Chatfield volleyball is No. 1 in 5A. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
A trio of new teams are taking over No. 1 spots in the CHSAANow.com volleyball rankings this week.
With plenty of changeover in the Class 2A poll, Paonia comes in as the new top team. The Eagles have not dropped a set yet and cruised to a 2-0 start.
Dayspring Christian jumped three spots to No. 5, but it was the bottom of the poll that showed the most change.
Highland (No. 7), John Mall (No. 8), Simla (No. 9) and Telluride (No. 10) are all new to the 2A rankings, showing that a title run in that class could be wide open come November.
The same theory could hold true for 5A. Chatfield comes in as the new No. 1 team, jumping two spots in the process.
Despite a five-set loss to Cheyenne Mountain, Caparral jumps from No. 2 to No. 6.
Three new teams broke into the 5A rankings with Highlands Ranch landing at No. 5, Mountain Vista coming in at No. 8 and Lakewood breaking in at No. 9.
Cheyenne Mountain and Lewis-Palmer hang on to the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in the 4A poll.
Holy Family notched the biggest jump of the week, leaping three spots to land at No. 5.
At No. 10, Eagle Valley is the only new team to the 4A poll.
Only one team broke into the 3A rankings as well as Middle Park comes in at No. 10. Resurrection Christian made a big jump to land at No. 4 this week. The Cougars were sitting at No. 9 in the preseason rankings.
Eaton holds on to the top spot in 3A.
Kit Carson takes over the No. 1 spot in 1A thanks to a 2-0 start. Previous No. 1 Fleming is also undefeated on the year, but dropped one spot to No. 2.
Weldon Valley (No. 4) and McClave (No. 10) are the two newcomers to the 1A poll.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Montrose 13, Roosevelt 9, Thomas Jefferson 9, Woodland Park 8, Glenwood Springs 6, Niwot 6, Mead 5, Palmer Ridge 5, Valor Christian 4, D’Evelyn 3, Sierra 2.
Dropped out
Montrose (5).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
1
Eaton (10)
2-1
104
1
2
Colorado Springs Christian
1-2
75
4
3
Valley
1-1
70
2
4
Resurrection Christian (1)
1-0
53
9
5
University
0-1
51
3
6
Platte Valley
1-0
44
6
7
St. Mary’s
1-0
40
10
8
Lutheran
0-2
28
5
9
Coal Ridge
1-0
26
7
10
Middle Park
1-0
17
–
Others receiving votes:
Manitou Springs 13, Pagosa Springs 11, Alamosa 10, Delta 10, Bennett 9, Sheridan 8, Peak to Peak Charter 6, Rye 6, Faith Christian 4, Sterling 4, The Vanguard 4, Aurora West College Prep 3, La Junta 3, Centauri 2, Englewood 2, Liberty Common 2, Salida 2, Grand Valley 1, Lamar 1.
Dropped out
Manitou Springs (8).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
1
Paonia (6)
2-0
80
2
2
Lyons (1)
5-0
71
3
3
Yuma (1)
0-0
61
1
4
Union Colony
3-0
54
5
5
Dayspring Christian (1)
4-0
47
8
6
Colorado Springs School
1-0
41
7
7
Highland
4-0
26
–
8
John Mall
5-0
24
–
9
Simla
2-0
17
–
10
Telluride (1)
4-1
16
–
Others receiving votes:
Byers 14, Ridgway 12, Sargent 10, West Grand 10, Ignacio 9, Wray 9, Burlington 8, Hotchkiss 8, Rangely 7, Custer County 6, Soroco 6, Dolores 4, Mancos 3, Denver Christian 2, Hoehne 2, Meeker 2, Evangelical Christian 1.
Rock Canyon leads the 5A volleyball preseason poll. (Ray Chen/ArrayPhoto.com)
After a wild finish at the 2015 state volleyball tournament, it looks like the fun is going to continue in 2016.
Three defending champions sit at No. 1 in the CHSAANow.com volleyball rankings while two other squads are coming into the year with heavy expectations being placed on their shoulders.
