DENVER — The first day of the state spirit championships is in the books, and five champions were crowned on Friday night.
Grandview captured the 5A pom competition; Rock Canyon won 5A cheer; Dakota Ridge won 4A/5A co-ed cheer; Mountain Vista won hip hop; and Heritage won jazz.
Below are the complete results, including the finalists and their order of finish.
[divider]
Class 5A poms
Grandview won the 5A poms competition at state spirit. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Prelims
Rank
Team
Score
Tie break
1
Grandview
94.83
471.00
2
Thunderridge
94.50
470.50
3
Cherry Creek
93.33
466.50
4
Ralston Valley
92.67
461.50
5
Legacy
92.50
461.50
6
Arapahoe
92.00
462.00
7
Chatfield
90.17
450.00
8
Regis
89.33
445.50
9
Fairview
89.17
440.00
10
Fruita Monument
87.33
437.50
11
Horizon
86.50
431.50
12
Prairie View
84.50
422.00
13
Eaglecrest
83.33
419.00
14
Rocky Mountain
83.17
417.50
14
Doherty
83.17
414.00
16
Boulder
83.00
417.00
17
Arvada West
82.00
408.50
18
Dakota Ridge
81.17
404.50
19
Littleton
80.33
400.00
20
Brighton
79.50
399.50
21
Grand Junction
79.17
394.00
22
Fossil Ridge
79.00
399.00
23
Denver East
78.67
393.00
24
Central (Gj)
76.33
380.00
25
Mountain Range
76.17
384.50
26
Bear Creek
70.67
357.00
Finals
Rank
Team
Score
Tie break
1
Grandview
95.00
473.00
2
Thunderridge
94.67
472.50
2
Legacy
94.67
468.00
4
Arapahoe
93.83
468.50
5
Cherry Creek
93.33
468.00
6
Ralston Valley
92.50
462.00
[divider]
Class 5A cheer
Rock Canyon won the 5A cheer competition at state spirit. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Prelims
Rank
Team
Score
Tie break
1
Rock Canyon
91.47
457.00
2
Grandview
88.63
445.00
3
Douglas County
88.53
441.10
4
Eaglecrest
87.70
435.70
5
Chaparral
85.83
428.20
6
Rocky Mountain
83.67
419.10
7
Arapahoe
83.17
411.20
8
Pine Creek
81.70
407.20
9
Fossil Ridge
79.10
397.70
10
Regis
76.63
388.60
11
Prairie View
73.93
366.80
12
Horizon
73.83
369.50
13
Legacy
71.37
354.60
14
Monarch
71.27
356.80
15
Standley Lake
70.83
348.10
16
Highlands Ranch
70.83
355.30
17
Loveland
69.93
347.90
18
Cherry Creek
69.63
349.70
19
Bear Creek
68.87
335.20
20
Poudre
68.67
342.00
21
Heritage
68.40
339.90
22
Denver East
68.07
343.30
23
Smoky Hill
67.93
340.60
24
Grand Junction
66.87
331.60
25
Rangeview
65.73
331.60
26
Brighton
62.90
317.50
27
Columbine
62.73
312.20
28
Rampart
59.47
293.20
29
Littleton
58.87
288.70
30
Greeley West
57.90
291.50
31
Thornton
54.40
269.70
32
Boulder
53.97
275.70
33
Northglenn
52.33
274.40
34
George Washington
48.07
249.90
35
Overland
45.77
231.80
36
Chatfield
44.73
230.30
37
Hinkley
35.00
182.40
38
Gateway
0.00
0.00
Finals
Rank
Team
Score
Tie break
1
Rock Canyon
93.23
466.80
2
Eaglecrest
91.10
456.50
3
Grandview
89.70
447.30
4
Pine Creek
87.53
431.80
5
Rocky Mountain
83.40
417.80
6
Douglas County
83.23
418.50
7
Arapahoe
83.13
421.80
8
Chaparral
80.87
404.50
[divider]
Class 4A/5A co-ed cheer
Dakota Ridge won the co-ed cheer competition at state spirit. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Prelims
Rank
Team
Score
Tie break
1
Dakota Ridge
88.53
440.60
2
Mountain Vista
84.23
421.80
3
Thunderridge
76.63
385.30
4
Castle View
76.40
379.10
5
Cherokee Trail
74.93
372.40
6
Palisade
72.80
