INDIANAPOLIS — Due to the cancellation of spring sports at high schools across the country, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) will not be publishing new rules (both print and digital) for 2021 in the sports of baseball, softball, track and field, girls lacrosse and boys lacrosse.

Because very few schools were able to compete in these sports prior to the March shutdown of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic, competition in these sports in 2021 will be conducted under 2020 NFHS rules for baseball, softball, track and field, girls lacrosse and boys lacrosse.

“Since most schools were not able to practice or play a game in these sports, we thought it was best to carry the 2020 rules publications forward to next year,” said Dr. Karissa Niehoff, NFHS executive director. “Our rules committees in these sports will conduct virtual meetings this summer but will not be approving any additional rules changes.”

Among the five aforementioned sports, a total of eight 2020 NFHS publications will be used for the 2021 season, including the Baseball Rules Book, Baseball Case Book, Softball Rules Book, Softball Case Book, Track and Field/Cross Country Rules Book, Track and Field/Cross Country Case Book, Girls Lacrosse Rules Book and Boys Lacrosse Rules Book. In addition, the 2020 NFHS Simplified and Illustrated Rules and 2020 Rules by Topic books for baseball and softball produced in concert with Referee Enterprises Inc. (REI) will be used in 2021 as well.

The NFHS Baseball Umpires Manual and the NFHS Track and Field/Cross Country Officials Manual will be published this year as scheduled since these are two-year publications.

As a result of this change, the NFHS will be working with its member state associations to fulfill needs for additional 2020 spring sports rules publications in advance of the 2021 season.

The NFHS has been publishing playing rules for high school sports since the 1930s when the first high school football rules were published. Currently, the NFHS publishes rules in printed and digital forms in 17 sports for girls and boys competition.

With the NFL Draft underway, go back through history to search our database of former Colorado high school football players who have been selected.

Player highlight packages on NFL Draft week have a tendency to project each prospect as doing the best they can to get selected with the most up to date technology in the flashiest of facilities.

After all, to be the biggest, fastest and best they would logically need the equipment to fuel that growth.

But that’s only one piece of the draft process. There are pro days, face to face meetings and interviews that all encompass where a player gets selected and which team makes that selection.

But not this year.

The COVID-19 pandemic has completely shut down the sports world. Basketball, hockey and baseball games aren’t being played. PGA Tour stars are sitting in a state of limbo until they can return at the proposed time in June.

For college football players leading up to arguably the most important week of the year, confinement has dominated day to day life.

For a guy like Chatfield alum Dalton Keene, it’s not too big of an issue. If anything, the tight end prospect who spent his college days at Virginia Tech is at peace with the way the 2020 NFL Draft is going to play out.

Keene is at home in Colorado. He spent his time at the annual combine chatting with teams and giving them a sense of who is he is not just as a football player, but as a person. Because of those interviews, he’s not overly concerned about having to chat with someone on a platform such as Zoom or FaceTime.

“I think it will be a problem for some guys,” Keene said. “I don’t think it will be a big problem for me because I haven’t had any off-field situations in the past that would cause any concerns. Some guys have. They’re good guys, but they don’t get that face-to-face conversations with the coaches to prove them wrong.”

Keene instead will try to prove himself right. He was a more powerful force running the ball for the Chargers as he amassed 1,175 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns his senior year.

When he got to Blacksburg he became a full-blown college tight end and that’s how he plans on entering the NFL.

Tight ends have a tendency to be big, so Keene was more interested in training and making sure that his size and skills were not suffering through the pandemic.

Throughout the day, he can be found in his parents’ garage pounding weights and running through some boxing exercises. This wouldn’t be possible without the help of Chatfield coach Bret McGatlin.

“I got a squat rack from Chatfield,” Keene said. “I was able to go pick one up. It was awesome. I also grabbed a bunch of weights so I’ve been able to do everything there. I also just run on my own and I have my brother throwing me balls and just doing a little bit of everything.”

The key for Keene is maintaining his versatility through a time where it’s difficult to work personally with coaches and trainers. He’s using programs from high school all the way through college to maintain his day-to-day training regimen and has been receiving training programs from coaches that he worked with before he went to the combine.

“I’ve also been working with someone from Landow Performance,” Keene said. “She’s been sending me some running workouts to do as well.”

He’s keeping it business as usual because he feels like he’s taken of the one part of this draft process that has been affected the most. He’s confident with his character that he doesn’t need to make the rounds to various teams to try and sell his personality. Before the pandemic really took hold, he had an opportunity to present himself to several teams and knew that it was enough from an off-field stance.

