CHSAANow

Tag: Jeffco

  • Photos: Chatfield boys basketball cruises past Bear Creek

    Chatfield boys basketball had three players in double figures en route to a 76-51 win over Bear Creek on Wednesday.

  • Flood of second-period goals lifts No. 2 Valor Christian hockey over No. 10 Doherty

    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    COLORADO SPRINGS — The last time that Valor Christian hockey took the ice, it was an entirely different world. Since the Eagles hoisted the 2020 state championship trophy, a thing or two has changed at the global level.

    The level of hockey the Eagles are playing is consistent to those innocent early-march 2020 days.

    Class 5A No. 2 Valor overcame a bit of a slow start to score five goals in the second period alone to get an impressive 7-2 win over No. 10 Doherty.

    “Maybe (we started slow) because it was a mid-day game, we left school early and had an hour bus ride,” forward Caleb Pallo said. “But the boys were super excited to get out there and play our first CHSAA game of the year.”

    Ryder Price gave the Eagles (1-0 overall) an early 1-0 lead after they peppered Doherty goalie Jeth Fogg with shots throughout the majority of the first period. The lead was short lived as Chase Chapman took advantage of a Valor puck handling miscue to score on a breakaway.

    “One critical blunder,” Valor coach George Gwozdecky said. “We didn’t release properly on their top player and he just stretched out of the zone and he had 200 feet to carry the puck and get on the breakaway. I give them a lot of credit for executing and taking what we were giving them.”

    Less than two minutes into the second period, the Spartans (1-1) took the lead on a wrist shot. They gave up the lead when Price converted on a penalty shot.

    That’s when the flood started.

    Pallo scored the first of his two on Valor’s first power play chance of the game as he connected on a perfect pass from Anders Glossinger. His second goal came off a shot that soared over the Doherty net and landed right in front him as he stared at a wide-open net.

    That was the second goal the Eagles scored due to the puck being right in front of the net from a lucky bounce.

    “The pucks were just sitting there,” Pallo said. “I just happened to be at the right place at the right time and knocked them in. It helped the team out a little as well. We started flowing after that.”

    Seeing the pucks go in the net were a welcome sight for the Eagles. They won the state championship game scoring just a single goal because of the outstanding play of Fort Collins goalie Sam Simon.

    As the Eagles built their lead over the Spartans at the Sertich Ice Hall, the confidence seemed to grow and the Eagles looked more settled on the ice than they had earlier in the game.

    “It’s one of those things where if you’re the individual who scores, you seem to have an easier time,” Gwozdecky said. “You feel lighter on your skates and you feel like you want to have the puck on your stick again.”

    He’s hoping the feeling carries over to Friday night when the Eagles take on Regis Jesuit and its outstanding goalie, Gage Bussey.

    This is the first loss of the season for Doherty, but the Spartans aim to rebound when they take on Pine Creek on Friday.

    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

  • Chatfield boys hoops stampede into 5A Jeffco League play

    LITTLETON — Chatfield’s boys basketball continued its impressive surge out of the gates to start the 2021 season.

    The Chargers (3-0 record, 1-0 in league) opened up Class 5A Jeffco conference play Monday night with a 79-69 victory over area rival Dakota Ridge. The game was originally scheduled to be played at Dakota Ridge High School, but because of a deep cleaning at DRHS, the game was moved hours before tipoff to Chatfield High School.

    Chatfield senior Nathan Jacobson (5) drives on Dakota Ridge senior Jonathan Junker during the Class 5A Jeffco League opener Monday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    A bit of an earlier start and location change could have spelled doom for the Eagles, who suffered defeats of 35 and 56 points last week to Legend and George Washington. However, Dakota Ridge was in the game the whole way against the Chargers.

    “It was really close. It was tough,” said Chatfield senior Dylan Carter of the South Jeffco rivalry game that was a one-possession game until late in the fourth quarter. “We let them (Dakota Ridge) stay in it. We gave up a lot of open 3-pointers. Our defense was kind of lacking, but our offense was going well for us.”

    Carter and junior Chase Miller led the Chargers with 18 points each. Senior Nate Jacobson pitched in 13 points and senior Ethan Johnson had 10 points. Chatfield’ fifth starter Ethan Goroski was just short of hitting double-figures with 9 points.

    “Any of our guys can score 20 points on any night,” Carter said. “I think we have a lot of good scorers and shooters on this team.”

    Carter and Johnson closed out the game going 7-for-8 from the free-throw line in the final minute to prevent Dakota Ridge getting the upset victory.

    “We knew it was going to be a fight. Rivalry games always are,” Chatfield coach Erik Buehler said. “Dakota Ridge has some really skilled players and are very similar to us. We knew it was going to be a battle the whole time.”

