Fossil Ridge is the new No. 1 team in 5A. (Courtesy of Matt Johannsen)
Fossil Ridge, unbeaten and with a number of impressive wins under its belt thus far, is the new No. 1 team in this week’s CHSAANow.com Class 5A boys basketball poll.
The SaberCats, off to a 10-0 start, edged Denver East — which had held the No. 1 spot since the preseason — despite having one fewer first-place vote. The Angels are No. 2 this week.
Regis Jesuit moved up one spot to No. 3, while Cherry Creek made the week’s biggest gain by going from No. 10 to No. 4. Overland rounds out the top 5.
Eaglecrest is sixth and is followed by Arapahoe, Mountain Vista, Monarch and Grandview.
The 4A ranking continued to be led by Valor Christian and added two new teams: No. 7 Pueblo South and No. 10 Denver South.
3A added Aspen (No. 8), while 2A got a new No. 1 team in unbeaten Ignacio. The 1A ranking added Primero (No. 10).
Regis Jesuit moved up one place to No. 4 this week. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Grandview, Monarch and Cherry Creek all joined this week’s CHSAANow.com boys basketball rankings in 5A.
Combined, the three teams went 9-0 last week. Grandview, which went 4-0 at the Mission Prep Christmas Classic in California last week, joined at No. 8. Monarch is No. 9 and Cherry Creek is No. 10.
There was nearly a massive shakeup of the 5A poll this week. Fossil Ridge — which already owns impressive wins over Eaglecrest, Grandview, ThunderRidge, Highlands Ranch and Thompson Valley — received eight first-place votes, and was close to overtaking No. 1 Denver East for the top spot. But the Angels got 11 first-place votes in staying atop the ranking.
So Fossil Ridge remained at No. 2 spot. Overland stayed at No. 3, while No. 4 Regis Jesuit and No. 5 Mountain Vista switched places.
Eaglecrest is sixth and Arapahoe moved up to ninth this week.
The biggest mover in the 4A ranking was Air Academy, which went from No. 10 last week to No. 6 this week. Valor Christian stayed atop that poll, and continued to be followed by No. 2 Thompson Valley and No. 3 Thomas Jefferson. No. 4 Pueblo East and No. 5 Sand Creek each moved up one spot.
3A’s Holy Family, 2A’s Sanford and 1A’s Caliche all remained atop their respective rankings this week. That means the No. 1 teams in each classification have not changed since the preseason.
These polls will serve as the rankings over the winter break, and through the first part of January. The next poll will not come out until Jan. 13.
Thomas Jefferson remained in the No. 3 spot in the 4A poll. (Pam Wagner)
Unbeatens Arapahoe and Grand Junction have joined this week’s CHSAANow.com boys basketball rankings in 5A.
The Warriors (3-0) are No. 9, while Grand Junction (5-0) is No. 10. Highlands Ranch, last week’s No. 5, and Chaparral, last week’s No. 10, both dropped out this week.
Elsewhere, Denver East maintained its grip on the top spot, and Fossil Ridge continued its climb up the poll. The SaberCats are No. 2 this week, moving up two spots from No. 4. Fossil Ridge went 3-0 last week, including a 66-48 win over Highlands Ranch.
Overland fell one spot to No. 3, and is followed by No. 4 Mountain Vista and No. 5 Regis Jesuit. Mountain Vista moved up from eighth; Regis up from No 6.
Eaglecrest is sixth in this week’s 5A poll, Legend is seventh and Rangeview fell five spots to eighth.
In addition to Denver East, the other four No. 1 teams remained the same this week: Valor Christian (4A), Holy Family (3A), Sanford (2A) and Caliche (1A).
The 4A poll added Air Academy at No. 10 this week. That ranking also saw Thompson Valley jump from fifth to second following wins over three 5A teams. Thomas Jefferson is third.
Falcon 35, Greeley Central 11, Lewis-Palmer 8, Mountain View 7, Frederick 6, Mesa Ridge 2, Palmer Ridge 2, Glenwood Springs 1, Ponderosa 1, Pueblo South 1.
Dropped out
Denver South (8).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Holy Family (8)
5-0
98
1
2-0
2
Colorado Academy (1)
4-0
81
3
2-0
3
Brush (1)
2-0
77
2
1-0
4
Jefferson Academy
4-0
69
9
4-0
5
Bishop Machebeuf
4-0
67
6
3-0
6
Faith Christian
4-3
36
4
3-1
7
Moffat County
3-1
29
7
3-1
8
The Pinnacle
3-1
22
–
1-0
9
Kent Denver
3-1
20
10
2-0
10
Colorado Springs Christian
1-2
19
5
1-2
Others receiving votes:
Denver Science & Tech 10, St. Mary’s 6, Valley 6, Aspen 4, Monte Vista 4, Cedaredge 2, Sterling 1.
