AURORA — Spencer Painton ended the first nine holes by shooting a 37, or 1-over par. After 18, though, he was on top of the leaderboard.
Painton, a senior from Regis Jesuit, shot a 6-under 66 to lead the field at the Class 5A boys golf state championships, which teed-off Monday at Murphy Creek Golf Course in Aurora.
“I got some nerves out of the way at the start of the day,” said Painton. “I felt like I hit a lot of good putts, but just couldn’t find the hole on the front.”
Legacy’s Li Chen is in second following a 5-under 65, while Keegan Sheard from Ralston Valley sits in third at 2-under 70. (Full results)
Painton took over the second half of the course by shooting a 29. He recorded birdies on his last six holes.
Painton said that he felt the last hole was his best. On 18, Painton hit a 330-to-340 yard drive, hit an approach about 10 feet from the hole, and then sealed the lead with a clutch putt to finish the day.
“My putter and long swing were doing really well on the front — and then the putt started heating up on the back,” Painton said.
Last season, Painton finished just one stroke behind state champion Kyler Dunkle of Douglas County. He and Chen tied for second.
So far in this year’s championship, Dunkle is tied for seventh with six other players at 1-over 73.
Painton comes into the state tournament as the 5A boys golf Central regional qualifying champion. He won the qualifier, which was also played at Murphy Creek, by finishing at 4-under 66. Chen also played in the qualifier, but finished tied for 13th at 7-over 77.
Regis leads all teams at 4-under. Ralston Valley is nine strokes behind Regis, enough for second place. Cherry Creek and Legacy are tied for third at 6-over.
“We gained momentum after starting the game behind the lead by seven shots,” said Regis Jesuit coach Craig Rogers. “It was a pretty awesome example of the perseverance we have as a team.”
Jake Kelley and Chris Korte of Regis both had a good day, shooting 1-under and 3-over, respectively. Last year, Korte finished tied for sixth, shooting 8-over.
Rogers has a strong game plan for the second round.
“We need to maintain a lot of confidence,” Rogers said. “We can’t coast by any means, there are a lot of good teams out there. We need to play a little bit aggressive — and pick our moments.”
Rogers’ team has won state championships the past three years. Last year’s squad won the title with a 20-over 446, eight strokes ahead of Ralston Valley.
In 4A, at the Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen, Andrew Rademacher-Howe of Silver Creek leads the field at one-under 69. Glenn Workman, from Pueblo West, and Isaac Petersillie of Coronado are tied for second at even-par 70.
Silver Creek currently leads all teams in 4A with 13-over. Valor Christian holds second at 18-over and Cheyenne Mountain sits in third at 20-over.
On 3A’s day one at Pueblo Country Club, Alexander Dawson teammates Cameron Connor and Cole Folwell are tied for first in at 2-under 69. Tristan Rohrbaugh from Basalt will go into the second round at even-par 71.
Alexander Dawson has a commanding lead in 3A — they’re 22 strokes ahead of second-place Kent Denver, which finished at 22-over 235. Kent has won the past seven championships.
The second round of each state championship will begin tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. Medals will be awarded following each of the rounds where a state championship will be crowned.
Unbeaten Brighton has taken over atop the CHSAANow.com softball poll in 5A this week.
Previous No. 1 Douglas County went 1-2 last week, including losses to Legend and Rock Canyon, and dropped to No. 3.
Legend is No. 2 this week, while Rock Canyon joined the ranking at No. 7.
Complete rankings for all classes are below.
[divider]
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.