After cruising through pool play only to fall in the semifinals, Rock Canyon comes in at No. 1 in the Class 5A volleyball rankings to start the year.
The Jaguars lost two seniors from last year’s team, but outside hitter Keeley Davis and libero Kendall Hanak both return.
Defending state champion, Cherokee Trail comes in at No. 5 to start the year with Fairview, Chatfield and Denver East filling the spots in between.
After being the first team in Colorado to take down two-time defending champion, Lewis-Palmer, Cheyenne Mountain claims the top spot in the 4A rankings. The Indians received 12 of 13 first place votes as the Rangers took the other one. That helped them take the No. 2 spot behind their league rivals.
Evergreen and Ponderosa take the next two spots in the poll after each team advanced to last year’s semifinals.
At No. 10, Pueblo West comes in as the only ranked 4A team that did not make last year’s state tournament.
Eaton leads the 3A poll. (Matt Daniels/MattDanPhoto.com)
In 3A, someone is going to have to knock off Eaton before anyone will be convinced the Reds should not be the No. 1 team in the state.
Eaton has rattled off three straight state titles and have not lost a match since Sept. 14, 2014. The No. 1 ranking is a clear message to the 3A field: to be the champ, you have to beat the champ.
The 3A rankings are also filled with a lot of familiar names over the last few seasons. Valley (No. 2), University (No. 3), Colorado Springs Christian (No. 4), Platte Valley (No. 6) and Manitou Springs (No. 8) all carried over success from last season into this year’s rankings.
After beating Resurrection Christian (a 3A team from here on out) in last year’s state title match, Yuma comes in as the top team in the 2A rankings.
The Indians have played for the 2A title for the last two seasons and by taking six of 11 first place votes, they come in as a favorite to advance to the title match for the third-straight year.
With Resurrection Christian now out of 2A, Paonia (No. 2) and Lyons (No. 3) now become the most likely to contend with Yuma for the 2A title.
At No. 10, Byers is the only ranked team in 2A that did not make last year’s state tournament.
After making the semifinals but failing to advance to the title match, Fleming comes in as the No. 1 team in 1A.
Defending champion Otis will come in slightly under the radar to start this year, sitting at No. 7, with state runner-up Idalia sitting right behind the Bulldogs at No. 8.
Briggsdale (No. 5) and Caliche (No. 9) are the two teams ranked in the preseason that did not make last year’s state tournament.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Mead 18, Valor Christian 11, Palmer Ridge 7, Air Academy 6, Battle Mountain 6, Silver Creek 6, Erie 4, Steamboat Springs 3, The Classical Academy 3, Mullen 2, Niwot 2.
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Eaton (11)
0-0
110
2
Valley
0-0
87
3
University
0-0
66
4
Colorado Springs Christian
0-0
64
5
Lutheran
0-0
49
6
Platte Valley
0-0
43
7
Coal Ridge
0-0
34
8
Manitou Springs
0-0
30
9
Resurrection Christian
0-0
25
10
St. Mary’s
0-0
21
Others receiving votes:
Alamosa 14, Delta 14, Pagosa Springs 12, Faith Christian 7, Middle Park 7, Sterling 6, Grand Valley 4, Bishop Machebeuf 3, La Junta 2, Salida 2, Skyview Academy 2, Bennett 1, Centauri 1, Jefferson Academy 1.
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Yuma (6)
0-0
100
2
Paonia (4)
0-0
95
3
Lyons (1)
0-0
84
4
Limon
0-0
51
5
Union Colony
0-0
48
6
Fowler
0-0
38
7
Colorado Springs School
0-0
35
8
Dayspring Christian
0-0
34
9
Ridgway
0-0
32
10
Byers
0-0
18
Others receiving votes:
Sargent 14, West Grand 14, Highland 8, Simla 8, Akron 5, Hoehne 5, Merino 4, Vail Christian 3, Clear Creek 2, Soroco 2, Custer County 1, Front Range Christian 1, Haxtun 1, Meeker 1, Wiggins 1.
