DFOA Area Directors John Conklin, Jeff Penney and Joel Pogar presenting the check to Trish Wales, Event Director for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Denver. (Submitted photo)

Two officials association joined up to make a difference in their community.

The Denver Football Officials Association and the Colorado High School Baseball Umpires Association teamed up to jointly present a check of $1,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver this week.

The money came from proceeds of the recent annual golf tournament held by the associations.

If you want to help make a difference in your community, sign up to be a high school sports official.

(Brad Cochi/For CHSAANow.com)

No matter what part of the state golf was being played yesterday, red numbers kept popping up on leaderboards.

A heavy tournament load put a lot of kids in action, but the final scores from all around Colorado made one thing abundantly clear.

Golf is easy. Well, sometimes at least.

At Foothills Golf Course, the third Centennial League tournament looked more like a Thursday night men’s league shootout. Arapahoe’s Matthew Wilkinson carded a 6-under-par 66 to claim the win while teammates Graham Dzengelewski (69), Max Zadrvorny (70) and Will Kates (71) were also in red numbers.

Cherry Creek sophomore Charlie Flaxbeard took second with a 68 while his teammate Thomas Hicks shot 71.

Eaglecrest sophomore Andrew White fired a 69 as did Mullen’s Andrew Brady and Mario Dino.

Cheyenne Mountain teammates Campbell Grage and Carter Suorfchek each shot a 2-under-par 69 at the Frederick Classic, but neither player got the win as Frederick’s Jake Chesler cleared them by two strokes. Thursday was the second time this week that Cheyenne Mountain teammates broke into red numbers at the same tournament. Kale Parthen and Brad Helton each went under par at the Pueblo Centennial Invite at Walking Stick.

In the southwest corner of the state Conquistador Golf Course couldn’t contain a hometown kid as Montezuma-Cortez’s Thayer Plewe ended his day with a 3-under-par 69. His lone bogey of the day came on the par-4 second hole.

Right behind him was Durango’s standout junior Levi Tichi at 70. Tichi has been prone to shoot low numbers this season and is emerging as one of the top talents in the state.

At Estes Park Golf Course Sterling junior Tayleb Schaefer shot a 2-under-par 69 to win the Estes Park Invite. He was 2-under on the front nine and even made a birdie on No. 12 to get to 3-under. He gave that stroke back with a bogey on the short par-4 14th.

This is Schaefer’s second win of the year. He won the Strasburg Invite back on Aug. 18.

A 14-run first inning powered Bear Creek softball to a 15-0 win over Northglenn on Thursday. Jordyn Johnson drove in four runs in the win.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

On the same day, at two different sites, Regis Jesuit’s Morgan Schilling and Niwot’s Neil Wilcox shared a similar feeling. A championship feeling.

Both boys tennis standouts had worked their way through their collective brackets to claim the No. 1 singles championships. Both had come up short the year before, Schilling falling in the Class 5A final while Wilcox got tripped up in 4A semis.

After winning their championships in 2019, they have a chance to accomplish something that hasn’t been done in over 20 years.

The last time that both the 5A and 4A boys No. 1 singles champions won back-to-back championships the same year was during the 1998 and 1999 seasons. Cherry Creek’s Chad Harris and Kent Denver’s Cory Ross won their titles together in those two years. Schilling and Wilcox weren’t even born.

Since then, the 5A No. 1 singles position has seen a repeat champion four times in Fruita Monument’s Richard Johnson (2002-03), Rocky Mountain’s Casey MacMaster (2008-09), Highlands Ranch’s Hayden Sabatka (2011-12) and Chatfield’s Christian Holmes (2017-18). In 4A there has only been one back-to-back champion since Ross and that was his little brother Casey in 2015-16. Niwot did get a two-champion in Harrison Lang but he won his titles in 2010 and 2012 with a loss in the championship match to Kent’s David Mitchell in 2011.

As the boys tennis season enters its full swing now, Wilcox and Schilling will attempt to tie their names together in a way that’s over two decades in the making.

“That’s amazing,” Wilcox said. “It’s motivational and I would love to be a part of any kind of small history that I can.”

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

The catch is that both players know that nothing is a given simply because they won a title the year before. Both have suffered defeats late in the bracket and both have seen talented senior players fall in either the semifinals or the championship final.

The key, according to both players, is to maintain focus and act as though each opponent on the court is more than capable of ending their championship runs.

“My mentality is to take it one match at a time,” Schilling said. “I’m not thinking about regionals or state. I have to get there first. Just because I found success last year and won state, it doesn’t mean I’m guaranteed that.”

The good news is their seasons are off to a good start. Both players have a few dual matches under their belt and neither has dropped a match yet. Wilcox is especially dominant as he’s only dropped one game all season. His talent is demonstrating that he has what it takes to make another run at Pueblo City Park.

“My strength is my versatility,” he said. “I feel like I can do anything on the court. No matter what position I’m put in, I always feel like I have a way out.”