| Class 5A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Brighton (7) | 15-0-0 | 93 | 2 | 3-0-0 |
| 2 | Legend | 12-4-0 | 74 | 7 | 2-1-0 |
| 3 | Douglas County (1) | 12-2-0 | 69 | 1 | 1-2-0 |
| 4 | Fossil Ridge (1) | 16-1-0 | 65 | 4 | 5-0-0 |
| 5 | Eaglecrest | 15-2-0 | 58 | 3 | 4-0-0 |
| 6 | Dakota Ridge | 15-3-0 | 51 | 5 | 3-0-0 |
| 7 | Rock Canyon (1) | 11-4-0 | 45 | – | 2-1-0 |
| 8 | Ralston Valley | 12-4-0 | 41 | 6 | 2-1-0 |
| 9 | Legacy | 11-5-0 | 22 | 9 | 2-1-0 |
| 10 | Grandview | 13-3-0 | 16 | 8 | 3-0-0 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Loveland 10, Rampart 4, Grand Junction 1. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Loveland (10). | |||||
| Class 4A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Wheat Ridge (10) | 15-1-0 | 100 | 1 | 2-0-0 |
| 2 | Pueblo East | 14-2-1 | 83 | 3 | 3-0-0 |
| 3 | Erie | 12-2-1 | 82 | 2 | 3-0-0 |
| 4 | Berthoud | 13-2-0 | 65 | 5 | 3-0-0 |
| 5 | Ponderosa | 12-3-0 | 60 | 4 | 2-0-0 |
| 6 | Frederick | 10-6-0 | 30 | 6 | 2-3-0 |
| 7 | D’Evelyn | 12-5-0 | 27 | 7 | 3-1-0 |
| 8 | Discovery Canyon | 12-5-0 | 17 | – | 3-0-0 |
| 9 | Broomfield | 10-5-0 | 14 | 10 | 3-0-0 |
| 10 | Silver Creek | 10-5-0 | 12 | 9 | 3-0-0 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Thompson Valley 12, Mullen 11, Valor Christian 11, Pueblo West 6, Thomas Jefferson 6, Delta 5, Weld Central 4, Palmer Ridge 3, Mountain View 2. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Valor Christian (8). | |||||
| Class 3A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Strasburg (6) | 14-0-0 | 69 | 1 | 2-0-0 |
| 2 | Holy Family (1) | 13-1-0 | 62 | 2 | 2-1-0 |
| 3 | Sterling | 14-2-0 | 58 | 3 | 2-0-0 |
| 4 | Valley | 11-5-0 | 45 | 4 | 3-0-0 |
| 5 | Lamar | 13-2-1 | 44 | 6 | 1-0-0 |
| 6 | Eaton | 7-7-1 | 29 | 8 | 1-1-0 |
| 7 | Florence | 8-7-0 | 22 | – | 2-0-0 |
| 8 | Rocky Ford | 14-4-0 | 21 | 5 | 0-2-0 |
| 9 | La Junta | 10-6-0 | 20 | 7 | 2-0-0 |
| 10 | Basalt | 12-4-0 | 11 | 10 | 5-1-0 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Brush 4, Cedaredge 1. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Brush (9). | |||||
It was not a good night to play at the top.
The No. 1 teams in CHSAANow.com’s football polls for classes 5A, 4A and 3A all lost on Friday night. ThunderRidge, top-ranked in 5A, lost to No. 9 Regis Jesuit 35-12. Monarch, atop 4A, lost to No. 2 Montrose in a wild game, 39-34. And 3A Silver Creek was taken down 31-28 on a last-second field goal from Frederick.
“They believed in themselves and were able to play as one unit and we were able to come up with a big win,” Frederick coach Thad Lear told ColoradoPreps.com’s Built Ford Tough Scoreboard Show on Friday night.
Frederick trailed 14-0 in its game but was able to cut things to 14-7 before the half. Then, the Warriors scored on their first possession in the second half to make it 14-13.
“We missed the PAT, but the kids were excited, they believed in one another and they never let up,” Lear told the Scoreboard Show. “They never stopped.”
Frederick would eventually take a 28-21 lead before Silver Creek tied things at 28-all with 1:28 remaining. That set the stage for one more drive — and the game-winning 30-yard field goal from sophomore Dalton Nelson.
“They tried a pooch kick and we were able to get the ball on the 30, and we decided to run the ball a few times to see where we could get it to,” Lear told the Scoreboard Show. “We got a first down and completed a couple of short passes, and we had a couple of timeouts. … I think it ended up being a 30-yard field goal and we were excited to have the opportunity.
“I can’t say enough about our kids, and our kicker, he stepped in. He’s a sophomore, first year playing football, and he kicked the game-winner.”
Likewise, Montrose had to dig its way out of a hole, this one 21-0 to top-ranked Monarch midway through the second quarter.
The Indians clawed their way back to 21-18 with 2:16 to play in the third, but Monarch responded with a quick touchdown which made it 28-18.
Montrose had an answer of its own, and cut things to 28-25 before recovering an onside kick and scoring again. At that point, it was 32-28 Indians and 8:30 remained in the game.
Monarch marched down and regained the lead at 34-32 with 3:47 to go, but it was short-lived. Montrose countered with a scoring drive, and took the lead at 39-34. Monarch had one final drive, but fell just short deep in Montrose territory. Read a full recap of the game here.
Regis Jesuit’s upset of ThunderRidge in 5A was a different story. The Raiders led from the outset and were up 28-0 at the half.
ThunderRidge got within 28-6 in the third, but Regis put things out of reach on Jalen Williams’ five-yard run with 11 minutes remaining. Find photos from the game here.
It wasn’t all bad for No. 1 teams on Friday night. Top-ranked Brush beat University in 2A, 56-13; 8-man’s Hoehne handled Manzanola 55-8; and 6-man’s Liberty/Stratton beat Cheraw 74-6. Buena Vista, No. 1 in 1A, plays Salida on Saturday.