366.00
7
Air Academy
71.47
357.00
8
Falcon
70.50
355.50
9
Legend
70.37
353.30
10
Ralston Valley
69.67
342.30
11
Fruita Monument
68.30
339.50
12
Fountain-Ft. Carson
66.80
332.10
13
Centaurus
65.27
326.60
14
Liberty
63.90
317.30
15
Greeley Central
60.90
311.10
16
Doherty
59.07
297.00
17
Arvada West
58.13
296.80
18
Westminster
56.27
285.20
19
Montrose
55.43
282.10
20
Steamboat Springs
53.17
276.50
21
Abraham Lincoln
52.33
261.70
22
Central (Gj)
51.47
261.50
23
Pomona
50.30
252.40
24
Pueblo County
48.97
247.40
25
Denver West
48.10
239.50
26
John F. Kennedy
47.73
243.30
27
Arvada
44.43
228.00
28
Aurora Central
44.37
215.00
29
Adams City
43.93
224.80
30
Denver South
41.90
214.30
31
Skyview
0.00
0.00
31
Sierra
0.00
0.00
Finals
Rank
Team
Score
Tie break
1
Dakota Ridge
93.80
465.60
2
Mountain Vista
83.17
414.20
3
Castleview
78.20
391.50
4
Thunderridge
74.30
375.00
5
Cherokee Trail
72.43
358.00
6
Palisade
57.77
288.30
[divider]
Hip hop
Mountain Vista won the hip hop competition at state spirit. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Prelims
Rank
Team
Score
Tie break
1
Mountain Vista
94.67
472.00
2
Overland
91.33
457.00
3
Monarch
90.33
452.00
4
Greeley West
87.67
435.00
5
Smoky Hill
86.00
431.00
6
Thornton
84.67
425.00
7
Northglenn
84.17
423.50
8
Sand Creek
83.67
417.50
9
Northridge
82.67
414.00
10
Montezuma-Cortez
82.00
408.00
11
Weld Central
80.33
399.00
12
Pueblo Central
78.83
389.50
13
Skyline
72.00
359.00
14
Pomona
70.67
353.00
15
Greeley Central
62.33
312.00
16
Rampart
58.00
292.00
Finals
Rank
Team
Score
Tie break
1
Mountain Vista
96.00
476.00
2
Overland
93.33
466.50
3
Greeley West
92.00
457.50
4
Monarch
91.50
458.50
[divider]
Jazz
Heritage won the jazz competition at state spirit. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Regis Jesuit begins 2013-14 atop the 5A girls basketball poll. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Regis Jesuit is the unanimous No. 1 selection in CHSAANow.com’s preseason girls basketball ranking in 5A.
The poll, released on Monday, featured 18 first-place votes. The Raiders received each one. And it makes sense: Regis Jesuit did not graduate any players from last year’s team which won the title. The squad also has six seniors committed to Division I schools, including Diani Akigbogun (Texas) and Justine Hall (Purdue).
Highlands Ranch, last season’s 5A runner-up, is No. 2 in the preseason ranking. Arapahoe is third, Grandview is fourth and Rock Canyon rounds out the top-5.
Monarch, with coach Gail Hook returning from a one-year hiatus, is sixth. Castle View is seventh, ThunderRidge is eighth, Cherry Creek is ninth and Poudre is tenth.
Holy Family is ranked No. 1 in 3A girls basketball. Broomfield is No. 1 in 4A. (Pam Wagner)
In 4A, Broomfield heads the preseason poll. The Eagles reached last year’s semifinals, where they lost to eventual champion Pueblo South by three points. Pueblo South begins the season ranked No. 2.
Holy Family is on top of the 3A ranking. The Tigers won last year’s championship.
The 2A poll is headed by Yuma, even though the Indians received three first-place votes to Akron’s four. Akron beat Yuma in last season’s title game, and is ranked second.