    Dakota Ridge seniors Gino Corridori and Hunter Hickman combined for 43 points in the loss. Eagles’ coach Sean Kovar was pleased to see the likes of sophomores Carson Evans and Alex Rodriguez knock down some shots.

    Dakota Ridge senior Hunter Hickman pulls up for a jumper Monday night. Hickman had 16 points on the night for the Eagles. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    The Eagles were able to make 11 3-pointers to stay within reach of the Chargers for the entire game.

    “We are going to keep fighting and respond to adversity,” Kovar said after the loss. “We are going to continue to get better every single day.”

    Dakota Ridge (0-3, 0-1) will have a bit of practice time this week before trying to capture its first win of the season. The Eagles are scheduled to return to their home court to face Arvada West on Friday, Feb. 5.

    “The growth already from game one to game three has been tremendous,” Kovar said.

    Chatfield is scheduled to face Bear Creek on the road Wednesday night. The Chargers have been impressive offensively averaging over 80 points per game.

    “Offense was kind of our bugaboo at times last year,” Buehler said. “We would go on these o-fer stretches. We focused a lot in the offseason on that.”

    The 8-game losing streak Chatfield suffered through to end its regular season last year might be a distant memory, but Carter still wants the Chargers to finish as strong as they have started this season.

    “We don’t want what happened last year to repeat this season,” Carter said. “We are giving it our all with all these seniors.”

    Dakota Ridge senior Gino Gorridori (32) challenges the shot of Chatfield senior Ethan Goroski (2) during the first half Monday night at Chatfield High School. Corridori scored a game-high 27 points, but it wasn’t enough as Chatfield came away with a 79-69 victory. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

  • Photos: Arvada West girls basketball tops Bear Creek

    Arvada West girls basketball is now 3-0 after its 52-31 win over Bear Creek on Monday.

  • No. 4 Ralston Valley girls hoops get bounce-back win over Legacy

    ARVADA — Saya Sabus, Sydney Bevington and Brooklyn Seymour had RalstonValley’s girls basketball team on pace to reach 100 points Friday night.

    The trio were all in double-figures through the first half, leading the Mustangs to a 47-15 halftime lead over Legacy. Ralston Valley — No. 4 in the CHSAANow.com Class 5A girls basketball preseason rankings — eventually slowed down offensively to cruise to a 62-30 victory.

    “At practice a big emphasis was ball movement,” said Bevington, who led the Mustangs with 19 points and 10 rebounds. “We worked way better tonight.”

    Ralston Valley senior McKenna Nichols spots up from 3-point range during the Mustangs’ 62-30 victory Friday night against Legacy. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    While the Mustangs (1-1 record) didn’t shoot particularly well — only 33 percent from the field and 2-for-17 from 3-point range — Ralston Valley dominated the boards with 42 rebounds that resulted in a lot of easy buckets in the paint.

    “We played more like a team tonight,” said Seymour, who scored all of her 12 points in the first half before the Mustangs took their foot off the gas. “It was much better than our first game of the season. That gave we were just getting the rust off.”

    Ralston Valley suffered a 72-61 season-opening loss to Windsor on Monday night.

    The Mustangs turned it up defensively limiting the Lightning (0-2) to single-digit points in every quarter.

    “We like to think we are a lot quicker so we try to apply as much pressure as we can,” Seymour said of the Mustangs’ defense that grabbed 17 steals on the night. “I think if we speed up the game that will help us in the long run.”

    Ralston Valley senior Sydney Bevington (33) pulls up for a jumper over Legacy junior Katie Paredes on Friday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    The long run will seem pretty short with the shortened 14-game regular season. The Mustangs do have an advantage with an experience senior core that has played together a lot over the years.

    “Our team dynamic has always been good,” Bevington said of the experienced group. “Figuring out and navigating this season. We haven’t had a lot of practice, but we are figuring it out. Tonight felt really good.”

    Longtime Ralston Valley coach Jeff Gomer sounded like a veteran coach after the game.

    “We’ve got a lot of room for improvement,” Gomer said.

    There isn’t nearly as much time as there is during a regular season to tune things to get ready for conference play. Figuring out and developing a bench rotation is something Gomer hasn’t been able to do with only a week of practices and two games under the Mustangs’ belt.

    Ralston Valley opens 5A Jeffco League play on Monday, Feb. 1, on the road against No. 14 Lakewood (1-1). The Mustangs stay on the road to face No. 2 Valor Christian on Wednesday next week.