In other top-10 action, 5A No. 7 Fairview beat No. 4 Ralston Valley 43-18; 4A No. 6 Montbello beat No. 5 Wheat Ridge 20-0; 2A No. 5 Manitou Springs beat No. 4 Florence 26-14; and 1A No. 4 Hotchkiss beat No. 3 Cedaredge. Find a complete top-10 scoreboard here.
Before turning its attention to the postseason, Ralston Valley softball has some unfinished business in the Class 5A Jeffco League.
The No. 6 ranked Mustangs took one step closer to a shot at winning their 10th conference softball title since Ralston Valley High School in Arvada opened during the 2000-01 school year. Ralston Valley (12-4, 5-1 in league) remained atop the 5A Jeffco standings with a 2-0 shutout victory at home Saturday morning against Columbine (11-4, 3-3).
Dakota Ridge (15-3, 6-1) is the only other 5A Jeffco team with one league loss going into the final week of the regular season. The Eagles used an eight-run fourth inning Saturday to hand rival Chatfield an 11-4 loss. It was Chatfield’s second conference loss. Ralston Valley edged Dakota Ridge 2-1 at the start of the conference schedule.
“I think until you get out of league that is what you concentrate on,” Ralston Valley coach Wendy Davies said. “You have to focus on one win at a time because if you don’t win those you aren’t going anywhere.”
While regional/state qualifying tournaments loom just around the corner (Saturday, Oct. 12), the Mustangs take pride in winning the always deep and competitive 5A Jeffco League.
“I definitely think league is important to all of us,” Ralston Valley senior Sierra Galbreath said. “I think that league (title) would prove how bad we’ve wanted it this whole season.”
Columbine had dropped its previous two conference games to Dakota Ridge and Pomona. However, the Rebels gave the Mustangs all they could handle. Columbine actually out-hit Ralston Valley by a six to three count, but three errors cost the young Rebels that start just two seniors.
“We know we’re good, but we are really young,” Columbine coach Robin Ortiz said. “What we talked about coming into the game is we couldn’t make mistakes. Ralston Valley is good enough that they’ll capitalize on mistakes.”
The Mustangs pushed across their first run in the bottom of the second inning. Senior Brenna Martinez was caught in a pickle between second and third base, but a throwing error allowed Martinez to escape and score.
Ralston Valley had opportunities in the fourth and fifth innings to extend its lead, but Columbine junior pitcher Madison Reuter was able to keep the Rebels within a run. The biggest jam Reuter was able to get out of was a bases loaded situation with Galbreath at the plate. Galbreath eventually flied out to center field to end the bottom of the fifth inning.
Reuter allowed three hits while walking three batters and striking out two. Ralston Valley senior McKenzie Sadler provided an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning with an RBI double to the gap that scored Martinez.
Columbine threatened in the top of the seventh inning with singles by junior Shelby Copley and sophomore Alex Scheid to bring the go-ahead run to the plate with two outs. However, Ralston Valley sophomore pitcher Rylie Strong struck out pitch-hitter Kacey Cruz to end the game.
Strong allowed six hits and struck out five in her fourth shutout victory this season. She also retired 12 straight batters in the middle innings.
“I just have to make sure I throw my pitches in the right spots,” Strong said of protecting a one-run lead for the majority of the game. “I really don’t get nervous.”
Davies gave credit to her senior leadership, Strong for another solid outing and catcher Alexa Samuels for calling a good game behind the plate.
Ralston Valley finishes out its conference schedule with back-to-back games this Monday (Sept. 30) and Tuesday (Oct. 1). The Mustangs travel to Standley Lake for a 4:30 p.m. Monday before hosting Chatfield at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“I think the next two are going to be intense games,” Davies said. “We just have to take care of business on our own end.”
Columbine closes out its regular season against Arvada West and Chatfield before heading into the postseason.
All but one boys golf regional completed play last week, and that made for a number of changes to CHSAANow.com’s boys golf polls this week.
The No. 1 teams — Regis Jesuit (5A), Valor Christian (4A) and Alexander Dawson (3A) — stayed put, but a total of seven new teams joined the rankings. In 5A, Fossil Ridge (No. 8) and Grand Junction (No. 10) joined; 4A added Coronado (No. 7), Steamboat Springs (No. 9) and Thompson Valley (No. 10); while new to 3A were Eaton (No. 5), and Aspen (No. 7).
Complete rankings for all classes are below.