Caliche is the preseason No. 1 team in 1A. The Buffaloes lost in last season’s quarterfinals. Defending champion Wiley is unranked to begin the season.
Silver Creek 16, Windsor 15, Mullen 14, Valor Christian 14, Elizabeth 12, Pueblo County 9, Centaurus 8, Golden 5, Rifle 5, Evergreen 4, Greeley Central 4, Glenwood Springs 3, Thompson Valley 2, Berthoud 1, Conifer 1.
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Holy Family (14)
0-0
140
2
Pagosa Springs
0-0
107
3
Denver Science & Tech
0-0
101
4
Lamar
0-0
70
5
Centauri
0-0
68
6
St. Mary’s
0-0
63
7
Eaton
0-0
42
8
Valley
0-0
35
9
Peak to Peak
0-0
30
10
Sterling
0-0
26
Others receiving votes:
Bishop Machebeuf 21, Kent Denver 15, Manitou Springs 11, Olathe 8, Coal Ridge 7, Grand Valley 7, Clear Creek 6, Platte Valley 4, Salida 3, Trinidad 3, Moffat County 2, Buena Vista 1.
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Yuma (3)
0-0
82
2
Akron (4)
0-0
74
3
Lutheran (2)
0-0
67
4
Peyton
0-0
66
5
Sangre de Cristo
0-0
33
6
Holyoke
0-0
27
7
Paonia
0-0
26
8
Rye
0-0
18
9
The Vanguard
0-0
17
10
Meeker
0-0
16
Others receiving votes:
Ignacio 11, Del Norte 9, Hoehne 9, Simla 8, Las Animas 5, Liberty Common 5, Swink 5, Limon 4, Sanford 4, Burlington 3, Calhan 3, Heritage Christian 2, Springfield 2, Center 1, Highland 1.
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Caliche (4)
0-0
57
2
Eads
0-0
56
3
Stratton
0-0
40
4
Idalia
0-0
39
5
Norwood (2)
0-0
35
6
Kit Carson
0-0
31
7
Hi-Plains
0-0
30
8
Kim
0-0
23
9
Pawnee
0-0
19
10
Walsh (1)
0-0
18
Others receiving votes:
Dove Creek 13, Wiley 9, Belleview Christian 4, Prairie 4, Cheraw 3, Otis 3, McClave 2, Jim Elliot Christian 1.
AURORA — This is why backup plans exist. It’s why second-team guys get good reps in practice, why they prepare just as hard before a game.
Because you never know when your all-state quarterback will go down with a game-ending injury on the third play of the quarterfinals.
Branden Brenning, a junior, jumped into the fray when ThunderRidge’s Brody Westmoreland left with a back injury following a blind-side sack in the first quarter. Brenning scored his team’s only touchdown, which helped secure a 13-9 win over No. 20 Grandview on Saturday afternoon. And a spot in the Class 5A football semifinals.
“I saw Brody go down and I immediately went and started to throw,” Brenning said. “I’ve always been ready to step in for Brody. He’s a great quarterback, but I’ve got to be prepared mentally and physically every day, every practice, because you never know what can go wrong.”
No. 5 ThunderRidge looked a bit stunned after Westmoreland left the game. Grandview took a 6-0 lead on Frank Solomon’s 28-yard reception less than a minute after the injury, and Brenning’s first pass attempt was intercepted on the next drive. But the ThunderRidge defense dug in, and Mark Hopper hit a 27-yard field goal early in the second quarter to make it 6-3 at the half.
In addition to missing Westmoreland, ThunderRidge’s starting running back Steve Ray was slowed by an injury from last week’s win. So 6-3 at the half was manageable.
Still, the Grizzlies needed a spark — one they got when the team recovered an onside kick to start the second half.
“We were kicking into the wind. We didn’t think we’d get it deep,” ThunderRidge coach Joe Johnson said. “We didn’t kick it quite as hard as we wanted to, but it ended up working out for us.”
ThunderRidge marched right down the field after the recovery — thanks in part to a nice 16-yard completion from Brenning to Hopper on third-and-10. The Grizzlies also used a steady dose of Matt Stanley up the middle in moving the ball inside the red zone.