    “My whole mindset is to get better fast and be ready for playoffs,” said Gomer, who added avoiding any kind of COVID-19 quarantine is key too. “You can’t have something happen where you miss five or six games and then you miss the playoffs. That could happen.”

    Ralston Valley senior Brooklyn Seymour (14) drives through a trio of Legacy players on her way to a basket in the first half Friday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

  • Columbine wrestling continues the legacy Ray Barron built

    LAKEWOOD — Thursday night in Lakewood High School’s gym was the first match for Columbine’s wrestling team without Ray Barron.

    The legendary prep wrestling coach passed away last October after a battle with brain cancer.

    “I loved having him with me. It was one of the things we did together was coach,” said Luke Barron, Ray’s son and now co-head wrestling coach with John Alley. “But he was still with me tonight. He is always with me.”

    Columbine senior Zach Schraeder, left, listens to coach John Alley during a match Thursday night at Lakewood High School. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    Ray Barron finished his 50 years of coaching on top with Jack Forbes and Zach Schraeder winning individual state championship titles for the Rebels last February at Pepsi Center in Denver. Forbes took the Class 5A 182-pound state title and Schraeder won the heavyweight match.

    “That always comes back to me over-and-over again in my head,” Schraeder said of being the last wrestler Ray Barron coached at the state tournament. Ray placed his own wrestling shoes at the center of the mat following Schraeder’s victory. “It’s one of those things that I really don’t have words for. I’m very honored to be one of his last wrestlers.”

    Alley and Luke Barron decided to take over Columbine’s wrestling program.

    “It’s been good,” Luke Barron said of him and Alley taking over the Rebels’ wrestling program as co-head coaches. “We each bring something different to the team. All the coaches bring something different. It comes together to form something that is so awesome. We have a wrestling room that has so much fun and is full of smiles.”

    Both wrestled for Ray Barron and have been on the Rebels’ coaching staff.

    “Ray’s legacy is amazing. It can’t be replicated really,” Alley said. “We are definitely trying to keep the values that he instilled in athletes and students. We want to keep that true to what he taught.”

    Columbine — No. 8 in the preseason On The Mat rankings — returns a number of wrestlers from last year’s squad. Including, Forbes and Schraeder who hope to defend their state titles.

    Columbine’s Brandon Phagan, left, battles with Chatfield’s David Wiley during the first wrestling action of the season Thursday night at Lakewood High School. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    Forbes didn’t see much action in the pair of duals against Chatfield and Lakewood. The 195-pounder got more action during warm-ups and jumping rope on the sidelines during matches.

    “It would have been nice to wrestle,” said Forbes, who took a pair of forfeit victories on the night during the Rebels’ 36-21 and 54-24 dual victories over their 5A Jeffco League rivals. “It is nice to be back on the mats. It’s fun to be back out here encouraging my teammates.”

    Forbes said he has worked hard on his own during the COVID-19 pandemic that has shortened the high school wrestling season in Colorado. He has also done some out-of-state club tournaments to prepare for the season.

    “I’ve got to work that much harder because it’s a shorter season,” Forbes said. “I’ve got some tough guys in the bracket obviously.”

    Forbes is ranked No. 2 at 195 behind last year’s state champion at 195 pounds — Pomona senior Franklin Cruz.

    Schraeder took a forfeit victory against Chatfield before pinning Lakewood sophomore Andrew Martinez. Schraeder got the Rebels’ bench excited after a sprawling escape to start the second period, followed up by a takedown.

    “Since we do have a shortened season it’s tough to get those matches in that are crucial to figure out what you need to work on,” said Schraeder, who is No. 1 in the heavyweight preseason rankings.

    “They (Forbes and Schraeder) are working hard. They keep their noses to the grindstone,” Alley said. “Those two wrestlers have an unbelievable understanding and connection with Ray Barron. They are working just as hard as if Ray is still there.”

    The for Columbine’s wrestling program … Ray Barron is still motivating all Rebel wrestlers on and off the mat.

    “Ray was an amazing guy,” Forbes said. “He built this team from when we really weren’t that good. He got us to where we are right now. We all keep him in our hearts. Whenever it gets tough we think about him to push through. Ray was the foundation of this team.”

    While the wrestling season looks very different in many ways, Luke Barron knows his Dad is be proud of how Columbine wrestling program performed Thursday night.

    “He just loved seeing kids get a chance to compete,” Luke Barron said. “Luckily, through all the hard work of people we have been able to overcome everything to compete this year. The smile on his face getting to see kids do stuff like this was always so big. You can’t see it because of the mask, but I’m smiling pretty big to tonight. It was lots of fun.”