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Fleming (7)
0-0
79
2
Prairie (1)
0-0
60
3
Kit Carson
0-0
57
4
La Veta
0-0
48
5
Briggsdale
0-0
30
6
Springfield
0-0
28
7
Otis
0-0
25
8
Idalia
0-0
18
9
Caliche
0-0
17
10
Flagler
0-0
16
Others receiving votes:
McClave 14, Heritage Christian 7, Sangre De Cristo 7, Cheyenne Wells 6, Genoa Hugo/Karval 6, Nucla 6, Eads 5, Holly 5, Weldon Valley 4, Jim Elliott 2.
The seven titles are the most since Regis Jesuit and Cheyenne Mountain each won seven in 2010-11.
Five teams tied for second place in the state with three team championships this season: Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado Academy, Kent Denver, Pomona and Regis Jesuit.
Colorado Academy and Valor Christian each had a state-best three girls championships, while Valor’s four titles were the most on the boys’ side.
In all, 67 different teams won a team championship in 2015-16, including 16 teams which won multiple championships.
A breakdown of team championships is below.
Rank
Team
Girls
Boys
Co-Ed
Total
1
Valor Christian
3
4
0
7
2
Cheyenne Mountain
2
1
0
3
2
Colorado Academy
3
0
0
3
2
Kent Denver
1
2
0
3
2
Pomona
1
2
0
3
2
Regis Jesuit
0
3
0
3
7
Broomfield
1
1
0
2
7
Cherokee Trail
1
1
0
2
7
Cherry Creek
1
1
0
2
7
Eaton
2
0
0
2
7
Fairview
2
0
0
2
7
Grandview
2
0
0
2
7
Heritage Christian
1
1
0
2
7
Lutheran
1
1
0
2
7
Mountain Vista
1
1
0
2
7
Yuma
2
0
0
2
17
Air Academy
1
0
0
1
17
Alamosa
0
1
0
1
17
Aspen
1
0
0
1
17
Battle Mountain
0
1
0
1
17
Bayfield
0
1
0
1
17
Bennett
1
0
0
1
17
Buena Vista
0
1
0
1
17
Castle View
0
0
1
1
17
Cedaredge
0
1
0
1
17
Cheyenne Wells
1
0
0
1
17
Colorado Springs Christian
0
1
0
1
17
Dawson School
0
1
0
1
17
Durango
0
1
0
1
17
Eads
0
1
0
1
17
Eaglecrest
1
0
0
1
17
Evergreen
0
1
0
1
17
Faith Christian
0
1
0
1
17
Fleming
0
1
0
1
17
Fort Collins
1
0
0
1
17
Fossil Ridge
0
1
0
1
17
Holly
0
1
0
1
17
Idalia
1
0
0
1
17
Lewis-Palmer
1
0
0
1
17
Lyons
0
1
0
1
17
Meeker
0
1
0
1
17
Monarch
1
0
0
1
17
Mountain Range
1
0
0
1
17
Mountain View
0
1
0
1
17
Niwot
1
0
0
1
17
Otis
1
0
0
1
17
Overland
0
1
0
1
17
Palmer Ridge
1
0
0
1
17
Paonia
1
0
0
1
17
Peak to Peak
0
1
0
1
17
Ponderosa
1
0
0
1
17
Pueblo County
0
1
0
1
17
Pueblo East
0
1
0
1
17
Pueblo West
0
1
0
1
17
Salida
1
0
0
1
17
Sanford
0
1
0
1
17
Sedgwick County
0
1
0
1
17
St. Mary’s
0
0
1
1
17
Strasburg
1
0
0
1
17
Telluride
1
0
0
1
17
The Classical Academy
1
0
0
1
17
ThunderRidge
1
0
0
1
17
University
1
0
0
1
17
Vail Christian
1
0
0
1
17
Vail Mountain
1
0
0
1
17
Valley
0
1
0
1
17
Windsor
0
1
0
1
[divider]
Individual Championships
Cheyenne Mountain had a state-best 11 individual champions in 2015-16. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
Cheyenne Mountain also had an outstanding year in terms of individual titles, leading the state with 11 championships. The program was well balanced: Six championships came from its girls teams, and five came from the boys.