[divider]
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.
| Class 5A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | PTS | PVS | ||
| 1 | Regis Jesuit (5) | 50 | 1 | ||
| 2 | Boulder | 43 | 3 | ||
| 3 | Cherry Creek | 40 | 2 | ||
| 4 | Ralston Valley | 30 | 4 | ||
| 5 | Columbine | 26 | 9 | ||
| 6 | Heritage | 23 | 6 | ||
| 7 | Arapahoe | 20 | 7 | ||
| 8 | Fossil Ridge | 17 | – | ||
| 9 | Fairview | 14 | 5 | ||
| 10 | Grand Junction | 7 | – | ||
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Legacy 2, Douglas County 1, Fort Collins 1, Monarch 1. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Douglas County (8), Pine Creek (10). | |||||
| Class 4A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | PTS | PVS | ||
| 1 | Valor Christian (4) | 40 | 1 | ||
| 2 | Cheyenne Mountain | 35 | 3 | ||
| 3 | Silver Creek | 33 | 4 | ||
| 4 | Durango | 24 | 9 | ||
| 5 | D’Evelyn | 21 | 8 | ||
| 6 | Pueblo South | 18 | 2 | ||
| 7 | Coronado | 16 | – | ||
| 8 | Evergreen | 15 | 7 | ||
| 9 | Steamboat Springs | 12 | – | ||
| 10 | Thompson Valley | 6 | – | ||
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| None. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Montezuma-Cortez (5), Windsor (6), Mullen (10). | |||||
| Class 3A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | PTS | PVS | ||
| 1 | Alexander Dawson (5) | 50 | 1 | ||
| 2 | Lutheran | 44 | 2 | ||
| 3 | Peak to Peak | 38 | 4 | ||
| 4 | Holy Family | 33 | 3 | ||
| 5 | Eaton | 25 | – | ||
| 6 | Kent Denver | 24 | 5 | ||
| 7 | Aspen | 21 | – | ||
| 8 | Vail Christian | 15 | 7 | ||
| 9 | Estes Park | 9 | 6 | ||
| 10 | Sterling | 6 | 8 | ||
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Vail Mountain 5, Colorado Academy 2, Trinidad 2, Manitou Springs 1. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Resurrection Christian (9), Colorado Academy (10). | |||||
Brush took down former No. 1 Platte Valley on Friday. Monday, the Beetdiggers took its spot atop CHSAANow.com’s Class 2A football poll.
Brush, which won the game 28-10, was ranked second last week. It received all 10 first-place votes in the poll. Platte Valley dropped to third, behind Kent Denver.
The 2A poll added Faith Christian (No. 8) and Aspen (No. 10) this week.
In 5A, ThunderRide continued to lead the way and received 13 first-place votes to No. 2 Valor Christian’s 11. Columbine remained in third, and Ralston Valley stayed at No. 4.
Chatfield moved up from seventh to fifth, and is followed by No. 6 Cherokee Trail and No. 7 Fairview. Grandview is eighth, Regis Jesuit is ninth, and Cherry Creek rejoined the ranking at No. 10.
Monarch stayed atop 4A’s ranking, but there’s a new No. 2 team in that poll: Montrose, which moved up from third. It’s excellent timing, considering the two teams play Friday.
Falcon is third this week, followed by Loveland, Wheat Ridge and Montbello, which beat former No. 2 Denver South on Saturday. South dropped to No. 8.
Montbello and Wheat Ridge play Friday.
Pine Creek was the lone new team to the 4A poll.
The 3A ranking added No. 9 Delta and No. 10 Evergreen. Silver Creek remained at No. 1.
In 1A, Meeker (No. 10) was the lone newcomer.
There were no new teams to the 8-man poll, but 6-man added Briggsdale (No. 4).
Complete rankings for all classes are below.