    Columbine’s Darrell Miller works on pinning Lakewood’s Nolan Hoefner during the 170-pound match Thursday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

  • Lakewood girls hoops shakes off the rust against Wheat Ridge

    LAKEWOOD — It took a half, but Lakewood’s girls basketball team found what it needed to get the victory Wednesday night over old rival Wheat Ridge.

    The Tigers and Farmers were actually tied 12-12 midway through the second quarter at Lakewood High School before the Tigers were able to pull away in the second half. Lakewood ended up winning 56-21 in the season opener for both squads.

    Lakewood junior Logan Watson, right, puts defensive pressure on Wheat Ridge senior Angelina Quezada in the season opener for both teams Wednesday night at Lakewood High School. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    “People talk about ugly games. Tonight, ugly was pretty good,” Lakewood coach Chris Poisson said. “We couldn’t throw it in the ocean to start. With this team we are either going to score a lot or none.”

    Lakewood had issues hitting shots in the first half. The Tigers made just six field goals in the opening 16 minutes. Junior Briana Robles was a big reason why Lakewood was able to hold a 18-12 lead at halftime.

    Robles came off the bench to score nine points in the first half to pace the Tigers.

    “She (Robles) is an energy player,” Poisson said.

    The rest of the Tigers started to find their range after halftime. Junior Juliette Fillion finished with a game-high 13 points. Lakewood made seven 3-pointers in the second half to outscore Wheat Ridge 38-9 after halftime.

    Lakewood junior Juliette Fillion swings a pass into the corner during the Tigers’ 35-point victory Wednesday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    “It was just a drive to win,” Fillion said of the difference between the first and second half. “We needed to make our shots. Our energy got a lot better.”

    Lakewood graduated its two big outside shooting threats — Nadia Trevizo-Medina and Aaliyah Sabala — from last season. Trevizo-Medina and Sabala combined for nearly 100 made 3-pointers last season.

    Finding scorers to step into those shoes is something that Poisson is concerned about heading into a big match-up at the end of the week.

    Lakewood will have a tough challenge at home on Friday night against one of the favorites to challenge for the 4A state title. Green Mountain — No. 3 in the CHSAANow.com 4A girls basketball preseason rankings and a 4A state semifinalist last season — squares off against the Tigers.

    “Right now I’m just worried about how we are going to score against Green Mountain,” Poisson said. “If we shoot like we did in the first half we are going to be in trouble. If we shoot like we did in the second half it could be a heck of a game.”

    The Tigers — No. 14 in the CHSAANow.com Class 5A girls basketball preseason poll — finished third in 5A Jeffco last year behind No. 2 Valor Christian and No. 4 Ralston Valley. The conference should be tough against with the Eagles and Mustangs the favorites to lead the pack in 5A Jeffco again.

    “We haven’t had much time to work on our stuff,” Fillion said of the shortened COVID-19 season. “It has been nerve-racking, but I think we’re handling it pretty well.”

    Wheat Ridge will attempt to rebound under new head coach Cindy Wirth after a rough run in 4A Jeffco League play last season. The Farmers went 1-11 in conference play last year.

    Wheat Ridge sophomore Sydney McCullum, middle, finds herself trapped by Lakewood senior Jade Atencio (5) and junior Briana Robles (10) during the first half Wednesday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

  • Lakewood boys basketball impressive in season opener

    Lakewood senior Michael Bennett (3) drives the lane Wednesday night against Wheat Ridge. Bennett scored a game-high 22 points in the Tigers’ 20-point victory over the Farmers. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    LAKEWOOD — Lakewood’s boys basketball team is focused on opening up some eyes this season.

    “I think we have seriously been slept on this year,” Lakewood senior Michael Bennett said after the Tigers took a 65-45 season-opening victory Wednesday night against Wheat Ridge. “We’ve got 10 seniors and we are super motivated. We all know this is our last run. We are all super dedicated to this. I’ve never be around a group of guys who are so focused on one goal to win.”

    Lakewood coach Daryl Johnson returns nearly his entire varsity squad from last season. Bennett (17.6 points per game) and Kyle Wisniewski (11.3 points per game) lead a strong senior group that hopes to improve on its 10-14 record from last season.

    The Tigers made the state tournament last season, but were bounced in the opening round by ThunderRidge by a score of 71-23.

    The tough loss to end last season, along with not getting a single vote in the CHSAANow.com Class 5A boys basketball preseason poll clearly has the Tigers motivated.

    “They have a little chip on their shoulder,” Johnson said. “They weren’t recognized in the preseason (rankings). That doesn’t mean anything, but every kids wants some love and they got none. Maybe they deserved it for what happened at the end of the season in the playoffs.”