Lutheran’s 10 individual championships were the second-most in the state, including a state-best nine boys titles. Regis Jesuit was third with nine individual titles, and Air Academy and Pomona tied for fourth with eight apiece.
A total of 135 schools had at least one individual champion, and 82 had multiple champions. Of those, 21 schools had at least five individual champions.
Mountain View won the 4A boys track and field championship. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
LAKEWOOD — It’s fair to say Kevin Clark will be leaving the Mountain View track and field program in good condition.
After a runner-up finish on the girls side at the Class 4A state championships in 2015, the Mountain Lions took it one step further Saturday at Jefferson County Stadium by winning the boys team title. For a program with one other track crown (the boys also won 4A in 2006) Clark took over the program in Loveland when it was in a bit of a transition.
“The first year on the boys side in 2008 we took one young man to the state meet,” he said. “We’ve seemed to always have a pretty solid girls program. We highlighted that last year by being runner-up. I feel great about what our staff has accomplished. To be second in 2015 and then to end 2016 with a state championship, this is as good as it gets.”
The Mountain View track coach, who recently accepted the athletic director position at Loveland High School, also led the Mountain Lions to a 4A girls cross country championship in 2014. But this was his first spring title. And it came in his final go-round before starting a post-coaching chapter of his life.
“I just have so much excitement for this group of young men,” Clark said. “It’s all juniors and seniors. The work they’ve put in this past year has been unbelievable, so it’s nice to see that pay off.”
A well-rounded group, Mountain View took down the two-time defending champion Palmer Ridge Bears by tallying points across a wide spectrum of events on the track and in the field:
Logan Stewart, after finishing as the runner-up in the long jump as a junior, won the event Friday with a mark of 22 feet, 11 inches.
Ramon Salgado, a four-time Northern Conference champion in the pole vault, finished first in winning his first-ever state title on Saturday over teammate and runner-up Brenton Emmons as both went 14 feet, 8 inches, but Salgado won on number of attempts.
Scott Sipes, yet another fourth-year, placed eighth in the shot put and third in the discus.
Jordan Kress placed in both the 100 and 200, while Nolan Kembel did the same in both hurdle events.
Ryan Vomacka shattered the school record in the 800 in placing seventh in a time of 1:55.89.
The Mountain Lions also finished second in the 400 relay, second in the 800 relay, third in the 1,600 relay and fifth in the 3,200 relay.
It all added up to an 89-79 margin of victory for Mountain View over Palmer Ridge.
“Palmer Ridge, they didn’t let it come easy,” Clark said. “Our kids stepped up for three days and put it out there. We had a great state meet. It was going to take a great state meet to win it and we had big kids. At the end of the day, ten points isn’t that much so we’re fortunate to come out the way we did.”
Clark will walk away from coaching on top.
During the track and field season’s finale, with several state records being rewritten again, Palmer Ridge senior Caleb Ojennes won the 200 and 400-meter dashes for the second consecutive year. His time of 46.71 seconds in the one-lapper not only shattered the 4A state meet record of 46.78 by Kevin McClanahan of Erie in 2014, but was also the second fastest time ever run on Colorado soil by a prep athlete. J.T Scheuerman remains the record-holder from 2006 during his days at Littleton when he ran a 46.23.
Ojennes also anchored the first-place 1,600 relay (3:18.92).
Fountain Fort-Carson senior Christian Lyon won the 100 (10.80) and 200 (21.67) and ran legs on the winning 800 (1:25.96) and 1,600 (3:17.91) relays in 5A.
Despite the usual firepower from Fountain on the track, Pomona won the 400 relay (42.43), Danny Wiliams won the triple jump (47-3), Jake Moretti won the shot put (54-10) and Max Borghi scored heaps of points in the 100 and 200 on the way to the Panthers’ first-ever team title in boys track and field. Pomona racked up 94.5 points to Fountain’s 79, ending a two-year title run by the Trojans.