Dropped out
Aspen (8).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Sanford (12)
4-0
155
1
4-0
2
Yuma (3)
3-0
125
2
2-0
3
Akron
2-0
110
4
1-0
4
Lutheran
2-1
106
3
1-0
5
Ignacio (1)
5-0
101
5
2-0
6
Resurrection Christian
4-2
75
6
3-0
7
Limon
3-1
39
9
2-0
8
Simla
3-1
31
10
2-0
9
Rye
4-1
30
–
1-1
10
Denver Christian
1-3
24
7
1-1
Others receiving votes:
Swink 23, Peyton 22, Haxtun 13, Alexander Dawson 11, Sedgwick County 6, Crowley County 3, Front Range Christian 3, Custer County 1, Paonia 1, Rangely 1, Sierra Grande 1.
Fossil Ridge, meanwhile, went from sixth to fourth after going 3-0 last week. The standout win was a 58-51 win over then-No. 3 Eaglecrest.
The 5A ranking continued to be led by Denver East, which has also started 3-0 at the Great Western Shootout in Utah. Overland remained in the No. 2 spot despite going 1-2 at the same tournament.
Highlands Ranch rounds out the 5A top 5.
The other No. 1 teams also stayed the same this week: Valor Christian (4A), Holy Family (3A), Sanford (2A) and Caliche (1A).
DENVER — The state spirit championships continued on Saturday, and seven more champions will be crowned by night’s end. Find Day 1 results here.
Saturday’s champions include Evergreen (4A poms); Broomfield (4A cheer); Faith Christian (3A cheer); Clear Creek (3A poms); Salida (2A/3A co-ed cheer); Cheyenne Wells (2a cheer); and Vail Christian (2A poms).
[divider]
Class 4A poms
Evergreen won the 4A poms championship. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Prelims
Rank
Team
Score
Tie-break
1
Evergreen
94.67
470.00
2
Broomfield
94.33
468.00
3
Valor Christian
93.00
463.00
4
Battle MountainÂ
90.00
445.00
5
Wheat Ridge
89.33
446.00
6
Windsor
89.17
443.00
7
Mullen
88.00
431.00
8
Durango
87.00
423.00
9
Eagle Valley
86.67
435.50
10
Canon City
86.50
423.50
11
Lewis-Palmer
85.50
424.50
12
Mead
84.67
422.00
13
Frederick
82.50
403.50
14
Green Mountain
79.33
397.00
15
Centaurus
75.33
378.00
16
Conifer
73.67
366.00
Finals
Rank
Team
Score
Tie-break
1
Evergreen
96.33
477.50
2
Broomfield
94.67
469.50
3
Valor Christian
92.00
461.00
4
Battle Mountain
90.33
449.00
[divider]
Class 4A cheer
Broomfield won the 4A cheer championship. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Prelims
Rank
Team
Score
Tie-break
1
Broomfield
85.20
428.10
2
Palmer Ridge
78.87
389.20
3
Valor Christian
77.80
388.90
4
Pueblo West
76.40
381.40
5
Erie
74.33
371.80
6
Glenwood Springs
72.13
361.40
7
Sand Creek
70.23
348.80
8
Coronado
70.07
347.20
9
Pueblo South
65.67
324.60
10
Windsor
64.63
324.30
11
Weld Central
64.00
319.50
12
Ponderosa
61.70
304.00
13
Vista Ridge
60.97
305.80
14
Green Mountain
59.50
299.70
15
Thompson Valley
58.93
297.30
16
Longmont
58.77
290.90
17
Rifle
58.73
296.20
18
Woodland Park
58.13
292.10
19
Canon City
57.97
290.90
20
Wheat Ridge
57.30
284.50
21
Durango
56.17
285.70
22
Skyline
55.57
271.60
23
Englewood
55.57
273.90
24
Elizabeth
54.97
271.50
25
Golden
54.13
266.80
26
D’Evelyn
54.07
267.60
27
Pueblo Centennial
53.37
265.60
28
Mead
52.77
260.60
29
Mullen
52.37
267.20
30
Lewis Palmer
52.03
263.30
31
Battle Mountain
51.70
257.90
32
Northridge
51.30
257.00
33
Montezuma-Cortez
46.53
228.20
34
Ft. Morgan
43.73
228.50
35
Roosevelt
43.33
215.30
36
Pueblo Central
41.23
210.30
37
Denver North
40.47
210.60
38
Silver Creek
19.27
98.90
39
Conifer
0.00
0.00
39
Mountain View
0.00
0.00
Finals
Rank
Team
Score
Tie-break
1
Broomfield
90.27
451.10
2
Pueblo West
77.27
389.90
3
Palmer Ridge
75.27
376.60
4
Glenwood Springs
75.03
375.80
5
Erie
74.60
373.60
6
Valor Christian
73.57
366.80
7
Sand Creek
72.97
360.00
8
Coronado
71.87
358.60
[divider]
Class 3A cheer
Faith Christian won the 3A cheer championship. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Prelims
Rank
Team
Score
Tie-break
1
Faith Christian
71.67
355.20
2
Manitou Springs
68.70
346.20
3
University
68.23
340.00
4
St. Mary’S
67.40
335.30
5
Dolores Huerta
67.10
330.30
6
Coal Ridge
60.17
301.20
7
Holy Family
59.77
299.90
8
Frontier Academy
58.83
294.60
9
Machebeuf
58.77
293.10
10
Sterling
58.27
293.70
11
Lamar
56.73
282.10
12
Pagosal Springs
55.77
277.20
13
The Academy
54.73
278.10
14
Buena Vista
54.03
270.50
15
Florence
53.93
275.40
16
Bayfield
53.37
268.40
17
Middle Park
52.13
261.50
18
Alamosa
51.20
256.10
19
Pinnacle
50.60
246.60
20
La Junta
46.37
227.80
21
Kipp Denver
45.63
226.80
22
Trinidad
45.17
224.60
23
Jefferson
44.20
220.60
24
Peak To Peak
0.00
0.00
24
0.00
0.00
Finals
Rank
Team
Score
Tie-break
1
Faith Christian
72.80
364.60
2
Manitou Springs
70.47
353.30
3
St. Mary’S
69.10
346.90
4
University
59.87
301.80
[divider]
Class 3A poms
Clear Creek won the 3A poms championship. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Prelims/Finals
Rank
Team
Score
Tie-break
1
Clear Creek
83.33
415.00
2
Bayfield
82.00
411.00
2
Bennett
82.00
405.00
4
Sheridan
81.33
407.00
5
Aspen
80.83
404.00
6
University
80.17
398.50
7
Grand Valley
77.33
382.00
8
Basalt
61.33
303.00
[divider]
Class 2A/3A co-ed cheer
Salida won the 2A/3A co-ed cheer championship. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Denver East begins the season ranked atop the 5A poll. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Denver East, Valor Christian, Holy Family, Sanford and Caliche are the preseason boys basketball favorites in their respective classifications.
