COLORADO SPRINGS — Signing day at Coronado didn’t look too out of the ordinary. Maybe with one small exception. There were a lot of kids at the table.
Not that too many kids is unordinary. But Coronado’s ceremony bordered on unique for one very reason. The Cougars were tired of not celebrating the kids going to college for something other than athletics. So for this year – and probably from here on out – the Cougars gathered everyone. Their athletes and their activities driven kids and celebrated them all as they committed to collegiate programs to continue doing the very things they love to do.
“Why not,” Coronado athletic director Jimmy Porter said. “It’s a push from our school. We’re know for our performing arts programs. When we can celebrate kids we want to celebrate kids. It’s cool to bring more people here as well. The more the merrier.”
It’s certainly a change of pace from the everyday signing ceremony.
In the same ceremony where football coach Monte Gutowski and basketball coach David Thomas got to brag about the achievements of their athletes who will be furthering their careers in college, theater director Erin Ambroz got to boast about the achievement of her drama students and the great things they plan on doing after high school.
It was a day where drama, visual arts, choir and music stood on the same stage as football, basketball and girls volleyball. It was certainly something all the kids will remember.
“It’s enjoyable and it feels good to be up there and to be honored,” Jackson Schaeffer said.
Shaeffer is heading to Tulane where he will be a member of the band next fall. His path to college wasn’t based on his ability to score a touchdown or knock down a 3-pointer. He’s going there because of his passion for jazz.
“We had an exceptional music program,” he added. “I think that’s been shown with all the people that are up here. For all of us, it feels good to be up here with all the other activities who have also worked hard and earned a spot up here.”
It’s a pivotal moment for Coronado students and for activities-driven students in Colorado.
It’s a subtle gesture from the school that all students should be celebrated for what they’re accomplishing through the year and for what they will beyond their time at Coronado. This is a simple ceremony that will make the school come closer together.
“This is what helps create community,” Thomas said. “It’s not just athletics that are getting promoted, it’s all of our programs that are getting students sent off to do amazing things. Kids are going off to play football and basketball, but they’re also going to Tulane and DePaul and schools like that. It’s special. We’re creating a community where we want to support each other not just in the classroom, but outside of it.”
Green Mountain junior Caton Lodice (22) is greeted at home plate by teammates after his grand slam in the first inning. The home run tied things up 4-4 against Alameda late Thursday afternoon at Green Mountain High School. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
LAKEWOOD — Green Mountain senior Jose Luis Cedillo had himself an impressive first inning late Thursday afternoon.
The Rams’ lead-off batter went 3-for-3 from the plate with four RBIs in the opening frame against Alameda International. Cedillo came to the plate three times as Green Mountain scored 17 runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Green Mountain junior Dylan Hearn fouls off a pitch at the plate during the second inning Thursday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“It’s always good to see that bats come alive,” said Cedillo, who finished 4-for-5 from the plate with five RBIs in the Rams eventual 26-6 victory. “When we string the hits together it takes the pressure of the pitching. They just have to go in there and throw strikes.”
Green Mountain (3-4, 3-2 in Class 4A Jeffco League) actually fell behind 4-0 against the Pirates (1-5, 0-4). The Pirates scored 4 runs on three hits, including a 2-run single by sophomore Oscar Nguyen to cap off the nice top of the first inning.
However, it didn’t stand up to what the Rams did in the bottom of the frame. The first eight batters reached the scored. Green Mountain sent 21 batters to the plate in the inning.
Junior Caton Lodice delivered the most impressive hit that nobody saw. With the bases loaded and no outs, the Rams’ clean-up hitter rocketed a high shot to dead centerfield. With the sun behind home plate nobody really picked up the flight off the ball of the bat, including Lodice.
“I did not see that ball,” Lodice said. “It was launched straight up.”
Alameda’s centerfield didn’t pick the ball up either. It wasn’t until everyone could see the ball land beyond the centerfield fence did people realize it was a grand slam home run.
“It definitely sparked something,” Lodice said. “It started our offense off strong and finished strong.”
Green Mountain sophomore Donovan Baca was solid on the mound striking out four of the five batters he faced in an inning and 2/3 work against Alameda. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
It was the start of the largest scoring output of the season for Green Mountain. The Rams scored seven more runs in the bottom of the second inning to extend the lead to 24-6. Green Mountain induced the 20-run mercy rule to end the game in the bottom of the third inning with a RBI pinch-hit single by Sebastian King.
Sophomore Donovan Baca picked up the win on the mound. He took over for junior Luke Davis on the mound in the top of the first inning after Davis had some control issues. Baca struck out the first two batters he faced in the second inning and gave up just a single in the third inning.
“We didn’t get to see him earlier in the year because of the weather during tryouts,” Green Mountain coach Brad Kidwell said of his sophomore pitcher. “We are seeing what he can do and he’s been impressive.”
Pitching will be a key element as Green Mountain has four games in six days starting Saturday, May 22, against Golden.
“Of course Golden is going to be tough competition,” Cedillo said of the showdown against the Demons. “We need to compete through seven innings and hopefully string some hits together and the pitching comes in clutch as well.”
Behind focusing on finishing strong to hopefully make a run at qualifying for the 24-team postseason, Green Mountain’s handful of seniors also have graduation on their minds.
“It has been hard because everyone’s mindset has been different,” said Cedillo, who is one of the four seniors that will graduate Friday at Red Rocks. “It has been a little tough.”
It has been a rough season with the Rams losing three games by 1-run. The latest was Wednesday with a heartbreaking walk-off victory by Ralston Valley.
Green Mountain senior Dylan Green laces a base hit during the Rams’ 17-run bottom of the first inning Thursday against Alameda. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