“I got to a talk to a lot of teams face to face and that was really good,” Keene said. “After that, once everything got shut down it’s a few FaceTime calls. They’re really making sure they know how to get in contact with us. We talk a little football, my experiences at Virginia Tech and what brought me to where I am now.”

Where he is now is simply waiting for his name to get called. Lance Zierlein at NFL.com has him projected as a sixth-round pick. Either way, Keene plans on hanging at home with his family as his NFL fate is decided.

Once his name gets called, he’ll begin the process of integrating himself into his new team while remaining compliant with America’s current reality.

The NFL Draft kicks off in full force on Thursday. With teams set to make selections that will alter the future of their franchises, there will be some Colorado high school products coming into play (more on that Thursday).

CHSAANow.com will be tracking the Colorado products that are selected this weekend, but ahead of that here are the 10 highest drafted Colorado high school football players of all-time.

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Gary Glick

Year: 1956

Round: 1

Pick: 1

High school: LaPorte

College: Colorado State

Team: Pittsburgh Steelers

A defensive back and halfback, Glick was the first overall selection in the 1956 draft. He played in the NFL from 1956-63 (taking a year off in 1962) and worked primarily as a kicker. In his career he went 26-for-29 on extra points and 9-for-25 on field goals.

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Tony Boselli

Year: 1995

Round: 1

Pick: 2

High school: Fairview

College: USC

Team: Jacksonville Jaguars

The Fairview alum wasn’t just the second overall pick in the NFL Draft, he was the first draft pick in Jacksonville Jaguars franchise history. Boselli played in 91 games (starting in all but one) and ended his career as a five-time Pro Bowler.

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Byron “Whizzer” White

Year: 1938

Round: 1

Pick: 4

High school: Wellington

College: Colorado

Team: Pittsburgh Pirates

White had a standout career at Colorado and finished as the runner-up for the 1937 Heisman Trophy. He was taken by the Pittsburgh Pirates early in the first round and played in the NFL for three years before diving into a legal career that included a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Terry Miller

Year: 1978

Round: 1

Pick: 5

High school: Mitchell

College: Oklahoma State

Team: Buffalo Bills

The Marauder standout helped the Mitchell football program rise to dominance in the late 1970’s. After playing at Oklahoma State, the Buffalo Bills took Miller with the fifth pick in the 1978 draft. He ran for over 1,000 yards and scored seven touchdowns as a rookie.

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Steve Zabel

Year: 1996

Round: 1

Pick: 6

High school: Thornton

College: Oklahoma

Team: Philadelphia Eagles

After a three-year career at Oklahoma as a tight-end/wide receiver, Zabel was drafted by the Eagles where he spent the majority of his NFL career as a linebacker. He hauled six interceptions and recovered 13 fumbles through the course of his professional career.

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Christian McCaffrey

Year: 2017

Round: 1

Pick: 8

High school: Valor Christian

College: Stanford

Team: Carolina Panthers

The Valor Christian running back was a big part of the Eagles championship run from 2010-13. He was a standout back that earned a scholarship to Stanford where he was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 2015. In his first three 3 years in the NFL he has become a Pro Bowl running back for the Panthers.

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Bobby Anderson

Year: 1970

Round: 1

Pick: 11

High school: Boulder

College: Colorado

Team: Denver Broncos

Anderson was every bit the hometown kid. He stayed in his native town of Boulder to play at CU and got drafted by the Denver Broncos in 1970. He played in Denver for four years and rushed for 1,280 yards and nine touchdowns.

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Alex Molden

Year: 1996

Round: 1

Pick: 11

High school: Sierra

College: Oregon

Team: New Orleans Saints

The Sierra standout played eight seasons in the NFL where he totaled 12 career interceptions. He played four years at Oregon and had 11 career interceptions for the Ducks. His NFL career included stints with New Orleans, the San Diego Chargers and the Detroit Lions.

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Nate Solder

Year: 2011

Round: 1

Pick: 17

High school: Buena Vista

College: Colorado

Team: New England Patriots

Solder was doing something right if he was chosen to protect Tom Brady’s blindside. Originally recruited to Colorado as a tight end, Solder evolved into one of the best offensive linemen in the game. He is the current starting left tackle for the New York Giants.

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Luther Elliss

Year: 1995

Round: 1

Pick: 20

High school: Mancos

College: Utah

Team: Detroit Lions

From the southwest corner of the state came a hard-hitting defensive lineman that the Detroit Lions couldn’t pass on in 1995. Elliss enjoyed a 10-year career in the NFL where he amassed 331 total tackles including 29 sacks.