Then, facing second-and-goal from the 8, Brenning made as though he would give it to Stanley up the middle again. Instead, he kept it and swept out left to the end zone. ThunderRidge led 10-6.
Grandview cut it to 10-9 with Aiden Pirrin’s 40-yard field goal on the ensuing drive, then held ThunderRidge to a three-and-out. But the Wolves fumbled the punt, and the Grizzlies recovered with 1:15 to go in the third quarter. They chewed up more than seven minutes of game time en route to another field goal from Hopper, this one from 22 yards out. By then, 5:52 remained in the game.
“That was huge,” Johnson said of the long drive. “We, obviously, needed to shorten the game.”
ThunderRidge’s defense then held firm on a fourth-down attempt near midfield with 4:33 to go. A Grizzlies’ fumble gave Grandview one last chance. The Wolves drove all the way down to the ThunderRidge 11 with 59 seconds remaining, but a fourth-down pass was inches from the outstretched fingertips of a wide-open Brandon Brooks and the Grizzlies held on.
“This win was huge,” Brenning said.
Especially missing Westmoreland and having a limited Ray.
Brenning said his typical day of practice consists of nine reps before he runs the scout team.
“I’m always ready,” Brenning said. “I always try to be prepared mentally and physically in case this ever happens.”
After the game, Westmoreland said he did not have a concussion. He was having X-rays taken on Sunday evening, but his status for next week’s semifinal game with Fairview won’t be known until next week.
In Ray’s stead, Kevin Knox handled an increased load and finished with 91 yards on 18 carries, while Stanley had 77 on 24.
“Coach told me during the practice week to be prepared, be ready at a moment’s notice,” Knox said. The win, he added, “shows we’re one hell of a team and we’re willing to do anything to win. I mean look what we did today, that just showed what we can do.”
ThunderRidge’s defense gave up just 240 yards of total offense. The bulk of that belonged to Grandview running back Chukwuma Obinnah, who had 125 yards. Wolves quarterback Tyler Smith also had 95 yards passing and the scoring toss to Solomon.
DENVER — Morgan Montgomery tripped over her teammate, yet still managed to flail an arm at the ball. Somehow, she connected and sent it toward the net. It clipped the top, and fell to the ground for a point.
Montgomery turned around, almost looking embarrassed, shrugged her shoulders and laughed. As if to say, Thatwas ridiculous.
“They always say, ‘The team with the momentum, the ball’s going to fall in your court.’ And it definitely did,” Montgomery, a Grandview senior, would say afterward. “Haley (McLaren) and I just went for it. We didn’t know what was going on. It just went in our favor and we’re so thankful for that.”
Everything, it seemed, went in Grandview’s favor during the Class 5A volleyball championship match against Arapahoe on Saturday night at the Denver Coliseum. The Wolves won a back-and-forth first set, 25-22, then rolled to a 25-12 win in the second and secured the title with a 25-17 win in the third.
Saturday’s match marked Grandview’s 23rd-straight win this season. In fact, the Wolves hadn’t dropped a set since Oct. 15 before losing one to Cherry Creek in the semifinals.
“It was a nice run, a great way to finish my high school career,” said senior Alyssa Svalberg.
It was the fourth title in Grandview’s history. The Wolves also won in 2007, 2005 and 2004. But Grandview’s recent trips to the title game — there have now been nine of them — ended in defeats. The squad was runner-up each of the last two seasons.
“It’s nice to be on this side again,” Wolves coach Patty Childress said.
“This is our third time in the state finals, so all the kids — me, Morgan, Sydney (Ederhoff) and Claire (Gordon) — who have been through three state titles now, we just wanted this so bad,” Svalberg said. “Not only for ourselves, but for everyone and our coach.
“Every single person on our team is a factor, no matter how much they play, no matter what. We’re just such a big family, and all the seniors just came out so strong. We knew from Day 1, even before tryouts, we were like, ‘This is our mission.’”
So what was the difference? How was Grandview able to make the jump from a two-time bridesmaid? This year, there were eight seniors leading the way.
“Last year, we had one senior and she was real quiet,” Childress said. “So these kids had to step up and lead as juniors. I think that helped.”