[divider]
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Go to: 5A | 4A | 3A | 2A | 1A | 8-man | 6-man
| Class 5A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | ThunderRidge (13) | 4-0 | 229 | 1 | W |
| 2 | Valor Christian (11) | 3-1 | 216 | 2 | W |
| 3 | Columbine | 4-0 | 161 | 3 | W |
| 4 | Ralston Valley | 3-1 | 140 | 4 | Bye |
| 5 | Chatfield | 4-0 | 121 | 7 | W |
| 6 | Cherokee Trail | 3-1 | 118 | 8 | W |
| 7 | Fairview | 3-0 | 88 | 9 | W |
| 8 | Grandview | 3-1 | 71 | 10 | W |
| 9 | Regis Jesuit | 3-1 | 41 | 5 | L |
| 10 | Cherry Creek | 3-1 | 32 | – | W |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Grand Junction 31, Pomona 27, Rocky Mountain 17, Doherty 13, Douglas County 13, Arapahoe 3. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Douglas County (6). | |||||
| Class 4A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Monarch (19) | 3-0 | 203 | 1 | W |
| 2 | Montrose (2) | 5-0 | 176 | 3 | W |
| 3 | Falcon | 4-0 | 141 | 5 | W |
| 4 | Loveland | 3-0 | 117 | 4 | W |
| 5 | Wheat Ridge | 3-1 | 93 | 6 | W |
| 6 | Montbello | 4-0 | 89 | 9 | W |
| 7 | Standley Lake | 4-0 | 64 | 8 | W |
| 8 | Denver South | 3-1 | 56 | 2 | L |
| 9 | Pueblo West | 3-1 | 47 | 7 | W |
| 10 | Pine Creek | 2-2 | 41 | – | W |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Durango 36, Windsor 35, Pueblo Centennial 23, Sand Creek 20, Dakota Ridge 5, Ponderosa 4, Broomfield 2, Longmont 1, Thompson Valley 1. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Windsor (10). | |||||
| Class 3A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Silver Creek (11) | 3-0 | 139 | 1 | W |
| 2 | Rifle (1) | 4-0 | 119 | 2 | W |
| 3 | Palisade | 4-0 | 98 | 4 | W |
| 4 | Elizabeth | 3-1 | 92 | 5 | W |
| 5 | Coronado (1) | 5-0 | 91 | 6 | W |
| 6 | Lutheran (2) | 4-0 | 74 | 7 | W |
| 7 | Holy Family | 2-1 | 57 | 3 | L |
| 8 | Discovery Canyon | 4-1 | 42 | 9 | W |
| 9 | Delta | 3-1 | 30 | – | W |
| 10 | Evergreen | 3-1 | 23 | – | W |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| The Classical Academy 19, Mead 18, D’Evelyn 9, Roosevelt 9, Eagle Valley 3, Erie 2. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Roosevelt (8), Conifer (10). | |||||
| Class 2A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Brush (10) | 3-0 | 100 | 2 | W |
| 2 | Kent Denver | 3-1 | 79 | 3 | W |
| 3 | Platte Valley | 2-1 | 70 | 1 | L |
| 4 | Florence | 3-1 | 61 | 4 | W |
| 5 | Manitou Springs | 4-0 | 54 | 5 | W |
| 6 | Strasburg | 4-0 | 47 | 7 | W |
| 7 | Lamar | 4-0 | 46 | 6 | W |
| 8 | Faith Christian | 3-2 | 33 | – | W |
| 9 | Denver West | 4-0 | 17 | 9 | W |
| 10 | Aspen | 3-1 | 13 | – | W |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| University 10, Eaton 7, Fort Lupton 5, Ridgeview Academy 4, Basalt 2, Bennett 2. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Eaton (8), Bayfield (10). | |||||
| Class 1A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Buena Vista (8) | 4-0 | 123 | 1 | W |
| 2 | Limon (4) | 4-0 | 108 | 2 | W |
| 3 | Cedaredge (1) | 3-1 | 89 | 3 | Bye |
| 4 | Hotchkiss | 3-1 | 80 | 4 | W |
| 5 | Centauri | 3-1 | 65 | 9 | W |
| 6 | Holyoke | 4-0 | 59 | 5 | W |
| 7 | Wiggins | 3-0 | 45 | 10 | W |
| 8 | Monte Vista | 3-1 | 44 | 6 | L |
| 9 | Wray | 2-2 | 27 | 8 | L |
| 10 | Meeker | 4-0 | 24 | – | W |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Rye 15, Center 12, Jefferson 9, Paonia 8, Lyons 5, Crowley County 3. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Crowley County (7). | |||||
| 8-man | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Hoehne (5) | 4-0 | 68 | 1 | W |
| 2 | Dayspring Christian (2) | 4-0 | 65 | 2 | W |
| 3 | Caliche | 4-0 | 46 | 5 | W |
| 4 | Norwood | 3-1 | 45 | 4 | W |
| 5 | Akron | 3-1 | 43 | 3 | L |
| 6 | Simla | 4-0 | 40 | 6 | W |
| 7 | Kiowa | 4-1 | 23 | 9 | W |
| 8 | Granada | 3-1 | 19 | 8 | W |
| 9 | McClave | 3-1 | 15 | 7 | L |
| 10 | Dove Creek | 4-1 | 14 | 10 | W |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Fowler 6, Sargent 2. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| None. | |||||
| 6-man | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Liberty/Stratton (6) | 4-0 | 38 | 1 | W |
| 2 | Hi-Plains (2) | 4-0 | 28 | 2 | W |
| 3 | Arickaree | 4-0 | 20 | 3 | W |
| 4 | Briggsdale | 3-0 | 16 | – | W |
| 5 | Eads | 3-1 | 15 | 4 | W |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Peetz 2, Hanover 1. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Fleming (5). | |||||
Douglas County is unbeaten, and now, the No. 1 team in Class 5A softball.
