At Thursday’s triangular meet, Ponderosa boys wrestling grabbed dual wins over Broomfield and Rocky Mountain.
Month: February 2021
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Photos: No. 10 George Washington boys basketball edges No. 5 Chaparral
In a Class 5A boys basketball thriller, No. 10 George Washington edged No. 5 Chaparral 59-57 on Thursday.
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Photos: Legacy, Northglenn boys wrestling gets wins at tri-meet
Both Northglenn and Legacy boys wrestling got dual wins at a triangular meet with Horizon on Thursday night.
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Fossil Ridge’s Lucy Bell enjoys balancing girls swimming with life as a teenager
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com) Waiting for the pop that starts a race at the state swim meet meet can be nerve racking. But once she’s in the water, battling against 10 other competitors, Fossil Ridge’s Lucy Bell is comfortable.
Like a fish in water.
Sometimes in life, however, things aren’t always that easy. Bell claimed last year’s Class 5A swimmer of the year and has ambitions of repeating that feat and accomplishing a couple of other things as well. Swimming comes naturally to her, yet can be an insanely difficult skill to master.
Outside of the water, she’s like any other high school junior. She’s been driving for less than a year and in a way that some people avoid the water, she’s been fortunate to avoid certain things about being behind wheel.
“I haven’t had to parallel park yet,” she said.
She has unfortunately been involved in an accident. No one was hurt and she plans on learning from the experience. It’s likely that her first time swimming didn’t go according to plan either, but she’s developed her skill and become one of the premiere athletes in the sport while still balancing her life as a high school kid.
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com) “She’s into the TikTok dances like the other girls are,” Fossil Ridge coach Jimmy Rodriguez. “She has the same concerns as every other teenager does. She just swims really fast on top of all that.”
Swimming in a way helps her balance those concerns as a teenager because of the individualistic nature of the sport. When she’s submerged in the water and simply trying to get from Point A to Point B as fast as she can, there is a sense of calm that overtakes her.
“Being in the water is easier to me than being on land and playing land sports,” she said. “I don’t know how to explain it. I feel more balanced and it’s a lot more quiet and I can think to myself.”
So far this season, Bell has worked methodically with her swims. She has yet to swim faster in the 100-yard freestyle or the 200 individual medley times that she had at last year’s Class 5A state championship meet. She won both events but doesn’t feel the need to sell out for top times quite yet.
She has plans for what she wants to accomplish this year and a big part of getting faster times in those events is making sure she’s as strong mentally as well as physically.
“It has a lot to do with visualization,” she said. “It’s about goal setting and figuring out what you want to achieve. Visualization is a big part of (mental training).”
If her individual success can match what she did last year, she’s hoping that the Sabercats can make a run at another 5A team title. After claiming three titles in a four-year span starting in 2015, the Sabercats have watched Fairview claim the last two state crowns.
With the state meet just a few weeks away, the work is being done for Fossil Ridge to be the ones to get hoist the state championship trophy, then jump into the pool in celebration.
“That’s always a big goal of ours,” Bell said. “We’re working on having good relays and whenever I swim I always have that in the back on my mind to motivate me to swim my fastest.”
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com) -
No. 8 Heritage Christian girls basketball taking aim at deep playoff run
(Photo courtesy of Heritage Christian High School) When Joe Packard took over as the girls basketball coach at Heritage Christian, the program was struggling a bit. His hope was relatively easy to comprehend, he wanted to provide stability to the program which he anticipated would lead to success.
That seems to be the way things have worked out for the Eagles and he’s hoping that this can be the year the team makes a deep Class 2A playoff run.
“It had to be a culture change,” Packard said. “We were living right on the border of being a 1A or 2A team. One year we went to state at 1A and then the next we were there as a 2A team. Most good programs and most good teams would say it takes time.”
It seems that each year, the Eagles play at the level of championship contenders only to stumble in the state tournament. This year, Packard is hoping that his girls will get gel at the right time and make that deep playoff run that he knows they’re capable of.
(Photo courtesy of Heritage Christian High School) Kali Siemers is fifth in the state regardless of classification in scoring. She’s scoring 24.2 points per game and is the offensive focal point of an Eagles team that is off to a 7-0 start to the season.
They’re also getting big points contributions from Avery Hughes at 17.7 points per game and Savannah Brown at 11.5 points per game. Brown is also the top rebounder in the state, pulling down 15.5 boards in each game that she plays in.
Everyone on the roster has a role and each playing understanding their role is what makes the Eagles a dangerous team as the postseason inches closer.
“We talk about that all the time, everybody having a role,” Packard said. “Like (Tuesday) we just played Dayspring Christian and Kali had a real rough start. SHe fouled out in the third quarter and Savannah ended up scoring 17, but then Avery went and scored 26. What’s special about this team is that if someone is having a rough time, someone’s right there to fill the void.”
That’s what he’s hoping can happen when the postseason rolls around. Last year, the Eagles were one win shy of advancing to Loveland for the 2A Great 8. The year before, they reached the tournament as the No. 7 seed, but lost in the first round.
After seeing what his girls are capable of this season, he’s hoping that they can find the playoff success that’s evaded them in recent seasons due to the 2A field being traditionally strong.
“There are so many good teams out there,” Packard said. “Any given week, every team is dealing with a number of different variables that anyone is capable of winning a title. I don’t know why we can’t be in that mix.”