He proved that in his championship winning match after dropping the first set to Cheyenne Mountain’s Joey Geisz. Wilcox rallied to win the match 2-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Schilling’s lone dropped set of his season came in a Sept. 30 win over Cherry Creek’s George Cavo. He rallied to win that one in three sets and never dropped a set for the remainder of the season. Like Wilcox, Schilling knows that the path to another championship – and the path at a chance at shared history with the Niwot senior – lies with how dominant he needs to be, not how dominant he has been.

“I’ve know George and (Fairview’s) Luke (Silverman) for a long time,” Schilling said. “These aren’t new faces from last year or anything. George and I are really good friends and we know how each other play.”

Regardless, when Wilcox and Schilling take the court, all friendships are put on pause. They’ve exhibited nothing but great sportsmanship in their time with their schools, but they both have the same mission in mind. Should they each come away with another championship, that accomplishment will tie them together in Colorado high school tennis history.

The softball season saw perhaps its most impactful day of the season so far on Tuesday.

A total of eight games pitting ranked teams against one another took place, including a walk-off win and an extra-inning matchup.

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4A: (9) Mead 12, (2) Erie 4

(Steve Oathout)

The Mavericks, now 3-0, are off to the best start in program history. Mead advanced to the regional round last season.

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4A: (3) Wheat Ridge 5, (1) Holy Family 3

Elizabeth Uhl threw a complete game, allowing just two earned runs, for the Farmers, who moved to 3-0.

Down 1-0 in the third, Wheat Ridge plated two with a double from Aaliyah Arellano. The next inning, Aliyah Rothstein singled home a run, Lee Quezada drove another in with a sac fly, and Isabella Martinez plated another with a single.

Holy Family got a run back in the fourth, and another in the seventh, but the rally fell short.

Tyler Whitlock went 4-for-4 for Holy Family.

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3A: (2) Eaton 17, (3) Strasburg 16

Eaton got its offense started early with a six-run first inning, and never really looked back in a big win.

The squad also plated one more in the second, seven in the third, and three in the fourth.

Yaritza Puente, a senior, led Eaton with four RBIs as part of a 2-for-3 day, and Sadie Ross, a freshman, drove in three as she went 3-for-4.

Blayke Duncan, Brooke Beacom, Jaymie Woody and Emma Pinkstaff each had two RBIs for Eaton.

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5A: (5) Chatfield 4, (7) Legend 3

Chatfield, now 3-0, walked off for the win in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Avery Rohlman was 2-for-3 with two RBIs for the Chargers, while Madison Shepard and Abigale Washco each also drove in a run.

Pitcher Isabelle DiNapoli threw the complete-game for Chatfield, striking out 10. She didn’t allow an earned run.

Legend’s Kaylyn English went 3-for-4 in the loss.

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5A: (9) Broomfield 5, (6) Rocky Mountain 3

Kenzi Garner led the way for Broomfield in the win.

At the plate, the senior tripled and homered as part of a 3-for-4 day at the plate. She drove in two runs, and scored three times herself.

In the circle, Garner threw a complete game, striking out nine.

Chloe Eiguren was 3-for-3 for the Eagles, and had an RBI. Claire Comstock also drove in a run.

Hannah Bailey had two RBIs for Rocky Mountain.

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3A: (10) La Junta 11, (7) Limon 10 (9 inn.)

The game saw a ton of offense, and fittingly, the two ranked teams battled to extra innings.

Limon grabbed a 4-0 lead in the first, only to see La Junta tie it in the bottom half.

La Junta eventually grabbed a 9-5 lead after five innings, but Limon cut it to 9-7 after six, and then took a 10-9 lead in the top of the seventh. La Junta tied it in the bottom half of that inning, and then pushed the winning run across in the ninth.

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3A: (1) University 14, (6) Brush 8

The two teams battled back and forth, trading the lead four times in the first four innings, before University broke the game open.

The Bulldogs pushed two across in the fifth, and then exploded for a seven-run sixth inning in the win.

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5A: (1) Rock Canyon vs. (2) Legacy

(PaulDiSalvoPhotography.com)

In a game that was delayed by poor weather, Rock Canyon leads Legacy 7-1 in the third inning.

Find a photo gallery here.

Read more from BoCoPreps.com.

(Photo courtesy of Buena Vista High School)

As Buena Vista junior Seth Moss took to the starting line for his first cross country race, he noticed a glaring difference between him and the other runners.

It was just that they naturally looked like they belonged at the starting line of a foot race. That much was obvious. It had more to do with the fact that when Moss is typically running in the fall, it’s to deliver a downfield block for his quarterback or running back.

Moss is an offensive lineman now living in a distance runner’s world.

Wanting to maintain a level of competition in the fall, he decided to take on cross country as a new adventure. And as he walked up to the starting line, it was easy to see that he was well outside his comfort zone.

“I was probably the only person over 150 pounds there,” Moss said. “I’m around 180, 185 and I started laughing when I got to the start line.”

But he’s keeping a good attitude about it. Looking at the unique year that’s ahead of him he wanted to do something that would keep his competitive interest alive and potentially serve him well in prepping for the wrestling and football seasons, seasons that he cherishes as a high school athlete.

He even tried to encourage some of his football teammates to go out with him, but it went to no avail.