Those teams were the No. 1 picks in the 5A through 1A CHSAANow.com rankings released Monday morning.
Denver East received 19 of 20 first-place votes in the 5A poll. The Angels return their top five scorers from last season’s runner-up squad, including University of Colorado commit Dominique Collier and his 20.1 points per game.
Overland is No. 2 in the 5A ranking, and is following by defending champion Eaglecrest at No. 3. Highlands Ranch is fourth, and Rangeview rounds out the top 5.
Fossil Ridge is sixth in the 5A poll, Regis Jesuit is seventh, Mountain Vista is eighth, Chaparral is ninth and Legend is tenth. Monarch narrowly missed the top-10.
A total of 23 teams appeared on preseason ballots in the 5A ranking.
Valor Christian is 4A’s preseason No. 1 team. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Another runner-up from a season ago, Valor Christian, heads the 4A preseason ranking. The Eagles return their top eight scorers from last season. That includes Chase Foster, who averaged 20.0 points per game last season.
Pueblo East is second in the 4A ranking, and is followed by No. 3 Cheyenne Mountain, No. 4 Denver South and No. 5 Thomas Jefferson. Two-time defending champion Lewis-Palmer is ranked 10th to begin the 2013-14 season.
Holy Family heads the 3A poll, though No. 2 Brush received an equal amount of first-place votes (five). The Tigers reached the Great 8 last season.
Defending 3A champion Pagosa Springs is unranked to begin the year.
In 2A, Sanford is the No. 1 pick. The Indians reached the Final 4 last season. Denver Christian, last season’s champion, is ranked third.
Caliche heads the preseason 1A poll. The Buffaloes were in last season’s semifinals. Defending champion McClave is ranked fifth.
Monarch 41, Chatfield 22, Fort Collins 19, Cherokee Trail 17, ThunderRidge 11, Montbello 10, Abraham Lincoln 9, Grandview 9, Fairview 7, Cherry Creek 6, Dakota Ridge 5, Grand Junction 5, Arapahoe 1.
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Valor Christian (12)
0-0
151
2
Pueblo East
0-0
101
3
Cheyenne Mountain (2)
0-0
100
4
Denver South (1)
0-0
87
5
Thomas Jefferson
0-0
84
6
D’Evelyn
0-0
63
7
Longmont
0-0
59
8
Thompson Valley
0-0
58
9
Sand Creek (1)
0-0
48
10
Lewis-Palmer
0-0
32
Others receiving votes:
Broomfield 25, Falcon 13, Ponderosa 9, Windsor 9, Mesa Ridge 8, Elizabeth 6, Sierra 5, Durango 4, Frederick 4, Pueblo West 4, Greeley Central 3, Pueblo South 3, Green Mountain 1, Kennedy 1, Palisade 1, Widefield 1.
Peyton 18, Paonia 9, Crowley County 6, Rocky Ford 6, Meeker 5, Rye 5, Byers 4, Hayden 4, Sierra Grande 4, Haxtun 3, Heritage Christian 3, Sangre de Cristo 1.
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Caliche (3)
0-0
48
2
Hi-Plains (1)
0-0
39
3
Norwood
0-0
34
4
Shining Mountain
0-0
30
5
McClave (2)
0-0
26
6
Holly
0-0
25
7
Fleming
0-0
23
8
Vail Christian
0-0
22
9
Otis
0-0
19
10
Granada
0-0
18
Others receiving votes:
Prairie 8, Denver Jewish Day 6, Pawnee 6, Elbert 5, Primero 5, Jim Elliot Christian 4, La Veta 4, Bethune 3, Stratton 3, Deer Trail 2.
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.