Saturday was the third meeting between Grandview and Arapahoe this season. Grandview won all three, but, “Every time we’ve played,” Childress said, “it’s just been back-and-forth.”
Arapahoe actually jumped out to an 8-4 lead in the first set during Saturday’s title match. But Childress called a timeout, calmed her bunch, and they proceeded to chip away. The lead shrunk to 12-9, then it was 14-13, then 16-16. Grandview eventually grabbed a 21-20 lead in that game and held on. For good.
That’s because Grandview jumped all over Arapahoe in the second game. It was 7-2 before the Warriors blinked. Then Wolves junior Sarah Mullens, who only recently returned from knee surgery, went on an ace binge which sparked a back-breaking seven-point run to make it 17-5.
“They hadn’t really passed against Sarah because this is the first time she’s played against them,” Childress said. “All the kids on the bench were just saying, ‘Well now they know what we go through everyday in practice. We have to deal with her serving to us.’”
When the third game rolled around, Grandview again jumped out big. It was 5-1 and 10-4 early. Mongomery’s flailing, falling point made it 11-5, and was fitting at that time. Grandview was a wave, washing over the 5A field.
AURORA — Chukwuma Obinnah rushed for 220 yards and three touchdowns as No. 20 Grandview upset No. 4 Regis Jesuit in the Class 5A football playoffs’ second round on Saturday.
Elizabeth is in the 4A volleyball semifinals. (Pam Wagner)
DENVER — They weren’t supposed to be in the semis. Not as a No. 9 seeds.
Yet, Class 4A’s Elizabeth and 2A’s Yuma — ninth-seeded, both — were the first two teams to punch their tickets to Saturday’s semifinals during the first day of the state volleyball tournaments at the Denver Coliseum on Friday.
“Today, we’re just here,” Elizabeth coach Russ Haman said. “Nobody expects much out of us.”
Haman’s Cardinals topped No. 4 Montrose to start the day, 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-22, 25-10), then ruined No. 5 Thomas Jefferson’s coming-to-state party with another 3-1 win (25-22, 18-25, 25-23, 25-21).
“We felt we could compete with everybody,” Haman said. “We didn’t set expectations. We were just like, ‘We’re going to do the best we can and play together as a team.’ That’s what we’ve had to work on all year, is playing as a team. That’s what they’ve chosen to do.”
In preparation for big-time moments and teams his squad faced Friday, Haman scheduled matches and scrimmages with some of the elite programs in the state — including Lewis-Palmer, Cherry Creek, Cherokee Trail and Lakewood.
“You get with those big-hitting teams and we learned how to try to work a defense around that,” Haman said. “Ideally, we want to play the hard, hard teams and get better and better.”
Elizabeth could match up with Lewis-Palmer, 4A’s top seed, in the semifinals. It would be a fun personal matchup — Rangers coach Susan Odenbaugh “got me into coaching,” Haman said.
Yuma advanced to the 2A semifinals. (Pam Wagner)
Yuma also took No. 4 and 5 seeds en route to the semis. The Indians beat No. 5 Sangre de Cristo 3-1 (25-12, 25-8, 24-26, 25-13) and No. 4 Paonia 3-0 (25-18, 25-8, 25-19).
“You know, we were a little disappointed in our seed, but I think it kind of lit a fire under the girls and they wanted to prove it a little bit more,” Yuma coach Megan Martinez said. “They came out ready to play.”
This week, Martinez scheduled early practices to help her girls acclimate to playing so early in the day.
“That got them ready to go,” Martinez said.
Elsewhere, 5A’s top seed Grandview swept Castle View in its only match of the day. The Wolves will face No. 8 Rampart for a semifinal berth on Saturday morning.
Cherry Creek. (Pam Wagner)
No. 4 Mountain Vista and No. 5 Cherry Creek both beat No. 9 Fruita Monument, meaning their Saturday morning matchup will also determine a semifinal spot.
No. 2 Arapahoe and No. 7 Doherty will play for the semis on Saturday following their wins over No. 11 Cherokee Trail. Doherty rallied from a 2-0 hole to beat CT 3-2.