He did get the opportunity to let Demons head football coach Matt Flavin know that he was going to taking on distance running this fall.

“He thought I was kidding at first,” Moss said. “He was happy that I’m doing it. He thinks it’s going to be great for me. All of the coaches have been supportive which is super cool.”

That’s been the prevalent theme for most coaches throughout the year. With a lot of traditional fall sports being played at a different time of year, coaches just want their kids staying involved with athletics especially if it’s tied to the school.

(Photo courtesy of Buena Vista High School)

Moss sees another added benefit. There is some worry that distance running and a general increase in a cardio sport could lead to him shedding weight for both wrestling and football. He believes that he can get the weight back on once cross country ends, but is excited about what running will do for his overall endurance for those two sports.

“It’s tough,” he said. “With football once the play is over you get into the huddle and get that quick breather. This is just 24 minutes and if you slow down it means you’re losing and if you start too fast you’re not going to have anything left in the tank. But hey, if I can get out and run a 5K, I’m going to be fine come the fourth quarter of a football game.”

Moss spends his spring playing baseball for the Demons so he’s now prideful that he gets to go through this year a four-sport athlete. And he has no regrets over trying something outside of his comfort zone because of the way things have shifted with the calendar this year.

“I would recommend if this situation ever came up again,” he said. “We should try to get as many people as we can doing something like this.”

(Photo courtesy of Buena Vista High School)

Columbine and Evergreen emerged winners of the third Jeffco League boys tournament on Tuesday at Broken Tee Golf Course.

Top-ranked Rock Canyon softball jumper out to a 7-1 lead over No. 2 Legacy before the game was postponed in the third inning.

LAKEWOOD — Lakewood dominated Chatfield in a Class 5A Jeffco League boys tennis conference opener at Morse Park.

The Tigers took a 7-0 victory over the Chargers with Lakewood not dropping a set in any of the seven matches. Lakewood’s singles players — Jake Haas, Michael Bennett and Alexei Uecker — all took straight set victories.

Lakewood’s four doubles teams — Tommy Landmark/Adam Abrahamson, Caden Snow/Atticus Freers, Colin Jacobs/Finley Reichert and Xander Nobel Rudolph/Matthew Kallander — finished off the sweep of the Chargers.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

One of the normal behaviors for a high school golf tournament of late has been that teammates have been paired together. The idea is a product of the COVID-19 sports landscape that has altered so much of normalcy in the last six months.

Among the pairings at the first Class 3A Tri-Peaks League tournament at the Trinidad Municipal Golf Course, a senior from Primero High School walks alone.

When Lance Peters walks toward a driving range or a practice putting green, he looks almost out of place. At first glance, he appears to be a tight end that is taking up golf due to the shift of the high school sports calendar. When he rips his driver, however, there is no doubt that his aggressively controlled swing is that of a kid who would rather spend his fall days hunting for birdies than hauling in touchdowns.

“My dad (got me into golf),” Peters said. “When I was little he was always into golf so he got me going and it just stuck.”

Like most kids in their sport of choice, once it stuck and he continued to practice he developed a lot of ability when it came to navigating the course.

His body frame would make a casual observer believe he’s a bomber who enjoys mashing his driver then trying to figure things out from there. While that looks like fun on the professional circuit with the likes of a Bryson DeChambeau, Peters’ game is far more complete. Even on an off day, his irons sound crisp and are rarely off line. His hands are soft enough to control his wedges and navigate his way around the greens.

And his putting? For someone who certainly has the ability to hit the ball hard, he might be far better with the flat stick than anything else in his bag.

“I wish I could say (the best part of my game) was my driving,” Peters said. “But I have to go with my putting right now. It helps me get up and down and save those pars and some bad holes. It helps out.”

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

In just three events this season, his name has become a fixture at or near the top of the leaderboard. He won his first tournament of the year, the La Junta Stapleford. He shot a casual 5-under-par 67 which was good enough to score 31 points and keep him 10 ahead of Pueblo East’s Evan Smith.

With golf teams around his area somewhat limited, Peters and Primero have joined up with the Tri-Peaks League where he can battle with top-notch players such as Lamar’s Jimmy Clark or St. Mary’s standout Peter Stinar. Peters and Clark shot matching 74’s at the Alamosa Invitational and Clark got the win via handicap hole tiebreaker.

Peters finished third at Monday’s Tri-Peaks Tournament after shooting 80. Clark’s 77 was good enough to get the win, but Peters has shown that he’ll thrive while playing against talented golfers for the duration of the season despite coming from a school with an enrollment of just 86 kids.

“Competition always makes you play better,” he said. “I like that coming from bigger schools.”

Another part of what he feels will make him play better is status as a one-kid team. He is the only golfer to represent Primero this year and as other players in the state are now routinely getting paired with their teammates, Peters is truly out on an island.

“It helps me work harder,” Peters said. “I don’t have a lot of distractions and that can actually be a lot of fun.”

Peters finished 27th at the 3A state tournament at Eisenhower Golf Course last year. He’s hoping he can play well through the season and be someone that other players will have to worry about this year when the 3A tournament heads to Dos Rios in Gunnison.