Poudre’s Henry Raymond. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
In other 5A action, Poudre senior Henry Raymond, appearing in the first individual events of his career at state, swept the distance events — the 800 (1:51.97), the 1,600 (4:18.67) and 3,200 (9:25.21). His 1,600 was on the final day, but he overcame tired legs and sealed his third gold medal before heading to Dartmouth University in the fall.
In each race, Raymond used a devastating kick on the last lap to get the job done.
“My strategy is always just to be in good position coming up on the last lap,” he said. “I tried to make sure no one passed me at any point, because I wanted to keep the lead and be in control.”
Asked what he’ll remember most from his spectacular three-day state meet, Raymond smiled when describing his 800 performance.
“I think the most memorable part for me was just finishing the 800,” he said. “It was so painful and I had been really nervous about that race. I did pretty well and got a good time.”
The Lutheran boys, in winning the 3A team title for the second straight year — they also claimed 2A in 2014 — had a Saturday highlighted by first-place finishes in the 110 hurdles (Matt Hanson, 14.68), the 100 and 200 (Kent Harris, 10.97, 21.89), and the 400 relay (43.27). They scored a monstrous 137 points as runner-up Platte Valley scored 65.
In the 2A team race, Cooper Ward won the 100 and 200 for Resurrection Christian, while teammate Evan Anderson outlasted everyone in the 400. The Cougars also claimed gold in the 400 and 1,600 relays, but Cedaredge countered with Shane Gates, the 110 hurdles, 300 hurdles and high jump champion, on their way to a 98-85 team title over the Cougars.
Cedaredge won their second-ever championship in any sport, adding to a 1A football title won in 2012.
Heritage Christian tallied 126 points, scoring heavily in relays and distance events, with depth in just about everything else, on their way to a team victory over second place Springfield (91 points). The Eagles, with Robbie Wagner, Caleb Wickstrom, Matt Lee and Taylor Motschall rolling to a winning 3:35.13 in the 1,600 relay, also won 1A in 2013 and 2014.
The 3A state meet record in the 400-meter dash was broken by both Sunday Abarca of Aspen (48.54) and Jared Keul of Manitou Springs (48.66). The previous top time was held by Brian Black of Yuma from 2002 when he ran 48.70.
Jordan Cherin, the Shining Mountain Waldorf senior who shattered the 1A 800 record on Friday, came back for the 400 record with a winning 48.80 on Saturday. Clay Russell of North Park had the state meet record of 49.00 from 2014.
The Longmont 400 relay of Conlan Berger, Eli Sullivan, Logan Goodner and Trevor Cook came close to the 4A record of 41.28 with a 41.39 on Saturday.
Paul Roberts, the only four-time champion in state history in boys cross country, overtook Aucencio Martinez’s (Center) 2002 state meet record in the 2A 1,600 of 4:21.35 with a 4:19.54. Roberts won the 1,600 four times and the 3,200 three times during a distance career for Lyons that registers as perhaps the greatest ever in the small-school ranks.
Ian Beckett, a McClave sophomore, broke the 1A record in the high jump by going 6 feet, 3 inches. Manitou Springs laid claim to the 3A 1,600 relay state meet record with a 3:21.46. Gunnison, who held the record of 3:22.42 from 2002, was overtaken by Conner Plackis, Luke Rodholm, Bryce Coop and Jared Keul.
Air Academy’s Katie Rainsberger. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
LAKEWOOD — If Katie Rainsberger isn’t the greatest girls distance runner in state history, she’s at least in the conversation.
The Air Academy senior proved her place in history again by breaking yet another record, this time the Class 4A 1,600 state meet-best of 4:47.54 by Niwot’s Elise Cranny in 2014. Rainsberger capped off an illustrious career for the Kadets with a winning time of 4 minutes, 45.27 seconds, close to her all-classification record of 4:44.31 from earlier in the season.
The University of Oregon recruit did a clean sweep of every event there is in distance the last two seasons — cross country, 800, 1,600, 3,200 and 3,200 relays. Rainsberger also won the Nike national championship in cross country as a senior. Asked what she’ll remember most from her final state meet at Jefferson County Stadium, Rainsberger said it’ll be a combination of things.