The final semifinal spot in 5A comes down to No. 3 Fossil Ridge and No. 6 Eaglecrest, who both topped No. 10 Pine Creek on Friday.
In 4A, No. 1 Lewis-Palmer beat No. 12 Coronado 3-1, and No. 8 Roosevelt swept Coronado. Those teams meet Saturday morning to determine the semifinalist from Pool I.
No. 2 Longmont and No. 7 Ponderosa will play for a semifinal berth out of Pool II. Both teams beat No. 11 Pueblo West.
Pool III has a Colorado Springs flavor, with No. 3 Cheyenne Mountain and No. 6 Air Academy battling for the semis after both beating No. 10 Valor Christian.
In 3A, No. 1 Eaton and No. 8 Bayfield both beat No. 12 Lamar, so they’ll play for a semifinal spot on Saturday. Out of Pool IV, No. 4 Platte Valley and No. 5 Holy Family both topped Coal Ridge and meet for a semifinal berth on Saturday.
Valley, seeded second, and No. 7 University will play for the semis on Saturday. Both teams beat No. 11 Machebeuf.
No. 3 Manitou Springs and No. 6 Gunnison are set to play for the final 3A semifinal spot after taking down No. 10 Sterling.
Dove Creek playing Kit Carson. (Pam Wagner)
In 2A, No. 12 Meeker upset No. 8 Ridgway in Pool I. Couple with No. 1 Resurrection Christian’s later win over Meeker, it could make Saturday morning’s match between Ridgway and Resurrection Christian interesting. Should Resurrection Christian win, it’ll get the semifinal spot. But if Ridgway wins, the semifinalist will be determined on a tiebreaker.
No. 2 Lutheran and No. 7 Lyons will battle for the semis after both beat No. 11 C.S. School.
Pool III sets up like Pool I with No. 10 Akron beating No. 6 Swink on Friday. It means No. 3 Fowler can win the pool with a win over Swink, but a Swink win in that game sets up the tiebreaker scenario.
In 1A, No. 1 Dove Creek and No. 8 Vail Christian will play for a semifinal spot following wins over No. 12 Kit Carson. Out of Pool IV, No. 4 Fleming and No. 5 Eads will meet for that semifinal spot after both teams beat No. 9 Stratton.
No. 3 Otis and No. 6 Flager are set to play for the semis on Saturday. Both teams beat No. 10 Rocky Mountain Lutheran.
Pool II has a potential tiebreaker scenario. No. 11 Idalia beat No. 7 Hi-Plains but lost to No. 2 Caliche on Friday. That means if Caliche beats Hi-Plains on Saturday, it gets the semifinal berth. If Hi-Plains wins, the teams will go to the tiebreak.
Fairview is the No. 1 seed in 5A. (Courtesy photo)
The groundwork, as is so often the case, was laid four years ago. Tom McCartney saw it in his freshmen then. Those freshmen are now seniors, and that group has Fairview seeded No. 1 overall in the Class 5A football playoffs.
“We knew that it was a special group,” McCartney, Fairview’s coach, said Sunday morning. “We also knew that for them to do the things and reach some of the goals they’ve set, you’ve got to have junior compliments. You want to know that your juniors are also part of that.
“We’ve been kind of waiting on this group of seniors for a while, and a lot of them have gotten a lot of playing time as sophomores and juniors,” he continued. “When you get in those kinds of battles against teams like Pomona and Ralston Valley, and Legacy and Arvada West and Boulder — and Grandview in the playoffs last year, and Regis the year before — all of those experiences help. So, yes, to be honest with you, we’ve seen this coming from this particular group. We knew this was a talented group.”
The Knights were the lone 5A team to finish the regular season unbeaten (9-0). They were ranked No. 2 in the CHSAANow.com football poll in recent weeks, but were No. 1 in Wild Card points during that stretch, and finished atop the final Wild Card standings released Sunday morning.
And so, when the 5A bracket was unveiled, it was Fairview in the No. 1 spot. (See the full bracket.)
“It feels awesome,” McCartney said. “It’s playoff football. We’re just going to prepare. We understand that if you win you move on, and if you don’t you’re done. We want to keep playing. The best way to keep playing is to be prepared and to improve.”