If they continue to play at the high level they’ve played at this season, it’s not far-fetched to think that they’ll be right there.
(Photo courtesy of Heritage Christian High School) -
D’Evelyn boys basketball gets signature win over No. 6 Evergreen
EVERGREEN — D’Evelyn at least delayed Evergreen staking claim to the Class 4A Jeffco League boys basketball title Wednesday night.
The Jaguars took a 57-51 road victory against the No. 6-ranked Cougars. Evergreen (7-2, 6-1 in 4A Jeffco) had the chance to clinch the 4A Jeffco League title with a win over D’Evelyn. The Cougars haven’t won a boys hoops league title since the 2003-04 season.
“Dolan has a great team,” D’Evelyn coach Will Gosch said of Evergreen coach Jeff Dolan’s Cougars. “I think we caught them off guard. I have to give credit to our kids and I think our coaching staff had a good plan coming in.”
D’Even junior Troy Benko (13) goes up for a shot over Evergreen junior Jameson Davis (30) on Wednesday. The Jaguars handed the Cougars their first conference loss of the season. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) Evergreen does still control its own destiny in winning the conference title. The Cougars have one league game remaining at home against Alameda International (0-8, 0-7) on Friday. Evergreen has the head-to-head tiebreaker over No. 15 Green Mountain (7-2, 6-1), so a win over Alameda will still clinch the league title for the Cougars.
However, the snowy Wednesday night in Evergreen belonged to D’Evelyn. The Jaguars (6-3, 4-3) came in on a 2-game losing streak after losses to Golden and Green Mountain, but D’Evelyn came out firing scoring 22 points in the first quarter.
“We are learning what it means to be ready and playing in this system,” Gosch said. “It’s fun when a kid starts getting hot.”
D’Evelyn junior Dewayne Johnson scored at will in the first quarter. Johnson poured in 15 points in the first 8 minutes that included three 3-pointers and a monster dunk on a breakaway.
“DJ came up huge in the first quarter,” D’Evelyn junior Max Grant said. “That kind of set the tone for the whole game and we built off that energy.”
D’Evelyn broke out to a 22-14 lead in the first quarter against a stingy Evergreen defense that hadn’t allowed any opponent 50+ points in a game this season.
“We haven’t seen DJ play like that,” Gosch said of Johnson. “He has a pretty shot and he trusted his shot early.”
The Cougars locked down defensively on Johnson as he finished with 17 points, but Grant, senior Luke Kjellsen, Troy Benko and Bodhi Anderson combined for 29 points for the Jaguars.
D’Evelyn senior Luke Kjellsen (43) has tight coverage on Evergreen senior Griffin Lauritano (1) during the first quarter Wednesday at Evergreen High School. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) A huge key was the third quarter where D’Evelyn was able to extend its 31-29 halftime lead to double-digits with driving layup by sophomore Elijah Gusmus that turned into a 3-point play when he was fouled.
“Our goal was to get the first two minutes out of the way and we did,” Gosch said of the Jaguars’ mentality coming out of halftime. “We kept attacking the rim. We’ve been light and tentative going to the rim at times this year. We have work on that a lot.”
Evergreen turned up the pressure defensively and nearly tied the game in the final minute. The Cougars forced a handful of D’Evelyn turnovers, but the shots just wouldn’t fall in the final minute for Evergreen.
Evergreen senior Jackson Mott finished with a team-high 17 points. Senior Griffin Lauritano pitched in 15 points and senior Jared Stiller had 11 points in the loss that ended a 7-game winning streak for the Cougars.
“It’s a great win, but we aren’t satisfied,” Grant said.
D’Evelyn was No. 25 in the RPI standings before Wednesday’s win. The Jaguars head into their final five games of their regular-season schedule with some momentum.
“I feel like this is a great start to something special,” Gosch said.
Evergreen closes out its regular season after Friday’s league finale against Alameda with non-league games against Wheat Ridge, Golden, Standley Lake and Green Mountain. The Cougars will likely grab the automatic bid for the 32-team 4A state tournament as the 4A Jeffco League champion.
Brackets are scheduled to be released Monday, March 8. First-round games will be played Tuesday, March 9.
Evergreen senior Jackson Mott (10) is boxed in by D’Evelyn juniors Braeden Scheer (12), Dewayne Johnson (5) and Max Grant (3) during the Class 4A Jeffco League game Wednesday night. The Jaguars ended a 2-game losing streak with a huge 57-51 victory over No. 6 Evergreen. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) -
Photos: No. 11 Valor Christian boys basketball edges No. 12 Chatfield
In a battle of ranked Jeffco League teams, Class 5A No. 11 Valor Christian edged No. 12 Chatfield 64-61 on Wednesday.
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Photos: Finnerty leads Rocky Mountain boys basketball over Loveland
Colin Finnerty was a rebound away from a double-double and his 22 points helped Rocky Mountain boys basketball beat Loveland 58-53.
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Photos: Lucas scores 30 as Standley Lake girls basketball beats Alameda
Cameron Lucas scored 30 points to lead Standley Lake girls basketball to a 68-22 win over Alameda on Wednesday.
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Photos: Mountain Range girls swimming gets dual win over Horizon
Mountain Range girls swimming looked strong as it grabbed a 124-62 dual meet win over Horizon on Wednesday.