“Winning the 4×8 with my team, my best friend getting second in the 800 (Air Academy senior Kayla Wiitala) and just turning around and seeing her cross the line, and having everyone in the stadium cheering me on in the last lap,” she said. “I just really appreciate the time I’ve had here.”
For all of her accolades, Rainsberger wasn’t peerless in star power Saturday.
Denver East’s Arria Minor won the 100 (11.83), 200 (23.53) and 400-meter dashes (52.50) in 5A as a freshman. Her 400 time came as close as it could to the all-classification record of 52.49 by Ana Holland of Regis Jesuit in 2013. But, hey, she’s got three more years.
“I’m just proud that I got to experience this as a freshman,” she said. “Before the season started, I didn’t really have huge goals. I just wanted to make it into finals and then it was top-3. Then it turned to striving to win. There’s definitely a difference in my goals now.”
Moffat County senior Kayla Pinnt was the queen of the 3A sprints in also winning the 100 (12.22), the 200 (24.77) and the 400 in a state meet record time of 55.01. The Colorado State recruit won seven individual titles in her career.
“I came in here thinking two state titles,” she said. “That’s all I wanted to go home with, so I’m very proud to go home with three.”
Moffat County also won the 400 relay in a time of 50.03 seconds as Pinnt anchored after Emma Samuelson, freshman sister Quinn Pinnt, and Ary Shaffer.
Amazingly enough, the 4A sprints were also swept as Discovery Canyon sophomore Lauren Gale was the champion in times of 12.21, 24.19 and 53.72.
If that’s not enough to convince you of the in-state talent in girls track and field, consider Rock Canyon sophomore Emily Sloan’s 100 and 300 hurdles wins in times of 13.46 and 41.24. Already a two-time 5A champion in the 100 hurdles, Sloan didn’t shatter any records Saturday but sure came close to Carly Lester’s (Rocky Mountain) all-classification best of 41.18 in the 300 hurdles from the 2014 state meet.
Kim sophomore Zariah Mason took down her own 1A 100-meter dash record of 12.72 from last season with a 12.52 this time. She also became the first 1A competitor to ever run under 26 seconds in the 200-meter dash in posting a 25.81.
Peak to Peak has some spectacular freshman distance runners, again showing their strength Saturday in the 1,600 as first-years Anna Shults (5:08) and Quinn McConnell (5:12) placed first and second in 3A.
The Arapahoe 1,600 relay of Anna Hall, Sarah Slack, Julia Hall and Allison Marizza ran an eye-opening 3:46.70, coming close to the Colorado record of 3:45.69 by Littleton in 2011.
Records were set in the field events on the final day of competition as well as Sangre de Cristo senior Sarah Storey broke the 1A long jump record with a mark of 17 feet, 6.5 inches. Eaton junior Tarynn Sieg took care of the 3A state meet record in the shot put in posting a 45-5.
The Classical Academy’s Andrea Willis. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Andrea Willis, a senior pole vaulter for The Classical Academy and the Colorado record holder at 13 feet, 9 inches, vaulted past the 4A state meet record of 13-3 by going 13-4. She also had three attempts at 13-10, but just missed on each. Sophomore sister Erika was the state runner-up at 11 feet, 11 inches.
Raquel Valdez, a Mountain View senior, had a monstrous throw of 148 feet, 6 inches to claim the 4A crown in the discus. Cherokee Trail’s sophomore tandem of Sydnee Larkin (39-8.25) and Aumni Ashby (37-7) swept the top two places in the 5A triple jump.
As for team champions, Fort Collins won their second 5A championship in three years by scoring 81 points. The Lambkins had victories by Audra Koopman (long jump) and Becca Schulte (800).
Arapahoe (69) and Cherokee Trail (68) were in a close battle for second. Fort Collins added to a long-standing track and cross country tradition that is up there with any school in Colorado.
The Classical Academy, fantastic on the track and in the field, tallied 84.5 points to win 4A. Bethany Johns, Teresa Ambuul, Maggie Zielinski and Kendra Frieden won the 1,600 relay for the Titans in a time of 3 minutes, 52.10 seconds.