Dear student participants, coaches, administrators, officials and school communities:

We have proceeded with cautious optimism, holding on to a thread of hope that the spring season would be able to realistically resume, knowing that the health and safety of our sports communities would dictate our course of action. It was our hope to be able to create the memories because we understood what it meant to our high school communities — especially seniors — statewide.

Around the nation, more than 30 other state associations have made the difficult decision to cancel their spring season. We hoped that Colorado medical and health data would provide reassurances that we could go in a different direction. Unfortunately that will not be the case. The spring 2020 season is cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which is affecting communities across the world.

Since March, we have continuously sought advice from state leaders, medical professionals, educational administrators and facility managers at the state and local levels to assess the probability of conducting statewide events this spring in a manner that would uphold safety mandates and recommendations.

On Monday, Governor Polis announced a transition to “Safer at Home” guidelines, which included the cancellation of in-person learning for the remainder of the school year. The decisions to cancel the spring season aligns with these new guidelines.

We convened a meeting of the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee on Monday evening. The group came to a consensus, and stated: “It would be impractical and irresponsible for the Association to move forward with a spring season in the next weeks or even the summer months.”

It is with this information — the inability to ensure operations under the protective guidelines, statewide accountability and public safety through all high school events — that the Association has cancelled all performances, festivals, competitions, regular season and culminating CHSAA-sanctioned spring activities and athletics for the remainder of the 2020 season, ending on June 1. 

This decision, unlike the many decisions our office makes over the course of a year, has been extremely difficult because we are personally connected as former participants and officials, current parents and grandparents of graduating seniors, as well as educators and members of our high school communities.

The guidelines, as outlined in previous CHSAA spring moratorium communications will be in place until June 1, even if federal and state guidelines are relaxed. The Association will not sanction or conduct events after June 1. Local school districts will determine building usage during this time, and after June 1. (Note: Superintendents and Principals can hold meetings within state health guidelines with their staff, using their buildings. This does not allow for student and/or coach contact in an activity or athletic setting prior to June 1.)

After June 1, all decisions regarding student and coach contact, virtual workouts, virtual tryouts and eighth-grade contact will be made at the local level.

The CHSAA Board of Directors, Sports Medicine Advisory Committee and staff strongly recommend that federal and state guidelines are adhered to after June 1. We continue to maintain that public safety and monitoring of data points must take precedence over the desire to conduct activity and athletic practices, camps, scrimmages or events.

Our hats are off to the many seniors that have shown maturity and resolve as their culminating year of high school has been impacted beyond activities and athletics due to this worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. The Class of 2020 will not be forgotten.

Our fingers are now crossed and our hopes are that the Association will be able to conduct a fall season with some level of normalcy. Our office will be entirely focused on contingency plans for the 2020 fall season and beyond, should they be needed.

We will continue to communicate as state, local and health agencies keep us informed of new public health guidelines.

Rhonda Blanford-Green
CHSAA Commissioner 

The Student Leadership committee selected the fourteen 2020-21 CHSAA State Reps on Friday from a competitive list of over fifty applicants.

The final selections, which include a diverse group of students from every corner of Colorado, each offer unique backgrounds and perspectives that stood out among their peers.

“I was impressed with the resumes of each applicant,” said CHSAA assistant commissioner Justin Saylor, who oversees student leadership. “Each student had proven leadership qualities, which made narrowing the list down extremely difficult. I commend the committee for their hard work and look forward to working with this group of State Reps over the course of next school year.”

The State Reps will have a daunting task ahead, trying to navigate the obstacles put forth by the COVID-19 pandemic that has currently shifted all activities and learning to virtual platforms.

Led by State Rep Advisor Trey Downey (Grand Junction Central), the group will go to work right away, planning for all Student Leadership programming for the upcoming school year.

State Reps will have a myriad of responsibilities, some of which include sitting on various CHSAA committees, assisting in the coordination of Student Leadership Summer and Fall Conferences, and being a voice for the CHSAA student body as a whole.

The final list includes six returning State Reps and eight new members, comprising of twelve seniors and two juniors.

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2020-21 CHSAA State Reps

• Nikki-Jo Albert, Del Norte
• Walker Bargmann, Eagle Ridge Academy
• Lily Berg, Columbine
• Ayelina Flores, Grand Junction
• Daisy Grado, Brush
• Emily Hancock, Coronado
• John Keleman, Arvada West
• Daniel Lange, Loveland
• Koyinsola Oyefeso-Abisoye, Rangeview
• Jonathan Pazen, Dakota Ridge
• Jade Pruett, Durango High School
• Rachel Reese, Roosevelt
• Caden Salladay, Manitou Springs
• Camden Sharkey, Liberty

The Be The Light, Colorado movement is entering its fourth week as dozens of schools around the state seek to be a beacon of hope for their students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hope this finds all safe and well,

As we wait patiently with cautious optimism, monitoring data points and updates for lifting restrictions and resuming in-person learning — but more importantly, safety for public interaction — much uncertainty continues to exists.