    Lakewood led most of the way Wednesday night on its home court. The Tigers slowly grew its lead to double-figures early in the second half on the way to the 20-point victory.

    Wheat Ridge senior Westin Miller (3) scored 19 points for the Farmers, including five 3-pointers. However, it wasn’t enough as Wheat Ridge fell to Lakewood in both teams’ season opener. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    “It couldn’t have gone really any better,” said Bennett, who led all scorers with 22 points. “Obviously we had a lot of turnovers and mistakes, but that is what you expect. A lot of us haven’t played in real basketball game for seven or eight months.”

    Wisniewski contributed 14 points and Lakewood big-man John Rugh poured in a cool dozen as the Tigers showed off its versatility to play good defense, control the boards, run the court and shoot the 3-pointer.

    “We’ll make some noise,” Bennett said. “I know we’ll make some noise. I can’t wait.”

    Lakewood won’t have to wait long for its next game. The Tigers host Green Mountain on Friday night.

    Wheat Ridge coach Tommy Dowd also has a senior-laden squad this season. The Farmers will lean heavily on seniors Westin Miller, Dominic Cross and Scotty Kingman. Miller proved to be one of the best 3-point shooters in 4A Jeffco last season shooting 62-for-132 (47 percent) from behind the arc last year.

    Miller finished with a team-high 19 points, including five 3-pointers in the loss.

    “I thought we did some good stuff,” Dowd said. “We just couldn’t cover them. If you can’t play defense it’s going to be hard. We’ve got to play better defense.”

    Wheat Ridge is scheduled to have its home opener Friday against Pomona.

    “That is what the first game is going to give you. Sometimes you look good but you aren’t a good team. Sometimes you look bad and you’ll be a good team,” Dowd said. “Hopefully it is the latter. I’m optimist. We’ve got some good kids. We just have to find out what we are good at.”

    Wheat Ridge senior Scott Kingman (20) and Lakewood senior John Rugh (13) jump on the opening tip Wednesday night at Lakewood High School. The Tigers took a 65-45 victory on their home court. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

  • Photos: Elizabeth girls basketball edges Bear Creek

    Elizabeth girls basketball fought hard and came away with a close 29-25 win over Bear Creek.

  • Arvada West girls hoops defeats Golden in season opener

    ARVADA — Arvada West junior Amanda Neff started right where she left off last season.

    Neff buried a 3-pointer from the corner on the opening offensive possession for the Wildcats on Monday night to start the 2021 girls basketball season for A-West. Neff did a little bit of everything during the 55-21 home victory over Golden, including dishing out some handful of nice assists after she went cold from the floor.

    “I realized I was struggling with shooting,” said Neff, who finished with 11 points. “Instead of forcing it and trying to take it myself I should see the open players and get some easy baskets.”

    Arvada West junior Sydney Trinder (11) goes up strong against Golden senior Maree Lenz (24) during the season opener Monday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    It looked easy for the Wildcats at times getting out to a 15-0 lead on the Demons through the first quarter. However, Golden senior Maree Lenz poured in 10 points in the second quarter to trim the Wildcats’ lead to 26-11 at halftime.

    “It wasn’t pretty. Maybe I was expecting too much,” A-West coach Brady Meeks said. “The girls knew I wasn’t pleased with that first half. We have to be more consistent with the little things.”

    A-West’s defense locked down Golden to a tune of just three points in the third quarter and sophomore Ellie Pugliese got rolling with five points in the quarter. In fact, six different A-West players scored in the third quarter to get the Wildcats back on track.

    “There was a change in the energy,” Neff said after halftime when the Wildcats outscored the Demons 17-3 to grab a 43-14 lead going into the final quarter.

    Arvada West had a strong defensive effort against Golden on Monday night. The Wildcats held the Demons to single-digit points in three of four quarters. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    The Wildcats had eight different scorers as A-West continued its trend set last year of having a good balanced scoring attack.

    “What I love about this group is it’s all nine,” Meeks said. “Every single one of these girls have the ability to do things and create things for this team. It’s a very unselfish group.”

    A-West will look to improve on those mistakes made in the opener when the Wildcats host Boulder on Friday, Jan. 29. While Valor Christian and Ralston Valley appear to be the frontrunners in the Class 5A Jeffco League, A-West could be a darkhorse to get into the race for the conference title.

    “We gave a lot of effort and were passionate,” Neff said. “We struggled with some of the easy things like finishing (shots) and rebounding. I think we’ll be looking good this season if we just settle in.”

    Golden has a lot of new facing including first-year coach Jonathon Sena. The Demons have another tough road test against Chatfield coming up on Wednesday, Jan. 27.