Mountain Vista has joined this week’s hockey rankings, coming in at No. 10.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, the poll will release each Monday.
Broomfield wrestling held a team duals tournament on Saturday, including Broomfield, ThunderRidge, Denver East, Rocky Mountain, Doherty, Arvada West, Air Academy, Weld Central, Overland, Holy Family. Rocky Mountain placed first overall in the dual competition as a team, going 5-0.
Ponderosa captured the state championship in 4A poms Saturday night, and in the process became of the winningest spirit programs in Colorado history.
The Mustangs, who won the competition at the Denver Coliseum with a score of 94.64, earned their 12th spirit state championship to tie Grandview High School in first place all-time.
Erie finished second with a score of 93.78, followed by Standley Lake (93.34), Roosevelt (93.20), Mullen (92.26) and Wheat Ridge (92.08).
In 5A, Cherry Creek repeated as state champions with a score of 94.64. It marked the eighth spirit state championship for the Bruins, who have won the competition in four of the last five years.
Rock Canyon (94.00) finished in second place, while Grandview finished third with a score of 93.52.
Aspen won its first-ever spirit state championship with a win in the 3A classification. The Skiers scored posted a score of 92.50 to finish ahead of second-place Skyview Academy (91.22).
In 2A, Limon (92.44) won championship over Hotchkiss (91. 78). It was the third overall spirit title for Limon and its first since 2008.
Eaglecrest took the top spot in the 5A classification. The Raptors earned a top score of 91.80, followed by Rock Canyon in second place (89.25) and Grandview in the third place (88.88).
In 4A, Erie won the state championship for the second-straight year with a score 91.22. Ponderosa was second (89.58) and Roosevelt finished third (82.28).
Prospect Ridge won the 3A state title with a score of 77.57 to finish ahead of James Irwin (75.25) and Gunnison (70.98).
Front Range Christian won the 2A championship (82.60) by finishing ahead of Highland (79.75) and Cheyenne Wells (78.45).
ThunderRidge captured the 5A championship for the second-straight season after posting a score of 93.57. Mountain Vista (85.62) finished in second place, followed closely by Legacy (85.47). Vista Ridge (84.00) finished fourth.
Thompson Valley won the 4A championship with a score of 88.90. Golden (85.03) finished second, followed by Pueblo West (72.80) and Woodland Park (72.08).
Coal Ridge captured the 2A/3A title, with a score of 90.43. Bayfield (65.53) was second, Alamosa (61.32) was third, and DSST: Byers was fourth (60.92).
Eaglecrest won its second championship of the evening, and 11th overall, with its win in hip-hop. The Raptors finished with a score of 94.42. Fruita Monument (93.48) finished second, followed by the 2018 champion, Broomfield (93.26).
Valor Christian High School won the first 4A/5A state championship in the game day discipline with score of 97.37. The Eagles edged out Smoky Hill, which finished second with a score of 97.03.
Cherry Creek finished third after posting a score of 91.07, followed by fourth-place Castle View (90.25) and fifth-place Regis Jesuit (88.82).
Strasburg won the first 2A/3A state championship with a score of 86.07.
Bishop Machebeuf finished second (84.45), followed by Lutheran (79.22), Swink (78.10) and Ft. Lupton (75.13).
DENVER — Throughout a given school year, the most exposure that fans have to their respective schools spirit teams are what they see on the sidelines during other competitions. The purpose of those teams is to generate excitement and enthusiasm for football, basketball or volleyball teams.
Those in-game cheers and methods of boosting spirit haven’t been the performances seen at the annual state spirit competition.
At least until now.
The 2019 state spirit meet featured the debut of the Game Day division. While the championships won’t be determined until Saturday, fans at the Denver Coliseum got to see what the new competition was going to bring to the overall meet. And if the reception to those in attendance was any indication, it’s a very welcome addition. It’s even more welcome considering it allows teams who haven’t advanced to state in some time to compete at the highest level regardless of the size of their schools.
That was the case with Sargent, a small school near Monte Vista who competed at state spirit for the first time in 10 years.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
“It’s pretty big,” Breannen Maxwell said. “It’s been a really long time since we’ve been here and in the past years that I’ve been cheering, we haven’t been able to come here so it’s just really important. It’s awesome that we get to come represent our school.”
Of course, one of the biggest challenges whenever there is a new addition to any competition is overcoming the nerves that come with it. There is always that feeling that any addition must be justified.
The way they did that was to simply perform their routines as if they were in front of their home fans at their home stadiums.
“I’m still shaking,” Maddy Beirger said.
It’s also very much a game-changer, especially for smaller schools. Mondragon points out that in Sargent, tumbling and choreography isn’t readily available to her team and if she wants the girls to get that, they have to get to Colorado Springs.
Coach Kaylee Mondragon took advantage of this opportunity to get her team out there and show how they support their fellow student-athletes. And regardless of the placement in the final standings, it’s a feeling that she’ll never forget sharing with her team.
“It brings what the girls with cheerleaders do on the field or football games to the mat, and they get to get judged and know if they’re doing well,” she said. “If they’re not, it’s a big thing. And like I said, it’s a big changer for those teams that don’t have the tumblers or have small squads like ours.”
What the Sargent girls felt at the end of their performance was what every competitor feels at the event. There is no question, that each team wants to bring home state championship hardware, but they’re all there to support for each other and see top-level performances.
“I like coming here and having everybody else’s support,” Beirger said. “All the teams are here to support each other, not just win. And that’s just great.”
LAKEWOOD — Evergreen used a balanced offensive attack Friday night to get a shot to win the annual Paul Davis Classic.
The Cougars (3-0 record) grabbed a 50-42 victory over Palmer in the semifinal of the annual tournament hosted by Green Mountain High School. Juniors Griffin Lauritano (16 points) and Jackson Mott (11 points), along with senior Cooper Dyess (12 points) led the way for Evergreen.
A 20-point second quarter for Evergreen gave the Cougars a 30-21 advantage at halftime. Palmer was led by junior Kolben Barney, who finished with a game-high 19 points in the loss for the Terrors.
The victory advanced Evergreen to the championship game against Class 4A Jeffco League rival Green Mountain. The Cougars and Rams will square off at 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, at Green Mountain High School. It will be the first of three regular-season meetings between Evergreen and Green Mountain this season.
The two are scheduled for conference games Jan. 22 and Feb. 21.