The Classical Academy has now won nine state championships in girls track and field, second-most in Colorado history behind only Mullen (11). Air Academy was the runner-up with 64.5 points.
Eaton won the 3A team championship with 107.5 points to Moffat County’s 88. The Reds, in going back-to-back in track, clinched their 33rd championship overall in school history.
In 2A, Paonia made history by becoming the fourth girls track and field program to win four state championships in a row. The Eagles became the first to do so since The Classical Academy won five in a row in 3A from 2006-2010. Limon won four in a row in 2A from 2004-07, while Mullen was a seven-time champion in 4A from 1997-2003.
Brianna Van Vleet, Randi Rapke, Shira Woods and Ashley Van Vleet won the 1,600 relay for the Eagles in 4:05.20. Taylor Carsten was the runner-up to Burlington’s Ellie Berry in the discus on Saturday, while Ashley Van Vleet was second to Wray’s Alyssa Valko in the 300 hurdles. More than anything, the 2A field was simply outmatched again by Paonia’s ability to score across all events. They finished with 139 points to Wray’s 76.
Heritage Christian defended their 1A team title from 2015 with 121 points, as Springfield was the runner-up with 69.5. Twin sisters Rebekah and Rachel Rairdon went out with numerous accolades. Rebekah won the 1,600 (5:36) and was second in the 300 hurdles (50.15) on Saturday.
Fort Collins’ Becca Schulte. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
LAKEWOOD — Becca Schulte had never toed the line for the 800-meter run at the state track and field championships, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t keep the idea handy in her back pocket.
“I wanted to give it a better shot this year, especially when I saw that no one had run super fast yet,” the Fort Collins senior said. “I was like, ‘This could be mine.’ It’s kind of crazy looking up and seeing the time.”
Schulte, the defending 400-meter state champion in Class 5A, was the No. 3 seed for the two-lapper on Friday at Jefferson County Stadium. Her season best of 2 minutes 15.12 seconds was within reach of Dakota Ridge’s Cayli Hume at 2:14.33.
“The first lap I just tried to stay at the front of the pack,” Schulte said. “It was a little faster than what I was expecting and what I had run in the past, but it’s the state meet. I was just trying to stay there.”
The seasoned veteran, arguably Colorado’s most versatile big-school standout, started to separate from the leaders on the back stretch of the final lap.
“Then Hannah from Fairview started to come up on the outside, so I had to start picking it up,” she explained. “Then once I hit the 200 I knew it was time to go, get around that turn as fast as I could and finish that straight.”
With four competitors separated by a mere 1.20 seconds, the one with the best closing speed turned the last curve and finished the home straight just ahead of the group. Schulte’s winning time of 2:11.62 was enough to hold off Hume (2:12.07), Madison Mooney (2:12.43) and Hannah Freeman (2:12.83).
Schulte’s 10 points in the event were critical for the team race between likely Fort Collins, the favorites and 2014 champions, and Cherokee Trail, the defending champions.
Schulte is also a top-four seed in the finals of both the 200 and 400-meter dashes. Denver East freshman Arria Minor, who came close to state records in both on Thursday at 23.42 and 52.80, is the No. 1 seed.
The second day of the state meet heated up in a number of events, but especially so for the 800. The race has a way of captivating the crowd — plenty of speed, tactics, and toughness all play a role in the physical and psychological challenges that come with the event.
With all five classifications going back-to-back during the afternoon session, Jeffco Stadium was alive after Shining Mountain Waldorf senior Jordan Cherin ran way under the 1A state meet record of 1:57.86.
“Before the race I had planned to start off fast,” he said. “I went out a couple seconds too fast. When Eric (Enriquez-Acosta) passed me I was already more tired than I was expecting to be. All I was thinking was that I had to stay with him. If I gave him a gap he would just blow me away.”
Enriquez-Acosta, the Idalia junior who ran away from Cherin for the 2015 title and record time, passed Cherin with about 250 meters to go. But he never let him get away and eventually passed him back while rolling to a time of 1:54.83.