Fairview draws No. 32 Mountain Vista (3-6) in the first round. The two teams played in 2010 and 2011, both Mountain Vista wins.
“Our seniors, when they were freshmen, played them. And so we know a little bit about them,” McCartney said. “We’ve got a ton of respect for coach (Ric) Cash. His teams are always prepared. They’re always hard-nosed.”
Rounding out the top-5 seeds in 5A were No. 2 Valor Christian, No. 3 Cherry Creek, No. 4 Regis Jesuit and No. 5 ThunderRidge.
The top 16 seeds host in the first round, meaning No. 6 Cherokee Trail, No. 7 Columbine, No. 8 Pomona, No. 9 Chatfield, No. 10 Grand Junction, No. 11 Mountain Range, No. 12 Doherty, No. 13 Prairie View, No. 14 Rangeview, No. 15 Ralston Valley and No. 16 Douglas County will get home games.
The 2A, 1A, 8-man and 6-man brackets were also released on Sunday.
Brush is 2A’s top seed. As the top-8 host in the first round, No. 2 Manitou Springs, No. 3 Platte Valley, No. 4 Faith Christian, No. 5 Gunnison, No. 6 Bennett, No. 7 Kent Denver and No. 8 Florence will all get home games.
Also qualifying in 2A were No. 9 Strasburg, No. 10 Lamar, No. 11 Olathe, No. 12 Fort Lupton, No. 13 Aspen, No. 14 Ridge View Academy, No. 15 Jefferson and No. 16 The Academy.
In 1A, Buena Vista got the top seed. No. 2 Limon, No. 3 Centauri, No. 4 Paonia, No. 5 Monte Vista, No. 6 Hotchkiss, No. 7 Yuma and No. 8 Platte Canyon will also host first-round games.
Additional 1A qualifiers were No. 9 Resurrection Christian, No. 10 Rye, No. 11 Burlington, No. 12 Cedaredge, No. 13 Colorado Springs Christian, No. 14 Wray, No. 15 Lyons and No. 16 Front Range Christian.
Hoehne is 8-man’s top seed. Also hosting in the first round will be No. 2 Dayspring Christian, No. 3 Norwood, No. 4 Simla, No. 5 Caliche, No. 6 Kiowa, No. 7 Sargent and No. 8 Dove Creek. Also qualifying were No. 9 Sanford, No. 10 Vail Christian, No. 11 Merino, No. 12 Walsh, No. 13 Akron, No. 14 West Grand, No. 15 Fowler and No. 16 Granada.
Liberty/Stratton grabbed 6-man’s top seed. Also qualifying were No. 2 Hi-Plains, No. 3 Eads, No. 4 Prairie, No. 5 Otis, No. 6 Peetz, No. 7 Hanover and No. 8 Flagler
Windsor (4A), Lamar (3A), Vail Christian and Rocky Mountain Lutheran (1A) are newcomers to this week’s CHSAANow.com volleyball polls.
The five No. 1s from last week — Grandview (5A), Lewis-Palmer (4A), Manitou Springs (3A), Resurrection Christian (2A) and Caliche (1A) — all stayed put.
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.
Aurora Sports Park sits quiet prior to Saturday’s action. More photos. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com) A roundup of Saturday’s action at the state softball tournaments at Aurora Sports Park.
AURORA — Fossil Ridge won its first two games at Saturday’s opening rounds of the 5A state softball tournament by a combined score of 29-7. It now finds itself in the semifinals for the first time in school history.
In fact, Fossil Ridge had never even won a game at the state tournament before Saturday.
The third-seeded SaberCats beat No. 14 Pine Creek in the opening round, 10-3, then followed with a 19-4 mercy-rule-shortened win over No. 6 Eaglecrest which ended on Haley Donaldson’s walk-off three-run home run.
Legacy softball coach Dawn Gaffin goes over instructions between innings Saturday afternoon during the Lightning’s 8-1 quarterfinal victory against Dakota Ridge. Legacy, 5-time Class 5A state champion, will face Brighton in the 5A state semifinals 10 a.m. Sunday at Aurora Sports Park. More photos. (Dennis Pleuss)
Fossil Ridge is 22-1 in 2013. The SaberCats’ lone loss this season came to Legacy on Sept. 16. They could get a rematch on Saturday — but first they’ll need to get past No. 7 Legend, another first-timer in the semis.