The Huskies moved up from No. 3 after wins over Heritage and Mountain Vista last week — as well as a loss by former No. 1 Eaglecrest to Grandview.
[divider]
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.
| Class 5A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Douglas County (4) | 11-0-0 | 81 | 3 | 3-0-0 |
| 2 | Brighton (4) | 12-0-0 | 79 | 2 | 3-0-0 |
| 3 | Eaglecrest (1) | 11-2-0 | 72 | 1 | 5-1-0 |
| 4 | Fossil Ridge (1) | 11-1-0 | 71 | 4 | 2-1-0 |
| 5 | Dakota Ridge | 12-3-0 | 43 | 5 | 3-1-0 |
| 6 | Ralston Valley | 10-3-0 | 39 | 6 | 3-1-0 |
| 7 | Legend | 10-3-0 | 33 | 9 | 3-0-0 |
| 8 | Grandview | 10-3-0 | 29 | 7 | 3-1-0 |
| 9 | Legacy | 9-4-0 | 23 | 8 | 4-0-0 |
| 10 | Loveland | 8-2-0 | 16 | 10 | 3-1-0 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Columbine 15, Rock Canyon 12, Grand Junction 10, Rampart 10, Heritage 7, Pine Creek 5, Rocky Mountain 4, Mountain Range 1. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| None. | |||||
| Class 4A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Wheat Ridge (9) | 13-1-0 | 99 | 1 | 4-0-0 |
| 2 | Erie | 9-2-1 | 81 | 2 | 2-0-0 |
| 3 | Pueblo East (1) | 11-2-1 | 76 | 3 | 3-0-0 |
| 4 | Ponderosa | 10-3-0 | 69 | 4 | 1-1-0 |
| 5 | Berthoud | 10-2-0 | 51 | 6 | 2-0-0 |
| 6 | Frederick | 8-3-0 | 46 | 5 | 2-0-0 |
| 7 | D’Evelyn | 9-4-0 | 24 | 8 | 3-1-0 |
| 8 | Valor Christian | 11-4-0 | 23 | 9 | 0-1-0 |
| 9 | Silver Creek | 7-5-0 | 16 | 7 | 0-2-0 |
| 10 | Broomfield | 7-5-0 | 15 | 10 | 2-0-0 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Pueblo West 14, Discovery Canyon 7, Mullen 7, Pueblo South 6, Thompson Valley 6, Thomas Jefferson 4, Mountain View 3, Montrose 2, Woodland Park 2. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| None. | |||||
| Class 3A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Strasburg (5) | 12-0-0 | 59 | 1 | 2-0-0 |
| 2 | Holy Family (1) | 11-0-0 | 53 | 3 | 3-0-0 |
| 3 | Sterling | 12-2-0 | 48 | 4 | 2-0-0 |
| 4 | Valley | 8-5-0 | 42 | 2 | 1-3-0 |
| 5 | Rocky Ford | 14-2-0 | 33 | 7 | 2-0-0 |
| 6 | Lamar | 12-2-1 | 30 | 6 | 3-0-0 |
| 7 | La Junta | 8-6-0 | 23 | 5 | 1-3-0 |
| 8 | Eaton | 6-6-1 | 17 | 8 | 2-1-0 |
| 9 | Brush | 7-6-0 | 10 | 9 | 1-1-0 |
| 10 | Basalt | 7-3-0 | 7 | – | 2-0-0 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Cedaredge 4, Florence 4. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Cedaredge (10). | |||||
ARVADA — Ralston Valley sophomore Hannah Peterson delivered on an extra-inning promise Tuesday afternoon.
With the Class 5A Jeffco League softball showdown between No. 5 Dakota Ridge and No. 6 Ralston Valley locked in a 1-1 tie going to the bottom of the eighth inning, Peterson told one of her closest friends — starter pitching and fellow sophomore Rylie Strong — she would hit the ball. Peterson came through, ripping an RBI single to score freshman Alexa Samuels from second base and give the Mustangs (8-2, 1-0 in league) a 2-1 victory in their conference opener.
“Jeffco 5A is always tough,” Ralston Valley coach Wendy Davies said. “Dakota Ridge is a tough team. Having a chance to start out with them is always good. I think it builds your confidence when you beat a team that has a tradition of being good.”
Peterson’s confidence might have been a little shaken early on. She had a couple of miscues leading up to her being the hero with the walk-off RBI. The sophomore was tagged out trying to stretch a single into a double in the first inning and had an error at third base in the top of the eighth inning.