The senior, who hopes to walk-on to the track team at Baylor University, had designs on his first state championship but the time caught him by surprise.
“I wasn’t expecting to run that fast,” Cherin said. “I still don’t know what to think about it, but it’s kind of unbelievable to me.”
Also the No. 1 seed in the 400 with the only 1A time under 50 seconds this season at 49.53, Cherin will have a busy Saturday with the 100 and 200 finals as well.
Air Academy’s Katie Rainsberger. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
As for other 800 champions, Bree-ann Carwin of Baca County (2:23.58) won 1A girls, Katy Parsons of Hotchkiss (2:18.91) won 2A, Quinn McConnell of Peak to Peak won 3A (2:16.02), and Katie Rainsberger of Air Academy won 4A (2:09.97).
McConnell is part of a stellar freshman group for the Pumas. Rainsberger, if she wins the 1,600 on Saturday, will complete a distance state championship sweep in cross country, the 3,200 relay, 800, 1,600 and 3,200 junior and senior years in 4A. Her time of 10:23.24 in the 3,200 on Friday was 32 seconds ahead of runner-up Lexi Reed of D’Evelyn.
Ben Kelley, a sophomore at Soroco, shattered a record of his own in 2A with a winning 1:55.61 800 to oust Paul Roberts of Lyons (1:58.08). Jared Keul of Manitou Springs (1:55.70) was the 3A winner, while Durango’s David Moenning (1:52.26) and Poudre’s Henry Raymond (1:51.97) were the big-school champions in 4A and 5A.
On a day where a number of state records fell, Roberts added to his legacy in the 2A 3,200 with a state meet record time of 9:26.17. The Cedaredge girls 400 relay broke their own 2A state record of 49.71 from 2015 with a 49.51 in prelims. Faith Christian’s Sarah Yocum set a new 3A standard in the 300 hurdles with a prelims time of 42.45, while Discovery Canyon’s sprint medley relay (Ayannah Lang, Jenny Hall, Lianna Ubungen, Lauren Gale) shattered the 4A record with a winning 1:44.54.
The Springfield girls (Audrey Rau, Jordan Reed, Jayci Westphal, Tatelyn Lasley) broke the 1A record in placing first in the 800 relay in 1:48.27. Both Valor Christian and The Classical Academy shattered the 4A record in the same relay in both prelims and finals as Valor’s Tess Boade, Megan Maccagnan, Bianca Lopez and Gianna Tesone won in 1:39.80. TCA went 1:40.28 for second.
In the 2A boys pole vault, both Cooper Daniels of Vail Christian (15-2) and Brandon Hinkle of Yuma (14-11) launched past the 1984 record of 14 feet, 9 inches held by Bill Culbreath of West Grand. Taylor Alexander, also of Vail Christian, cleared 14 feet, 9 inches to shatter the girls all-time best.
Classification records were also broken by Brianna Van Vleet of Paonia (2A long jump), Trent Loeffler of Arickaree (1A triple jump), and Jenna McKinley of Sangre de Cristo (1A shot put).
Ian Meek of Montrose won a memorable 4A 3,200 by two seconds over Tanner Norman of TCA 9:32-9:34, while Fountain-Fort Carson boys blitzed the 5A 800 relay field in 1:25.96.
The state track and field championships resume at Jeffco Stadium at 9:30 am on Saturday with the finals of the 100 hurdles in every classification.
The 2015 football players of the year. From left: Dylan Dixon of Eads; Keegan Wentz of Buena Vista; JoJo Domann of Pine Creek; Dylan McCaffrey of Valor Christian; Daniel Martin of Pueblo East; Kelton McCoy of Bayfield; Trey Walter of Sedgwick County. (Photos: Jack Eberhard/JacksActoinShots.com; Bill Cronin; Matt Daniels/MattDanPhoto.com; Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com; Jeff Tucker; and Sedgwick County HS)
The 2015 all-state football teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These teams were created following a lengthy process which included nominations from leagues and then a vote of coaches.