The clock is winding down for a definitive decision on whether resuming all CHSAA activities and athletics can begin if we do get an assurance of safety and mitigating the spread of COVID-19 has been given the green light by state and local health officials.

Through those consultations and collaborative efforts with state, educational and health officials, the Commissioner, aligned with the CHSAA Board of Directors, will provide a decision on or before May 2.

I want to give an important reminder that our Association is a statewide organization and decisions will continue to be made on behalf of all activities and athletics conducted in the spring season.

The numerous decisions, though emotionally difficult because we are kid-centered, will continue to be made responsibly — because we are kid-centered.

NOTE: Complete up-to-date Coronavirus information as it relates to the spring season can be found on this page. Currently the spring sports season is suspended until April 30.

Kylee Shook, a 2016 graduate of Mesa Ridge, was selected in the WNBA Draft on Friday night.

Shook, who is one of the best girls basketball players to ever come out of Colorado, was selected by the New York Liberty with the first pick of the second round, at No. 13 overall.

It is believed Shook is the ninth former Colorado high school basketball player to be selected in the WNBA Draft, and is the highest selection ever.

Shook recently completed her senior season at Louisville, where she started 28 of 32 games and averaged 10.1 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game.

She left Louisville as the school’s all-time blocks leader.

Shook was named first-team All-ACC, and was a finalist for the Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year.

At Mesa Ridge, Shook set state records for career blocks, rebounds, double-doubles and triple-doubles. She also holds the season records for double-doubles and triple-doubles, and ranks among the top-15 in state history for points, points per game and field goals.

As a senior, Shook was the Class 4A player of the year and was named a McDonald’s All-American. She was a two-time first-team all-state pick during her high school career.

For 16 years, Kyle Sand stood in a class all by himself. A standout wrestler for Arvada West, Sand went through his entire high school wrestling career without suffering a single loss.

It goes without saying that he claimed four state titles in that span. After high school he wrestled at Adams State University in Alamosa and later became an assistant coach. His coaching career now continues at the level he shined the brightest as he has been named as the new head coach at Grand Junction High School.

In his time as an assistant at Adams, he quickly realized that his work as a coach has far outweighed his accomplishments as a wrestler and he’s excited to keep that work moving forward.

“I have more pride in my coaching accolades than I do my actual wrestling accolades,” Sand said. “I coached a national champion at Adams State and that’s what I would call one of my proudest moments in my coaching and wrestling overall career. It’s more of a selfless act.”

That mentality right there is what makes Sand a perfect fit at the high school level. He can think back to the early 2000’s when he was looking to become the first Colorado wrestler to go undefeated all four years.

All these years later, he can still remember how crucial his high school coaches were to the process.

“They were very significant,” he said. “They mentored me through, mentally, trying to help me with the pressures of that. They helped with preparation and the process. Focusing on the process helped me deal with a lot of the mental pressures as well. I always relied on them for advice and direction.”

His parents taught him at a young age that the most rewarding acts are the selfless ones and he feels that’s a big reason he took so easily to coaching.

Remembering the impact his coaches had on him and combining it with his folks’ message that service is rewarding, he can’t wait to begin impacting these kids through a sport that has become such a big part of his life.

And the opportunity to do it at Grand Junction made the opportunity so much better for him.

“They have a rich tradition already,” Sand said. “Obviously a head coaching position appealed to me. I knew one day being able to run my own program would be very appealing.”

And it gives him the opportunity to dive back into a world where he became a household name with his fourth state championship win. He became the first Colorado wrestler to finish career undefeated, going wire to wire from 2001 to 2004. He was the only one to hold that distinction until this last February when Windsor’s Dominick Serrano matched the accomplishment.

Sand wasn’t able to be at Pepsi Center to witness Serrano’s historic win, but kept track from afar.

“I was following it,” Sand said. “I usually try and get down there and it would’ve been great to see the young man accomplish what he did. I’m proud of him. I can’t say anything but good things about him.”

Since he last had his hand raised as a Colorado high school wrestler, Sand has learned the value of passing experience and knowledge to future generations of wrestlers. He now has the chance to do that as the lead guy for the Grand Junction Tigers.

Like Arvada West was in the early 2000’s, Grand Junction &mash; already one of the top programs in the state — figures to be even better with Sand involved.