Asked about dwelling on her mistakes, Peterson said, “I did a little bit. I’m not going to lie. I probably shouldn’t have done that.”
Peterson was the only Mustang to have a multiple-hit game off Dakota Ridge senior ace Rachelle Foos. Junior Kat Schaefer had the other big hit for the Mustangs, an RBI double in the fifth inning to score sophomore Katelyn Eldredge at tie game at 1.
“It’s nice that (the players) believe in themselves enough and (the coaches) believe they will come through in those situations,” Davies said.
Dakota Ridge (10-3, 1-1) couldn’t come up with a big hit after the Eagles took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Sophomore Megan Sansburn laced a triple and scored on a single by junior Baillie Brooks. It was the only run of the game for Dakota Ridge, who stranded 12 runners on base.
Strong improved her pitching record to 8-1 on the season by scattering 11 hits and working out of multiple jams. She also got plenty of help from her defense. Senior Sierra Galbreath turned a key double play in the top of the eighth inning when the Eagles had runners at first and second with no outs.
“We didn’t have timely hits and that’s the name of the game,” first-year Dakota Ridge coach Marv Van Lingen said.
Foos was solid on the mound for Dakota Ridge, giving up just seven hits over eight innings while striking out six batters in the loss. She pitched a two-hit shutout the day before in Dakota Ridge’s league opening 8-0 victory against Bear Creek.
The next two weeks will be highly competitive with 5A Jeffco teams fighting to win the league title. Van Lingen has been a part of the Eagles’ softball program since the early 2000s before taking over the head job this season. He is confident that his squad has enough time to be in the mix for a league title, but it won’t be easy.
“When it gets to league (play) it always seems that every team picks up their game,” Van Lingen said. “There is no team in here (5A Jeffco) that you overlook.”
Douglas County took down then-No. 3 Cherry Creek on Monday night. Tuesday afternoon, the Huskies find themselves ranked.
Douglas County jumped into this week’s CHSAANow.com football poll in 5A at No. 6. It is the first time this season the Huskies have been ranked.
Cherry Creek, meanwhile, dropped all the way out in something of a surprise.
Cherokee Trail returned to the 5A ranking following a week on the outside looking in. The Cougars are eighth.
ThunderRidge held on to 5A’s top spot — but only narrowly. The Grizzles edged No. 2 Valor Christian by two overall points, despite beating then-No. 4 Grandview last week.
Columbine bumped up to third from fifth, and Ralston Valley went from sixth to fourth. Regis Jesuit rounds out the top five.
Chatfield is No. 7, Fairview is No. 9, and Grandview dropped from No. 4 to No. 10 following its loss to ThunderRidge.
Monarch continued to lead the 4A poll, which added Montbello for the first time this season, at ninth. Along with Denver South (No. 2 in 4A) and Denver West (No. 9 in 2A), it means Denver Public Schools has three ranked schools.
Complete rankings for all classes are below.
[divider]
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Go to: 5A | 4A | 3A | 2A | 1A | 8-man | 6-man
| Class 5A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | ThunderRidge (13) | 3-0 | 229 | 1 | W |
| 2 | Valor Christian (11) | 2-1 | 227 | 2 | W |
| 3 | Columbine | 3-0 | 137 | 5 | W |
| 4 | Ralston Valley | 3-1 | 111 | 6 | W |
| 5 | Regis Jesuit | 3-0 | 108 | 7 | W |
| 6 | Douglas County | 3-0 | 89 | – | W |
| 7 | Chatfield | 3-0 | 74 | 9 | W |
| 8 | Cherokee Trail | 2-1 | 71 | – | W |
| 9 | Fairview | 2-0 | 64 | 8 | Bye |
| 10 | Grandview | 2-1 | 63 | 4 | L |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Cherry Creek 55, Pomona 31, Doherty 15, Grand Junction 15, Arapahoe 11, Mountain Vista 8, Legend 7, Fountain-Ft. Carson 4, Mullen 2. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Cherry Creek (3), Grand Junction (10). | |||||