Legend (19-5) dispatched No. 10 Grandview 13-8 to open the tournament, then beat No. 2 Rock Canyon 6-1 in the quartefinals.
No. 9 Brighton was the lone team to knock off a No. 1 seed on Saturday. The Bulldogs, now 22-2, beat No. 1 Douglas County 8-4 in the quarterfinals. That followed an 11-1 win over No. 8 Loveland, the defending champion.
In the semis, Brighton will get No. 5 Legacy, which beat a pair of Jeffco squads (Chatfield and Dakota Ridge) to earn its seventh consecutive berth into the state tournament semifinals.
No. 12 Chatfield gave Legacy a tough test before the Lightning pulled away in the late innings for a 6-2 win.
“I think we kind of learned from it,” Legacy senior pitcher Haley Smith said. “Our bats were kind of cold at first, but we had everybody set up.”
Legacy used some “small ball” tactics in the third inning against No. 4 Dakota Ridge to score four runs on the way to an 8-1 victory.
Despite the rich tradition of winning five straight 5A state crowns from 2007 to 2011, Smith doesn’t believe Legacy will be nervous going into the semifinals.
“If anything I think there is less pressure because everyone thinks we can’t do it,” Smith said. “We are the underdogs.”
Semifinal games:
(9) Brighton vs. (5) Legacy, 10 a.m.
(3) Fossil Ridge vs. (7) Legend, 10 a.m.
[divider] Broomfield is headed to the semifinals. More photos. (Pam Wagner)
Fifth-seeded Broomfield narrowly survived being No. 13 D’Evelyn’s second upset victim of the day. But the Eagles did survive, and advance, to the 4A semifinals on Sunday.
Broomfield rallied from 2-0 and 4-2 holes to hold on and beat D’Evelyn 7-6 on Saturday. The Eagles had a four-run fifth-inning which led to the win. They will face top-seeded Wheat Ridge in the semifinals.
Wheat Ridge junior Erin Dalton connects with a pitch during the Farmers’ 5-0 win against Roosevelt in the opening round of the Class 4A state softball tournament Saturday at Aurora Sports Park. More photos. (Dennis Pleuss)
Wheat Ridge didn’t have much problem advancing.
The Farmers shut out No. 16 Roosevelt by a 5-0 score in the opening round and cranked out 11 hits in a 9-4 quarterfinal victory against No. 8 Mountain View. Still, Wheat Ridge coach Marty Stricklett said there is “some improving to do” going into the final day of the season.
The Farmers edged Broomfield 2-0 earlier this season. Sophomore Christina Nelson hit a two-run home run in the first inning and senior pitcher Jessica Salbato pitched a shutout against Broomfield back on Aug. 30.
A 1-0 loss to Niwot in the 4A semifinals last year still motivates the Farmers heading into their eighth straight trip to the state semifinals.
“Tomorrow we are still going off what happened last year,” Stricklett said. “We’ve got to show up and play our game. The name of our game is hitting. We’ve got to hit the ball.”
On the other side of the bracket, No. 6 Erie beat No. 11 Silver Creek 11-1 and No. 3 Pueblo East 7-1 to advance to Sunday. The Tigers will face No. 2 Ponderosa, which escaped No. 15 Palmer Ridge’s upset bid, 5-4, to open the tournament, then beat No. 7 Berthoud 6-0 in the quarters.
The four semifinalists at the 3A level each only played one game on Saturday. That’s because Strasburg, Sterling, Holy Family and Valley all had opening-round byes as seeds Nos. 1-4.
Top-seeded Strasburg beat No. 9 Basalt 11-0, and will meet No. 4 Valley, which eeked past No. 5 Eaton 1-0.
In the other semifinal, No. 2 Sterling will meet No. 3 Holy Family. Sterling beat No. 7 Lamar 5-0 and Holy Family beat No. 11 Dolores Huerta 3-0.
