset when the Falcons beat No. 2 Arapahoe in the Class 5A boys lacrosse quarterfinals.

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  • Photos: Sand Creek girls soccer punches ticket to quarters with win over Glenwood Springs

    COLORADO SPRINGS — Sand Creek girls soccer scored three second-half goals as it beat Glenwood Springs 3-2 in the second round of the Class 4A state tournament.

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