| Class 4A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Monarch (20) | 2-0 | 214 | 1 | Bye |
| 2 | Denver South (2) | 3-0 | 186 | 2 | W |
| 3 | Montrose (1) | 4-0 | 170 | 4 | W |
| 4 | Loveland | 2-0 | 122 | 7 | Bye |
| 5 | Falcon | 3-0 | 112 | 6 | W |
| 6 | Wheat Ridge | 2-1 | 95 | 5 | W |
| 7 | Pueblo West | 2-1 | 69 | 3 | L |
| 8 | Standley Lake | 3-0 | 60 | 9 | W |
| 9 | Montbello | 3-0 | 43 | – | W |
| 10 | Windsor | 2-1 | 42 | 10 | W |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Durango 34, Pine Creek 34, Mesa Ridge 22, Pueblo Centennial 21, Sand Creek 11, Thompson Valley 7, Widefield 6, Vista Ridge 5, Dakota Ridge 4, Mountain View 3, Broomfield 2, Longmont 2, Pueblo South 2. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Pine Creek (8). | |||||
| Class 3A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Silver Creek (12) | 2-0 | 159 | 1 | Bye |
| 2 | Rifle (3) | 3-0 | 140 | 3 | W |
| 3 | Holy Family | 2-0 | 122 | 4 | Bye |
| 4 | Palisade | 3-0 | 90 | 6 | W |
| 5 | Elizabeth | 2-1 | 88 | 10 | W |
| 6 | Coronado (1) | 4-0 | 81 | 8 | W |
| 7 | Lutheran (2) | 3-0 | 71 | 7 | Bye |
| 8 | Roosevelt | 1-1 | 59 | 9 | Bye |
| 9 | Discovery Canyon | 3-1 | 58 | 2 | L |
| 10 | Conifer | 2-1 | 26 | 5 | L |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Delta 23, Erie 21, D’Evelyn 19, The Classical Academy 11, Evergreen 11, Eagle Valley 6, Pueblo East 3, Mead 2. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| None. | |||||
| Class 2A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Platte Valley (8) | 2-0 | 96 | 1 | Bye |
| 2 | Brush (1) | 2-0 | 85 | 2 | Bye |
| 3 | Kent Denver (1) | 2-1 | 76 | 3 | W |
| 4 | Florence | 2-1 | 57 | 4 | W |
| 5 | Manitou Springs | 3-0 | 51 | 8 | W |
| 6 | Lamar | 3-0 | 45 | 9 | W |
| 7 | Strasburg | 3-0 | 43 | 6 | W |
| 8 | Eaton | 1-1 | 34 | 7 | Bye |
| 9 | Denver West | 3-0 | 15 | – | W |
| 10 | Bayfield | 2-1 | 11 | 10 | W |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| La Junta 9, Faith Christian 8, Fort Lupton 7, University 5, Aspen 3, KIPP 3, Sterling 2. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| La Junta (5). | |||||
| Class 1A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Buena Vista (9) | 3-0 | 140 | 1 | W |
| 2 | Limon (4) | 3-0 | 112 | 2 | W |
| 3 | Cedaredge (2) | 3-1 | 109 | 3 | W |
| 4 | Hotchkiss | 2-1 | 74 | 4 | W |
| 5 | Holyoke | 3-0 | 71 | 5 | W |
| 6 | Monte Vista | 3-0 | 68 | 6 | W |
| 7 | Crowley County | 3-0 | 53 | 8 | W |
| 8 | Wray | 2-1 | 40 | 7 | W |
| 9 | Centauri | 2-1 | 39 | – | W |
| 10 | Wiggins | 2-0 | 36 | 9 | Bye |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Meeker 20, Rye 12, Resurrection Christian 10, Clear Creek 8, Front Range Christian 7, Jefferson 7, Roaring Fork 7, Burlington 6, Paonia 3, Center 2, Cornerstone Christian 1. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Paonia (10). | |||||
| 8-man | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Hoehne (6) | 3-0 | 77 | 1 | W |
| 2 | Dayspring Christian (2) | 3-0 | 74 | 2 | W |
| 3 | Akron | 3-0 | 58 | 3 | W |
| 4 | Norwood | 2-1 | 43 | 7 | L |
| 5 | Caliche | 3-0 | 36 | 4 | W |
| 6 | Simla | 3-0 | 33 | 5 | Bye |
| 7 | McClave | 3-0 | 29 | 6 | W |
| 8 | Granada | 2-1 | 24 | 8 | W |
| 9 | Kiowa | 3-1 | 22 | 9 | W |
| 10 | Dove Creek | 3-1 | 21 | 10 | W |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Sangre de Cristo 10, Fowler 4, Haxtun 3, Hayden 3, Soroco 2, Walsh 1. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| None. | |||||
| 6-man | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Liberty/Stratton (6) | 3-0 | 38 | 1 | W |
| 2 | Hi-Plains (2) | 3-0 | 30 | 2 | W |
| 3 | Arickaree | 3-0 | 19 | 4 | W |
| 4 | Eads | 2-1 | 18 | 3 | L |
| 5 | Fleming | 2-1 | 8 | 5 | W |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Prairie 4, Briggsdale 1, Hanover 1, Peetz 1. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| None. | |||||